Scott’s mouse emergency had been entirely imaginary
The previous day’s apparent rodent crisis finally had an answer.
Pest control checked the flashing trap.
There was nothing inside.
The light had not been warning that a mouse or rat had been caught.
The batteries were running low.
Scott had spent a substantial part of the previous programme contemplating leaving the studio because of a battery indicator.
The story became even more embarrassing when the team discovered somebody from pest control had actually heard the discussion on Radio 1 and tried to come to Broadcasting House to explain.
They had apparently struggled to get in.
Scott apologised for creating a national mouse emergency out of an empty box.
Monday had not been Scott’s finest day generally
The rodent panic was only part of a difficult Monday.
Scott had also let a little bit of swearing slip on air.
Then there was television.
He had appeared on Richard Osman’s *House of Games* and already knew he did not particularly want to watch himself.
His boyfriend understood this and did not force the issue.
Scott then remembered another quiz embarrassment involving BTS.
Asked a question about where the group had been formed, he answered Japan.
Messages immediately arrived pointing out the obvious:
Korea.
Anybody?
The title’s question — was Scott’s Korea over? — was a deliberately terrible way of asking whether one bad quiz answer had destroyed him.
Sam Smith arrived wearing Celine Dion
Sam Smith joined after performing in the Live Lounge.
Scott immediately noticed the Celine Dion T-shirt.
That led into discussion of Celine merchandise and the slightly surreal fact that even superstar singers can turn up wearing another superstar’s face.
Sam had delivered the sort of Live Lounge performance Scott and Chris considered elite.
Naturally, the reward was being made to listen back and review it.
Sam preferred the quiet to a huge stage
Scott assumed a singer of Sam’s level must thrive on a massive audience.
Sam complicated that idea.
They missed the energy and affection of crowds, but large stages could also make them nervous and anxious.
A quieter environment let them concentrate on singing without quite the same pressure.
That made the Live Lounge unusually comfortable.
The stripped-back setup was not simply a pandemic compromise.
In some ways it suited Sam extremely well.
Radio 1 added the crowd afterwards
The show decided to test whether fake atmosphere could recreate the part Sam had missed.
First came festival crowd noise.
Then football crowd noise.
The difference was immediately obvious.
The festival sound had a general wash of cheering and excitement.
The football version felt sharper and more tribal.
Sam enjoyed hearing the contrast and talked about football too, undercutting any assumption that the singer would automatically prefer the festival option.
For Scott and Chris, artificial crowd noise had become one of 2020’s strangest broadcasting tools.
Now they were effectively applying it to the Live Lounge.
Sam had to review every vocal detail
Listening back produced the same reaction the show had seen from other artists.
Sam heard tiny things nobody else had noticed.
Scott heard a world-class singer sounding exactly like Sam Smith.
At one point Sam jokingly referenced Adele while reacting to their own vocal.
The self-criticism never became especially serious.
The segment worked because an artist who sounded completely assured during the performance could still become awkward when asked to sit and analyse it seconds later.
Blow Your Own Trumpet celebrated dealing with spiders
Tuesday’s trumpet included listener Tesh.
She had moved somewhere rural and discovered that dealing with spiders and other creatures was no longer something she could automatically outsource.
Instead of waiting for somebody else, she had started handling the problem herself.
The show treated this as exactly the kind of minor but genuine personal development worth a fanfare.
Bardcore became the new transformed-pop obsession
Don’t Look It Up moved into Bardcore — modern songs recreated as though they belonged in a medieval tavern.
Foster the People’s *Pumped Up Kicks* appeared in lute-and-minstrel form.
So did Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s *WAP*.
Maroon 5’s *Sugar* also received the treatment.
Scott loved the whole idea.
After months of metal, classical, bagpipe and foreign-language cover rounds, Bardcore felt like the production team’s logical next step.
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