Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

When a first-line singer's new song release conference comes around, they always want to tout the singer's previous achievements a hundred times, then go on to wax wildly sentimental about the difficulty of creating a song and the years of struggle, then sing a few classic hits to warm up the audience, find a few artists from the same company to stand on the stage, and even have a sponsor-sponsored segment before finally making the long-awaited appearance to sing the new song.

But on Yayoi Tsuki's side, there was no choreography, no guests, no warm-up songs, and even the live accompaniment only had one keyboard player...

Although she had unprecedented "omni-channel broadcasting" resources, she was so eccentric that she didn't even have an opening statement and just sang the new song directly without any foreplay.

Then, he also announced negative news such as "indefinite termination of activities".

It felt like spending a large sum of money to book all the bubble bath shops in Yoshiwara and booking the best group of masseurs, only to find that the battle was over in three minutes.

"By the way, what stage is the new song release conference of Tiedao AK at?"

After being stunned for a while, one of the representatives asked in an obscure voice.

"Currently, the sixth member's personal introduction PV is still being played... According to the process, it is expected to be another hour before the new song starts..."

Glancing at another screen, which was showing the live broadcast of "铁道AK"'s new song release conference, the staff member next to him answered with a stutter.

"Director Akimoto, should we ask them to speed up the process..."

The representative carefully asked Manjiro Akimoto for advice.

"Director Akimoto?!"

But it was discovered that this serious "girl group founder" had already burst into tears without her noticing.

"It's okay, it just made me emotional."

"There's no need to speed up the process. Let them proceed as usual. Slowing down and staggering the competition period may be a good thing."

Manjiro Akimoto wiped away his tears with paper and shook his head helplessly.

“This song, “I Once Thought of Ending It All,” is indeed an excellent piece of work, and Yayoi Tsuki’s passionate singing is also very touching.”

As a senior lyricist, Manjiro Akimoto gave a fair evaluation.

"This 'Xia Fan's' music production level doesn't seem like a newcomer at all. Has the company investigated? If he is really a newcomer, with such a high level of production and such high productivity, why don't they find a way to poach him?"

He leaned close to the ear of a familiar representative and whispered a question.

"Company B is keeping the information about 'Down to Earth' very secret. Our informant is not from the music department and his rank is not high enough, so we haven't gained anything yet."

"I heard that the company here is already looking for 'professionals' to find a way to investigate."

The representative shrugged.

"In short, whether it's the popularity of this press conference or the quality of the song, 'You Are My Favorite' has completely lost."

"Yayoi Tsuki's announcement of an indefinite suspension of activities may be negative news for her, but not for this song."

"It would be best if her hearing could be cured. Otherwise, this song 'I Once Thought of Ending It All' might become an unsurpassed masterpiece..."

Akimoto Manjiro quickly calmed down and returned to his meticulous self.

The song "I Once Thought About Ending It All" has impeccable production standards. Although the overall tone is somewhat "sad", it carries the powerful spiritual core of "living towards death" from beginning to end. When sung by top singer Yayoi Tsuki, who has similar experiences, it reaches a height that is difficult to surpass.

What is even more surprising is that the live performance at this song release conference itself was the best weapon to fight back against the "deaf" public opinion...

But at the end of the press conference, Yayoi Tsuki frankly admitted the fact that she had "hearing loss" and announced the breaking news that she would "suspend her music activities indefinitely."

This is equivalent to sacrificing one's own career to elevate this song to the next level.

Manjiro Akimoto could imagine that the headlines of major media outlets would soon be flooded with reports about the song "I Once Thought About Ending It All" and the news that Yayoi Moon would be suspending her activities.

This reminded him of the painful memory of the summer when he was seventeen years old, when he had just put the coin in the fighting machine and just as he grasped the joystick, his opponent knocked him out with three ultimate moves.

"However, we didn't intend to compete with her in terms of song quality. The huge sales brought by the fan base is the basis for the establishment of the "Railway AK" project."

"The ultimate winner or loser does not come from this press conference, but from the subsequent sales."

Although his song was not as good as others, Manjiro Akimoto did not intend to admit defeat and continued to watch the new song release conference of "Tetsudo AK" quietly.

