Trainee Ch.89

Chapter 89: Forum

[Topic] Just finished watching the 3rd ranking livestream, here are some quick thoughts on the rankings

[Original Poster]

The 3rd ranking was a major reshuffle, the intensity was almost like the finals. Since I happen to be free tonight, I’ll do a casual analysis.

First, let me flash my fan tag so certain people won’t secretly diss my fave and then act all innocent afterwards.

[Highlight] I’m a hardcore Yuzu-fan, a Schrödinger-level battle fan. I’m tolerant toward other trainees, but if anyone tries shady sarcasm about mine in this thread, don’t blame me for dragging your fave into an 800-floor cursing war.

[1F] Love reading analysis posts.

[2F] OP, could you also predict the debut lineup qwq

[3F] Since it’s a Yuzu-fan post, I can squat here without worry.

[4F] Squatting. I honestly don’t understand a thing about how survival shows work.

[5F OP] Since the 3rd ranking results were outside of some people’s expectations, some are suspecting Sky of manipulating or suppressing votes. Personally, I think the chances are low, though it’s not impossible they deliberately positioned people to push for more votes — you can’t trust that damn Sky too much after all.

But don’t just assume suppressed votes or someone being “the chosen one” just because the ranking dropped. Isn’t it possible that the problem lies within your own fandom? (This includes Yuzu-fans too.)

[6F] Don’t scold, Yuzu-fans are just spoiling Yuzu 5555

[7F] I thought Yuzu’s rank was Sky pushing for votes.

[8F] If they were really pushing, they’d stall at rank 7 or even 8. Who’d give you rank 6? I think it was more like an accidental hit that ended up tormenting him.

[9F] Reply to 8F: This round was mainly to push the other two fandoms, right?

[10F] Can’t always target Yuzu’s fandom for milking…

[11F OP] Let’s first make one thing clear: ranking conflicts.

The 3rd stage ranking, the 3rd performance center position, the fansign quota, and fansign tickets — these four things all conflict with each other. Both time and money conflict. Fanclub decision-making is the key to who made it into the upper ranks this round.

Second, Star is the mandatory OP (opening theme) for the 3rd stage.

1st stage: 7 votes.

2nd stage: 3 votes.

3rd stage: 1 vote.

Forget about vote-swapping or “passerby appeal.” Honestly, which random passerby has the free time to log into the app every day just to vote?

So, the 3rd ranking can be seen as a de-watered result — stripped of fluff and shaped by multiple rankings.

If you haven’t even figured out these two points, then you’re clearly just here to stir trouble.

[12F] LMAO, even someone like me with a fixed pick often forgets to vote.

[13F] To be honest, 2nd performance still had hope, but 3rd performance passerby votes can’t make waves — unless those passersby are converted into paying fans.

[14F OP] As for ranks 13–18, nothing worth analyzing. Unless a miracle happens, they can’t turn it around.

Rank 11 Jiang Yangfan — CPR failed. If he couldn’t rise in the 3rd ranking, he’s destined to sink.

Rank 10 Cheng Jinghao, Rank 12 Qu Junwei — I didn’t expect that with all their hard work, neither of them rose. But it could be because they clashed over song choice in the 3rd performance. Both fanbases fought tooth and nail for center.

Qu used to stall at 10 and never debut. On that flop variety show, practically everyone was a pro at fake bromance. He probably learned his lesson, so in Star he went crazy selling bromance. But he overdid it — and worse, he picked the wrong partner. The “industrial flavor” was way too strong.

Qu and Cheng probably won’t make it, unless the CP fans are willing to only save one side.

[15F] I just want to know, if neither Qu nor Cheng debuts, will they still keep selling CP?

[16F] They’ll break up the second the show ends 233

[17F] Reply to 16F: Not necessarily. More likely they’ll cash in on a few waves first, then split.

[18F] Straight guys doing fake bromance — may lightning strike them. But the ones getting struck are us innocent CP fans 🙂

[19F OP] Rank 8 Li Xu, Rank 9 Yin Zizhen.

A seven-member group doesn’t need that many pure rappers. There are higher-ranked trainees (Mo/Bai) who can serve as rap position holders. Usually rap slots are reserved for weak “royal” trainees (company favorites), but both of these guys are pitiful small fry that Sky doesn’t care about.

Prediction: two fighting for one spot, or maybe one won’t even make it.

