Chapter 79: The Songs They Sing Are All Written by Me

In just three days, this news, which had initially circulated only within a small circle, swept through the entire domestic entertainment industry like a hurricane.

For mainland artists who were already active on both the mainland and in Xiangjiang, it was not a major issue whether they could go to the Treasure Island for promotion.

However, people in the Xiangjiang entertainment industry were grinning from ear to ear, especially those entertainment companies that were already seeking cooperation with the mainland.

Benefiting from the meteoric rise in popularity across the country last year, Zhou Yi, who had just officially ascended to the position of number one in the mainland music scene, suddenly attracted the attention of many amidst this ban storm.

Those who received similar treatment were the group that rose to fame with "My Fair Princess".

Fan Bingbin was fine; she had already left Qiong Yao's company and could not get any roles in the Treasure Island entertainment industry anyway. Now, backed by the Xiangjiang circle's Chen Tai, Chen Shufen, she had no interest conflicts with the Treasure Island circle at all.

Zhao Wei, however, had hit rock bottom.

She, who was currently filming Qiong Yao's TV drama "Love in the Rain", was completely stunned by this rumor that was growing more intense by the day.

Including her, there were only three mainland actors among the main cast of the "My Fair Princess" production team.

Now Fan Bingbin had been snatched away by Chen Shufen of the Xiangjiang circle, and Zhou Yi himself had a unit in the mainland and had just filmed the hugely popular "Young Bao Qingtian", leaving only her signed under Qiong Yao.

She had thought that as the sole survivor her future would be bright, but now, forget the future, she might not even have any roles to play.

"Don't worry, don't worry, the company will not give up on you.

"It's just that you cannot promote; it's not that you cannot film TV dramas. As long as you do not formally appear on screen in the Treasure Island to accept interviews or promotion, "Love in the Rain" can still be broadcast.

"Moreover, the company has connections on the Xiangjiang side. After finishing this "Love in the Rain", the company will help you work hard to expand your path in the mainland and Xiangjiang film and television circles."

He Xiuqiong, Qiong Yao's daughter-in-law, understood the feelings of her key general and called Zhao Wei immediately after the news was officially announced to give her a reassurance pill.

After comforting Zhao Wei, He Xiuqiong lowered her head to look at the dozen or so newspapers on her desk, all of whose front-page headlines were related to this matter.

And thanks to the formidable reputation Zhou Yi had established by slaughtering the Treasure Island music scene last year, his name and photo appeared frequently on the front page of every newspaper—

"Zhou Yi, the millennium music miracle is destined to fall!"

"Li Zongsheng: This is a disgrace; Zhou Yi should not be treated this way."

"Warner: Zhou Yi is still the gem of the Chinese music scene!"

"..."

Without exception, their layouts were all given to Zhou Yi, who had slaughtered the entire Treasure Island music scene into trembling last year.

"Serves him right! Let him be so arrogant! He even helped Fan Bingbin, and now he can't even save himself!"

It was the same familiar office, and the same familiar people.

The middle-aged man, who had been angrily scolded by He Xiuqiong last time for having ulterior motives against Zhou Yi, was clearly in high spirits now: "Count Fan Bingbin lucky she ran fast; otherwise, once this restriction order comes down, if she doesn't bow her head, I can directly force her to quit the industry."

This time, He Xiuqiong did not scold him again; her tone was also filled with a bit of schadenfreude: "Who knew such a thing would happen?"

Just over a month ago, Zhou Yi had interfered and ruined Fan Bingbin's contract; it was impossible for her not to feel angry in her heart.

"But there is no need to be too happy; his popularity is still there after all. Unless the Treasure Island side completely bans the sale of his albums, he can still gather a certain number of fans on the island."

After celebrating, He Xiuqiong put down her coffee cup: "It's just that without promotion, his album sales will drop significantly."

For a singer of this caliber, the Treasure Island music market is a huge market of hundreds of thousands. Losing such a big chunk of meat for no reason is painful beyond words for both Warner and Zhou Yi.

However, for He Xiuqiong, seeing her enemy Zhou Yi and Warner suffer losses and make less money was simply happier than winning the lottery herself.

"Warner cannot change this decision either; relying solely on Sun Yanzi, who is bound by the Warner Twins title, she simply cannot help Zhou Yi maintain his high popularity on the island."

He Xiuqiong comfortably added sugar to her coffee, turned on the TV in the office, and prepared to see the media's reaction—only to see, as soon as she turned it on, the album promotion press release that Fomus Records had bought for its female singer Zhang Shaohan.

