Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 481 Shen's Birthday That Drives the World Crazy

The clock had just struck midnight on May 20th.

Shen Juan's name is like a boulder rolling down a mountain and into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves!

This day is already considered by many Chinese couples as a special day to express their love because of the homonym of "I love you".

For hundreds of millions of fans worldwide, it holds even greater significance – it marks the 22nd birthday of Shen Juan, who has swept numerous international awards, including the Grammys, Billboard, and American Music Awards, and is widely recognized by many well-known media outlets as the "world's number one male singer."

Therefore, Alovers around the world have spent months and a lot of energy preparing for this cross-border carnival. From landmark screens to charitable donations, from physical support to online collaborations, every detail reveals the determination to "spread love for idols all over the world"!

For example, American fans spent a huge sum of money to book the 24-hour looping rights for the Nasdaq screen in Times Square, New York.

On this super screen with an area of ​​approximately 937 square meters, clips of Shen Juan from his early days as a green trainee to his triumphant moment of winning the Grammy Award, are being played on a loop. The final shot is a high-definition close-up of him on the tour stage, with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes.

It is accompanied by bilingual (Chinese and English) text:
【Happy Birthday, Alex Shen! 】

Happy Birthday, Shen Juan!

The streets below the giant screen were packed with fans from all over the world, of different skin colors.

Some people were singing along to his best-selling hit single, "Blinding Lights," while others were holding up banners that read, "From China to the world, you have broken down boundaries with your music and united us all." Even passersby in New York couldn't help but take out their phones to film him.

Given this grand spectacle, the US media certainly wouldn't miss such a sensational news story with its exaggerated traffic and popularity.

As a result, street interviews were filled with exclamations and praises such as "My Spotify playlist is full of his songs," "He was the artist I listened to the most last year," "Alex is simply a god," "He is the prince of pop," and "He is the king of pop music of our time."

Many North American people who previously had no clear understanding of Shen Juan's popularity also took this opportunity to learn about Shen Juan's real offline popularity, rather than just the numbers that appeared on various lists and that series of frightening records.

Very understandable.

In such a severe situation, the fact that so many fans risked infection to gather in large numbers to support their idol is beyond ordinary liking. In the United States, a country with a wide range of faiths, the scale of Ru Chu's fervent support has even reached the level of religious devotion!
No wonder it became the first in human history to have over 100 million listeners in a single month and a single tour to gross over one billion US dollars!

It boasts both immense popularity among fans and a wide following!

This Chinese singer named Alex Shen is truly talented!

The large screen in Piccadilly Circus, London, not only played support videos and personal advertisements for Shen Juan (sponsored by various luxury brands), but also interacted with fans in attendance.

Fans at the event can upload handwritten blessings via a mini-program, and if they are lucky enough, their blessings will be displayed in real time on the large circular screen located in the heart of London's West End.

As a result, various "Happy Birthday" messages in Chinese, English, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and other languages ​​appeared like a meteor shower across Shen Juan's video feed. Many fans who came to the scene recorded this moment and shared it online, sparking a global discussion.

DuaLipa, who had previously interacted with Shen Juan, posted that Shen Juan has one of the best fan groups in the world, which is simply crazy!
She then claimed that Shen Juan owed her a football match ticket and hoped that their relationship would end quickly so that he could come to England to watch the Arsenal vs. Liverpool match with her.

(Both are publicly Arsenal fans, but DuaLipa's "One Kiss" is Liverpool's anthem.)

Despite the music leak crisis, Pa Jie's "Future Nostalgia" still achieved very good commercial results.

It's a pity that without the super hit song "Levitating", it's destined to never be as wildly popular as in the original timeline!

In fact, the retro pop trend currently emerging in the North American music scene is widely regarded as the result of the joint efforts of Shen Juan and Pa Jie.

Shen Juan's contribution was even the largest proportion.

Because of the Leviathan he released last year, both the blind light and the levitation were phenomenal bestsellers.

In contrast, Pai Jie's "Nostalgia for the Future," released a year later, became a copycat paying homage to him.

In response to Pa Jie's invitation, Shen Juan said that if the situation was under control, he would rush to England immediately, since he had just become the owner of Wrexham. He then took the opportunity to give a long introduction, bringing this little-known old club into the public eye.

The Scramble Square screen at the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, currently the largest outdoor screen in Japan, was naturally requisitioned by Japanese girls who love Shen Juan so much that they would rather die for him and bear all his suffering.

The support video ended with an edited-in clip of Shen Juan saying "Arigato" in Japanese, which made the fans at the scene blush and scream and bow in response.

Regarding Shen Juan.
They don't have a favorite, they only love more!

After all, what girl with a normal sexual orientation could refuse a man with the same skin color, whose appearance perfectly matches their aesthetic, who has extremely high popularity worldwide, and who is even willing to learn Japanese for his Japanese fans and release Japanese albums to give back to his fans for their support?
From YAAIS in 18 to Morpho in 19.