[20F] I hope Li Hong makes it. As for Xiao Yin, I really feel like he should just go back to school…

[21F] Yin’s ranks: 7–9–9. Li’s: 37–14–8. Both look shaky.

[22F] Reply to 21F: Li Hong’s chances are a bit higher. His problem was that he only exploded in the 2nd performance, so he started late. But Li’s fandom has super fiery energy, while Yin’s fandom is too Buddhist and doesn’t “ab*se” fans.

[23F] Huh? Isn’t Li Xu an “invisible royal”?

[24F] +1. I mean, just look at his rank skyrocketing. Isn’t that obviously favoritism?

[25F] Li Xu going viral purely on strength can also get called a company favorite?

[26F] Some of you learn a new term and then throw it around everywhere. If you disagree, post your orange screenshots.

[27F] Li Hongpo is such a pitiful, inspirational kid, and you’re still calling him a royal? Do you even have a heart /smile

[28F OP] Rank 7 Xu An — probably the most controversial ranking, right?

Honestly, the ones questioning it are just casual viewers watching for fun, or even outsiders who didn’t bother to open the forum thread.

Most of his base are music fans, and there’s a wall between music fans and idol fans.

He’s got a huge passerby base, but very few paying fans. With limited votes, the illusion of prosperity shatters instantly. Even the majority of 707 team votes went to Yuzu and Li Xu.

His live audience votes started dropping from the 2nd performance, didn’t even break 100 in the 3rd, and at the fansign vote, he only barely squeezed into 6th.

Such a pity with such a massive audience foundation. If he had a fandom that wasn’t so Buddhist, debut wouldn’t be a problem.

But I’ve heard his fandom is very divided — some want him to go solo. Anyway, I think his debut chances are slim, and the company doesn’t really seem to want him to debut either.

[29F] If Xu An debuts, then he won’t be able to go on tour or release new songs.

[30F] I actually support him not debuting. An Mu’s situation is different — he’s unlikely to flop right after the show. This wave of popularity just reminds people he’s still around. No need to force him into a track he’s not suited for.

[31F] Why wouldn’t the company support it? Idols can generate tons of profit.

[32F] The company probably wants Xu An to go the OST route. That’s the purpose of signing him. Doing a survival show was just to add some shine. (Xu An’s fans have always felt that him joining a survival show was lowering his own value.)

[33F] Did Xu An switch companies?

[34F] Yeah, ages ago. Three years back, after Hear My Voice, he signed with another company. But that company never wanted him to focus on music — they kept pushing him into commercial gigs to make quick cash. He had no time to write songs, missed his golden period, and flopped…

[35F] Reply to 34F: He doesn’t even hold his own copyrights – –

[36F] No wonder Xu An didn’t sing his own song on the first stage.

[37F] Even though I want An Mu to debut, my fandom is just… sigh, forget it, if I say more I’ll just get flamed.

[38F] Our fighting power was already weak, and now we’ve got internal division too. Hopeless.

[39F] Friendly reminder: before signing with an agency, always consult a lawyer. Best to bring one along. So many inexperienced rookies get scammed like this.

[40F] No wonder Xu An has been off the radar these past few years…

[41F OP] Rank 3 Zhao Yifeng.

Since Xu An got mentioned, I’ll talk about him too.

A lot of people think it’s impossible for him to shoot up that fast, but don’t forget the 3rd ranking OP was a huge advantage for his fandom. In the 2nd ranking he stalled at 7, which already stirred fans into action. Even though his reputation has improved recently, from the very first stage he’s been “ab*sing his fans on auto-pilot,” which earned him plenty of passerby hate. So it’s perfectly normal for Feng-fans to bounce back from rock bottom.

Also, his fandom didn’t invest much in fighting for the 3rd performance center. Since he clashed with Xu An on song choice, his fanclub made a decisive call: they immediately gave up on the 3rd performance center battle and shifted their resources to grabbing fansign quotas. This meant far less drain on both time and money.

Conclusion: Zhao Yifeng’s ranking rise is nailed down for sure.

(P.S. His improved passerby appeal is thanks to the magical chemistry between my Yuzu and Zhao Yifeng. Without either side, the effect wouldn’t exist. I really hope both fandoms can love and peace.)

[42F] The relationship between Yuzu-fans and Feng-fans is peaceful to the point of being kind of abnormal.

