The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 867 I Am a Legend

The air in the waiting room was suddenly filled with joy.

Jay Chou's repeated remarks such as "a little forgetting doesn't count as forgetting," "this is called live adaptation," and "do you understand freestyle?" are hilarious.

Only Zhou Yi would dare to joke about him like this now.

The once reserved and taciturn pop star has now become a true Jay Chou in the Chinese entertainment industry. People around him are basically supporting him, because unlike Zhou Yi, who relies on personal connections to get songs, he can get them just by paying money.

After the huge success of his debut film "Initial D", his outstanding performance shocked countless people. Many people in the industry were surprised that he was such a promising actor. It is rumored that Zhang Yimou is planning to invite him to participate in his new film.

Regardless of whether it was Zhang Yimou or Zhang Weiping who wanted him, in the past, it would have been impossible for the name Jay Chou to be associated with Zhang Yimou.

This is a manifestation of rising status.

But now, when Jay Chou, now a superstar, personally boarded Zhou Yi's luxurious private jet, he couldn't help but feel a little shocked.

Some things are completely different when you see a picture and when you see the real thing.

Spike's private jet lands in New York, suspected to be returning to China.

Spike Returns Home, a Place of Heartbreak in New York!

"Fulfilling my promise to my fans, my longing to go home is no longer hidden."

"America is less safe than China; Spike goes home to rest."

"..."

For the American media, having already obtained concrete information about Zhou Yi's private jet, they naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to report on it. After staking out the location, they worked overtime to send back the photos.

Before Warner could even deny it, top brands like Coca-Cola, Nokia, Porsche, Cadillac, and Armani, who had endorsements for Zhou Yi, couldn't sit still.

Are you kidding me? The spokesperson is so popular, and he's perfectly fine. He even wants to participate in our events. How come you media outlets sent Spike back to the US without my permission?

"Coca-Cola has once again reiterated Spike's promotional campaign."

"Is Porsche overestimating me? Even if Spike can endorse it, I still can't afford it."

"I can afford a Nokia..."

Because these top brands all announced Zhouyi's new activities immediately after the concert, many fans who couldn't attend the concert rekindled their hope of meeting Zhouyi.

The sudden surge in exposure resulted in Warner Music's stock price soaring by 12% within 36 hours of the Zhou Yi concert!

This is the confidence given by the market.

For a giant company like Warner Music, there are very few people who can so directly influence stock price fluctuations.

The newly emerging video website YouTube has ridden this wave of opportunity to become the biggest challenger to established websites like Google and MSN.

The Zhou Yi concert clip released on Warner Music's official channel garnered 3600 million views within 72 hours, setting a new record for the most-viewed concert clip in the history of the American internet.

Furthermore, with the recordings made by Evan Frank, Bruno Mars, and others under official tacit approval, they have been uploading their recordings one after another, making it fair to say that they single-handedly propelled this emerging video website to new heights.

At least that's how it looks.

More and more people are becoming aware of YouTube simply because it has released a lot of material related to the Zhouyi concert.

That's how their brand became famous.

As the most direct beneficiary, Zhou Yi's physical album sales, digital music paid downloads, and Billboard song rankings continued their meteoric rise.

On September 1st, three days after the concert ended, the sales of Zhou Yi's album, which was affected by the expanded publicity, began to soar again, with Warner Music officially announcing that global sales had exceeded 9 million copies.

On September 2nd, Apple Music officially announced that Zhou Yi's new album had been downloaded more than 43 million times, breaking his previous record.

By September 4th, the music charts of major radio stations across the United States were completely dominated by the ever-present Zhou Yi.

The most direct result of this was an unprecedented dominance of the Billboard charts—

On the 6th, the latest Billboard rankings were released, and Zhou Yi's incredible achievement of sweeping the top nine spots stunned everyone in the industry worldwide!

The Phoenix maintains its winning streak, leading by a significant margin in data;

Next are "Legend", "The Monster", "Monster", "21 Guns", "Waiting for Love", "The Nights", "Makes Me Wonder", and "What You Know".

Among these, "The Monster" and "Monster" each briefly held the number one spot for a week.

"????"

"Fuck! are you kidding me?!"

"One person, one album, sweeping the top nine spots on the Billboard charts?"

"A miracle! No, this is also a divine intervention!"

"Now we really have to come out and see God. Spike is the first pop artist in Billboard history to have an album that tops the charts. He's just too amazing."

"Am I still half asleep?!"

"The internal conflicts in the songs on Spike's new album are as serious as ever."

