Chapter 233: Slacking Off is a Common Trait

In 2001 America, the most authoritative indicator of whether a song was popular was the Billboard chart—the Billboard chart, abbreviated as the B-chart.

At the same time, since the American music market could be said to be the most prosperous and also the most fiercely competitive market in the world at present, the B-chart was therefore divided into multiple different category charts, making it convenient for some record companies to hype up their own singers.

As everyone knows, as long as enough adjectives are added, anyone can be loaded with honors.

But the most authoritative and also the most valuable of the B-chart actually essentially only has two charts: one is the Billboard 200, and the other is the Hot 100.

Usually, because singles charting relies more on radio, music by Black singers or groups is more likely to achieve relatively good ranking results on the Billboard Hot 100 (Hot 100 Singles Chart) and become a number-one single;

while White singers or groups are more likely to dominate the Billboard 200 chart, meaning their album sales are higher.

As a singer primarily promoted by Warner (China), and with the headquarters currently on good terms with China, Warner Records did provide some extra funding for Zhou Yi's song "The Lazy Song," successfully getting the song into a considerable number of radio playlists.

Bai Tian, having just learned about this song from his colleague Jack Wilson, opened his regularly listened-to radio station with some skepticism; after habitually finishing the daily recommendations, he indeed heard "The Lazy Song"—

"Today I don't feel like doin' anything~ (Today I feel like doing nothing)"

"I just wanna lay in my bed (Just want to lie in my bed)"

"Don't feel like picking up my phone (Don't feel like answering the phone)"

"So leave a message at the tone (So please choose to leave a message)"

"Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything~ (Because I swear today I'm doing nothing)"

A relaxed and cozy tone, even accompanied by playful whistling; Zhou Yi, almost from the very first note, brought the song's overall lazy texture to the extreme, instantly striking a chord with Abbie's heart.

Isn't this singing about him?!

Making endless phone calls at the company every day, answering endless phone calls; the one thing he most wanted to do was turn off his phone and let the whole world quiet down.

He didn't know what this Asian singer named Spike looked like, but he could swear to God that he liked this song.

Having listened to only half of it, Abbie had already started nodding his head to the rhythm of the music.

He didn't know many Asian singers; the previous one was Cocolee (Li Wen), a Chinese person, whom he had seen on TV during the Oscar Awards ceremony.

"God, the Spike who produced this song is simply a genius; I love the whistling he inserted into the song; it makes me feel like I'm back in my carefree childhood before I needed to work."

"It's a pity that such a good song isn't being heard by many people; it hasn't even entered the Billboard Singles Chart."

"Did he release the song without coming to America to promote it? Other singers wouldn't do that when they release songs."

"Probably because the distance is too great, so it's just a trial; the main market should be in Asia?"

"..."

In the Black community, where people tend to gather together, Abbie, feeling surprised, shared this song with friends at the gathering and basically received good reviews from all of them.

Then the group checked the Billboard weekly rankings... it hadn't charted.

Maybe this is just niche.

"Forget it, whether it charted or not doesn't matter; I'm going to buy the CD of this song and prepare to learn it."

"You're going out to buy a CD? Then bring me back a Jackie Chan (Cheng Long) disc on the way, the latest one, 'Rush Hour 2'."

Just as Abbie was preparing to go out, a friend called out to stop him.

It's not that he looked down on movies, but renting discs offered better value for money.

In the American film sector, the DVD rental market was, in a sense, the perfect breeding ground for small investments yielding big returns; countless blockbuster films could experience a second spring in the DVD market after leaving theaters, and quite a few films with mediocre box office or even losses made a fortune relying on the DVD market.

"OK."

Abbie, responding with an "OK," made a gesture; when he arrived at the video store, before he could even open his mouth, a chubby White auntie pointed to the top shelf: "Jackie Chan's discs are right there, take them yourself."

Abbie, who went to grab the goods with practiced ease, unexpectedly saw another package on the shelf featuring Jackie Chan's face; the song title on the cover looked very familiar to him: "The Lazy Song."

"Susan, what is this? A record?"

"Yes, like Jackie Chan, it's from China; there's a song in 'Rush Hour 2' sung by him."

"..."

As a casual fan of Jackie Chan, hearing this, Abbie immediately curiously took down that CD from the shelf—

Spike.

A very handsome young man.

The same scene played out consecutively at different times and in different locations.

Without Zhou Yi himself appearing in America for promotion, the booming DVD market for "Rush Hour 2" instead became one of the key promotional markets that Zhou Jianhui aimed to conquer.

"Endorsed by Jackie Chan," "The Genius in Jackie Chan's Movie Soundtrack," and so on.

Yes, Zhou Yi was unknown in America; not many people recognized him.

But Jackie Chan was popular!

Especially after "Rush Hour 2" achieved the shocking result of $226 million in the US this year, Jackie Chan himself was incredibly popular.

Naturally, the number of people wanting to buy the DVD of this movie for collection, or those who looked down on the movie but wanted to rent the DVD to watch at home, rose accordingly; then, they noticed the genius Zhou Yi whom Warner was bundling with the promotion of "Rush Hour 2"—

On November 28, "The Lazy Song" still had not entered the B-chart Hot 100.

But by the 30th, this song truly entered many people's view by leveraging the fame of "Rush Hour 2."

Moreover, after 9/11, many office workers whose nerves had been forced to stay tense for several months felt unexpectedly comfortable upon hearing this song.

The line "Today I don't feel like doin' anything~ (Today I feel like doing nothing)" basically became a catchphrase in small circles, and even showed a trend of gradually expanding outward, causing radio data to rise accordingly.

Translating this popular phenomenon into Chinese, it would be—

"I'm not going to work today!"

December 1, 2001, Capital City, the interview site of "Asia Weekly."

Facing the female reporter who had clearly done her homework, Zhou Yi stated the meaning of this song without hesitation: "This song represents the mood of not wanting to go to work."

"At that time, I was in Hong Kong attending an event arranged by the company, and I happened to meet Brother Jackie Chan at the event site. He told me about the protagonist's inner journey and the plot in the movie; I thought, isn't this exactly the same as me?"

"Both don't want to go to work, but end up having to go to work, busy day after day until feet don't touch the ground without knowing what we're busy with, even sleeping requires staying up late, and then getting up from the warm bed early the next morning."

"..."

Facing such an honest Zhou Yi, the "Asia Weekly" female reporter almost couldn't find a response; her gaze instinctively turned to Qian Jiang, who was outside the recording range—

The latter smiled faintly, gesturing that this posed no problem.

Zhou Yi's lazy-dog personality was long since taken for granted within Warner; as long as the Crown Prince was happy, that was all that mattered.

"Then do you know your song has secured seven consecutive weeks at number one on Japan's Oricon chart? Do you think you can break Utada Hikaru's single sales record for this year?"

"In the Japanese market, it's hard to say; after all, that is their turf. But in the Asian market, and even the global market, I think it should be possible."

"..."

Wait, where is the modesty?

Wasn't asking this question meant for you to show some modesty?

Li Jiang, the female reporter somewhat bewildered by the situation, turned her head to look at Qian Jiang again. The latter remained unmoved, nodded at her, and gestured that the interview could continue normally.

"..."

Li Jiang had been in the industry for so long, yet this was the first time she had encountered a celebrity who spoke so directly in an interview, with the manager not even blocking him!

PS: I watched 'The Black Iron Fish Shadow' and it delayed my time.

No big problem.

Releasing two chapters first.

(End of this chapter)