Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 896 Revisiting Moscow

This roar can be seen as the first shot fired by Bian Lang in the competition for the World Cup theme song.

After Bian Lang finished leading the singing, he wanted to go to the stands to watch the game with the fans, but Davis dragged him to the VIP box at the Amsterdam Arena.

Davis led Bian Lang to the door and said mysteriously, "Wave, you have 20 minutes." Then he walked away.

Bian Lang was somewhat puzzled, but he still smiled and opened the door to the private room. There stood Guo Sichu, who was supposed to meet him in Berlin, looking radiant. The other members of Rolling Stone and Liang Kuan were not there; she was alone.

"Why did you come alone? Didn't you tell me beforehand?"

Guo Sichu smiled, unscrewed a bottle of Coke, and handed it to him, saying, "What good would it do to tell you? You're such a busy person, are you going to pick me up from the airport?"

Bian Lang took a sip of his cola and thought Guo Sichu's words made sense; he was definitely too busy. "Can you go on tomorrow?"

"I'll watch the rehearsal tonight. As long as it doesn't damage the Rolling Stones' reputation, I don't care."

Bian Lang might take these jokes lightly, but when this guy gets serious, he's much more meticulous than most rock musicians. However, the Rolling Stones aren't your average artists, and their collaboration can put some pressure on Guo Sichu.

"Have you taken care of everything at home?"

"Yes, everything's arranged. Don't you want to hear about the current situation in China?"

Bian Lang walked to the glass of the VIP box and said with a self-deprecating tone, "Some things have already reached the level of force majeure. What's the use of knowing about them? I'll just do what I'm supposed to do here."

"I've never seen you so pessimistic! Where's that sidelined guy who was just sprinting around on the field?"

Bian Lang wasn't purely pessimistic; rather, he was recalling something a Chinese entrepreneur had said in his past life: "Individual strength is insignificant in the face of a nation, and some things cannot be accomplished without the support of the country."

Even if he, as a rock musician, reaches the pinnacle of the world of rock music, his substantial contribution to the country is probably less than one-tenth of that of the Chinese entrepreneur.

However, with the support of a powerful nation, at least he wasn't utterly crushed by the unreasonable forces of capital. In terms of relative fairness, Bian Lang had no complaints about his country. Moreover, without the support of the nation, he wouldn't have had such a convenient life abroad.

He admitted that, given the context of China's national conditions, the lyrics of the song "Hurricane 2000" were indeed a bit outrageous, but he did not think he had done anything wrong.

This is just a little bit of emotion that comes with being an adult before preparing to bear the consequences. He is very clear that the essence of this matter is a business war, but he does not want to be manipulated or sacrificed as a pawn.

"I can only complain to you and me. If I were to talk to the other members of the Rolling Stones about this during such a sensitive time, I'm afraid it would affect their morale. The Rolling Stones have come a long way, and as long as they aren't completely banned in China, I don't want to bring everyone here abroad..."

The first sentence made Guo Sichu's heart race a little, but the following sentences made her heart sink again.

"So you see me as a tough woman, someone who can handle things with you?" Although that's what I was thinking, I still said, "Thank you for trusting me so much! The reason I came early was because I was afraid you really wouldn't go back!"

Hearing this, Lang paused for a moment, then turned around and smiled, saying, "No way! Even if I can't go on stage, I'll always be in the audience. So, have you made up your mind?"

Guo Sichu nodded seriously and said, "Yes, I'm getting a little tired of the title 'Queen of Pop' that others have given me. There's nothing more to strive for, so I want to try being a 'Queen of Rock'..."

"Yes! Don't worry, I'll definitely make sure you get what you want!"

When Bian Lang said this, Guo Sichu felt as if he was shining again.

The two didn't have much time alone before Davis and Ajax executives came over for a visit.

As soon as he entered, facing Bian Lang's scrutinizing gaze, Davis spread his hands and said, "Wave, how could I refuse this beautiful lady's request?"

Bian Lang waved his hand to indicate that he didn't care, then looked at the Ajax executives he didn't recognize: "Who are these people?"

Davis then introduced Bian Lang to several senior executives from Ajax. Among them, the head coach in charge of youth training said directly to Bian Lang: "Wave, your song is really great. If the result is not what we all want, I will definitely join forces with the coaches I know to write to FIFA!"

Bian Lang didn't know if FIFA had any jurisdiction over this, but he was already very grateful for the thought: "Thank you, Mr. Cruyff. I think Ajax's youth training system is the best in the world!"

Bian Lang borrowed this line from the original Earth's Sneijder, but it's probably not too far off here.

Cruyff was clearly pleased with this and earnestly told Bian Lang, "That's for sure. Look at Davies and Ibrahimovic, they're the best proof. If you have a child who wants to play football, I'll extend an interview invitation to you on behalf of the Ajax youth academy!"

"Thank you. If I have a child in the future who wants to play football, I will definitely come to you!"

Then, the initiative in the conversation was naturally taken over by the diva Guo Sichu. She not only asked about the collaboration in detail, but also left many avenues for future cooperation.

Bian Lang felt that the previous comments about Guo Sichu being otherworldly and indifferent were not accurate; she just hadn't met anyone worthy of her attention.

Shortly after the start of the second half, PSV Eindhoven's management arrived, expressing their support for Bian Lang and their hatred for the Koreans.

The match was intense, but the final score was a 3-3 draw. Even the Dutch national team coach came over, not only to assess the team's form but also to express his thoughts to Bian Lang: "Wave, I want to bring my Dutch team to your MV."

The edited video perfectly captured the intense desire for victory of tens of thousands of people shouting "Ole ole ole ole, We are the champions..."

With the players' various exciting interactions on the field, Bianlang has already established a solid fan base.

