My daily life with the original diva

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Trying to Steal Someone's Job

"I'm back here again, Night HIT." Looking at the familiar backstage area, Hiroshi Kimura couldn't help but exclaim. Having been here so many times, he knew the place like the back of his hand. He even recognized many of the staff members, and could even name a few of them.

In this era, becoming a singer means watching Night HIT, a TV show you can't avoid. Since its debut in the 1960s, it has maintained extremely high ratings, and it still maintains around 40% annually, which is no easy feat.

Super senior artists such as Hibari Misora ​​and Yosui Inoue, senior artist Momoe Yamaguchi who retired a few years ago, and current artists such as Takashi Hosokawa, Hiroshi Itsuki, Seiko Matsuda, and Akina Nakamori are all frequent guests on this show. Almost every time they release a new song, the first program they choose to promote it is Night HIT.

Even foreign celebrities would appear on this show, including Jackie Chan, Teresa Teng, and John Lone, who played the last emperor in the series a few years later, all of whom promoted their careers on the show.

Of course, it's not easy for so many famous people to appear on TV shows. Either you're famous enough, or your agency has a lot of influence. Back then, Akina Nakamori only had the opportunity to appear on this show for the first time because she became popular again with Girl A. And she only appeared once. She became a regular guest after she continued to become popular.

However, for now, Hiroshi Kimura and Akina Nakamori can practically get on the show whenever they want, because they are popular enough that they only need to arrange their appearance time in advance.

When he arrived backstage at the show, he saw almost everyone he knew. Many people came up to greet him. It wasn't just because he was the most popular male idol singer, but also because he wrote and sang his own songs, which was quite unusual. Creators have a very high social status in Japan, much higher than singers.

He responded to each question, then found a seat and sat down. He didn't do much else, quietly flipping through a magazine while waiting for the rehearsal before the actual performance.

It's really hard to find true friends in the entertainment industry. When you're popular, everyone flatters you, but when you fall to the bottom, they'll quickly distance themselves from you. Anyone who doesn't kick you while you're down is a good person.

Therefore, Hiroshi Kimura adopts a strategy of casual acquaintances. He has no problem chatting casually or even inviting people to ordinary gatherings, but he can't bring himself to say anything more, and he's too lazy to spend the energy to maintain so-called friendships.

But if he doesn't go looking for others, someone will naturally come looking for him. He hadn't been sitting there for long when he felt someone coming over. He looked up and saw it was Matsuda Seiko. This startled Kimura Hiroshi. Was this woman going to come and say she wanted to have a deeper conversation with him again?

He couldn't do it. It was rumored in later generations that Matsuda Seiko had some sadistic tendencies and liked to play sadistic games in certain things. She was even sued by her foreign coach for this. Of course, the truth is unknown, but Kimura Hiroshi didn't dare to take the risk. He didn't have any masochistic tendencies. He was afraid of being beaten.

Today, Seiko Matsuda was dressed very elegantly, and even her signature Seiko hairstyle was changed to a short bob that reached her ears. The reason for doing this was that too many idols imitated her hairstyle, leading to aesthetic fatigue among the public, so she made a change in an effort to differentiate herself.

She has a sweet appearance, and her smile is like a gentle breeze, making it impossible for anyone to feel any ill will towards her. However, Hiroshi Kimura is well aware of her later behavior and knows that it is impossible to be deceived by her appearance.

She found a chair next to him and sat down, speaking to him casually as if they were old friends. "I heard that Mr. Kimura has a new single to release?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Ms. Matsuda. The single has just been completed, and I've come here to promote it." Kimura Hiroshi didn't deliberately remain silent; there were many people around, and he felt that if he didn't reply to her, she might do something drastic.

Don't underestimate Seiko Matsuda. Although she may be a bit of a playboy, she is definitely one of the best in the entertainment industry. Her professional skills are undeniable, and she is also very bold. She is one of the few who dares to confront entertainment reporters face to face. Her art of speaking is superb, far superior to Hiroshi Kimura's bluntness.

