When Aiden first appeared on the stage, a loud cheer went up, with fans cheering him on. There were even a few from his fan group that were in the crowd, cheering him on.
The reporters were the only ones skeptical as Rachel and Aiden began their performance on 'Firefly'.
They were sitting at a separate stand where all the media personnel were.
As soon as it started, their faces went from mild shock to astonishment to thoroughly enjoying the performance.
Anyone with a little music knowledge would know that 'Firefly' was a hard song to perform live, but all doubts diminished due to the performance.
Both of their voices were great, the diction was as good as it could be, and the notes were touching the sky. The chorus was especially one that made people shocked with wide eyes.
It was clear that both of them had worked a lot on the song to sing it so well, especially Rachel, who seemed to be giving her all in the performance.
The reporters were not able to stop themselves from whispering.
"Hey, isn't that too good? They are performing it seamlessly. Who was the idiot who said that the song can't be performed live."
"You said that, idiot. Anyway, I think Rachel is gonna hit it big soon. She has actress looks, a great body and her voice is like an angel. Cyco media is stupid not to invest more in her."
"Yeah, I'm going to write an exclusive article on her as soon as the showcase ends. There's enough material with her obscurity after X-Star."
The event went on like that, and soon, 'Firefly' ended, and after a short break, Grey entered the stage to sing with Aiden. Before the song, the reporters were ready to compare it to their previous collaboration, 'Lonely,' but when they started, they realised that it was far better.
'Shiver' was a staple pop song with groovy music and lyrics that suited it, especially with the uniqueness of Grey's vocals and his energy with Aiden's pure voice that seemed to suit each type of song.
"Grey is going to rule the industry for five more years at least. He's the best in the pop scene."
"His last hit was also due to Aiden, and I think he could only do that with his help. Just look at him, this song is surely going to get millions of views."
"I would be surprised if it didn't."
Next was 'Day' which was going to be a solo of Aiden, and compared to the previous two songs, it started off pretty slow, being from a completely different genre and having a slow tempo initially.
But when it picked up, everyone felt a magical feeling.
There was a kind of mysticism in the song that easily touched the soul, with lyrics being one of the main features of the song. Aiden's fears as a celebrity were easily conveyed, and at this point, the reporters were convinced of one thing.
"This album is going to be a banger. A huge hit!"
"He's truly the next big deal in music. The rumours weren't exaggerated at all. With the Oscar nomination too, there's no doubt."
"Aiden Silvereye is going to rule the music industry for years to come!"
***
[You have gained a lot of experience.]
[You have advanced to Intermediate Grade 4 from Intermediate Grade 3 in your singing skill.]
[Your knowledge of singing has grown.]
[You have exceeded all your expectations. The skill 'Empathy' is becoming stronger.]
[A small gift has been given to you for your efforts. You have gotten the skill 'Lyric screen'. Now, you can check the lyrics of your song while singing.]
[Your level in instrumental skills has increased. You have gained a lot of experience.]
[More rewards would be given after the album release.]
Notifications blinded him as soon as all the performances in the showcase ended. It was to a point where Aiden nearly fell down due to them, but after getting a breathing space, he slowly read them all out.
When he saw that his skill level had improved, Aiden was obviously happy, but the thing that interested him was the 'Lyric screen'.
As all the skills from the system were something that helped him a lot, he was glad that he had gotten one more, and this seemed to be something small but significant as Aiden didn't want to forget his lyrics while on the stage.
The last notification screen also interested him as he wondered what he would get after his album would release at 12 AM, right after the end of the showcase.
'Let's check up on the skill.'
Aiden thought of the song 'Firefly' and a screen opened in front of him, similar to the ones on Melody. With that, he didn't have to worry about forgetting the lyrics of his song.
"Aiden, let's go. The press conference is beginning."
As he was checking up on the skills, Wade walked up to him backstage. The showcase also had a press conference where fans and reporters would be able to ask him questions.
Rachel and Grey would also join him.
"Coming."
Aiden said, deciding to think of his system later.
***
Now, as the reporters were sure that the album was a justified great one, they could no longer ask questions like 'The song is lacklustre. Do you think you rushed the album?'.
They could only ask questions related to the making of the album, Aiden's Oscar nomination and his acting career. At the same time, the reporters wanted to also focus on the controversies.
Just the first question they asked was about [Disconnected].
"I'm from Hollywood Weekly, and I want to ask about the recent controversy between Seth Douglas and Jesse Ross on the sets of [Disconnected]. As you worked on the project, what do you have to say about it? Did time on the set soured because of their fight?"
"I actually have nothing to say about that. I think that was already cleared a while back, and the time on the set was pretty good."
That was a basic answer, and Aiden refused to say anything else. In the first place, he wasn't going to restart the controversy as it could negatively affect [Disconnected].
Moreover, this was not a press conference related to the movie.
Thankfully, the next few questions were better.
"What do you think about your Oscars credentials?" A female reporter asked in a British accent, and Aiden took a while to answer it.
"I am trying not to think about it, actually. It's an honour to be nominated with another great artist, and I would be happy if I won. If I don't, I might try again next year."
After that, a burly reporter had a question with both Grey and Aiden.
"How did you two end up making 'Shiver'? How was the song idea produced?"
Grey was the one to reply first.
"Actually, Aiden called me about it, and I agreed quickly. A chance to work with him again wasn't something I was going to let go of. As for the production, it's better for Aiden to answer that."
Grey looked at Aiden, who smiled.
"Actually, I kept sending Grey a lot of samples, but he kept rejecting them. I got the main tune of 'Shiver' randomly, and thankfully, Grey liked it. It was a pretty hard process till then, but after I knew what sort of song we wanted to go with, it was very quick."
The reporter was satisfied with the answer, and they moved on to other questions. A lot of reporters from different publications asked tons of questions, and surprisingly, Rachel turned out to be bombarded with them alongside Aiden.
It was because reporters were interested to know how Rachel and Aiden ended up working together and how their relationship had changed since the reality show.
To that, Rachel had a simple reply.
"I actually never thought we would work together, and it just happened when he was looking for a female voice for 'Firefly'. I'm glad he isn't the type to hold grudges against people. Otherwise, we wouldn't have worked together."
She smiled as she hinted at Aiden's loss at X-Star to her.
After the press conference was over with the reporters, some of the fans were given a chance to ask questions from Aiden and others.
Compared to the reporters, the fans didn't hold back against asking any questions and just satisfied their curiosity.
One of those questions was from a female friend who looked too happy to ask a question from Aiden.
"Hello, can you tell me if you and Katie Brooks are actually dating or not? The media said that, but you have never given a statement on it."
Aiden also didn't hold back hearing that question.
"I never commented on it because we never dated. It's something that the media thought of themselves. Actually, I'm pretty sure they are going to link me up with other people, too, in the future. Maybe even Rachel." Aiden looked at her before continuing. "At this rate, I'm pretty sure I would be the last one to know who I'm in a relationship with."
His answer made everyone laugh, and a reporter who had already decided to write a link-up rumour about him and Rachel coughed to hide his embarrassment.
The media was infamous for making couples out of nowhere, and they couldn't even say anything against it.
The press conference went like that, and it ended up being a great showcase event.
As soon as it ended, the album was released, and coincidentally, the rain also ended then with the clouds opening up to reveal a bright morning.
