A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 177 The New God!
February 16, Tokyo.

Three days before the release of the "Believer" music video.

Lin Jianlu left Hong Kong on July 13 and arrived in Los Angeles on July 14. Although things did not go smoothly, he still took a flight back to Asia that day and flew to Japan.

To make money.

Columbia Records' parent company is Columbia Group, which is essentially Sony America, and Sony America's parent company is obviously Sony's headquarters in Japan.

It was a performance we had to attend.

Moreover, the invitation from this side has always been quite sincere—and they even negotiated the price. They wouldn't give us the first English performance, but instead offered it for the Hong Kong handover celebration. Three million US dollars was too little, so they raised it to four million US dollars.

This is the unique appeal of commercial performances.

Lots of money, little work, and quick pay.

Previously, Sylvia Chang had planned a small tour for Lin Chien-lu in North America, but it didn't happen because Lin Chien-lu declined. If it were to be done, it would take about a month to prepare, with total box office revenue of only about three million US dollars, and Lin Chien-lu would only receive a little over one million US dollars.

But now, after just over ten minutes on stage, he pocketed four million US dollars after tax!

This is the price for an A+ grade!

The main reason is that singers at this level are actually in high demand but not readily available. Whether they accept an invitation or not depends entirely on their own feelings; they are no longer so eager to earn money from you.

For someone like Michael Jackson, millions of dollars wouldn't be enough to sway him.

Let alone him, even the four major divas of the Western music scene with slightly less influence—Madonna, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion—wouldn't make a special trip to Japan for a commercial performance worth three or four million dollars. If they really wanted to make money, they would go directly to Las Vegas to sign big deals, with each deal starting at hundreds of millions.

The main problem is that Lin Jianlu is still relatively poor...

Yes, the kind of poor person with total assets of over 100 million US dollars but liabilities of 76 million US dollars!

Not to mention, he had just used his credit line at HSBC to withdraw 20 million US dollars to invest in Media Asia Films, which meant that he had added a huge amount of debt to his portfolio.

Not to mention, he has already promised Chen Hong and Yu Feihong that he will each buy a villa for them, with the budget being based on the two villas owned by Xu Qing and Lin Qingxia—including the renovation, that's another 30 million RMB!

By making this trip, at least their housing situation has been settled.

However, this time it was a bit unexpected, as they actually ran into DIVA - Mariah Carey.

There was a lack of information, and we didn't know she was coming. But thinking about it, it's not hard to understand. She's also a singer for Columbia Records, and it's normal for her to come and support her label. Zhang Aijia, who is more familiar with the European and American music scene, didn't come, and neither did Ge Fuhong. Only Lin Xilei came with her.

From a distance backstage, she was surrounded by a large group of people, sitting in a chair listening to music. She had three burly bodyguards by her side. In comparison, Lin Jianlu's entourage was pitifully small. When the staff tried to guide him to his waiting area, Lin Jianlu simply waved them off and walked over to DIVA.

The bodyguard noticed his approach keenly and seemed to reach out to stop him, but hesitated for a moment. The next moment, an assistant reminded Mariah Carey, who took off her headphones and looked up.

"Hey, Miss Kelly!"

Her eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up. When Lin Jianlu took off her sunglasses, she took the initiative to walk over, "Hey! Lin! It's you, right?" The two shook hands, and Lin Jianlu smiled, "It's me. It's nice to meet you!"

"Yay! You're even cooler than I imagined! Your album is amazing!"

Thank you! I've always been a fan of yours!

The initial marketing plan led to the release of "Baby," which went from a hit music video to topping the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, Lin Jianlu was always somewhat veiled, and while people could tell he was Asian, his face was never shown. However, since the release of the "HandClap" music video, where he showed off his dancing skills at parties, singing and dancing in a cool and confident manner, his image has long been an open secret.

He's just not famous enough, or rather, his fame hasn't lasted long enough to penetrate the market, so much so that even after multiple flights and wearing sunglasses, no one asked for his autograph this time.

