Fuji TV's Chief Producer, Kikuchi, received a special proposal from Strawberry Productions just before [Music Fair] began.
"You want to sing a few more songs after the ending? Well, there's nothing inherently wrong with that, but..."
As the CP of [Music Fair], it was an enticing offer. To be honest, it wasn't impossible, but television was bound by strict time constraints and commercial slots. One couldn't just overhaul the structure on a whim.
"I'm not the only CP here, though. I'll have to discuss this with CP Yamada as well..."
As Kikuchi expressed his hesitation to the Enfants Terribles members and the Strawberry Productions staff, the Bald Bassist of the band stepped forward with a different suggestion.
"If there's empty airtime, you wouldn't mind us filling it with a few more tracks, right?"
"Well... if that's the case, we'd certainly welcome it."
Kikuchi agreed to the proposal. Enfants Terribles singing more songs during idle time? From his perspective, it was a total windfall.
"Huh? What's this? Why are they here?"
Near the end of the broadcast, Kikuchi realized an uninvited guest had arrived. It was [Zard], the group Apex was pushing as their next-generation stars, showing up out of the blue.
"There is a bit of time left, but..."
[Zard] had arrived without even contacting him, one of the two CPs responsible for [Music Fair]. This wasn't a 'surprise guest' typical of variety shows; they were here to hijack the ending slot designated by the station.
Kikuchi found Apex's behavior incredibly rude.
Of course, this level of disrespect could be overlooked if Apex used their network to provide him with some benefits later, but today, he had no intention of giving them an opening.
Kikuchi, possessed of sharp instincts, watched [Zard]'s manager pacing anxiously backstage and put the pieces together.
No way, did they know? Still, does Strawberry Productions already have the weight to jump into a power struggle between major agencies like this?
Just as Kikuchi felt the birth of a new powerhouse agency in the Japanese music industry, the intro to Enfants Terribles' new song reached his ears.
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"Leader! Look over there! [Zard] actually came!"
Enfants Terribles' Bald Bassist pointed toward the members of [Zard], who were standing dazed beneath the stage. Hide, however, didn't spare them a glance.
In fact, he felt like he should thank them.
"Hey, Baldy, show some gratitude. We've got a 'beauty' who went out of her way to make time for us."
"Musclemon, are you falling for their frontwoman, Sakai Izumi? Seriously, how long has it been since Lavigne dumped you? Looking for new love already?"
"Baldy, I never confessed. Therefore, I wasn't dumped."
Apex's tactic was one we would have fallen for if Saito Ichigo, the president of Strawberry Productions who had an uncanny 'nose' for these things, hadn't told us to prepare for 'after the ending.'
With Enfants Terribles' current status, giving up the [Music Fair] ending wouldn't have hurt much, but following Ichigo's advice that being prepared costs nothing, we had readied an encore stage.
Ultimately, Saito Ichigo's prediction was spot on, and the situation aligned perfectly. Once again, Apex was left in the dust, and Enfants Terribles claimed the ending for themselves.
"The Masterplan!!!"
Gripping the microphone, we stepped forward right to the edge of the audience seats.
For context, 'The Masterplan' was a massive track running five minutes and thirty seconds, a song we had never performed in full during a live broadcast. The reason was obvious: having released four full-length albums across our first and second eras, Enfants Terribles had plenty of other hits to use besides 'The Masterplan.'
I struggled quite a bit because we didn't have enough tracks stockpiled when making the second album.
Releasing a killer 'new song' while the fever of the second album was still hot? That was the kind of thing amateurs who didn't understand the 'business' did.
Enfants Terribles hadn't even properly started the tour for the second album yet. Under these circumstances, an Enfants Terribles 'new song' carried immense shock value.
It was enough to make even the Bureau Chief of [Fuji TV] come down and urgently mobilize equipment and personnel to set the stage. Although it had been sidelined by many other masterpieces, 'The Masterplan' was regarded as a legend in my past life.
With those thoughts in mind, I grabbed the microphone on the stand in front of me.
