HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 432 [432] Qi Yuan: Is this difficult?

The Japanese music scene and media are truly disappointing!

Before Qi Yuan ventured into Europe and America, his achievements in Asia were overshadowed by Utada Hikaru.

Her debut album, "First Love," sold ten million copies worldwide, setting a record for the highest-selling album in Asia.

Qi Yuan's peak sales for Chinese albums was her third album, "Wish," which sold over eight million copies.

When Qi Yuan ventured into the Japanese and Western music scenes, the Japanese didn't take it seriously at all, thinking that a second- or third-rate pop star couldn't possibly be that great, and couldn't compare to their Utada Hikaru.

As a result, Qi Yuan not only conquered the Japanese music scene, but also lost control of the American music scene they longed for.

Qi Yuan's first English album, "23," is nearing 20 million copies sold worldwide and has received six Grammy nominations, none of which are minor.

No wonder the Japanese media condemned Utada Hikaru; in their view, everything would be fine as long as Utada Hikaru launched an attack.

Unfortunately, Utada Hikaru gave up and refused to launch an attack.

Being in China, Qi Yuan naturally had access to some voices from Japan and South Korea.

Zhang Hao was amused by the Japanese media: "Utada Hikaru's actions are really baffling. At the peak of her career, she went and started dating a director who is fifteen years older than her. I heard they're planning to get married. No wonder the media there are criticizing her for being unambitious."

This is a case of being obsessed with love; only a top-tier diva with her talent would dare to do something like this.

If it were an ordinary artist, they would have been taught a lesson by the company long ago. The management companies there are much more ruthless than those in China.

Qi Yuan nodded, then teased, "I think it would be good if Utada Hikaru fell in love and got married. People are always like that, full of anticipation for things that haven't happened yet."

Honestly, if people in Japan today knew how terrible Utada Hikaru's future English major would be, they would kneel down and beg her not to publish an English major.

I won't release it; I'll keep it a mystery forever.

I sent it and immediately finished, my illusions were completely shattered.

Actually, there was a better option: if Utada Hikaru died immediately, she would definitely be granted the title of a sage.

The chuunibyou (delusional) Japanese can blow a dead Utada Hikaru's name to the heavens, and even dare to say that if Utada Hikaru hadn't died, Qi Yuan would always only be second.

Unfortunately, Utada Hikaru valued her life and was clearly unwilling to use this method.

Zhang Hao pondered for a moment, then asked in return, "From what you're saying, you don't think Utada Hikaru has a good chance of succeeding in America?"

With no outsiders present, Qi Yuan felt no need to hide anything and spoke frankly: "She's been praised too highly in Japan, and she's become a bit too arrogant."

She's making her move into Europe and America, and it's highly unlikely she'll make any changes. Her Western-style R&B is quite innovative in the Japanese music scene.

When they arrived in the United States, where R&B was prevalent, they lacked a distinct personal style and found it difficult to stand out in the highly competitive American music scene.

This isn't her fault. Most people wouldn't abandon their successful experience to start a completely different path; there's a 99% chance of failure if you try to take a different route.

Zhang Hao knew far less about music than Qi Yuan. He nodded knowingly, "You can't generalize! You always try new things, and you succeed every time."

Qi Yuan glanced at Zhang Hao and said seriously, "I'm talking about ordinary people. Am I an ordinary person?"

Zhang Hao: "..."

Damn! This is such a show-off, even Utada Hikaru looks like an ordinary person now.

If someone else acted like that, Zhang Hao would have to argue with them to a certain extent.

It's understandable that Qi Yuan said this, since his albums sell well and he's Warner Music's sugar daddy.
Moreover, Zhang Hao believed that Qi Yuan was truly qualified to say those words.

Since her first Chinese album, Qi Yuan has been trying new things. Her first album made her famous with her smooth and fluid R&B, and everyone thought that Qi Yuan would continue to rely on this style. However, in her second album, Qi Yuan brought out the concept of Chinese style.

The third album popularized hip-hop, and the fourth album blended Eastern and Western music together, creating an even more awesome Chinese style.

The fifth album marks a return to commercialized rock. At a time when Wang Feng hasn't achieved great success, Qi Yuan can be considered a pioneer in bringing rock to the masses.

No matter how successful Wang Feng becomes in this field in the future, he will have to acknowledge Qi Yuan as the pioneer who popularized commercial rock music; he can only be considered a trailblazer.

……

Because of Qi Yuan, Japanese and South Koreans even engaged in a war of words.

The reason was that some Japanese media outlets criticized Qi Yuan for having many nominations, saying that the Grammys wouldn't award such a troublemaker.

To outdo Qi Yuan, the Japanese even brought up Ryuichi Sakamoto, claiming that Sakamoto was the first Asian musician to win a Grammy, having won the Best Original Soundtrack Album award in 1988 with his bandmates for "The Last Emperor".

Their conclusion was that Qi Yuan, a Chinese musician who did not win the Gramophone Award, could not be said to have crushed the entire Japanese music scene, and he did his best to save face for the Japanese music scene.

As the saying goes, friendship between China and South Korea depends on Japan. While South Korean media and netizens are investigating Qi Yuan's ancestral home, they are not forgetting that he is a Japanese person.

Last time, they brought up Sakamoto Kyu, claiming that Sakamoto Kyu was the first Asian artist to achieve a Billboard number one ranking.

This time, they've dug up Ryuichi Sakamoto's movie soundtracks again. The Japanese music scene is starting to dig up old material every day in order to prove that they're no worse than Kiyuan. Does this mean they're admitting that the Japanese music scene is now devoid of talent?

Those Japanese people who are living comfortably are very angry.

You stupid South Korean idiots! What's the point of you fawning over Qi Yuan like this? You don't actually mean to say that Qi Yuan is from South Korea, do you? Even more shameless than us?

……

Unlike the ongoing debates within the media circles of Japan and South Korea, the voices within the domestic media are remarkably unified.

Almost all media outlets, large and small, were reporting on Qi Yuan's Chinese album's huge sales and six Grammy nominations.

[Six Grammy nominations, breaking the record for most nominations by an Asian singer! It's worth noting that the previous record holder was also Qi Yuan!]

[The true world's top player! Only Qi Yuan can defeat Qi Yuan!]

[Six Grammy nominations break Asian records; Qi Yuan's album "23" aims for 20 million sales, setting a new record for the highest-selling single album by an Asian artist!]

[US media exclaims: A storm from the East has swept through the American music scene, and Christian is the most remarkable Eastern musician]

……

Mainland state media are always cautious; before Qi Yuan has won an award, they will only report how many nominations he has received.

Although Qi Yuan has a high probability of winning the award this time, there's always a chance of something going wrong.

State media outlets are not allowed to speak recklessly.

Many American media outlets have started praising Qi Yuan, calling him a mysterious Eastern storm and a genius Eastern musician.

It's still related to those two buildings and joining the WTO. Qi Yuan is standing at the forefront of the world, so naturally he can get this treatment!
When Qi Yuan was doing a book signing in Shanghai, a reporter asked her how she felt about receiving six Grammy nominations.

Qi Yuan said seriously, "Haven't I said it many times? I can be a top superstar in China, and I will be a top superstar in America too. Are six Grammy nominations really that difficult?"

reporter:"……"

(End of this chapter)