Just as Cao Gong and Reba were sweetly creating songs together.
Idol Producer finally aired on the 271 platform, highly anticipated by everyone.
Before the broadcast, Dilireba had promoted it on Weibo.
This talent show was the first of its kind in China, attracting a lot of attention.
In the first episode, many viewers noticed Cao Gong when he entered.
On the one hand, he was tall, handsome, and on the other, his unique stage name stood out.
Cao Zei.
Upon seeing this stage name, anyone would be drawn to him.
Even Andy Lau in Hong Kong, after learning of the show's broadcast, quickly watched it on his tablet.
"This kid, how did he come up with this stage name?"
"Cao Zei? What was he thinking?" Andy Lau couldn't help but laugh in annoyance while watching.
"It's pretty good, at least it's eye-catching. Look, the comments are all 'Cao Zei'."
With Julie Qi's support, Andy Lau couldn't say anything.
Almost the entire first episode was over before Cao Gong finally took the stage.
And before going on stage, the footage of Cao Gong sleeping in the back sparked a lot of comments.
Many viewers criticized Cao Gong for being disrespectful, saying, "Others are performing, and you're sleeping?"
But when Cao Gong went on stage, Dilireba asked him why he was sleeping.
Cao Gong explained that he had just finished the college entrance exams and rushed over to participate in the program.
The viewers who had previously criticized Cao Gong now understood.
The college entrance exams are indeed quite tiring, and it's normal to feel sleepy.
Moreover, the show was recorded at night, so it made sense that Cao Gong didn't get enough rest and was sleepy.
However, when Cao Gong said he would be singing his original song, many viewers were excited.
In fact, the song Cao Gong sang, Love Transfer, was indeed very beautiful.
The lyrics were beautifully written with emotion, and he sang with deep feeling.
But the thing is, he said this song was his original?
At this point, the comments were flooded with "Plagiarism" and "Copying."
They claimed it was a copy of Liu Tianwang's song, a plagiarism of Hua Zi's song.
If it's a cover, then call it a cover, why say it's an original song?
All the viewers on the internet were crazily criticizing Cao Gong, with many even saying.
So, is the reason he's called Cao Zei because he plagiarizes other people's works?
But when the mentors questioned him, Cao Gong dropped a bombshell.
He was Liu Tianwang's illegitimate son.
Moreover, he publicly responded, saying he felt that covering his own song shouldn't be considered plagiarism.
This also proved that he was Liu Tianwang's son, and he was also the composer and lyricist of Under the Mount Fuji, and the songwriting credits were attributed to: Tianwang's Son.
Since Cao Gong was Liu Tianwang's son, everything made sense.
Not only that, the rap Compendium of Materia Medica he just performed also proved Cao Gong's songwriting ability.
And Cao Zei's Loyal and Patriotic even sparked enthusiastic cheers from countless viewers.
The first episode ended at this point.
After the episode aired, as expected, Idol Producer topped the trending searches.
The most talked-about topic on the trending searches was Cao Zei.
"Cao Zei! Liu Dehua's son, hidden for over a decade."
"Liu Dehua's son participates in a talent show."
"I have a Tianwang dad! Cao Zei is Liu Tianwang's son."
"Plagiarism? Sorry, it's original!"
"Cao Zei! Liu Tianwang's son, debuting through a talent show?!"
"Loyal and Patriotic, bursting with national pride, must vote for Cao Zei."
"Just for the song Loyal and Patriotic, Cao Zei must debut."
Overnight, Cao Gong trended and attracted the attention of many insiders.
The name Cao Gong quickly dominated the trending charts.
Many people even went to search for Andy Lau's album last year, and they discovered that the songwriting credits for those songs were indeed listed as Tianwang's Son, not Cao Gong's name.
However, Andy Lau also responded to this matter on Weibo.
