From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 175: Team Good ’ol Days

Inside the venue, a strangely mixed crowd was gathered.

About 70% of the attendees were old, retired people here to watch a small performance group that covered the classic hits from their youth while the other 30% were a young, mainly female crowd that had either come after being recruited from busking or were just a fan of the show, or just wanted to attend a discounted show while they were in Vegas.

Several teams had already performed, receiving mixed reactions from the audience, who were unfamiliar with these new-age songs or disliked the loud music that seemed to be the trend these days.

Fortunately, the boys were handsome, and the MC was handsome, allowing them to at least get some eye candy while they waited for the openers to finish, so they could watch their main event.

The handsome MC returned with a bright smile and began speaking into his microphone.

"The next two teams will be performing a cover of ’Can’t help falling in love with you’ By Preston Evan. As mentioned earlier, please scan the code on your ticket to vote for which team you think had the better performance of the song, and at the end, you can vote for the team you think did the best overall."

- How do I scan? My phone doesn’t have a scanner? This isn’t a grocery store.

- like this grandma. We’ve done this five times already.

The audience began chattering as eight boys dressed in high-waisted, bell-bottom trousers, tight-fitting dress shirts that were half-unbuttoned with folded sleeves, showing off their collarbones, chests, and toned arms.

The outfits were reminiscent of those worn in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the styling of the boys’ hair either in a ducktail or side swoop, many of the older men in the audience immediately recalled their youth just by looking at the boys.

In the lead was a tall, handsome boy with long, voluminous blonde hair that fell to his shoulders and sparkling blue eyes, holding a black acoustic guitar with a golden glowing pattern.

Unlike many of his teammates with slim yet toned figures, he was quite muscular with broad shoulders, toned arms, and legs emphasized by the tight clothing that hid nothing.

Several admiring sighs could be heard from the young and old female audience members while the men reminisced about their good old days.

The blonde young man tapped his guitar nervously as he looked out into the audience, but as if he spotted something or someone out there, he took a deep breath and calmed down, his expression filled with a bright smile as he gave a thumbs up.

As staff members brought out microphone stands, a keyboard, and a cajon drum, the 8 boys lined up, and the blond boy began speaking in a charming country accent.

"Hello, I’m James Jones the third, but you can call me Jamie. I’m here with the Good ’ol Days team. We’re gonna be perfomin’ Can’t Help Fallin’ in Love by Preston Evan with a twist, so I hope y’all enjoy it."

As Jamie talked, the audience began whispering as they recognized the songs.

- James Jones? I know that family name. They’re country royalty.

- I love that song, it reminds me of my youth.

- I remember when I was skinny enough to fit into those types of pants. Ahhh, the good old days.

- Stop lying. You were never skinny!

- Oh my lordy, that’s a Gibson Custom Vintage Sunburst guitar

- Is that expensive, Grandpa?

- It’ll run you about 6-7 thousand easily.

- Wow!

As the chattering slowly stopped as a faint instrumental sound rang out, Jamie began tapping his guitar to catch the beat as Jerome Tyler beat on the cajon, before he began strumming it with intermittent tapping while bobbing side to side.

Choi In-su began playing a simple melody on the keyboard, matching seamlessly with Jamie’s guitar playing and setting the mood.

Then, leaning forward into the microphone, Jamie began singing in a soft, country-style crooning tone, his voice easily fluttering between high and lower notes, capturing the audience’s attention while stirring their emotions.

"Wise men sing~,

Only fools rush in~,

But I can’t help~,

Falling in love with~ you~"

As Jamie opened his eyes, staring at the crowd with glass eyes, a loud sob could be heard, before the 8 boys began singing in a hauntingly beautiful harmony, with those who weren’t playing an instrument performing simple choreography behind their microphone stands.

"Shall I stay~,

Would it be a sin~,

If I can’t help falling in love with you?"

Choi In-su’s high and breathy voice rang out before Jerome Tyler’s deeper tone was heard next as he paused his gentle beating of the cajon.

"Like a river flows,

Surely to the sea."

As Jerome stretched the note out, his voice supported by Jamie, who easily blended without over-taking him, several people in the audience began crying as they listened to the heartbreaking song about love.

"Darling, so it goes,

Some things are meant to be oh~"

While it was something familiar that they had heard time and time again, listening to it in this variation, seeing young people pour familiar emotions into it, and recalling their youth and important times in their lives brought them to tears.