Among people of Chinese descent, Lin Jianlu's features are considered quite defined, making him relatively recognizable to Westerners when it comes to Asians—human beauty shares many commonalities. Just as Chinese people can appreciate the beauty of truly handsome men and beautiful women from Europe and America, similarly, American people are not unaware of handsome enough Chinese people, and might even find them possessing an "exotic charm"!

When you encounter Chinese celebrities on international runways, the reason they can't get on stage isn't because they're not handsome or beautiful, but simply because they lack influence and because of the persistent suppression of Eastern aesthetics by the Western world.

Mariah Carey was of mixed Black and White heritage, with striking features. Her exact age is unknown, but at this time, she was not as overweight as she would be in later years. She was about the same height as Leung Wing-ki, but her figure was far superior to Leung Wing-ki's. She was absolutely curvaceous, both beautiful and charming.

Lin Jianlu was her fan in her past life; this was their first meeting, so it was just a casual check-in.

They chatted for a bit, and she was quite enthusiastic, praising him highly. Then she even took out her portable CD player, turned it on, and showed Lin Jianlu the CD—which turned out to be "21".

Ah...a great choice!

"Hahaha!"

So Lin Jianlu waved to her assistant Lin Xilei, opened her bag, took out her CD player, and turned it on. Coincidentally, Lin Jianlu had been listening to her album at the hotel the night before.

Opening it reveals her 95 album, "Daydream," which has sold over ten million copies worldwide.

For the past six months, Lin Jianlu has been cramming on the best-selling records from Europe and America over the last thirty years—he has no choice but to do so, as he is afraid of ending up in a situation where he plagiarizes a song, only to find out that the original artist sampled an old song without his knowledge, and then brazenly claims it as his own original work.

It would be very embarrassing if it happened!

Of course, this isn't the case when listening to "Daydream," which is purely a matter of personal preference.

Mariah Carey was indeed very happy to see her album.

"Yay! Great choice!"

"Hahaha!"

The two quickly sat down and began chatting animatedly.

She had a high opinion of Lin Jianlu's album, especially praising the fact that Lin Jianlu used a mix of styles in almost every song—in short, it was novel and unique.

Mixing and matching has been a mainstream practice in the Western pop music scene for the past two or three decades. It's all about who does it beautifully and uniquely. And now, this trend is getting bigger and bigger, and it's almost impossible to be popular without mixing and matching.

Mariah Carey is also a master in this field, but it is clear that when faced with Lin Jianlu's "broad-based" approach in "21", even the super-powerful DIVA known as the Flower Butterfly has to admit that she is inferior.

Moreover, "21" is not just about mixing and matching almost every song; the entire album itself is a huge mix—the comprehensiveness and subtlety of various styles are something DIVA greatly admires.

Even the most talented musicians can't be that versatile!

Even if you're good at many different styles, you can't be that good at every single one!

So... what to do? Well, there's this guy who can pull off every style so amazingly!
How can one not admire them? How can one not be curious?

Then of course we'll have something to talk about.

Lin Xilei, who was stuck outside the guards and couldn't get in, subconsciously pursed her lips. Watching her boss act so naturally and charmingly in front of Mariah Carey, her charisma was simply overwhelming!
Even the world's top divas were completely captivated by the boss, sometimes staring at him with eyes full of stars, sometimes laughing out loud at his antics—tsk tsk tsk!

what……

She couldn't help but wonder if her boss was trying to sleep with that Western pop diva again, but then she thought about it again and realized it probably wasn't true. Lu Ge had said that Western women have a certain scent!
What's more, this woman who is practically his boss—Tommy Mottola, the president of Columbia Records—is Diva's husband!

She knew that Lu Han had two rules he wouldn't touch—he wouldn't touch married women, and he wouldn't touch his assistant. Okay.

Therefore, the risk is very small, and the alarm is off.

Lin Xilei now holds a special position and wields immense power—not only Su Huilun and Chen Shuhua, but even Lin Qingxia and Chen Hong are trying to win her over. Even Liang Yongqi, with her personality, has learned to give her small gifts.

She would casually send out a message or news update from time to time, and in return, she would often receive small necklaces, shopping cards, cosmetics, designer bags, and so on as gifts.

