HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 40 [040] The Four Heavenly Kings: Oh no, he's coming for me!

Rolling Stone Records.

Two godfathers of pop music, Lee Tsung-sheng and Lo Ta-yu, sat together.

They were both important producers at Rolling Stone Records and were the soul of the record company.

Opposite them were Richie Jen, who became a sensation in the first half of the year, and his partner, Xiao Chong.

Xiao Chong started out as a singer and released his own music albums.

However, he is best known for his other identity – a music producer.

Richie Jen wasn't originally with Rock Records. Rock Records acquired his original company, and his contract was transferred to Rock Records.

When he first arrived at Rolling Stone, he had no presence at all. Ordinary employees didn't recognize him and even asked him if he was a deliveryman.

Rolling Stones believed he had no potential and wanted to terminate his contract.

Fortunately, Xiao Chong thought highly of him and went to great lengths to negotiate with higher-ups to keep him on the team.

Later, Xiao Chong wrote lyrics and composed music for him, creating the song "Too Softhearted," which made him famous throughout Asia.

Xiao Chong helped him for a simple reason: because he was a good person.

As it turns out, Xiao Chong was right about who he was.

Later, Xiao Chong lost all his money and owed a lot of debt, and none of his friends were willing to lend him money.

Ren Xianqi knew Xiao Chong's situation, so he brought one million yuan in cash to his house and told him that he didn't need to repay the money.

Many years later, they remained very good friends.

Despite Richie Jen's rise to fame across Asia with a single hit song, earning him the title of Asia's new king of pop, his title is actually somewhat undeserved.

His music isn't that strong, as evidenced by the fact that he didn't win any Golden Melody Awards.

He was incredibly popular between 97 and 00. Coupled with his good character, dedication, and zero scandals throughout his many years in the industry, he was recognized as a superstar by people both inside and outside the industry.

However, neither Lee Tsung-sheng nor Jen Hsien-chi have clairvoyance, so they cannot foresee the future.

"Xiao Qi, what do you think of Qi Yuan's recent strong rise in Warner Music? He's on a roll, selling 300,000 copies in Taiwan and over 80,000 copies in Hong Kong in just five days."

Now Warner Music's Zhou Jianhui wants to push him to the position of the new Heavenly King in one fell swoop. You are the new Heavenly King after the Four Heavenly Kings.

"If he's to be crowned a king, people will inevitably compare the two of you."

Li Zongsheng had a headache.

When two tigers fight, there must be one injury.

At present, Ren Xianqi is more popular than Qi Yuan.

But Qi Yuan has an advantage that Ren Xianqi doesn't: Qi Yuan is a singer-songwriter, and he wrote all ten songs for his first album himself.

Qi Yuan has a significant advantage in consistently producing high-quality works.

In a short period of time, Ren Xianqi can suppress Qi Yuan with the popularity he gained from "Too Softhearted".

Looking at the bigger picture over two or three years, if Qi Yuan can maintain quality with each of his second and third albums, he could very well surpass Ren Xianqi.

It's all the fault of those idiots in the production department who didn't take their work seriously.

If they could discover Qi Yuan's creative talent in time and recruit such a person to Rolling Stone, they wouldn't need to worry about the challenge Qi Yuan posed to Richie Jen.

If it were any other singer, and a newcomer threatened their position, they might resort to unfair competitive tactics such as confrontation, suppression, and smear campaigns, doing everything in their power to overshadow the other party.

Ren Xianqi is different; he is low-key and humble, and is known as a kind-hearted person.

He doesn't get angry when faced with challengers; he can remain calm and composed.

"Qi Yuan is a very talented and energetic young man. I have listened to his music, and it is very innovative. I like it very much."

If I can be made a king, why can't he? Actually... I think I could cooperate with him once. Firstly, it would show that there's no life-or-death competition between us as rumored.

Secondly, it can help dispel rumors about the company.

Ren Xianqi thought about it for a long time and then put forward his idea.

Li Zongsheng's eyes lit up; Ren Xianqi's idea was a good solution to the problem.

Richie Jen is more famous than Qi Yuan, and he took the initiative to invite Qi Yuan to collaborate, which shows his magnanimity as a senior and that he does not care about the younger generation challenging his status.

Rolling Stones' invitation to collaborate with Warner Music can dispel the rumors and gossip that have been tarnishing the Stones' reputation in recent days.

Previously, Qi Yuan revealed on a program that he had sent 500 letters to the record company.

Some media outlets have spread rumors that executives at Rolling Stone Records threw Qi Yuan's songs in the trash.

There are even rumors that this executive is Li Zongsheng, which is simply outrageous.

“Xiao Qi, that’s a great idea. Since you’ve said so, we’ll talk to Warner. I’m sure Warner and Qi Yuan won’t refuse us,” Li Zongsheng said.

Qi Yuanhong is famous enough, but it will take time to elevate her status.

If the two collaborate, it's equivalent to Qi Yuan, the new rising star, gaining the recognition of Richie Jen, the new Asian superstar, and Qi Yuan's status will rise rapidly.

Conversely, Richie Jen can use this collaboration to showcase his status as a new Asian superstar, and also to generate buzz for his upcoming TV dramas and new album this year.

Li Zongsheng still had some thoughts he didn't voice.

He just got a new inspiration from Ren Xianqi's suggestion.

He needs to have a serious talk with Zhou Jianhui.

……

While Qi Yuan was in Hong Kong for a book signing, Warner executives led by Zhou Jianhui met with Rock Records executives represented by Li Zongsheng, and the two sides reached a consensus after negotiations.

Zhang Hao relayed the contents of the negotiation to Qi Yuan, who also agreed to them.

Qi Yuan's final book signing in Hong Kong was a huge success.

Meanwhile, his debut album sold 130,000 copies in Hong Kong, achieving double platinum status and not far from triple platinum.

This album even outsold albums by Li Ming and Guo Fucheng in the Hong Kong record market.

Last year, Li Ming's album "IF" only received platinum certification, meaning it sold over 50,000 copies but not 100,000.

Only Andy Lau and Alec Suet's albums can rival Qi Yuan's.

For a time, the management companies behind veteran superstars like Li Ming, Andy Lau, and Zhang Xueyou all felt the pressure.

Fortunately, Qi Yuan's rivals are not limited to the old kings. These days, there have been reports in Taiwan about the fierce competition between Warner Music and Rock Records, and the battle between Qi Yuan and Richie Jen for the title of new king.

As a result, major media outlets in Hong Kong began to focus on the competition between Qi Yuan and Richie Jen as the new Heavenly King.

Some of it was spontaneously organized by the Hong Kong media, while some was probably orchestrated by the record companies behind those veteran superstars.

They were happy to see Qi Yuan and Ren Xianqi both suffer heavy losses.

To the surprise of the Hong Kong media and record companies, Rock Records (Hong Kong branch) and Warner Music (Hong Kong branch) jointly issued a statement.

Asia's new king of pop Richie Jen and Asia's new rising star Qi Yuan will collaborate in the near future, heralding the arrival of a new generation of superstars.

This news caused a major upheaval in Hong Kong's entertainment industry.

At first, everyone was just watching the show, hoping they would fight to the death, but they actually joined forces.
So here's the question: now that these two self-proclaimed new kings have joined forces, who will be their target?
The three Heavenly Kings and the companies behind them are terrified!

Oh no, Warner Music and Rolling Stones are after them. Qi Yuan and Ren Xianqi are going to climb over the Four Heavenly Kings to get ahead.

(End of this chapter)