Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 316: The beginning of the era of blind light (8k chapter)

Just as Shen Juan had expected, this Valentine's Day EP "Crush", which was mainly used to distribute benefits to fans, was limited by the melody style, fan base and production level. It did not cause discussion due to the quality of the work like the English album "Underrated" released in April last year.

Except for the early release of "Cruel Summer", the remaining seven singles did not achieve very good commercial results.

The downloads were average, the radio hit zero, and although the streaming was decent, the promotion wasn’t strong enough, and there was no MV yet.

So that's it.

Insufficient than above, more than below.

It can’t be said to be very good. With wolves in front and tigers behind, it is already very good to be able to get into the low top 100 in the first week.

But it can’t be said to be too bad. After all, love songs will always have a fixed audience, and they will provide popularity and volume for Shen Juan.

It can just serve as a middle-level structure to enrich the relatively scarce portion of serious love songs in Shen Juan's repertoire.

And thanks to the global joint promotion and operation of Douyin and Tik Tok, the latest love songs released by Shen Juan with light melodies have not only become the BGM of many short videos and vlogs, but also made "crush", a popular Internet term originally overused by female netizens, appear in front of everyone earlier than the original time and space.

Simply put, crush actually refers to a short-lived, passionate but shy feeling of love.

When you feel moved, use the word "crush" to describe this feeling or to directly refer to the object of your love.

so.
Although these songs themselves did not significantly boost Shen Juan's popularity, the album name "Crush" did, to some extent, help Shen Juan expand his popularity and influence among domestic female groups, making his value positioning even more unique.

"AirAsia contacted us and they wanted your permission to play your Valentine's Day EP on their planes."

"Like ANA's advertising song 'Flying Boat'?" Shen Juan was chewing on his breakfast, a Mexican burrito.

Yang Yang Jin shook his head, "It's just a simple broadcast."

"Then there shouldn't be any problem on my side. You guys can discuss the specific price. As long as it's not too low, I can accept it."

After all, this thing can actually play a similar role to the ground advertisement, and can increase his popularity to a certain extent.

It’s just that one uses face scan and the other uses voice scan.

The former is more direct, and appearance is an eye-catching weapon.

The latter needs to impress the passengers with his singing and make them actively search the Internet to find out who the singer is before the face recognition can be successful.

However, considering that AirAsia's passenger traffic in 2018 was an astonishing 5 million, even if not all flights play the songs in the EP when passengers board, it will still generate astonishing listening times and listeners, further expanding Shen Juan's influence in Southeast Asia.

"Then Cheng Long said that after he finishes filming 'Vanguard' in London, he will have time to come to Los Angeles to star in your MV around the end of February, so the female lead of 'Holy' should be decided now. After all, Cheng Long is a respected senior, you'd better not treat him casually."

Yangyangjin handed over the tablet she used for work.

"The above are the MV female lead candidates provided by Universal. In order to control expenses, they are basically newcomers."

"Well, let me take a look first."

Shen Juan took the tablet with great interest and began to browse the personal resumes, video and photo materials of these candidate female protagonists.

(Kelly Cowan, the figure picture has not been reviewed, but there is a mixed cut on Bilibili, you can watch it yourself)

They are basically new actors and models.

Most people have good looks and figures.

This is definitely good news.

Because this at least shows that Universal has no intention of doing anything politically correct about Shen Juan, an Asian.

Just like the Holland version of the stage play "Romeo and Juliet", find an iron-blooded mother warrior to act with him.

After spending nearly five minutes enjoying the selection of concubines on the tablet, Shen Juan returned the tablet.

"Let's pick this one! New actors like this are cheap and easy to use, and they won't be as difficult to deal with as big-name actors."

Yangyangjin took the tablet and found that a sexy girl with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen.

Kelly Cowan, born on March 1998, 3, is a native of Los Angeles, California. She only made her official debut last year and currently has very little acting experience, with only a short film and a small role in an American TV series. She is an absolute newbie in the entertainment industry.

Looking at this pair of impressive weapons that would make most women feel inferior, after a moment of silence, Yang Yangjin whispered with mixed feelings: "I only have one request."

"You said."

"Don't mess around, don't get anyone killed."

