One Man Band System

The atmosphere turned incredibly tense. Monica just stood there, completely frozen, unable to do a thing, while the others couldn’t even move to snap her out of it. Faint murmurs began spreading through the crowd as confused festivalgoers stared up at the stage, and even the cameramen looked around, whispering questions to one another.

"Cring... cring... cring!"

"If all the kings had their queens on the throne, we would pop champagne and raise a toast."

"To all of the Queens who are fighting alone, baby, you’re not dancin’ on your own!"

Emma bounded onto the stage, skipping cheerfully while shaking her tambourine. She belted out Ava Max’s Kings & Queens into a backup mic, shattering the heavy silence. Before she even finished her lines, she playfully nudged Monica, who was still glued to the main mic, then shot a quick look back at Heidi and Laura.

"Can’t live without me, you wanna but you can’t... no...no...no...it’s funny, but honey..."

Monica picked up the cue instantly, her voice locked in. Heidi and Laura immediately jumped in, backing her vocals, closely followed by Priya and Chloe adding layers to the rhythm. The entire vibe flipped in an instant. The crowd, which had been completely dazed a second ago, was instantly captivated. People started swaying to the beat, and wide grins began spreading across their faces.

Laura and Heidi flashed smiles as they played their instruments, and the same confidence spread to Priya and Chloe. Their stage fright evaporated into thin air. Monica’s vocals sounded steady, rich, and powerful, blending perfectly with Emma handling the harmonies. The crowd started getting really hyped, raising their hands and waving them in sync with the beat.

Watching the whole scene unfold from behind the curtain, Eric let out a massive sigh of relief. Emma had pulled it off, getting everyone perfectly back on track.

"Huff... thank god that worked... now they can just ride the wave," Eric thought to himself with a smile.

The energy on stage turned electric. All six of them looked incredibly hyped and full of life, wide grins plastered on their faces as they completely lost themselves in the music. Since twilight had fully set in, the spotlights began dancing across the stage, perfectly tracking their rhythm. As the song reached its final climax, every instrument cut out at the exact same fraction of a second, leaving a dead silence.

For a heartbeat, the venue was dead quiet, until suddenly, "uooooh... hell yeah!" A roaring wave of energy exploded across the entire field, easily twice as loud as the reception for The Red Tide. Monica grabbed her microphone again.

"Thank you... we are Reed’s Empress. It’s awesome to meet you all. We’re so sorry for that awkward freeze at the beginning... we’re a brand-new band and this is actually our first time performing in public... so... please forgive us," Monica said, taking a humble bow.

"Don’t even worry about it... you guys crushed it!" a guy in the crowd screamed until his voice went hoarse.

The crowd erupted into cheers and laughter, genuinely appreciating Monica’s honesty and welcoming her apology with open arms. Monica then announced they were going to play the original single they had just released, and the audience naturally cheered them on with an incredibly warm reception.

Monica glanced over at Emma, who gave her a reassuring nod, then turned back to see Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura nodding in sync. With that, the drums and bass kicked things off, followed by the keyboard, and finally, the guitar swept in to complete the intro. Monica stood out front, bobbing her head as she waited for her cue.

Right on time, "cring!" Emma struck her tambourine, and Monica’s voice instantly echoed through the entire venue, leaving the crowd so stunned that you could hear a pin drop. The cameramen, who had been tracking the show through their viewfinders, actually tilted their heads out to watch the stage directly, their hands frozen on the controls.

Backstage, Kevin, Sophie, and the members of The Red Tide were all wearing massive grins as they listened to the track. They literally had goosebumps; the melody was so powerful it felt like it was vibrating right through their bones. Naomi turned to look at Zach.

"So... we clearly lost, didn’t we?" Naomi said.

"Yep... we got beaten... bad," Zach replied.

"So... are we actually disbanding? Because no way am I doing that. Not after hearing this track," Jack countered.

