Rise To Stardom - Chapter 198

Chapter 198: Showcase
Skepticism was a frequent thing in Hollywood.

And no, it wasn’t because the music industry was… toxic… for the most part.

Rather, it was also because it was inherently ingrained in the human nature to doubt and deny things that seemed, way too good to be true.

And for Kyle, an independent artist whom was the singer, songwriter, composer and producer of his very own, top 10 billboard charting songs…

… songs that had made album sales in just two days that had evidently put even more popular and well-known artists backed by the biggest record labels to shame, the skepticism was heightened.

As a result, the moment he and his session musicians, took the stage to perform [Back to The Start], reporters, journalists, music critics and paparazzi in the room, looked forward to his showcase being a dud while his fans, looked forward to his performance with heightened expectations.

However, when the atmospheric rock tune of his Lead Single finally graced their ears, and his vocals followed…

They knew.

They all, instinctively knew…

Kyle Kestis’ voice, sounded, so much better in person!

That was all it took for all the doubts to be instantly washed away from the media professionals and all the unrealistic expectations, to be met without fail for the fans!

And no.

It didn’t stop there.

[Hazy Night].

[Electrified].

[Light A Fire].

[On The Verge].

[Daybreak].

[Cages or Wings]…

All of it, for some odd reason or the other the audience in the auditorium couldn’t quite place their finger on, sounded so much better live.

However, for Kyle whom had essentially maxed out [Resonance] whose silky threads were now completely platinum, he had noticed something completely different and new.

The platinum threads, instead of extending over to everyone in the auditorium as it simply should’ve, seeked his fellow musicians and session musicians as they performed instead, and then, glowed with a noticeably shiny hue only he could see before it then extended over to every other person in the auditorium.

As a result, what should’ve simply being a showcase, ended up evolving into something almost akin to a live concert!

And by the time Kyle was done performing his older songs, the showcase ended as the entire auditorium, gave him a standing ovation like there was no tomorrow.

-Ding!

Thanking everyone with a respectful bow, Kyle then walked off the stage alongside his session musicians as the rest of the audience in the room were ushered out to a different hall in the same building.

It was time for a press conference.

…

…

…

Seated onstage on a long yet comfy couch alongside Ryan, Joe, Steven, Carl, Jasmine and Tyler, the album poster for Kaleidoscopes framing the background behind them, the occasional burst of camera shots, flashed in Kyle’s face as the hired host, tried to maintain order in the room.

The atmosphere was practically buzzing with excitement as other reporters, journalists, paparazzi and exuberant fans, couldn’t help but hope they’d be given the chance to ask their burning questions about Kyle’s album.

No sooner had the host gestured to one of the reporters to ask her question though, she professionally composed herself and then asked, her British accent, strong;

“Kyle. In the music video for [Back to the Start], how on earth did you manage to sync your lips with the lyrics if you were shootin’ the whole thing in reverse? Did you, perhaps—and I might be overthinkin’ it here—learn the lyrics in reverse as well? And, also, what were your inspirations for the song?”

“Sneaking three questions into one, eh? Sly… but brilliant, nonetheless.” Kyle charmingly grinned at the reporter who chuckled a bit alongside everyone in the press room, same as his other artists on stage who did the same.

Allowing the sea of chuckles to die down a bit, Kyle pursed his lips for a few seconds before he then answered;

“Well, to start with your last question, I’d say I’d first like to give my biggest thanks to a lovely old married couple I ran into at the park last year, Bennie and Megan Lock…”

Reporters, journalists and fans alike widened their eyes at that, evidently surprised that a celebrity actually bothered to remember the names of a random group of people he met… last year, nonetheless.

But without even noticing, Kyle continued;

“They shared their well of stories with me about their married lives and from it, I felt the love, devotion, admiration and most especially, the beautiful companionship they had despite all the many trials they had to overcome.”

“So I wrote a song about it ’cause I felt the need to want to share those feelings with the world as well.” Kyle smiled warmly, after which he then answered the second question casually;

“And yeah. I did learn the song in reverse.”

