The Voice of America production team truly understood viral content. Just as the audience waited to see Frank Castle make a fool of himself, the camera followed Alex Stone back to the contestants' lounge.
Other contestants congratulated Alex Stone, making his smile even brighter. He walked directly up to Frank Castle. "Sorry if I put too much pressure on you. Good luck, though."
"Wow! So handsome!" Lynn Evans shrieked.
At that moment, the live comments exploded.
"Alex just said he'd make Frank unable to sing if he went first, and he actually did it!"
"He made his boasts come true, that's amazing!"
"Let's see how Frank responds!"
Frank didn't say anything, and online, people quickly mocked him:
"Hahaha, now he knows his place, can't be arrogant anymore?"
"Sure enough, he's just a worthless coward who only dares to hit women, a bully!"
"He's about to go on stage and make a fool of himself. He's probably already peed his pants, right?"
Alex Stone had no intention of letting Frank off the hook, sneering: "You're usually so talkative. Why are you speechless now?"
Just then, a staff member came to call Frank to the stage. He politely thanked them, stood up, and walked to the doorway. He suddenly turned back: "A singer speaks through song."
With that, he walked out of the contestants' lounge. The camera followed him to the back of the stage. At this moment, Frank's face was calm, completely lacking the nervousness people expected. He stood tall and poised, a tranquil figure amidst the surrounding commotion and frenzy.
"This guy is such a faker!"
"I want to see how long he can keep up this act!"
"Actually, if you look closely, Frank Castle is pretty handsome."
"To the sister who said that: get some good food!"
Frank Castle walked onto the stage, and the entire recording studio instantly fell silent.
The show's screen immediately showed a close-up of Amelia Quinn. Amelia paused slightly, her beautiful brows furrowed, as if an unpleasant memory had surfaced, and a hint of fear appeared on her face. Amelia Quinn's fans immediately felt heartbroken.
"Amelia must be thinking about the days Frank Castle abused her!"
"Poor Amelia, I feel so sorry for her!"
"Stay strong, Amelia! We'll always be your backup!"
Lynn's eyes turned red. "Boo-hoo, Amelia, don't be afraid, we're here for you!"
At the same time, a wave of gasps finally erupted in the venue, followed by a unified roar:
"Abusive husband, get out of entertainment!"
"Scum, get off the stage!"
"Serves him right! Get out of entertainment, dirtbag!" Lynn joined in, shouting excitedly. Online, Amelia Quinn's fans were doing the same, furiously flooding the comments with "Frank Castle, get out of entertainment!"
At this moment, Frank Castle stood alone on stage, facing a stormy barrage of insults, yet he stood unmoving, calm as a pine tree.
Suddenly, Celeste Monroe stood up.
Instantly, the entire venue fell silent, and even the online comments insulting Frank paused. The camera appropriately cut to Celeste Monroe. The woman in white and black, her eyes like ice, swept her gaze across the audience and calmly stated:
"A singer, once on stage, speaks through song."
Celeste Monroe's voice was elegant, with a magnetic quality. Though beautiful, it was like a long sword forged from ancient ice, sweeping through the recording hall. All the voices insulting Frank instantly vanished.
"Since Ms. Monroe has spoken, let Frank Castle sing."
"Anyway, he's just going to embarrass himself. We'll just watch it as a joke."
"Just so we're clear, I absolutely will not give Frank Castle a score!"
The live audience stopped shouting, grumbling for a bit, and finally settled back into silence.
Just then, some netizens suddenly noticed a blind spot:
"The Untouchable Diva said 'speak through song,' and Frank Castle said the same thing just now. Is that a coincidence?"
"Do they have some kind of private contact?"
"Frank Castle is Diva Queen Celeste's ex-nephew-in-law; it's not strange for him to echo her words."
"You're all overthinking it. How could the number one Diva Queen have any connection with an obscure D-list artist?"
This coincidence was quickly ignored, and the show continued.
Frank Castle walked to the center of the stage, picked up a guitar the production team had prepared, and then sat on a high stool, adjusting the microphone stand's height. The song title appeared on the large screen behind him.
No Makeup.
"Pfft! What a terrible song title!" Lynn scoffed. In her opinion, Frank Castle couldn't write truly good songs. This so-called original was probably just cobbled together for the show. And the title didn't even fit the "Old Flames" theme at all!
"Just a guitar, and he really thinks he's a campus prince?" Lynn held her phone, ready to strike, waiting for Frank to start singing so she could unleash her fury!
The next moment, a gentle, flowing melody began. Frank, cradling his guitar, calmly started to sing:
"Just this?"
"What garbage song!"
"He sings terribly!"
"Holy cow, these lyrics..."
At first, the comments were full of mockery, but soon, people realized that the song wasn't as bad as they thought. More importantly, the lyrics started to sound increasingly pointed.
"You ask me why I still write original songs; after all this effort, it seems it's still the same."
Lynn was stunned. Frank Castle used to be a well-known songwriter. Later, his output decreased, while Amelia Quinn became increasingly famous, and then the two divorced. What did that line mean? Was he saying their Amelia was a gold-digger who started disdaining him once she got famous?
Lynn soon realized that this line was actually quite subtle. Frank strummed his guitar strings, calmly continuing to sing:
"Back then, with a bare face, as pure as could be, no drawing on mature eyeliner, no blending in foundation."
The meaning of this line was even more obvious. Everyone knew Frank Castle and Amelia Quinn had fallen in love on campus. When she was in school, Amelia was innocent, so she was "barefaced." Entering the entertainment industry, she encountered the world of fame and fortune; her bare face was gone, and her makeup became mature. Wasn't this subtly accusing Amelia Quinn of becoming vain and materialistic? No, this wasn't subtle at all—it was an outright insult!
"How dare he?!" Lynn's face flushed with anger. The cheating, abusive husband actually dared to bite back! At this moment, she herself forgot that she had just mocked Frank for not being able to sing, furiously tapping on her phone.
"Pathetic guy biting back! Where's his shame?!"
"If you hate that Amelia changed, then don't cling to her!"
No sooner had these two comments been sent than Frank continued to sing:
"You make your changes, why should I dwell? But please, just don't run into me."
This line seemed to be directly responding to Lynn. She almost jumped off the sofa, pointing at Frank on the screen. "Nonsense! You're the one clinging to Amelia!"
Soon, Frank sang the last line. He sat on the chair, calm and composed, his voice like the chirping of cicadas:
"That... bare face... that vanished."
His fingers paused, the music ceased, the sound stopped. Frank stood up and bowed to the audience.
But the entire venue was silent. Even the online comments paused momentarily. It was as if the torrent of insults had been dispersed by Frank's song. The dark clouds in the sky had cleared, leaving only Frank Castle's clear, calm face on the screen.
Soon, a trending topic suddenly appeared.
#SpeakingThroughSong(X)CursingThroughSong(✓)#