Chapter 624: What Is Humility

Using the words of a minority group or even a single individual and expanding them to represent the mainstream public opinion of an entire large group is an essential tactic for slapping labels on people.

When asked, there is evidence; the evidence is right here, look at it yourself.

This tactic often works wonders in debates.

Not to mention that this time it was a proper matter with extensive newspaper coverage, making the evidence as solid as a mountain.

Zhou Yi was already at the peak of news hotspots domestically, and when this news spread, it was even more extraordinary; many public intellectuals were about to suffer from Zhou Yi PTSD—

Hey buddy, what's going on with you?

"Is Zhou Yi actually a foreigner or a Chinese person?"

"The Sina Zhou Yi special topic has a timeline there, and Warner also issued an announcement confirming that Zhou Yi's English album 'Forever Young' did indeed enter the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums, not just random rumors from netizens."

"Holy crap, awesome, the only Chinese person, right?"

"Not just the only Chinese person, it seems he's also the only Asian on this list."

"Wait, you guys might not get why they call him the Son of God. Everyone else's album involves a huge amount of collaboration, but on the entire list, only this guy Zhou Yi handled everything from producer to arranger himself; no other names ever appeared in the author column, and that's the most terrifying part."

"Still calling him 'this guy'?"

"I was wrong, Emperor Yi, Emperor Yi. Emperor Yi is awesome!"

"Foreigners just have less experience; isn't that how all of Zhou Yi's Chinese albums are?"

"Wait, guys, this guy's Grammy seems to have also broken the personal nomination record."

"?"

As the highest award in the global music industry, the Grammys, which were moved up to early February to avoid clashing with the Oscars, also released the full list of nominations for this year—

Zhou Yi alone was nominated for three annual awards: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year; plus five category awards: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Best Hard Rock Performance, Best Rock Instrumental Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album.

A total of eight nominations, creating the highest for this year and breaking his own personal record of six nominations from the previous year.

Below Zhou Yi, the current popular female singer Beyoncé, rapper Jay-Z, the American Southern rap duo OutKast, and Pharrell Williams, one of the members of the gold record production team The Neptunes, each received six nominations.

"Who is this Jay? Jay Chou? Holy crap, Jay Chou got into the Grammys too?"

"Where's your brain? He's a black man; Jay Chou's English name is Jay Chou."

"In this year's Grammy nomination list, why are there so many black people? A glance shows that more than half are black devils."

"Zhou Yi's photo looks damn handsome; contrasted with a bunch of black devils, he looks even more handsome."

"Damn, I regret not going to 'Happy Camp'; I knew it, I shouldn't have sold the tickets so early, damn it!"

"Are you a local from Changsha? Then you might as well go to the neighboring Shangrao to watch Zhou Yi's concert; there are fewer people there, and the tickets probably haven't sold out yet."

"Thanks, they sold out long ago; Zhou Yi's fan club is fierce."

"..."

Originally built in 1994, the Shangrao Gymnasium only holds 5,000 people; Qian Jiang was worried it wouldn't be full, and if that got out, it might damage Zhou Yi's image—

But now, thanks to the foreign god-making movement, Zhou Yi has gained another halo on his head, and many cities near Shangrao have chosen to come and snatch tickets.

"Warner America aside, their marketing channels are indeed strong, but you really didn't expect the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums; he's the only post-80s on the list, right?"

"I don't know, maybe."

Changsha Huanghua International Airport.

Zhou Yi, walking and chatting by the Qian Jiang River, wasn't entirely sure either; after all, he hadn't really looked closely at that thing, a bunch of ancient relics, and he had no interest.

This thing, like the album concept, serves the greatest purpose of letting fans brag when arguing.

After all, it claims to be the 500 greatest albums in the history of the global music scene.

Although it will be revised in the future, of course.

Walking out of the airport, although Zhou Yi had deliberately concealed his whereabouts, the itinerary was indeed traceable; the screams of fans from both sides of the road bypassed the security personnel and directly drowned out his eardrums—

"Zhou Yi!"

"Zhou Yi!!"

"Zhou Yi!!!"

"Stay safe, go home early~"

After greeting the fans and finishing, Zhou Yi, who didn't forget to add a reminder, fully displayed his warm-guy style.

However, he hadn't even walked a few steps before the reporters in the media area, lined up in a long queue, swarmed over, cherishing the brief moment for an on-the-spot interview—

"Zhou Yi! What are your thoughts on Americans calling you the Son of God?"

"Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi, the famous American music critic RC gave you the lowest score, a D, with the reason that you are not humble enough and have no reverence for music; do you think this is reasonable?"

"Who? Who are you talking about?"

Since the overall tone was overwhelmingly praising, and they had paid for the press releases, Warner had "only reported good news, not bad" and hadn't told Zhou Yi about RC's score; he really didn't know the situation.

"RC, Robert Christgau, a rock music critic. Considered one of the most important popular culture critics of the second half of the 20th century in the US, and a special music editor for the US magazine 'Village Voice'."

"Oh, never heard of him."