"Don't worry, I always pour chili sauce directly into the umbrella and then throw it into the trash can." Shen Juan is abroad and has always done a good job in safety protection.

After all, he had been working in the American entertainment industry for some time, so naturally he had to learn some useful things from his predecessors in the industry.

For example, the drake trick is very useful.

Any evil woman who wants to plot against him, steal his gold and have children will be punished as hot as the Fire of Red Cliff!
Without his permission, no one in this world can make him pay alimony!
Yangyang Jin rolled his eyes at Shen Juan and didn't discuss this topic any further. Instead, he started a new topic.

"The new company's management structure and grassroots employees have almost been formed and recruited. According to your requirements, we basically poached people from other places with high salaries, so we offended many small and medium-sized companies during this period. After the company is established, there may be a period of black tide."

"After all, although they don't dare to attack you directly because of the government's regard for you, they still have no psychological burden to attack your company and your company's artists."

When poaching, they will definitely target key personnel from small and medium-sized companies. After all, Shen Juan doesn't dare to touch the management of large companies and factories.

Of course, they probably won't come.

"Yangyang, where do you think they will attack the company?"

"Can you please stop asking questions that you already know the answer to?"

Hinata Yangyangjin rolled his eyes again with the pure-blooded Shen Juan style, "Can you please have some sense, kid?"
A notorious amateur killer suddenly opens a company to recruit amateurs. What do you think the haters and those who like to watch the show will say?
However, Shen Juan didn't take this matter to heart because he was used to being criticized.

And to be honest, what they said was right. He did hook up with a lot of amateurs, and lived up to the name of amateur killer.

"In fact, I can also use my fame to recruit trainees and managers in South Korea, Japan and even Southeast Asia. My vision cannot be limited to the domestic entertainment industry."

"Artists with South Korean nationality cannot appear on domestic shows," Yang Yang Jin reminded.

"Wouldn't it be enough to develop around the continent?"

"Are you planning to form an overseas girl group?"

Yangyang Jin originally thought that Shen Juan just wanted to reap the benefits of domestic entertainment talent shows and make some quick money by engaging in idol economy.

But now it seems that the goal is far-fetched.

Not only will he go overseas, but even his artists and girl groups will have to follow him and go international.

"Is it not possible? I have some connections in Japan and South Korea. I can't say how stable they are, but at least I have the qualifications to give it a try."

"But the total cost of training a girl group is at least tens of millions of Chinese yuan, and it is not certain that the cost can be recovered."

Yangyang Jin actually doesn't really want Shen Juan to form an overseas girl group.

Because it is a thankless job, the income of any third-tier artist in the domestic entertainment industry is equivalent to that of first-tier stars in Japan and South Korea.

The Chinese market is so scary!

But I didn’t expect Shen Juan’s idea to be even more terrifying.

"Only tens of millions? Isn't that just a matter of two or three endorsements?" Shen Juan was immediately happy.

"Kpop is so boastful every day, I thought it would cost a lot to set up a boy band or a girl band, but this is it?"

I am alone and my company is not listed, so I don't have to worry about stock price fluctuations and hesitate to try it easily.

As long as he wants, and as long as he recruits enough good talents, he can even train several girl groups at the same time.

One group stayed in the domestic entertainment industry to participate in talent shows and reap the idol economy that has only existed for a few years, while the other group focused on overseas markets and development around the mainland.

The main focus is on comprehensive development and progress in parallel!
Although I really want to warn Shen Juan not to take too big a step and get hurt, considering his exaggerated income level
Yangyang Jin opened his mouth several times to speak but unfortunately he couldn't say anything. In the end, he could only utter: "You are awesome!"

In order to reassure Yang Yangjin, Shen Juan expressed his true thoughts: "In fact, my real goal is to build a Pacific Rim artist union. Only by uniting all those who have a common goal can we make a bigger voice and quickly radiate influence around the world."

“I’m afraid it will be difficult to achieve in a short period of time.”

"It doesn't matter. I'm still young anyway. Besides, it's much easier to do this in the streaming media era than it was 20 years ago. The Internet is now globally popular. We can communicate online directly and the world will know any news in a second. For me, this is the most convenient era to realize my personal ideals."