"It's a pity. If there hadn't been internal competition between albums, they might have been able to sweep all the top ten spots on the Billboard charts with one album, and maybe even have one or two more number-one singles."

"Maria Kelly became the only artist to remain in Spike's top ten, and God, I actually feel that's an honor for her..."

Mariah Carey's number one single "We Belong Together" suffered a major setback after being dominated by the I Ching, and has since plummeted from the top spot to number ten this week, becoming Billboard's gatekeeper for the top ten.

But the entire music industry—including Mariah Carey herself—did not see it as a disgrace.

"How should I put it? I'm honored to be tenth this week. For me, this is my first."

When asked about this during an interview, Mariah Carey's tone even carried a hint of disbelief that she was still able to hold onto tenth place: "First of all, I want to thank my fans for helping me maintain this position."
"Secondly, I want to thank Spike for not trying to kill me."

"You know, he's a living legend in the pop music scene. I've also been to his concert, and his talent is unbelievable."

"If he insists on climbing the charts, given his current appeal and influence, sweeping the top ten on Billboard wouldn't be particularly difficult for him..."

On September 7th, the release of radio data across the United States further amplified the significance of Mariah Carey's remarks!
"Last week's radio listens... 242.7 million for 'The Phoenix'?!"

"???"

"The total population of the United States is only a little over 290 million!"

Musical Massacre: Countless Souls Lost Under Spike's Blade!

An unbelievable chart-topping success, an undeniable legend!

Spike: The Youngest Legend in the History of World Pop Music!

Possible Nobel Prize Nomination? Spike Sets New Record in Cross-Disciplinary Journey?

Spike: Warner Bros.' Number One Spendthrift!

The power of the Phoenix is ​​unstoppable.

Spike has completely captivated the ears of every American…

"Since the Billboard 200 radio singles chart was established in December 1990, no artist has ever reached 200 million streams in a single week. But now, Spike has done it—"

"Spike boosted the Billboard Hot 100 million listens, a miraculous achievement!"

"He is God!"

The hosts of ABC and CNN made extremely exaggerated expressions when reporting related news. Zhou Yi, who was "resurrected" in the image of a phoenix after being shot, has gained far more prestige in the United States than ordinary people can imagine.

This is a record worthy of being recorded in the history of American pop music.

Moreover, they find it hard to imagine that anyone could break this record created by perfect timing, location, and people.

In other words, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the I Ching will forever hold the top spot on the all-time charts of American radio, looking down upon all living beings—and no American will ever be able to reclaim this record.

The thought filled them with despair. "Believe me, brother, that Spike isn't an American-born citizen, otherwise I have no doubt he could run for president of the United States."

"I want to elect him as President of the United States right now! I've had enough of that idiot George W. Bush..."

On an NBC television program, a host and two guests are discussing a man who is currently the subject of intense public debate.

Faced with praise from the host and another guest, the producer and host of the NBC television show "The Successor," the producer of "The Apprentice," and the creator of the radio program "Trumped!"—

The blond-haired man, picking up his accordion, immediately launched into a rant: "It's all a misunderstanding between me and Spike. Michael acted as a mediator, and we've already talked it out. Actually, I really admire Spike..."

"A fickle thing."

Qian Jiang, watching TV, spat out, "You never tell the truth, and I admire you."

Zhouyi: "..."

How dare you! Do you realize that your actions are an insult to the future sun of America?!

Damn it, I can't take it anymore, the more I think about it, the less I can hold back.

Zhou Yi always finds it funny to see the golden-haired bastard, who is still hanging around NBC, trying to make himself famous throughout the United States through various programs.

But his smile soon faded.

"After you go back, CCTV is planning to make a documentary about you. What do you think?"

"?"

Why does that sound so creepy?

Dude, are you at the age where you'll be made into a documentary?

"The main issue is that this is a big deal, and CCTV feels it's necessary to make a documentary about you. Of course, the decision is yours."

"My advice is that you should take it. After all, documentary filmmaking takes years. If you do win the Nobel Peace Prize next year, then this documentary will be a landmark in history."

In Qian Jiang's view, Zhou Yi has a very high probability of winning the award; it's almost a certainty.

He even risked his life. If it weren't for good luck, he would have really died. If he doesn't get the Nobel Peace Prize next year, what justice would there be?
Public opinion speaks for itself.

If the nomination period hadn't already passed this year, public opinion would have elevated the I Ching to the top.

Putting aside the great Chinese-American scientists who won awards in the last century, and regardless of what kind of Nobel Prize Zhou Yi actually received, the fact that he won the prize makes him, at the very least, the first genuine Chinese Nobel laureate.

that's enough.