She could easily earn more than her annual salary of HK$240,000 by simply collecting a small amount.

So whenever Lin Jianlu was around, she paid close attention to his interactions with any other woman.

That's all money, all gifts!
Yes, we're having a really lively chat!
To be honest, while the boss's songwriting and singing abilities are amazing, absolutely top-notch in the world, his musical talent still ranks second in terms of his overall abilities—his greatest strength has always been his ability to attract women!

She's absolutely captivating in every move she makes!
He was already incredibly talented, incredibly handsome, had such great eloquence, and a fantastic sense of humor... sigh!

Before the Lunar New Year, when he went to New York to record, his English was still very poor. He couldn't even hold up many everyday conversations and would stammer. He would often look at the newspaper and ask himself what a certain term meant. In just six months, he can now sit there and chat with Diva without stopping.

…………

The audience was very enthusiastic!
Unlike when they were promoting "Cold to the End" and even later when they came here to perform commercially to make money, "Super Cool" still has a relatively niche audience, no matter how much it has penetrated the Japanese market.

Things are different now. "21" is a huge hit in Japan, with sales exceeding 130 million copies since its release. Even though Japan has always been an important market for European and American record labels, and big-name singers from Europe and America usually achieve good sales in Japan, "21" is still among the top performers.

Therefore, this is already considered superstar treatment.

There was a roaring tsunami at the scene.

All three songs were explosive.

The moment she wiggled her hips and started dancing, the atmosphere was so hot it felt like it was going to explode!

After the curtain call, even Mariah Carey blushed and her heart was pounding. "Wow, your performance was so captivating!"—He wasn't modest at all. "Before you said that, I never doubted myself, but now, I'm even more confident!"

Mariah Carey squinted and couldn't resist opening her arms to hug him.

After letting go, he said, "DIVA definitely smells better."

Mariah Carey burst out laughing.

…………

The other person is a DIVA who has been famous for many years. When they come to Japan, they are definitely VIPs and big names. They have a series of commercial activities to attend. The commercial performance is just a side trip. Lin Jianlu, on the other hand, is a newly popular person. She doesn't have much business here. After her performance, she left immediately—she had arranged to have dinner together after returning to America.

Yes, four million US dollars acquired!

However, I was really tired when I boarded the plane again this time. I flew from Hong Kong to Los Angeles on July 13, and then from Los Angeles to Tokyo on July 14. After landing, I was finally able to rest for a night. But today, July 16, I have to board the plane again. And each flight is 20 hours long. No one can stand that!

But there was no other way; he wanted to make money.

This time, on the plane, I finally got to ask for an autograph.

A flight attendant with blond hair recognized him, her eyes sparkling. She secretly checked him several times before leaning over and whispering. Once confirmed, she was so excited she almost jumped for joy—and he really did bring the CD soon enough, so of course she had to sign it.

He even opened the CD case, found the lyric booklet, and showed it off with a line—

"That day, I was at 30,000 feet in the sky when I met a blonde girl, like a migratory bird returning to the north and finding the familiar chimney and roof beams."

When I'm in a good mood, my thoughts flow smoothly, and I even managed to come up with some pretty good rhymes in English.

There should be no spelling or grammatical errors—but it doesn't really matter. If a normal person makes a mistake, it's a grammatical error; if a poet or singer makes a mistake, it's called expanding the boundaries of language.

The girl was overjoyed. She took the CD case, bit her lip excitedly, clutched her heart, and lingered there for a long time, unwilling to leave.

After finally getting rid of them, Lin Xilei, who had been watching intently from a distance, gave them a thumbs up.

"Lu Ge, your English is getting better and better!"

Soon a group of flight attendants came one after another, and then the passengers in the first class also noticed something was wrong. Many middle-aged and elderly people didn't seem to notice, but the slightly younger ones all got up to ask for autographs.

Well, that feels good.

Foreigners have started asking me for autographs too.

My brother has become famous in Europe and America.

There was a Japanese woman who looked to be in her thirties. She was very gentle and mature. Oh my, she looked just like an old friend from my past life.

…………

When the plane landed in New York, Sylvia Chang was already there to pick her up in a stretch Lincoln.

