Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Chapter 104 Joining YG

"BLACKPINKinyourarea".

""

Jiang Yan didn't even blink after saying that.

Teddy, however, seemed to have been struck on the head, and stood there stunned. His eyes under the brim of his hat stared straight at him, and his lips moved for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"What did you just say?"

"BLACKPINKinyourarea." Jiang Yan repeated it again, "Senior, this is a lead phrase I came up with on the spot based on the naming direction you gave me."

"The name BLACKPINK itself means the contrast between black and pink, which is both sweet and strong. This lead word perfectly captures this dual nature in the very first syllable."

He paused, met Teddy's burning gaze, and continued calmly, "Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. How to use it specifically depends on the decision of the senior and the company."

Teddy didn't say anything.

He turned around, his back to Jiang Yan, his hands resting on the edge of the mixing console, his shoulders rising and falling slightly.

The studio was silent for a good ten seconds.

Then Teddy suddenly turned around, grabbed the notebook on the table, flipped to the pages of notes Jiang Yan had just made, picked up his phone, opened the audio file of "Kill This Love", dragged the progress bar to the beginning, and listened to it three times.

His eyes brightened a little more with each listen.

"Damn it!"

Teddy slammed his phone on the table, took off his baseball cap, vigorously scratched his hair, and then looked up at Jiang Yan, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"Your idea is exactly the same as mine, and even better than mine."

Jiang Yan bowed slightly: "Senior, you flatter me. I am merely standing on the shoulders of giants to see the view."

"Hahahaha—" Teddy pointed at him with his finger: "You little brat, your modesty makes me want to punch you."

He walked over to the sofa, sat down, crossed his legs, and pulled an unopened can of Coke from under the coffee table, tossing it to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan caught it with both hands.

"Sit down and talk."

Jiang Yan sat down on the single sofa next to him, opened a can of cola and took a sip.

Teddy looked at him and, without beating around the bush, went straight to the point.

"Jiang Yan, come to me. I'll discuss the contract with you personally. I'll give you the highest industry standards for arrangement revenue, and your base salary won't be less than what you earned at SM."

"Most importantly—"

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes under the brim of his hat filled with seriousness: "I won't use you and then throw you away like SM does. The songs you write will always have your name listed as the producer, whether it's one song or ten, whether you did it independently or with me."

"This is my sincerity."

Jiang Yan's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the cola can.

To be honest, he had imagined many scenarios before coming here.

Teddy might politely offer a few words of praise and then tell him to go home and wait for news. He might think he's too young and needs to be observed for a while longer. Or he might be like those high-ranking executives at SM, accepting the two songs and then casually giving him an assistant position to get rid of him.

He even considered how he would lie if the other party asked about the true origin of the two songs.

But he never expected Teddy to be so direct.

There are no red tapes, no layers of approval, and no need to ask for instructions or discuss anything.

It means sitting down, looking into your eyes, and saying, "Come to me."

"Senior." Jiang Yan put down the can of cola and sat up straight. "I have some conditions that I need to make clear beforehand."

Teddy showed no surprise and said directly, "Go ahead."

"First, I have a younger sister who is a trainee at SM Entertainment. Every Friday afternoon, she takes the KTX from Yangsan to Seoul and goes back on Sunday night. If she needs me to pick her up, or if something happens to her that I need to handle, I must be able to get away at any time, no matter what project I am working on at the time."

Teddy nodded: "No problem."

"Secondly, my issues with SM are not over yet. The artist I helped is named Choi Sulli. She and I grew up together in an orphanage. Although the company has temporarily given its approval, Kim Sung-hoon is a vengeful person and will definitely cause trouble in the future, which may affect his projects."

When Teddy heard Sulli's name, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and waved his hand dismissively. "Do you know why I left YG Entertainment to form THE BLACKLABEL?"

Jiang Yan shook his head.

"Because I don't like being controlled." Teddy crossed his legs and swung them. "Whether it's YG, SM, or JYP, the rules of the game are all the same in these big companies. Those who listen get to eat, and those who don't listen get sidelined. I don't want to listen, and I don't want those messy rules to control how I write songs."

"So with me, you only need to be responsible for the music. As for other things, if you can handle them, I can handle them. If I can't handle them, there's still President Yang. So you don't need to worry about SM."

YG and THE BLACKLABEL's willingness to confront SM's conflicts directly stirred a surge of emotion within him.

Jiang Yan took a deep breath, suppressed his surging emotions, and raised his head again.

"There's one last thing."

"explain."

"I gave all the songs I wrote at SM to my teacher, so if the company wants demos of these three songs, I may not be able to do it."

He paused, looking into Teddy's eyes: "Senior, although SM fired me, my teacher has always been very good to me. I hope you can understand."

After listening, Teddy's eyes were filled with undisguised admiration. He stood up and patted Jiang Yan on the shoulder, "Jiang Yan, there are many geniuses in this industry, but do you know what quality most geniuses lack?"

Jiang Yan shook his head and remained silent.

Teddy said earnestly, "It's about human touch. There are geniuses every year, but those who can remember kindness and have human touch are very rare."

"

As he spoke, he extended his hand: "Welcome to THEBLACKLABEL."

Jiang Yan quickly stood up, grasped the hand, and said, "Thank you, senior. I am honored."

"Don't call me 'senior,' call me 'brother.'"

"Yes, Teddy."

Teddy let go of her hand, turned around and walked to the mixing console, picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Yo-boo-seok-hyung, it's me."

"Yes, I've met that newcomer."

"Not just good, it's excellent."

"I plan to involve him in BLACKPINK's debut song."

"Okay, I'll take him to YG headquarters next Monday, you can meet him."

After hanging up the phone, Teddy turned around, looked at Jiang Yan's expression, and teased, "What's wrong, nervous?"

"A little," Jiang Yan honestly admitted. "President Yang Xianshuo-nim—my knowledge of him is limited to online interviews."

"Don't be nervous." Teddy walked over and sat down next to him. "Hyunseok hyung may look fierce, but he's actually very easy to get along with. He only cares about two things: talent and achievements. You have both, so he won't make things difficult for you."

He paused, then added, "And he's more anxious than anyone else right now. BLACKPINK is about to debut, and 2NE1..."

Although he has three contract renewals, things can't be the same as before. Now the other directors are also watching him. At this time, a genius that I recognize has come. He can't wait to welcome him.

3

Jiang Yan nodded, but he was thinking about something else.

If he really participates in BLACKPINK's debut song, then he's not just involved in one song, but in the starting point of the entire group.

According to Lin Xiaolu, BLACKPINK will become the most successful girl group in the world in the future.

And now, he is already standing right in the center of this huge opportunity.

"Oh, right." Teddy suddenly remembered something, pulled a folder from the drawer and handed it to him, "This is BLACKPINK."

"Take a look at the information on the four members. Since you're going to be involved in the production of their debut song, you need to understand their vocal characteristics first."

Jiang Yan took the folder and opened the first page.

The photo shows a girl with bangs. Her profile reads: Kim Jisoo, born in 1995, lead vocalist and visual.

Page 2: Jennie Kim, born in 1996, main rapper, lead vocalist, and ACE.

Page 3: Park Chae-young, born in 1997, is a lead vocalist and lead dancer.

Page 4: Lalisa Manobal, born in 1997, main dancer and rapper.

The four photos, placed side by side, each with its own style, create a wonderful sense of harmony when put together.