Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

The days on set went by very quickly.

The crew of "Legend of Yunxi" was probably the best-treated crew Jiang Bai had ever worked for.

When he was filming "Rush to the Dead Summer", he was an unknown newcomer. He was probably not bullied on set, and no one cared about him.

By the time of "A Love So Beautiful", Jiang Bai was considered the crown prince of the crew, but because the crew itself was short of money, they tried to save money wherever possible during the entire filming process, so Jiang Bai didn't receive any special treatment.

It wasn't until "Legend of Yunxi" that Jiang Bai finally experienced the treatment of a potential emperor.

No matter what they do, they enjoy the treatment of A-list celebrities, and are always watched by countless staff members on set. If they even slightly furrow their brows, someone will come to offer their concern and care.

Every day, the production assistant would carefully ask Jiang Bai if there was anything he was not satisfied with that needed improvement.

This is the entertainment industry!

However, Jiang Bai got along well with everyone in the crew.

Since it's an idol drama, the main actors are all young people, and the average age of the behind-the-scenes staff is also not high. Everyone can get along well and have fun together.

In particular, several male actors would shout and play games together as soon as they finished work, which allowed Jiang Bai to fully indulge his gaming addiction.

It just goes to show that playing games is more fun when you're playing with friends.

However, Jiang Bai will keep his distance from the group of actresses from Siba.

I don't know if they learned it from their leader, Ju Jingyi, but all the female idols from Siba are very enthusiastic and proactive at work, always with a smile on their faces.

But once filming wrapped, she basically wouldn't have any more private contact with the male actors.

We've never had any activities like crew members having late-night snacks or dinners together.

Everyone is in a state where they are good partners at work, but strangers after get off work.

Jiang Bai added them on WeChat on the first day of filming, but never received any private messages from them.

We always talk things out directly in the crew's group chat.

This struck Jiang Bai as something very novel.

After all, he claims to be quite popular right now and doesn't lack attention.

At times like these, many of the child actors in the same production crew will try to ride the coattails of the show's popularity.

Even if it's not about creating a scandal, spending more time together in private and taking some photos together is still a must.

We can use this to promote our friendship or good relationship later; it's a good way to ride the wave of popularity!

If Jiang Bai becomes a huge star and rises to the top, they can easily ride the wave of popularity.

But these idols, apart from taking a group photo at the start of filming, never contacted Jiang Bai privately again.

There's a certain feeling that, in their eyes, Jiang Bai is something that can only be admired from afar and not touched.

Perhaps this is a unique kind of caution among the young idols of SNH48?

After all, their fan base is primarily male.

Moreover, there are a huge number of otaku, who probably can't stand seeing their favorite female idols interact with any men.

After all, this drama is meant to promote Ju Jingyi, the leading lady, while the other supporting actresses will go back to being theater idols after filming.

Their core support base isn't within the fan community.

So after filming wrapped up, the crew of "Legend of Yunxi" mostly hung out together, with the men hanging out with the men and the women hanging out with the women, and it was quite harmonious.

Amidst the cries of "Place the bomb at point A" and "Mid laner doesn't have their ultimate," Jiang Bai spent a month filming on set.

Time flies, and the day when "A Love So Beautiful" will be broadcast has arrived.

Over the past month, the most popular and discussed TV series online has been "Princess Agents," starring Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin.

"Princess Agents" premiered on June 5 and became an instant hit, averaging 1.97% in viewership and peaking at 2.86% for a single episode.

This drama achieved a peak market share of over 41%, overwhelmingly surpassing all other dramas airing in the same time slot.

Although its online streaming data is heavily inflated, it just released a poster a few days ago claiming that its total online viewership has exceeded 400 billion.

However, judging from the TV broadcast data, even ignoring the padding in online broadcasts, this drama can indeed be considered a hit drama of the year.

Fortunately, "A Love So Beautiful" and "Princess Agents" are competing in different areas.

Moreover, "Princess Agents" is almost finished airing, so the two dramas weren't exactly broadcast at the same time.

However, to Jiang Bai's slight disappointment, his popularity on the internet has been declining over the past month.

A statistic from later generations within the industry was compiled.

A hit drama can only bring the lead actor about 3 months of popularity at most.

Even if you become incredibly popular, to the point that everyone knows you, like "Joy of Life" and "The Storm".

That would only bring Zhang Ruoyun and Zhang Songwen three months of popularity.

Within three months of the show ending, the lead actor will likely become the center of online discussion, overshadowing all other actors and becoming the hottest star at the moment.

But after the three-month hype period, the public will stop paying attention to them, and even many of the new fans will gradually switch allegiances.

That's why Hu Yitian, Li Xian, and Gong Jun were only top-tier celebrities for a limited time. After a few months of brief popularity, their fame immediately declined, and they were no longer top-tier celebrities.

Only celebrities who have truly experienced numerous hits and can retain their fans, maintaining a stable active fanbase even after the initial hype of a drama has faded, can be considered true top stars.

Jiang Bai is clearly incapable of doing that now.

When the TV series "Rush to the Dead Summer" just ended, the number of people checking in on his Weibo topic briefly surged to 3.

This data is close to the minimum of 5 active followers for top influencers in 2017.

Even for a top-tier celebrity like Yang Yang, who already gained immense popularity through "Love O7O," his daily check-in count on his Super Topic in July was only 3.5.

But three months later, the number of people checking in on Jiang Bai's super topic has dropped to just over 1, a decrease of more than half.

He sat at the same table as Deng Lun and Li Xian, who were currently enjoying some popularity.

It can be said that the tide has receded, and the more than 1 people who remain now are his true core fans.

Jiang Bai, who once had a huge online presence and whose popularity rivaled Yang Yang's, has now become just another ordinary male celebrity with limited online influence.

This inevitably left Jiang Bai feeling somewhat lost.

After all, this was his first time experiencing a surge in popularity, and he also witnessed the cooling down of popularity after the tide receded.

He now desperately hopes that the broadcast of "A Love So Beautiful" will bring his popularity back to its peak.

As long as you can secure your position as a top-tier goalkeeper, you've won!

As for our Brother Yang?

As you know, Yang Yang is a senior figure in my industry. We've both acted with Shuangzi and know how difficult things have been for each other.

I've known him for a long time, and this guy is incredibly strong.

But there's only one spot for the top-tier goalkeeper. I wish him all the best after he falls to the top tier of popularity!

With the belief that he could dethrone Yang Yang from the top spot, Jiang Bai took leave from the "Legend of Yunxi" crew and set off back to Shanghai.

He will meet up with Dai Lu here to start the promotional tour for the premiere of "A Love So Beautiful".

The most skilled online drama marketer, along with Jiang Bai, who is well-versed in future drama promotion and marketing methods, are about to collaborate to bring a small wave of drama promotion shock to the Chinese entertainment industry.

Let me teach my colleagues a lesson.

Who knew that drama promotion could be done like this!

Jiang Bai: I will bring my talent to "A Love So Beautiful"!