Shen Juan has already proven enough.

In their view, since Shen Juanjun was so sincere to us, we should be even more sincere in return!

You treat me as a national hero, and I will repay you with a national hero!

Domestically, the support is even more extensive, covering every corner. With the joint promotion and coverage of fans and the brands he endorses, Shen Juan's figure can be seen in almost every high-profile landmark and CBD business district with huge traffic, such as the Bund in Shanghai, Chunxi Road in Chengdu, and the Tower in Guangzhou.

Even more outrageous, ANA and Emirates, which Shen Juan endorses (Shen Juan is the global tourism ambassador for Abu Dhabi), also joined forces with several well-known brands to create a global campaign called "Support at 10,000 Meters Altitude" for Shen Juan, turning his birthday into a consumer event.

Not only were some flights sprayed with Shen Juan's iconic logo, but the flight attendants' announcements were also changed to "Welcome aboard Shen Juan's birthday special plane. We wish you a sweet journey with him." Passengers even received commemorative bookmarks printed with Shen Juan's lyrics and instant photos from Canon!
Passersby expressed shock at the news.

They had never seen any celebrity enjoy such an extravagant and awesome treatment on their birthday!

While fans were proud and happy, they also expressed their infuriation, saying online that if they had known about the event earlier, they would have definitely flown to the UAE and Japan to catch short-haul flights and collect these rare items that would likely only appear once in a lifetime.

Their commemorative value cannot be measured in money!

It can only be said that every move of the World's No. 1 can bring in enormous wealth; he is the embodiment of modern commercial value!

In addition, Alovers around the world have responded to their idol's call and made their own contributions to their respective countries and societies or from the perspective of global citizens: for example, building primary schools and launching tree planting projects. For instance, Xiaochunjuan in China planted the "Shenjuan Shelter Forest" in the Northwest region.

The forestry department sent a special thank-you video, saying that this was the largest-scale desertification control effort ever undertaken by celebrity fans!
Upon seeing this, CCTV also launched a special report on the incident, calling Shen Juan a role model for all literary and artistic workers in China!

He truly is a role model.

In their view, if other celebrities in the entertainment industry were as honest as Shen Juan, and if fan groups were as positive as Shen Juan's fans, then why would they need to periodically arrest a celebrity for tax evasion as a warning to others? Isn't it all because of the dishonesty of this group from BYD?
Therefore, they must create gods and set examples!
Let the Chinese entertainment industry know that Shen Juan is right!
Let the world know that China has Shen Juan!
Let Shen Juan know that Guo Jia is standing right behind him!

While netizens around the world were going crazy over the phenomenal scale of the birthday support for Shen Juan,
Shen Juan's personal documentary, "Mr. Huaguo," also premiered on Netflix on time, meeting fans and audiences worldwide.

The documentary unfolds chronologically, showcasing Shen Juan's transformation from a good boy to a phenomenal superstar in stages.

The core theme revolves around self-deconstruction and reconstruction.

The film opens with footage from Shen Juan's time at Star Asia, revealing the values ​​instilled in him in his early years: to be a good boy who always wears a polite smile, is humble and low-key, and never offends others.

This phase showcases his journey from an unknown trainee at age 17 to a globally renowned superstar.

Through the background of his debut English album "Underrated," the album highlights his talent in composing and arranging, as well as his ability to tell stories through music and evoke emotional resonance in the public.

The footage interweaves scenes of his struggles and helplessness when he was sidelined by the company for refusing to sign a second slave contract and when his dreams were shattered, highlighting the importance of "recognition" and "freedom" to him, foreshadowing his withdrawal from the Produce 202 show when he was just one step away from debuting.

Then came 2018, the year that brought them fame.

The Underrated Era.

At this stage, the documentary focuses on the behind-the-scenes stories of his production and promotion of "Underrated". However, considering that the documentary project team only started filming with Shen Juan in mid-19, much of the content is presented in the form of old materials and interviews.

During this period, a series of large-scale performances and gala events were mentioned, including but not limited to the Minnesota Super Bowl pre-game music festival, the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, the Coachella Music Festival, the New York Times Square surprise performance, the Queen's Birthday celebration, the BBC outdoor show, the United Nations Headquarters meeting, the World Cup theme song, and the New York Met Gala.

That's right, the scene of Chris being knocked out of bounds by Shen Juan and suffering a concussion has reappeared, and he's being repeatedly mocked.

I wonder if Hengheng will break down and smash his phone when he sees that even a big platform like Netflix is ​​targeting him.
The content that followed was 2019, the Leviathan era, which occupied the majority of the documentary.

During this period, there was also a collaboration with the Taylor Swift documentary "Miss America," which was also released on Netflix in January of this year.

