Chapter 446

To be fair, sometimes even Eminem himself feels a bit envious of Zhou Yi.

He was born in October 1972; as of February 2003, he had landed squarely on the awkward number of exactly thirty years old.

This is a rather awkward age—the marketing tactic of being young and reckless, dissing people everywhere, is something he can barely use anymore.

In the past, when he was in his teens or twenties, firing shots and dissing people everywhere, writing his targets of insult into songs, others would say "young and reckless" out of respect for his talent. But if he continues doing this in his thirties or forties, the effect will undoubtedly be greatly diminished, and even the advertisers coming to him will decrease.

But Zhou Yi is still very young; according to the world's universal method of calculating age, Zhou Yi, who is twenty-two in nominal age this year, is currently only twenty-one.

Although he still felt very displeased with Zhou Yi's provocation, at this point he had to admit that the talent this guy possessed could support such arrogance.

"No matter what, you absolutely cannot lose this time at the Grammys. Since you two are jointly nominated, either you win, or neither of you gets it."

The manager still emphasized this point.

With things having developed to this point, even he, an old hand in the American entertainment circle, dares not give a guarantee.

Originally, the fact that Zhou Yi, a Chinese person, had multiple nominations was already the result of the Grammys catering to his album's market performance, but now it seems the public relations channels behind him might be even broader than the Eminem team imagined.

"After all, even setting aside Samsung, which we don't yet know if they will enter the fray, the intervention of the Bronfman Group is solid. Although that little Edgar Bronfman is just a second-generation heir who only knows how to squander wealth, his connections and influence are indeed truly vast..."

At the stalemate moment when Warner Bros. Records, Coca-Cola, and even Steve Jobs's Apple and Pixar Animation were all lobbying for Zhou Yi at the Grammys, the Bronfman Group, brought in by Zhou Jianhui, was undoubtedly a boost that caught everyone off guard—

In their view, little Edgar Bronfman, who had just been defeated by Universal, should currently be in a stage of silently grieving, but somehow, after being fed some bewitching potion by that Chinese person named Zhou Jianhui, he was actually willing to suddenly intervene in a situation where there seemed to be no connection at all, catching everyone off guard.

"How many channels can we still contact?" After pondering for a moment and conducting a calm brainstorming session, Eminem asked in a low voice.

"There are—"

Ring-ring-ring!

Just as the manager was about to list them off like a menu, the phone in his suit pocket suddenly rang—

"Hello?"

Three seconds later, under Eminem's surprised gaze, the manager jumped three feet high, springing directly up from the sofa: "What did you say?!"

……………………

"Disney???"

Capital City, Warner Building, Qian Jiang's office.

Zhou Yi, who was cracking almonds, paused his hand, turned his head in surprise to look at the manager whose smile he couldn't stop, and his tone unusually carried a bit of incredulity: "Are you saying that people from Disney have also entered the fray to help me with public relations?"

"That's right."

Qian Jiang, who was so happy he was just about to whistle on the spot, patted his robust general's belly: "Do you remember the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean'? The production company for this movie is Disney, and you happen to have a collaboration on the theme song with 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.

"Although this movie hasn't completed its initial cut yet, so we can't send it to you to review the plot and theme for writing the theme song, the speed is fast, after all, the screening date is preliminarily set for June this year."

Qian Jiang excitedly recounted the events he had received from Zhou Jianhui: "Also, do you remember that Steve Jobs you are going to collaborate with? The Pixar Animation he single-handedly built also has a very deep cooperative relationship with Disney.

"Zhou Jianhui, bringing sincerity, visited the Disney executive in charge of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' project and the Disney executives introduced by Steve Jobs, persuading them to join this public relations battle..."

As for how much effort and how many brain cells Zhou Jianhui actually spent to persuade them to cooperate together, Qian Jiang did not go into detail; he simply happily notified Zhou Yi of this result.

To be honest, Zhou Yi was very surprised.

Disney, the American entertainment circle—no, one should say the international entertainment circle's unshakable giant.

Unlike Time Warner, which is currently deeply entangled in negative news such as tight capital chains, Disney can be said to be truly rich and powerful, thriving in both the North American and global markets.

Naturally, the factional struggles within Disney are equally fierce.

Zhou Jianhui actually managed to secure the support of some factions within Disney under these circumstances?

One can only say that it is no wonder he is the president who swiftly pulled Warner China out of the abyss with a sharp blade; these two skills are truly not for show. This series of public relations tactics can be said to fully display his old-hand expertise, with the timing grasped just right—

First creating public opinion, then directing it towards racial discrimination to create social public opinion pressure on the Grammy judging panel, followed by the routine public relations of Warner Bros. Records plus Coca-Cola;

After this, it was like a magic trick producing an ally every few days—first Apple, then Pixar, then the Bronfman Investment Consortium, and finally even Disney was brought in.

After playing all the cards in hand, he could still give people the illusion that "no one knows who else I can bring in," with a little Samsung princess assisting on the side.

Especially after Disney entered the fray, no one knows if Samsung will also come.