That toughness hasn't affected her sweet idol image in the public eye; just thinking about it tells you how formidable this woman is.

"Ah, congratulations then! Is it still rock style? I've been very interested in rock lately. I wonder if Mr. Kimura has time to teach me?" Seiko Matsuda asked casually.

Damn, what kind of nonsense is this? As one of the top female idols right now, if she wanted to learn rock music, she could find a master to teach her anywhere. Why would she choose to find a boy who is about to turn eighteen? That's just too ridiculous.

"She must have ill intentions," Kimura Hiroshi quietly moved his chair further away before saying, "If Miss Matsuda wants to learn, there are plenty of teachers. What is it that you want to talk about, Miss Matsuda?"

As long as it's not about lusting after his body, Kimura Hiroshi wouldn't mind helping with other things. Of course, it would be best if he could get money in return, that would be the most ideal thing.

Seemingly disliking such roundabout methods, Seiko Matsuda finally stated her purpose: "Alright then, on behalf of the agency, I'd like to ask, what is the duration of Mr. Kimura's contract with Ken-On?"

So that's what it was about. Kimura Hiroshi breathed a sigh of relief. Asking him how many years left on his contract was a euphemism for asking if he had any plans to switch jobs.

After his single and album both sold over a million copies, Hiroshi Kimura knew that agencies would definitely want to poach him. At the time, those agencies might have had some reservations, but since last year's press conference, their reservations have probably diminished considerably.

Because Hiroshi Kimura is not just an idol, he is also a creator. Even if he doesn't become popular in the future, he can still provide works, which is already very good. It is rare to find an excellent creator.

Kimura Hiroshi didn't expect that the first person to do this in front of him would be Sun Music, the company of Matsuda Seiko.

This is a large agency with far more resources than Ken-On. They are also very good at cultivating idols. Previously, they had Kensaku Morita, Junko Sakurada, and now Seiko Matsuda. In the future, they will have Yukiko Okada, Noriko Sakai, and many others.

The fact that the other party even sent Seiko Matsuda to talk to him shows that they are very sincere, considering that Seiko Matsuda has a high status in Sun Music.

"I heard that Mr. Kimura even funded his own film project. It seems Ken-On doesn't value him that much. If possible, our president would like to speak with Mr. Kimura anytime," Seiko Matsuda continued, seeing that Hiroshi Kimura remained silent.

The president personally spoke with him, which showed considerable sincerity, but Kimura Hiroshi has no intention of changing agencies at all. It seems that the other party still doesn't understand him well enough.

"If Mr. Kimura is willing, then we can guarantee that the treatment we can offer will satisfy you." As she spoke, Matsuda Seiko moved very close to him again, and one of her hands was already on Kimura Hiroshi's thigh, tapping two fingers there.

At this moment, Kimura Hiroshi was dumbfounded. He never expected that Matsuda Seiko would be so bold. There were people all around, and she dared to harass him like this in person while talking to him. What would happen if she went to Sun Music?

Startled, he stood up abruptly from his chair and said, "I have other matters to attend to, please excuse me, Ms. Matsuda."

After saying that, he ran away in a flash. It was too terrifying. Women are indeed more terrifying than men when they get lustful. Staying away from this woman was definitely the right decision. He made up his mind that he would never be alone with Matsuda Seiko again.

Watching Kimura Hiroshi flee in a flash, Matsuda Seiko was stunned, then suddenly chuckled, "This is quite interesting, kid. I'll take you down."

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Composition of the Fan Base

Rehearsals and performances are already second nature to Hiroshi Kimura. He is also familiar with the two hosts, Jun Inoue and Mari Yoshimura. Today, he brought gifts because they will be promoting his new single and the magazine that will be released with it. The two hosts will be introducing it to him, and giving a gift as a token of gratitude is a common practice in the entertainment industry.

The two hosts were very friendly to him, especially the female host, Yoshimura Mari, who took great care of him. It wasn't because she had a crush on Kimura Hiroshi, but because she greatly admired Nakamori Akina. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was a fan of Akina. As Nakamori Akina's junior colleague, Kimura Hiroshi naturally took good care of her.