Upon hearing this name, Zhou Yi instantly recalled this person's glorious achievements and that arrogant personality, and resolutely shook his head.

RC's score has become a meme in the mouths of domestic Western music fans in later generations; this person's subjectivity and the influence of personal preferences were simply too severe.

"Never heard of him?"

The reporter immediately perked up and asked: "Do you mean no one has told you about him?"

"Of course not; the people I chat with don't know him."

Zhou Yi sneered: "He isn't even a singer; why should I know him?"

"Then he said you are not humble enough, and have no reverence at all for music or rock music—"

"What is humility?"

Zhou Yi rudely interrupted this person's eloquent speech: "Do you want to see album awards or album career sales? English or Chinese?"

Reporter: "..."

"Damn... that's a very reasonable question."

He Jiong, who had specially come to welcome Zhou Yi, felt somewhat dazed upon seeing this scene.

He had watched Zhou Yi grow up step by step.

Back when Zhou Yi first stepped out of the nest and visited the headquarters for the first time, he had to perform some strange talents, like stir-frying noodles in public. Now, he could just sit there, treating the headquarters like a chat show, and a huge crowd would still be willing to watch; the production team wouldn't dare to say a single word against him.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi still had a strong sense of professional ethics; he wouldn't selectively slack off on shows, nor would he act like a diva.

That earned him good reviews.

Hmm, except for this kind of interview.

"Eight Grammy nominations, one of the world's 500 greatest albums, and 'Gui Cang' has sold over 4.4 million copies globally. Your achievements are terrifying."

That evening, inside a private room at a restaurant in Changsha.

Li Xiang, who had already confirmed her formal departure from 'Happy Camp' next year, raised a cup of tea as if it were wine and sighed sincerely: "When He Laoshi told me you would still be coming to 'Happy Camp' this year, I found it hard to believe, considering the number of shows you appear on now is so small."

'Happy Camp' is, after all, an entertainment variety show; even though it achieved the highest viewership ratings, its status was still lower than that of traditional talk shows.

At least in this era, that was the case, which is also one of the reasons why Li Xiang wanted to leave and seek higher development.

With Zhou Yi's current star power, the fact that he was still willing to attend 'Happy Camp' during his album promotion period could only mean he truly valued their production team.

Zhou Yi wouldn't even be participating in the China-Korea Music Festival this year.

Although they all knew Zhou Yi must have something more important waiting for him by not attending the China-Korea Music Festival, after all, he had now become a figure of international card status and couldn't simply be discarded.

"I'd actually like to appear on more shows to earn more appearance fees, but my manager won't allow it. I have no choice."

Zhou Yi smiled, took a sip, and pushed all the blame onto the professional Qian Jiang: "Actually, He Laoshi, I heard from President Zhou that you've decided on the style for your album?"

"Yes, President Hui's suggestion was to go with folk music; the risk is a bit lower."

He Jiong was very warm-hearted.

Zhou Yi was the first to extend a helping hand to him as he entered his low point; one could only say that becoming friends with Zhou Yi was indeed the most successful decision of his career.

Because of what Zhou Yi said last time, he did talk to Zhou Jianhui afterwards, and the latter also expressed his welcome.

Next year, the folk singers Song Ke had brought over to Warner would basically all be entering the countdown of their contracts; currently, no one had chosen to renew. Pu Shu, who didn't want to get involved in these matters, even ran promotions in a rare appearance—

His new album 'Life is Like Summer Flowers' had been released for a month, and the sales were still quite considerable, exceeding 300,000 copies.

At this time, Zhou Jianhui simply decided to let He Jiong, who had signed a record contract with Warner, sing folk music.

After all, it was a crossover; folk music had the lowest requirements for vocal technique and was the least likely to go wrong.

Of course, there was another reason: the more famous Zhou Yi became, the more viciously he was criticized by the folk music circle.

The rock circle had already accepted Zhou Yi; only the folk music circle had not yet 'reconciled,' still holding onto a mindset of envy and jealousy, vehemently denouncing him for 'forgetting his roots.'

The hatred of the literary youth is often the most intense.

Since Zhou Yi himself currently had no intention of making folk music, Zhou Jianhui simply adopted his suggestion and let the genuinely interested He Jiong act as the spearhead.

The first album released by the reorganized Warner next year would be He Jiong's new album; as the opening shot of the newly restructured Warner, Zhou Yi would also personally step in to create a lead single for He Jiong's album.

After being 'full' of wine and food, the three began to discuss some points about 'Happy Camp,' mainly to confirm them with Zhou Yi.

As for the game segments, there was nothing to say; although in Zhou Yi's view these games were actually quite stupid, the audience truly loved watching them, and they could also showcase personal image.

He Jiong would control the flow, Li Weijia would play the clown, and Li Xiang would be responsible for playing the 'Golden Apple' who acts coquettishly to trigger men's fighting spirit and competitive desire.

And when it came to the promotion segment, the highlight would be Zhou Yi demonstrating on-site how to improvise a song's rhythm by tapping water glasses, pots, and pans with a spoon; this would also serve to further deepen his persona by riding this wave and performing in front of the public.

(End of this chapter)