Chapter 231: After the Sweetness, the Knife

"Not really—Britney's new single performed poorly on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U. S., and to be honest, that's somewhat surprising."

Hearing this, Zhou Jianhui also rubbed his temples; he still hadn't fully grasped the shifts in the American market.

Since releasing the lead single "I'maSlave4U" on September 25 to promote the album, Britney's single has crashed on the B-chart, failing even to enter the top thirty so far.

This is the first time Britney's lead single has failed to crack the top ten.

According to Warner's estimates, the song will barely make it into the top thirty, and even then, it'll be at the very bottom of that range.

But this is the lead single.

On October 31, at the end of last month, the American sweetheart Britney released her third studio album, "Britney," despite the poor performance of her singles.

Although her image and the chaotic themes of the songs on this self-titled album drew heavy criticism from reviewers, the market was brutally honest—

In its first week, the album sold a staggering 746,000 copies, instantly topping the Billboard 200.

This contrast genuinely shocked Zhou Jianhui, who paid little attention to the Western music scene.

"Outside the U. S., her singles have done reasonably well, entering the top ten in multiple countries," Zhou Yi remarked, stroking his chin after noticing the document's annotations, impressed by the fierce competition in the American music industry.

He had already spotted a string of familiar names—

Destiny's Child, still featuring Beyoncé; veteran superstar Janet Jackson; Lenny Kravitz, a four-time Grammy winner for Best Male Rock Vocalist; Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez, both household names.

These are old staples of the singles chart.

Among new faces, a rock band called Life House burst onto the scene with jaw-dropping force, even surpassing another hot newcomer, Alicia Keys, on the singles chart, showing clear potential to claim the year-end crown.

Behind them, artists like Kelly Rowland, making a comeback as the "Pea Princess," are hot on their heels, even though she's already topped the UK charts, she still stumbles awkwardly in her pursuit of the American market.

"I think just making the chart counts as a win—it at least makes up for the lack of Chinese representation on Billboard. If Zhou Bang breaks into the 80s or 90s, I'll slap the boardroom table and demand more budget for you."

Watching Zhou Yi eagerly study the document's annotations, Zhou Jianhui, fearing he might be discouraged, casually offered encouragement, lowering his expectations.

Originally, the explosive success of "The Lazy Song" in Japan had raised his hopes for Zhou Yi, but after seeing how Britney's album sales and popularity still couldn't move her singles, Zhou Jianhui felt a bit uneasy.

Worst case, he can just come back and sing Chinese songs—it's not embarrassing; the Chinese-speaking market alone is enough to make Zhou Yi a superstar.

"Eighty or ninety? That's probably too optimistic, but exactly how high it'll climb really can't be predicted."

After reviewing all of Warner's internal analysis materials, Zhou Yi returned the documents to Zhou Jianhui, then reached into the fruit bowl, grabbed an orange, peeled it, and crossed his legs: "Where's Yanzi? Why hasn't she shown up at the company today?"

"She hasn't finished her first round of rehearsals—don't forget you started rehearsing before her; by the time she arrived, you were almost done."

Speaking of Sun Yanzi, Zhou Jianhui's eyes softened with approval: "But I think you should avoid bothering her for now. With everything going on, there are probably plenty of people trying to use her to get in touch with you."

Even if they couldn't find Zhou Yi after rehearsal, Sun Yanzi was still there.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi instantly imagined Sun Yanzi returning home exhausted after a long day, cheeks puffed out in furious annoyance, and couldn't help laughing.

Unable to bear it, Zhou Jianhui decided to give him something to do: "You've only got one shoot left this month—for Asia Weekly. Use this free time to focus more on Coca-Cola's advertising theme song."

"You're currently only the China regional spokesperson; if the ad song goes viral next year riding the World Cup wave, you could be upgraded to Asia-wide or even global spokesperson."

He never doubted Zhou Yi's speed or quality in writing songs, but given the World Cup and Coca-Cola next year, he felt Zhou Yi should take a more serious attitude.

Zhou Jianhui droned on like Tang Seng chanting sutras: "And you should start preparing your next Mandarin album too. You can't afford to lose your domestic base—right now, you still have a few potential rivals in China."

Li Wen's situation has already sounded the alarm for Zhou Jianhui—no matter how well you sing in English or how popular you are overseas, the domestic market still belongs to Mandarin songs.

