"The reactions of the listeners are pretty good today."
The Production Director said, glancing at the Station Manager and then looking at Aiden and Andrea talking with Hector inside the booth.
His eyes stopped at Aiden for a while longer.
"Yeah, it's mostly because of how diverse these two are in terms of their journey. Andrea got success quite quickly while Aiden had truly struggled, and his story of doing so well after getting eliminated from X-Star is pretty dramatic."
The Station Manager said, and one of the interns added.
"I think it's also because he's an actor and has pretty good stories to tell for himself. Most of the comments are about him too."
He glanced at the comments that people were leaving. Another person added.
"Yeah, a lot of fans of Andrea came, but as Aiden's story is more fascinating, he's easily stealing the show."
This was one of the risks in an interview which had more than one person. Even in talk shows, when there is more than one person invited, the most charismatic one would easily steal the show.
When people would talk about that particular episode, they would only talk about the guy who had more interesting stories, or they found themselves attracted to.
The same was happening at the same time.
'It's also because of their way of talking. Andrea is just saying everything like a robot as she had already talked about these things before in a lot of interviews. Aiden, on the other hand, is making answers on the spot. He has the fresh factor to him.'
The Production director thought, his eyes focusing on the question Hector was asking both of them.
"What do you think about fame? Do you feel bad that everyone recognises you and feel like it would be better if your face were not so famous?"
Hector asked. It was a very basic issue that a lot of celebrities would deal with. It was surely not easy when everyone on the street knew you and wouldn't leave you alone.
"I think it's just a product of my work." Andrea was the first to answer. "A lot of times, I don't like it. I even hate it as people could act out of line, and you don't get private moments, but that's just a part of being a celebrity."
A basic answer.
The Production Director thought in his mind. Her words were true, but a lot of celebs would say the same thing, so it won't create a big reaction with the listeners.
He turned his head to look at Aiden after that.
"What about you, Aiden? You hate it too?"
"Uh, actually, I don't hate it as I'm working very hard daily to get recognized." Aiden smiled and paused like he was thinking of words. "I always had a love for acting and then music. So, I naturally knew that if I actually did something in this field, my life would be for everyone to see. I'm not too comfortable about it, but I have tried to embrace it as much as I can."
Hearing his answer, Hector seemed to be impressed. When the Production Director looked at the comments streaming in, he found that most of them were talking about Aiden.
[Herpes free since 2003: I needed to listen to this show while driving my daughter to her school because she's a fan of Andrea Hales, but the guy with her is very interesting. His answers are very entertaining.]
[Vampiric British Queen: I feel like I'm becoming a fan of this guy. He really seems like he knows what he's talking about.]
[Cereal killer: I'm a big fan of Andrea, but damn, she's getting overshadowed. She should really think about being more eloquent in interviews.]
[Have sex: Feels nice to see Aiden here. Been a fan of his since [Black Saints]. Not a big fan of a lot of his music, but his interview is pretty good.]
[Thor - God of jokes: Finally, I'm seeing some talented people on this show. Weed-smoking rappers and twerking hip hop artists are good and all, but I really like more traditional artists.]
Seeing the comments, The Production Director thought that this episode would get good ratings no matter what now.
Like that, the show continued.
***
The interview part ended pretty quickly as it was only for 20 minutes. The whole show was going to be an hour long with 20 minutes on the interview and another 20 minutes taking questions from the listeners.
The rest of the 20 minutes was commercials and songs.
As everyone kept an eye on the proceedings, the next section of the show started.
[Hello, I'm a small-time musician in London. It's been more than ten years since I started this career, but it's going nowhere. I can barely pay my rent, and sometimes I don't even earn money in a month. My girlfriend gives me money, and she wants to marry me for a long time, and I want the same, but I'm nervous because my career is nowhere. She told me to give up on my dream and marry her, or she would leave. Do you two have any advice for me as to what I should do?]
As the man finished speaking, Hector looked at the two of them with a smirk on his face. This was a good question to start the section.
"What advice do you have?"
Aiden began thinking about his answer, but before he could say anything, Andrea had already opened her mouth.
"You must have a lot of experience if you have been working as a musician for so long. I think you should keep pushing as eventually you will get success. In this industry, one song is all that it takes to become famous. Try to use social media as a medium to spread your music. Just don't give up, and if your girlfriend really loves you, she will give you some more time."
There was a proud smile on Andrea's face as she gave out her answer.
But Aiden shook his head.
"While I do agree that one song could be your way to success in this industry, I also think that you should look at the problem more practically. Tell me one thing, you must be in your 30s already, right? And your girlfriend is the same age as you?"
[Ah, yes. We are the same age, actually.]
The man's voice came out, and Aiden nodded.
"Then, try to think from your girlfriend's perspective. I'm pretty sure she thinks that she doesn't have a lot of time left and is at the phase of her life where she wants to settle down. If you really followed Andrea's advice here, your relationship might be at stake. Think about what is more important for you, and I'm not saying to give up on music. You can get a job and try to settle down while keeping music on the side. It would be hard, but you would be able to both get married and keep music."
After saying that, Aiden looked at Hector, who nodded in agreement with his advice. Only Andrea looked to be a bit annoyed as clearly, Aiden had clearly overshadowed her this time.
She was just a teenager and was too eager to make an impression, so she gave out a rushed answer, considering a lot of things.
[Thanks for your advice, man. I will think about it hard and get to a decision.]
The man said, and the call cut. Hector checked the comments appearing on screen and smiled in delight. Most of them were positive.
"Okay, let's get to the next caller. Today's episode is just becoming more and more interesting."
***
"Okay, this is mostly done now! A lot of people tuned in today. Seems like it's going to be a good day as the morning went so well."
The Music director that was assigning the songs that were going to play next muttered, glancing at the clock on the wall.
Only 5 more minutes were left of the interview.
"Yeah, we got lucky that we called two very different singers. That helped make the episode turn out this good because of the difference in answers."
The Production Director said. He didn't care if one of the guests completely dominated the show or the other lost out. He only cared about the ratings and listeners' reviews.
As they were talking like that, the door suddenly opened, and a staff member came out, panting.
It seemed like he had run all the way to here. There was a worried expression on his face as he walked toward the Production Director.
"What happened?"
"Justin Frank… his van had been in an accident."
"What?"
Everyone in the room looked at the staff member, hoping that he was joking, but his expression was as serious as it could get. Feeling stares on his body, he quickly explained what had transpired.
"He was coming to the radio station, but his van got in a small accident on the way as another car slammed into them. It seems like it was a case of a break fail. It should be on the news soon."
"How is Justin?"
One of the interns who was a big fan of his asked.
"He's fine, but his manager is injured. He refused to come to the radio station and went to the hospital as they are very close. His record label just informed us."
The Production Director's eyes widened with worry hearing that. It was a very critical situation, and it was a good thing Justin Frank was good.
But the radio channel was seriously in a lot of trouble.
'Fuck. What are we going to do about the next program then? We promoted it too much already.'
The Production Director thought, rubbing his forehead.
...
