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

Chapter 973 Two iconic Victoria's Secret moments combined into one
The meaning they both understood was ultimately resolved with a knowing smile.

Zhou Yi did not respond, but simply introduced himself to the other supermodels as usual, with Alessandra Ambrosio's help.

It wasn't until he recognized all the names of the women in the crowd that Leslie Wexner, the founder and CEO of Victoria's Secret's parent company, and Ed Lazek, the chief marketing officer, finally arrived late, their faces beaming with smiles.

In 1982, Victoria's Secret was a niche lingerie brand with only 5 stores. It was Leslie Wexner who spent $100 million to acquire it, which led to the creation of the parent company, Victoria's Secret, and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, a marketing strategy that propelled the brand to the top of the global market.

As for the concept of "Victoria's Secret Angels," it was proposed by Chief Marketing Officer Ed Lazek, and its adoption indeed further attracted the attention of audiences worldwide.

It's safe to say that these two are undoubtedly the driving forces behind the rise of the Victoria's Secret brand and the global popularity of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show; they are truly masters of marketing.

But no matter how skilled the production team, they can't overcome audience fatigue, and declining viewership has been a persistent pain for Victoria's Secret in recent years.

Without major changes to the format, the number of viewers for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has plummeted compared to its initial peak.

The 01 million viewers in the US in 1240 is the highest viewership record for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show that remains unsurpassed to this day; however, viewership plummeted to just over 02 million in 1000.

In 2003, it fell below 10 million to only 944 million. In 2004, it was suspended due to the Super Bowl controversy. It resumed in 2005, but had already fallen below 9 million.

No matter how beautiful the show is, all the fancy tricks will have been used up over such a long period of time.

It's like writing a long online novel; as you go on, you often get tired of the same old thing, the same old formulas become repetitive, and your energy levels drop—it's unavoidable.

Leslie Wexner and Ed Lazek racked their brains over this issue, trying every day to figure out what Victoria's Secret should do and how to change things—inviting Zhou Yi as a guest performer was the fastest way they could think of to save the ratings.

Whether you treat the symptoms or the root cause, you have to treat the root cause first.

First it fell below 10 million, then below 9 million, then to 8 million, 7 million, 6 million, and 5 million, and then it stopped falling.

This is a situation that Victoria's Secret absolutely cannot accept.

After Zhou Yi was crowned with the title in "25," they were worried that Warner Bros. might break the contract and not come back, and they were even prepared to add another ten million dollars. But thankfully, Zhou Yi remained true to his principles.

Although Zhou Yi is the only artist in Victoria's Secret and even the history of the global entertainment industry to have received a single appearance fee exceeding $1500 million, this did not prevent Leslie from expressing her heartfelt gratitude to him.

They even promised to give away four sets of annual runway lingerie worth over $300 million each as a token of their appreciation.

As a seasoned veteran, Leslie still knows how to keep score.

Given Zhou Yi's current popularity, if he can boost the ratings of this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show—he doesn't ask for much, just enough to reach 1000 million total viewers—he would feel that the exorbitant appearance fee and gifts were well worth it.

If prices can recover, a rise in stock prices is just a matter of time.

"Your segment revolves around you, Spike. The models can also rehearse with you to see how it goes."

"About an hour later, I also need to adjust my state."

After glancing at the time, Zhou Yi set a rehearsal time with the Victoria's Secret executives.

To be honest, he was also curious about how much influence he could have on this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show ratings. In his memory, the 06 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show saw a record low in viewership, plummeting from 05 million in 890 to 678 million.

It's fair to say that the 05 and 06 Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, which were widely praised on the Chinese internet and dubbed the "Battle of the Gods," had viewership ratings that were among the lowest in the first decade of the new century.

The unstoppable decline in viewership in 05 directly led to the failure of Gisele Bündchen, now the world's number one supermodel, to renew her contract with Victoria's Secret's parent company, because Victoria's Secret believed that she was not worthy of the high-salary contract she demanded. Therefore, this year will be her last year with Victoria's Secret.

After this show, Gisele Bündchen will bid farewell to the Victoria's Secret stage.

And this gave AA enormous ambitions—

Although she is also Brazilian, she did not choose to leave Victoria's Secret, but instead chose to renew her contract.

You could say she was terrified of poverty and simply wanted a guaranteed, stable contract with Victoria's Secret, or you could say she wanted to create her own Victoria's Secret era. In any case, despite her skyrocketing value, she didn't choose to demand an exorbitant salary.

She has always been very clear-headed when it comes to money.

"Do you know what's the hottest topic of discussion about you among us?"

"My album?"

"No, it's your appearance fee."

In the dressing room, Alessandra Ambrosio (AA), who even needs to touch up her makeup during rehearsals, observes her lip color in the mirror: "Our contracts are only five or six million dollars a year, and you can earn 1500 million in 12 minutes."

"To correct you, it's 15 minutes."

Zhou Yi, who was entering the Victoria's Secret supermodel lounge for the first time, was still marveling at the dazzling array of lingerie hanging there, and upon hearing this, he didn't forget to turn around and emphasize it.

Shortening it by two minutes is unacceptable. He always pays for what you pay for and is honest with everyone. He would never do anything like this, shortchanging people. If he says three songs will last 15 minutes, then not a second less.