It seems only South Korean fans are still stubbornly denying it, while fans from other countries have directly called on the Italian-style World Cup organizing committee to just make an official announcement.

Another person, who originally planned to compete for a top-tier European singer position, watched this video and, disregarding copyright issues, copied the lyrics and sheet music, made a video, and posted it online.

Before officially starting his performance, he made a confession to Bian Lang: "Wave, if it's you, I'm willing to withdraw from this competition! I love this song so much, and if you need my help, feel free to contact me anytime!"

Also, the fans of the teams sponsored by Nike are now starting to "riot".

Whether it's club teams or national teams, especially Serie A club teams, fans are directly pressuring them to change their kit sponsors. One fan said, "Whether or not they're in Wave's music video isn't that important to us. What's important is that Nike is supporting a Korean star to sing the theme song for the Italian World Cup! I think that's a provocation!"

This statement resonated with fans of the seven Serie A teams whose jerseys are sponsored by Nike.

The final outcome was quite exaggerated: fans from both Milan clubs stood arm in arm at the entrance of the San Siro, tearing the jerseys of their respective team's star players to shreds.

Do you think Nike regrets their actions? Probably not now. They feel they still have everything under control. After all, the reasons they did that were not limited to one financial entity, and may even involve more than one country.

Or perhaps they believe that ordinary consumers are rather forgetful, and as long as the team performs well, they don't believe the jerseys won't sell!
Their confidence stems from what a major brand's marketing director once said: "Chinese consumers have no memory!"

But in fact, just because of the XJ cotton incident, Adidas' sales in China dropped by a third that year, which is several small goals!

The team is of course helpless; unless the contract expires and they don't plan to renew it, they will just let it slide.

Two Italian national team players, however, defied the pressure of breach of contract penalties and announced the termination of their partnership with Nike.

This, of course, benefits other sports brands...

Therefore, as the vanguard of the business war, Bian Lang's first benefit was an endorsement contract with Adidas!

However, that's all in the future. When it comes to the World Cup theme song, fans and players are only part of the factors that can influence decision-makers. The actual outcome is still very complicated.

But after the video was sent back to China, the villains started to panic.

They may not even know what level of teams Ajax and PSV Eindhoven are, but the sight of tens of thousands of people singing along is impossible to fake.

Even if someone dared to use AI to fake this video, they wouldn't dare release it at this critical juncture!
These so-called industry veterans, even with all their work combined in their entire careers, probably haven't experienced anything like this. They also know very well that this project, which they were paid to undertake, has likely been a disaster.

Sitting in his office, Vice President Xu watched the video several times and was deeply shocked! Such a scene would not be surprising at all if it happened in China.

For some movies, even booking out entire theaters can be a political task for state-owned enterprises, so organizing tens of thousands of people to sing a song together wouldn't be a difficult task. In a split second, he could come up with at least three simple and easy-to-implement plans.

However, he felt that organizing such an event abroad, with official government involvement, would be extremely difficult. Just look at how hastily other countries opened their Olympics.

"It seems the minister was right. Bian Lang's abilities are truly outstanding, which is why CAA targeted him so early on. If he also gets the World Cup theme song, then..."

Thinking of this, he sighed and began to consider how to make instructions regarding Bian Lang's matter in accordance with the superior's arrangements.

"On the surface, we'll make the enemy think we've abandoned Bian Lang, but our real goal is to protect him properly!"

……

Returning our focus to Europe, after leaving the Amsterdam Arena, Bian Lang and Guo Sichu rushed to Moscow without stopping.

When I arrived at the venue, the guest band's rehearsal was already halfway through.

Jiuli eventually persuaded Bianlang to extend the show's duration, dividing it into three parts: upper, middle, and lower, and even managing to include their band in the extras.

It's hard to say whether this small change will cause controversy among music fans, but it has certainly given many artists within DGM new ideas about the guests for the Rolling Stone concert.

Seeing Guo Sichu and Bian Lang arrive at the scene together, the other members of Rolling Stone didn't seem surprised at all, which proved that they all knew about it, except for Bian Lang who was completely unaware.

Strauss even started chatting intimately with Guo Sichu, which made Bian Lang a little depressed.

Listening to Juli on stage singing: "We all live in a yellow submarine, Yellow submarine, yellow submarine..."

After listening to the conversation with Strauss, Guo Sichu turned to him and asked, "Did you write this song too?"

"Yes what's the matter?"

"With such a narrow vocal range, I feel like even a child could sing it! Are you planning to make another children's song?"

Bian Lang laughed after hearing this, "That's not impossible either!"

He recalled a part in the background of the song's creation, where Paul said that because it was written for Ringo, he paid special attention to making the vocal range relatively narrow so that Ringo wouldn't have trouble singing it.

Of course, this also makes it easier for children to sing the song. And since there aren't any complicated words in the song, children can sing it easily.

Ringo is very proud to be able to sing this incredibly popular song. He joked that everyone can sing it, even a fetus can.

Furthermore, Paul stated that it was just a children's song, with lyrics like those of typical nursery rhymes, and no deeper meaning. It didn't contain the complexities that later generations of so-called experts and conspiracy theorists speculated about.

Regardless of whether his evaluation of children's songs is fair, judging from this song alone, it actually recreates the carefree childhood.

Although the word "childhood" is never mentioned in the song, the lyrics create a world without disputes and conflicts, where almost every day is a joyful gathering.

The song's depiction of a love for the colorful world and a peaceful life with friends reveals a longing for the simple days of childhood.

After the band began to feel the pressure of fame, both John and Paul started to miss their carefree teenage years. However, Paul's nostalgic songs were often created from the perspective of innocent childhood, while John often used an adult perspective to express feelings of loss.

After listening, Guo Sichu said to Bian Lang, "Help me revise a version that I can sing!"

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)