"What about practice rooms? If you do successfully recruit trainees overseas, where will you let them practice?"

Shen Juan thought for a while, "Although we will definitely set up branches in South Korea and Japan in the future, it is estimated that it will not be realized in the short term. Our current work focus is still on domestic entertainment, so the practice place will be temporarily set in Seoul, South Korea. Don't forget that I am still an artist of Lehua. When the time comes, I will just pay a symbolic venue fee to Sister Hua. They used the money I earned to buy a new building in South Korea, so naturally they have to give me some practice rooms to use."

"You are the only one in the company who dares to control Sister Hua like this."

"There's nothing I can do. After all, Sister Hua is easy to talk to!"

"She's only nice to you."

"Is there any difference? It's all the same to me."

In fact, Du Hua has always had a strong desire for control.

But at this stage, Shen Juan was indeed unstoppable and beyond her ability to control.

Even if he is pushed into a corner, he might just pay a penalty and terminate the contract and run away.

Therefore, when dealing with Shen Juan, the Lehua spokesperson and pillar who brings a lot of revenue and fame to the company every year, Du Hua can only keep a low profile, and base everything on Shen Juan's attitude, trying not to conflict with him, trying not to disagree with him, and trying to meet any conditions he puts forward.

Only by demonstrating their value and role and letting Shen Juan know that they are useful, will Shen Juan choose to stay.

"One last thing. Your second album and first single "Blingding Lights" will be released online at 12pm tonight. Although Republic has spent money on PR with many news media, music bloggers and music critics to help you build momentum in advance, if you want to maximize the popularity on the first day, you'd better contact your celebrity friends in person and ask them to help you advertise on social media."

"Actually, I have already contacted them in advance."

"Then why is there no movement online?"

"Don't worry, we'll start working hard at night."

No one cares more about blind light than the singer himself, so Shen Juan will naturally give it the best treatment.

2pm on June 14th.

Many singers and producers who have previously worked with Shen Juan, including Khalid, Halsey, Normani, HER, etc., have posted that Alex Shen's new single "Blingding Lights", in which he has invested a lot of effort and energy, will be released simultaneously worldwide at 12 o'clock tonight.

2pm on June 14th.

Sisters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner, who have hundreds of millions of Instagram fans, and many Victoria's Secret supermodels who met Shen Juan through the two consecutive Victoria's Secret shows, all reposted the cover of Shen Juan's new song on their social media accounts and added their own promotional copy. In addition, Jenner took this opportunity to excitedly reveal that she will be starring in the MV of a single from Shen Juan's new album in the near future, and that Justin Bieber and his fiancée Hailey will also be filming the MV with them, and she called this collaboration a family gathering that is more than a gathering of friends!

It was obvious that he was hinting at and hyping up his close relationship with Shen Juan, which instantly attracted countless fans and netizens to discuss it.

So much so that A妹's behavior of giving the middle finger to the paparazzi two days ago was interpreted by netizens as her anger after her boyfriend was robbed.

So much so that NBA star Simmons was captured by the media some time ago with a worried look, which was also interpreted as depression after his girlfriend cheated on him by finding a new lover.

It can only be said that Shen Juan has now indeed begun to touch the core of the North American entertainment industry, otherwise he would never be involved in gossip like this that entertains the general public.

2pm on June 14th.

Postmalone shared a screenshot of himself successfully winning the chicken dinner in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on Instagram, saying that he wanted to use his first place in PUBG to wish Shen Juan's latest single to also get the first place on Billboard Hot 100.

Cardi B posted the personal PR gift package sent to her by Shen Juan on Instagram in her very personal style.

【To be honest, even if I didn't send gifts, I would have taken the initiative to help Alex promote his new song. After all, I beat him in the Best New Artist award last year, hahaha! But I didn't expect Alex to be so generous, so I could only accept them with reluctance. I'll only say this once! Now, everyone, cheer up and clean your ears, and get ready to listen to "Blingding Lights" at 12 o'clock tonight! Believe me, @alexs, the handsome guy who has made countless young girls thirsty and weak in the knees, will not let you down! 】

2pm on June 14th.