While promoting on a show, Zhang Shaohan, with her big eyes like a porcelain doll, did not hide her friendship with Zhou Yi at all: "Yes, the two title tracks on this album were all written for me by Zhou Yi. He is a very gentle and considerate man.

"Even more, in order for me to perform these two songs perfectly, Zhou Yi specially picked a time to help me with the arrangement and help me record the songs.

"He is really a very, very good person.

"When he first asked me to sing "Happy Worship", I hadn't even debuted yet; he just came to find me because he heard my vocal tone."

Zhang Shaohan, who had greatly increased her fame and left a deep impression on people with her unique voice in the songs "Happy Worship" and "Must Love", brought up Zhou Yi and talked about him at length during her album promotion.

The two songs "Fable" and "The First Dream", with lyrics, composition, and arrangement by Zhou Yi, also began to enter various radio stations to chart according to Fomus Records' arrangements.

And on the current Treasure Island music chart, two songs were already occupying the number one and two spots: "Little Happiness" and "Green Light" by Sun Yanzi.

"I don't understand why this happened, but I can tell everyone, tell his fans, with certainty, that Zhou Yi is absolutely not a bad person.

"His character is very good; he is a true gentleman."

Sun Yanzi, who had recreated the sales storm of last June with her second album "I Want Happiness", also accepted many media interviews while appearing on variety shows on the island.

Especially on the program hosted by Wu Zongxian, in order to build momentum for Zhou Yi, she did not hide at all and exposed some interesting stories from when she played with Zhou Yi in the company before she even debuted.

Among these, there was even surveillance video as proof.

In the surveillance video, Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi were playing and fighting very cheerfully; especially Sun Yanzi's appearance of being teased into giggling added even more points.

He would even call Sun Yanzi "Teacher" in private!

Once these surveillance videos, which were actively released by Warner, were broadcast, they set off a storm of discussion in the Treasure Island; Zhou Yi's witty remarks that transcended the limitations of the times became catchphrases that young people often hung on their lips in a short time.

In an instant, although Zhou Yi was not even in the Treasure Island in February, the entire Treasure Island was filled with anecdotes about him.

And this fire of anecdotes burned even hotter with the addition of Zhang Shaohan—

The two songs "Fable" and "The First Dream", which were incredibly suited to her vocal tone, shot straight into the top ten of the charts upon release.

A uniform "Lyrics: Zhou Yi", "Composition: Zhou Yi", "Arrangement: Zhou Yi" echoed with "Little Happiness" and "Green Light", which were currently ranked first and second on the monthly chart, because the latter two, apart from the "Singer" column, were also all Zhou Yi.

Thanks to the exclusive surveillance videos released by Warner, Zhou Yi's humor full of witty remarks in private and his tacit understanding with Sun Yanzi had already caused a huge uproar on the island; with the release of Zhang Shaohan's two songs that could be called ace cards, it caused a gasp from a crowd of fans.

The most direct consequence of this was that on the monthly chart, Zhou Yi's first album songs, which had been gradually giving up their throne as time passed, suddenly rushed forward like they had taken drugs.

"Happy Worship" and "Must Love" rushed back into the top five, and incidentally also brought "Jing Wu Men" and "It's Me", these two dance songs whose brilliance had been overshadowed by other songs at the time of release, back into the spotlight.

Dai Peini, a female singer-songwriter who had just released her second personal album, was on the verge of tears because the re-entry of these two songs had just squeezed out her new album's song "How".

What kind of thing is this!

It wasn't her who organized the ban; why was she the one getting hurt?!

And just as fans were still discussing, the reigning little diva of Virgin Records, Xiao Yaxuan, also officially announced the release date of her new record and simultaneously revealed the album's first and second title tracks—

"Love's Title Track";

"Never Setting Sun."

Lyrics by Zhou Yi, composition by Zhou Yi, arrangement still by Zhou Yi...

If the first half of February 2001 was a battle on the charts between "Fable" and "The Original Dream" against Sun Yanzi, leaving people exclaiming that Foma had found another powerhouse;

then the second half of February 2001 belonged to "Love's Main Theme" and "Never Setting Sun."

Especially "Love's Main Theme."

Xiao Yaxuan, already possessing immense popularity, became wildly famous overnight thanks to "Love's Main Theme," selling over 100,000 copies in four days and reaching 180,000 in its first week, becoming the only female singer in early 2001 capable of rivaling Sun Yanzi—who sang "Green Light" and "Little Luck"—in album sales and popularity.