During prime time in the evening, the program started on time. Hiroshi Kimura performed his new single "Until the End of the World" for the first time and introduced his first officially released photo magazine. With the help of the two hosts, these things were quite easy for him.

There was one downside: he always felt that Matsuda Seiko was looking at him with a strange gaze, like prey being watched. He rarely saw that kind of look from a woman, but when he looked at her, Matsuda Seiko seemed perfectly normal, making Kimura Hiroshi feel extremely uncomfortable.

When the show ended, some newcomers wanted to invite these male and female idol singers to a dinner party, but Kimura Hiroshi declined, citing other commitments, and ran away. He didn't want to go; who knows what might happen?

On the way back, Hiroshi Kimura and Yukio Tomioka made a request: he would absolutely not participate in any programs featuring Seiko Matsuda in the future. He figured if he couldn't afford to offend her, he could at least avoid her.

Although he was very curious about the reason, Yukio Tomioka chose not to ask, because if Hiroshi Kimura was unwilling to say, he wouldn't be able to get the answer even if he wanted to.

The next few days were the routine of participating in shows to promote his single. These were his most frequent television appearances after disappearing from television programs for almost two months.

This has become a feast for Kimura Hiroshi's fans and music lovers, because Kimura Hiroshi only makes frequent appearances when a new single is released. He is rarely seen on television programs at other times, which makes many people who want to follow him cherish the programs he appears on, thus boosting the ratings of these programs.

Don't underestimate this small segment. The competition among TV stations is fierce these days. To improve the ratings by even a tiny bit, TV program producers are working themselves to the bone, racking their brains but still unable to do anything. But all they need to do is invite Hiroshi Kimura to do it. How could TV programs not want him on?

"Yumi, Yumi, I heard you got an invitation to be an audience member at Young Studio tomorrow, is that true?" Yumi's classmate asked curiously.

Yumi pulled an invitation ticket out of her bag and said proudly, "Of course it's real! And it's a front-row seat! I heard there will be an interactive session after the show, and maybe I can shake hands with Kimura-chan and receive a gift from us."

"Ah, I'm so envious of you! Waaah, why can't I get one? I'm going to call the production team and ask them to give me one whenever Kimura-san participates in the future," the classmate said enviously.

Their conversation immediately attracted the attention of more than a dozen female classmates around them. Some of them were fans of Hiroshi Kimura, while others liked his songs. They were all very envious when they heard that Yumi Maeda could meet Hiroshi Kimura.

After showing off, Maeda Yumi didn't forget to promote Kimura Hiroshi's album: "On February 24th, Kimura-chan's new single and photo magazine will be released. Remember to buy them, and it's okay to buy more than you need, okay?"

"We know, we know! We heard that Kimura-chan's magazine shoot this time features two different styles: a handsome suit and a sunny young man. I'll definitely buy it!" The female classmates chimed in.

While the female classmates were having a great time discussing things, some of them were unhappy. These were the male classmates. Some of them liked Hiroshi Kimura, but they weren't many. Most of them had no liking for this popular male idol who had captivated the female classmates.

Because Kimura Hiroshi attracted the attention of too many female students, teenage boys also wanted to get the attention of their female classmates. However, the girls always talked about Kimura Hiroshi and would often compare him to them. Since Kimura Hiroshi was only seventeen years old, not much older than them, they would definitely lose in this comparison and might even be rolled their eyes and looked down upon by their female classmates. It would be strange if they liked Kimura Hiroshi.

Men can be jealous too. When the female classmates were talking about Hiroshi Kimura again, one of the male classmates couldn't help but speak up. One boy, who was usually very active and knew a lot about music, sneered and said, "These shallow girls only talk about a packaged idol. This time he sang the same old song he sang when he debuted. I guess it won't be long before his popularity drops and he becomes completely washed up."

He spoke quite loudly, and everyone in the classroom heard him. Even Sachiko Kamachi, who had been reading a book, looked up at him.

