The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1789 A Mighty Horse Leaving the World in the Dust

The wave spread widely.

Even Warner Music itself got involved. Mike Donovan said in an interview, "On a sunny day, I would choose 'Sunflower'; on a rainy day, I would choose 'Sailing'."

"What about cloudy days?"

Mike Donovan smiled broadly, "Both are fine."

A small detail reveals that Warner Music was undoubtedly behind this wave. Perhaps Eddie Slimane's words were unintentional, but Warner Music saw an opportunity, seized it immediately, and capitalized on it, successfully creating a cultural shock.

Thus, an unbelievable scene unfolded in the North American record market—

"Sunflower" or "Sailing"?
Two singles by the same artist are firmly occupying the center of popular culture and are going viral. Even casual listeners who had no interest in Anson's music are getting involved, fearing that they will be abandoned by popular culture, and are clinging to this lifeline to keep up with the surging tide of the times.

Amidst this scorching heat, the "sunflower" lived up to expectations, firmly holding onto its champion's throne and displaying an unshakeable momentum that commands respect.

Week 18. Week 19.

Then, twenty weeks!

Twenty weeks later, a brand new milestone has been reached. "Sunflower" has set new records and reached new heights, completely reshaping the history of the Billboard Hot 100.

As it turns out, "Sunflower" was able to break the record set by "Sweet Day" not just by luck, nor simply by Warner Music's strategy. The single's digital downloads, radio points, and other metrics were absolutely dominant, opening up endless new possibilities.

Twenty weeks, a full twenty weeks, an unbelievable twenty weeks, more than a third of a year.

This is the dominance of "Sunflower," bursting forth with an epic energy unprecedented and unparalleled. Now, the ceiling that all musicians need to look up to is Anson Wood's "Sunflower."

With favorable timing, location, and people, everything seemed to be on Anson's side.

On the one hand, people marvel at the brilliance of the "sunflower," whose incredible popularity and traffic seem endless, leaving others far behind.

On the other hand, people lamented that "Hangxing" was born at the wrong time, managing to get stuck in second place for four consecutive weeks. Could "Hangxing" also become the king of second place like "Hohey" did back then?

In the fourth week of November, the Billboard Hot 100 chart finally saw a major shift—

First, “Sailing”, Anson Wood.

Second, "Sunflower," Anson Wood.

Third, “My Dear,” Usher & Alicia Keys.

After a full month, the rankings finally changed. "Sailing" held the top spot for two or four consecutive weeks, ending "Sunflower's" twenty-week reign.

Thus, the Sunflower's championship weeks ultimately ended at twenty. Sadness, regret, and disappointment are understandable, but there's no need to worry. The championship throne has been handed over to a trustworthy successor. The Sunflower can now walk away with its head held high, leaving behind a glorious and splendid legacy.

Having previously unleashed astonishing energy, seemingly having exhausted all market potential, "Sunflower's" momentum declined rapidly. It only stayed in second place for two weeks before being overtaken by "My Dear," and then slowly fell out of the top five.

Nevertheless, the lingering popularity of "Sunflower" remained, firmly holding its place in the top ten of the singles chart until the end of 2004. As for 2005, that marked the beginning of something else entirely.

In contrast, "Sailing" is a gradual and well-prepared song that builds up its strength before unleashing its full potential. However, its explosive power is clearly not as strong as "Sunflower." Although the single also benefited from the "Spider-Man 2" collaboration, the movie's impact had largely dissipated by the time it was released, so it relied more on word-of-mouth.

Of course, Warner Music's promotional strategy was also completely different. "Sunflower" was promoted together with "Spider-Man 2", while "Sailing" was promoted together as the first official single of "Dawn Breaks". The focus was on Anson's edge and color as a solo artist, showing the different style of Anson during his band period.

Therefore, "Sailing" lacks the energy to soar into the sky, but it emphasizes stability, continuity, balance, and long-lasting momentum.

After topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Voyage" maintained a stable output of weekly data, firmly and unshakably sitting in the top spot.

One week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks.

In the blink of an eye, "Voyage" withstood the onslaught of Christmas songs, firmly holding onto the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, bringing a perfect end to 2004.

From "Another Light" at the beginning of the year to "Voyage" at the end, it is no exaggeration to say that the music market in 2004 witnessed Anson Wood's dominant performance, which was consistent and overwhelming. For more than half of the year, Anson Wood firmly held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Moreover, it's not without competitors or fierce competition. Top popular singers like Usher, Avril Lavigne, Eminem, Maroon 5, Norah Jones, the Black Eyed Peas, U2, Guns N' Roses, Britney Spears, and many more bombarded the market one after another.

However, Anson remains the undisputed leader.

It was truly astonishing, and in some ways even more unbelievable than the explosion of "Spider-Man 2".

After all, "Spider-Man 2" was just a one-off event, but Anson's musical works ran throughout the year, causing a sensation every time they appeared.

From the twenty consecutive championships of "Sunflower" to the five consecutive championships of "Sailing", summer, autumn and winter, Anson has always been by your side, bringing the year to a perfect end. He not only has explosive power, but also endurance, truly pushing Anson's popularity and prestige to a place that no one can touch.

This is also reflected in the Billboard album charts—

"Dawn breaks," leaving everyone else far behind, far ahead, and unmatched.

After achieving an astonishing 3.98 million sales in its first week of release, "Dawn Breaks" did not burn out like those curses. On the contrary, the explosive success in the first week brought more attention and support to the album, and the sales surge continues.

In the second week, "Dawn Breaks" sold 1.33 million units.

The gap was obvious; compared to the first week, album sales plummeted by more than 50%. But the record market is different from the film market, so there's nothing to be surprised about. In fact, this is the norm. And within this norm, Anson casually wrote another record, swallowing all the criticism and attacks.

Anson became the first artist in history to sell at least one million copies in a single week at least twice!

While other singers would find it incredibly difficult to achieve such a feat even once, with only fourteen albums in history accomplishing this achievement, Anson accomplished it a second time in a row, leaving all competitors far behind and becoming a phenomenon in the North American market.

Those haters and trolls were almost driven mad and fell into despair. They started shouting noisily, but before they could even utter a sound, they were slapped in the face again.

In the third week, "Dawn Breaks" sold another 1.11 million copies, delivering a resounding slap to the face of all the negative voices, and the world finally quieted down.

(End of this chapter)