A song I had listened to until my ears were weary during the exhausting days of my previous life. I began to unveil that song to the public.
There wasn't a soul who didn't know the music of Enfants Terribles, the world's hottest band. However, the song echoing through the studio now was a style the public had never encountered from them before.
As the harmony of acoustic guitar, cello, and harmonica began to resonate, the audience's eyes began to focus intensely on the stage.
"Is this... actually a pop song...?"
In a world where creating music with such a diverse range of instruments felt alien, the sound of 'The Masterplan'—which utilized even more instruments than 'Whatever'—began to deliver a profound shock to the viewers.
It was nothing short of astonishing.
Even with numerous bands appearing on the scene, the audience finally understood why these men stayed at the top.
They could have easily fallen into mannerism, yet Enfants Terribles always brought a new style of music, as if demonstrating the future of pop.
Enfants Terribles was still the pioneer of the genre.
As the lyrics began and the harmonica faded, the sound of trumpets and cellos stepped into the foreground. Then, the curtains masking the back of the stage were drawn, revealing a small orchestra dressed in white gowns.
Into the beautiful melody woven by the orchestra and acoustic guitar, the sound of an electric guitar laden with heavy distortion began to bite in.
Listening to 'The Masterplan,' the audience had to withdraw the prejudices they had held toward Hide. Specifically, the notion that Tanaka Shuji, the Bald Bassist, was the only one in the band capable of writing epic, grand compositions.
'The Masterplan' was pure concert music, orchestral in scale. It could only reveal its true value when a stage was prepared with absolute precision for a performance.
The number of people mobilized for the stage right now easily exceeded twenty. Every instrument one could imagine was mobilized to form a single, unified melody.
This stage, built on the sheer financial power of [Fuji TV], was striking the public with awe. It was diverse, yet perfectly harmonious.
An array of instruments that most thought could never be balanced were all being utilized on one stage.
As the song concluded in a circular structure, ending with the harmony of acoustic guitar, cello, and harmonica once more, everyone in the studio began to respond with thunderous applause for Enfants Terribles.
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And following 'The Masterplan,' the song that played next was 'We Are the Champions.'
During Enfants Terribles' encore stage, everyone embraced one another, soaking in the lingering resonance. Everyone, that is, except for [Zard]'s manager.
"What about our turn?"
[Zard] had graced the [Music Fair] special stage with their presence, but thanks to Enfants Terribles taking up over ten minutes, they had no choice but to return home empty-handed.
[ZARD Was Actually at Music Fair?]
[Fans' Cameras Catch ZARD Members Waiting Backstage.]
[They Weren't on the Cue Sheet—Why Were They Headed to the Music Fair Stage?]
Naturally, the sight of [Zard] standing around awkwardly backstage was caught by the public eye.
If left unaddressed, Apex's already tarnished image could sink even further. Their reputation as one of the industry's best was being chipped away. Consequently, Apex offered only transparent excuses, claiming, "We brought our rookies so they could observe Enfants Terribles' new song release."
However, the public, having been burned by Apex several times already, saw right through them.
- It's obvious. Weren't you bastards trying to pull another backstab?
- LMAO you crazy people. You sent kids there right after their schedule just to steal a single ending slot?
↳ WWWWWW
↳ Everyone knows their obsession with endings is legendary.
- Wow, so was [ZARD] flaking on Utakon also because of the ending slot?
↳ Yeah. Didn't you see the footage of Sakai Izumi being dragged away by force?
↳ God, they still treat their artists like that even now?
↳ That's just how our industry is. Though, compared to when the Yamaguchi-gumi guys were running around, they're practically saints now.
No one said it out loud, but everyone knew. Apex's pathetic conduct became a laughingstock, and their repeated petty tyranny—long tolerated as an 'industry practice'—caused their prestige to plummet.
Furthermore, to the broadcasting stations, Apex was no longer an essential label.
Broadcasters found that [Strawberry Productions]—which held several future industry-dominating stars led by Enfants Terribles—was a much more beneficial partner than the fading sun that was [Apex].
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