Li Wen's situation had already sounded an alarm for Zhou Jianhui—no matter how well one sings in English or how popular one is abroad, the domestic market still belongs to Chinese songs.

Even Michael Jackson, the world's top pop king, would struggle to sell well in China with an English-language album.

The new generation of male singers in China isn't lacking in talent—Xie Tingfeng, whose popularity rivals Zhou Yi's, doesn't even need mentioning; just Wang Lihong, who's finally found his footing, and Jay Chou, who's already released his second album, are more than enough to warrant serious attention.

There was no lack of new male singers domestically; aside from Xie Tingfeng, whose popularity was at its peak just like Zhou Yi's, there was the already enlightened Wang Lihong and Zhou Jielun, who had already released his second album, both of whom were enough to command serious attention.

If Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi together dominate 50% of Taiwan's music market, Jay Chou ranks just behind them as the third-biggest artist; the three of them combined account for nearly 70% of Taiwan's entire record market.

If Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi together accounted for 50% of the Taiwanese music market, then Zhou Jielun was the singer with the next largest market share, and the three of them combined directly claimed nearly 70% of the Taiwanese record market.

"I know, I know—I've already got some ideas."

Zhou Yi, chewing on his orange, responded half-heartedly.

To be honest, he still hadn't settled on the theme for his third album; the only thing he was certain about was "In the Name of the Father," planned as a B-side deep cut.

Considering the ruthless powerhouse "Car Bottom God" will also drop next year in the mainland market, Zhou Yi still needs another song for his third album—one that can match or surpass the popularity, reach, and memorability of the competition.

This is one of the few perks of the album era—AB-side separation allows artists to balance mainstream appeal with stylistic experimentation.

This could be considered a unique benefit of the record era, after all, the A-side/B-side separation was sufficient to allow singers to balance popularity with stylistic exploration and experimentation.

As he pondered which A-side track would carry the album's mainstream appeal, the song "Fairytale" immediately popped into Zhou Yi's mind.

In terms of popularity and memorability, "Fairytale" wasn't targeting anyone specifically—it should easily outshine Ado's "He Must Love You Very Much."

So the question was: how should he connect these two songs?

One was the A-side lead single, the other the B-side closing track—their styles were worlds apart…

As he savored the sweet-tart flavor lingering on his tongue, Zhou Yi slipped into deep thought; a novel idea slowly took shape, emerging gradually—

Huh… maybe it actually could work, if I did it this way…

A faint smile curled unconsciously on Zhou Yi's lips as if he'd just thought of something amusing—when, the next second, a familiar voice reached his ear: "Who are you thinking about again? Why are you smiling like that?"

As if thinking of something amusing, a smile unconsciously played on Zhou Yi's lips; the next second, a familiar voice sounded by his ear: "Who are you thinking about again, smiling so happily?"

"Really? Then I'd better listen closely."

Sun Yanzi had just returned from rehearsal at CCTV headquarters and entered the CEO's office hoping to chat with Zhou Jianhui—but instead of Zhou Jianhui, she spotted Zhou Yi lying there, grinning like an idiot—

Smiling mischievously, she strolled over to the sofa, rested her left elbow on the backrest, and looked down at the man lying there, her eyes crinkling into crescents: "Don't tell me you're thinking about something inappropriate."

Smiling, he strolled to the front of the sofa, pressed his left elbow horizontally against the backrest, looked down at the man lying on it, his eyes curved into crescent moons, and teased: "Don't tell me it's something inappropriate for children."

Zhou Yi smirked: "I was wondering if you'd be perfect in a music video playing someone dying of a terminal illness—maybe even tie it into a crossover with 'The Summer the Wind Blew Through'—like, your last wish before dying is to return to your college graduation summer for one final look."

Zhou Yi pouted: "I was thinking if it would be very suitable for you to play a person dying of a terminal illness in the music video; the plot could also link up with 'Summer Breeze', for instance, his last wish before dying is to return to that summer and take one last look at the university where he graduated."

What does that even mean?

I was just sweet, sweet, sweet—and you immediately put me on a hospital bed? With a terminal illness?

I had just become sweet and happy, and you immediately sent me to the hospital bed? And it's an incurable disease?

PS: Overtime until now, I'm about to vomit.

Damn, finally ended this recent period of writing under power cuts.

Done, done, now rushing home to shower and sleep, greeting the extra update tomorrow with full energy.

PS2: Three chapters tomorrow, update at 5:30 PM.

(End of this chapter)