Netflix showed the entire process of the two working together to create Toilet ME, and then everyone discovered that although the song might be a bit cheesy, the value and meaning it contained were extraordinary, at least for Taylor.

Then began the Leviathan Era tour that shocked the world. Shen Juan was conducting self-analysis, analyzing his growth journey, and while making peace with himself, he was also frantically promoting his values ​​that were dazzling enough to bring strength and psychological support to countless Gen Z teenagers.

"To me, life is like a game, so you have to live it the way you want to live it."

"If you try to give the most correct answer every time someone asks you a question, then your life may become a test." "We can all think about when we were in school, when were we most anxious? I think most people, including myself, would answer exam day. That's right, if you do that, your life becomes such an exam."

"So I don't always try to give the most correct answer at the moment. Sometimes I'm even too lazy to think. I just do what I like to do or what I subconsciously think is right. Why? Because I'm confident and sure that every decision I make will be correct."

“I may be defeated, but my mentality will not be destroyed. Do you know what I mean? I did think about giving up at one point. It was a very difficult and dark period, but I got through it. So what I want to say is that I always firmly believe that I will not be buried and that nothing can truly defeat me.”

When the golden-haired milk dragon started a huge war of words on Twitter, Shen Juan's team had an in-depth discussion.

"I suggest you don't go against Chuanpu, because he might launch a multi-pronged attack on you in terms of public opinion."

Almost everyone, whether the American or Chinese management teams, did not want Shen Juan to participate in politics. They believed that Shen Juan did not need to respond to the ship attack, after all, he was the kind of person who relied on flamboyant performances to attract public attention and refreshed the world's perception of the bottom line of a leader.

But Shen Juan resolutely chose to fight to the end.

"Fxxk it! I don't care if he controls the media to smear me, and I don't care if the number of people at my concert is halved! I only do what I think is right!"

"But doing the right thing is often dangerous."

"Then let me be in danger, how about that?"

In late November, the Leviathan Era tour arrived in South Korea.

In his spare time, Shen Juan drove the film crew to the place where he used to train, and the camera focused on his profile.

"These are all bittersweet memories! Can you imagine me training hard here back then, striving for my debut dream?"

"With all the support I've received, I wouldn't say I can't fail. Everyone in this world can experience setbacks in life, but with my parents and my fans as my support, providing me with a constant stream of love and support, I feel that I can't possibly lose, really."

"During the year or so of training, although the process was tough and the results were not satisfactory, I did a lot of great things. I originally thought that I had done a lot of useless work, but later I realized that the sweat and effort had not disappeared, they were just late."

“I was running hard to realize my dream in the unfamiliar city of Seoul. Once, Justin and I—not the Justin from Canada, but a good friend I knew from my former company—slept in the practice room for one night because we were too anxious before participating in Produce 202.”

"There was no mattress, no blanket, no pillow."

"To be honest, the floor was really hard. I wanted to drag Justin back to the dorm to sleep, but for some reason, maybe because I had a kind of psychological comfort that came from self-torture, I gave up on that option and spent a tough night in the practice room."

"I was starving that night, and of course I'm still hungry now! But it's a hunger on a different level."

“Some people always like to talk about what achievements that Chinese boy has made and what awards he has won, but what they don’t realize is that I am still far from the success I really want. I may have become the embodiment of the American dream in the eyes of those people, but for me? That’s just a pile of history. I am still far from my goal. I still have dreams, and I have greater ambitions.”

“I was born into an ordinary family, but people always say that I am a second-generation rich kid, that my parents are senior executives of a certain company and leaders of a certain department. They try to attribute my success to my family background and erase my efforts. But in fact, my father is a taxi driver, and I am proud of him because he remembers all the roads in Shanghai. My mother runs a small flower shop, and I am equally proud of her because she taught me everything about flowers.”

“When I returned to China to participate in the competition, many people ganged up on me because I wasn’t depraved enough or underground enough. I was really amused. Just because I obeyed the law, just because I didn’t go along with your ways, you have to belittle and insult me? I can’t understand it!”

"I'm just a singer! A musician! I'm a storyteller, a singer. I won't say what music is to me, but it's the only thing I'm good at. And when they were criticizing me on Weibo, I was already thinking about my Grammy acceptance speech."

The Leviathan Era tour will return to China in December.

Shen Juan took some time to return to his hometown of Shanghai to meet with his parents, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and the documentary crew followed him.

"Can you imagine that they actually described me as the Michael Jackson of the 21st century?" Shen Juan chatted with his parents while helping them prepare dinner in the kitchen. "Even now, I still feel like I'm dreaming, because it's all so fantastical and unreal!"

His mother, who owned a flower shop, chose to believe Shen Juan unconditionally and offered some very philosophical advice.

