Chapter 534

"This is the profile of the new president of Warner (Japan), Kei Yoshida."

On the plane, Qian Jiang handed the documents he had prepared long ago to Zhou Yi and instructed, "The producer of that Fuji TV program, Ken Tsuchiya, tracked him down personally, which laid the foundation for this cooperation.

"This person is basically a parachuted-in outsider; he previously worked at a Sony subsidiary and has no connection with our old networks.

"However, this man is indeed very capable—

"You know Ken Hirai, right? An absolute top-tier star in Japan. Back then, he once hovered on the edge of retirement, but it was this Kei Yoshida who personally pulled him out and brought him to the throne of a top star..."

After Qian Jiang, knowing Zhou Yi was unfamiliar with Warner Japan, briefly introduced the man's past resume, he fell silent, leaving Zhou Yi to focus on the documents on the plane.

In fact, the replacement of Warner Japan with such a parachuted-in president was somewhat surprising to both Qian Jiang and Zhou Jianhui, especially since this person had previously worked at Sony.

However, for Zhou Yi, this newly appointed president Kei Yoshida was somewhat familiar.

If one had to find a figure domestically for comparison, Zhou Yi would choose to call this man the Japanese Zhou Jianhui—

Not only because the two men's appearances were somewhat similar, both with round faces, short hair, and glasses, projecting a refined demeanor, but also because their rise, job-hopping, and the curves of integrating Warner and leading Warner out of the trough were highly consistent.

Before being poached by Warner, Zhou Jianhui served as general manager at EMI's subsidiary, EMI Music Taiwan, while before being poached by Warner, Kei Yoshida similarly served as the boss at Sony's subsidiary, Defstar Records;

Zhou Jianhui made a name in the industry by producing Gigi Leung's "Short Hair," instantly making her famous across the two sides of the strait and Hong Kong; whereas Kei Yoshida made a name in the industry by bringing out Ken Hirai, this top star of the Japanese entertainment industry.

Yes, in 2003, the strength of Warner Japan in its home territory had already fallen far behind companies like Sony EMI, no longer matching the glory of the eighties and nineties, a situation identical to when Zhou Jianhui took over Warner back then.

This was evident from the fact that Akina Nakamori could already be seen wandering around.

This experience was simply a Japanese branch of Zhou Jianhui's glory.

Of course, Zhou Yi's biggest impression of this man stemmed from another matter—suicide.

On October 7, 2010, Kei Yoshida, the meritorious president who single-handedly brought Warner (Japan) back to the ranks of top domestic record labels, chose to hang himself at home at the age of 48; the cause of death was severe depression caused by work.

One can only say it was fortunate that Zhou Jianhui's psychological stress resistance was superior.

And Kei Yoshida, whose psychological stress resistance had not yet been blown up, was busy in Tokyo arranging various matters for Zhou Yi's arrival—

"Security is the top priority. Zhou Yi Jun coming to Japan is no small matter; his crazy fans must be watched closely." Kei Yoshida, with sharp eyes and a keen sense of smell, slapped the table while arranging things for his subordinates; his harsh words made everyone who received the orders fall silent as if frozen.

This newly appointed helmsman of Warner was not an easy person to talk to.

Whether in life or work, he rarely joked with people and handled matters meticulously, paying attention to details, to the extent that many Warner employees privately called him "reclusive."

"Yoshida-kun, are you making a mountain out of a molehill?" Ken Tsuchiya, who also planned to meet Zhou Yi, was somewhat puzzled.

"We cannot be careless, because his musical persona is a uniquely flamboyant personality type; the fans he attracts who go to the airport to see him are mostly extremely fanatical."

Kei Yoshida shook his head with a serious expression.

Zhou Yi's external musical persona was the kind of label he had always pursued for singers, because it could bring singers immense recognizability; combined with a singer-songwriter's unique creative ability, it was undoubtedly a weapon for performance.

Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki were among the outstanding examples.

Facts proved that the moment Zhou Yi stepped out of the airport, the erupted cheers and screams completely exceeded the expected arrangements of Warner Japan and the police; wave after wave of surging crowds almost seemed ready to crush the Maginot Line of the Metropolitan Police Department, which was notoriously weak—

"Zhou Yi-sama!"

"Zhou Yi-sama!!!"

"Zhou Yi-kun!"

"Zhou Yi-san!!!"

"Spike!"

"..."

For a moment, everyone was shouting different things; the cacophony almost deafened people's ears—

Zhou Yi, having taken off his sunglasses, equally doted on his fans by starting to sign autographs and take photos, occasionally showing off his only presentable Japanese phrases: "Hello," "Thank you," and so on.

Making money isn't shameful.

He couldn't possibly shout "Yamete" or "Ikuno" or "Ikuno."

Besides that, it was a seamless switch between Chinese and English throughout—there were still some Chinese people mixed in among the fans.

Whether it was because Zhou Yi's reputation as a pervert was too great or the summer wind was too hot, the girls standing in the front row were each dressed coolly, constantly pulling Zhou Yi's arm, who was signing autographs, towards the abyss—

It was hard to say they didn't want to recreate Zhou Yi's famous scene from his promotion in Taiwan back then.

"Zhou Yi-sama, I love you!"

"Thank you, I love you too."

"Zhou Yi-sama, how do you feel!"

"Uh, it feels like Tokyo looks quite hot."

"..."

Surrounded by a crowd of Japanese girls, Zhou Yi had a smiling face; every security guard was cursing in their heart, while the person carrying the camera faithfully recorded the interaction between Zhou Yi and the fans—Fuji TV's.

After finally satisfying the fans who had traveled a long way to the airport to welcome him, Zhou Yi, with a large pile of gifts in his hands, carried big and small bags; looking up, the shopping mall high-rises and outdoor billboards not far away had actually turned into his image—

"Welcome to Tokyo, Zhou Yi-sama!"

A line of large characters, crystal clear.

The love from the fans was fully manifested under the surrounding of all-Zhou Yi billboards.

To be honest, Zhou Yi was indeed somewhat moved—

How much money must this have cost? No wonder the Japanese fan circle culture can be called the ancestor of Asian fan circles.

After bidding farewell to the fans, Zhou Yi, who took a car to the Warner Japan building, also met the man who would in the future lead Warner (Japan) to another peak: Kei Yoshida.

"Hello, Zhou Yi Jun."

"Hello, Mr. Yoshida."

Zhou Yi shook hands and greeted him; Ken Tsuchiya, the producer from Fuji TV, even arranged for beautiful models and actors to accompany him and welcome Zhou Yi.

They all knew English, so there was no risk of Zhou Yi not understanding.

However, what no one expected was that at this critical moment when the entire Japanese industry was paying attention late at night, the editor-in-chief of "Bunshun Weekly," known as the Japanese Sun, publicly stated he had dirt on a certain artist from another country—

"This artist's nationality is not Japan, and he is not familiar with Japan;

"He flew directly from Taiwan to Tokyo;

"He once ordered two women at a private club to relieve his worries;

"He can sing hip-hop, R&B, pop, rock, and other songs..."

A certain mysterious Mr. Zhou who wishes to remain anonymous!

Weekly Bunshun, which had obtained the scoop early on and held back just to wait for Zhou Yi to arrive so it could ride the wave of hype and boost its sales, had this time truly captured everyone's attention.

(End of this chapter)