Rise To Stardom - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Gratitude
(One week later…)

“And that’s a wrap everyone!”

Signaling to her crew after they had just finished shooting the first music video, Maria then walked up to Kyle and Christina.

“Well, that’s one half done. I’ll see you at the bar at 5:30pm for the second Kyle.” she shook his hands firmly to which Kyle nodded affirmatively in response.

“No problem.”

Turning over to Christina this time, similarly using sign-language too, Maria spoke again.

<Let’s have a nice discussion tomorrow at the Cream-Top Restaurant.> she smiled, to which the young lady replied gratefully.

<Sure. I’ll be there Mrs. Dominic.>

Done with that, Maria then made her way into her van with the rest of the small filming crew while Kyle and Christina casually began to stroll across the street to meet up with Oliver who was seated at nearby bench there.

<Told you it would be fun.> Kyle smiled as he signed.

<That you did.> Christina chuckled, her currently straightened blonde-hair gently blowing in the early afternoon wind.

She had been required to have a small make-over for the music video so now, her prettiest features really stood out, making her look much more attractive than usual.

<So, are you planning to keep using contacts?> Kyle asked.

<No. They’re not as bad as I was expecting but, I much prefer my glasses.> she responded.

<Well then, welcome to the club.> Kyle signed, his fingers slightly pushing up his glasses with a proud expression just after.

Giggling at his small gesture, both soon met up with Oliver and finally, after a few seconds of formalities, all three moved over to a nearby restaurant with Oliver and Christina finally discussing and coming to an agreement over the contract and royalties for her music video script.

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<Bye. I’ll text you later.> Christina signed, a light smile on her lips.

<Sure. I look forward to it.> the young man responded in kind with a warm smile.

Having done that, Christina gently closed the door to her apartment and Kyle turned around to take his leave.

Exiting the building, he got back into the driver’s seat of Oliver’s Porsche.

“Quite the gentleman, aren’t you?” Oliver arched an eyebrow, his tone light-hearted.

“Yeah, well, I guess some of us just like being chivalrous.” Kyle replied with a thin smile, one that earned a small grin from Oliver.

“You know, I still find it quite amazing how you completed your driving lessons in less than a week.” the agent couldn’t help but add as he watched Kyle effortlessly start the car and pull out of the driveway with such finesse and familiarity.

Chuckling a bit, not really responding to his words this time, Kyle simply shrugged as he began to make his way over to the bar they had rented out for the second shoot of the music video.

‘If only you knew Oliver. If only…’ the young man inwardly commented.

“Well, your excellent driving skills aside, DiscoTune wants to push all your songs into the Indie Sensations playlist after seeing how well they performed.” Oliver said, his eyes back to scanning through a series of e-mails on his phone.

“That’s nice” Kyle simply replied, his eyes on the road.

“Also, regarding [No Clue], they’ll be releasing it on the Buzzing 100 chart. Maria and her crew should’ve also had enough time to edit and finish up the music video before then”

“That way, we’ll have both the song and video release simultaneously on GrooveBox and ViewTube.” Oliver concluded.

“Yeah. I’ll also post about it on my MediaGram and TweetTalk handl-” Kyle paused, halting his sentence mid-way.

This caused Oliver to glance over to him, wondering what the cause was.

However, hearing Kyle’s next words, an amused expression graced the suave man’s face.

“I can’t believe I said that so naturally…” the young man remarked, a slight expression of worry on his features.

Inwardly chuckling, Oliver just continued scrolling through his messages without saying a thing, a relaxing ambience settling between them.

Never had he seen someone who tried to stay off social media apps like the plague in this day and age like Kyle.

Regardless of that though, Kyle himself knew that self-promotion was necessary for an indie musician like him who had no big backing or support.

And so, keeping that in mind, he was gradually learning how to set aside his habit of constantly staying offline if it meant that he’d be able to promote his songs.

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A few minutes later, both arrived at the bar they were going to be shooting the music video and quickly, they made their way inside, Kyle picking up his outfit from the hanger backseat.

No sooner had they entered, the young man quickly went to the storage room to change into said outfit while Oliver moved over to the corner of the room where Maria and some of the crew were.

The bar they had chosen for the music video was well-furnished and visually striking despite being empty.

Dimly lit, it exuded a moody ambiance as the pendant lights casted a warm glow over the furnished red couches, rich wooden bar and plush leather stools.

There were also a bunch of old vintage posters and artwork that adorned the exposed brick walls, further complimenting the intimate atmosphere.

The stage, also the centerpiece of the bar, was a circular yet intricately designed wooden stage that was strategically placed in the middle of the bar, everything else revolving around it.

On the stage itself, there was a standing mic that had already been prepped for use by the crew, with the audio team already having all their equipment at the ready.

Cameras had already been set-up and strategically positioned in well-placed angles to capture Kyle’s performance against the backdrop of the empty yet tastefully decorated bar.

All that was left, was for Kyle himself to take the stage.

And so, as the crew waited for him to come up on stage, some of them began to have a hushed conversation between themselves.

They hadn’t been at the first site of shooting today and had mostly spent the day setting up the cameras in the bar.

“Do you guys think his actual singing is really any good?” one of them, a lady in her mid-thirties said.