……

"How was it? My performance just now must have moved you to the point of tears. You didn't even dare to take off your sunglasses."

On the stage after the new song release conference, Yayoi Yue had tears on her face, but she looked completely relaxed and playfully took off Xia Fan's sunglasses.

"This live version feels better than the recorded version. However, if there was one thing that made me cry, it was definitely because of you stepping on me."

Xia Fan, with red eyes, smiled bitterly as he looked at his even redder instep.

"It's your honor to be stepped on by me. I can understand if you don't wash your feet for a week and lick them every day when you go back."

Yayoi Tsuki gave him a charming look.

During the performance just now, the two of them maintained a state of sensory sharing throughout the entire process. Not only did the accompaniment and the singing blend perfectly, but they also produced a kind of mysterious resonance in emotions.

While she was singing, she already sensed that Xia Fan was crying along with her.

"Thank you for your hard work, you two."

"This song will be officially released online in one hour. Starting tomorrow, it will be played continuously in all possible channels, time periods and places, striving to completely clear the curse of the manual."

Aoi Jinguji and Inspector Higurashi walked onto the stage and nodded in thanks to the two.

"This time, we must completely purify the curse of the manual."

Looking at the "live audience" who had completely regained their consciousness to survive because of the effectiveness of the "sacrificial song", Xia Fan clenched his fists excitedly.

"No need to thank me, after all, I almost fell victim to that curse. I can do my part and use official resources to promote my song, so why not?"

Yayoi Tsuki put on her hearing aid, took out her makeup mirror, and started to touch up her makeup which was a mess from crying.

"Ms. Yayoi, regarding your 'deafness', our class 9 also helped to do some research."

"According to the registration information, your half-demon bloodline should be from the 'white fox' clan. It is said that the white fox was once the retainer and messenger of the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. There may be a method left by the white fox clan to control the blood talent..."

"This is the business card of the chief priest Wang Ren of Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto. We have already informed him. You can go there on your own when you have time. Perhaps you will gain something."

Aoi Jinguji walked up to Yayoi Tsuki and handed her a business card.

"Fushimi Inari Taisha..."

"Got it. I'll find time to visit you."

Taking it with both hands, looking at the business card in her hand, Yayoi Tsuki's pupils trembled slightly, and she nodded to Jinguji Aoi in thanks.

"That's great, Miss Yayoi."

Xia Fan next to him also smiled with relief.

If there is a way to control this pair of fox ears made of demonic power, it means that Yayoi Tsuki's hearing may be restored to normal and her career can be reborn.

Chapter 163 The So-called "Idol"

2024-07-13

"Advisor Xia Fan, the loading and unloading truck is outside... Should this electronic keyboard be placed in Lesson 9, or should it be shipped somewhere else?"

An agent who was cleaning up the stage ran over to ask Xia Fan.

"Sorry, I need it for a singing competition someday. Please help me transport it back to my apartment. By the way, when you transport it, please pack a few more things together..."

Xia Fan quickly packed up the audio equipment, carefully pushed the electronic keyboard, and followed the agent off the stage.

"Miss Yayoi's charming voice is truly touching. Even the songwriter Xia Jun's eyes were swollen after listening to it."

Aoi Jinguji, who remained on the stage, suddenly became inspired and sighed softly.

"My singing can only guide people to listen more attentively, but it cannot turn a bad song into a good one. In the final analysis, it is his work itself that is excellent, and the emotions it contains are real and delicate, touching people's hearts..."

"He's only 19 years old. I don't know how he could write such a gloomy, depressed, yet extremely strong song."

"Moreover, pop songs can actually have a similar effect to the purification spell..."

Speaking of this topic, Yayoi Tsuki also felt a little emotional.

While singing, she felt from Xia Fan's side the same feeling as the song's, a strong desire for light while being in darkness.

Under the influence of such emotions, her singing just now was more explosive compared to the studio version.

"Perhaps, Xia Fan himself has always been in the darkness of despair."

“Even though I can’t see the light, I still try my best to illuminate others.”

Aoi Jinguji stared blankly at Xia Fan's busy back, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What the witch said made it sound like Xia Fan had a terminal illness and didn't have much time left."

Yayoi Tsuki seemed to notice something and glanced at her suspiciously.

