Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 58

After Naomi's performance, the applause from the audience was thunderous and unending.

“That’s our famous rising star, Naomi. She captivated the entire audience right from the start,” Mira said to Lania.

“Her skill is impressive, but you have nothing to fear. Just use that new song and perform like you do in practice. A normal performance will be enough.”

“I hope so.”

All ten judges gave scores above 9. After dropping the highest and lowest scores, Naomi’s final average was 9.5.

That was an incredibly high score, putting immense pressure on the contestants who followed.

The next few contestants all scored below 8.5 on average.

Mara, who was sixth, scored an 8.9, which was also quite high. It was clear Damon had put a lot of effort into coaching her lately.

Then came the tenth performer, Sienna, who scored a 9.2.

Finally, it was Mira’s turn.

“Sing well. For the first round, you just need to make it into the top ten.”

“Got it, Ms. Brooks.”

The talent show was an elimination-style competition. The first round would eliminate half the contestants. As long as she made it into the top ten, she would advance to the next stage.

Mira’s song was one she had prepared in advance, “Proud Youth,” with music and lyrics by someone named Lune.

This was the stage name she had used when registering the copyright. Mira didn’t want the public to know it was her yet, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

In the beginning, I was just

A naive child who cried all the time

Ten years later, I finally understood

That as long as you give your all, failure doesn't matter

…

When the beautiful and powerful melody hit their ears, the audience felt an unprecedented wave of excitement.

In this show, everyone else had performed covers, mostly imitating the original artists. Only Mira was singing a new, original song.

Liora couldn't help but exclaim, “Wow, Mira’s singing has improved by leaps and bounds!”

Natalie was also curious. “Where did she get such a great song? And who is Lune?”

“We honestly don’t know.”

As the melody progressed and the song deepened, the audience was fired up, and the judges were stunned.

Everyone felt a deep connection, looking at Mira with something akin to admiration.

Meanwhile, Damon, the industry's golden boy, sat on the judges' panel, his expression unreadable and tense.

How could she be so outstanding? Mercer Vision Entertainment had never given this sister of his any help. Could she really be a genius?

Damon was well aware of what had been happening at home recently. The two sisters were like fire and water; it was impossible to support both of them at the same time.

Right now, the family needed to boost Mara's reputation. He absolutely could not let Mira overshadow Mara.

But how could he possibly suppress a Mira like this?

While Damon was lost in thought, a fellow judge leaned over and asked him, “I remember contestant number six is your sister. How come number eleven looks so much like her? They could be twins. Mara, Mira… hey, their names are similar too. They’re not both your sisters, are they?”