[43F] I thought Feng-fans were the all-out killing type 233

[44F] We Feng-fans are honestly super cautious, always afraid of bringing Zhao Yifeng hate. The ones going around stepping on others aren’t necessarily Feng-fans QwQ

[45F] A lot of those “KY” comments trashing the original singer are either passersby or trolls pretending to be fans. If you click their profiles, most don’t even follow Zhao Yifeng.

[46F] Fengfeng has spoken out about this many times, but it really hasn’t helped. We’re frustrated too.

[47F] I thought the reason both fandoms get along was because the idols went through the first performance together?

[48F] Reply to 47F: The enemy of my enemy is my friend kkkk

[49F OP] The main vocalist is the soul of a group. Without one, it’s very hard to hold things together.

For a seven-member group, having two main vocals isn’t impossible, but two main vocals who can’t dance is very unlikely — unless both of them are in the top popularity tier.

That said, knowing how money-grubbing Sky is, if the cash is there, forget two main vocals, they’d even debut a seven-main-vocal statue-like choir group.

Zhao should be safe. As for Xu, we’ll see if this vote-push wave can carry him up.

[50F] Suddenly thought of something funny — what if the debut lineup ends up being Su, Mo, Yu, Zhao, Xu, Li, Yin…

[51F] After debut you’d all better sign up for Jin Xiheng’s dance classes.

[52F] Teacher Jin: “Welp, this trip wasn’t in vain.” /doge

[53F] Then I’ll just look forward to the miracle of Xu An debuting on free votes 233.

Friendly advice: An-fans, stop fantasizing that your passerby base can strong-arm Sky. If you had that ability, you would’ve succeeded three years ago.

[54F OP] Rank 6: Miura Yuki / Lai Yudong.

Finally, we get to talk about my treasure!

Dropped two spots, not twenty — yet some people were so panicked, even more anxious than Yuzu and Yuzu-fans themselves.

The drop definitely isn’t from antis mocking or fans running away. Honestly, I’d rather believe this is a Yuzu-fans scheme to drive down the price of fansign photocards, otherwise I really can’t believe antis could be that dumb.

Rank 6 is actually higher than expected — lots of people, including myself, predicted he’d fall outside debut range. This shows Yuzu-fans’ thick blood — they can manage both rankings. Personally, I felt pretty optimistic hearing the result.

Yuzu-fans just dote on Yuzu. Center position? He has to have it. Fansign quota? He has to have it. Offline presence? He has to have it.

Whatever others get, Yuzu must also get.

The fanclub’s strategy is fine, but some Yuzu-fans popping champagne before the 3rd ranking… If you couldn’t see the drop coming, fine, but I really didn’t expect you to take out loans to shoot him into top 3. Paying fans and voting squads are human too, you know. Hard to comment — one fan like that equals ten antis. I can’t be bothered to scold anymore.

Anyway, my personal view is: don’t be overly anxious, but don’t take it too lightly either.

[55F] Reply to 54F: Your words are dripping with doting affection.

[56F] Spoiling fans this much… Are you sure you’re not worried about Miura’s drop?

[57F] Yuzu will definitely debut, but not sure if he can debut at a high rank.

[58F] There are too many factors affecting the 3rd ranking. The main thing is, every time Yuzu-fans show up on the battlefield personally, so it’s hard to gauge their true combat power.

[59F] Reply to 58F: I get it now — that’s also a kind of strategy.

[60F] Feels like there are way more “All-Yu” and clay idol fans now. Combat power must’ve grown stronger.

[61L] Is the number of flower moms and mud-sculpt fans some kind of combat power metric? lol 233

[62L] I thought you’d come up with some insightful analysis, but turns out it’s just brainless bragging. No wonder—you’re fans of a vase-idol, just like your idol: an empty head filled with nothing but water.

[63L] @lz, someone is openly provoking you.

[64L] Not gonna lie, I’m not even a Yuzu-fan but even I can tell their comments are on point. Did the person upstairs swallow some “dumb beauty” brainwashing pills hhhhhh

[65L] PTSD from “dumb beauty”? Whose so-called dumb beauty can perfectly avoid every trap the program team set…

[66L] Yuzu only zones out sometimes. Fans calling him “little dummy” is just an affectionate nickname, but he’s not actually dumb!!! (breaking down)

[67L] Cool, aloof beauty in the early stages, dumb beauty later on—try juggling both those tacky mass-produced personas as a co-fan and see how you like it.

[68L] Lmao, first time I’ve seen fans spin a drop in ranking like this as a win.