But this time, she didn't come alone; she brought four burly men with her—Zhang Aijia pointed, "Your bodyguards! No matter where you go in the future, never try to shake them off!"

Lin Jianlu shrugged.

Of course, he also knew that since "HandClap," he had made an appearance around the world, but that was only in one music video. He had not yet made a real public appearance, participated in a lot of activities, or recorded any programs. Once this promotional campaign started, his face would only become more and more familiar to Europe and America—people had already started asking for autographs on airplanes.

But that's not important. What's important is that neither North America nor Europe are particularly safe places. News of robberies and kidnappings of celebrities is commonplace.

Lin Jianlu agreed that it was best to ensure security before becoming a huge star.

So he turned to look at Lin Xilei, "Hmm, I have one more than DIVA!"

Lin Xilei pursed her lips, but couldn't help herself, "That adds up to seventy thousand US dollars a month!"

"Ugh...that's fucking expensive!"

He complained in Chinese, taking advantage of the fact that they couldn't understand, but he still had to greet them one by one, listening to these burly men call him "BOSS," and trying his best to remember their names after just one time. Then everyone left the airport in two cars.

Sylvia Chang asked, "Should we go home first, or go to the apartment I rented for you and see your two wives?"

Well, the townhouse on the Upper East Side was a perk that Sony Columbia gave Lin Jianlu when he came to New York to record, and Lin Jianlu decided to continue staying there for the time being.

However, considering that he already had considerable fame in North America, he definitely couldn't live with the two pregnant women, Chen Shuhua and Su Huilun—otherwise, well, don't think that Hong Kong paparazzi are powerful; American paparazzi are even more powerful, after all, they all come from the British Empire!
Therefore, after accompanying Chen Shuhua and Su Huilun on their flight, Zhang Aijia's most important task was to rent a new house for Lin Jianlu to accommodate his two pregnant women.

"Let's go to the new house!"

When Su Huilun called back, he mentioned that the apartment Zhang Aijia helped him rent was a penthouse villa in a large building. It was very big, spacious, and luxurious—the kind that even had a helipad on the roof!
The main reason is the need for security and concealment.

The monthly rent is 9 US dollars!

That's 160,000 US dollars in a month!
Upon arrival and upstairs, I saw that the security level of the entire building was indeed very high.

Four burly men went out again...

Zhang Aijia and Lin Xilei accompanied them into the building. When they arrived at the door, they rang the doorbell, and the nanny quickly came to open the door. Once inside, the two pregnant women were eating oranges; their bellies were already quite large.

"Ah...husband?"

It was a pleasant surprise since they didn't tell me beforehand.

"Haha!" Lin Jianlu walked over, ignoring Zhang Aijia and Lin Xilei behind him, hugged them both and kissed them one by one. Zhang Aijia looked on with a sneer.

Lin Xilei is getting bolder and bolder, and she even dares to tease Zhang Aijia, saying, "Actually, you can just pull down his pants, he probably can't handle it! But you have to get a divorce first."

Zhang Aijia glanced at her sideways.

She wasn't afraid of death and continued, "She doesn't sleep with her assistants, nor with married women."

…………

July 19th, afternoon. A family of 3.2 people sat together in front of the TV and watched the premiere of "Believer".

But in reality, Lin Jianlu's heart was no longer on this matter—he had been quite busy lately, busy recording, busy discussing movies, busy discussing scripts, busy investing money, and so on, so he had been somewhat neglecting to pay attention. These past two days, he had a small reunion with his two wives, which was also a way for him to give himself a couple of days off and recharge for the inevitable busyness ahead. However, he unexpectedly saw a news report on TV that completely shocked him.

On July 2, Thailand announced it was abandoning its fixed exchange rate system in favor of a floating exchange rate system. That same day, the Thai baht depreciated by 17% against the US dollar, causing chaos in the foreign exchange and other financial markets. Influenced by the baht's fluctuations, other Southeast Asian currencies, including the Philippine peso, Indonesian rupiah, and Malaysian ringgit, also experienced sharp fluctuations.

