116: Chapter 116 People's Choice Award

In the afternoon, Chen Mo took a car to the airport, Nashville's autumn slowly receding outside the window, and the Cumberland River appearing again on the right side.

A few oak leaves floating down from upstream drifted on the river surface, glistening in the afternoon sun.

He leaned against the car window, the Nashville sun warming his shoulders through the glass, while Charlie sent a demo in the group chat.

Ed Sheeran posted a photo in the group of the Orange Cat lying on his newly bought banjo, saying it had started playing country music.

He replied to them one by one, then put his phone in his pocket, his mouth curving slightly upward.

It wasn't the standard arc he used to face the cameras at awards ceremonies, but the kind where the corners of his eyes moved along with it.

On November 10th, the Walk of Fame in front of the Microsoft Theater was blocked by fans for half a street.

The red carpet for the People's Choice Awards was laid out at the corner of Figueroa Street and 11th Street, with young people holding light boards crowded behind the iron barricades on both sides.

The light boards mostly said "dont stop", followed by "Commander Chen", and a few new ones had Darth Vader's helmet photoshopped onto Chen Mo's face, with "Lord Chen" written underneath.

When Chen Mo stepped out of the black Cadillac, the collar of his dark blue Dior suit was slightly flipped up by the Los Angeles evening breeze.

He wore a tie this time, deep blue satin, the same color as his suit, which Scott had tied for him personally in the hotel room.

Scott stood in front of the car door, straightening the collar of his eternal dark gray coat.

"This is your first People's Choice Awards. All the awards are voted on by the audience, it has nothing to do with judges. One person, one vote, real headcounts."

"The American Music Awards have industry judge weighting, Billboard has radio and sales weighting, and the Grammy Awards are voted on by the academy—PCA is different. It's just about who has more fans, who has better public appeal, and who can make ordinary people willing to spend time voting. You're nominated in three categories now."

Chen Mo looked down at his tie and joked earnestly: "The way you tie my tie makes you look like my dad."

Scott opened the car door with an expressionless face and said: "Get in."

The red carpet host was a Black male host in a sequined suit, not tall but with a booming voice.

Seeing Chen Mo from afar, he spread his arms and shouted that signature line: "Chen Mo! The Chenconductor himself!"

Chen Mo high-fived him.

The host stepped back to look him up and down, amazed: "You're wearing a tie today! I've watched you on countless red carpets, you hate wearing ties. Why are you wearing one today?"

Chen Mo looked down at the dark blue satin on his chest and said: "My agent said this is my first time at the People's Choice Awards, so I should be more serious. He tied it for me himself."

The host exaggeratedly clutched his chest and turned to the camera.

"Everyone, Scott Braun, the most powerful agent in Hollywood, his main job today is tying ties! Scott, you did a great job!"

After Chen Mo added "The way he ties ties makes him look like my dad," the host couldn't hold it back anymore, leaning on Chen Mo's shoulder and laughing until he bent over, saying this part must be cut into the show, no one could stop it.

Walking into the theater, Chen Mo had been inside the Microsoft Theater several times already.

The VMAs were here, and other awards ceremonies were here too, but tonight's setup was different.

The backdrop for the People's Choice Awards stage was a huge interactive screen, scrolling in real-time with fan voting messages from Twitter with the #PCA tag.

On both sides of the stage were two rows of tiered audience seats, and Chen Mo was led to a seat on the aisle in the third row.

To his left was Ed Sheeran, to his right was Shawn Mendes, and Charlie Puth sat next to Ed Sheeran—

The organizers had arranged the four of them together.

Ed Sheeran brought the Orange Cat again; the cat was wearing a little dark blue vest, and its bowtie was red, the same color as the People's Choice Awards logo.

He lifted the cat up a bit and said this was the fourth awards ceremony it had attended this year, and it had already attended more awards ceremonies than most newcomers.

Charlie Puth leaned over from the other side of Shawn Mendes to correct him, saying this cat wasn't a newcomer; it had more followers on Instagram than him.

The Orange Cat yawned on Ed Sheeran's lap.

The Favorite Breakout Artist award was announced in the middle of the ceremony.

The presenter walked onto the stage to open the envelope, and the big screen began to scroll through nomination clips.

Chen Mo saw himself appear on the screen in the "Closer" MV, the shot lasted less than a second, and then it cut to the other nominees.

"And the People's Choice Award for Favorite Breakout Artist goes to—Chen Mo!"

Listen, the thunderous applause and screams.

Chen Mo stood up, Ed Sheeran reached out to high-five him, Shawn Mendes bumped his shoulder with his fist, and Charlie Puth reached over from next to Ed Sheeran to give a thumbs up.

He walked onto the stage to accept the transparent PCA trophy and stood in front of the microphone.

Thousands of eyes in the audience were watching him, and NBC's live broadcast signal was delivering this moment to tens of millions of living rooms across the United States.

"Thanks to everyone who voted." He held the trophy to his chest. "Your fingers have worked hard."

The audience laughed out loud.

Someone in the first row shouted "Worth it," the voice cutting through the wave of sound and landing steadily on the stage.

He waited for the laughter to subside and switched the trophy to his left hand.

"A year ago, I was still writing songs in a garage in Los Angeles. At that time, I didn't know when I would be able to stand here, but I knew one thing—as long as someone listens to my songs, I will keep singing. Thank you for letting me keep singing."

He raised the trophy high again, bowed slightly, and turned to walk towards the side stage.

The Favorite Male Artist award was in the second half of the ceremony.

When the presenter read his name, the light boards in the audience were raised simultaneously, a few rows of silver-white light points merging into an undulating wave.

"And the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Artist goes to—Chen Mo!"

Chen Mo walked onto the stage for the second time, trophy in hand, holding both PCA awards to his chest.

He stood in front of the microphone, placed the trophies on the podium, and rested both hands on the edge of the podium.

"I don't keep this award to myself. Thank you, Ed Sheeran. Thank you for letting the Orange Cat step on a C Major chord the first time I went to your apartment; thank you, Shawn Mendes, thank you for not being able to defend against me every time we play soccer, but come again next time; thank you, Charlie Puth—"

He paused, and the audience had already started laughing.

"Although Charlie Puth's songs aren't as good as mine."

The camera cut to the audience, and Charlie Puth sprang up from his seat, laughing and giving the middle finger to the camera.

The NBC live director didn't have time to cut the feed, and that middle finger was seen by tens of millions of viewers across the United States.

Ed Sheeran laughed so hard he lifted the Orange Cat to cover his face, and Shawn Mendes tried to push Charlie Puth's hand down but couldn't.

After Charlie Puth finished, he laughed himself, leaning back, his finger still raised and not retracted.

Chen Mo waited on stage for the laughter to subside and said: "That part just now—my mom is watching the live broadcast too. Mom, the person who gave the middle finger is my friend; he's not usually like this."

The whole audience laughed again.

He put away his smile, slowed his tone, and said sincerely: "Thank you for letting me make real friends in this industry."

The Favorite Pop Song award went to "Closer".

When the presenter opened the envelope, the audience had already started singing the C Major prelude, the piano sound automatically filled in by hundreds of voices.

Going on stage for the third time, Chen Mo accepted the trophy, stood in front of the microphone for several seconds, and then said three words: "Thanks, everyone."

The whole audience laughed amidst applause.

He turned to walk to the side stage, took two steps, then turned back and added: "I'm out of words. I said too much earlier, sorry."

Someone in the audience shouted "Say more."

He shook his head, smiling, raised the three trophies in his hands, waved them at the audience, and walked backstage.