Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 132 Breaking the Aesthetic Barriers between the East and the West

At 1:28 p.m. on January 1, U.S. time, Shen Juan and his delegation landed at Newark International Airport in New York.

Under the joint escort of security personnel and team members, Shen Juan briefly interacted with the group of fans who came to the airport to pick him up and cheer for him for a few minutes, then took a car to the booked hotel and began the one-stop preparation process of "putting on makeup, changing clothes, taking photos and interviews" before attending the Grammy Awards ceremony.

Because the Grammy Awards that Shen Juan attended this time was a world-class ceremony on the same level as the Oscars, Dior and Tiffany both attached great importance to Shen Juan's red carpet appearance this time, so they sent a lot of clothing and accessories in advance for Shen Juan to choose from.

Although Shen Juan had long wanted to change jobs, he had not yet revealed it. Dio would naturally do his best to allocate resources to him within the internal rating range.

I won’t give you extra, but I won’t treat you badly either.

He seems to be sticking to the rules, but in fact he is very stingy.

And the last step of this dragon is the interview.
Some are from China, and some are from abroad.

After all, unlike his compatriot who got the official invitation to the Grammy Awards by relying on his connections (Yi Yang, the Millennium Dynamic 101 Music Ambassador), Shen Juan got the invitation by relying on his real overseas popularity (1100 million Instagram followers, ranking first in the domestic entertainment industry and sixth in East Asia) and solid performance in works.

Just a quick note: As of January 2018, the number of Instagram followers of celebrities in the East Asian entertainment industry is ranked as follows:
G-Dragon 1500 million, Park Chanyeol 1300 million.

Wu Sehun 1200w, Bian Baekhyun 1150w.

Lee Jong Suk 1140w, Shen Juan 1120w.

Kim Taeyeon 1100w, Lu Han 1020w.

Next is actor Nam Joo Hyuk with 890 million.

(BTS does not have any individual members’ Instagram accounts)

Not only does Shen Juan's growth rate blaze a trail, with an average of over one million new fans per month, but the proportion of his fans from Europe and the United States is undoubtedly higher than that of anyone else.

After all, he is the only one who is releasing serious English singles and truly going abroad to the United States, while others mainly rely on the fan base in the three East Asian countries.

So to some extent, he is the East Asian solo singer with the highest traffic in Europe and the United States at this stage.

"Hello everyone, I am Alex Shen Juan. I am very honored to be here at the Grammy Awards, a world music festival that is a landmark event for every musician."

Shen Juan spoke freely in front of the media camera.

“I also hope to take this opportunity to meet more outstanding singers and musicians here and learn more advanced music knowledge and music concepts from them.”

"Yes, this is indeed my first time in New York, but I believe it will not be the last time. I am amazed by the beauty and prosperity of this city, and I was also shocked and moved by the group of fans I met at the airport today."

If it weren't for the current tensions between China and the United States, which could easily lead his opponents to take his words out of context and use online public opinion to attack him, Shen Juan would probably have wanted to directly say that Xinxiang (New York) was his second hometown.

After all, as we all know, a star has only one first hometown, but many second hometowns.

For example, Brother Cheng once said that he was half South Korean, Mongolian, Australian, and Shandong.
"As for the predictions about the awards, actually every singer nominated is excellent, but I personally still prefer Bruno Mars. He has a total of seven nominations this time. If I remember correctly, I think tonight is likely to be his harvest night, because his album "24K Magic" is really well produced, and almost all the songs in it are very good."

Shen Juan’s favorite song is “That’s What I Like” which gives people a feeling of a wealthy nouveau riche.

"My favorite music type is of course R&B. For example, the Chinese song "Don't Ask, It's Scary" that I released before is R&B. I really like the rhythm of R&B."

"Well, although the songs I released so far are relatively popular, I believe there will be opportunities in the future."

"Maybe this year or next year? Maybe in the near future, I will produce an English R&B single or even a whole R&B album to meet you all."

"Which artists are you looking forward to seeing? Let me think of Lana Del Rey, SZA and Cardi B."

"I still remember Lana Del Rey singing Young and Beautiful for Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby."

"Then SZA is an R&B singer I really like recently. Her voice is very high-level. I look forward to working with her in the future. As for Cardi B, I like her personality very much and think she is very interesting."

At five o'clock in the afternoon, after completing all the preparations before the red carpet, Shen Juan set out from the hotel where he was staying and took a car to the venue of the Grammy Awards ceremony.

Madison Square Garden, New York.

Under the command and dispatch of the on-site security personnel, the business car slowly stopped at the roadside not far from the entrance.

Then, escorted by a group of security personnel in black suits, Shen Juan entered the venue, sitting in the center of the crowd, silently enjoying the small-scale screams of fans and being bombarded by the media's flash lights.

The first is an outer area that is noisy and crowded with people, and everywhere you look there are cameras and media and organizer staff with work badges hanging on them.

In fact, the vast majority of people who stay here are unknown internet celebrities who came here through informal channels to see the world and take advantage of the popularity. There is no need to get to know them at all.

Normally, big-name singers usually arrive at the scene at a certain time, walk the red carpet and accept interviews, and then go directly into the backstage to socialize with other big names.

But the embarrassing thing is,
Although Shen Juan has already achieved sufficient results and a certain degree of popularity in Europe and the United States, and has successfully escaped the category of unknown newcomers, he obviously still has a long way to go before he can become truly famous.

To put it bluntly, the alternative songs are popular but the artists themselves are not.

The main reason is that he had been active in China before, and his exposure frequency here is still too low. Except for his fans, no one pays attention to his information and what he looks like.

Even many people who have heard his songs may not know that the talented singer-songwriter Alex is him.