When Lin Jianlu saw the news on July 18th, which was yesterday, the Thai baht had already fallen by as much as 31%!

You can imagine how excited he was!

Up to his previous investment of 2000 million US dollars in Media Asia Films, his total debt was around 9600 million US dollars, of which 8600 million US dollars were in Thai baht!

What was originally a huge debt that required 8600 million US dollars, converted into Thai baht, can now be wiped out overnight with only less than 6000 million US dollars!
Sitting still, he made a net profit of 2600 million US dollars!

Where else in the world can you make money so fast?!
Even though Lin Jianlu has traveled to this day and has made money before, after seeing that news, she still couldn't help but feel her heart flutter after doing some simple mental calculations—no wonder you all love playing with finance!
I actually got on the bus! That's awesome!

Sorry Sawasdee ka, sorry Saipan, I just wanted to earn some money to support my wife, just hitchhiking!

To be honest, Lin Jianlu almost had insomnia last night—a situation that had never occurred since he transmigrated. Not wanting to trouble the two pregnant women, he went to the bathroom to vent his frustration.

Yu Feihong looks so beautiful on the TV screen.

Looking at it now, well, the TV's resolution is indeed much worse, which somewhat diminishes the overall effect. But overall, it still met my expectations.

The two pregnant women kept saying "wah" and "ah"...

When the music video finished playing, unsurprisingly, Su Huilun said, "She's so beautiful!"

Lin Jianlu pursed her lips, "Then you see, the one I chose... should at least not be too much worse than yours, right?"

Su Huilun glanced at him, but was clearly pleased with herself—even though everyone knew it was a lie.

If Yu Feihong is a stunning beauty with a minimum score of 90, and the camera deliberately captured her with various costumes, props, and scenes all enhancing her beauty, and the final shot underwent careful post-production processing, the overall quality of the final product would easily surpass 95. In contrast, Su Huilun, to be honest, can only be considered to barely scrape by at 80. She's just a pretty girl among ordinary people, with some charm—but who doesn't like to hear nice things?

And what's more, it was her own husband who said it!

The phone rang quickly; it was his cell phone in America, but the caller ID was unfamiliar.

But she answered anyway, and it was Mariah Carey: "Hi Lin, awesome! Your music video is awesome! Do you really know kung fu? Chinese kung fu!"

"Wow, you kicked that knife! Wow! How did you do that?"

"If this were a movie, I would definitely buy a ticket!"

She looked incredibly excited.

After listening to her excitedly venting her utter shock for a long time, I was finally able to chat briefly with her once she had vented enough. She had already returned from Japan, and apparently her husband, Tommy Mottola, had specifically reminded her to watch the music video, saying there would be a "big surprise." She watched it right on time, and it was indeed a "big surprise"!
That's Chinese Kung Fu, who wouldn't love it?
DIVA loves it too!

So, he finally agreed to meet her another day and show her some Chinese kung fu before hanging up.

In the evening, Tang Jili called.

First came a long string of flattery, and then they got down to business. Apparently, Columbia Pictures had been contacting him all afternoon, and after the producer hung up on him several times, he finally answered. After a few words, the other party said they fully accepted the previously agreed-upon cooperation plan and were ready to sign the contract at any time.

Lin Jianlu thought for a moment and told him directly that he and Hong Jinbao could go back. They didn't need to agree to anything, and everything they had discussed in the past could be nullified. They could go directly to the mainland, meet up with the photographer Gu Changwei they had arranged, and go scout locations together.

Tang Jili hesitated only slightly before nodding in agreement.

After dinner, Lin Jianlu was hiding in the study, talking on the phone with Gao Yuanyuan, when Zhang Aijia and Lin Xilei came over—they waited in the living room for quite a while before Lin Jianlu finally came out.

Zhang Aijia was sitting on the sofa, with Su Huilun keeping her company while yawning. Upon seeing Lin Jianlu come downstairs, she almost immediately stood up, smiling and looking intently at Lin Jianlu.

"Believer is a huge hit! You're famous now, baby!"

"Huh? So you mean I wasn't famous before?"

"Hahaha! I mean, it's even more popular now!"

"Well, what's the news?"

