A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 24 The New King Ascends the Throne
As early as the end of March and the beginning of April, the second music video for "Cold to the End", "Super Cool", began to be broadcast in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Contrary to many people's expectations, this music video was not even given the title of a second single, but it was very popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia!
Its powerful sense of rhythm, and the dance that Lin Jianlu showed in the MV, became an instant hit in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Some young people, in particular, like it even more than "Cold to the End".

On the contrary, the music video for "Cold to the End," which was released in Japan and South Korea at the same time, did not become an instant hit like "Super Cool" before it. Now even Rock Records began to believe that Lin Jianlu's insistence on using an electronic dance music style to target the Japanese and South Korean markets was very reasonable and insightful.

No problem, our channel partners were quick to seize the opportunity. They immediately withdrew some of their promotion for "Cold to the End" and continued to promote "Super Cool". They also repeatedly asked Lin Jianlu to go and promote it.

In fact, Lin Jianlu had already flown to Singapore on the very night he had drunk with Luo Dayou and the others.

As usual, it's time for promotional activities.

Singapore's market is actually quite small, given its total population. No matter how developed the economy is, it's impossible for one person to buy three records. However, there are many Chinese people here, and along with other Southeast Asian countries with large Chinese populations such as Malaysia and Indonesia, it has always been a traditional source of artistic works from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other regions.

Nearly fifty days after its launch, sales figures from Singapore, based on data from the first five weeks, have already exceeded 100,000 units—making it seem like it's completely following in the footsteps of popular trends in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Sales in Malaysia are approaching 70,000 copies, and in Indonesia, the figure is even more impressive, exceeding 50,000 copies. Thailand and the Philippines have each achieved sales of over 10,000 copies – these figures are already considered exceptional by traditional Hong Kong and Taiwanese record sales standards. Leslie Cheung, despite his immense popularity in Southeast Asia, only sold around 50,000 to 60,000 copies in Malaysia and Indonesia at his peak. Suet Cheung has two albums that roughly reach similar sales figures; "Goodbye Kiss" even surpassed 100,000 copies in both Malaysia and Indonesia, making it a peak achievement for Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers in this region.

Therefore, it's no wonder that they repeatedly invited Lin Jianlu to promote the product.

Traveling to three countries in three days was a tight schedule, so he skipped the Philippines and Thailand because he needed to rush to Japan and South Korea. Unfortunately, the time was too short to take on commercial performances to make money, but seeing the enthusiastic reception from the local distributors and the excitement of the fans, Lin Jianlu knew that making money was just a matter of time.

If you're making money, don't complain about being tired. After you finish this job, you can come back again!

Arrived in Tokyo, let's get started with "Super Cool"...

A fan meeting with over 3,000 people could be considered a small concert. As soon as the rhythm of "Bei'er Shuang" started, the energetic singing and dancing immediately ignited the emotions of the audience!
It's said that many people come specifically to see Lin Jianlu dance live!

We were satisfied with the result.

Backstage, Xue Zhongding couldn't help but say, "You'll be on the Japanese headlines tomorrow!"

I don't know, but our competitors are really generous. They held three fan meetings in Tokyo, Osaka, and Sapporo, which probably had a total of 6,000 attendees. And our competitors are just competitors after all. They can give away autograph sessions for free, but they have to pay for small concerts like this one with singing and dancing! Although it's only a little over 3 million yen, Ge Fuhong said that it can be exchanged for more than 20,000 US dollars, which is about 200,000 RMB.

Then came the last stop of this promotional trip: the Peninsula.

By the time he finished this run, Lin Jianlu didn't know how much the album sales had increased. All he knew was that he still couldn't go home. It was already April 26th, and the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was in two days. He had been invited to sing "Ten Years".

Actually, Lin Jianlu was already a bit tired of it and really wanted to go home and eat fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and tofu pudding from Nanluoguxiang.

He has been traveling to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea for more than forty days.

But there was nothing they could do. Ge Fuhong kept urging her, and even Liang Yongqi called to ask if Lin Jianlu could make it back to Hong Kong on the 28th—she had been nominated for Best New Performer and was very excited and looking forward to it. So she had no choice but to go back.

At this time, the album's second single, "Fairy Tale," had already begun to top various local charts in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia, accompanied by the release of its music video!

Generally speaking, the Chinese music scene has been confined to Hong Kong and Taiwan for many years, with at most a small portion of the Southeast Asian Chinese market. The market is not very large, so there has always been a fast-paced approach. An album doesn't sell well for long, and singers have to release new albums frequently to maintain their popularity and make money.

For Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers, releasing two or three albums a year is standard practice, not including those small EPs with only two or three songs that are just testing the market. Releasing four or five albums a year is what can be considered diligent.

Only in the Western music scene, most notably with figures like Michael Jackson, facing the vast North American and global markets, did they dare to meticulously craft their albums, spending one or two years—even three years—to create a high-quality production, then gradually promote it on the charts, coupled with a global tour—a complete package of strategies. Their albums would sell well for a year, then continue to sell well for another year, then slow down for a year, ultimately establishing a long-term sales pattern. A single album could easily sell over ten million copies worldwide, with Michael Jackson at his peak selling fifty to sixty million!
This kind of behavior is unsustainable in the Chinese music scene; singers will starve.

But Lin Jianlu's momentum was too good, and the album was really strong. After the release of "Cold to the End", music critics from all over the world, apart from occasionally complaining about the album's chaotic style, almost unanimously praised it. So Rock Records also got a little ambitious. Considering that Lin Jianlu already had 300 million copies sold in mainland China, they wanted to do a long-term promotion in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places. So, the second wave of music videos was filmed.

They also followed the example of Europe and America, and began to continuously promote and release the album's title track.

As a result, as soon as the music video for "Fairy Tale" was released, it instantly topped all the charts, including the Golden Melody Chart, the Dragon and Tiger Chart, and various other charts. According to Xue Zhongding, the shipment volume in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other regions suddenly increased again!
It's hard to say about other places, but "Cold to the End" has definitely set a record in Taiwan—170,000 copies in the first week, 260,000 in the second week, 110,000 in the third week, 120,000 in the fourth week, 140,000 in the fifth week, and 160,000 in the sixth week. Being the top seller for six consecutive weeks is nothing special, but the key is that it has sold more than 100,000 copies for six consecutive weeks, which is a bit scary!
It instantly surpassed the record of selling over 100,000 copies for three consecutive weeks, a record previously held by other best-selling albums such as "Let Me Be Happy, Let Me Be Sad", "Kiss Goodbye", "A Game, A Dream" and "Tell You, Listen to You"!
In less than two months since its launch, total sales in Taiwan alone have reached 96 units. The million-unit sales mark was clearly achieved in the seventh week, and now all that's left is for the data statistics to catch up—as for shipments, they have already exceeded 140 million units!
However, of course, the record industry's habit of exaggerating and promoting is certain. The sales figures announced to the public were inflated to some extent every week. When the data for the sixth week came out, they directly announced that "Cold to the End" had sold more than a million copies in six weeks!

It drastically increased the record of selling over a million copies in eight months held by Wakin Chau's album "Let Me Be Happy, Let Me Be Sad" by an almost precipitous margin!

It shook the entire Chinese music scene!

Hong Kong media reported, "This all-around talent is unstoppable!"

Just then, at noon on April 27, Lin Jianlu landed and returned to Ganggang.

I don't know how the news leaked in advance, or if it was Lao Duan or Sister Ge who arranged this in advance? In any case, the airport was packed with people, with a good one or two thousand fans gathered in advance to pick up the singer.

It seemed as if they were welcoming a new king to the throne.

On the way back, Ge Fuhong handed me a newspaper with a smile, saying, "I didn't say anything out of turn!"

When Lin Jianlu took the document, he discovered that Liang Yongqi had stated in an interview that she would not walk the red carpet with him but would instead walk with the film crew. However, Lin Jianlu had previously mentioned that he would attend the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony.

Oh... Lin Jianlu's brain is so quick to understand.

This is most likely a publicity stunt for the Hong Kong Film Awards—the awards ceremony needs viewership and enough money to keep the annual event running! And their advertisers and sponsors definitely want the news that Lin Jianlu will be singing at the Hong Kong Film Awards to spread in advance to boost viewership.

The Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony is only on the 28th, so Lin Jianlu will be back in Hong Kong no later than the 28th, possibly as early as the 27th. For those enthusiastic fans these days, what's a couple more days at the airport?
I got to meet my idol! It was totally worth it!
***
To avoid misunderstanding, please note the following: This book strives to follow the actual events and characters as closely as possible. However, firstly, personal biases and even unusual tastes are inevitable, which may lead to ridicule. Therefore, minor modifications and corrections may be made to the fates of certain characters. Secondly, as a member of the post-2000 generation, even with careful research and historical analysis, a 100% accurate understanding is impossible. Errors and misattributions are unavoidable. Therefore, please note that this book is purely fictional and should not be taken as factual.

Also, I don't have many monthly tickets. Could you please give me a few?
(End of this chapter)