Peninsula: It’s just a dream, are you serious?

Chapter 583 Let the Bullets Fly a Little Longer

October 20th, midnight.

Chen Yan and Lee Ji-eun's collaborations "Palette" and "Friday Meetup" as well as their cover of "Nagging" have been officially released.

When Lee Ji-eun's fans clicked on the first song, "Palette," and saw the three lines of text at the beginning listing IU/Chen Yan as the lyricist, IU as the composer, and IU as the arranger, they immediately got excited.

After a gentle prelude, Lee Ji-eun's voice rang out.

"That's strange."

"Lately, I've been liking things that are simple and clean like this."

I love being 25.

I know you hate me.

"I know, I'm really fine."

"They seem to understand me better now."

Upon hearing this, listeners and fans realized that this was a song in which Lee Ji-eun expressed her inner confusion.

At that moment, after a small pause, a clear and magnetic voice rang out.

"Because I was young, everything seemed difficult."

"Always feeling sad about rumors and gossip"

"However, the furry child who is constantly blamed"

"Barely passed the 20-year mark"

Upon hearing this voice, the audience immediately showed expressions of surprise and delight.

They all knew it was Chen Yan's voice; most people had heard the two of them sing "Nagging" together at a previous concert.

But Chen Yan was rapping at this time, which gave people a different feeling.

PD Chen can not only sing, he can also rap!

The song continued playing.

"Ji-eun, where's oppa?"

"Although I'm only three years older than you."

"Ages 20 and up, but under 30"

"An age that's neither a child nor an adult."

"You just need to be yourself."

"Radiate the most dazzling light!"

As the song quickly came to an end, and the listeners couldn't help but look thoughtful about its meaning, their computers or mobile phones began to automatically play the second song from the album.

The upbeat guitar intro to "Meet on Friday" begins.

Lee Ji-eun's voice, completely different from her voice when singing "Palette," rang out.

Will Monday be very busy?

Will Tuesday also seem rushed?

"Time, run!"

Every second felt so sweet.

What's wrong with this man?

"If I don't fall in love soon, I won't be able to resist."

After Lee Ji-eun sang the line "I seem to be mesmerized by something," Chen Yan's voice appeared.

What's wrong with this woman?

"If you don't love me soon, I won't be able to stand it anymore."

Unlike his slightly somber voice when singing "Palette" earlier, Chen Yan's clean and warm voice this time surprised the audience once again, and their bodies swayed slightly with the song's light melody.

A few minutes later, another song ended.

Throughout the peninsula, many people subconsciously exclaimed "Daifa!" and then, as the next song, "Nagging," automatically started playing, they couldn't help but start typing and posting comments online.

[Listen to it, everyone listened to it, I really have to rave about this duo, it's just so good!!!]

[How could I not have heard it? I feel like my ears are pregnant; I was completely absorbed!]

[Aaaaaah!!! I want to weld PD Chen and IU together forever! Can we have a few more songs? I can't get enough!]

Besides praising the song's catchy tune, many people also had special feelings about its arrangement.

[It feels like the song arrangement deliberately placed "Palette" first, as if IU is saying to us, "Thank you for taking a few minutes to listen to my inner turmoil. It might have affected your mood a little, so please listen to the sweet song 'Friday' to cheer you up."]

[Yes, yes, I felt the same way. The song arrangement has some clever touches; IU is really meticulous.]

[Anyway, I absolutely adore the combination of IU and PD Chen, it's just amazing!]

In an instant, online discussions and buzz surrounding the song the two collaborated on skyrocketed.

About half an hour after the song was released, several keywords related to the two people immediately climbed to the top of Naver's trending list.

Around 1 a.m., three hashtags, including "[IU Chen Yan's new song is so good]", directly occupied the top three spots on the trending list.

A few minutes later, the real-time charts on major music streaming websites across the peninsula were updated simultaneously, and the duo's new song unsurprisingly debuted at number one on all the major music charts.

