King of Hollywood

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: The Journey to MMC

“That boy is Justin Timberlake, full of energy and a decent singer. The boy who gets along well with him is Scott Joshua. Maybe he’s not as good a singer as Justin, but he’s a better dancer,” said John Bryce to Adrian in the corner of the spacious practice room, introducing the children not far from them.

None of these kids were older than thirteen; they were at the lively and active age when after each audition, they would start roughhousing and playing games. Many of them were also curiously glancing over at Adrian.

“I have to say, Ed, you really know how to pick your moment,” Blais said with a chuckle, punching him playfully, “this is pretty much like having us train talents for you in disguise.”

“Anyway, you’ve decided to shut down the Mickey Mouse Club, they’re all going to be sent home sooner or later. Besides, even if there are suitable ones, we’ll still need to put in the effort to train them properly,” Adrian replied dispassionately. He and Blais weren’t really acquainted; he had met Blais through Eric Cahill at a cocktail party.

Blais was an extrovert, and at first, his company was pleasant, but over time it became somewhat overbearing. If it weren’t for the fact that Blais was the head of Disney’s TV program department and Adrian had to go through him to pick anyone from MMC, Adrian would have bothered to talk to him so much—although he could wait until MMC was dissolved to get in touch with the targets, that would be too much trouble. He had once suspected that the man was gay, but it was clear from today that he probably wasn’t.

“Introduce me to the girls, John. We just launched a popular boy band; I’m more interested in finding a few girls with potential,” Adrian said.

“Alright, that girl on the far right, Christina Aguilera, she’s the best singer among all the girls, even been ostracized for it before. If I were you, I’d definitely sign her,” Blais pointed to a girl sitting in the corner, her brown hair tinged with gold. Although she was too far away to see clearly, she looked cute enough.

Adrian was slightly surprised; he wasn’t very fond of Christina Aguilera for some reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint, perhaps it was because of her eccentric outfits in his memory? But from this distance, she looked okay.

“The girl talking with Scott, Camryn Selleck, she has decent overall abilities,” continued Blais, “too bad Kelly Russell has already left, she’s a great singer too, and at seventeen, her age is just right.”

“What about that girl?” Adrian suddenly pointed to the girl laughing and talking with Christina.

“Her? Oh, she’s Britney Spears. While she’s not particularly outstanding in any area, she’s very enthusiastic and lively, with a strong desire to perform,” Blais pondered and said.

“Since you find it hard to let go of either, why not sign both?” Charlize said casually, “After all, it’s not difficult to train two female singers, and you can make them work even harder through competition.”

“Good idea, competition! Let’s do that,” Adrian decided on the spot, his smile growing broader.

Considering the personalities of Britney and Christina, along with the various confrontations they would have after shifting from friends to rivals in his memory, if the two were together for training, he was confident about playing them off against each other, so there was no need to say more about what to do.

After letting the two girls who were waiting outside come in, Adrian dove straight into the subject, “I think you both should know, the Mickey Mouse Club is about to disband.”

Both girls were slightly shocked, although they had heard rumors and were somewhat mentally prepared, the reality of the news inevitably made them feel lost. They had just started to gain some fame, just begun to attract attention, but now they could lose all of it, and naturally, the psychological gap was hard to bear.

“My record company happens to be looking to cultivate some talented kids, and Blais has recommended you both to me. I want to ask if you’re willing to continue to strive for your careers,” Adrian asked seriously.

“Do they all know the club is going to be closed?” Adrian suddenly asked another question.

“Although it hasn’t been officially announced yet, I think they must all know something by now,” Blais shrugged, “You can tell from the way they’ve been acting recently. Although they are a bit… melancholic privately, there have been no mistakes in their performances; these kids are still quite impressive.”

“Alright, I’ve got a preliminary impression. Let’s go have a look at more detailed information, and then we can ask them individually after they’ve finished recording the songs,” Adrian nodded, stroking his chin, a hint of a smile disappearing from the corner of his mouth.

It didn’t take much time to review their profiles, because he had already made his choice, so what came next…

Knock, knock, knock—the knocking on the door sounded, and the conversation in the room abruptly stopped. After exchanging glances with Blais and a few others from the Mickey Mouse Club, Adrian spoke up, “Come in.”

