HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 301 [301] Breaking Records, the First Battle on the International Stage Begins

"Are you sure you didn't pick up the wrong one? Is this really the first-day sales data for Qi Yuansang's single?"

This result greatly surprised Warner Bros.

They initially speculated that Qi Yuan didn't have much influence in Japan, and that his previous Chinese albums were only popular in Chinese communities.

Recently, Qi Yuan has successfully gained a wave of fans who admire his looks by associating himself with Utada Hikaru and Kimura Takuya.

Warner Bros. Japan estimated that selling 10,000 to 18,000 copies on the first day would be considered a success, with a maximum of 15,000 copies sold.

As a result, Qi Yuan actually doubled the order, selling 3.5 copies. Is that too outrageous?

In Japan, singles are not as popular as albums, and singles do not sell as well as albums.

Generally speaking, only top-tier artists can sell over 10 copies of a single on its first day, such as Utada Hikaru and Kuraki Mai.

Those that can sell 5+ copies on the first day are either top-tier artists or theme songs for popular anime/TV series.

With 2 to 5 copies sold on the first day, this level already indicates a promising new star. As long as the momentum can be maintained and the publicity and marketing are up to par, there is hope that it can break into the top five or even the top three of the weekly chart.

The most successful Chinese singer to enter the Japanese market before was Wang Fei, who released the single "Eyes On Me" in 1999. This song was the theme song for the game "Final Fantasy VIII" and sold 350,000 copies in Japan.

Even the Queen's "Eyes On Me" didn't have such exaggerated first-day sales figures as Qi Yuan.

At her peak, the princess reached ninth place on Japan's "Oricon" ranking.

Oricon, also known as the O Chart, is Japan's most authoritative music chart, covering sales rankings of various music works such as singles, albums, and music DVDs.

With this achievement, Princess Wang became the first Chinese singer to enter the Oricon Top 10 with a non-Japanese song.

This is the highest achievement a Chinese singer has made in Japan.

After Qi Yuan's "Free Loop" appeared, the princess's record was in jeopardy.

Warner Music Japan judged that Qi Yuan's single had the potential to break into the top five of the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.

If this is achieved, the record previously held by the princess will be broken.

Warner Bros. Japan has started to increase its promotional efforts for "Free Loop".

……

On October 2nd, the first-day sales figures for "Free Loop" were reported back to China.

[A resounding success in its debut! Qi Yuan's first English single broke the record set by Princess in 1999, becoming the Chinese singer with the highest first-day sales for a single released in Japan.]

Warner Music is suspected of fabricating sales figures and resorting to any means to promote its most popular artists.

[The first Mandopop artist to venture into Japan!]

Qi Yuan's first battle to go international has begun.

……

Domestic record companies were all stunned when they saw this report.

Hey!
Did you really pull it off? You actually broke the record set by the Queen.

Rolling Stone's top management once again gathered the production department and gave them a dressing down.

What a bunch of pigs! In 97, Qi Yuan sent a song to Rolling Stone Records, why didn't you pigs notice? Why didn't you sign Qi Yuan?

With declining physical record sales and rampant piracy, Rolling Stone Records is also on a downward spiral.

This year, the five major international record companies entered the Taiwan market and made various acquisitions and mergers, further worsening Rock Records' situation.

Lee Zongsheng, the soul of Rolling Stone Records, is about to have his contract expire, and it is said that he has not chosen to renew it.

If Qi Yuan were a member of Rolling Stone, would they need to worry about declining profits?
……

Besides Rock Records, the heads of other record companies were also cursing in private.

What kind of luck does Zhou Jianhui have! To run into a money-making machine like Qi Yuan. The head of every record company understands what the victory of Qi Yuan's English single in its first foray into the Japanese market means: the next step is for this English single to enter the American market.

Once you achieve success in the US market, you'll earn dollars!
The CEOs were so envious they were grinding their teeth in envy.

The princess was pressed by reporters during her outing.

"Ah Fei, what do you think about Qi Yuan breaking your first-day sales record with the release of his single in Japan?"

The princess remained calm: "It's great. Ah-Yuan has always been a musician I greatly admire. He is truly talented, and I wish him even greater success."

The reporters were hoping to get some news; if the princess showed any displeasure or said something wrong, they could use it as an excuse.

Unexpectedly, the princess praised Qi Yuan highly.

That's normal. The princess and Qi Yuan have a good personal relationship. They have worked together before, and the princess was a guest performer at Qi Yuan's concert.

The reporters changed their approach, reporting: 'The princess is infatuated with Qi Yuan, praising her lover for ten minutes straight.'

Xie Tingfeng, who was in love but could not have the one he wanted, felt extremely complicated when he saw the newspaper.

Fortunately, his girlfriend Zhang Baizhi and his good friend Chen Guanxi were by his side, which improved his mood.

The next day, he went out wearing sunglasses, and paparazzi immediately surrounded him, asking when he would release an English song to enter the international market.

You used to be a singer on par with Qi Yuan; one was a talented songwriter in the mainland music scene, and the other was a talented songwriter in the Hong Kong music scene. Qi Yuan has already ventured into Japan; you should follow suit, right?
Nicholas Tse: '...'

……

Princess and Nicholas Tse are not the only celebrities harassed by reporters.

In Taiwan, Wang Lihong, Tao Ze, Zhou Jielun, and others all harassed him.

The celebrities are fed up with the dogs.

Qi Yuan is a menace! You're venturing into the Japanese music scene, and now you're dragging us all down with you?
Especially those foreign artists, the paparazzi really know how to be sarcastic when they ask questions! They ask them why they don't just release English albums abroad, since they grew up overseas and their native language is English, so as to save themselves from flying back and forth between China and the world.

Those celebrities are now ready to fight.

By North!

Do you think the Western music scene is easy to navigate? Who the hell doesn't want to earn dollars? It's easy for you to talk when you're not in the same boat.

Qi Yuan's "Free Loop" is also being sold in China, and many people have bought it, especially industry insiders. They are paying close attention to this single, and various record companies have bought it to study.

Musicians who listened to the complete "Free Loop" were even more impressed with Qi Yuan's musical talent.

Someone who has never lived abroad can write high-quality, authentic English songs. They can't think of any other word to describe it but genius.

……

In the coming days, Free Loop's sales in Japan continued to rise.

4.1 tickets were sold on the second day, 4.5 on the third day, and 5.5 on the fourth day.

"Free Loop" began to appear more frequently on various music radio stations in Japan.

On the Japanese music charts, "Free Loop" began to climb, dethroning a host of popular songs by Japanese artists and directly challenging the most popular superstars in the Japanese music scene.

The Japanese media were shocked, and their title for Qi Yuan changed from "the arrogant and foolish laughing emperor" to "the king of the Chinese music scene."

Users on Japanese online forums were also confused.

Didn't we agree not to buy this Chinese singer's physical single?
Why are there so many moles?

17.6 tickets were sold in Japan in four days, and the majority of them were definitely sold by Japanese people.

Some Japanese people who genuinely despise the Chinese music scene posted angrily: 'You talk about boycotting, but why are you secretly buying Qi Yuan's singles? Why can't you match your words with your actions?'

(End of this chapter)