Chapter 545: The Rock Saint

Roars and cheers like a mountain call and sea tsunami, the man bathed in light raised his eyebrows, his posture as he paced forward on stage exuding an expression of inexpressible nobility.

The backing vocalists sang softly behind him, a hymn-like "Natural"; in that moment, amidst the composition and lighting, Yukino Arakaki looked up at the man on stage, feeling as if she saw an angel inspiring the world—

"Will you hold the line

"When everyone of them has given up and given in, tell me..."

Perhaps you have, like me, endured many hardships, been misunderstood and criticized by many—

Do not give up, do not stop trying, even if hope is worn away by setbacks.

Nothing in this world comes easily.

Whether the legendary Hand of God intervenes or not, my head will forever be held high, and the kingdom I have created will stand eternally—

Because I was born this way!

"And you're standing on the edge face up 'cause you're a

"Natural!"

This line of lyrics was shouted in unison by fans whose emotions had instantly been raised to their peak!

The weight of life, grievances in one's career, dissatisfaction in the family, disappointments in love—

In this very moment, along with Zhou Yi, they roared together, venting the pent-up aggression in their chests until their voices were hoarse!

The keyboardist, Yuki Uesugi, struck the instrument with her ten fingers, the force so great it seemed ready to pierce through it!

Every band member looked like a madman, delivering the most scorching live performance since the start of their musical careers!

Electric guitar, bass, drum kit...

The instruments collided with passion in this moment, bursting forth with brilliant fireworks!

Mottled light and shadow fell upon the face of everyone present, as if tearing off the mask of pretense, releasing the unease and anxiety within their hearts to the fullest amidst the drumbeats of the music!

The moment the emotions erupted was a torrent that even the Tokyo Bay levee breaking could not compare to!

"Yeah you're a natural!

"Living your life cutthroat!

"You gotta be so cold!

"Yeah you're a natural!!!"

Amidst the upward-thrusting angry vocals, the roars of 1,200 people pierced through the top of the building straight into the clouds; Yukino Arakaki, unable to help herself in this fiery atmosphere, stood up from her seat, raised the glow stick in her hand, and shouted until her throat was hoarse, caring nothing for the consequence!

Sweat broke out on her forehead, slightly dampening her collar, yet she paid it no mind.

Some even stepped directly onto their seats, taking off their short-sleeved shirts and jackets, folding them into strips, gripping them in their hands and waving them continuously; men were bare-chested, while women still had a layer of partial covering—

Every face was flushed with excitement, their sparkling eyes reflecting nothing but Zhou Yi on the stage!

When the song ended, the scorching heat of the venue did not fade for a long time...

People cheered enthusiastically, constantly reaching out toward the stage, only to receive the idol's favor.

The multi-track cameras suspended above the small theater faithfully recorded everything; all the staff were dumbfounded by the scene, and a few even instinctively removed their hats in tribute.

Is this the charm of rock live?

"Unbelievable that Zhou Yi actually came from a pop background; he is simply the Rock Saint."

Among the Fuji TV staff, the chief director of the filming crew responsible for this recording heard the assistant director's heartfelt whisper, felt a sudden stir in his heart, and immediately instructed several camera tracks to film Zhou Yi from more angles.

"Yes, the infectious power of this live performance is simply more exaggerated than Linkin Park; at the very least, none of the Linkin Park live shows we filmed before could match this one."

Linkin Park, the most representative figures in the Western rock scene nowadays.

Regardless of whether one admits they are rock or not, at least in public perception, this band is currently the world's number one rock band—sales, trophies, popularity, the triangle cycle is complete without missing a single piece.

"The fan loyalty is different; Zhou Yi is Asian after all."

"That's a strange thing to say; there are Japanese-Americans in Linkin Park too."

"Pure nonsense; ask them if they acknowledge their Japanese-American identity? It's just marketing by Warner; listen to it but don't take it seriously. There's a Korean-American in their band too; look, when have Koreans ever claimed them?"