Seeing that he had attracted so much attention in the class, the boy felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and continued, "This Kimura guy tried to change his style in his previous song, but it didn't work out, so he immediately went back to his original style. Ha, he's really cowardly and incompetent."

He got more and more excited as he spoke, which angered Maeda Yumi, who was the class's biggest Kimura fan. She walked up to the boy and pointed at him, saying, "Sakamoto, you're just jealous of Kimura-chan. All boys are like that. You get jealous when someone is outstanding. That's why Kimura-chan doesn't want to study even though she gets good grades, just to avoid people like you."

Previously, the weekly magazine Bunshun exposed that Hiroshi Kimura was withdrawn and had bad tendencies at school. Later, Kimura himself said that he had good grades and that he only became a bad student for certain reasons, which led him to drop out of school.

The public was very curious about the reason. Last year, an entertainment reporter went to investigate and found that, just as Kimura Hiroshi said, his academic performance had consistently ranked in the top three of his grade, and often even first. Getting into a good university would not have been a problem for him.

But he was not only academically gifted, but also exceptionally handsome, which attracted the attention of many girls. He received numerous love letters every day, but this also made him increasingly lonely, because no boy wanted to be a supporting character in his life.

In Japanese schools, such people are easily bullied because they are not sociable and are outstanding, making them prime targets. As a result, Kimura Hiroshi wanted to integrate into the group of delinquents to gain protection, but he was still the one who attracted the most attention from girls in the group, so he was also unpopular.

This caused Kimura Hiroshi to hate school more and more, eventually leading to his dropping out. The letter of complaint he sent to Weekly Bunshun was written by one of the boys who had bullied him at school.

Such reports have made even more female fans feel sorry for their Kimura-chan. Now that Sakamoto is attacking Kimura Hiroshi, Maeda Yumi instinctively thinks of this incident, realizing that he is jealous of her favorite Kimura-chan.

Sakamoto was indeed jealous of Kimura Hiroshi, but how could he admit it? When Maeda Yumi exposed him, his face turned red, and he said with a stiff neck, "I'm right, he's just a coward and incompetent man, always doing the same old thing, and he'll be outdated soon."

He completely ignored Maeda Yumi's words and kept saying the same thing, which made Yumi very angry. Although she liked Kimura Hiroshi, she didn't actually understand music. She wanted to refute him but didn't know how to say it. Suddenly, she thought of her best friend, Kamachi Sachiko. She used to be a guitarist and had even sung with Kimura. She must know.

So she rushed over to Sachiko Kamachi and asked, "Sachiko-chan, you should know about music, right? Tell everyone, is Kimura-chan's song the same old thing?"

She felt that her best friend was a bit of a jerk, and coming to ask her for advice at this time would only make her offend people. But seeing how anxious her best friend looked, she couldn't side with outsiders.

Sachiko Kamachi stood up and said, "Although Mr. Kimura's new single is in the same style as his debut song, this song, 'Until the End of the World,' has a more profound theme and a better musical style. It combines rock and pop music more perfectly. I have never seen anyone write a song like this at the age of seventeen. At least I certainly couldn't do it. I think you, Sakamoto, couldn't do it either, could you?"

"Yeah, Sakamoto, can you do it? How about we learn from Kimura-chan and compose on the spot? If you can do it, I'll admit you're right." With her best friend's support, Yumi suddenly turned the tables and asked Sakamoto with great pride, as if she could do it herself.

His face turned even redder, but it was impossible for him to admit defeat in front of his female classmates. He could only bite the bullet and say, "No matter what you say, it's all the same style. He's just not good enough. He's about to be washed up."

After saying that, he didn't dare stay in the classroom and quickly ran out because it was so embarrassing.

As he ran out of the classroom, a dozen or so girls inside erupted in cheers, believing they had won and protected their beloved Kimura-chan.

Meanwhile, Sachiko Kamachi was thinking that although Hiroshi Kimura was a bit lewd, his singing was impeccable. If he really went back to his old style because his previous song's transformation wasn't very successful, then he would really be out of fashion in less than two years.

