Jackie Qualls always had a gentle demeanor, but a closer look revealed a pair of solemn eyes, cold as a green mountain.

Among everyone there, only James Landon was frowning, loosely wearing the desire to leave, but his overly long bangs and those black-framed glasses covered up his face, so the sweeping camera could only capture his tightly purse lips expressing displeasure.

At the end of the performance, the other trainees immediately started clapping. Although their applause was insincere, it was nevertheless spirited.

The camera panned over everyone, most of them offering praise.

"Wow, I think they’re so talented, so cute."

What they were actually thinking was, "I can’t compliment such a lousy performance aside from labeling it cute."

"They’re all so good-looking!"

But in reality, all of their faces looked post-surgery, and they’d probably all had facial slimming injections. Couldn’t they try a different clinic? They all looked the same.

"I think they should at least get an A?"

An A? If this was an elimination round, wouldn’t there be no need to compete anymore?

No matter what others said or thought, the five girls on stage, panting heavily, bowed and then waited for feedback.

The camera turned to the judges. The first to speak was Reese Shaw, who despite being not very popular in the country, was accustomed to the strict hierarchy of boy and girl bands, so her comments were always not sugar-coated.

She moved her gaze from the list in her hands to the girls on stage and frowned, "From your profiles, it seems each of you has practiced for over a year, right?"

The girls looked nervously at each other, then passed the microphone to the center of the group.

Shaking, the one in the center tightly clutched the microphone and said, "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Reese shook her head and sternly said, "That’s too poor, really too poor. If this is your level, I’m really worried for you. Even primary school performances would probably be better than yours."

Her harsh criticism immediately drained the color from the girls’ faces. Some trainees watching the broadcast backstage even became flustered, their hands shaking uncontrollably.

Everyone was evidently taken aback by the offending comments of the strict commentary right after the performance.

Even harsh words were spoken.

After Reese Shaw finished, Violet Lee, who also was a dance instructor, seemed much more lenient, she simply pointed out the problem, "Your basic skills are poor, you need to practice more."

Avoiding explicit criticism, this let everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

The camera then moved to the always silent James Landon. Picking up the microphone, he parsimoniously said, "Out of tune, offbeat, rushing, low volume, and..." he paused, "too many problems. You need systematic training."

His critique was clean and concise, the tone even and devoid of any emotion. It felt like he had just watched a movie and was forced to give a critique, as he delivered his comments as if reading a book report on a podium.

But it was still far better than Reese Shaw’s previous critique, as it didn’t devalue them entirely.

Finally, it was Jackie Quall’s turn.

The man kept his usual poise, his voice gentle, "I can see you tried hard. Wait for the grading after the next group’s performance."

After saying this, he put down the microphone, no further words.

After all, he wasn’t a professional in training artists, so it was hard for him to give useful critiques. But the words he said couldn’t be too hurtful, so Jackie Qualls’s remarks were primarily encouraging.