[69L] Where did the OP go? Don’t tell me they’re charging up their power.

[70L OP] Reply to [56L]: Your flop idol doesn’t work hard, clocks out as soon as it gets dark—of course you wouldn’t understand Yuzu-fans waiting outside even before dawn, or understand my gentle little Yuzu who cares about his fans.

Your idol is ugly and lazy, and their fans project malicious thoughts onto others. Like idol, like fan—a match made in hell. No wonder you were eliminated by the third round.

Nothing more to say. When the finals come back, just be jealous of my baby’s stage /sticks tongue out.

[71L OP] Reply to [62L]: Better hide your homepage—your idol cracked their voice during the second performance.

Your idol “trained for two years,” but the total practice time in a whole week doesn’t even match one day for my baby. Practicing one hour a day for two years, taking holidays off—how does that count as “two years of practice”?~

All I know is, my baby never makes mistakes on stage, and he even pulls off highlight moments /sticks tongue out.

Even if we take ten thousand steps back—an idol being ugly is already a death sentence. By the time your idol finishes recovering from plastic surgery, the group will already have disbanded!

If both your idol and mine got submitted to the “Ugly Guy Bot”—

Stranger’s comment on your idol: “Really ugly.”

Stranger’s comment on mine: “Stop reverse hyping.”

Don’t believe me? Try it yourself /sticks tongue out.

[72L OP] Reply to [62L]: Didn’t know until I searched—turns out your idol’s mistakes are way more than just one or two. Here’s a compilation of your idol’s fails: .

[73L OP] Reply to [68L]: What, did it sting? You still haven’t seen your idol soar to the top. Meanwhile, mine is still sitting in a debut spot. Go ahead, collab-vote to kick mine out of the top seven. Your idol’s never even touched debut rank—yet you dare run your mouth in front of me? Lol.

[74L] lz is one fierce Yuzu-fan sister…

[75L] I’m dying, she’s debating the whole crowd singlehandedly.

[76L] Reply to [72L]: Why are you so considerate as to even attach the evidence ahahahaha.

[77L] Some people’s mas*chist streak is really exploding, huh? The main post literally said this Yuzu-fan is a Schrödinger-level battle fan, yet they still come in here to leave random comments.

[78L] So satisfying. Keep cursing more—dumb-mouth Yuzu-fans are in bliss.

[79L OP] I just wanted to do a proper analysis, didn’t expect some weird creatures to wander in. /wipes sweat

B*llying Yuzu’s first-love fans because they’re easy to deal with? Having lots of first-love fans doesn’t mean everyone is a first love — this battle-fan can take on millions alone and tear you all apart with ease.

Yes, Yuzu’s not the strongest, and no matter how hard he fights he can’t catch up overnight with trainees who trained for years, but surpassing some people is a piece of cake.

Some people get roasted for cracking, going off-key, or messing up choreography — he’s never done any of that once. With his popularity, there’s no way he’s “flopping on purpose” to cause drama, right? Except for those who deliberately pick fights and smear him, he’s never been roasted on stage.

A lot of people want to weld him to the fansign events, but I’d rather weld him to the stage.

[80L OP] Enough of that — back to analysis, seriously speechless.

[81L] !!! Finally someone said they want Dong-baby to stay on the stage

[82L] If you don’t get Yuzu’s stage charm, farewell forever

[83L] Xiao Lai is really suited to be an idol — strong in every way. If he’d become a trainee earlier he’d have come back as a maxed-out return.

[84L] Yuzu’s on-stage vs off-stage contrast is huge, I love it.

[85L] I’m tired of hearing “born idol” already.

[86L OP] Rank 5, Bai Xuanhe.

They say fans follow their idol, but this fandom and their idol have a weird contrast. The fanclub’s decisions are smart — besides casual fans, hardly anyone bothered to vote for the 3rd-performance center or fansign slots.

With each fandom’s resources split across different targets in the third round, it makes sense Bai’s fandom pushed him into a debut slot; it’s a morale boost before the finals. But the finals only have one track left, so he’s probably hovering near the debut line.

…

[98L OP] Rank 4, Qu Xincheng.

He’s Sky Entertainment’s crown prince — tons of screentime in the main episodes, every performance comes with a storyline, and he even has a growth arc running through the whole show.

Compared with other survival show royals, at least he’s got real popularity. He’s not the type who gets maxed-out exposure, fails to attract fans, and then still gets shoved into debut through rigged votes.