Moreover, the songs "Palette," "Friday Meet," and "Nagging" simultaneously occupied the top three positions on the real-time chart.

Interestingly, the songs at the top of the real-time charts on various music streaming websites are slightly different.

Some websites are called "palette", while others are called "Friday Meetup".

This resulted in Lee Ji-eun and Chen Yan both having songs at number one on the charts, but none of them achieving an "all kill" on the charts, essentially making a self-inflicted wound.

However, "Nagging," a cover song, consistently ranked third on the real-time charts of major music streaming websites.

Many netizens jokingly commented that this was the biggest failure of Lee Ji-eun and Chen Yan's collaboration.

Meanwhile, some industry insiders and entertainment company executives, watching the online buzz and the song's ranking on the real-time charts, didn't show much emotion on their faces.

Given their popularity, it would be surprising if their collaboration didn't achieve such success.

This immense popularity is what makes them extremely envious.

If this popularity were applied to their artists, they could definitely quickly promote an artist who is firmly in the second tier, or even on the verge of becoming a first-tier artist.

Although it was already past 1 a.m., online discussions about Chen Yan and Lee Ji-eun's songs showed no signs of abating; in fact, they continued to rise. It's foreseeable that their collaboration will be a hot topic in the Peninsula music scene for the next few days.

However, to everyone's surprise, an even bigger wave of enthusiasm suddenly erupted the next morning, even surpassing the hype surrounding Chen Yan and Lee Ji-eun's collaboration, sweeping across the entire peninsula, including the music industry.

At 9 a.m. the following day, the official website of Peninsula Music Association released an announcement stating that the album sales of "Roar" officially exceeded one million yesterday, becoming the first album from Peninsula to surpass one million sales in 12 years since GOD's "Chapter 4" album in 2001.

The announcement sent shockwaves through the entire Korean Peninsula music scene.

The album "Roar" has really sold over a million copies!

And so fast.

At this point, only six months had passed since the album's release.

In just six months, it broke one million.

Everyone in the music industry and entertainment company executives were shocked when they saw the news.

Major newspapers and media outlets simultaneously went into a state of emergency, rushing to compile press releases and report on this truly landmark event.

The Seoul JoongAng Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, and other mainstream media outlets on the Korean Peninsula quickly reported on the incident.

The overwhelming media coverage quickly spread from Seoul to the entire peninsula.

Upon seeing the news online, EXO fans cheered and shouted excitedly, and fan groups across the Korean Peninsula went completely crazy.

What no artist on the Peninsula has accomplished in the past 12 years, our idol, who has only been in the industry for less than two years, has actually done!
This is history! How could they not be excited?

The hashtag 【EXO's "Growl" album sales surpass one million】 quickly appeared on Naver's trending list and climbed all the way up, eventually pushing down the hashtag for Lee Ji-eun's new song that was originally in first place.

After a period of fermentation, the craze of EXO's "Growl" album surpassing one million sales quickly swept across the entire peninsula.

Pedestrians walking on the streets, office workers, teachers and students in schools—it seemed like you could hear discussions about this everywhere in Seoul.

The people of the Korean Peninsula are a nation that tends to exaggerate the achievements of their own people, and the success of "Roar" is enough for them to discuss for a long time.

The fact that the album "Roar" sold over a million copies has not only caused a stir in the music industry, but has also had a certain impact on all sectors of society on the Korean Peninsula.

This milestone event directly shattered the widespread pessimistic perception in the Peninsula Records market that "physical albums are dead," and boosted the Peninsula Records market.

Many people in the music industry have even called the sale of the "Growl" album, which sold over a million copies, a "landmark event in the revival of K-pop physical albums."

EXO became a sensation across Asia with their song "Growl," and even gained popularity worldwide.

Now that their album has sold over a million copies, it's like an invisible crown has been placed on their heads, taking their popularity to the next level.

