Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 441 A Gathering of Big Names, Connecting the World

The song was released on a Friday.

As is customary, Shen Juan started a live stream, chatting with fans while also promoting his single.

"Actually, I didn't plan to release this song ahead of schedule. After all, my previous single, 'INDUSTRY BABY,' was only released two weeks ago. But considering the current situation, everyone is staying at home and can't go out, and many people have nothing to do, so I decided to release this song."

"As you can see, I and TikTok have launched a dance challenge. If you are interested, you can participate from home. If you are embarrassed to show your face, just wear a mask. It can also serve as a call to wear masks."

"How is the situation in China now? Everything is moving in a good direction. Is the MV shooting location my house? No, I borrowed a mansion that is temporarily unoccupied by an uncle. He is a very nice person. When he heard that I wanted to use it to shoot the MV, he agreed without hesitation."

"His granddaughter is also from Alovers. I was shocked when I saw her friendship bracelet. She even made a special trip to Melbourne to see the last show of her tour. Why isn't she a TikTok spokesperson? I don't know, maybe it's because I'm too expensive, TikTok can't afford me, haha."

"So how are you all doing right now? I saw online that some friends said they had no source of income because of loyalty, and some friends said they were almost out of food. I feel that everyone is in a difficult situation right now, so I thought I might be able to help you get through this difficult time."

After chatting with his fans, he started a live stream with his foreign friends across the ocean who had benefited from Shen Juan's popularity.

Li Na first offered her congratulations on Shen Juan's new song reaching number one, and then jokingly said: "I think 'Toosie Slide' should have been released a few weeks later. The interval is so short that 'INDUSTRY BABY' was knocked off the top spot after only two weeks. Don't you think that's a pity?"

Shen Juan responded with a joke: "If I really felt it was a pity, I wouldn't have released the Old Town Road Remix version so early last year. I should have delayed it by another month. After all, you know, before the Old Town Road was released, Blinding Lights was the top-ranked game."

Ariana Grande mentioned that they had completed and were waiting to release a charity single, and then announced that she and Shen Juan had decided that all proceeds from the song would go to charity to help those in need during the pandemic.

To transcend the boundaries of being a celebrity and become a role model of our time, one must make an impact in the field of public welfare and charity.

Ariana Grande, on the other hand, really wanted to benefit from Alexa's success, believing that associating with Shen Juan would help her secure many first-time champion singles.

So the two hit it off almost immediately.

A-mei quickly agreed to Shen Juan's proposal.

After joining the live stream, Bieber mentioned their collaboration track, "STAY," which they are currently working on, further raising expectations for the song: "I can't wait to finish it and release it! It's going to be an exciting and fun collaboration!"

It can indeed be invigorating.

He was already incredibly excited!

He loves making money more than fame.

Moreover, only professionals in the industry can accurately understand just how amazing Shen Juan's talent and abilities are.

He was truly impressed by Shen Juan!

Therefore, being able to cooperate with Shen Juan, who is undoubtedly the world's number one man, will definitely help him obtain many tangible benefits!

However, Shen Juan was alright.

Whether it's Bieber or Li Na, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, he will always be the absolute core.

Moreover, it's better to release such super-high order volumes as late as possible.

Releasing the song too early and dominating the charts would cause subsequent singles to rank second or third, which would not be conducive to Shen Juan's ability to achieve a number one single.

“Good things come to those who wait, brother. Once we’ve done all the preparations, everything else will fall into place as scheduled. By the way, how’s the situation over there? Is it serious?” Shen Juan maintained his good brotherly relationship with Bieber in front of the camera while also keeping track of the situation on the other side of the ocean.

“It’s not good. I mean, if things continue like this, the government might force the closure of some social venues, forcing us all to stay at home. That’s how it is, it’s terrible.” Bieber looked somewhat down and confused, clearly having never experienced anything like it before.

