Chapter 299: The Miracle of the Airdrop

As the saying goes, a good hero needs three helpers.

With Zhou Yi having no connections or foothold in the American music scene, it is an open secret what Warner's subtle maneuvering aims to achieve.

The most direct result was that Maria Carey's team noticed him immediately. Moreover, the battle-hardened Maria Carey saw right through Warner's motives at a glance.

Just as Eminem had done—

Without notifying her, they dragged her into the battlefield of public opinion.

She hated this behavior, but considering that Zhou Yi from China held no ill will toward her, and given that Maria Carey, exhausted from both body and mind while just setting up her company, was too lazy to fuss, she simply waved her hand, instructing her team not to pop up and get exploited, and that was it.

Earlier this year, she had her record contract terminated by Virgin Records citing personnel changes, received over twenty million dollars in compensation, and only last month finally signed a new contract with Universal Records.

She barely had time to respond to Eminem's curses, let alone a singer from the other side of the ocean like Zhou Yi.

"Send me a copy of Spike's album; I'll listen and see how it is."

On the nanny car after the event, after instructing her assistant, Mariah Carey remained silent, took Zhou Yi's album, and returned to the company to listen to music, but her fans were far from idle.

As a top-tier diva whose number of Billboard number-one singles ranks second only to The Beatles, although things haven't been entirely satisfactory recently, Maria Carey's status is firmly established here; the fans who followed along the way could at least be called loyal—

In short: Whoever wants to take on Eminem, we must definitely help out!

Best to drag that hooligan back down to hell!

Then they opened Zhou Yi's resume and took a look: Oh ho, so it's him?

As someone who frequently fights on the front lines engaging in verbal sparring with Eminem's fans, Harry Jackson, to better understand the album quality of his "ally," specifically added three dollars to buy a deluxe edition.

As a self-proclaimed true-blue American whose ancestors for three generations all toiled on plantations, Harry Jackson himself had little interest in Zhou Yi's songs.

If not for the fact that this man's past achievements were truly quite fierce, he might not have even glanced at Zhou Yi.

After all, since the release of Eminem's new album, quite a few musicians in the music scene had stood on Maria Carey's side to criticize Eminem.

Then, holding the thought "You kid better not disappoint me," Harry Jackson frowned the moment he heard the opening of the song "Baby."

Judging by his experience, the melody was indeed very catchy, but he didn't really like it.

The following "Onething" and "WhatmakesYouBeautiful" were also quite pleasant to listen to, but he only listened to them three times before moving on.

Too pop.

Zhou Yi isn't Britney Spears; he can't show off his legs, chest, or face in the MV.

Harry, who felt a vague sense of disappointment after listening to the first three songs, was so startled upon hearing the fourth song, "Becauseofyou," that he instantly hit pause—

Hmm?

Something's off; let me listen again.

Sensing something amiss from the change in song style and the meaning of the lyrics, Harry became increasingly obsessed, rewound, and listened again—

"wuwuwu~~~"

"ohoh~~"

Starting with the same "weird screaming," yet filled with the unique melisma techniques of R&B, it immediately captured his ears; the R&B flavor right at the beginning of this song completely swept away the cloying feeling brought by the first three highly pop-flavored tracks.

It was like serving a palate-cleansing salad to a diner who had just eaten three plates of fried chicken; the texture was excellent.

Light and graceful melody, playful yet deeply emotional singing—

"Want to, but I can't help myself."

"I love the way it feels."

"It's got me stuck between my fantasy and what is real."~

Like chilled watermelon in summer, one bite brings coolness that refreshes the heart and mind.

Harry, who had listened to each of the first three songs at most three times, looped "Becauseofyou" ten times and still felt unsatisfied.

Especially the arrangement of the intro and the verses—elegant, no need for further words.

And when it reached the last track on Side A, "Rude," the style suddenly shifted to Lei Gui—also winning through rhythm, not only perfectly inheriting and developing the rhythmic advantage of the previous song but also creating connections with the meanings expressed in the preceding four songs.

After listening to all five songs on Side A, Harry, delighted by the discovery and pondering them repeatedly several times, suddenly realized something—

"Wait, Spike's five songs on Side A, not a single one is filler?!"

………………………………………………

"Warner is too extravagant; who releases albums like this? Just the five songs on Side A are enough to be split and used as lead singles on two separate albums, right?"

"No, no, no, I think all eleven songs on the entire album could be released as lead singles."

In the hotter market of the UK, ten hours after Zhou Yi's new album was released, some people who couldn't contain their excitement began to praise Zhou Yi, and some even posted photos of themselves immediately purchasing the deluxe edition after listening to the album—

"I announce that from today on I am Spike's die-hard fan! He is amazing!"

"Although, Kelly Brook is actually British; she went to Gao Wei in Ireland just to relax."

"I like 'Baby'; that melody is too beautiful."

"There's a question: In the song 'GoodTime', who is that short-haired female singer named Stefanie singing with Spike? Does anyone know her? Her tone sounds very nice, very textured, and she wasn't overshadowed."

"Haven't heard of her; probably a niche singer Spike found somewhere."

"..."

Benefiting from the popularity of the World Cup, Zhou Yi's new album, which was more familiar and had higher popularity in the UK, received far more discussion than in the US.

Putting aside the two old songs that were released long ago, the other nine songs on the album "TheAttitudeShow" are all masterpieces among masterpieces—

This is truly unprecedented in the history of pop music.

Even Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop, couldn't do it!

Thus, when the chart results for "TheAttitudeShow" landing on July 2nd came out, the entire Warner, and even the whole industry, were stunned—

UK Pop Music Chart: "Yeah" landed at fifth, "Baby" landed at eleventh;

"GoodTime" landed at nineteenth, "WhatmakesYouBeautiful" landed at twenty-fifth.

France: "Baby" landed at ninth, "GoodTime" at eleventh, "Becauseofyou" at twenty-third...

Germany, Italy, Spain, even Iceland...

In Europe, the just-concluded World Cup closing ceremony became Warner's best stage for promoting Zhou Yi; an album of eleven songs saw five enter the top thirty of music charts across various European nations, with popularity exploding.

And on the US Billboard Hot 100, on Tuesday night, two songs from Zhou Yi's album also debuted in the top fifty.

Avril Lavigne, the Canadian punk witch, had been pushing her single "Complicated" for over a month, yet it was now only at number forty-nine; Zhou Yi, debuting with "Baby" and "Yeah," had just squeezed her out of the top fifty, pushing her to fifty-one...

"What?!"

Avril, who was being made to run around everywhere for promotion under the company's arrangement, heard her manager's news and was left with a head full of question marks.

What does this mean?

Two songs debuting in the US Billboard top fifty right from the start, five songs debuting in the top thirty of music charts across various European nations—do you call this a newcomer?!

What kind of deity is this???

(End of this chapter)