A little girl with long brown hair immediately pushed the door open and entered. She appeared surprised at the number of people inside, hesitating and shrinking back, but after a few seconds, she puffed out her chest and lifted her head, showing a fearless demeanor.

“Please take a seat, Miss Spears,” Adrian gestured, sizing up the young Britney. The petite girl bore no resemblance to her future self, and her features were not yet distinct, looking a bit odd.

“You can call me Britney, sir, that’s what Mr. John and the others call me,” said the girl as she took a seat, her voice carrying a tinge of shyness despite her efforts to appear fearless. While Adrian appraised her, she was also surreptitiously eyeing him, as he and the woman beside him were the only two people in the room she didn’t recognize.

“Alright, Britney, so…” Adrian observed the girl’s small movements with interest, narrowing his eyes and then looking towards Blais who made a “go ahead” gesture with his hand.

With that, Adrian didn’t hold back and directly asked, “Do you like singing and performing?”

“Yes, of course! I love that feeling,” Britney immediately nodded reflexively.

“What kind of feeling?” Adrian pressed on with a piercing gaze.

“Um… uh… being… being…” The little girl was still a bit nervous and couldn’t get the whole sentence out.

“The feeling of being watched, right?” Charlize spoke up from the side.

“Yes, the feeling of being watched,” Britney immediately relaxed and spoke more smoothly, “I like this feeling, so I love to perform and sing, and I’m willing to give everything for it.”

She was keenly aware of something, although she might not yet understand what it meant, but that didn’t prevent her from presenting herself in front of Adrian. If she hadn’t tried hard to show herself, how could she have received the opportunity for three years of training after being rejected?

“I’ve seen your profile, you’re very good at presenting yourself, and there were some brilliant performances on the show. Can you talk about what goes through your mind when you’re performing?” Adrian continued to ask.

“I… didn’t really think much, I just felt that I had to perform diligently and show the best side of myself.” It wasn’t an easy question for a girl not yet twelve, so she anxiously watched Adrian after giving her answer. Adrian, however, didn’t show any dissatisfaction; instead, he wrapped up the conversation, “Thank you for your answer, Britney. Please go outside and rest for a few minutes without leaving, and let the other girl come in.”

He’d already made up his mind, and everything now was just a formality. Oh, of course, there was also someone else to evaluate in the process.

“Hello, Miss Christina Aguilera,” Adrian nodded to the second girl as she came in.

“You can call me Christina, sir.” Compared to Britney, Christina was much more forthright, with her chest puffed out, a touch of pride and confidence that was striking at first glance.

“Alright, Christina, you love singing and performing, right?” asked Adrian, keeping his composure.

“Yes, sir, I love it very much,” Christina nodded with no change in her confident demeanor.

“What is it that makes you so passionate about singing?” Adrian stroked his chin, sizing up Christina. Clearly, she had realized certain things earlier than Britney.

“I think it’s probably because of my grandmother’s influence. When I’m with my grandmother, we often listen to old records, and that makes me happy,” she said, with two noticeable pauses in her tone, and her expression subtly changing as if there was some memory she was reluctant to revisit.

Intense self-confidence and pride, and quite sensitive in some respects—interesting, very interesting. Adrian quickly reviewed Christina’s profile in his mind, and a thought suddenly surged.

After asking a few more questions, Adrian asked her as well to go outside and wait for a while, then pondered for a few seconds before turning to Blais, who had been silent from start to finish, “Frankly, both girls are very good, each with their own strengths, and it’s difficult for me to decide which one would be more suitable to sign.”

“That’s your problem, Ed.” Blais chuckled and raised his hands in a shrug. He had started to say something else but seemed to change his mind partway through.

Adrian shrugged and then turned to Charlize, “Charli, what do you think?”

“Me?” Charlize raised her eyebrows in surprise, “I’m just your assistant, Ed.”

“Come on, can’t an assistant give their boss suggestions?” Adrian laughed and shook his head, “Alright, tell me your opinion, otherwise we can forget about that raise.”

The others laughed lightly, and Charlize glared at him, but immediately took a deep breath to calm herself.

The eyes of Britney and Christina immediately lit up, but before they could speak, Adrian continued, “Even if you still need to undergo several more years of training, and you might not be able to release a record until you’re seventeen or even longer, would you still be willing?”

Hearing this, the two, about to respond, suddenly showed hesitant expressions again. (To be continued, for the following, please visit . More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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