Justin Bieber: [I can’t wait for everyone to hear this new song from my good brother Alex! ]

Ariana Grande: [On one side is my 7rings, on the other side is Alex's Blingding LightsFxxk! Why does God always put me in a dilemma? But as one of Alex's best friends, I still have to stand up and promote this song for him, because long live friendship! ]

Taylor Swift: [What many people don’t know is that I have always been a big fan of Alex. Alex’s experimental and melodic music is impressive. He is more like a writer than a singer. He can handle almost any style and subject matter. I believe that through this song and the album Alex is making, he will let more people know his name and hear his voice.]

2pm on June 14th.

Porsche's official media account shared the cover of the MV "Blind Light": [Are you ready to follow Porsche into the glittering Alex era? ]

Porsche originally planned to wait until Shen Juan’s second English major was released, and then decide whether to ask Shen Juan to be their global spokesperson based on sales performance and word-of-mouth reviews.

But no one expected that Shen Juan would quickly establish a high level of popularity and influence in North America by creating a couple with A-mei.

So after internal consultation and discussion, they decided to regard this Blind Light as a key indicator of how they would cooperate with Shen Juan.

If Blind Light doesn’t explode, then continue to wait and see, waiting for the second special to be released.

If the blind light is exposed, they may have to take the initiative to contact Shen Juan's agency team, communicate with him to discuss the specific terms of cooperation and the shooting of global advertisements, and then find a suitable time to officially announce their new global spokesperson for Porsche.

Time passed by minute by minute and it came to February 2th, Friday midnight US time, Friday noon China time.

The much anticipated "Blinding Lights" is finally online.

The long-awaited fans and netizens naturally paid and started listening as soon as possible.

Blinding Lights

Alex Shen
Lyricist: Alex Shen
Composer: Alex Shen
Composer: Alex Shen/Max Martin/Oscar Holter
The opening begins with a sparkling synthesizer arpeggio, bringing a strong sense of energy, mystery and tension to the whole song.

The subsequent accompaniment of Qin and powerful drum beats, mainly made of synthesizers, not only set the cheerful atmosphere for the song, but also created a strong 80s synth pop atmosphere. Some echo and filter effects were added to make the whole arrangement more rich and diverse.

Such a simple yet clear rhythm made many listeners unable to help but sway to the beat before the singer even opened his mouth.

This is so fucking exciting!
It's like eating a Yaotuowan!
The neon-lit atmosphere and sense of the times created by the unique retro-futuristic style make countless listeners feel as if they only need to close their eyes to experience the psychedelic feeling of their parents dancing to the songs in the disco thirty or forty years ago.

And when Shen Juan started singing with his highly recognizable and superior voice, no matter what the reason was for the listeners to listen to this new song in the first place, at that moment they felt as if their souls were purified and they felt completely refreshed.

Alex really deserves the name of voice rogue.

As soon as he opened his mouth, it felt like he was acting like a hooligan, making those little girls who were crazy about and adoring him go crazy.

When the song reached its climax, the dynamic melody made the passion that had already been surging in the hearts of the listeners be violently released.

"I said ooh I'm blinded by the lights."

I said this strong light has blinded my eyes

"No I can't sleep until I feel your touch."

I can't sleep unless I feel your touch

"I said ooh I'm drowning in the night."

I said I was about to sink into the night
"Oh when I'm like this you're the one I trust."

If that's the case, you're the only one I can trust.
"Hey, hey, hey!!!"

After listening to the entire song, the fans already feel that they have no regrets in their lives. In their boring youth years, they were able to meet such a star who is always improving and evolving and gradually moving towards greatness, and to become his fans and support him as he ascends the throne. They really feel lucky!
Those who were originally skeptical of Shen Juan, who didn't understand why so many big-name singers came to support him, who thought he was the privileged prince of Universal, and who said Universal had lost all face in order to lick the Chinese people's ass and seize the Chinese market, suddenly understood.
No wonder Universal continues to allocate resources to him.

No wonder so many celebrities, internet influencers and big-name singers take turns promoting his songs.

It’s no wonder that within less than two years of his debut, he has accumulated such a considerable fan base around the world and turned this year’s Grammy Awards into his own fan show.