"According to Columbia Records, CBS's phone lines are ringing off the hook! Several major television networks, along with at least twenty or thirty smaller stations, are contacting Columbia Records, hoping to obtain broadcasting rights!"

"Oh!"

"Aren't you happy? These TV stations have a keen sense of what American audiences like to watch. Columbia Records said that so many TV stations are asking for broadcast rights, which means that in their judgment, this music video is already a hit! It'll be a bombshell tomorrow! We just need to wait!"

Finally, Lin Jianlu walked up to her.

She couldn't resist. She stood on tiptoe, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him hard on the lips. Then, holding his face close, their breaths met, their eyes met, and she asked, "Aren't you excited?"

On the sofa, Su Huilun was yawning and barely managed to speak, asserting her dominance, "Hey! That's too much!" But she sounded rather listless—she had long since become numb, accustomed to it, and indifferent.

Sylvia Chang turned to look at her, unable to contain her excitement, “Your man is going to be a superstar! This house you're living in now is worth 21 million US dollars, over 600 million NT dollars! Your husband could buy you ten houses in a year! If the music video becomes a hit, he can easily get his fourth number one single! One album, four number one! He’ll definitely get his fifth number one single! He’ll match Michael Jackson’s 1987 album ‘Bad’! He might even get his sixth, surpassing him! Becoming the second global pop king!”

The pregnant woman, who was experiencing "pregnancy brain," was initially stunned by what she heard, and became increasingly stunned as she listened.

Even another pregnant woman, Chen Shuhua, gradually began to stare blankly, stunned.

Since the release of the album "21", they have been paying close attention to it. It's their man's album. He was able to successfully break into the European and American music scene and sell the album well. This is not just about making money. It's an honor!
See, I didn't choose the wrong person, did I?

My husband is just that amazing! Although he's a womanizer with many lovers, he's so talented and loves me so much, so I'm not actually wronged at all!
"Baby" has won the number one single, and it's been number one for a long time. "21" has won the album chart. They received all the news immediately and were very happy and excited. However... well, the saying "pregnancy makes you stupid for three years" may very well be true. In their minds, they really never thought that their men would one day be on par with Michael Jackson!

That's Michael Jackson!

Six number-one singles? The second global pop king?

Su Huilun suddenly asked, "Two hundred million US dollars a year? A year?"

Zhang Aijia nodded vigorously, "One year!"

Su Huilun suddenly woke up and stared at Lin Jianlu for a while before turning to look at Zhang Aijia, looking silly, "That music video... is it that amazing?" — Zhang Aijia nodded again.

The pregnant woman took several seconds to react before suddenly becoming excited; it seemed she actually wanted to jump up!
Startled, Lin Jianlu quickly shook off Zhang Aijia and went to catch her, while Chen Shuhua also quickly reached out to pull her away.

Her excitement was somewhat contained, but she was still quite thrilled. Suddenly, she asked, "Honey! If you become so famous here, will you try to date Madonna or Mariah Carey?"

"Uh……"

Lin Jianlu was stunned for a moment—what kind of bizarre logic is this?

However, the next moment, Sylvia Chang suddenly burst into laughter.

…………

On July 20th, I woke up early in the morning and saw that the music video had probably started airing in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As a result, there were even more phone calls.

From Taiwan, from Hong Kong, from the mainland.

In the afternoon, I even received another call from Ang Lee, who praised me highly.

That evening, countless television stations across North America repeatedly broadcast and discussed the music video, and the very next day, even newspapers were filled with it!

Lin, "Believer", Chinese Kung Fu... Full-blown explosion!
So much so that around 10 a.m., Tommy Mottola, the president of Columbia Records, suddenly called Lin Jianlu's cell phone himself. They had met once before and weren't actually that close, but now, his tone was incredibly warm, "Hey, Lin, are you ready to break ten million copies in North American sales next month?"

To be honest, Lin Jianlu was a little confused.

The album has been on the market for more than three months, and he has heard countless sales data and reports. The latest data shows that sales in North America have officially exceeded 500 million copies. Given the popularity of "21", this basically means that global sales have exceeded, or at least are close to, 1000 million copies.

