Rise To Stardom

The massive hall hosting Rising Voices was packed to the brim and the expansive walls of the hall showcased the show's logo in vibrant lights.

In addition to that, the elegantly modern hall was also equipped with cutting-edge sound and lighting systems, setting the mood for today's performances.

The audience, all of whom were seated in the rows of comfortable, plush seats that lead to the vastly wide stage, impatiently waited for the show to begin as a palpable wave of excitement hung in the air.

At the same time, that exact same feeling of excitement was translated over to the people at home who were watching all of the show's proceedings as it was being aired live, both on cable TV and directly on ViewTube!

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Yeti's Exist?: I'm so nervous right now!

BobTheExorcist: C'mon start the show darn it! Snuck out my phone even though I'm grounded to watch this!

Peter_Writes_Fantasy: I wonder how the match-up's this round are going to be…

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As some comments began to show on the ViewTube's live feed, the camera panned over to the judges who seemed to be having a discussion.

Sitting on their sleek, high-backed red chairs which was situated on an elevated platform close to the middle of the stage, they were obviously far more composed than the people in the audience as they also waited for the show to commence.

And then, just like that, the giant screen in the hall, along with a simultaneous cut into the live feed streaming played out, showing how the contestants had selected their opponents for this round!

As the live audience viewed this, murmurs and hushed conversations began to fill up the hall while the chat from the ViewTube stream also began to drop their own comments.

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Killer_Bean 007: Steven's got this in the bag! Kinda feel sorry for Anna Briggs though. I'd literally be cursing my luck if I were in her shoes.

SleepIsForTheWeak: Paxton Vs June huh… Pretty even match-up I must say.

yoU're_A_WizArD: Damn. Ryan's matched up against Helena. Dude's gotta be quaking in his boots right now.

Kung-Fu Bear: Oh oh! Katie Vs Joe! Their battle shall be legendary!

Mamma Mia 0702: Noooo! Kyle my baby! He got the short end of the stick!!! How's he even supposed to win against Lily?! I'm crying right now!

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As more and more comments continued to roll out, the six duet teams backstage who had already been previously informed about how they would take the stage, began to warm up as they awaited the show to properly begin.

Chris stood by at a corner on the stage's foyer, ready to give his commentaries as a single cameraman operated the one a few centimeters beside him.

The production staffs too were also busy moving about the set backstage and the contestants could hear them making checks here and there.

"Make sure the equipment's alright. Lighting and everything! It must be perfect!"

"The voting app should only open up once the voting sections begin. Ensure the tech guys don't mess it up!"

"You there! Go inform the Producer that we'll begin in five!"

As all that was happening behind the scenes, the judges on the other hand, had a few comments of their own to give as they watched the match-ups highlighted on the large screen.

"Katie Chopra and Joe Micheals… Now that's a match-up I really can't predict" Kiara said, a thoughtful expression on her face and her fingers interlocked.

"That is quite true. Their very well evenly matched" Blake responded and then glanced over to the fourth match-up with a wry smile.

"If he's going to be someone, he's going to be someone Blake. Regardless of how their match-up turns out…" Jack who noticed his fellow judge staring at the match-up between Lily and Kyle commented.

"I know Jack. I know" Blake simply replied with a sigh and then changed the topic of conversation to another set of contestants.

In just a few minutes after that, the show finally started for real and the first duet team were called up on stage.

Considering their team was the first to perform, Ryan seemed very relaxed and unperturbed as he confidently made his way on-stage along with Helena, the other duet teams watching on as their performance soon began without any moment wasted.

The song they were tasked with performing, [Midnights], was a popular pop song sung by a male artist called Razer.

Complete with the perfect formula to make a catchy, upbeat tune that could easily get stuck in one's head, the song was also given the same amount vigor to it as both contestants performed as best they could.