“Nobody wants to see this happen, but I think you can prepare for what might happen in the future.” Shen Juan remembered that it seemed like Bieber and his wife Hailey started making home vlogs around this time in the original timeline.

"Thanks, brother, your advice is very sincere."

Our last guest today is Taylor.

The two, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, chatted about their recent situations and took the opportunity to urge everyone to value friendship and wear masks when going out to avoid putting their family and friends at risk.

Then, in a pleasant conversation, they made a verbal agreement to cooperate that caused the viewers in the live stream to start flooding the screen with comments, and that was the end of today's live stream.

After taking a sip of coffee, Shen Juan dialed Taylor's transoceanic number: "Guess why I'm calling you?"

"I don't know," Taylor joked with a laugh while eating lunch. "Anyway, it's not for a date with me."

Shen Juan laughed for a while, then got to the point: "I have a plan, would you like to participate?"

"what's the plan?"

"For this online benefit concert project, I want to invite artists from all over the world to participate. The purpose is to pay tribute to the frontline workers in the fight against the epidemic and to raise funds for the cause. As you know, I met many artists from different countries through last year's tour, so..."

“That sounds really cool! This is going to be a huge show!” Taylor was clearly very interested and tried to learn more. “So what kind of role would we be? Just a performer? Or would you like me to challenge myself and host this benefit show?”

"What about the initiators? In fact, I have already contacted the World Health Organization and Global Citizen. They will act as the organizers and planners to help us complete most of the preparatory work. So our main task is actually to contact the performers and bring more people to join us."

"The initiator? Are there any others?"

"It's just you and me."

"Why me?" Taylor asked, puzzled.

“Because I believe in you, and you absolutely have the qualifications and ability,” Shen Juan replied calmly.

If possible, he would certainly like to initiate it alone, so that he can enjoy the positive effects of holding a charity performance.

However, he is not American after all, and has been in the industry for less than three years. He is relatively inexperienced and does not know the living fossils and veterans of the European and American pop music scene. Therefore, he could only find an American singer with a certain status and influence in the industry, such as Taylor Swift, to co-found this charity event.

As for whether Taylor will agree?
Shen Juan wasn't worried at all.

Because no one can resist such positive fame, especially public figures who need the boost of reputation!

"So the name for the benefit performance has been decided?" Just as Shen Juan had expected, Taylor agreed.

“One World: Together at Home,” Shen Juan replied.

With the combined efforts of Universal and Shen Juan's team, the promotion and publicity work for AS3's fourth single, "Toosie Slide," is proceeding smoothly around the world, especially in North America and East Asia, in accordance with the original release plan, which is largely the same as that for "INDUSTRY BABY."

So far, the results have been quite good.

the reason is simple.

The release of several hit singles has filled listeners with confidence in Shen Juan, and the level of attention and expectations is getting higher and higher.

Even without marketing promotion or word-of-mouth from fans, many people will spontaneously listen to Shen Juan's new song.

Without a doubt, Shen Juan has established his power.

As long as subsequent releases do not suffer from a decline in quality or unexpected situations, AS3's influence will only increase!

Actually, many singers don't release too many pre-release tracks to generate buzz before officially releasing their albums.

Generally, one to three songs are appropriate.

One reason is that if the pre-release track doesn't perform well in the market, it will have a significant impact on the album released later.

After all, everyone knows that small things can reveal big things. A terrible toilet song will obviously lower the overall evaluation of the album, and may even directly reduce the expectations and attention of the general public, leading to a sharp drop in sales and a career setback.

On the other hand, some singers who play with album concepts need to maintain the mystery and coherence of the entire album.

For example, The Plants by Dawn Radio. A single song might not be that amazing, but listening to the whole album in order gives you a comfortable and sophisticated feeling! Another example is Taylor Swift's two folk albums after her transition. Releasing them together as a whole helps listeners experience the complete artistic expression.

Releasing a large number of pre-release tracks at this time will not only distract listeners and weaken the influence of other songs on the album, but also add many uncertainties to the subsequent release. Some big-name singers may even rework the entire album due to poor reviews of the pre-release tracks.