This brother is really capable.

He really can handle any style of music!
He can really produce excellent works in any genre!
Maybe it's really like the marketing slogan that's popular all over the United States:
If you have missed 20-year-old Justin Bieber, please don’t miss 20-year-old Alex Shen.

This Chinese singer named Alex does have the ability to make everyone with different aesthetic preferences fall in love with him through his music.

Once you miss it, when you look back at his back after he becomes successful in the future, you will probably feel regret and remorse for not witnessing how he became great.

So they were so excited that they flocked to major social platforms and video sites including Instagram and Twitter.

Or share your feelings after listening to the whole song.
Then I unexpectedly discovered that I am not alone, and there are many people who share the same idea as me!

It turns out that we are all half Alovers!

This further stimulated their enthusiasm for listening to songs, and they turned into "tap water" to invite those netizens who had not yet heard Shen Juan's new songs to go over and listen to the songs and join their discussions.

Or you can go to YouTube and listen to "Blinding Lights" again with the MV to see if you can experience the double enjoyment of vision and hearing and get a flying feeling.

and then found
Holy shit! How come the MV is so cool and exciting?

You would be missing out if you don’t watch the MV for this song!
If we don’t watch the MV that people spent a lot of money to make for us fans, wouldn’t that be treating ourselves unfairly?
So he went to the social media platform and called his friends to watch the MV on YouTube, and the word spread like wildfire, contributing to the continuous playback volume of the Blind Light MV.

At the same time, musicians from various countries who were also paying close attention to Shen Juan’s new song also gave their feedback.

Justin Bieber is very considerate: [I said, I won’t lie, the melody of Alex’s new song is really fun and interesting! ]

Taylor Swift was very proud: [Is there anyone who still doesn't understand what I just said? ]

Although Ariana Grande was in a complicated mood, she still pretended to be happy for her friend and didn't care about the performance of her own work: [Now you know how complicated my mood is. But no matter what, we will always be best friends! This will never change! ]

Zhang Yixing: [I had a conversation with Juan Ge at the Grammy Awards some time ago. He said that there is still a lot of potential in the Chinese music market waiting to be tapped. I think so too, so I decided to set up an entertainment group to support and train more artists and musicians so that they can also stand on their own.]

Wang Jiaer updated his Weibo and Instagram simultaneously: [I have performed in the United States with the group and I know how difficult it is for a yellow person to gain recognition from the white people, but Shen Juan did it. His existence is of great significance to all Asian artists. He inspires each of us to keep improving! ]

Cai Xukun: [The melody and arrangement of this song by Juan Ge are really shocking. It has been a long time since I heard such a retro style single that makes people want to repeat it endlessly. Then my personal original Chinese single "No Accident" will be released soon. I hope everyone will support and pay attention to it! (Fist)]

Da Zhangwei took the opportunity to make a joke that Shen Juan didn't dare to make: [When I posted this Weibo, I had probably played this song on repeat for more than 20 times. I was completely addicted to it. So when will our teacher Shen Juan fulfill the wish of a little fan like me and sing my "Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse" with me? ]

Xue Zhiqian, who is very good at marketing and generating traffic, naturally would not miss this opportunity to attract traffic: [I cried when I heard it, I really cried when I heard it, but not because of the content of the song, but because of Shen Juan, because of the progress Shen Juan has made in the past two years. How can I describe my mood now? It's like when I independently completed the creation of my first song in my life. I was moved to tears and excited to the sky. He really did it! ]

Na Ying: [My first reaction after listening to this song was wow, Xiao Shen is really amazing, his creative ability is really getting stronger! The new song has a 80s disco feel, which surprised me. I didn’t expect him to play retro at such a young age. Now I sincerely feel that music has no borders. If young musicians want to improve, they should listen to more foreign music. We can learn from each other and create better works.]

Lin Junjie released a photo of him and Shen Juan backstage at the MAMA Hong Kong Island Station on Weibo and Instagram: [The pride of Asia!! (Muscles)]

In order to hint to everyone that "Angel Baby" was a love song written specifically for her by Shen Juan, Yang Ying also followed suit and shared a photo of her and Shen Juan backstage at the MAMA Hong Kong Island station on Weibo, saying that her love and admiration for Shen Juan had reached the same level as G-Dragon.

