Rise To Stardom - Chapter 219

Chapter 219: Ball of Light
🎸 🎶

Hey there again…

Hey there again, my dear…

No sooner had Kyle sang that part, the cameras which were positioned on him, shifted to Ella and the rest of the individuals, waving excitedly as they all rushed past in a blitz of sprints.

Quickly, they soon formed a wide, circular queue around Kyle as the cameras panned back towards him smiling as he kept singing;

I saw the sun…

It reminded me of you…

Of how you burn so bright…

And how this is your… time…

A remodeled version of his hit song.

Kyle slowly stood up as he continued singing, the crowd around him gradually closing in to form a narrow path towards the stage as the melody of the song, effortlessly linked to another song of his;

To step out on the verge…!

No sooner had the young star belted that singular verse from [On The Verge], the graduation song, he rushed through the crowd to reach the stage while high-fiving everyone as feverish screams erupted!

Standing atop the stage with an excited grin as the audience, cheered with unbridled enthusiasm, Kyle, matched their energy with a backflip while chorusing alongside them as the pyrotechnics shot fireworks into the skies;

Out on the verge for the rest of our dreams tonight!

Top of the world and there’s no stopping us this time!

Edge of the earth and the sky’s just the starting line!

Out on the verge of the rest of our lives…!

With another high note belted out from his lungs, Kyle engaged with the crowd whom had now fully surrounded the expansive stage as he spoke directly;

“Whoever you are, wherever you are, remember, you’re in charge of your own destiny and we’re in this together!”

To that, the crowd cheered even louder as the young man, swiftly removed his long coat to reveal a red, form-fitting tailcoat, tailor made to suit him!

Flinging his original navy-blue long coat aside, the screaming audience, watched as a black top hat and a showman cane was flung in Kyle’s direction from somewhere in the crowd!

Catching it effortlessly with the smoothest movements, Kyle flicked the hat onto his head, spun gracefully in five rotations and in a swift, practiced motion, set the cane down in a stylish sequence, everything happening in no less than a few seconds!

Males and females of all ages, screamed in palpable fervor, their ardor and intensity completely off the charts!

Almost instantaneously, a bunch of people from the audience, dressed in circus-like attires, climbed onto the stage!

With an effortless moonwalk backwards, Kyle took his rightful position at their very center, another wave of screams cascading over the stadium.

And then, the beat for [Light A Fire] dropped as the young star’s powerful voice, alongside the backup performers, took charge in an instant;

Come one, come all,

Don’t miss, your chance!

(To anyone who’s a dreamer…)

Come one, come all,

Heed now, the call!

(To anyone who’s searching for a way to take charge…)

Take charge…!

Take charge…!

Making the stage his world and effortlessly owning it with the high-octane choreography and dance numbers that came after, the unbridled cheers of exhilaration from the crowd were a sight to behold as they joined for the uplifting chorus!

And the world becomes our center stage,

And we’re more than we could ever be,

‘Cause we’re finally living for ourselves!

And we know we can’t go back again,

To the husk that we were breathing in,

‘Cause we’re finally living how we should!

‘Cause we’re finally living how we should!

🪄 🎹 🥁 🎶 🎼 🎶 🎸 🪄

And with outspread arms, Kyle finalized the last verse of the chorus with an unexpected twist as he gestured to his right;

“So light a fire… for Anthony Mars everybody!!!”

Instantly, a funky beat dropped as the pyrotechnics lit up the stage in another blaze of fiery fireworks!

🎸 🎵 🥁 🎶 🎤

Do! Do do do, do do do, do do do!

Do do do, do do do, do do do!

In an instant, the audience had their attention grasped as the familiar tune, slammed into their ears.

Mars and his crew of dancers, dressed in black leather clothing from top to bottom, stylishly shuffled onto the stage like gangstas while singing;

This beat’s electric, you feel it in your soul!

Got the kind of vibe that’ll make you lose control!

Struttin’ down, the avenue, lookin’ fresh n’ clean!

Mirror-ball reflections, we’re on the disco scene!

Another wave of absolute bonkers excitement ensued as the crowd engaged with the song alongside an eclectic Mars who wanted to ensure he matched Kyle’s energy;

I’m too cool (Ice cold!),

Ain’t no stopping me when I’m in the flow!

I’m too cool (Ice cold!),

Tonight’s the night, ain’t nothin’ to lose!

I’m too cool (Ice cold!),

Say my name, c’mon bring the heat!

