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

Chapter 939 We All Owe Zhou Yi an Album

Wild, stunning the world!
Unlike the singing and dancing performance in 2002, "Believer," as a rock song, was indeed more impactful and visually striking in terms of its live performance.

After all, it's the type of song best suited for live performances, the kind where the more people there are, the crazier the atmosphere, the better.

The sheer intensity of the atmosphere inside the Berlin Olympic Stadium at that moment needs no further explanation; the broadcast footage speaks for itself.

“You made me a you made me a believer!

"Believer!"

“You made me a you made me a believer!

"Believer!"

Even after the band's performance had ended, and even after Zhou Yi's frozen pose had finished, the massive chorus that swept through the audience, like a torrent of steel, remained as loud and clear as a bell!

Most of the excited and restless audience members didn't remember the lyrics to the whole song, but they could at least remember the most memorable repetitive line in the song—or at the very least, they could understand the word "Believer".

Repeatedly chanting "Believer" is their greatest respect for this pop star who has conquered the world.

Standing proudly on the pure white stage, Zhou Yi is the god who manipulates musical notes, and the audience below the stage who worship him are his most loyal believers!

"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Spike has conquered the world's ears with a new single that was leaked less than a week ago! Listen to these raucous recordings from the live performance; at this moment, he is a god!"

The World Cup broadcast from an American television network, with the host's excited, hoarse shouts, thrilled every American viewer watching the World Cup final live.

"I want to apologize, I want to apologize to Spike, I apologize for ever suspecting that his shooting was staged. The quality of this new song is simply unparalleled! It actually made me see again the genius who stood at the top of the world in 2003 with his all-rock English album!"

The commentator from Sky Sports UK was speechless with praise: "If he hadn't truly gone through a life-or-death experience, I don't believe Spike could have written a song so perfectly capturing his situation. I hereby declare that I definitely won't be able to buy 10 copies of '25'..."

"Man! Amazing!! Unbelievable!!!"

Throughout the Western world, those who follow the World Cup, even the most die-hard critics of Zhou Yi, have to reluctantly admit, without a well-organized narrative, that this dazzling man on stage was destined to be so brilliant.

His talent, his good looks, his physique, his gifts...

Everything was so perfect.

"He's like a god's son, especially favored by the Creator. Even when faced with misfortune, he can always turn danger into safety and be reborn from the ashes. His only flaw is that he can't have me. Don't laugh, viewers, I think this is a very serious fact..."

"これが音楽の皇であり!! A miracle in the history of world music, の男です!!!"

Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, Japan and South Korea...

The broadcasting media in almost every country kept praising this new song, which sounded amazing and had a perfect stage performance, fully affirming the success of this music show performance.

"A magnificent closing ceremony performance! A magnificent interpretation of the I Ching! A perfect score of 10! It is an insurmountable monument in the history of Chinese pop music and even in the history of world pop music!"

Sitting in the CCTV live broadcast room, Huang Jianxiang brought out the same energy he had when he was commentating on the "great Italian left-back" in his previous commentary, and vigorously promoted the I Ching in Europe and America—no, it should be said that he conquered Europe and America.

Anyway, this is his last match commentating on CCTV. After the final, he will voluntarily submit his resignation and leave CCTV with dignity. He will do whatever makes him happy.

Zhang Lu, who was in charge of the straight man role, would occasionally chuckle and respond at just the right moment.

Unsurprisingly, all the major chat rooms, forums, and even online communities such as Tieba and QQ groups in China that were currently watching the live stream were flooded with posts about the I Ching.

There's no way around it; the sheer power of the song speaks for itself. With simultaneous live broadcasts in over 200 countries and regions worldwide, and a single song that gets the world's blood pumping, it's incredibly difficult to find any fault with it, not even the kind that's forced.

"Awesome, I'm impressed! I have to say, although it's annoying to see people showing off their knowledge of the I Ching, the fact that they can do it in front of the whole world on European and American soil is something I have to admire."

"I've said it before, Europe and America treat the I Ching like royalty, but in China it's like they've dug up the ancestral graves of some haters, chasing after them all day long to criticize some trivial things. It's disgusting!"

"With over a billion people, how can you expect to find tens of millions of idiots, mentally challenged, and neurotic individuals? You think you're in heaven?"

"Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions!"

The fervor at the scene was undeniable. Zhou Yi's fans, riding this wave of energy, launched a massive patrol, even flooding online forums frequented by trolls with posts that were constantly being deleted.

An invincible aura, terrifying indeed!
"The German Football Association really hit the jackpot by bringing Zhou Yi over. I saw them laughing so happily in the stands."

"Nonsense, Dezi is desperately trying to sever ties with the history of his struggles in the beer hall, you could even say he's obsessed with it. With Zhou Yi, such a politically correct figure, right here, and putting on such a good show, they're bound to gain a reputation for supporting peace."

"To be honest, it's true. Look, even the German Football Association people went out of their way to take photos with Zhou Yi. You can imagine how satisfied they are with the result..."

On the television screen, a group of high-ranking German government officials, along with members of the German Football Association, posed for a group photo with Zhou Yi. Even the usually stern-faced Franz Beckenbauer, the "Emperor of German Football," beamed with joy.

"Thank you for your wonderful performance, Spike," said the newly appointed Aunt Murdoch warmly at the end of last year.

The response from the Book of Changes was very appropriate.

Although this was the first Western world leader he had ever met.

"Spike, your performance was absolutely fantastic. Honestly, I would highly recommend you for the 2010 World Cup." FIFA President Blatter said with a smile, looking like a kind old man casually chatting.

Zhou Yi politely declined with a smile, then immediately recommended Shakira, who was standing not far from him in the group photo—Shakira had just come out of the excitement of her performance at the World Cup closing ceremony, and her breathing quickened briefly for a few seconds upon seeing this.

"What did I just hear? You recommended me?"

"What's so strange about that? Don't forget you're half Warner blood now, one of us."

Zhou Yi's teasing prompted Shakira to nudge him with her elbow. If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, she would have started a fight right then and there: "Are you reminding me that I still have a Spanish contract with Sony?"

“You can think of it that way.” Zhou Yi picked up the small hoe and dug a hole.

Anyway, it's common knowledge that Sony has committed heinous crimes.

After chatting and taking photos, before the final officially began, Zhou Yi also posed for photos with both the Italian and French teams for the media. Zhou Yi also ordered match jerseys from both teams to take home and collect.

"Others pre-order one piece, but you're doing wholesale."

After the match started, Shakira, who was chatting while watching the game, couldn't help but ask, "Are you here to buy merchandise for the World Cup? I think you bought several Brazilian jerseys back in 02, didn't you?"

Last time, at least they only asked for the champion's match-worn jersey. This time, however, they wanted both of the finalists' jerseys. Luckily, Zhou Yi has been a football fan since his debut and has that added status, otherwise, this request would probably have been rejected on the spot.

"That's different."

Zhou Yi smiled and said nothing more.

If we were to choose the most famous World Cup final, Zhou Yi would definitely pick the 06 World Cup.

It wasn't because the game was particularly exciting, but because France's absolute core player, Zidane, lost control during extra time in the final, heading directly into Italian defender Materazzi's chest with a powerful header, and was immediately sent off with a red card.

This dramatic scene is unprecedented in World Cup history and is unlikely to be repeated.

Having lost their key player and suffering a huge psychological blow, the French team lost their composure in the final moments and ultimately lost to Italy in a penalty shootout, finishing as runners-up.

Whether it's the entertainment value, the drama, or the sense of destiny left by Zidane being photographed passing by the World Cup trophy, this match has been talked about by countless people.

And the events on the field unfolded just as Zhou Yi remembered—

Zidane scored first, beating Italian goalkeeper Buffon with a skillful and daring Panenka penalty, giving France a 1-0 lead;

But Italy quickly equalized in the 19th minute with a goal from Italian defender Materazzi, making it 1-1.

These two protagonists of the match seemed to be drawn together by fate. In extra time, under the watchful eyes of the world, Zidane delivered a powerful header that struck Materazzi in the chest!
"???"

"Holy crap?! Zidane, what are you doing?!"

"Zidane! Huh?! Zidane ran headfirst into Materazzi's chest?!"

"Zidane! Zidane!"

"..."

The whole place was in an uproar!

The world was in uproar!