Tao Zhe, the old man who has long been a loyal "tired fan" to maintain exposure, also sent out a Weibo post late at night:
[To be honest, sometimes I am really curious whether the current Shen Juan is still the Shen Juan I knew in the show. The difference is too big, hahahaha, just kidding. I am really proud of Xiao Shen. He has all the potential to become a superstar of the times. The only thing he lacks now is perhaps time.]

Jay Chou posted on Instagram: [My little brother is going to show those foreigners how powerful we Chinese are again today.]

Some people wanted to attract traffic and gain popularity for themselves, some took the opportunity to advertise, and some used their fan persona to praise Shen Juan without thinking.
There are all kinds of people.

Faced with the same thing, celebrities with different personalities will have different reactions.

In addition, Porsche's staff responsible for operating official media also maintained a high-intensity surfing, answering the doubts of netizens in the YouTube comment section who thought Shen Juan's racing scenes were very handsome after watching the MV.

It was said that Shen Juan was driving a Porsche 918 in the MV, and that all the racing shots were done by Shen Juan himself.

Later, the behind-the-scenes footage was released.

This caused countless netizens to exclaim: It turns out that the craziness in the MV is not acted, Alex is really wild when he drives!

This caused countless female fans to blush and say: I really want to sit in the passenger seat of Alex and race with him to the sky!

In short, the combination of all these factors has led to a surge in the exposure and online popularity of this song.

Therefore, in such a grand music craze that is expected to further evolve into a national trend, Blind Light and Shen Juan not only topped the world trends and Twitter trends in dozens of countries, but also, with the promotion of the company's marketing strategy and the help of fans' real money, naturally dominated multiple mainstream social platforms and music charts, and took on all the hot news and excellent music works, becoming the absolute protagonists of the global entertainment sector today!

[As a veteran rhythm fan, this song really suits my taste hahahaha! ]

【Damn! After listening to this song, I suddenly have the urge to go out and drive for a few laps in the dead of night! If I get arrested by the police for dangerous driving, it will definitely be Alex's fault! Alex should pay my bail. He is such a man who makes people want to commit crimes.】

[Both retro and futuristic, this song is so chill! It looks like another day of shaking my head for Alex. ]

[The feeling of GTA5, after watching the MV, I directly opened GTA5 and listened to the music while racing, whoever stands in my way will die! ]

[There is no doubt that this is another outstanding work by the Z-generation pop king Alex Shen, which is worthy of praise! ]

[Is it my imagination or is the 80s revival happening? ]

[The greatest charm of this song is that it can make you play it on repeat indefinitely, making you shake your head and can't stop. ]

[Since Alex released his first album and shocked the US with his versatile and varied music style, I predicted that he would become a big star in the future as long as he maintained his current pace of progress. Facts have proved that I was right. There is no need to give him more praise and encouragement, because the future is already his.]

[I can already imagine the scene in the future where as soon as this song is played in a nightclub, the whole audience will go wild and start dancing hahaha! ]

[Super high popularity, high-quality works, and a strong company. It is really hard to imagine how Alex will change the pop music scene of this era in his own way.]

[Alex, who already has super talent, seems to have suddenly opened up his Ren and Du meridians since landing in North America, and he has soared to the sky! To be honest, his previous Chinese works, whether hip-hop or Balabala, were really mediocre. It feels like he was born to conquer this land, and he doesn't care about anything else. ]

[Who would have thought that a talent show idol who became famous for rap would play the 80s retro style in the United States? Who would have thought that a singer who was still singing love songs saying I love you yesterday would suddenly play Synthwave today? This world is too magical, and Alex is the source of magic. ]

As the Wall Street Journal put it earlier this year:
From an unknown Chinese teenager to a globally known pop star, Alex is like a legendary myth in the music industry. In just two years, he has won countless honors, stood on the grand stage that countless singers have long dreamed of, sang all over the world, and become a figure who can sit on equal footing with contemporary superstars.

This song Blind Light or Leviathan will break through his previous realm and reshape his musical peak.

Then, a whole new chapter of his life began.

(End of this chapter)