“Wait you did?!” Jasmine mildly exclaimed in surprise as she popped her body forward from the couch!

The same could be said for his buddies including Carl and Tyler, all of whom had a mix of surprised yet intrigued gazes angled at him, same as a lot of the audience in the room.

“Yeah.” Kyle chuckled a bit in response after which he then added casually with a gestured finger;

“In fact, I can still remember the chorus in reverse. It goes; ♪…etad rehtona rof erac, neht uoy deksa I wonk uoy♪.”

And like that, Kyle sang the complete chorus of [Back to The Start] in reverse with even the right phonetics and inflection, it was so obvious to everyone that it really was the truth, much to the shock of everyone at the conference!

But considering Kyle himself wasn’t done answering the reporter’s questions, he then spoke;

“As for your first question, well that’s on the technical side of things as Maria Dominique, a talented music video director and Christina Aubert, a really close friend of mine and a fantastic screenwriter, actually pitched the idea.”

“So essentially, the video was shot normally, with me and Christina sitting at the bench being the actual, first scene of the video, till I eventually got up and walked down the beach while singing in reverse as the cameras followed.” Kyle explained as best he could in conclusion.

This earned him a resounding round of applause from everyone in the room, silent yet awestruck ‘wows’, filling up every corner of the room.

“He’s a force of nature.” Jasmine soon audibly muttered mid-clap, a noticeable hint of confused awe in her honey-colored irises, one that only served to get everyone at the conference laughing.

Having enjoyed how Kyle had respectfully yet engagingly responded to the lady reporter whom had asked her question, more reporters and journalists in the room were motivated even further to get their burning questions answered.

“My question, goes to ‘Five Fusion’. How exactly did you guys come up with the idea for [Electrified] and its music video?” an amateur, independent, peppy-looking female journalist who was noticeably excited to be called upon by the host to ask her question, excitedly asked.

“Ah, yes~. Five Fusion. The coolest, part-time boy band of all time.” Carl stated jokingly, earning a good laugh from Kyle and the rest of the guys, same for everyone in the conference hall who thought there was more to the story.

And there actually was because Steven, soon began the narration a few seconds later with his lower arm gestured in Kyle’s direction;

“Well, it starts with a weird e-mail from the man of the hour himself.”

To that, Ryan whom had whipped out his smartphone and located said e-mail which he had purposely starred for a moment like this, read out loud while smiling mischievously;

“Alright, hear me out, Ryan—what if we, and the guys, formed a part-time boy band? Just for one song. I wrote a banger last night (I think), and it SCREAMS, Kyle Kestis can’t do this on his own! You in? Please, be in. Also, don’t make me beg… I’ve already picked out matching leather jackets and a band name. What do you think, about… drumroll please… Five Fusion!”

“I got the same mail too!” Joe, Carl and Steven burst out into laughter the moment Ryan was done reading while Kyle, scratched the back of his head in slight diffidence, a tinge of red on his cheeks.

All this, only served to get the audience laughing even more as the guys soon reeled in their camaraderie and then explained more about the technical side of things.

Soon, they were done with that and the next question was asked, this time from a music critic whom was also a big fan of Kyle’s music and a journalist for a well-known Hollywood magazine;

“The music video for, [Light A Fire], is one of the most beautiful pieces of media I’ve seen in years and the dance numbers and trapeze stunts especially… wow… just wow!”

To that, everyone in the hall chuckled a bit as they could see the child in the journalist, struggling to do his job as he soon inhaled, reeled in excitement and then asked his actual question, professionally this time;

“I just have to ask, how exactly did you, Jasmine and Tyler, make it feel so alive and empowering? Did you all train extensively for the stunts and dance numbers?”

“The trapeze stunts eh? Oh boy.” Jasmine stated nervously as she gently rubbed her sweaty palms on her laps when she was reminded about the height difference of the circus’s trapeze rig.

To that, another round of chuckles filled up the room as everyone noticed another nugget of story, hidden behind her simple comment.