"Take my hand~,"

The hands of the boys on stage reached out to them, and several members of the audience reached back, trying to grasp and hold onto the intangible memories.

"Take my whole life, too,

For I can’t help falling in love with you"

The hands of the boys retracted as they held onto their hearts as if they were holding something precious.

"No I~ can’t help~,

Falling in love~ with you~"

As the sweet voice of the boy with the golden blonde hair rang out and blended with Choi In-su’s high and breathy tone as they sang the final lyrics, it felt like the ending of a movie or dream seeing all the boys, but especially Jamie’s blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears, a resounding cheer swept through the audience.

Some people were crying as they remembered the youthful moments of falling in love, while others recalled their first time hearing the song or cherished memories with those they loved.

They were reliving their good ’ol days that they could never get back.

Even as the eight boys bowed their heads and began introducing themselves, the tears and applause from the audience didn’t stop, but instead intensified.

For Jamie’s team, it was a resounding success that probably couldn’t be topped, as evidenced by the dark faces of the contestants meant to perform after them.

*********

"What are we supposed to do? They’re not here yet." A handsome blond boy with a Boston accent complained as he adjusted the red and black jumpsuit he wore, fidgeting with a small helmet of a similar color scheme.

He had just watched Jamie’s team perform the song he wanted and completely smash it out of the park, and for a brief moment, he regretted switching teams to this one that seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Even if the current most popular contestant was on this team and the amount of vocal talent to borrow from was better, the constant aggravation from the team members and their general disregard for his leadership made it pointless.

The momentary pleasure in making that green-eyed crash-out upset had not been worth it in the slightest.

And now, he would have to somehow perform with two vocalists missing, making the effort of wringing David until he came up with a viable solution worth it .

"They’ll be here, so just be calm. Let’s just get ready. We’re up after this team." A crisp, British accent rang out as a mixed boy with light golden skin smoothed down the waves in his hair as he adjusted the stool beneath him.

Even though he was advocating for calmness, Benjamin’s foot was nervously tapping on the ground, and he kept looking at the door.

"You know this is your fault. I can’t believe you co-signed on this nonsense." William marched over, invading Benjamin’s personal space.

The British boy stood up, his taller height making him look down at William, who took several steps back so he didn’t have to crane his neck upward.

"First off bruv, I don’t know why you’re bucking up at me. Now is not the time or the place. They’re coming. And if they don’t, we’ve discussed countermeasures, and you finally have all the parts you wanted in the first place. Instead of wasting time, let’s get ready." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"That’s not the point!"

"Then what’s your point, mate?"

As the two stared at each other in a tense silence, their other teammates just glanced at each other without saying anything before Vishal stepped forward, pushing Benjamin back into his seat and forcing William to take several steps back.

"Alright, you two. Break it up. Let’s warm up and discuss this later."

"Don’t tell me what to do, I’m the leader here!" William threw Vishal’s hand away in disgust, and the Indian boy backed up with his hands in the air.

"Okay. You got it. Just chill out."

"I am chill."

Are you though?

Everyone in the team was thinking it, but nobody said a single thing, just stared at each other in tense silence.

Bang-

The door was slammed open, and as everyone turned to see why?

"Sorry, I’m late!" Carlos panted as he sprinted into the room, sweat dripping down his face as he bent over, gasping for air.

Once they saw one of the main vocalists of the group arrive, sighs of relief could be heard, and William’s expression got even worse as he realized that nobody in the team had faith in his ability to sing the parts.

"Good. You’re here. Where’s Ari?" Benjamin skipped straight to the point, having no time to waste on small talk.

Blame could be assigned later; for now, they needed to find their missing teammate.

"He’s not here already? He came ahead of me." Carlos explained while gasping for air.

"No, he’s not here yet."

"Really? Give me a second."

Carlos quickly texted a number on his cellphone, and the response came back immediately.

"My little sister says he already entered the building. Maybe he’s coming through a different entrance?"

"He needs to hurry up. Let me go ask a staff member."

Before Benjamin could move-

"Team Super Nova 2! Time to get ready. You’re on stage in 1o minutes." One of the stage staff poked her head through the doorway, gesturing for the contestants to follow her.

"Ari, you better get here on time or else." Benjamin muttered before cracking his neck and following behind everyone else.

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