In short, the more you do, the greater the probability of making a mistake. I'd rather do nothing than make a mistake.

Taylor Swift's new album "Lover" last year was negatively affected by the poor reception of the single "ME!".

(Even the collaboration between Shen Juan and Taylor couldn't save this song, which was criticized by haters as a children's song.)

So Taylor learned his lesson this year.

Since they already have a large enough fan base, and it's impossible to guarantee that every single will be a hit, they might as well reduce the number of pre-release tracks, or even not release any, and save the anticipation for the whole album. That way, even if the reviews don't meet expectations, it won't affect the album's initial sales.

However, Shen Juan is fundamentally different from them.

He doesn't play with album concepts or create an overall artistic conception.

He is truly capable of consistently producing high-quality, popular items.

He can truly ensure that the album release is not affected.

Moreover, his current fan base is large enough to ensure that every single he releases receives 100% initial attention!
From "Save Tears" released last November, to "I'm Drunk" released this January, to "Industrial Baby" in February, and "Toosie Slide" released in early March, all follow this pattern.

Releasing more singles like this would allow him to maximize his greatest strength as a single-singer.

Therefore, he would naturally choose this high-risk, high-return release model, releasing as many singles as possible with staggered release dates, making full use of the promotional resources provided by Universal, and then accumulating an audience interested in the album like building a prize pool, thereby maximizing profits.

On the morning of International Women's Day, Shen Juan lay on Nazha's sofa, browsing news topics related to herself.

The dance challenge initiated by Toosie Slide, jointly promoted by Shen Juan and the official Douyin (TikTok) platform, has become a popular topic. Many celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Li Na, Kendall Jenner, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and numerous East Asian stars, have participated in the challenge in order to get a piece of the action.

This greatly boosted Toosie Slide's points, and they're doing everything they can to secure a top spot next week.

In addition, many mainstream media outlets and well-known music critics published articles and gave relatively positive feedback.

The song "Toosie Slide" is a bit of a rubbish.

But it is indeed very easy to become popular.

In the streaming era, in order to maximize profits, both singers and media outlets obviously have to prioritize traffic.

However, Shen Juan didn't have time to interact with this group of people for the time being.

He was browsing his fans' comments on social media to fulfill a promise he made during a live stream two days earlier.

He plans to personally select 520 fans, contact them via private message, and donate $3000 to them.

Of the 260 people, 260 are from China and 260 are from abroad. Considering the current inconvenience of exchanging US dollars in China, we will simply transfer 21000 Chinese Yuan to them at the exchange rate.

At least during this period of staying at home, there is a basic guarantee of economic resources and material conditions.

Although personally reviewing the information and selecting suitable candidates, and then sending private messages one by one takes a long time.

It is indeed a bit troublesome.

But you'll never feel tired doing meaningful things.

Since fans unconditionally support and trust their idols, idols should also be more sincere towards their fans.

Therefore, the copy was entirely typed and edited by hand.

Each private message contains a different message.

And those who know, know.
It's best to personally deliver such large donations, often in the eight-figure range, to the recipients. For example, when Wu Mengda personally went to the disaster area to distribute money to the people, many media outlets said he was just putting on a show. But now it seems he was simply using his own method to avoid being charged a "passing fee."

"You just gave away ten million dollars like that, and I even got to receive a private message from you personally encouraging me. It's so wonderful to be your fan!" Naza nestled in Shen Juan's arms, her voice incredibly soft: "I heard that you gave out a hundred million US dollars in bonuses to your staff after your tour. Is that true?"

Shen Juan slightly adjusted his posture to make her more comfortable. "It's not that exaggerated, but it's still around 80 million. These hundreds of people turned down all their work and followed me for more than half a year, and there were no major mistakes throughout the process. They deserve an extra bonus to thank them for their hard work and dedication."