Seeing that Kyle and Tyler were essentially waiting for her to go on, Jasmine then spoke while gesticulating confidently;

“So you know that moment when you think you’re a cool gymnast and you’re capable of any kind of stunt on a trapeze rig ’cause you’ve been doing it all your life?”

To that rhetorical question, a small ripple of intrigued chuckles spread across the room as the lady continued;

“Well, that’s until you actually get to the site and realize; ‘Wow, this is higher than I expected!'”

A wave of laughter cascaded over the hall as Jasmine stated with a comedic deadpan, even her fellow artists, despite being on site when it happened, couldn’t help but laugh again.

“You might find it funny but honestly, and visually, a 15 to 20ft height difference is a lot to get over. But Sapphire here–– that’s my nickname for him…”

Another round of chuckles cascaded over the room at the lady’s clarification as she continued;

“Anyway, Sapphire here, walks up to me while I’m in the cherry picker, looks me in the eyes from below and then says; ‘Jasmine, you’re a badass!’ ”

“And in response, I suddenly felt on top of the world for being honestly complimented and motivated by him, I ended up replying confidently; ‘Take me up!’ ” the lady concluded her story with a gestured finger, another round of laughter erupting from the audience.

Soon the laughter died down and Tyler then explained his own challenges with making the music video;

“Well, I don’t know if you guys watched [Level Up 2] but Kyle’s energy’s very hard to match. Really, it was so hard keeping up with him during choreography sessions, you often wonder if he’s even human.”

“Still, you just can’t help but get inspired because you can see the passion in his every move, especially since the song itself is empowering, just like you said.” Tyler gestured in the journalist’s direction while Kyle smiled in genuine appreciation before he then gave his own comment;

“Honestly, I actually wanted to make a dance music…”

“…but I wanted to make mine different from the norm… add something really meaningful that’d stick with the audience, long after the song was over.”

A bunch of reporters and journalists, quickly jot down notes as Kyle continued;

“And luckily, the inspiration for it, came from a funny theatre skit I watched while I was trying to come up with ideas for it. That was how [Light A Fire] was made.”

Having concluded on that note, another round of genuine applauds filled up the hall.

Like that, more and more questions were asked, this time, mostly from fans;

“Are you perchance, dating Christina Aubert? There are rumors online that you actually are, some even stating that you’ve been dating her in secret for a while now?”

“Seriously, how am I always the last one to know when I’m dating someone in Hollywood?” Kyle had a gaze of playful exasperation on his features as he added with a curious squint eyebrow;

“Are you sure someone out there isn’t writing a fanfic about me and passing it off as the real thing?”

A hearty burst of laughter came from his fans and everyone else alike in the room at his witty response.

“But no, Christina and I, aren’t dating. We are, really close friends though. I hope that clarifies things.” he gave a genuine response this time and with that, came nods of understanding from most in the room.

And eventually, after a while, as more and more questions were asked, the press conference, was finally nearing its end.

“So, Kyle, now that Kaleidoscopes’ been predicted to be a resounding success and actors in Hollywood are unfortunately, going on a long break, what are your plans for the future? A tour in sight anytime soon?”

This was the last question of the day.

One that came from a male reporter who had a curious expression on his sharp features.

“Well, I’m not the type to rush things but, yeah… a tour’s, definitely in the works.” Kyle smiled confidently in response, earning noticeable murmurs of excitements from many in the press conference, his fans especially.

“As for my other plans… well, that’s a secret.” he grinned mysteriously at everyone in the room, one that genuinely had them all excited and intrigued despite having next to idea of what the young star was up to.

Before they could even plead, press or ask of Kyle to let them in on his plans for the future with just a little info, the host, quickly took charge and ended the press conference.

And just like that, Kyle left so many curious individuals on a nasty cliffhanger… a cliffhanger that would make many authors around the world, proud.

That said, with [Tech Wiz]’s video game showcase set for Game’s Con next month, Kyle, the CEO of said studio behind the game, was well and truly, keeping a massive secret from the entertainment world.

But for now, he would be taking things slow, along with a much needed breather… at least until the month of May came along.