Given the current situation in China, this first Nobel Prize for the I Ching is enough to secure his place in contemporary humanities history. While he's alive, he'll be a living part of history; and after his death, he might even occupy a line of introduction in future humanities reference materials.

After all, a breakthrough from 0 to 1 is always worth commemorating.

Not to mention that he achieved this breakthrough in the environment of the early 2000s.

"...I don't care, if they're so enthusiastic, let them do it."

Zhou Yi didn't really feel anything about the enthusiasm from Qianjiang and CCTV.

The allure of being remembered in history is indeed great, but the Nobel Peace Prize doesn't really hold much weight for him.

When Liu Xiaobo, who had been sentenced to eleven years in prison, received the Nobel Peace Prize, the award became completely tarnished in China.

The most direct consequence of this was that when Mo Yan later won the Nobel Prize in Literature, he not only did not receive the unanimous praise he had imagined, but instead attracted a large number of netizens to search for clues about him.

Yes, many people, including official sources, believe that Mo Yan is the first Chinese person to win the Nobel Prize. But in fact, before him, Liu Xiaobo, a PhD in Literature from Beijing Normal University, had already won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

However, because Liu Xiaobo was imprisoned for subversion, his Nobel Prize record is not recognized domestically. Therefore, Mo Yan is the first Chinese Nobel laureate officially recognized.

This is why the Book of Changes says that the Nobel Peace Prize is just one roadside stall.

If you look up the list of past Nobel Peace Prize laureates on Baidu Baike, you'll find that the 2010 entry is completely missing; it jumps directly from 2009 to 2011.

Zhou Yi estimated that by that time, at most he might only be mentioned briefly on some school weekly tests, monthly exams, or midterm history exams.
For example:
Who was the first Nobel laureate in my country's history? (3 points)
A: The Book of Changes (I Ching);
B: Mo Yan;
C……

Answer: A.

Analysis: The author of the Book of Changes (I Ching) is the first person in Chinese history to break through Western prejudices and win the Nobel Peace Prize...

Well, if you think about it that way, taking advantage of the Iraq War to snatch this position in advance, so that some idiot won't come back with the actual record and annoy people later, is not a bad choice.

"And one more thing."

"Ok?"

"Let's take some official photos and make a new celebration poster."

Qian Jiang patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder and said with great enthusiasm, "Your new album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making history."

Since the beginning of the 21st century, no one has ever sold more than 30 million copies in six months. Even Zhou Yi in the past had to slowly climb up the ranks over a year.

Not to mention that the Zhouyi project only took a little over two months to complete this time...

A terrifying record that is hard for later generations to match; even Adele's subsequent sales miracles didn't have such a rapid rise in sales.

"So fast?"

Zhou Yi was also somewhat surprised; he thought it would take some more time to work things out.

"You think the propaganda machine is something else?"

September 12, 2005, Monday, sunny.

As Zhou Yi, along with his parents, Cheng Hao, and Sun Yanzi, flew back to China from Los Angeles on a private jet, Warner broadcast this unprecedented record globally via megaphone.

Record-crushing machine! Spike's new album surpasses 30 million copies sold worldwide!

Spike wins the annual championship ahead of schedule and goes home for vacation!

A brand new celebratory poster has been released, featuring Spike transformed into a phoenix!

"The Legend Never Sleeps, Zhouyi Returns Home!"

The Book of Changes: The Man Who Conquered 240 Million Americans

Zhou Yi, the first Chinese singer nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

"..."

Because of the time difference, Zhou Yi deliberately brought his family back at night to avoid any potential reporters.

But he clearly underestimated the legendary nature of his own meteoric rise in popularity both domestically and internationally.

At 2:35 a.m., the area outside the airport was still completely packed with people.

The brightly lit corridor spoke volumes about the domestic journalists' longing for that man.

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi, what do you think of Americans calling you a legend? Do you feel they are trying to flatter you to death?"

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Are you really planning to convert to Christianity?"

"The Book of Changes..."

The noise was deafening, turning the early morning airport into a bustling market.

"Stop, stop, I said stop."

Zhou Yi gestured a pause: "I have no intention of becoming religious, and I never will. Thank you."

Late at night, Zhou Yi, who was still wearing sunglasses when he came out of the airport, took them off: "As for praising someone to death? I don't think it's praising someone to death."

After pausing for a moment, weighing the glasses in his hand, Zhou Yi, under the glaring lights, glanced around and added, "In fact, I am a legend."

(End of this chapter)