He’s capable, good-looking, has a decent personality, and his popularity matches — basically a high-quality royal. Just face it, no survival show is without royals.

Put it this way: Su Junzhe failing at rank 8 is more likely than Qu Xincheng missing debut.

[99L] Xiao Su: meow?

[100L] But Qu and Yu clash in type, right? Their concepts overlap — from positioning to personality they’re kinda repetitive…

[101L] The world’s most vicious curse: your fave has the same positioning as a royal.

[102L] Are the people saying “repetitive” still stuck in the first performance? Qu Yu’s personality would pass a plagiarism check on a thesis.

[103L] If we’re talking pure personality, Qu and Xu are the ones who actually overlap.

[104L] What kind of shut-in boy group is this (closes eyes).

[105L] Regardless, a double–visual setup is way more likely than a double–main vocal.

[106L] Do you really think clashing positioning is a big deal? If my fave and the crown prince clash, the one who gets axed won’t be the prince — it’ll be your fave.

[107L] Either Qu debuts and Yu doesn’t, or both debut. Sky Entertainment’s not sacrificing their crown prince for some nobody. But Yuzu-fans can fight — just look at the offline popularity, there’s no way they’re dropping him.

[108L] Sky’s already given Yuzu a positive storyline. Figure it out yourselves.

[111L] After hyping up the royal for months, if Xiao Qu gets strung along I’ll hate you all to death.

[112L OP] Rank 1, Mo Li. Rank 2, Su Junzhe.

Sijia sent five contestants: Mo and Qu. Mo is the main push, Mo already has his own popularity, Qu’s a hopeless case, Song came to boost visibility, and Yin’s just there to tag along.

In the third ranking, the Mo family pushed Mo back to first place just to lift morale, but their data doesn’t look great. In past stat breakdowns, their average spending per fan didn’t even make top three. As for whether they never went for the 3rd performance center or just gave it up themselves—believe what you want.

Su’s just a trainee with no fame, his company’s based in Korea and their focus is on their K-pop groups, so they half–neglected him. But early on, he got boosted into the spotlight by landing the initial center.

Final center > Su.

[113L] Suddenly 707 seems really impressive. Nobody’s managing them, they’re just growing wild.

[114L] Adding one point: Su’s already had three “hurting-the-fans” incidents in a row.

[115L] What three in a row? Dropping rank?

[116L] Reply to [115L]: also the back injury and that family VCR a few days ago.

[117L] What was Su’s family VCR? I don’t remember.

[118L] Xiao Su didn’t have a family VCR /cry

[119L] Omg, is Xiao Su the only one without a VCR?

[120L] Some others also had family who didn’t appear, like Yuzu, but at least he had a VCR recorded by Liang Zhisheng and Zhou Rui.

[121L] In Su’s interview, he said his family doesn’t support him becoming an idol, and won’t cheer him on until he achieves something. He also said he doesn’t need their approval. When he went to Korea as a trainee, he supported himself with part-time jobs. Even the initial plane ticket to Korea was just money loaned by his family, which he has to pay back.

[122L] Went to be a trainee at 14 — too young to be doing part-time jobs, right?

[123L] Reply to [122L]: Borrowed from family before 16, worked part-time after 16, and had to pay back what was borrowed.

[124L] What about Yuzu? I didn’t watch the behind-the-scenes — did his family not support him either?

[125L] Reply to [124L]: The production team couldn’t get in touch with them.

[126L] Yuzu’s family probably didn’t support it at first either 233

[127L] ?? If they couldn’t contact them, they just left it like that?

[128L] What else would they do? Hire a private detective to dig up his parents?

[129L] Dong-baby was rushed into selection — he probably didn’t give contact info for his family. Family VCRs have to be secretly prepared without the trainee knowing, so the production team slacked off.

[130L] It’s easier to use people who are ready-made, and 707 can still generate buzz.

[131L] …suddenly I feel emotionally wrecked.

[132L] Ab*se me more, hurt me harder — I like voting while crying!

[133L] Another Yuzu-fan went full mad now.

…

[140L OP] Predicted debut lineup: [Su, Mo, Zhao, Yu, Qu, Bai, Yin]

But the finals will definitely have a frenzy of vote-pushing, and that’s bound to affect the results. It all depends on which fanbases Sky thinks still have the money to squeeze.

Analysis finished, thread closed.

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