The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1303 The Frenzy Continues
Focus, focus, and focus again——

All the attention is focused on August 31st, and after winning the Grammy Awards, the band's popularity is still on the rise.

For the moment, let’s put aside the digital music craze that the band wrote on iTunes on August 31st, and return to the familiar track of the music industry——

entity.

In the first week of March on the Billboard singles chart, "Another Light" has just accomplished a feat, ending the eight consecutive championships of Usher's popular single "Yeah" with an airborne appearance, subverting the Billboard pattern.

This scene is no longer unfamiliar.

Previously, Fifty Cent and Beyoncé were on the verge of setting records. Their popular singles were almost at the top of the Billboard singles chart and would enter their tenth week, but they were both sniped by the band August 31st and unfortunately stopped, watching this band write one brilliant record after another.

Now, it's Usher's turn.

Since its release, the single "Yeah" has been hailed as the club hit of 2004. It has become popular in every corner of the nightlife of major cities. Usher has become a top star with this single.

Week after week, week after week, the single has remained at the top of the Billboard singles chart for two full months with no signs of slowing down. Some even believe that this week's single may break the record.

Sixteen weeks, this is the ceiling for the number of weeks a song has stayed at the top of the Billboard singles chart so far, which was held by Mariah Carey's "One-Sweet-Day" in 1995 with the band Boyz II Men, and no one has been able to break it for a full decade.

"Yeah", with high hopes, this is the popularity of Usher now.

However, Usher met the band August 31st.

And then... no more.

The number of weeks that "Yeah" remained the champion stopped at eight, and it didn't even reach double digits.

Moreover, "Another Light" is the unannounced champion, and its explosive power is eye-catching.

"Giant Killer", the New York Times gave this title to the band August 31st, expressing admiration for the band's amazing potential. Who could have thought that a band that emerged from a crack in the rock could trigger such an effect and subvert the entire music market?

But this title has been questioned by many.

Fifty Cent and Beyoncé are newcomers, they have just released their first albums; Usher is releasing his fourth studio album, but he is far from being a giant.

Rather than being a "giant killer", it is better to say that it is an outlier that stands out in the new wave, breaking all stereotypes with its unconventional attitude.

From the type of music to the instruments used, to the performance style and finally to the market performance, everything is brand new, and the shock and impact cannot be stopped.

This was proved again later.

After "Another Light" debuted at the top of the Billboard singles chart, it withstood wave after wave of attacks, including Jay-Z, Outkast, Beyoncé, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, etc., and stayed on the top of the throne for a full twelve weeks.

Up to three months!
The market was filled with astonishment. Was the band August 31st planning to break the record?

However, at this time, Usher stepped forward and made his voice heard.

Usher's second single "Burn" had a weak follow-up, ending "Another Light"'s three-month journey and topping the charts.

It starts with Usher and ends with Usher, a perfect circle.

Despite this, "Another Light" still established its position with its incredible performance, pushing the popularity and reputation of the August 31st band to new heights.

And of course, there’s the album – a special deluxe edition of “Midsummer Midnight”.

Originally, "Midsummer Midnight" had already sold an incredible five million copies in 2003, and the market potential had been fully tapped. Even if a special edition was issued, the effect would be limited and it would be difficult to significantly boost sales.

At least, that's what the professionals think, including Warner Records.

But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and the performance stage of the Grammy Awards ceremony exploded the market, which led to the birth of the special deluxe edition.

Moreover, the album sales performed well—

In the first week after its release, it achieved an astonishing result of 670,000 sales, and topped the Billboard album chart with a crushing momentum.

The victim was Norah Jones. After making history at the Grammy Awards, this young talent finally released her second studio album, "Feels-Like-Home", a year and a half later. It topped the Billboard album chart as soon as it was released and received widespread acclaim.

Although the word-of-mouth praise is not as good as that of "Fly Away", its younger, lighter and more down-to-earth style has been recognized by the market after being mixed with a bit of country.

After topping the Billboard album chart, it remained at the top for six consecutive weeks until the release of the special deluxe edition of "Midsummer Midnight".

"Like Home" was relegated to second place.

Incredibly, the original album of "Midsummer Midnight" actually sold 130,000 copies again, returning to the third place on the Billboard album chart.

This sales volume is even better than that of Kanye West, who suddenly emerged.

Kanye West released his first studio album "The-College-Dropout", which received rave reviews from music critics. Another hip-hop rising star has emerged, hoping to replicate Fifty Cent's feat last year. The overwhelming praise has raised expectations early on.

As a result, this is it?
Not only did it lose to the special deluxe edition of "Midsummer Night" and "Like Home", it also lost to the original version of "Midsummer Night" and ranked only fourth.

This……

The market was in shock. What happened?

All the tracks of "Midsummer Midnight" are included in the special deluxe edition. If you buy the special deluxe edition, there is no need to buy the original version. The number of fanatical fans who bought the original version and then went on to buy the special deluxe edition is already shocking. I didn't expect that there are so many fools who bought the special deluxe edition and then went on to buy the original version?
In response to this, fans said that the original inner pages and the special deluxe edition inner pages are different, the posters, printing, design, etc. are all different, and they bought them specifically for collection.

After all, this is an album worth collecting.

If you think about it, it's not surprising.

The experience of the band August 31st spread widely after their wonderful performance at the Grammy Awards. The website of their European street tour still has a very high number of visits. The band's every move is writing the history of independent musicians and igniting the courage of young people to pursue their dreams.

Perhaps in the eyes of professionals, August 31st is still a newcomer that has only released one album; but in the eyes of young musicians and fanatical fans, the band is a banner that has emerged out of nowhere.

The industry position is completely different——

Look, the fact that the band August 31st dared to try the challenge of digital sound sources has pointed out another path for independent musicians, hasn’t it?

It is precisely because of this that singles and albums have caused market responses in different natures and forms, but in the end they all led to a market frenzy and left their mark on the Billboard charts.

recorded in history!

(End of this chapter)