Just as the crowd was ready to engage one more time, another burst of fireworks grabbed their attention on the left side of the stage, another pop tune high-jacking the stage!

With sass in her voice as she sashayed forward from within the choreographed formation of her girls, Aiko’s sing-talk voice cascaded from the mic;

🥁 🎶 🎸 ♪ 🥁 🎤

Oh you feel it yeah, I own this vibration,

Step into my reign, I call it domination!

Y’all know my name when I walk in da zone,

Aura speaks for itself and I don’t need no throne!

The crowd went wild as Aiko taunted Mars from afar with a gesture of her fingers as practiced during their choreography!

A direct challenge to the slick musician whom the cameras cut to, Mars brushed her off his shoulders while replying in kind and hyping up his gangsta boys;

Fellas! Let’s get this stadium grooving’!

Marilyn, without letting up, continued with an effortless air of a queen as she and her girls sassed forward onto the stage;

Ladies, let’s get up to dominatin’!

Mars countered instantly as the males in the crowd roared;

Say my name, c’mon bring the heat!

Aiko pushed back with a louder cheer from the females in the audience;

Say my name, you know who I am!

Mars fought back as his fellas hyped him up;

I’m too cool (Ice cold!)

Marilyn pushed harder with her girls;

I’m too hot (Hot damn!)

Still, going along with their practiced choreography, one that would then lead to both parties calling a truce with the chorus and Kyle taking center stage again, things unfortunately went south.

Having never stopped their dance numbers even during their sudden battle, a still anxious Marilyn whose anxiety deluded her into believing she wasn’t hyping up the crowd enough when compared to Mars and especially Kyle, slipped up mid-choreography.

Literally.

Marilyn was falling, the panic in her eyes evident.

But to most people, it felt like part of the dance choreography, one even her fellow backup dancers didn’t notice.

Yet, amidst all the roaring screams, euphoria and excited cheers from the crowd, Mars noticed, albeit a second too late.

The one person who wasn’t late though was Kyle, his steps swift as he reappeared on stage!

Gently, he grabbed Marilyn mid-fall by the waist and stylishly spun her back to the middle of the dance formation, everything happening within the span of literal seconds!

The unaware crowd on the other hand, roared at the top of their lungs like there was no tomorrow with Kyle’s smooth reappearance, genuinely believing it was part of the choreography.

Now that the currently dazed lady was in between Mars and him though, Kyle effortlessly buried her mistake by singing the first verse to the pre-chorus that both parties were was supposed to sing;

‘Cause downtown groove gon’ give it to ya!

Equal parts shocked yet amazed by how slick Kyle had pulled up that split second save, Mars effortlessly followed up;

‘Downtown groove gon’ give it to ya!

Kyle added an improvised verse in continuation, one even Mars as the song’s writer thought was undeniably cool as he subtly winked in Marilyn’s direction;

Super Bowl and we in the spot!

Evidently brought back to earth by Kyle’s wink and his smooth switch-up of the lyrics, Marilyn’s confidence surged as she completed the pre-chorus along with the guys;

Don’t believe us, just watch! C’mon!

And then, with another dance number that involved all the backup dancers, the trio led the charge as they chorused with the crowd!

Downtown, with the groove!

Downtown, with the groove!

Downtown, in da hood!

Groovin’, in da hood!

And with that, the trio of artists, kept vibing in shared excitement as the crowd completely took the song from them.

But the performance wasn’t over as Kyle, soon jogged over to the piano on-stage, Mars and Marilyn, following closely behind to sit beside him on the wide stool.

And with a medley, the funky tune of [Downtown Groove], switched up into the tune of his award-winning song, his fingers playing the notes as he sung alongside the duo who underpinned the chorus;

Who… am I? (You… are…)

Who… am I? (You… are…)

A band of uniformly and well-dressed fieldmen, marched onto the stage in a unified formation from underground the stadium as they beat their drums in unified sync, chorusing alongside the trio of artists;

Who… am I? (You… are…)

Who… am I? (You… are…)

Then the massive LED screens in the stadium lit up, everyone’s attention drawn to it as it began to air a muted compilation of all the best Super Bowl performances over the years.

It was a Hall of Fame moment for the audience who felt a sense of passion, amazement and joy, evoked from within their very souls;

Who… am I? (You… are…)

Who… am I? (You… are…)

And soon, it finished playing as the feed cut back to a live transition of Kyle, Mars and Marilyn, currently singing in harmony as Kyle kept playing the tune on the piano.

Now, they were a part of those amazing performances, their footprints, forever etched into Super Bowl Halftime Show’s Hall of Fame.