"Warner Bros. Records plus Coca-Cola plus Apple plus Pixar plus the Bronfman Investment Consortium plus some Disney factions; your current public relations resources are sufficient. I can guarantee that at this year's Grammys you will absolutely not leave empty-handed!"

Speaking to the end, Qian Jiang was so excited his face turned red: "You can break the record of zero total wins in this aspect for Asian pop singers, becoming a person who opens a new page in history!"

In the Asian pop music scene, not a single person has ever won a Grammy Award in the pop music category of the Grammys to date.

Actually, regarding Zhou Yi, who is currently twenty-two, conquering territories in the United States, Japan, as the world's second-largest music market, has actually always been envious, jealous, and resentful; this can be seen from how they address Zhou Yi—

"China's Music Emperor," not "Asia's."

Although there are many Zhou Yi fans among the Japanese public, helplessly, the Japanese music scene can actually still bring up a genius from the Showa era to compete against him—Kyu Sakamoto, born in 1942.

He started playing in bands at sixteen and officially debuted in Japan; in just three years, he grew into the most famous teenage genius in the Japanese entertainment circle.

In 1961, nineteen-year-old Kyu Sakamoto composed and sang the legendary song "Ue o Muite Arukou" (Sukiyaki), successfully dominating the Japanese music scene.

Two years later, in 1963, twenty-one-year-old Kyu Sakamoto entered the American music scene and directly won the number one spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 with the English version of this Japanese song, "SUKIYAKI," achieving a thoroughly impressive three consecutive weeks at number one!

In 1964, twenty-two-year-old Kyu Sakamoto created an Asian myth in the US, selling over a million singles in one year.

Keep in mind this was the United States in 1964.

A teenage genius, soaring into the sky from that moment on!

Regrettably, because of his identity as an Asian and a Japanese person, this legendary genius of the Japanese entertainment circle did not receive the favor of the Grammys; instead, due to his company's lack of support behind the scenes, he was frequently discriminated against by the European and American music scene.

Disheartened, Kyu Sakamoto immediately stopped activities in the US, shifted his focus back to Japan to start enjoying life, and made achievements in hosting, movies, and stage plays.

However, in 1985, this Japanese singer, the only one in the Japanese music scene to have successfully entered the US market in reverse, died in an air crash at the age of forty-three.

Precisely because of this, after Zhou Yi also entered the US market, many Japanese media outlets directly brought out this great deity, Kyu Sakamoto, to counter the domestic fan discourse praising Zhou Yi.

There was no other way.

After Ayumi Hamasaki and Maaya Sakamoto, these two who failed in the US, the only historical-level genius the Japanese music scene pinned its hopes on, Utada Hikaru, unexpectedly got married in a flash last year; her English album is indefinitely postponed, while her honeymoon is being enjoyed very happily.

They could only bring out the deceased Kyu Sakamoto.

Similarly a teenage genius, similarly soaring into the sky at nineteen;

Kyu Sakamoto won three consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard chart at twenty, and at twenty-one his US single sales broke a million, earning dollars hand over fist;

At 20, Zhou Yi broke a million in US single sales; at 21, he took twelve consecutive #1s on the US Billboard singles chart, raking in US dollars hand over fist.

Moreover, precisely because Sakamoto died in an accident, it gave the Japanese media unlimited room to boast—

marketing lines like "If Sakamoto hadn't had that accident, the first person honored in Asian music would surely have been him" came out in an endless stream.

Some went even further, imitating Sakamoto on shows and spouting pretentious lines like "I am Sakamoto, what business have you with me," all to counter the flood of praise for Zhou Yi coming from Japanese domestic music audiences and various magazines and newspapers.

Of course, faced with this situation, under Warner (Japan)'s management, Zhou Yi's fans in Japan only grew more loyal.

"I think the odds of Yi Jun winning a Grammy and making history are still very high—after all, behind him is Warner, one of the world's five major record labels. The situation is completely different from Sakamoto's back in the day."

On a music program on Japan's Fuji Television, the famous Japanese animation director Shinichiro Watanabe—who at the end of the last century created the top-tier anime masterpiece *Cowboy Bebop*, worthy of being recorded in world animation history—made his stance crystal clear in an interview, standing firmly on Zhou Yi's side.

As a space-fantasy road movie that took music to its absolute extreme, *Cowody Bebop*'s use of and tribute to music can be called textbook-level. It not only enjoys the reputation of a top-tier masterpiece in Japan, but also has a massive fanbase in Europe and America.

Yu Ji Ohno, the famous Japanese scoring master who created "The Song of the Sea" and composed the classic theme songs for the national-level anime series *Lupin the Third*, likewise stood on Zhou Yi's side in an interview—

"I don't personally know Zhou Yi Jun, but I believe his songs possess a vision and a level of production that transcend this era.

