The Road to Superstardom: Starting as a Singer

The rehearsal mainly focused on positioning and familiarizing oneself with the flow. Huang Weijie's rehearsal involved playing the accompaniment and going over the positioning with the backup dancers, which was relatively simple.

Afterwards, on the way back to his apartment, Huang Weijie looked through the photos on his phone, selected a picture of him and Joe Jonas standing close together, and then tapped send on his phone.

Sending object: Taylor Swift

There was no text attached; it was just a simple picture.

His phone vibrated shortly after the message was sent.

Huang Weijie picked it up and took a look.

Taylor Swift: ? ? ?

Huang Weijie: I met them during the afternoon rehearsal. They were nice people, quite enthusiastic.

Taylor Swift: Have you grown taller?

Huang Weijie: ? ? ?

Taylor Swift: Hahaha, I was just kidding.

Taylor Swift: How's your album recording going?

Huang Weijie: I plan to release the single we collaborated on in a while to generate buzz...

After chatting with Taylor Swift for a bit about work and making plans to have dinner together sometime, Huang Weijie ended the conversation.

To be honest, his original intention was to tease the other person by taking a photo together, but he didn't expect the other person to say to him, "Have you grown taller?"

For a moment, Huang Weijie was truly stunned.

It seems like he's the one being teased!

Damn it! This isn't over yet!

Huang Weijie thought to himself.

……

Back at the apartment, Huang Weijie acted like a gentleman and didn't bother Christine anymore.

The latter was also very sensible, knowing the importance of tomorrow, and did not deliberately provoke him.

So the two of them cuddled together and slept soundly.

August 4th, the day of the Teen Choice Awards ceremony.

By 4 p.m., Huang Weijie had made all the preparations.

The stylist styled her hair into a slightly casual yet neat texture, and she wore very light makeup, mainly to make her skin tone more even and her facial features more defined under strong light.

He was wearing the navy blue suit that Armani had provided a few days ago.

The well-tailored suit perfectly accentuated his tall and straight figure, while the white shirt underneath had one button undone at the collar, making him look less rigid and more like a free spirit of youth.

There were no extra accessories, only the Armani dark blue casual watch on her left wrist, subtly showing off her taste at the cuff.

He looks refreshing, handsome, and sunny.

Madeline handed her an iPad: "It's all in here, containing the kinds of questions the media will probably ask during red carpet interviews and when you meet them. Do you want to take another look? Especially how to subtly steer clear of sensitive topics."

Huang Weijie glanced at the screen and nodded with relief. "I've got it all, Madeline. Relax, you've asked me so many times already, you should trust me."

Looking into his confident and composed eyes, Madeline finally felt a little relieved: "Okay. Remember, keep smiling and enjoy tonight."

"Of course, I will!"

Meanwhile, the streets outside the Gibson Amphitheatre were already congested.

At the corner closest to the red carpet security checkpoint entrance, a blue area had already been prepared in advance.

Lin Xiaoqing wiped the sweat from her brow, clutching a bundle of blue glow sticks tightly in her hand, and directed the thirty-odd girls behind her, all dressed in light blue T-shirts, in her slightly hoarse voice:

"Everyone, double-check your banners! Are the batteries in the light sticks enough? When Jace's car arrives, I'll count to three, and we'll all shout the slogan together, got it?"

"That's enough, that's enough."

"Got it, no problem."

"It's been checked, there's no problem."

"Xiaoqing, have some water, your throat is so dry."

"..."

Everyone started talking at once.

"Thank you." Lin Xiaoqing took the water from the other girl, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp.

Her cheeks were flushed, whether from the sun or from excitement, it was hard to tell.

I became a fan of Huang Weijie on a boring night in 2005.

She had just arrived in the United States and was homesick and unable to sleep. She was browsing YouTube randomly when she came across a video of an Asian boy sitting at a piano, playing and singing.

Clicking through, you see a boy in a video who looks very young. He smiles shyly at the camera and starts singing an original English song called "One Time".

