America's Top Player

Chapter 21 Billboard Top 0 Singles Ranking
Fire?

Li Ang still didn't quite understand what T-ray meant. Even if a commercial performance in a nightclub was successful, it would not be known to everyone.

With doubts in his mind, he rushed to the office of T-ray Black Panther Records on Chester Street.

What surprised him was that Phil was also here, and the two of them were staring at the TV.

As if seeing through Leon's thoughts, Phil spoke first: "I know what you want to ask. The girl left on her own as soon as she woke up. She asked me to say thank you to you."

"Fuck! Stop talking about those women! Bro, you missed the most important moment!" T-ray jumped up and down holding the remote control, like a fat chimpanzee, "You're on TV, you know that, asshole!"

As he spoke, T-ray took out his phone and walked over to Leon. "Luckily, I was considerate enough to record everything. Otherwise, you, asshole, would have missed this historic moment."

The grainy picture on the T-ray phone was playing the Brooklyn Morning News, a live show that had just aired an hour ago.

At about 30 seconds in, the screen showed Li Ang performing "Take Me to Church" at the Sheepshead Bay nightclub!

Although it was only ten seconds, it was also a precious opportunity to appear on TV, which meant that he truly became a public figure.

At the end of the news report, the host also considerately told the audience that Street Coconut's single CD was selling like hotcakes in audio-visual stores in major cities in central and eastern China, which was equivalent to free advertising.

Who spent money to promote yourself?

This was Li Ang's first reaction.

T-ray was so excited that he kept his mouth shut. "There were some media people at the club last night, and they spoke highly of your performance."

"Appearing on TV is just the beginning. Rolling Stone magazine's senior music critic, Owens, has decided to give you a small space in the latest issue of Rolling Stone."

"You should know what this means."

Hearing this, Li Ang's mouth corners finally curled up, and he could no longer suppress his smile.

This purely entertainment magazine, founded in 1954, is considered to be the most influential music magazine in half a century, if not the only one.

Even a small space on the most inconspicuous page of this magazine is something that countless newcomers in the music industry dream of.

If appearing on TV meant that Li Ang officially entered the public eye, then appearing in Rolling Stone magazine meant that he had been recognized by professionals.

From any aspect, it shows that he has torn off the labels of "amateur", "hobbyist", etc. and become a professional singer.

T-ray turned around and walked to the corner of the desk. He moved his fat body to open the safe and took out several stacks of bills. "This is the proceeds from last night's performance. Take it. This is what you won."

Li Ang was a little surprised. It was rare for this Ni Ge to be so straightforward about dividing the money. The last time they divided the money, they had a very unpleasant argument about this matter.

He took the banknotes and counted them. He found that there were several hundred-yuan bills mixed in with the 20-yuan bills. He had never touched such large-denomination banknotes in his hands since he traveled through time.

The total performance fee was US$5800. According to the previously agreed profit sharing ratio, Li Ang received US$ after tax.

Phil on the side showed an envious expression and swallowed his saliva, secretly determined to quickly dig out Leon, this cash cow.

"Don't worry, Bro, this is just a small amount of money." T-ray patted Leon's shoulder and said.

You call that small change? Bonnie didn't know how many times she would have had to shake her hips at those drunks to earn this amount of money. In Brownsville, it was enough to cover the entire expenses of an average family of three for two months.

"You can walk down the street and find your records in any music store now."

“We’re going to get rich.”

Leon's life was not easy in the following period. Except for being picked up by the T-ray car, he didn't dare to go out on the street alone.

A white person would already be conspicuous in Brownsville, not to mention that everyone on the streets is talking about a celebrity leaving Brownsville. If you are not careful, you could be at risk of being kidnapped.

In addition, Bonnie's demands on Leon became more and more outrageous. In order to get on the fast track to fame by relying on this big guy, Bonnie used almost all kinds of difficult moves on him.

There is a magical magic trick that can make a rolling pin disappear completely in an instant, which is difficult even for professional pure love action movie actors to do.

Here, "street coconut cakes" have even become a cultural symbol, symbolizing the spirit of resistance in the slums, and graffiti based on Li Ang's image can be seen everywhere on the streets.

But his top priority right now is to move out of this damn slum as soon as the record dividend arrives.

With music critics giving high scores to this single CD and the continuous promotion bombardment of music radio stations of all sizes in Brooklyn, the sales of "Take Me to Church" continued to rise.

A week later, the cumulative sales of this album exceeded 20,000 copies. Putting aside those phenomenal new hits, this result is already quite amazing.

Now, Li Ang even dreams of himself being overwhelmed by countless banknotes.

"Congratulations Bro! You made it to the Billboard singles chart!"

what? !

The news brought by T-RAY was like a nuclear bomb exploding in Leon's mind, and the corners of his mouth turned up like an AK-47 rifle, which was difficult to suppress.

Compared to the news that suddenly appeared on Billboard, the previous appearances in the news and in Rolling Stone magazine were just appetizers.

The Grammy Awards are widely considered the most prestigious awards in the global music industry. However, the true measure of a singer's popularity and commercial value still lies in Billboard, which is also considered the most authoritative music chart in the United States.

Among its countless subcategories, the singles TOP100 list carries the most weight. If a singer has a work that can be on the list, it basically means that he will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his life.

In the current ranking, the first place is "Love the Way You Lie" performed by hip-hop king Eminem and Rihanna, and the second place is "California Gurls" performed by West Coast rap king Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry.

"Take Me to Church" emerged as a dark horse, quickly rising from obscurity to fame. It is currently ranked 91st on the list, and its ranking is showing a clear upward trend.

Even if he was only at the last place, this result was enough to satisfy Li Ang. Seeing his name put together with superstars like Eminem and Snoop Dogg, he suddenly felt that everything was so unreal.

T-ray opened his long-treasured bottle of Macallan 21-year-old whiskey and shouted to Li Ang, "Don't be surprised. In 2008, that crazy girl Lady Gaga suddenly appeared and became an American star almost overnight."

"You need to get used to your new identity. Your schedule will be very busy for a long time to come."

"You've been transformed now, bro!"

"Cheer up! There are tons of money waiting to go into your pocket! There are tons of bitches waiting for you to trample and conquer!"

(End of this chapter)