My daily life with the original diva

Terahina Akira, who was in charge of publicity, spoke first: "I don't think it's necessary. Although sales have dropped a lot compared to before, it is still number one. I think the previous sales can only be called a miracle. Now it has just returned to normal levels."

The previous single and album sold 1.37 million and 1.56 million copies respectively. These sales figures are astonishing, because in that year, very few albums sold more than a million copies, and both of Kimura Hirofumi's albums sold more than a million copies.

Aside from his current best-selling song, Camellia Inn by folk singer Eisaku Okawa, which just broke one million in sales, below it is Yakiri Ferry Crossing by folk singer Takashi Hosokawa, which only sold 900,000.

For a newcomer like Hiroki Kimura to achieve the top sales of the year is already unimaginable, let alone to lead by such a large margin. It can only be attributed to a very good promotional strategy, coupled with Hiroki Kimura's exceptional talent and the freshness of being a newcomer, which created such a miracle.

It's been almost half a year since their debut, so it's understandable that they've returned to normal levels. But to return to normal levels and still potentially break a million in sales is something most singers wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"If we return to normal levels, can you guarantee that we can maintain this sales volume next year?" Hanami Kaku was clearly not satisfied with this answer. As the president, he always thought about more, not less.

No one could guarantee the answer to this question, but Hiroshi Kimura did. "There will definitely be fewer next year, President. Just look at the sales figures for the top-selling records of the past few years, and you'll know."

Upon hearing this, Hua Jianhe immediately asked his assistant to retrieve the sales figures for the top-selling records of the past few years. Upon seeing them, he frowned deeply, as it was clear that the sales of the top-selling records had been declining almost every year.

The number one single of 1980, Dancing All Night, sold over 1.5 million copies. By 1981, the number one single of 1980, Ruby Ring, had sold only around 1.3 million copies. And in 1982, the number one single of 1980, Waiting for You, barely broke 1 million copies sold.

If it weren't for Hiroshi Kimura's unexpected rise this year, the sales of the year's number one record would only have broken 100, meaning that in just the last three years, the sales of the year's number one record have dropped by 500,000 copies. It's truly astonishing how much you don't know until you see it.

"How could this be? It's dropped so much! If this continues, it'll probably be impossible for us to sell a single that sells over a million copies in the future." Hanami He said in a panic. After all, a bad market environment would be a huge blow to Ken-On, as it could mean a sharp drop in their revenue, since record sales are Ken-On's main source of income.

Hanami He's prediction was correct, because historically, by next year, the annual champion's sales would drop below one million. In 1985, sales of 700,000 were enough to become champion, and in the worst year of 1987, the annual champion's sales were just over 400,000.

Not only Hanami He saw it, but everyone else present also saw it, and their expressions were not good in the face of this situation.

"It really is a miracle, Kimura-san. You single-handedly brought record sales back to the level of the 80s," Yukio Tomioka said jokingly.

Now everyone knows how difficult it is to break one million in this situation, and it's probably impossible to replicate the previous miraculous sales figures.

Given the market trend, even if you have great abilities, you might be able to create one or two miracles, but it's probably impossible to maintain that momentum. Hua Jianhe could only sigh at this point.

"Is this really all there is to it? I'm so unwilling to accept this." As expected of a high-level capitalist worker, once he's tasted the sweetness, he can't let go and wants to do it again.

"While there are market reasons, it's also related to Kimura-san's change in style. How about this, if this single doesn't sell over a hundred copies, then for the next song, Kimura-san must switch back. Is that alright, Kimura-san?" In the end, Yukio Tomioka came up with a compromise.

There was naturally no problem with that. Kimura Hiroshi nodded in agreement, and Hanami Kagami also got the answer he wanted most, so he naturally had no objections.

The meeting ended in a relatively harmonious atmosphere, but little did they know that a huge storm was sweeping towards Yanyin.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: He had not studied writing.

"Are you sure your investigation report is completely problem-free?" Akifuku Takahashi, the editor-in-chief of the entertainment section of Weekly Bunshun, asked his two subordinates with a serious expression.

As a magazine under Bungei Shunju Co., Ltd., they are open to exposing all kinds of issues, including those related to officialdom, economics, business, bribery in government, and celebrity scandals. However, exposing these scandals is also risky, because if they are false, being sued for defamation is the least of their worries.

The main problem is that it will severely damage the magazine's reputation. Weekly Bunshun, which is based on factual reporting, cannot afford to lose its credibility, as this will definitely lead to a large number of readers unsubscribing from the magazine.

Suzuki Saburo and Higashi Masaharu, who had been investigating in Saitama Prefecture for almost half a month, had heard their editor-in-chief ask this question for what he thought was the most. Every time they returned from an investigation and finalized what they wanted to report, he would ask this question.