"Thank you for reminding me that you earned my annual salary in just six minutes, honey."

"You're welcome. I'm always happy to help others."

Zhou Yi strolled up behind the woman and looked down at her reflection in the mirror, casually reaching out to play with her hair: "Although I think you should be discussing my album sales more, which is much higher than my appearance fee."

“Albums are your area of ​​expertise, Victoria’s Secret isn’t.” After reapplying her lipstick, Alexandra pursed her lips several times in front of the mirror before finally standing up contentedly and gently kissing the man’s cheek: “Ready to watch my performance?”

Their eyes met, and Zhou Yi smiled and said, "We'll see."

Because the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show's schedule is very tight, every supermodel works against the clock during rehearsals to ensure the process runs perfectly without any mistakes.

Although accidents will still happen when they're expected.

For example, in 03, supermodel Fernanda's tassels got tangled in her high heels during a fashion show, and she couldn't shake them off no matter what she tried. This heartbreaking moment brought her to tears, and the camera captured the glistening tear tracks on her face as she stepped onto the runway.

This led to the creation of the famous scene known as "Angel's Tears".

Also in that year, Karolina Kurkova (KK) had her right shoulder strap accidentally slip off during a fashion show.

In 2005, supermodel Natasha Polly made her Victoria's Secret debut, only to have her high heels get stuck on the runway during her first show.

With such a large stage, no matter how well you plan, you can't guarantee that the show will proceed exactly as planned.

Even the Book of Changes (I Ching) deserves our attention—

There was still a risk of mismatch in the three stages he prepared for Victoria's Secret.

Throughout Victoria's Secret's history, three male singers have had the most spectacular stage presence—

The first was Justin Timberlake, who was supposed to perform at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show this year. His flamboyant opening with "Sexy Back" combined with his unrestrained dance moves created a fantastic effect. He was also the first male singer to create a memorable moment on the Victoria's Secret stage.

The second one is Maroon 5. Lead singer Adam Levine walked hand in hand with his then-supermodel girlfriend as she appeared, and then suddenly attacked her at her designated spot with an unexpected kiss, creating another memorable moment for a Victoria's Secret male singer.

The third is Bruno Mars—

Of course, his performance wasn't about how impressive the stage effects were; it was simply because of his height.

He was already short, so he didn't dare to stand next to the supermodels or interact with them at all, and he rarely even made eye contact. Most of the time, he would lean over to interact with the audience along the sides of the stage, which made people laugh a little.

Zhou Yi is taller than the supermodels, so he's not afraid of them even when they're wearing high heels. Therefore, he directly ruled out Bruno Mars' Victoria's Secret effect.

So Zhou Yi easily identified the iconic moments of Justin Timberlake and Adam Levine, and coincidentally, "Sexy Back" and "Moves Like Jagger" are currently his number one singles.

As for the third song, Zhou Yi chose "Yeah".

This is his first number one single after entering the European and American markets, which is of great significance. The intense drumbeats are also very suitable for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, a stage that requires a fixed rhythm.

Putting "Yeah" aside, he has essentially combined two iconic moments from future Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows into one performance.

Unfortunately, there are very few singers who can create memorable moments at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Among male singers, the only one below these three is the collaboration between Boy Band and Taylor Swift.

But he's playing solo now, so he has to pass.

Zhou Yi, having mentally simulated the effects, left the AA dressing room and walked through the crowded backstage area. Presumably because rehearsals also need to take into account the time constraints of the actual stage performance, supermodels could be seen everywhere adjusting their underwear and changing clothes.

They showed no shyness upon meeting Zhou Yi; on the contrary, they were all incredibly enthusiastic.

"Hey, Spike."

The supermodel, having taken off her clothes, unabashedly raised her hand to greet the man, while staff members nearby were timing the rehearsal with stopwatches. Everyone was already used to this scene.

To save time, many supermodels are seen changing clothes and touching up their makeup naked with the help of staff, while eating desserts to replenish their energy.

"Where are you looking, Spike?"

"Yeah, Spike, are you doing an evaluation?" Someone even straightened up—

In an instant, joyful laughter filled the entire backstage area.

"Well, forgive me, but anyone would probably lose control of their eyes when they see so many beautiful women."

Zhou Yi smiled and raised his hands in a French military salute. However, probably due to the crowded backstage space, he had to squeeze through the gaps between the supermodels, and their bodies inevitably made contact: "Could you please make way for me? I have to go out for rehearsal. I'm the opening act."

Amidst laughter and conversation, tears welled up in her eyes as she was forced to touch it.

Sky-high legs, a sexy body, and gorgeous, expensive diamond-encrusted lingerie—

Every ambitious supermodel knows how to leverage their strengths, and some even go so far as to sit directly on Zhou Yi's lap.

No wonder Qianjiang issued a warning in advance; this truly requires strong self-control.

Depravity!

That's so decadent!
Supermodels team up! Spike seems to have fallen from grace!

"26 Minutes of Sneaking Food Backstage at Victoria's Secret: Supermodel Zhou Yi's Giant Sparrow Snatches Her Pants?!"

(End of this chapter)