Naza couldn't help but sigh softly: "I'm afraid I couldn't earn that much money even if I made movies my whole life."

"If you want to gain a better reputation and create more value, you have to learn to make concessions." Shen Juan's tone was very calm.

"Your state of mind is truly profound! I feel like I could never understand how you are feeling right now in my entire life."

Why do you have to experience what I feel?

"Because I want to know you better!"

"You just need to live your own life and enjoy every day in your own world. There is never true empathy in this world. Although I know you may enjoy this process of imagining things, instead of having fun in your imagination all day long, you should experience the present moment more."

"What do you think?"

Shen Juan looked down at Nazha, who was so soft and boneless that she almost melted into a pool of spring water in his arms. His warm breath swept over her trembling eyelashes and her increasingly hot cheeks, and his gentle voice made her head buzz. She felt as if a tingling current was flowing through her whole body.

Naza looked at Shen Juan with infatuation and adoration in her eyes. The surging passion in her heart was so intense that it almost made her steam with shame. No wonder he was the boyfriend who had kept her tossing and turning at night, and who had gone through all sorts of means and painstaking efforts to finally win her over!
Shen Juan is simply the epitome of manhood!
The ultimate husband!

I really love him!

I absolutely love it!!!
Thinking this, the woman, whose brain had completely shut down and was now completely immersed in pink, couldn't help but bury her head lower.

I enjoyed my snacks for the day.

It was precisely because every moment she spent with Shen Juan was filled with happiness that she wanted Shen Juan to experience the same feelings she had right now.

Even if he just said that there is no true empathy in this world, if he could feel even 30% of happiness, it would be extremely wonderful!

Then Shen Juan took some time to contact his friends in the industry, as the online charity performance he was organizing required a large number of singers to join.

This is his current plan.

Six hours of warm-up and two hours of the main performance.

Live streaming across multiple platforms.

However, only the actual performance portion will be included in the final cut.

It is expected that hundreds of celebrities from around the world will be invited.

The main framework focuses on the North American and East Asian entertainment industries.

The parts featuring A-list celebrities will be included in the official performance.

He has a high probability of being able to invite people like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Karl Malone, Jackie Chan, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Then Taylor can also use her connections to find a group of veteran professionals in North America to bolster the image.

The lesser-known artists and established artists without international recognition are used in the pre-show warm-up phase to create buzz.

For example, there are idol groups from South Korea, Soda, King Gnu, Yoasobi, and others from Japan, as well as Xue Zhiqian, G.E.M., Lin Junjie, and David Tao from the Chinese entertainment industry, and Lay, Lu Han, Jackson, and Kun Kun, who have been trying to piggyback on his fame to pretend to be international stars.

(This event was originally organized by Lady Gaga. Dr. Chen, Jacky Cheung, and Lang Lang were invited from China. However, except for Lang Lang, they were all put in the pre-event stage. So, this is not a babysitter carrying the team. It is just a way to find people to support the lower structure of this large-scale benefit performance.)
Then Shen Juan started watching the live stream of UFC 248.

Current women's strawweight defending champion Zhang Weili vs. former women's strawweight champion and Polish legend Joanna Jędrzejczyk.

As one of the first professional athletes signed to the Starlink label, Shen Juan pays close attention to Zhang Weili's matches.

After all, if China wants to gain more international recognition and influence, it needs to send a group of people out there.

What if you can't find suitable talents in the entertainment industry?

Then look in the sports world!
In any case, there are many athletes outside the system who are struggling and working hard overseas, training under harsh conditions, and waiting for investors to invest in them.

Zhang Weili is one of them.

At the same time, she is also a key link in the rise of "Chinese power" and its journey to the world, which Master Lay often talks about!
And the match was very exciting.

The two fought for five rounds, exchanging blows while standing still the entire time.

They were all beaten beyond recognition, with Joanna even looking like a birthday girl, which was thrilling to watch. It was later directly selected as the fight of the year by the UFC.