"Hey, Editor-in-Chief, Dongchang and I can guarantee the authenticity of this investigative report. Not only are there written interviews, but we also filmed and recorded some interviews with the parties involved. We can confirm that this kid named Kimura Hiroshi did not receive any education on songwriting in his hometown of Saitama."

He only left Saitama Prefecture for Tokyo in January of this year, and released his first single in June. No songwriter can complete systematic songwriting training in six months; it would take at least two to three years of study.

Takahashi Akio knew that his subordinates would not dare to lie to him. The reason he asked them every time was because if something went wrong after he asked, it would be the subordinate's problem and had nothing to do with him. If something really went wrong, it would be the subordinate's mistake, and he could just fire the subordinate.

The report included various interviews with Kimura Hiroshi's teacher, classmates, and even neighbors. These people said that Kimura Hiroshi should have studied singing for a period of time and could recognize the staff notation, but regarding song composition, they all said they had no memory of it. Even the teacher who taught Kimura Hiroshi to sing said that he had not been taught it because he himself did not know how to do it.

"Why are there no interviews with his family?" Takahashi discovered that there were no interview records with Kimura Hiroshi's family in these investigative reports.

“Editor-in-chief, the Kimura family is no ordinary family. Kimura Hiroshi’s father is the head of the local agricultural association and is very prestigious in the area. It is said that his ancestors were local nobles. He simply refuses to be interviewed by us, and so do his family members,” Suzuki explained.

Japan's agricultural association is no ordinary organization; it encompasses almost everything related to agriculture in the region, including the sale of agricultural products, fertilizers, agricultural loans, finance, and even the election of officials. It wields considerable power.

But when Takahashi Akio heard this, he became even more excited. Defeating a popular idol was not a big deal. What would be truly exciting was if he could get in touch with the local agricultural association in Saitama Prefecture and take down the head of the local agricultural association as well.

"Have you found any connection between their family and this matter?" Takahashi Akio asked with great interest.

Saburo Suzuki knew exactly what Akio Takahashi meant, and he quickly said, "Editor-in-chief, this matter has nothing to do with the Kimura family."

Although Kimura Hiroshi was very withdrawn at school and had delinquent tendencies, he consistently ranked among the top three in his class and had a good chance of getting into Waseda University. His father hoped that he would go to university and pursue a career in politics.

But he suddenly dropped out of high school this year, saying he was going to try his luck in Tokyo. Because of this, his family practically cut off all contact with him, and they haven't had any communication since. This is common knowledge in the area.

Hearing this answer, Takahashi Akio was somewhat disappointed. Unlike other magazines that like to fabricate scandals about celebrities, Weekly Bunshun demands truthfulness. Readers buy their magazines because they are truthful. If they also make things up, then they are no different from other magazines. Once their credibility is gone, then readers will definitely stop buying their magazines.

So it was impossible for Takahashi Akio to create a big news story. He could only say, "Then let's publish the investigative report as is. Well, as Thursday's headline, there haven't been any big news stories in the entertainment industry lately, so I think readers will like this. As for your bonuses, let's stick to the usual rules."

"Hi, thank you so much, editor-in-chief." Both of them were very happy. The bonus from Weekly Bunshun was quite substantial, so this hard-working business trip was definitely worth it.

Although sales were poor in the first week, Hiroshi Kimura did not increase his appearances on television to promote the product. He continued to carry out his activities according to the original promotional plan. Sales dropped slightly in the second week, but still reached 220,000 copies. Seeing this data, Ken-On breathed a sigh of relief. Sales of nearly 500,000 copies in two weeks meant that reaching one million should not be a problem.

With Hiroshi Kimura topping the charts again for the second week, the number of media outlets that had previously criticized him has decreased significantly. After all, they know that continuing to predict his downfall with such sales figures is simply treating people like fools, since most normal people don't like reading fabricated stories.

"Ha, these guys have finally shut up. It was really annoying to watch them talk for a whole week." Yukio Tomioka was in a much better mood and looked quite pleased to see the reports about the decline of Hiroshi Kimura.

Kimura Hiroshi takes these things in stride. That's just how the entertainment media is in the world. You can't do anything about them. If you get angry, you'll only suffer yourself. It's better to just let it be.

"By the way, Kimura-san, there are several award ceremonies coming up, and the agency wants you to attend." Yukio Tomioka knew that Hiroshi Kimura wasn't particularly interested in these so-called awards, but they were very important to the agency, so he wanted to persuade him to go.

As the year draws to a close, various television stations begin announcing their awards, and artists frequently visit different stations to attend various award ceremonies. What should be a time for people to relax has become their busiest time.