"Growl" has also contributed to the further development of K-pop in Asia and even globally, drawing attention from all sectors of Korean society to this booming and highly profitable industry.

"Roar" has truly become a cultural phenomenon.

Those who felt this most deeply were actually the executives of the major entertainment companies on the peninsula.

Such popularity, such phenomenal songs, plus the milestone of album sales exceeding one million, will provide a tremendous boost to EXO.

Anyone with half a brain knows that the K-pop boy band market will, to some extent, enter an era of EXO's dominance.

There's another boy group they'll have to try to avoid when their own boy groups make comebacks.

And SM Entertainment really made a fortune.

They all know that SM recently bought a new building in Cheongdam-dong as its headquarters, and it's estimated that a large portion of that money came from the profits of "Growl".

Moreover, shortly after the Peninsula Recording Association's announcement, SM's stock price soared, and hitting the daily limit was a foregone conclusion.

In an instant, the executives of major entertainment companies leaned back in their chairs, sighed softly, and then unanimously turned their gazes toward SM Entertainment, their eyes almost red.

The only one among these high-ranking officials who behaved somewhat differently was Park Jin-young.

He was sitting in his boss's chair, looking at another senior company executive, Director Chen Yan, with a somewhat resentful gaze.

On the other end of the line, Chen Yan was holding the phone, replying, "Director Li, you're too kind. Yes, certainly. My cooperation with your company has always been very pleasant."

This was a call from Lee Soo-man, who thanked Chen Yan for his work on "Roar" and expressed his hope to continue working together in the future.

Before this, Kim Young-min also made a special phone call, and the content was similar to what Lee Soo-man is saying now.

"Growl" really made SM Entertainment a fortune.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yan was taken aback by Park Jin-young's resentful gaze, then smiled helplessly:

"Brother Zhenying, don't look at me like that. I didn't expect the album to sell over a million copies so quickly."

Shortly after he arrived at the company in the morning, he was called to Park Jin-young's office because of the fact that the album "Growl" had sold over a million copies.

Although he knew from Kim Tae-yeon and Im Yoon-ah that the "Growl" album would sell over a million copies, he definitely couldn't say that.

Park Jin-young silently withdrew his gaze and sighed softly, "An album that sold over a million copies."

After making a sigh, he looked at Chen Yan opposite him again and quickly smiled.

Unlike other entertainment company executives who can only feel envy and jealousy, Chen Yan, who wrote "Roar," is a member of JYP Entertainment.

While SM Entertainment certainly made a fortune this time, JYP Entertainment also profited.

Putting aside everything else, the fact that JYP's stock price was also gradually rising on the computer screen at that time is the best proof.

"Xiao Yan, if you come across any good songs in the future, you must give priority to the company's artists."

But he couldn't help but say that "Roar" really made him feel a little sorry for the character.

“I know, Jinyoung oppa. I collaborated with Suzy on ‘Some,’ and I think it’s a great song too.”

Park Jin-young nodded. "Some" is indeed a good song.

Looking at Chen Yan, he seemed to be thinking of something, his eyes flickered, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"The fact that the 'Roar' album has sold over a million copies is very timely, Xiao Yan. It will greatly help your nomination for Best Music Producer at the Golden Disc Awards. It is foreseeable that your influence will increase significantly soon."

Chen Yan was stunned.

That's definitely true.

The sensation of the album "Roar" surpassing one million sales is sweeping across the entire peninsula. As the creator and producer of the song "Roar," this is also a significant achievement in his music production resume, and his personal influence will be greatly enhanced.

Such a milestone event will definitely be taken into consideration by the Golden Disc Awards, which means his chances of winning have increased significantly.

"The storm of 'Roar' has only just begun. Let's wait and see. The benefits for you, Xiaoyan, will only increase."

Chen Yan nodded.

He understands this; let the bullets fly a little longer.

(End of this chapter)