But... next month? Sales in North America alone are expected to exceed ten million copies?

He replied, "Yes, sir, I'm ready."

Tommy Motura laughed heartily.

"Lin, you will become the next global superstar! Surpassing Michael Jackson!"

"Your musical talent is unparalleled! And more importantly, your perception of popular trends and your sensitivity to visual impact are also unparalleled!"

"Believer is a great music video. Its achievements and influence will be in no way inferior to Michael's Thriller! You are a groundbreaking singer! A groundbreaking superstar!"

"You will lead the development of the world's record market for the next twenty years! Your eclectic style, your understanding of rap, R&B, rock, and electronic music will become something that people will strive to emulate!"

“I was already convinced of this before, but I thought it would take time to slowly incubate. But now, Lin, the appearance of your ‘Believer’ is just like when Michael made the first music video with a storyline, ‘Thriller’. It will make you, and the influence of your ‘21’, expand rapidly to the whole world in the shortest amount of time!”

"You are the new God! I am now certain of this!"

"Michael has been famous for too long, and his music is becoming less and less creative. Each of his albums is selling worse than the last. So many fans around the world are already calling for their new god! You are their new god! The new god!"

Lin Jianlu pondered for a moment before replying, "I think you flatter me, sir."

"Call me Tommy, please!"

"Hey Tommy, you flatter me! I wouldn't dare be that optimistic!"

"Hahaha, no, Lin, you can be even more optimistic than I am!"

…………

After hanging up the phone, I turned to look at Zhang Aijia.

The phone call came so suddenly, and Tommy Mottola's words sounded so shocking—the two looked at each other, both somewhat bewildered.

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Aijia said, "I heard that he has lost his position as Michael Jackson's manager and is now being ostracized by Michael Jackson's team. There are also rumors that his wife, Mariah Carey, has a lot of opinions about him and is even considering divorce!"

Their eyes met again, and without needing to say anything, they both understood.

Yes, Michael Jackson was also signed to Columbia Records, but at his level, even Tommy Mottola, the president, had to apply and make an appointment in advance to see him, and even then, he might not get to see him. This was already considered to be a situation where the two had a very good personal relationship.

To be able to have an equal dialogue with Michael Jackson, one would need to be at the level of Howard Stringer, president of Sony North America—the current head of the entire North American entertainment industry established by Sony after acquiring CBS, Columbia Records, and Columbia Pictures, and only an equal dialogue is possible with him!

Even in years when no new albums were released, Michael Jackson's past albums sold consistently, generally reaching annual sales of over ten million copies, which in itself translates to revenue of one or two hundred million US dollars!
Columbia Records does a lot of business and marketing around Michael Jackson almost every year, with a major focus being the re-release of his past records.

It's worth noting that his 1982 album "Thriller" is still recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's best-selling album. It stayed at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a whopping 37 weeks, and it has won countless number one titles on various charts in other countries around the world! To date, it is said to have generated over $36 billion in revenue!

His status as a global pop icon is firmly established and unshakeable!

Not to mention, besides being the King of Pop, Michael Jackson was also a very successful businessman. He owned a copyright company and held the copyrights to countless super albums by numerous singers, including The Beatles and Elvis Presley. The copyright fees he received each year were a huge source of income.

His status is clearly incomparable to that of Tommy Mottola.

According to industry insiders, Tommy Mottola's ability to remain president of Columbia Records for so many years can be attributed to two main reasons: first, his close personal relationship with Michael Jackson, which allowed him to manage Jackson's records; and second, while he did have ulterior motives, using company resources to engage in a "growth spree" and later embezzling funds to marry Mariah Carey, who was just over 20 at the time, the key point is that he succeeded. Mariah Carey was indeed transformed into a super diva within just a few years!

If you can make money for the company, then there's no problem! You're doing a great job!

But once he loses Michael Jackson's position as the head of Columbia Records, how long can he hold onto it? What if he loses Mariah Carey next?
That's the president of Columbia Records, one of the world's three largest record companies!