Many of these awards are created by television stations to enhance their influence, but some are relatively authoritative, such as the Record Awards and the Song Festival. However, they are only relatively authoritative, and it is not uncommon for people to bribe judges or win awards through other means.

So Kimura Hiroshi wasn't interested in these so-called awards, but it didn't seem right to refuse them outright. After all, a complete rejection would be disrespectful to the TV station. So he said, "I'll go to a few, but I won't go to any that have no value. That would be a waste of my time."

"That's great, Kimura-san. Don't worry, I won't let you go to those messy award ceremonies. I don't want to waste your time. I'll go and take care of this now." Upon hearing Kimura Hiroshi's agreement, Tomioka Yukio immediately went to make arrangements.

"Sigh, it seems the filming will be delayed again. Neither of the two leads has had time to film. I wonder how angry Takeshi Kitano will be." Kimura Hiroshi found it somewhat amusing to think about Takeshi Kitano's furious reaction.

Chapter Sixty: A Huge Uproar

On Thursday, the latest issue of Weekly Bunshun began being sent to subscribers. As a bestselling magazine, Weekly Bunshun has over 400,000 subscribers, plus hundreds of thousands of retail customers, since not everyone is willing to subscribe continuously.

In the early morning, magazines were delivered to subscribers' homes, and some were placed on the shelves of newsstands.

"Ah, there haven't been any exciting news stories in the last two months. This Bunshun magazine is really no good. Let's not subscribe next year. We'll buy it again when there's exciting news." The husband said somewhat dissatisfiedly as he saw his wife bring the latest issue of the magazine from the door.

As a housewife, my wife's favorite thing to read is gossip magazines. There's no way around it; she spends her days cleaning, cooking, and taking the kids to school, so her free time is fragmented. Reading gossip magazines is a rare form of entertainment for her. Even he often flips through them. But lately, the gossip has been rather boring, just so-and-so's scandals.

But his wife seemed not to hear him, staring intently at the magazine, as if she had discovered some important gossip. This piqued the husband's interest, and disregarding his image as the head of the household, he leaned over and took a look.

The magazine's headline read, "A Prodigy at Writing? He Can't Write Anything!"

Below the large title is a photo taken during Hiroshi Kimura's performance; it goes without saying who this prodigy is.

The magazine included the entire investigation report by Saburo Suzuki and Eri Higashi, which almost completely exposed Hiroshi Kimura's life from elementary school onwards.

The key point is that he only started learning to sing at the age of fifteen, which means he has only been learning to sing for a little over a year. As for songwriting, he has never studied it, and there is no evidence to suggest that he studied it before he came to Tokyo to debut.

Is it reasonable for a teenager who has never studied songwriting to suddenly write three hit singles?

Moreover, the magazine didn't stop there. It also dug up Kimura Hiroshi's private life from elementary school onwards, saying that he was withdrawn from a young age and was not as sunny as he appeared on stage. He even had tendencies towards being a delinquent. The magazine even provided a photo of Kimura Hiroshi during his "punk" period, which is very different from his current appearance.

"Ah, isn't this that hottest male idol lately? Saki, you even bought his record. So this is what kind of person this boy is. He actually had someone else write his songs. That's outrageous!" the male homeowner said angrily. He had previously praised the boy's talent to his wife, but it turned out to be a lie.

His wife, Saki, slammed the magazine shut, her breathing uneven. "It's impossible. How could a seventeen-year-old do something like that? The agency must have forced him."

The male homeowner was stunned. The agency needed this guy named Kimura Hiroshi to cooperate with their coercion. This kid was clearly not a good person either.

Such explosive news spread rapidly after the magazine was released, causing a huge uproar. It is worth noting that Hiroshi Kimura debuted as a phenomenal male idol with extremely high popularity. Now, this male idol, who has only been in the industry for half a year, has been exposed for having his songs ghostwritten. It is easy to imagine what kind of storm this will cause.

The entertainment industry, the media, fans, and the general public were all drawn to it, and this issue of Weekly Bunshun sold out in the morning.

Ken-On's phone was inundated with calls from numerous media outlets and fans, all asking what had happened and whether Kimura Hiroshi would publicly respond to the matter.

In order to capture the first wave of viewership, some TV stations even rushed to broadcast this incident, simply airing the investigative report from Weekly Bunshun, which was considered a report in itself.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, throwing the entire Ken-On, including Warner Pioneer, into chaos. Kimura Hiroshi, who had already boarded his car that morning to go for a magazine interview, was stopped and brought back by Hanami Kagami's men, and all of his activities for the day were canceled.