"When we—and even the European and American music scenes—were still stuck in the year 2000, his songs and musical aesthetics were already a decade ahead of us. That's what I believe…"

And as Zhou Yi's latest song to date, *Superstar* was at just this moment jointly brought into the Japanese market by Warner and EMI—

the two labels' wolfish ambition to ride Zhou Yi's popularity and break Sun Yanzi and Elva Hsiao into the Japanese market was plain for all to see. The Japanese market could do nothing about it, and could only let Zhou Yi walk in and out of them at will.

Although the language barrier existed, the driving melody of *Superstar* still carved out a small niche market in Japan. Mai Kuraki, who is set to collaborate with Sun Yanzi this year, even performed a Japanese translation of the song along with several of Zhou Yi's English songs at her own live show.

"*Superstar*: A new star in music, a stunning voice that stirs the soul!"

On February 13, Tanaka Soichiro, founder and editor-in-chief of the famous Japanese music magazine *Snoozer*, praised this "diva duo" from China in his own column—

"When we talk about the beauty of music, we're not just talking about melody and lyrics—we're talking about a flow of emotion, a resonance of the soul.

"I feel very fortunate that, in a song like this, I am not merely a beneficiary of hearing, but a traveler of the heart. Thank you, Zhou Yi Jun, for creating such an absolute masterpiece that can lead us through the abyss of emotion.

"*SuperStar* is no ordinary pop song. Zhou Yi Jun has fused multiple musical elements—from dynamic electronic music to moving pop-rock—every note like a carefully sculpted gem, glittering with a unique light.

"The rise and fall of the melody is like a musical feast. Combined with the singer's distinctive voice, it pulls you in and makes it impossible to break free…"

Tanaka Soichiro—who absolutely refused to admit he'd taken a fee from Warner, and even when photographed entering and leaving an upscale club with Warner (Japan) executives still flatly denied it—used Zhou Yi's name to hype up this Chinese song to the skies, while putting special emphasis on Sun Yanzi.

On EMI's side, they also found the famous young Japanese music critic Uno Tadashi—an editor nicknamed the genius Hikaru Utada super researcher—to lavish praise on Elva Hsiao and Zhou Yi—

"*SuperStar* Conquers the World!"

A double entendre: it praised Elva Hsiao while also indirectly hyping Zhou Yi, building full momentum for his upcoming Grammy run.

"In the ocean of music, every star has its own unique light, and *SuperStar* is the most dazzling of them all. It is more than a song—it is a beautiful melody, an inexpressible emotion.

"I look forward to Superstar Zhou Yi Jun breaking through history at this year's Grammys and becoming the first in Asia!"

Whether out of goodwill or on purpose, the Japanese music scene and its fans—terrified of losing even their last fig leaf—basically all began paying attention to the Grammy Awards ceremony, just ten days away.

Domestically, *Superstar* had already gone absolutely viral, and with various rich folks online willing to take the trouble to repost the reviews and analyses of Zhou Yi from Japanese and American internet and news sources, naturally the discussions were just as heated.

"Holy shit! Japan's music scene actually has such a badass ancient great god?"

"To be fair, Japan is the world's second-largest music market, even stronger than the UK. Having such a badass figure isn't surprising—the market is high-quality and mature."

"To the poster above, Japan's music scene wasn't really putting out much back in that era. The fact that this guy got out of Japan at all is already a miracle, let alone being this badass in America."

"I used to think Zhou Yi's resume was already a one-of-a-kind cheat code in Asian music history. Turns out I'm just short-sighted…"

"Whatever, the guy's dead, let him cool off underground! Zhou Yi, go get 'em for me!"

"That's right, that's right—Zhou Yi, fly without worries! If you win a Grammy, I swear I'll never hate on you again for the rest of my life!"

"……"

In 2003, although China's internet had its Great Firewall, that level of defense was no challenge at all to domestic netbugs who were used to climbing over walls. A little tinkering and they could get straight through.

And then Zhou Yi's blog abroad, where he'd been passionately arguing with people, got copied back home verbatim by some trolls…

The vast majority of domestic netizens only then realized—this guy isn't just a tough guy at home?!

Is he really cussing that hard?!

So the domestic media's news reports were actually the sanitized version?!

"Zhou Yi, go to America and curse out more Yankees! Keep cursing just like that!"

"Brother Zhou Yi, fly without worries! I've already cursed them back for you, no need to thank me!"

"Everyone, go ahead and curse, no worries—we'll take the heat for Zhou Yi, and if there's any blame, Zhou Yi takes it."

"……"

On February 14, Zhou Yi, already packing up to head to America, saw the online buzz and his eyes nearly squinted into mismatched slits.

Especially when he spotted Sun Yanzi's account mixed in with the crowd, setting the pace…

"Explain to me—what do you mean, 'when there's trouble, Zhou Yi charges in; when there's nothing, charge at Zhou Yi'?"

Sun Yanzi's home.

Zhou Yi stood with arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the woman sitting in the computer chair.

The latter's eyes darted about. After meeting Zhou Yi's gaze, she instinctively shrank her neck, gave a sheepish grin, and tried to cute her way through: "Hehe, Zhou Yi, what time's your flight tomorrow? I'll see you off?"

(End of chapter)