Dan nodded. “It was a total nightmare for the show. The divorce ripped the band apart, and they stopped showing up for the tour and bailed on recording their album. When the show sued them for breach of contract, they really went off the deep end, trashing concert halls and hotel rooms, getting in fights in bars… The bassist even got hit with sexual assault charges. The show had a pretty bad rep for a while because of them, with the network threatening to cancel The Sound entirely. Ever since, the producers have wanted a nice, no-risk, low-drama winner. That means, no edgy rock bands and no bands that have any sort of romance angle at all.”

“There is no romance angle,” I said quickly. “We’re just friends.”

Jared shot me a sharp look, but said nothing.

“That’s good,” Dan said. “I know the show has been trying to feel out what kind of relationship you two have. They don’t want another repeat of Addicted to Chaos, so don’t do anything to fuel those rumors about the two of you being together.”

I nodded. Being part of the band and winning the show were the only things that mattered, and I couldn’t let my attraction to Jared mess that up. I’d just have to stay away from him as much as possible over the next few weeks.

“Fine,” Jared said, though he didn’t sound happy about it. “But do we even have a shot at winning if they don’t want another rock band?”

“Yes, because it’s up to the voters who wins. No matter what the producers want, your band is one of the most popular ones this year. I think you can make it all the way to the end, but you’ll need to keep winning the viewers over and not just when you’re performing. I’ll be coaching you on what to say in interviews, what to wear for the live shows, and how to act when you’re in public. You have an image to keep up now. You’re not just a band anymore—you’re a brand, too. ”

I wasn’t sure how to process all of this. We could work on cohesion and I could try to avoid Jared, but I’d never thought about our “brand” before, other than how I dressed to fit in with the other guys. Now it sounded like everything we did from this point on would be scrutinized, especially if we didn’t fit with what the producers wanted.

Dan checked the papers in front of him again. “Jared, from the rumors I’ve heard and things I’ve read online, you seem to be something of a playboy, right?”

Jared coughed and stared at the floor. “I guess so.”