There are tons of people eyeing that spot!
However, it seems that the more he does this, the more motivated he becomes to push another person to success, thereby proving that his abilities are not limited to simply pleasing Michael Jackson and playing the role of a mentor? So, "Now it seems like I've become his lifeline?"

Sylvia Chang shrugged. "You're a singer from Sony Columbia!"

"Right!"

Sony Columbia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Records, but there's still a layer between them. Of course, the huge success of "21" is due to Columbia Records itself and its subsidiary. From David Shelby, Columbia Records' global marketing director who was initially in charge of coordinating marketing and distribution, to Zieg Schuberman, the vice president who later took over the reins, and now Tommy Mottola, everyone has contributed.

As for who gets more and who gets less, that's something you'll have to figure out internally!

However... the signal Tommy Mottola's phone call sent was still a little too clear!
"Next month? August? Will North American sales exceed ten million copies?"

Lin Jianlu looked at Zhang Aijia and asked, "Wouldn't that mean selling over 400 million copies a month?"

Zhang Aijia shrugged again. After the initial excitement following the MV's release, she seemed to have calmed down again, but her eyes were still bright. "It seems the impact of this MV is even greater than we thought...? Motura's information and judgment can't be wrong, right?"

It seems she doesn't believe it. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so hesitant.

In fact, Lin Jianlu didn't believe it either—a new god? Surpassing Michael Jackson?
Do not make jokes.

Thinking about it in your heart is fine, and bragging a little is harmless as long as you don't do it in front of outsiders. But to say that anyone can surpass Michael Jackson is a bit of a joke. In Lin Jianlu's previous life, Michael Jackson remained the global pop king until his death.

So many new talents have emerged, so many new albums have become huge hits, yet no one has ever been even slightly close to his extraordinary level of fame and success over the past two or three decades—let alone challenge it!

…………

Lin Jianlu pursed his lips and stared blankly for more than ten seconds, but finally, he took a deep breath and suddenly relaxed again. "Whatever! We've already made a fortune! Whether we can make even more isn't that important! Just wait!"

As he spoke, he put down his phone, picked up the remote, and continued watching the video.

"21" was already considered a big hit, and even if Lin Jianlu doesn't do any promotions, the album will definitely sell well. However, if he does promote it and lets more fans in America and even around the world know him and see him more often, it will obviously be a huge help to the album's sales!
Moreover, for him personally, the huge success of "21" is a foregone conclusion, but what he wants to sell to the American people is not just the record - he is very ambitious now and has already designed a whole set of ways to greet the American people in his mind, in order to try to raise his popularity to another level!
So... time to get to work.

That's the fundamental reason for this trip to America.

Appear on TV shows, go on roadshows, and hold autograph sessions.

However, even in his previous life, Lin Jianlu was not very familiar with American television programs, so he asked Zhang Aijia to collect several large boxes of videotapes for him.

The main focus is on some of the more well-known American TV shows, such as "The Oprah Winfrey Show," to familiarize myself with more colloquial expressions, learn some American jokes, and get a general understanding of the show's format, hosts, and style.

According to the established plan, Lin Jianlu intends to spend about half a month in America from the end of July to the beginning of August to carry out promotional activities, and then decide whether to go to places like Europe and Australia depending on the needs.

However, he soon understood the significance of Tommy Mottola's phone call, the longtime president of Columbia Records—that very evening, July 21, Zhao Mingxin suddenly called Zhang Aijia, "I'm going to the airport right away, I'll arrive tomorrow. You're with A-Lu, right?"

After receiving confirmation, he said, "The plans have changed. Don't accept any program invitations for now. We need to renegotiate the overall publicity arrangements. Zieg Schuberman and David Shelby also need to go to New York immediately. Let's try to have a meeting together tomorrow afternoon!"

"Tell Ah Lu, sales are going to explode!"

"According to the company, there was a buying frenzy today. Many cities in North America suddenly ran out of stock, and as far as I know, the UK, France, and Germany also suddenly started to run out of stock, and everyone is urging for more!"

"Although I was very optimistic about the 'Believer' music video before, I now think that we may have underestimated its impact!"

***
I'm still begging for your guaranteed monthly votes!

(End of this chapter)