🎸 🎵 🥁 🎶 🎤

So let's party all night,

Stay awake till sun comes up, yeah…

🎸 🎵 🥁 🎶 🎤

As their song ended, both participants were showered with applauses and whistles, signifying that the audience loved their performance.

The judges soon also gave their own commentary and after that, it was time for the live audience and the viewers at home to vote.

Instantly, the tech guys handling the app, swiftly unlocked its voting section from their end, allowing people to quickly cast their votes for the next five minutes around the world.

They had also ensured that the vote could only be casted once per duet team so there was no sort of monkey business people could try to pull.

The live feed chat too was already buzzing as people just kept dropping their opinions on whom they wanted to vote for.

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I_Eat_Thugs_For_Breakfast: Helena was the better performer in my opinion. I voted for her.

Python Monty'S Grail!: Ryan put up a great fight too. I'm giving him my vote especially because of those slick dance moves he sprinkled in as they performed.

Kinda-Conflicted: Like my username says, I'm kinda conflicted as to who to vote for…

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Eventually, after the five minutes of nail-biting tension passed by, Chris soon walked up to the stage and stood in the middle of the two contestants, ready to announce the vote count.

"Here are the results…"

"Ryan Parker tallies up to 695,301 votes…" the host read out.

"And Helena Cadieux earned a total of 861,545 votes! Congratulations Helena! You'll be moving on to the semi-finals!"

No sooner had Chris announced this, the audience began to applaud.

Some contestants backstage sucked in a few sharp breaths, realizing they could be the next to get axed while the chat section on the livestream increased rapidly within seconds.

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Call_Of_Doody_War_Veteran: First Blood!

SimpKing64: Yeah baby! Helena for the win!

I'm_Cold_As_Ice: Man I'm going to miss Ryan on the show! Dude was a pretty chill person.

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Ryan, on the other hand, taking his L like a champ, just went in for friendly a hug with Helena, a gesture the French Lady partook in.

Exchanging a few words of motivation from each other, both contestants soon made their way backstage as their fellow contestants either congratulated or consoled as required.

Kyle, along with Katie, Lily, Steven and Joe all did their best to cheer the young man whom was just grateful for it all.

Eventually, that subsided as Ryan was soon called in for a short interview from one of the production staff members who was acting as an assistant host to Chris.

Like that, the show continued on with Paxton and June facing off, with the young man winning over the lady with a vote of 643,024 to 602,999.

Steven going up against Anna wasn't even a battle as the dude won with a complete landslide victory of 1,128,506 votes to 331,623 votes.

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Katrina72: This was just a typical one-sided beatdown. Poor lady seemed to be holding her tears back too.

Chocobo_Chucks: Well, it's not as if the show is rigged or anything so she's just gotta take her L and move on.

Cat-Lover 42: Steven's a sweetheart for trying his best to console her. Absolute gentleman.

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As the comments continued pouring out, Lily and Kyle's turn soon came up, causing an absurdly increased surge in the number of comments piling up in the livestream chat.

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Handsome_Austin: Ha! This is the end for Kyle! Dude's just been lucky thus far!

Princess Peach: Screw off you untalented jealous little shit!

Polaf_The-Snowman: Woah, woah, woah! That is NOT princess behavior!

AnimeGirl: I mean, let's be honest here, we all know who's gonna win.

Trix Or Treat: I really hope Kyle can win this. I'd be so sad if he loses here…

Battle-Junkie: Unfortunately, I don't see anyway Kyle can overcome this. Although the dude is talented and I'll give him that, Lily is a literal monster who's just in league of her own.

PopcornsPopcorns: Well, what really bothers me is if they'll be able to sing [End of Us] properly. If they so much as botch it by even a single line, those crazed fans of the song will rip them into shreds without mercy. 

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Oblivious to all that was happening on the internet though, Lily simply turned to Kyle and asked;

"You ready dreamboat?"

"Ready as I'll ever be" the young man replied with a thin smile and instantly, both made their way onto the stage with confident steps.