Chapter 239: The Most Arrogant Freshman in History

The smile on Qian Jiang's face below the stage instantly froze. Soon, scattered laughter erupted from the audience, accompanied by heckling from those who loved to stir up trouble.

As a talk show program, "The Conan Show," though only launched this year, already holds considerable influence in the United States in terms of both ratings and discussion volume.

As the host, Conan O'Brien is a veteran of the hosting world, having met countless new faces every year in the past—

but no one has ever acted as "arrogant" as Zhou Yi, with such a huge claim.

"To be honest, I have a pretty good relationship with Jackie Chan; I've also met Li Lianjie. When they first came to the US, they were far more humble than you."

A talk show performance is all about teasing and fun.

Although this remark was not part of the scheduled rehearsal, Conan O'Brien suddenly became interested. Sitting in his chair with one hand resting on the table, he effortlessly brought up the two Chinese martial arts superstars, Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie, to vouch for Zhou Yi, effectively letting the live audience know his specific nationality.

"Is that so? But I feel I am already very humble."

Zhou Yi, with his fingers interlaced in front of his abdomen and one leg crossed over the other, raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "My songs are very popular in the US, aren't they?"

The backstage director timely played Zhou Yi's CD vocals in the venue. The latter, sitting on the sofa, shrugged indifferently: "Looks like you guys still know your stuff."

Conan O'Brien laughed from the bottom of his heart.

This young Chinese singer, judging solely by his outward personality, is indeed quite interesting.

For a foreign singer to successfully break into the American music scene, leaving a memorable first impression is crucial. It's just like how the first impression labels left by Jackie Chan and Li Lianjie when they ventured into Hollywood were "great martial arts."

Never mind whether it leaves a bad impression on some people; as long as you can capture a portion of the audience first, it counts as success.

The reason Li Wen failed in her attempt to break into the American music scene, aside from genuinely not receiving good songs, was also due to a lack of a distinct personal trait.

In the Chinese music scene, Li Wen's electric hips were considered unparalleled, but in the American music scene, all her sexy advantages were completely nullified, making her seem utterly ordinary.

After all, there are countless female singers in the European and American music scene who can dance better than her and are sexier than her; they are even more willing to accept a larger degree of exposure.

Let's not talk about the distant past; just look at Kylie Minogue, who is currently huge. How seductive was the outfit she wore while dancing in the "Can't Get You Out of My Head" music video?

"OK, I admit your statement does make some sense. Let's talk about something else, like, how did you get on the path of music?"

"You're only 20. God, when I was 20, I was constantly soaking in alcohol and women—oh, sorry, that's a secret." Conan O'Brien made a shushing gesture, his face appropriately showing a look of awkward embarrassment.

"I don't know. Maybe, because I'm a genius?"

Zhou Yi, twisting his body on the sofa, recalled the past: "Actually, I didn't originally plan to debut as a singer."

"About two years ago, I was still studying at Peking University. You know, boys who look as handsome and have such great physiques as me are often very popular in universities."

Having said that, he fixed his gaze on Conan O'Brien, whose eyes were crisscrossed with wrinkles: "Oh, sorry, maybe you don't know."

"..."

Seeing that even the host, Conan O'Brien, was choked speechless, the area below the stage instantly erupted in laughter.

"OK, back to the point. I was very popular at school back then, and I sang well, so many record companies came to find me, wanting to invite me to join them, and they even thoughtfully prepared auditions for me."

"And then you chose Warner?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "No, I rejected them all."

Conan O'Brien was somewhat curious: "Why?"

"Because I never audition."

"Because you—huh?!"

As the host, Conan O'Brien was so surprised that his facial features scrambled for a moment, his voice filled with disbelief: "What?!"

As a singer, wanting to sign with a record company means you have to enter the recording studio to audition and see the results; isn't that common sense?

"Is that hard to understand? I don't feel I need the audition segment to prove myself."

Facing the uproar from both on and off the stage, Zhou Yi shrugged with an air of self-evidence: "Moreover, at that time, the record companies were fighting to sign me, not me begging them."

"So, either sign me directly, or just ignore me completely. Is there a problem?"

"..."

Hiss... something seems a bit off, but at the same time, it feels like there's no problem.

Unless you don't consider signing with a record company as the goal.

"So, how did you finally sign with Warner, Spike? Just because they didn't require you to audition?" Conan O'Brien tentatively confirmed once more.

"Of course. I think one of the most correct decisions Zhou Jianhui ever made in his life was to pull the trigger and sign me."

Speaking these words, Zhou Yi slightly lifted his chin and said with a smile: "The facts prove that he succeeded."

This statement... sounds so damn arrogant!

At this moment, both the live audience and Conan O'Brien's eyes lit up.

Zhou Yi never auditions.

Once this program is broadcast, this statement will absolutely become a memorable point.

"I have to say, this reason really surprised me. I thought you would say something inspirational, like family or environment. It seems many singers who take the music path are like that, like Eminem and others."

"I don't have that many inspirational stories to tell because my family life has been very happy since I was young. Although my family didn't have much money back then, both my parents were alive..."

"Then, Spike, what do you think about some people on the American internet who despise you? Especially on Yahoo, many people are saying you are just hyping yourself, that Warner is pushing you hard with money, and that your songs are actually just products of Warner's operations."

At the end, Conan O'Brien asked another quite sharp question, waiting for his answer with great interest.

Zhou Yi shifted his body, completely unconcerned: "My view is: bring more of them."

"Bring more? Wait, do you mean bring more haters? You might not have heard clearly what I just said—"

"No, no, no, I heard clearly. My meaning is: bring more haters."

Zhou Yi, straightening his suit, chuckled once and stated firmly: "After all, I do need a few more haters right now, because the previous ones have all become my fans."

Conan O'Brien: "..."

Live Audience: "..."

Qian Jiang: "..."

He's already letting himself go before even returning to the country, huh?!

Although this is a talk show program and one can understand the need to build a persona and create effects for the show, Qian Jiang could already imagine what kind of controversy Zhou Yi would face in the American market after this episode airs.

Facts proved that Qian Jiang's worry was not without reason.

Right after the new episode of "The Conan Show" aired, Zhou Yi, along with his name, frequently appeared among the American internet users, a group with more frequent communication.

This time, Americans finally learned what the singing Zhou Yi looked like—at the same time, they also saw the personality he revealed in the program.

In an instant, controversy surged alongside his fame!

On Yahoo, the discussion volume regarding Zhou Yi within the netizen community rose sharply—especially his words in the program.

(End of this chapter)