HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 307 [307] The single is released in the United States. Who is the real genius?

Qi Yuan did not return to the mainland immediately.

He has a concert in Taoyuan, Taiwan on the 15th, and the tickets are already sold out.

Qi Yuan has now discovered that the venues in Taiwan and Hong Kong are too small. The largest stadium can only accommodate more than 10,000 people, and concert tickets sell out in less than half a day.

In terms of venues, those in mainland China are still better.

The Shanghai Stadium (capacity 80,000), the Wuhan Stadium (capacity 1,000), and the Beijing Workers' Stadium (capacity 60,000 to 70,000) are all great venues for a truly exciting experience.

Having experienced concerts with tens of thousands of people, Qi Yuan now finds venues with around ten thousand people a bit lacking.

On the other hand, Hong Kong and Taiwan are wealthy, with higher per capita income. A venue with 15,000 people earns more than a venue with tens of thousands of people on the mainland. There is a reason for concerts in Hong Kong and Taiwan to continue.

On the same day as the concert, Qi Yuan's English single "Free Loop" was officially released in the United States, with both cassette tapes and CDs available for purchase.

After Zhou Jianhui returned from the United States last time, Warner Music America began arranging for Qi Yuan's single to be promoted on American radio charts.

Given the outstanding performance of Qi Yuan's single in the Japanese market, Warner Music sent Qi Yuan's song to several major radio stations.

However, compared to American singers, Qi Yuan's disadvantages are still too obvious.

He was holding concerts in the country and didn't have time to appear in the US for promotion.

In addition, many new American singers build their popularity by performing at various music festivals, bars, and school events before their debut.

Qi's claim in the United States is baseless; ordinary newcomers in the US have an advantage over him.

Before he charted on the Free Loop radio show, few Chinese people had heard of Chris Qi.

Having already established herself in the United States, Li Wen promptly provided Qi Yuan with a boost.

During the chart-topping period, Li Wen shared in an interview that she really liked "Free Loop" and that Chris Qi is a musician she greatly admires.

She also mentioned that "Oops! I Did It Again," which saved her English singing career, was written by Chris.

In her latest event, Li Wen performed "Oops! I Did It Again" and "Free Loop".

For this, Li Wen paid a copyright fee to Warner Bros. in the United States, essentially subsidizing Qi Yuan's publicity.

Li Wen is currently enjoying great popularity in the United States, and is the most popular Chinese singer, hailed as a source of pride for the Chinese community in the US.

Some of her fans, upon hearing their idol's strong recommendation of Christie's songs, rushed to the radio station to listen to them, while others with more money went directly to record stores to buy Christie's records.

After learning about this, Qi Yuan specifically thanked Li Wen.

Li Wen replied, "You're welcome. You helped me a lot last year, and I only helped you with a tiny bit. Congratulations on your 'Free Loop' opening up the American market. I hope to have a partner to fight alongside."

In the evening, Qi Yuan held the second show of his "Heroes of the World" concert in Taoyuan. He performed passionately for more than two hours, maintaining his consistent performance and giving the audience a great time.

However, Taiwanese media outlets are no longer paying much attention to Qi Yuan's concerts; instead, they're focusing on the performance of her first English single in the US market.

This is an English single, and its success in China only shows that Qi Yuan has many fans in China.

It's impressive that it sells well in Japan, but that doesn't prove it can perfectly adapt to the US market.

A lot of Japanese singers try releasing English songs, which sell well in Japan, but they flop when they go to the US and can only stay in their home country.

Zhou Jianhui was also paying close attention to the performance of Qi Yuan's single in the United States. He wished he could send someone to Warner Music's marketing department in the United States to keep an eye on it and report back immediately if there was any news.

……

On the 17th, news finally came from across the ocean.

"Free Loop" sold only 9901 copies on its first day in the United States, a mediocre result, similar to that of a slightly promising newcomer.

Zhou Jianhui encouraged Qi Yuan: "A Yuan, don't be discouraged, this is just the beginning. You don't have a foundation in the US, and the US is different from Japan." Previously, Qi Yuan's Chinese albums could sell in Japan but not in the US, so Qi Yuan could sell more than 30,000 copies a day in Japan, but only less than 10,000 copies in the US.

There's another reason: the competition in the American music scene is much fiercer. Not only American musicians, but English singers all over the world release their new songs in the American market, making the competition extremely intense.

Zhou Jianhui was worried that Qi Yuan had been too successful in China and too successful in Japan, and that he might easily break down psychologically if he encountered setbacks in the United States.

Actually, Zhou Jianhui was overthinking it. Qi Yuan had excellent mental fortitude. Before the chart-topping campaign, he had no popularity base in the United States. Selling nearly 10,000 copies on the first day was already quite good.

Let's see how it develops. A good song can gradually become popular through word of mouth.

New singers from countries like Canada and the UK, whose initial popularity wasn't much better than Qi Yuan's, were still able to make it big in the US market.

Qi Yuan has confidence in "Free Loop".

……

United States.

Columbia University.

Utada Hikaru released a single in Japan in the first half of the year, and then went to study here in the second half of the year.

She didn't stay in school for long; after finishing this semester, she will take a break and begin preparing to enter the American music scene.

He is the fastest-rising super rookie in the history of the Japanese music scene.

Even if Utada Hikaru herself doesn't inquire, her company staff will tell her about the Japanese music scene every now and then.

A few days ago, her father and manager, Uta, told her the truth: there was an overconfident Chinese singer who wanted to break into the Japanese music scene.

At the time, Yuda gave a truthful evaluation, saying that this Chinese singer would return to the same place he came from.

The Japanese music scene is the number one music scene in Asia. How many Japanese songs have been covered by the Chinese music scene? How can people from second- or third-rate places possibly gain a foothold in the Japanese music scene?

As it turned out, Uta was proven wrong. That Chinese singer was a force to be reckoned with in the Japanese music scene. If it weren't for a TV theme song that saved the day, the Japanese music scene would have been utterly humiliated.

From that time on, Terumi Uta and Hikaru Utada began to pay attention to this Chinese singer named Qi Yuan.

They paid even more attention after learning that Qi Yuan was heading to the United States.

Hikaru Utada has reached the pinnacle of the Japanese music scene, and she wants to break into the American music scene.

Qi Yuan moved even faster; they could observe how Qi Yuan's music was performed in the United States.

When Qi Yuan's single was released in the United States, Utada Hikaru immediately bought a copy to listen to it.

Then she was amazed by the song "Free Loop". She was born in New York State and has lived in the United States for a long time. She has listened to all the popular songs in the United States every year.

"Free Loop" blends pop and rock elements, with catchy melodies and easy-to-remember lyrics, appealing to a wide American audience.

The lyrics are very interesting, the emotions are sincere, and the layers are distinct. The verses and choruses progress step by step, and the smooth vocal transitions in the chorus can give goosebumps to people who hear it for the first time.

The music video is well-made and profound; you can tell at a glance that it's the work of a master.

Utada Hikaru is optimistic about the song's future performance in the United States.

At the same time, she was a little depressed.

Some time ago, this Chinese singer named Qi Yuan tried to piggyback on her and Ayumi Hamasaki's marketing tactics in Japan.

In the blink of an eye, she had already achieved success in the Japanese music scene and had even made her way into the American music scene before her.

Since her debut, she has been hailed as a genius by the Japanese media, but now she's starting to wonder who the real genius is.

Could this Chinese singer have achieved success in the American music scene before her?
(End of this chapter)