"Forget the Japanese-Americans and Korean-Americans; anyway, they were completely crushed by Zhou Bao together; they've clashed before, and in a direct confrontation, Linkin Park was no match at all, their heads beaten until they couldn't find north. If not for the fact that both belong to Warner, Zhou Yi would not have shown any mercy."

"50 Cent and Eminem have lost face all over the world; Madonna's new album has also suffered a major blow; the sales, for an icon of her level, are already a complete flop; when she was interviewed in the US, she even accused Zhou Yi of abusing racial discrimination rhetoric to make excuses for himself."

"Madonna should first consider the lawsuit with Warner; she's looking for trouble with Zhou Yi; her trial is scheduled for early next year..."

As the longest-active pop diva in US history, Madonna's fan base is still quite solid. However, her fans are mostly traditionalists, dominating the newspaper public opinion; on the internet, Zhou Yi, with the Apple + Warner combination, has made all opponents flee in panic.

No way around it; the results are too solid.

"If I remember correctly, his two English albums have already sold over thirty million singles in the Apple Music Store, right?"

Watching Zhou Yi still interacting with fans, the filming crew members were dumbfounded.

July 23–28, 2003; in five days, Zhou Yi's songs had already sold over 15 million copies in the Apple Store. By today, August 15, the official sales data from the Apple Music Store has exceeded 37 million copies.

This is a terrifying trend.

With the future gradual rollout of the Apple Music Store and the iPod gradually sweeping the globe, Zhou Yi's single sales breaking one hundred million in the future can almost be said to be a foregone conclusion, as steady as it gets.

"I feel that with this quality, selling two or three hundred million copies in the future is not impossible; the quality of the album songs is too high; this pay-per-song method is simply a harvesting weapon for him."

Other singers have only a few hit singles per album with solid quality; Zhou Yi's case is that every track is a royal flush.

"I think it's more than that; four or five hundred million is possible."

"Looking forward to Utada Hikaru's performance."

"Hard to say about her; first doubt, then doubt again..."

"I think we should believe first..."

The filming crew members, who rarely encountered such explosive rock live performances in Japan, chattered away, with various arguments about Zhou Yi emerging one after another. But regardless, a unified viewpoint gradually formed—

Zhou Yi · Rock Saint.

Although it sounds very chuunibyou, when they discussed this newly coined nickname, everyone was full of enthusiasm.

The racial discrimination buff bonus was too fierce.

Especially when Zhou Yi was promoting this album in America, he delivered a passionate speech that Asian entertainment industry professionals still study to this day—it's practically been canonized as scripture—and their European and American counterparts seized the chance to cheer it on as well.

Based on all this, they feel there's nothing wrong at all with calling Zhou Yi the Rock Messiah; he can truly be said to have single-handedly changed the landscape of Asian singers on the world music stage—the entire album was produced by him alone, without a single European or American participant.

Although he started out singing pop, that was merely a compromise for the market. Rock has always flowed in Zhou Yi's bones; his second English album doesn't even bother pretending—nearly the entire album is an embodiment of the rock spirit.

This is ironclad proof!

"Rock on!

"Rock on!!

"Rock on!!!"

The live passion ignited by rock never fades—even though Zhou Yi has already sung four rock songs in a row, the frenzied fans keep hoarsely shouting "keep rocking."

Arakaki Yui, ignited by the live atmosphere, could no longer hold back after Zhou Yi finished singing "Viva La Vida"—following the example of the seniors who had come with her, she took off the white T-shirt printed with a Digimon Terriermon pattern, twisted it into a rope in her hands, and waved it nonstop in place of a glow stick—

still chanting "Rock on" along with the crowd.

Even though the venue had air conditioning, whether the fans below or Zhou Yi on stage and the accompanists Saegusa Yuka and the others, beads of sweat were clearly visible sliding down their faces, yet every face wore an incomparably brilliant smile.

"Phew, honestly speaking, now I really feel like Tokyo's gotten a bit hot."

Zhou Yi tugged at his own collar and fanned himself a few times, then grabbed the mineral water placed at the corner of the stage and flung it hard twice over his head and face to cool down quickly—his drenched look drew continuous screams from the entire audience!