Chapter 55: That Man Makes His Debut

"Black Bao! Stop right there!"

November, Gansu Province, Raozhou, Zhou Family Village.

Accompanied by a furious shout from the character portrayed by Li Bingbin on screen, the image froze. Immediately following was the ending theme song that had spread to every household thanks to the explosive popularity of "Young Bao Qingtian"—

"Who can tell me, is there such a pen

"That can paint pairs of eyes that never shed tears

"That can hold onto the fleeting moments of light in this world

"That can make all beauty never wither again~"

A melodious female voice emanated from the television speakers, followed immediately by Zhou Yi's instantly recognizable voice—

"If it is so, I can comfort myself

"In the nights without you, to paint a ray of light

"To keep all happiness and send it all to you

"The bitter taste turns to sweetness~"

Listening to her son's singing while serving dishes at Youran, Zhao Ping hummed along with the TV drama's ending theme coming from the living room, while Zhou Yaoguo, sitting in the living room, directly used the remote to switch the channel to the news.

"If you ask me, singing this kind of song is better; the songs in that album of his aren't as good as this, how pleasant it sounds."

Zhao Ping, bringing the dishes to the table, wiped her hands on her apron and gave her own critique.

Although Zhou Yi was her son, to speak objectively, she still preferred the two songs her son sang for this "Young Bao Qingtian"—

Theme Song: "No Regrets in Heart"

Ending Theme: "As Long As You Are Here"

"That is the trend of the youth; what do you know."

Zhou Yaoguo, seated at the table, happily scooped rice and praised while eating: "Didn't you see the newspapers saying it sells very well? Old Li's child really likes singing that 'Happy Worship'."

"..."

Similar conversations covered almost all families watching "Young Bao Qingtian" punctually at this very moment.

In the year 2000, watching TV dramas on television remained one of the mainstream forms of entertainment for people after meals. Once there was a hit drama, the ending theme and theme song were undoubtedly able to reap huge benefits.

"My Fair Princess" and "Journey to the West: The Sequel" were two positive examples.

Under the impact of the Yu Quan duo's "Cold to the Bone", Warner hadn't even made its official move yet; the explosive ratings of "Young Bao Qingtian" had already knocked back Rock Records' intention to cash in.

The head of Rock Records was helpless.

Damn, how is this kid so sinister?

He had originally wanted to catch Zhou Yi off guard while he was away from the mainland and couldn't do promotion, but instead, they were completely annihilated by "Young Bao Qingtian".

The only parental advantage the Yu Quan duo could bring up in front of Zhou Yi was directly dispelled by the opening and ending themes of this drama.

Although in terms of song quality alone, "Cold to the Bone" was clearly higher, it couldn't withstand the fact that the drama "Young Bao Qingtian" was so hot.

Warner, not missing this opportunity, went all out to buy space for Zhou Yi, directly suppressing "Cold to the Bone" so it couldn't turn over.

"To use the jargon of our industry, you really deserve to be famous."

Before any countermeasures could be taken, watching helplessly as the hit drama "Young Bao Qingtian" descended from the sky to solve the trouble of Yu Quan, Qian Jiang sighed deeply.

With twenty years in the industry, the stars he knew whose luck could compare to Zhou Yi's were few and far between.

"Rock Records took a silent loss this time again, laughable, wasting money promoting Yu Quan."

In the "company dormitory" of Zhou Yi in Taiwan, Zhou Yi laughed out loud as he casually threw the materials in his hand onto the transparent coffee table.

"Young Bao Qingtian", to describe its popularity in one sentence: the national ratings champion of 2000.

Do you understand the gold content represented by the four words "ratings champion" in this era?

Originally, this overwhelming wealth belonged to Sun Nan; obviously, now it belongs to him.

"Luckily, the people at Rock Records knew how to cut losses in time."

Qian Jiang, equally proud of his ability to secure the "Young Bao" resource for the artist, paused in his tone: "Oh right, are you going to attend the China Music Chart and the Global Chinese Music Chart?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yi was momentarily stunned: "What did you say?"