It's well known that the Japanese are truly unique in the world for their fickle nature. Once they get tired of something, they'll immediately discard it without any lingering attachment. They always crave the new.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: I Really Want to Go to Their Door and Beat Them Up

"These guys are spouting nonsense again. It's really annoying. I really want to go to their homes, beat them all up, and make them kneel down and apologize to me." Kimura Hiroshi said jokingly, looking at some recent media reports about his new single, but his eyes didn't seem to be joking.

The new single, "Until the End of the World," has been released and has been promoted for almost ten days. It's generating a lot of buzz and has already risen to second place on the limited song request chart.

Although it's not as good as his debut single and his first album, his current achievements are still unmatched by any other artist who released a new single around the same time, and even better than his previous single, Gaining Through Losing.

However, his first single of the year reverted to his original style, giving some media outlets another opportunity to attack him. They said he had failed to transform and could only rely on his past successes, and that his debut single was even less successful, suggesting his career was over.

He had previously reached a settlement with some major media outlets, but there were still many entertainment media outlets he had no intention of settling with, because these guys were the worst at spreading rumors and then stubbornly denying them afterwards. They didn't even provide neutral coverage of the clarification press conference, so he had no reason to settle with them.

As relations between the two sides continued to deteriorate, these media outlets naturally had nothing good to say. This time, they were still very vocal, as if they had seen an opportunity and wanted to use their media influence to really ruin Kimura Hiroshi's career.

These media outlets always love to spread nonsense. Everyone has a temper, and although Kimura Hiroshi spoke lightly, he actually really wanted to go and beat someone up, because sometimes violence is the best way to solve problems.

At this point, they had finished their final promotional activities before the release of their new single and were driving back to their agency from the Young Studio program. Yukio Tomioka, sitting next to him, dared not take his words as just a joke.

He quickly advised, "Calm down, Kimura-san. There are at least dozens of media outlets saying this. Are you going to call them one by one? You can't fight them all. Let's just focus on doing our own thing."

“Let’s pick the one who said the most offensive thing and beat them all half to death. Then the others won’t dare to speak up. In Chinese terms, it’s like killing a chicken to scare the monkeys,” Kimura Hiroshi said with continued interest.

Unable to refute, Yukio Tomioka could only say, "Then I will visit you at the reformatory. I hope that some of the delinquent girls there will be your fans and listen to your songs."

Reformatory is where juvenile offenders are detained in Japan. Compared to prison, they provide education and training, since these people will eventually be sent back to society. However, they are unlikely to learn anything good there, as they contain all sorts of juvenile offenders. It is easier for them to go astray than to learn good.

A small act of impatience can ruin a big plan. If he ends up in a reformatory, how can he achieve his financial freedom goals? He has no choice but to endure it. "Alright, let's give them a break for now. By the way, how's the new single being received? Have you done any market research?"

Having finally abandoned his idea of ​​going to someone's house to beat them up, Yukio Tomioka breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, so far, it's quite good, especially among working adults. The song is highly praised, and professional music media have also given it high scores."

As for market research, it seems to be similar to "Gaining Through Losing," but many students don't seem to be buying it, finding the song too somber and not particularly appealing—except, of course, for your fans and admirers.

Surprisingly, this song, once considered a classic by countless young basketball players, is not liked by the students at the school. Kimura Hiroshi lamented that times have changed, and so have the feelings about the song.

Although Japanese students may encounter various problems, they are generally positive and optimistic. They are full of hope for the future, and they can find jobs after graduation with decent salaries, allowing them to live a relatively high-quality life.

In contrast, older office workers and those who have worked for a few years can feel the cruelty and hardship of the world, and they are more able to understand the mood of this song. It's like if you let someone in love listen to a sad love song, they won't like it and might even curse you, but someone who has just broken up with their partner might cry their eyes out.

"In the next year or two, even working people probably won't want to listen to this kind of song anymore," Kimura Hiroshi muttered to himself. In two years, the bubble economy would arrive, and the entire nation of Japan would be in a frenzy of asset appreciation. Who would want to listen to such somber songs? They would all be in love and need extravagant, cheerful, and upbeat songs.