Chapter 808: The First Eliminated Contestants (3)
I started by calmly trying to reason with Kudo Akira, who was shouting about a rigged vote just because his daughter had lost.
"This stage was one Minatsu was bound to lose," I said.
"What? What do you mean, bound to lose?"
"She made a mistake by wearing Japanese-style clothes and a Noh mask at the Korean preliminaries."
If Kudo Minatsu hadn't come out wearing a traditional Japanese Noh mask when she sang 'Soul Fire,' the result might have been a little different. Yet to Koreans, that kind of masked performance was unfamiliar. On top of that, seeing an idol cover her face with a goblin mask just didn't sit well.
However, the bigger issue was that her character had vanished. Over the last two weeks, Kudo Minatsu had built an image of being the cute younger sister type. But in today's battle, she tried to show off her skills and artistic flair. And in doing so, she completely wrecked the cute character she had worked so hard to create. Naturally, the fans who were expecting another adorable stage couldn't help but be disappointed.
After all, Project I.O.A was a show to choose an idol, not to crown an artist.
I explained that to him, but Kudo Akira still wouldn't accept it and raised his voice. "Hey! Even the judges said the overall performance was better from my daughter! So if this is the result, you must've rigged it! Don't think I don't know how production staff meddle in these audition shows!"
Kudo Akira was a famous producer who ran his own label THE AKIRA under AMOSE, and he currently produced the girl group MEME—a five-member group that had made a splash three years ago with highly artistic stages. Because of that success, Kudo Akira had come to value artistry above all else in girl groups.
So when Minamoto Aoi, who prioritized mass appeal over artistry, beat his daughter in the competition, he couldn't contain his rage.
'Fine. I've tried reasoning enough.'
Now it was time to destroy his thinking as a producer. Only then would he stop meddling in Project I.O.A for good.