So much so that after Italy won the championship in the penalty shootout, many people at the stadium and in front of their televisions were not talking about the Italian champion team, but about Zidane's extremely irrational header, which could even be said to have ruined the morale of the entire French team.

Zidane's irrational actions! Red card in the final!

"France's dressing room erupts after the match, handing Italy the title!"

Spike's prediction came true: Italy won the championship with their defense!

"???"

Is this any of my business?
Zhou Yi, who was reading the news, was completely baffled.

You call Materazzi getting headed down a sign of Italy's defense?

On July 10, 2006, the day after the World Cup final, Zidane's header was repeatedly mentioned in reports from major media outlets worldwide, and Zhou Yi's expressed optimism about Italy's defensive tactics during a guest interview became a source of jokes and memes among audiences around the world.

Regardless of how you defended it, just tell me if you defended it or not!
Zidane was so badly marked that he was sent off with a red card, leaving the other 10 French players completely bewildered!
Perhaps it was because of too much playful banter and jokes that some viewers even blamed Zhou Yi's overly passionate and rock-and-roll performance for igniting Zidane's fiery temper...

In short, the news of #Zidane, regret# dominated the global headlines.

This midfield maestro, who was just one World Cup trophy away from becoming the world's greatest footballer, ultimately missed his chance to ascend to godhood, leaving behind endless regret.

Of course, for Zhou Yi, the only useful thing about the #Zidane, Regret# trending topic is that he can use it to market his regrets.

After the initial hype surrounding the indulgence ticket sales, it's time to unleash the ultimate marketing blitz!

"We All Owe the I Ching an Album," launch!

Stephen Chow's marketing tactic backfired because the quality of "The Mermaid" didn't meet the expectations of the ticket-buying public. But his album "25" is different; its quality surpasses that of his first, third, and fourth albums, so he doesn't need to worry about this issue at all.

On July 16, local media in San Francisco, USA, first published this argument: "How many musicians have been ruined by American piracy?"

Spike's "Believer" immediately soared to number one on music charts in over 50 countries worldwide, including the Billboard charts, after the World Cup. Without internet piracy, given the song's quality, it would have undoubtedly debuted at number one in the US charts.

"And piracy has caused huge losses to all musicians, including Spike..."

Starting with the leaked single "Believer," and then supplemented by other cases of massive losses caused by internet piracy, such as the leaks of Eminem's singles and albums, and Madonna's singles and albums, the article uses specific examples to expose the chaos in the entire industry, which has generated considerable buzz.

Most importantly, it also united a large number of musicians who suffered from piracy. Even Eminem, who was on drugs, would not stand up against this, since he himself had condemned piracy and leaks.

On July 20, after several days of public discussion and seeing that the tide had turned and there were no disruptive rebuttals, media outlets in New York, Washington, and other cities began to follow up and intensify their efforts, emphasizing that piracy, this indulgence, had been sold to all Americans.

Americans may really owe Spike an album.

"Spike was shot in America, right here on our own soil."
"The place where Spike was pirated and leaked is still America, still the land beneath our feet!"

Even so, Spike only expressed regret and still said he believed in his fans...

In short, it boils down to this: American fans, can you handle this? How can you not be moved to tears?!

Spike trusts us so much, what have we given him in return?
bullet!

Piracy!

Five years have passed, and Spike's albums have topped the pirate market sales charts every year for the past five years. Under such circumstances, shouldn't you pirates take out your money and buy a legitimate copy of "25" this year as an atonement?

If the I Ching has been so magnanimous in forgiving the American market, shouldn't you guys who listen to pirated CDs also buy a legitimate copy to show your support?
Don't even mention that you wouldn't earn enough to buy a single copy of "25" in five years!
Can your consciences rest if you don't buy it?!

Will I still be able to go to church with a clear conscience in the future?!
Can you still say "God bless you"?!
If I don't buy a copy of "25" to atone for my sins, how can I live up to Spike's forgiveness and trust?!

Therefore, on July 27, 2006, after further testing and finding that the market had successfully been drawn into the atonement narrative, Warner Music continued its efforts, having major media outlets relay news announcements that began to spread in more than ten states across the United States, officially removing words such as "perhaps" and "United States"—

Don't let waiting become a regret; we all owe Spike an album.

(End of this chapter)