"Award ceremonies; are you going? The company has registered you."

Qian Jiang didn't play games; he laid his cards on the table: "The China Music Chart, which is the China Pop Song Rankings award ceremony, currently only allows mainland singers to participate in the selection; your probability of winning is high.

"As for the Global Chinese Music Chart, basically if you go, you get an award. Although it's a banquet for dividing pork, its influence still seems quite strong.

"My suggestion is to go. Although running around is tiring, winning a few more awards will also give your fans some bragging rights."

After all, besides a singer's main job of singing, the competition over awards is the favorite 'cricket fighting' segment for fans.

Far away, there was the Tan-Zhang rivalry; recently, there were the Four Heavenly Kings.

Which one didn't have awards by their side, with trophies that could wrap around their waist several times?

"Oh right, there is also an award from Xiangjiang: the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award."

As if fearing Zhou Yi wouldn't understand why an award from Xiangjiang would involve him, Qian Jiang hurriedly added an explanation: "This award is planning to promote the concept of the whole nation this year, so mainland singers can also be nominated.

"As long as you sing Mandarin songs and pass the registration audit, you can participate in the selection. As for whether you can win, it depends on your own ability; this award leans more towards veteran singers.

"But for the Newcomer Award, I think you should be a sure thing; I suggest going too. This award has more gold content than the mainland's China Music Chart and the Chart of Charts; since its founding in '78, it has been the award with the highest fame and gold content in Xiangjiang.

"The Top Ten Cantonese Gold Songs that came later only limit to Cantonese songs; the scope is too narrow.

"Oh right, there is also the Taiwan Gold Songs Award, which rose to prominence later; the company has also registered you for that, we'll just see how many nominations you get in the end."

Speaking, Qian Jiang opened his notebook and listed out some other award ceremonies Zhou Yi had never even heard of.

"I won't go to those small ones; you or you can have the company send someone to accept it on my behalf."

Upon hearing that string of names like a restaurant menu, Zhou Yi couldn't help but frown: "For the mainland, go to the China Music Chart and the Global Chinese Music Chart;

"For Xiangjiang, go to the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs;

"For Taiwan, just the Gold Songs Award.

"Other things like—huh? Wait, what the hell is this Singapore Golden Melody Award?"

Zhou Yi's hand, which was flipping through the notebook, paused, and he said in surprise, "I can win an award just by going to Singapore?"

"In a sense, you could win an award even if you went to Vietnam."

Qian Jiang smiled and patted the shoulder of the child in front of him with grave sincerity: "The company behind you is Warner, A-Yi. Zhou Jianhui is counting on you and Sun Yanzi to help him become the President of Greater China.

"If he can pluck the stars and grasp the moon, I'm afraid that as long as you ask, he'll even pluck the stars from the sky for you."

"..."

6.

"Is the company going to lobby for the awards?" Zhou Yi, who had heard a little about this system, asked curiously.

"There will be, but the intensity is estimated not to be very high. After all, look at who can beat you this year? Even Sun Yanzi can't.

"Besides, Sun Yanzi and you are not of the same gender; the two of you can only compete for the Best Newcomer Award. For other awards, she takes hers, and you take yours."

Zhou Jianhui, who was distributing the award ownership like cutting leeks in a vegetable patch, was still envisioning the bright future of his artists, while the smiling and silent Zhou Yi received a phone call—

A phone call from Jay Chou.

"Zhou Yi, Brother Xian has nodded and agreed; the record I'm recording will be released too!"

Pressing the answer key, Jay Chou's excited howl, which he couldn't hide, immediately came out from the phone receiver—

"Starting today, I am also a singer!"

On November 7, 2000, the Chinese music scene welcomed a new artist named Jay Chou—

He wasn't handsome, his demeanor wasn't great either, and he always liked wearing a baseball cap, keeping his head down to act cool.

And the people who bought his album heard the very first line of lyrics as a strange cry: "Woo~~"