So it can even be said that he is currently equivalent in the United States to those traffic idols in China who can only survive in the fan circle world. He is nothing outside the fan circle, and most mainstream media and well-known artists do not know him.

Unless they want to tap into Shen Juan's commercial value and potential as the first Chinese singer to enter the B-list Hot 100.

Follow the staff to the waiting interview area outside the red carpet and be interviewed by two hosts.

"How are you? Nice to meet you! What attracted you to come to the Grammys tonight, Alex?"

The host handed the microphone to Shen Juan's mouth.

"Because those who are invited to the Grammys are all the world's top singers and musicians. Here everyone can share their favorite music, meet some new friends, and learn some new knowledge. So I am honored to be invited here tonight. I mean, Madison Square Garden is undoubtedly a great venue, and the Grammys will only be better than it." "If I remember correctly, this should be your first time to come to the United States to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony, right?"

The host had obviously done his homework in advance and knew about the singers he would be interviewing tonight.

After all, not all of the many artists and guests walking on the red carpet are qualified to be interviewed on the red carpet.

For example, Shen Juan, whose English name is "Jackson", did not get this opportunity. He just stayed at the Grammy Awards and spent all his time on styling and giving interviews. He had very little time to actually appear on the red carpet.

This guy is really here to get his resume.

"Yes, it's the first time, so I'm really excited and very honored, and I hope there will be more opportunities to come back here in the future."

"Of course, you definitely have the ability. Maybe we will see you on the nomination list next time."

"Hahaha then I'll lend you my good wishes, buddy!"

"Then we all know that Alex, your recently released new song "In My Blood" ranked 100th in the ranking list of Billboard Hot 49 last week. This also became your second song to enter the top of the Hot . Many fans said that you are expected to become a new hit maker. How do you feel now?"

"Thank you very much! Frankly speaking, I really want to thank the fans who support me and the listeners who like my music. It is their support and love that has brought me here. This will also become the spiritual motivation for me to continue to work hard and make progress. I will always be grateful for this." Shen Juan's tone and gesture became sincere.

The host followed the script and asked, "I believe your fans will be moved to tears after listening to your words, so can you tell us a little bit about the music you are currently working on?"

"Of course!" Shen Juan smiled and shrugged. "I recently participated in the production of the promotional song for Marvel's upcoming Black Panther, and the theme song for Pokémon Day. They should all be released next month."

"Finally, my personal album is already in the production process. If nothing goes wrong, it should be officially released in April or May this year. I am really nervous but also very excited."

"I will definitely support your album after it is released. I promise!" The host is quite good at being polite.

"Thx bro! Remember to send the bill to me for reimbursement when the time comes." Shen Juan also made a joke.

"really?"

"Of course it's fake."

Madison Square Garden was bustling with activity, and the red carpet, which was expected to take more than two hours, passed by minute by minute.

The waiting area closest to the red carpet.

The guests invited to attend the ceremony walked onto the red carpet in an orderly manner and made their appearance in front of the global audience.

And on the other side is the media camera area.

"Ms. Gaga's floor-length dress tonight really shocked me! She always has a way of giving us media outlets surprising looks that can get a lot of clicks."

"Anna Kendrick's look today is also very good. It gives me a feeling of a mature and sexy woman."

"But why do I feel like everyone's style this year is so conventional? All the male celebrities are wearing suits."

"If you want to compete with others, go to the Met Gala next door. That is the fashion event that brings together the most fashionable, daring and innovative celebrities from around the world."

"Then I have to be sent by my superiors."

Just as this group of media reporters, who had been taking photos for more than an hour and whose hands and eyes were almost cramped from pressing the shutter buttons, were chatting while taking photos, trying to cheer themselves up and keep their brains active.

An Asian man wearing a black suit and a white rose on his chest appeared quietly. His stunning appearance made people open their eyes wide and attracted the attention and low exclamations of all the media reporters near the red carpet.

"Alex! Look to the left! You are so handsome and classy! Please look to the left! Yes, that's it!"

"Alex! Do it again! Look at me, please!"

"Damn! He's so handsome."

“His skin looks so good!”

"He is definitely the best-looking Asian man I have ever seen, and I have a feeling a lot of girls will be crazy about him."

"Kevin, I noticed that many of the guest artists tonight were wearing white roses. What's going on?"

"Maybe Kelly Clarkson sent it to him. She was busy distributing white roses tonight, calling on everyone to support their TimesUp movement against sexual harassment of women. The only thing that surprised me was that she actually gave the roses to him. In a sense, being invited by them is a proof of status."

"Wait, why does he look different from those yellow people I've seen on the Internet? Aren't yellow people supposed to have small eyes, flat noses, and thick lips?"

"Brother Wardfa, as a person working in the media industry, don't you know that those things are used to fool the public? Why did you fool yourself into it?"

Although Shen Juan's appearance is not so good as to be outrageous and inhumane, he still has the most crucial qualities: freshness and uniqueness.

This group of media and even that group of fans usually see the same old white faces. No matter how handsome they are, they are not that handsome. After all, when the appearance reaches a certain level, the main comparison is personal feeling.

For example, Peng Yuyan and Gosling are not very handsome just by looking at their faces, but they give people the overall impression of being handsome guys.

Figure, temperament, manners, business ability, character filter... every aspect is a plus.

But Shen Juan is different.

As a top Asian handsome guy who is very rare in Europe and the United States, this very fresh "exotic style" quickly caught their eyes and made each of them feel the impact to a greater or lesser extent.

Beauty is diverse, but beauty is also universal.

Shen Juan undoubtedly possesses a handsome face that can break the aesthetic barriers between the East and the West and achieve common aesthetics.

　Thank you all for your recommendation tickets and monthly ticket subscription support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)