With the help of Regina's mother, June, the accompaniment for "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" was completed in advance by professional musicians.
On Saturday afternoon, Mike accompanied the girls of The Plastics to the recording studio to record the song.
With the assistance of the sound engineer, the girls' new song was thoroughly produced by evening.
Everyone in Regina's family listened to the Christmas song on the record player, and all showed satisfied expressions.
"This song is really good; it could even be released as a Christmas single," June, with her broader perspective, gave a fair evaluation after listening to the new song.
To be honest, she was somewhat surprised by Mike's musical talent.
June had never thought that such a playful creative process would truly allow Mike and the others to produce such a high-quality Christmas song.
"Really? Mom!" Regina asked in surprise, "Has this song really reached the level for a single release?"
Although Regina also thought this new song, sung by herself, was very pleasant to listen to, she didn't have a clear understanding of how good it actually was.
However, being at an age full of fantasies, how could she refuse the temptation of fame?
Not to mention, Regina was inherently a show-off.
On the other side, the other three girls of The Plastics, listening to the conversation between Regina and her mother, also focused their attention.
Obviously, they also couldn't resist the temptation of fame.
"Of course, it can be released," June said affirmatively, "If you are willing, I can help you promote this song around Christmas."
Although June usually seemed idle, promoting a new song was not difficult with her husband's network.
"I'm willing—" Hearing that there was a real chance to release this new song, Regina immediately agreed happily.
Afterward, she turned to look at the other three members of The Plastics and asked, "What do you think of my mother's suggestion?"
The three girls naturally had no objections to their work being appreciated by more people.
Seeing that the members of The Plastics had reached a consensus, Regina looked at Mike again and asked, "Mike, do you have any thoughts?"
Strictly speaking, Mike, who took on both the lyrics and composition, had the most say in the disposition of this song.
"Of course, I have no objection," Mike immediately stated.
"Very good, I'll take care of the release. Now, you can discuss the income distribution," June showed her reliable side.
Afterward, she happily added, "You all go ahead, I'll go prepare dinner for you; later, we'll celebrate properly."
With that, June hurriedly left the room to prepare the celebratory dinner.
In the music room, the girls, not yet corrupted by money, weren't too concerned about the song's income.
Finally, it was Mike who suggested that the income from this song be split equally among the five of them.
As for later, if the song became popular and generated commercial income, that would be discussed then.
The girls, who had little concept of money, immediately agreed to Mike's suggestion.
...
When Sunday arrived, June, full of enthusiasm to promote the new song, pulled The Plastics and Mike to shoot a set of promotional posters specifically for the song.
Normally, Mike, as the creator, wouldn't need to take promotional photos. But who could blame him for being handsome? June clearly wouldn't miss such a good publicity gimmick.
After a morning passed, the promotional posters were successfully shot. At this point, the work of promoting the new song officially kicked off.
Of course, the remaining song promotion work actually didn't require Mike or the others to worry; all operations were handed over to the enthusiastic June.ast.
As Christmas approached, the festive atmosphere in Medford Town became increasingly strong; various small colored lights were hung on the streets, and Christmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, and other decorations were all displayed at the entrances of shopping malls.
The school, as Christmas approached, also granted students enough free time.
The afternoon collective sports time was canceled, replaced by various small teams gathering to rehearse for the Christmas evening performance.
On Thursday afternoon, in an independent small classroom, the girls of The Plastics were diligently playing their respective instruments, accompanied by the background music of the new song.
"Regina, after training for so long, why are your guitar playing movements and gestures still so clumsy?" After one practice session ended, Mike singled out Regina's mistake.
Given the girls' musical literacy, Mike had already lowered his requirements to the minimum.
The girls only needed to pretend to play along with the music, just for show.
However, even with such low requirements, Regina still couldn't meet them.
"I trained seriously, maybe the guitar isn't suitable for me..." Regina said, feeling a bit wronged.
To make a splash, she had indeed practiced very seriously during this period.
Mike had also seen her efforts during this time. However, the results of her efforts were not ideal; it seemed that Regina truly had no talent for performance.
Since things had come to this, it was meaningless to blame her further.
Mike thought for a moment and said, "It was my oversight before. How about this, Regina, you switch your instrument to handbells. During tomorrow's evening performance, as the lead singer, you can just use the handbells as decoration."
As a band's lead singer, sometimes it can be very easy, as long as there's a microphone.
"Handbells? That's simple…" Regina put down the guitar, picked up a string of beach-style handbells from nearby, and happily shook them twice.
During this time, Regina had been under a lot of pressure because she couldn't keep up with the progress of the other team members.
Now it was good; she didn't have to play the guitar and could occupy the most eye-catching center position as the lead singer.
This unique treatment made Regina very satisfied.
"Mike, will you come on stage with us tomorrow?" Gretchen, who had a calm demeanor, asked caringly from the side.
This usually quiet girl realized that the group's live performance needed someone who could play a climactic role.
This role should have been filled by Karen, who played the drums.
However, Karen's musical sense, though slightly better than the other girls in the team, was still far from being able to control the performance rhythm and play a climactic role.
"Tomorrow, I will go on stage with you as a keyboardist," Mike, who was mentally prepared, said.
"That's great!"
Hearing Mike's promise, the girls cheered.
The girls all had a very clear understanding of Mike's musical literacy.
With his addition, the girls of The Plastics felt much more confident about tomorrow's Christmas performance.
"Alright, while there's still time, let's rehearse a few more times together," Mike sat down at the electronic piano and reminded the happy girls.
Tomorrow was Christmas, and the actual time available for everyone to rehearse was not that abundant.
And here, with Mike's electronic piano joining in, the girls, who didn't have to worry about going off-key, rehearsed much more smoothly.
By the time school was dismissed, their combined performance was already quite decent. It was certainly good enough to participate in the school's Christmas performance.
Before disbanding, Mike gathered the girls, extended his hand, and encouraged them, "May our performance tomorrow be a great success—"
"Success!!!"
The girls high-fived each other and cheered loudly.
"Oh, by the way, our single will be officially released tomorrow, and my mom has prepared a big meal at home. Do you want to come celebrate together?" After the excitement, Regina invited them.
It must be said that Regina's family had strong connections; June, through her family's network, really managed to secure the opportunity to release the single on Christmas Day.
"Let's not," Mike was the first to say, "Tomorrow is Christmas, and there's a lot to prepare at home. Let's celebrate later—"
Normally, this single by The Plastics might not make any waves in the vast music market.
So, there was nothing to celebrate about something so uncertain. Moreover, they had already celebrated once on the day the song was completed.