"Well, I was actually hesitant about whether or not to post this Weibo. But after much consideration, if I don't post this Weibo to respond, the media will keep hounding me for answers. Yes, Cao Gong is my son, my son I've always kept private. Secondly, the album last year was indeed written by him. But I'm acknowledging this relationship, not to get votes for him. He doesn't want me to campaign for him. Therefore, I hope everyone will vote rationally. I know that him participating in this show and publicly revealing his relationship with me has already made it unfair. But as a father, I still hope that everyone will calmly finish watching the show and then vote and evaluate him based on his performance. That's all I have to say."
Andy Lau even posted a Weibo response, confirming that there was no mistake.
So, it's confirmed, Cao Zei is a star kid.
"He's a star kid, I wonder if Cao Zei's achievements can compare to Hua Zi."
"Reply: It's true he's a star kid, but I don't think his achievements can compare to Hua Zi. Remember, Hua Zi is the epoch-making Tianwang of the Chinese music scene, Cao Zei is still too young."
"Reply: He's young now, but that doesn't mean he can't surpass his father's achievements in the future."
"Cao Zei! Is this the strongest star kid?"
"Reply: The strongest star kid is Xie Tingfeng, Cao Zei is not even close."
"Reply: Not necessarily. Cao Zei can also write lyrics and compose music, I think he can compete for the title of strongest star kid."
"Let's see how Cao Zei performs later. I wonder how he'll do in the future."
"It feels unfair to others after revealing his relationship."
"Reply: It's true it's unfair! But Cao Gong can write lyrics and compose music, and he has some impressive musical works. You can go listen to Andy Lau's album from last year. Those songs were all written by Cao Zei. And Loyal and Patriotic, this song truly embodies the spirit of the Chinese people, expressing a national pride and unyielding will to fight for their country."
"Reply: You're right, it's indeed unfair, but with Cao Zei's songwriting abilities and his singing skills, if there's no foul play, he's guaranteed to debut from this show."
"Reply: I also think so. Even without relying on his Tianwang dad's popularity and fame, Cao Zei can still debut. He just revealed his identity in the quickest way possible."
"Let's see his performance in the future. Based on what we've seen so far, he's certainly very capable."
After the show aired, many people indeed participated in the discussion.
The second episode would be broadcast in a week.
However, after discovering this, Cao Zei's classmates all actively voted for him.
What viewers found amusing was that Cao Zei came to participate in this talent show purely to escape his female classmates' confessions. Otherwise, after finishing the college entrance exams, many female classmates would have confessed to him.
This reason gave Cao Zei a comedic label.
When Cao Zei's high school classmates learned about this, they all started criticizing him in the group chat.
Furthermore, after watching the show and hearing Cao Gong's song, the CCTV staff immediately contacted Cao Gong.
However, Cao Gong didn't have a manager, so they could only contact his father.
After learning about it, Andy Lau also said: "I can't reach him right now either. He's in training and his phone is unreachable, this isn't a joke."
They finally contacted Cao Gong through the show's crew.
"Ah? The song is being used? Who are you? What department are you from? Are you legit?" Cao Gong was still a bit suspicious.
"Legit, I'm not kidding you! Your song Loyal and Patriotic, the lyrics are full of positive energy, the singing voice is strong and powerful, it embodies the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation, and it leaves listeners feeling passionate and proud, inspiring everyone to be loyal and patriotic."
"We want to use and collect this song."
Understanding the situation, Cao Gong was still a bit confused: "So, does that mean I can't sing this song anymore?"
"You can't just sing it casually anymore. The copyright of this song belongs to the country now, it's going to be stored in the museum."
"If you want to sing it, you need to submit an application, and it depends on the occasion and the venue."
"Of course, if it's for some large-scale, formal events and you need to perform this song, you don't need to apply. We'll invite you to attend the gala to perform this song."
"But if you hold concerts in the future, you can't sing it in your concerts."
Understanding that this was the case, Cao Gong scratched his head and said, "Oh, well, okay."
He wasn't sure if it was true or not, but the other party seemed serious.
The key was that they contacted the show's crew, so it was most likely true.
Especially since it was performed on the show, everyone knew that he was the composer and lyricist of this song.
If they were deceiving him, Cao Gong could easily investigate the matter.
So, it should be true, the National Museum really wanted to collect his song.