Zhang Shaohan, lacking initial popularity, lagged slightly in album sales, but the rankings of her two singles clung tightly to those of her two seniors.

In fact, "The Original Dream" often succeeded in upsets, knocking down "Green Light" and "Love's Main Theme."

"Green Light," "Little Luck," "Love's Main Theme," "Never Setting Sun," "Fable," "The Original Dream"—six songs, all credits except vocals bearing the name "Zhou Yi," gave the Taiwan music scene a harsh lesson in early 2001!

Sun Yanzi, Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan took turns atop the charts, leaving music industry insiders and listeners stunned.

And under their unified support, pressure from Warner and Coca-Cola swiftly arrived—

This combo punch left Taiwan itself dazed.

Wait, when did your major record labels become so united?

Shouldn't you be competitors?

Originally, they didn't intend to include Zhou Yi in the Golden Melody Awards list, but Taiwan now truly found itself trapped between a rock and a hard place.

The reason was simple: Zhou Yi's six songs were simply too magnetic, propelling Sun Yanzi, Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan into a clear, dominant lead over everyone else on the charts.

Throughout February 2001, Taiwan's music scene witnessed a rare phenomenon: three female singers standing tall in a three-way standoff, with only Liang Jingru's "Courage" from Rock Records barely clinging to ninth place.

Had it not been for Zhou Yi's fans loving the artists and by extension Zhou Yi himself, "Happy Worship" and "Must Love" might not have even cracked the top ten.

Taiwan's side wanted to downplay Zhou Yi's influence as a mainland singer, since this man was far stronger than Na Ying and had won the hearts of too many young people.

But Sun Yanzi, Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan's unreserved endorsements made it impossible to ignore.

This was damn frustrating.

Could they really ban Sun Yanzi from Singapore? Or ban Xiao Yaxuan and Zhang Shaohan from Taiwan itself?

Taiwan, only daring to restrict mainland artists, was completely paralyzed, debating Zhou Yi's sudden surge in discussion and popularity.

To make matters worse, just at this moment, Jay Chou—who had risen to fame last year with his album "Jay" and earned the title "Second Newcomer After Zhou Yi"—revealed on a variety show something that helped build Zhou Yi's golden image:

"Zhou Yi is my good friend. Without him, Jay Chou, Liu Genghong, and Wen Lan would all be dead."

On the variety show, Jay Chou sat on the interview chair, his youthful face beneath a baseball cap filled with righteous loyalty for his friend, and he recounted in great detail his life-or-death bond with Zhou Yi.

A large screen on stage simultaneously played footage of past news reports: blurred images of Zhou Yi and Jay Chou stood beside blurred images of Liu Genhong barely alive and Wen Lan lying on a stretcher.

Those two lay there, while these two stood and conversed.

"What? Jay Chou also spoke up for me?"

On the mainland, Beijing, Warner Maitian.

Zhou Yi, who had remotely orchestrated a song battle using Taiwan's characteristics, looked up in surprise at Zhou Jianhui sitting before him.

"Wu Zongxian probably tried to stop him, but Jay Chou—he's just that kind of guy, loyal to his friends."

Watching Zhou Yi calmly chewing raisins in front of him, Zhou Jianhui's eyelid twitched slightly: "Saving three lives is enough to generate massive public attention."

"Even if they refuse to include you in the Golden Melody Awards, they'll have to. Coca-Cola can now run ads about you normally—except you still can't appear on stage for promotion or performances."

Saving three lives alone qualifies as an exemplary idol, especially since Zhou Yi has always kept his achievements hidden, never speaking of them publicly.

Had Jay Chou not voluntarily revealed this, no one outside their circle would have known Zhou Yi had accomplished such a feat.

Understanding Jay Chou's heartfelt assist, Zhou Yi pursed his lips, his eyes now filled with quiet satisfaction.

"Also, there's another good piece of news."

Watching Zhou Yi, so young, manipulate the public discourse so skillfully, Zhou Jianhui's tone was oddly tinged: "The mainland has also learned of your glorious deeds."

"Let's call them glorious deeds—for instance, Korean and Japanese companies are seeking to purchase the rights to cover your songs; also, you saved three people but remained low-key."

Zhou Jianhui handed Zhou Yi an invitation; Zhou Yi picked it up, glanced at it, and raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Official China-Korea Song Festival?"

(End of Chapter)