Just a few days after the meeting, Kimura Hiroshi was summoned to the conference room again. Everyone looked solemn, and even Warner sent people to deal with this major event.

However, to determine how to respond, we must first clarify one thing: whether the Weekly Bunshun's investigation report is actually true.

"Kimura-san, did you really not study song composition when you were in your hometown?" Hanami asked very seriously.

Holding the weekly Bunshun magazine in his hand, Hiroshi Kimura was engrossed in reading it. He truly admired these Japanese entertainment reporters; they were even able to find his elementary school classmates and teachers. It was truly remarkable how they investigated so thoroughly.

Upon hearing Hanami He's question, Kimura Hiroshi nodded. "Their investigation indeed found no problems. I didn't learn anything about songwriting back in my hometown."

The admission was a devastating blow to everyone present. Didn't that mean that Hiroshi Kimura had indeed lied to them, and that his songs were all ghostwritten? This would be an absolutely huge scandal. Not only would Hiroshi Kimura be ruined, but Ken-On and Warner Music would likely be deeply embroiled in the scandal and unable to extricate themselves.

"You, you idiot, Kimura-san, do you know what you're saying?" Hanami Kagami rarely lost his temper in front of Kimura Hiroshi, even swearing.

"You studied songwriting, and you wrote all those songs yourself, understand? This investigation report is all fake," Hanami He said, almost frantically.

His meaning was clear: he absolutely could not admit that Kimura Hiroshi and Kenon were now completely bound together, so no matter what the facts were, he could not admit that the investigation report was fake.

Everyone present was a seasoned veteran, and they all understood the intricacies of the situation. Yukio Tomioka also spoke up, "Kimura-san, if this matter is not handled properly, Ken-On might be blacklisted by the entertainment industry, so please be careful with your words and actions."

Denying it to the death is one option, but they've already investigated so thoroughly. Denying it to the death is probably useless. They've laid out all the evidence; what's the point of denying it?

"It's a fact, why deny it? Let's just tell everyone directly. How about we hold a press conference in two days? I'll explain this matter in person to avoid similar trouble in the future. It would be best to invite a few important figures to be witnesses," Kimura Hiroshi said casually.

His nonchalant attitude only made Hanami Kagami even angrier. Even Tomioka Yukio thought he must be crazy. Holding a press conference at this time would show the reporters what it means to be utterly disgraced on the spot.

"Kimura-san, do you know what you're saying? Can you really explain this kind of thing at a press conference? It will only put you in a more passive position. What you need to do now is not to say anything and let us handle it." Hanami Kagami was planning to sideline Kimura Hiroshi for a while.

“Yes, Kimura-san, didn’t you say before that clarifying things is the worst approach? Also, can you calm down the person who wrote the song for you? If he speaks up, then there’s really no way to turn things around.” Terabayashi Akira, who had been silent until now, also came out to persuade Kimura Hiroshi.

Seeing their nervous expressions, Kimura Hiroshi knew that this matter had a huge impact on them, and he had to reassure them. "Terabayashi-san, I wrote the song. Although I didn't learn from anyone back in my hometown, there's no such thing as someone who wrote it for me."

"President, the press conference is a must. Those people say I can't write, so let me write it right here. I've accomplished something they said I could never do, so what else can they say? Oh, and it would be best if my fans could come too, so they can see for themselves that their idol isn't as bad as they think."

"You... you really can write songs?" Hanami He asked, his eyes wide, wanting to confirm.

"Yes, I know how. I taught myself," Kimura Hiroshi said casually.

Tomioka had heard him give that answer before. The last time he said that he had also taught himself Mandarin, it left him a little bewildered. "Are you really that talented?"

Chapter 61 Nakamori Akina's Worries

As the year draws to a close, celebrities become even busier. Various TV stations like to invite popular celebrities to participate in their year-end events in order to showcase the station's strength to the audience and also hope to boost ratings through popular celebrities.

Among the many programs, NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen is the most unique. It doesn't invite popular artists to participate; instead, popular artists are scrambling to get on the show.

The Red and White Song Festival, a large-scale music program that has been broadcast since the 1950s, lasts for four hours and has a viewership rating of over 80%. It is very similar to the Spring Festival Gala of that era. If you are not popular, you have no chance to appear on this program.

Many singers consider it an honor to appear on this show, because it signifies that you are popular enough in the entertainment industry that year and is an affirmation of your professional abilities.

Its format is very similar to a singing competition, with male singers forming the red team and female singers forming the white team. The two teams compete against each other, and then a winner is selected.

Akina Nakamori, who released three singles and two albums this year, all of which sold over 400,000 copies, has been invited by NHK for the first time to perform her latest single, "Forbidden Zone." She is currently at the TV station for her first rehearsal.