So after Shen Juan completed the first rocket launch with Nazha's help, he immediately tweeted to congratulate Zhang Weili on successfully defending her title and expressed his respect for the two athletes.

(To briefly mention Shen Juan's current public image in Europe and America: a sports enthusiast who loves multiple sports and events such as football, basketball, rugby, and fighting. His overall image is healthy and sunny, which is in stark contrast to those celebrities who love to smoke marijuana and smoke marijuana.)
I browsed through netizens' comments about the match for a while.

Naza has gone to the bathroom to rinse her mouth and clean herself, preparing for the formal encounter that is about to take the stage.

Shen Juan then received a WeChat message from Dilraba.

Simply put, it's asking him how he's been lately, whether he's bored, and then saying that he's incredibly bored.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Juan initiated a video call.

After all, when it comes to conveying emotions, typing is far less accurate and effective than meeting in person and seeing the other person's face.

About half a minute later, the video call was connected.

A woman wearing a mask and black-rimmed glasses, her entire face covered, appeared on Shen Juan's phone screen.

"Why are you wrapped up so tightly at home? Do you think the virus can spread through the internet?" Shen Juan joked.

Dilraba's eyes curved into crescent moons, and her voice sounded muffled through the mask, but the joy and excitement hidden in her words could not be concealed. "I didn't wear makeup today, and I haven't taken care of myself much lately. Even if you don't think I look ugly, I'm still ashamed! I'm so sloppy!"

Since the other person didn't want to appear in public without makeup for the time being, Shen Juan naturally wouldn't force him. He leaned back slightly and sank into the soft sofa. Suddenly, he thought of something and started the conversation with a smile: "I thought you would send me a WeChat message on the 14th, but you didn't, which made me a little disappointed at the time."

"You're kidding me! Why would I text you on Valentine's Day? When did we become a couple?"

"I'm just a little sad."

"Is it really that uncomfortable?" Dilraba was a little happy, and the corners of her mouth, which were covered by her mask, turned up uncontrollably.

Although she knew Shen Juan was just teasing her, the joy she felt for him was genuine.

But behind the mask, she chose to follow her heart.

"Really." Shen Juan's tone was certain.

"How can you prove it?" Dilraba blinked.

Shen Juan smiled slightly, "No proof is needed. Believe it or not, it's up to you. Just know that this happened. If you had sent me a WeChat message that day, I would have been even happier."

The overly blunt words caused the air to suddenly become quiet, and the two people, each with their own thoughts, fell into silence across the screen.

Ultimately, it was Dilraba, whose feelings were more complex, nervous, and expectant, who broke the silence first.

"So where are you now? Judging from the background, this doesn't seem to be your home, does it? I remember your sofa doesn't look like this."

"At a friend's house," Shen Juan said frankly.

"A friend's house? At a time like this, you still dare to go out and about?" Dilraba's eyes widened, her tone full of surprise.

"We didn't wander off; we're all in the same building."

"Oh"

Dilraba fell silent again.

However, compared to last time, she was genuinely upset this time, so her mood immediately became emo.

Because she knew what those words meant.

After all, there are only a few celebrities living in Vanke 108, and you can easily find out about this by simply searching on Baidu.

So, is he calling me right now, after having lunch at either Gulnazar's or Li Yitong's house?

Did I disturb them?

What were they doing before?
What's next?
Do they know that Shen Juan is video chatting with me?

What exactly is my place in Shen Juan's heart?
Am I really that important to Shen Juan?

Reba's mind was in complete chaos, her thoughts a jumbled mess.

Never before had she felt such disgust for her hesitation, cowardice, and indecisiveness in matters of the heart.

Her reason told her that this was absolutely not going to work!
This absolutely cannot continue!
She needs to make a decision!
She needs to calm down and seriously consider this relationship before giving her answer before she sees Shen Juan again!

　Thank you all for your votes, monthly passes, and subscriptions!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)