"Right? Honestly, this just fires me up. How about we write another song the second this gig is over?" Max asked, turning to Zach.

"Alright... I hear you. And same... I don’t want to break up either, hahaha," Zach answered.

"Perfect. In that case, let’s put our personal drama aside and keep going... deal?" Naomi said, leaping forward to wrap her arms around Zach and Max from behind.

"You bet," Zach and Max replied cheerfully, both reaching up to hold Naomi’s hands as they rested on their shoulders.

Seeing the members of The Red Tide looking cheerful again and catching a bit of their conversation, Sophie turned around and walked over to them.

"Excuse me, so you guys aren’t going to ask for time to announce your breakup anymore, right?" Sophie asked.

"Yep... we’re not disbanding after all, so there’s no need to squeeze us in at the end of the show," Zach answered loudly.

"Good to hear," Sophie said, relieved that her workload just got a bit lighter.

"But could you do us a favor?" Zach asked.

Hearing Zach’s request, Max, Naomi, and Jack immediately snapped their heads toward their frontman. Meanwhile, Sophie stood there wondering if there was anything she could do on the festival’s end to help out the established band standing right in front of her.

"Um... what kind of favor?" Sophie asked, confused.

"Reed’s Empress seems to have two vocalists, right? Could you ask the redhead for us? We’re thinking about recruiting her. Her voice is absolutely incredible, and it would definitely fit our style," Zach replied.

"Whoa... hey... are you seriously trying to poach someone else’s bandmate?" Jack asked, staring at his friend.

"It’s not like that, I’m just offering. If she says no, we won’t force it," Zach defended.

"There’s no way she’ll say yes," Naomi replied, shaking her head.

"Seriously, bro, don’t start any drama," Max added, nudging Zach beside him.

Max then turned back to Sophie, who was still standing there, looking like she was debating the idea.

"Just forget it. We don’t want to recruit a player who’s already locked into another band. We’re not home-wreckers," Max said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Oh... alright then," Sophie replied, feeling relieved yet again, since she had actually been stressing over how she was supposed to deliver that kind of message.

Meanwhile, up on stage, the song came to an end, and they were instantly showered with a massive wall of cheers and applause from the audience. As the six of them bowed to show their appreciation, the crowd started chanting.

"One more song! One more song!"

"Huh?"

The six girls lifted their heads, trading glances before looking toward the wings. They noticed a smartphone screen poking out from behind the curtain. Emma trotted over to the edge, read the screen, and then jogged back to whisper to Monica, before doing the same with Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura.

"Alright, we’ve got one more for you!" Monica shouted into the mic.

"Yeaaaah!" the crowd roared back.

With that, they jumped into a popular cover song originally by a boy band, and this time, the audience clapped along perfectly to the rhythm. Meanwhile, all the way at the back of the festival lot, right in front of a shawarma food truck, a clean-cut, middle-aged man in a sharp custom tailored navy blue suit stood with his hands behind his back. He had a pleasant face and was watching the stage from afar with a smile.

Suddenly, a young guy wearing a button-down shirt, a tie, and slacks approached the older man.

"CEO Robert Harrison, sir, I’ve already sent word backstage to make sure Reed’s Empress gets in touch with us after the festival," the young man reported.

"Excellent, Anthony. We need to lock them down for Trinity Entertainment, whatever it takes. They’re going to be massive stars, even if they’re still a bit green right now," Mr. Harrison replied, a slightly sly grin creeping onto his face.

Robert and Anthony continued to watch the girl group perform their set on the distant stage. Meanwhile, backstage, Kevin scratched his head in frustration as he stared down at his smartphone screen. Glowing back at him was Anthony’s phone number, a star manager from Trinity Entertainment, the absolute biggest production house in the city and home to some of the industry’s highest-profile stars.

"Ugh... what a pain. That guy was being so pushy about meeting Emma and the girls. I honestly didn’t like the look of him at all. Damn it," Kevin muttered, rubbing a business card tucked behind the back of his phone.