"Of course I believe you, because you work very hard and are full of talent! You write songs as easily as I arrange flowers. I'm not praising myself, I just want to tell you that any outstanding person who can persist for this long will definitely be rewarded. You can't succeed just by talking."

"The key is to choose a job you like, which is why your father and I supported you going to South Korea in the first place."

Shen Juan nodded: "I really like my job."

"That's good. But speaking of which, I suddenly remembered something very important that I feel I should tell you."

"Although you are sometimes humble and sometimes low-key, you are mostly arrogant, so you must remember that a giant can't see anything when he looks in a mirror."

"So, Mom, do you think I'm arrogant?" Shen Juan stopped what he was doing, turned around and asked his mother.

"No, you have talent, so of course you can be proud. It's your capital. You can't be a star without the airs of one. You need to have your own personal charm, your own attitude, and your own philosophy of life. I never thought about making you become me or your father. The only thing you need to do is be yourself. And to be honest, your father and I both think you don't need to be too humble. We both think you are perfect right now!"

"But at the same time, you must remember to be down-to-earth, view the pressure and pain that the outside world puts on you correctly, and then calmly enjoy the halo that fame brings."

"I hope you never stop striving. Of course, you can stop to rest and adjust, but don't stop for a lifetime. No matter what others say, no matter how others doubt you, no matter how others belittle and suppress you, none of that matters. What really matters is how you want to live your life? How do you want to make your life full of value and meaning? How can you make your thoughts and what you want to express resonate throughout the world?"

Shen Juan, who was deeply moved, had clearly not expected that an ordinary family conversation could reach such a depth.

After a long silence, he hugged his parents.

"I am truly grateful for your contributions. Without your support, I could not have achieved so much success."

"Don't say that. After all, your father and I know very well that you are giving your all for your life. As parents, it is only natural to support what you want to do, so we don't feel that it is a burden to us at all."

"But there are many people who are kind to you, and it's not a given that they should take it for granted. There are many people who support you, push you forward, and stand by you. You must have met many such people by now, and I think you will definitely meet more in the future, so you should always remember to be grateful to them."

"Finally, I don't know much about music, the entertainment industry, or being a star. But whether you sing well or not, or whether you become a big star, it's all the same to me. I don't care at all, because even without those things, you are already my pride."

Besides the family storyline, the documentary, titled "Mr. Hua Guo," also dedicates a portion of its runtime to showcasing Shen Juan's daily life and his "chaotic" love life.

For example, when Shen Juan relaxes in private, he goes to the gym to lift weights, or goes out to play basketball or football with friends, or plays his newly bought racing simulator at home alone. In front of the camera, he said that he is currently obsessed with racing, so his goal is to drive to Le Mans and experience the speed of F1.

Then they talked about another of his hobbies.

That is, tourism.

Shen Juan said that he used his time outside of the tour to travel around the cities he was touring with his friends, which allowed him to find inner peace by getting close to nature.

As for who this friend is...
As for whether this friend is one person or a group of people?

Although there is no video evidence.

However, the information revealed was too obvious.

So if resourceful netizens want to dig deeper, they might actually be able to uncover some things that weren't revealed before.

Eighty-five minutes later.
The documentary concludes with the creation of "Sisyphus," the behind-the-scenes story of the Grammy Award, and the closing of the Leviathan Era tour in Melbourne, which achieved unprecedented box office success.

Before he officially stepped onto the stage to begin his performance, just as the tour had set sail in Shanghai six months prior, the documentary director once again had a brief conversation with him about his pursuit of dreams.

“In this world, in this industry, what I have always truly pursued is greatness. I know that people usually don’t say this for various reasons, but I don’t want to lie. I just want to be one of those names! I am deeply inspired by great people. Michael Jackson inspires me, Elvis Presley inspires me, Prince inspires me, Bob Dylan inspires me, the Beatles inspire me, and Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan also inspire me to keep going. So I want to reach their level and integrate into this era.”

"So what does Alex mean to you?"

Are you referring to my name or me as a person?

"You..."

Shen Juan raised his hand to adjust the position of his in-ear monitor, a slight smile appearing on his face: "Alex means the only one."

Before he could finish speaking, the elevator had already slowly lifted him up.

As the breathtaking intro ended and Shen Juan spread his wings and appeared fully in the center of the stage, the cheers and screams of the 100,000 audience members instantly lifted the stadium's dome. The sea of ​​blue glow sticks surged in the darkness, not only igniting the Melbourne night sky but also seemingly etching the extraordinary adjectives "great" and "unique" into the memories of countless people with the final chapter of this grand tour.

Some people, just by standing there, seem to be able to give concrete form to words that are rarely used in daily life.

Without a doubt, in the hearts of all Alovers,
He is both great and unique.

He has become the chosen one of our time in the hearts of countless people.

(End of this chapter)