Repeating the chorus a few more times, the crowd and fieldmen, just as they had choreographed, joined in to finalize their performance, their voices merging together in a beautiful, powerful and passionate medley of vocals;

Time, ebbs…

So we move on along,

Time, flows…

So we brave forth the tides,

Time, goes…

So we pave on our path.

🎹 ♪ 🎶 🎤

With that, confetti were fired into the air, all of it raining down upon the exhilarated crowd and entertained audience who simply kept cheering at the top of their lungs in a wave of euphoric ardor.

This was probably one of the best Super Bowl performances they had ever witnessed in years and they knew it.

In addition, the trio of artists, soon walked up to the middle of the stage, arms interlocked atop their shoulders as they simultaneously gave a bow, one that only served to earn them more cheers, claps and whistles of appreciation from everyone whom had watched them perform.

But for the duo who originally had their reservations about such a young man headlining the Halftime performance, Owen smirked as he questioned;

“So…”

“Still think my talent’s, not worthy?” Oliver finished up the question rhetorically with a proud gloat, stunning Owen who never expected that from him.

In response, Bart and Alejandro, turned their gazes sideways first with a widened gaze of realization and then, back to the stage as Kyle and his fellow artists on stage kept waving to everyone.

Realizing they were unable to utter a single word, especially with their still dazed expression mirroring just how shell-shocked they were by both his declaration and the amazing performance they had witnessed, Oliver doubled down with a smug smile;

“Yeah. Thought so.”

To that, Owen laughed in amusement, especially since it was his first time witnessing a petty Oliver.

As of the moment though, Marilyn, having had her fill of waving to the crowd, angled her gaze over to Kyle whom was still basking in the showers of confetti, cheers, applauds and whistles.

Now back in the middle of their formation, the spot that rightfully belonged to him as the Headliner for the Super Bowl, Marilyn smiled with the warmest of expressions.

With all of her jealousy and anxiousness towards him completely dissipating due to her appreciation of his effortless save, one that kept her from embarassing herself in front of such a massive audience, the lady kept staring at his side frame.

And for the first time, she truly saw why he was such a breath of fresh air and equally, a force to be reckoned with.

Whereas most musicians like her seemed to have forgotten their initial reasons for wanting to be a musician, even getting lost in the fame and fortune, Kyle held his own convictions tightly and wore it on full-display.

A beautiful ball of light, stood beside her, radiantly grinning from ear to ear with an endless well of passion and genuine appreciation as the confetti kept falling across his visage.

‘He’s looks… so grateful… so privileged to be here…’ Marilyn surmised, her almond irises gleaming in respect.

On an impulse, she ended up calling out to him amidst all the noise;

“Kyle!”

“Yes Ms. Aiko?” he respectfully responded as she corrected with a warm smile;

“Marilyn’s fine. Call me Marilyn.”

Kyle pursed his lips for a few seconds.

And then he spoke with a thin smile, his head nodding briefly in understanding;

“Alright…”

“Diva Marilyn.” he joked, his smile blooming mischievously as he playfully hinted that he pretty much figured what she had originally been up to the first day they met on the field.

Marilyn boisterously laughed at that as she commented;

“Well, I am a diva so yeah, I appreciate the compliment. And I must admit, I am quite the jealous, envious little witch half the time.”

It was Kyle’s turn to laugh this time.

“Also, thank you, for saving me.” Marilyn added genuinely, her expression full of gratitude.

“Don’t mention it.” Kyle warmly smiled in response, his tone honest.

And with that, the Super Bowl Halftime performance was over.

…

…

…

No sooner had the field been cleared off of everyone though and restored back to its pristine state for the second half, the massive LED screens lit up, showing the second teaser for [Fables & Legends].

Ella and her family, having had the time of their lives with the Halftime performance, were now in the VIP section, all full of smiles.

They too, just like the audience, had a wave of unbridled excitement wash over them as they realized that Martin O’ Ronan’s epic was going to be adapted to the big screen in a live action adaptation.

By Atlas International, nonetheless.

If that wasn’t a mark of success, then they didn’t know what else was.

No sooner had the teaser ended though, another video on the screen played almost immediately.

And when Ella saw the first face on the screen, she widened her eyes in genuine curiosity, a hint of confusion in them, same as her older brothers and almost everyone else in the stadium.

It was Kyle in a well-furnished and brightly-lit office, sleep bags under his eyes as he kept hitting the keys of a typewriter with a focused gaze.