“Honestly, these types of young musicians just use auto-tune to make their songs sound good. I’m pretty sure his voice won’t even sound half as good as the actual song.” another, a man in his late fifties silently scoffed as he said.

Considering this wasn’t his first time shooting a music video for an aspiring musician, he had seen his fair share of their live performances so, to a certain extent, he felt his views were justified.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” another member of the crew, a young man in his mid-twenties gave his own thoughts on the matter.

All of them had actually listened to the song beforehand and they really thought it was great.

But because none of them had actually seen Kyle before or heard his songs for that matter, they genuinely believed that his voice would not even come remotely close to the beautiful vocals in the recorded song they had listened to.

Just as they were waiting, all three along with Maria, Oliver and the rest of the crew, watched as Kyle, now dressed in a well-tailored, slim-fitted, three-piece white suit that he had rented, made his way onto the stage.

He had ditched his glasses this time and had now switched over to contacts just for the shooting.

A bit mesmerized by his stunning appearance, the same lady who had her doubts about his singing remarked;

“Well I guess his good looks will sell the music video at least…”

“Yeah. Probably really all he has going for him.” the elderly man also commented.

Even though Kyle was still going to be performing live, when the crew finally got around to editing the video, they would overlay the actual pre-recorded song onto the video.

The live singing itself was only being done to ensure that it didn’t feel like Kyle was just lip-syncing.

In fact, Kyle himself had been the one to convince Maria about doing an actual live-singing instead of lip-syncing.

Now onstage, the lights warmly cascading over him, the young man motioned to Maria with a thumbs up and quickly, she signaled to the members of her crew to start the instrumentals of the song.

Instantaneously, a gentle acoustic tune, along with soft drum percussions and the melodic sound of a piano mingling together in a harmonious manner, played out of the speakers.

Following that, Kyle waited for a few seconds before he then started the first verse of the song, thin silky threads extending out of his body to touch everyone present in the bar.

🎸 🎶 🥁 🎹 ♪ 🎤

It’s unfair, the way you blitzed into my world,

Like a heaven-sent angel, you touched my soul,

Your heart so beautiful, I hoped it’d be mine,

But the truth is…

🎸 🎶 🥁 🎹 ♪ 🎤

She has no clue, not a single clue,

That I’m even here…

🎸 🎶 🥁 🎹 ♪ 🎤

Hearing the soulful first verse and pre-chorus that was sang with so much passion imbued into them, all three crew members whom had been very skeptical about Kyle’s real vocals instantly widened their eyes in genuine surprise.

But before any thoughts could even settle in their heads though, the arrangement of the music swelled into a climatic crescendo as Kyle’s previously gentle voice became a slightly more powerful as he sang the chorus.

🎸 🎶 🥁 🎹 🎶 🎤

And I’ve been here for so long,

Gazing as she searches for the one,

Wish I could tell you I was,

Yet a smile’s all I can muster…

🎸 🎶 🥁 🎹 🎶 🎤

Listening to the chorus, further made powerful by addition of the electric guitar to the already catchy yet intimate tune, the crew members were at a loss for words to say.

They hadn’t expected Kyle to have an almost similar vocal range as the recording they had heard.

Although it wasn’t the exact same as the recorded song since he was currently performing it live, his beautiful vocals came so darn close to it, making it almost indistinguishable from the recorded song.

And just like that, as the strings of [Resonance] touched everyone’s heart, further allowing them to resonate with the soulfulness of the song, Kyle just kept performing while Oliver stared on, genuinely impressed by how Kyle seemed to be getting better and better with every blessed performance.

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Opening the door to his apartment, Kyle tiredly dragged himself over to his bed.

Today had been hectic.

Hectic but fun.

Shooting both music videos today had been a very rewarding experience, both literally and figuratively, especially judging by the constant notification beeps in his head all day.

Opening up his system, Kyle viewed all the messages with a fatigued gaze.

| You have sung and acted in two music videos! |

| Huge bonus will be applied! |

| You have obtained a huge amount of exp. points! |

| 2500 exp. points have been awarded! |

| Total exp. points available (7750) |

| [Resonance] has increased from Grade D to Grade C! |

| New high-grade active skill [Scene Stealer] has been awarded! |

| Singing has advanced from level 9 to level 10! |

| Composing has advanced from level 9 to level 10! |

| Advancement in singing and composing will become so much harder from here on out! |

| Keep singing, composing and acting to improve your skills! |

Seeing all the notifications, a tired yet happy grin hung over Kyle’s attractive visage as he slumped onto the bed, his mind at peace.

It had taken him roughly a month and a half to bring [No Clue] up from 60% all the way to 89%, a feat he was really proud of.

That was why he wasn’t too surprised to see both his composing and singing skills going up by another level too.

As for the new skill, Kyle decided he’d check it out later tomorrow.

But for now, at this very moment, he really just wanted to sleep like a hibernating bear.

Now, starting to succumb to slumber, a string of thoughts ran through his head as he gradually dozed off.

‘I’m slowly doing it guys…’

‘I’m slowly making more and more of my own music…’

‘Thank you for giving me this chance…’

‘I hope you’ll be proud of me wherever you are…’