"If Xia Fan got a terminal illness, would you still like him?"

Jinguji Aoi murmured in an almost inaudible voice.

"How could I possibly like this kind of perversion..."

"Wait, what are you talking about, Xia Fan..."

This unexpected question made Yayoi Tsuki's face slightly red. She subconsciously wanted to deny it, but the words froze at her lips.

"It was just a joke, don't take it seriously. The song just now was so beautiful that I was talking nonsense because of my emotions."

Before she could absorb the excessive amount of information in that sentence, Jinguji Aoi had already left.

……

That night, the press conferences for "I Once Thought About Ending It All" and "You Are the One I Love the Most" came to an end one after another.

However, the office area of ​​the "Railway AK Production Committee" in Chiyoda Ward is still brightly lit.

"Director Akimoto, our new song "My Favorite Is You" has been successfully released on major music platforms."

In the meeting room, the members of the committee were busy discussing the launch of the new song, subsequent promotion and other matters.

"Very good. How about 'I Once Thought of Ending It All'?"

“That song is not online yet.”

"Sure enough, from the lack of pre-heating and the overly brief press conference content, it can be seen that this new song release should be Yayoi Tsuki's personal will, which led to it being too hasty and Bethesda had no time to prepare for the follow-up work."

After listening to the report from his subordinates and confirming that his new song was online first, Manjiro Akimoto breathed a sigh of relief.

"All departments, implement the plan as soon as possible, increase publicity and promotion efforts, and let the members call on fans to buy their own 'personal limited edition' online!"

"Based on the cumulative number of purchases, TO autographed photos, handshake tickets, photo tickets, pillows and other peripherals will be given away simultaneously, and a one-to-one life-size silicone doll of the member will be the first prize of the lucky draw."

After arranging a series of "enhanced measures", Akimoto Manjiro, who was thirsty, took the time to drink a sip of coffee.

“Hey, the new song by Yayoi Tsuki and Xiafan is of great quality. But in the current music market, business strategy and control over fans are the most important factors in determining song sales.”

In his opinion, a top female singer like Yayoi Tsuki is impeccable in terms of singing skills, appearance and popularity.

And that monster new producer has come down to earth with each song being more powerful than the last, so he should not be underestimated.

But in terms of business operation model, Bethesda is still too traditional...

No matter how good a song is, no matter how much the audience praises it, or how many times they play it on repeat, when it comes to paid downloads, it will still be “1”.

But the die-hard fans of idol girl groups, under the appeal of idols and the temptation of peripheral products, have a consumption base of buying tickets starting from ten times, buying tickets fifty times is an average, and buying tickets a hundred times to participate in the lottery for the grand prize.

"In the name of 'love', with a strict hierarchy, cheap rewards and false self-admiration, they have built a high wall to maximize the consumption potential of individual fans..."

"This is what I created, the idol economy!"

Watching the number of paid downloads of "I Love You the Most" increasing rapidly like a rocket, Manjiro Akimoto held his chin with both hands and squinted his eyes with satisfaction.

"Report, Director Akimoto, 'I Once Thought of Ending It All' has been launched on the music website..."

After a while, a staff member hurried forward to report.

"Well, is it finally online? Unfortunately, it's too late..."

Akimoto Manjiro, who was calm, shook his head regretfully.

"With the sales from die-hard fans as a boost, our song will surpass 'Sakura' and top the new song chart tomorrow if we continue with this trend."

"After grabbing the head effect, relying on the qualified song quality and the style that caters to the market, it further attracts passers-by fans to form a 'snowball effect' and continuously expands sales..."

"At that time, we will use the sales data as a weapon to call on fans to seize the high ground of public opinion and nail the song's reputation to the highest point. We will take advantage of the biological inferiority of human beings to follow the crowd and trample all the 'opposing' voices into the dirt!"

"In the past two years, it was because of the internal competition between the girl groups of S and J that the fans' purchasing power was too dispersed, which gave Yayoi Tsuki an opportunity to take advantage. But this year, with the size of the fans of "Tetsudo AK", there is no way they can lose!"

"Hey hey hey hey..."

As if he had already seen the new song reach the top, one corner of his mouth tilted upwards and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.