Her voice is clear and clean, and the melody is simple and catchy.

Lin Xiaoqing listened to the video five times before opening the channel and discovering that the boy named "Jace Huang" had uploaded seven or eight similar videos of singing and playing the guitar, but most of them were covers, and he only had a few thousand subscribers.

She subscribed and left a comment: "You sang so well, your voice is so beautiful, keep it up!"

For the next three years, she practically watched him grow up.

I watched every new video as soon as it was released and kept up with the latest online updates, watching his subscriber count grow from a few thousand to tens of thousands and then hundreds of thousands.

I feel an unparalleled sense of pride.

On May 20th of this year, he released his official single "Baby". Lin Xiaoqing bought the digital version immediately and even got her roommate to listen to it with her.

In early June, "Baby" suddenly surged onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In July, we'll reach number one!

That day, Lin Xiaoqing screamed and jumped up in her dorm room, then worked through the night to collect screenshots of the Billboard charts, reports from American media, and clips of radio interviews, adding detailed Chinese subtitles and explanations:

Jace Huang, the first Asian artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her debut single.

[Data Comparison: Just How Terrifying Are Baby's Streaming Records?]

Why is Jace considered a phenomenal newcomer?

【…】

She posted one thread after another to domestic online forums and message boards.

It can be said that Huang Weijie has influence in the country, not only because of his own hard work and the role of his agent.

People like Lin Xiaoqing also played a crucial role in promoting Huang Weijie online. Without their tireless efforts and acting as "organic promoters," Huang Weijie might not have gained such a large following after returning to Taiwan.

Therefore, when she learned that Huang Weijie would be attending this year's Teen Choice Awards, Lin Xiaoqing, a highly respected original fan and big fan, immediately began to organize a group of people to go to the scene to support him.

The light blue T-shirts worn by the thirty-odd girls around them were all purchased by them at their own expense.

Why is it light blue?

It was only because Huang Weijie was interacting with fans on social media a while ago, and someone asked him what his favorite color was, and he answered that he liked blue.

The blue glow sticks, light boards, posters, and banners they held were ordered by Lin Xiaoqing using half a month's living expenses.

The goal was to make Huang Weijie notice them at a glance!

Let him know that we came for you!

All I can say is that the idol training system is terrifying!

……

Standing outside the Gibson Theatre, I looked at the increasingly dense crowds and the throngs of people holding up various colored light boards.

Lin Xiaoqing took a deep breath.

There are just too many people.

But soon, she noticed something unusual happening around her. Looking up, Lin Xiaoqing's eyes widened slightly.

It was another group of girls dressed in blue and holding blue light sticks.

Although she didn't know them, Lin Xiaoqing was absolutely certain that those girls had the same goal as them: to support "Jace"!

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt an indescribable sense of pride.

Three years ago, the boy who sang in front of the camera only had a handful of comments in the subscriber comment section.

Even before the release of "Baby" in May of this year, he only had a few hundred thousand followers on YouTube, making him a moderately famous online singer.

But now, in less than three months, this blue support zone that belongs to him has already secured a prominent place next to the star-studded red carpet.

The blonde, blue-eyed girls around him were also holding up his posters and chanting his name.

Other celebrities may have a large platform like Disney to support them, or a mature record company to manage them, or they may be naturally suited to this cultural environment.

But what about Huang Weijie?

A Chinese boy, relying on his own songwriting and video uploading, started from scratch and carved out a niche in this most competitive market.

His songs are his best weapon, and his talent is his strongest source of confidence!

The person I admire is truly the most awesome!

Lin Xiaoqing couldn't help but smile. She raised her phone and pressed the shutter button on the blue ocean behind her.

The girls' youthful faces, the blue light sticks and glow sticks they waved, and Huang Weijie's bright smile in the sunlight on the carefully made poster.

In the background, there is a constantly pouring crowd and a bright red carpet that has already been laid out in the distance.