Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

Chapter 86 Starting today, I'll be a top influencer!

On the way to the hotel.

"Damn!" Xiao Tian, ​​who was browsing Weibo with her head resting on Jiang Bai's shoulder, suddenly sat up abruptly.

"Jiang Bai, your fans have launched a blitzkrieg!"

"Damn, I have to go help out too!"

what's going on?

Jiang Bai turned his head to look at Tian Xiwei with a surprised expression.

Oda has two faces.

She was acting all sweet and energetic just a moment ago, actively engaging with everyone. She was so adorable and full of vitality.

Now she acts like a spicy Sichuan girl, with every sentence ending with "damn," and she sits cross-legged, frantically tapping her phone screen.

However, she no longer has the right to log in to her main account and is only using her alternate accounts, which are newly registered. Jiang Bai is not worried that she will cause any more trouble.

Seeing this, Jiang Bai also took out his phone and curiously opened Weibo to see what had happened.

Outside the Great Firewall, the fervor is raging; inside, it's spreading like wildfire.

News of Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei's arrival in Bangkok, which caused airport paralysis, quickly spread back to China.

Weibo was in an uproar, with the trending topics list being completely dominated by the incident.

In just ten minutes, five trending topics surged onto Weibo's list, occupying three of the top five spots and completely dominating the entire internet's attention.

Major entertainment marketing accounts, gossip bloggers, and film and television bloggers all mobilized.

We provide real-time updates of live video footage, high-definition fan-taken photos, and overseas media reports from Bangkok Airport.

Unedited airport photos, videos of huge crowds welcoming passengers, screenshots dominating Twitter in multiple countries, and overwhelming praise from overseas netizens—these images were exported and then re-imported, going viral on the Chinese internet in an all-encompassing and comprehensive way.

In 2017, the Chinese people had not yet demystified so-called international superstars. It was quite uplifting to see an actor from China gaining such popularity overseas.

In no time, anyone who goes online today knows that a new generation of top stars has emerged in the Chinese entertainment industry, sweeping across Southeast Asia and conquering Thailand with just one drama.

However, that's not the point.

What does Tian Xiwei mean by "blitzkrieg"?

Jiang Bai opened his fan super topic with a puzzled look.

Then, I saw a big-character poster.

[White rice, assemble! Let's march!]

What kind of expedition are we going to?

Upon closer inspection, wow!

So it turns out his fans launched a blitzkrieg against the "Wool Army"!

They say they want to use the fall of a top influencer to crown Jiang Bai with the title of top influencer!

It's quite exciting!

The current state of the Chinese entertainment industry is still one where established top stars firmly control the discourse.

Lu Han and Chris Wu, leveraging their status as top-tier returning idols, firmly occupy the very top of the popularity pyramid, boasting a massive fan base.

Its combat capabilities are far ahead of others.

The two most widely recognized top figures in the fandom.

Following closely behind are Yang Yang and Li Yifeng, two top celebrities who have cultivated their careers in the Chinese entertainment industry for many years. They have a solid national reputation, a stable fan base, and top-tier commercial resources, firmly securing their top celebrity status for many years.

These four are widely recognized as the top four celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, dominating online traffic, possessing top-tier resources, monopolizing the discourse power of fan circles, and consistently outshining all new generation artists.

Adding the three members of TF Boys completes the so-called "Four Big and Three Small Top Idols" lineup.

In the face of these four major and three minor trendsetters, all newly popular celebrities and web drama stars are categorized as having "limited popularity."

"Internet celebrity traffic" "Small bursts and then fades away".

Even if they enjoy high popularity in the short term, they will only be regarded as fleeting, superficial traffic, forever inferior to established top influencers.

In the few months since Jiang Bai suddenly appeared, from gaining some fame with "Rush to the Dead Summer" to becoming a hit with the premiere of "A Love So Beautiful", he has topped the popularity charts across the internet and won the title of "August Boyfriend". His popularity far surpasses that of his peers, and he is enjoying immense success.

But in reality, his fans still suffer from discrimination compared to the fans of top-tier celebrities in the fandom.

In the eyes of veteran top-tier fans, Jiang Bai is just a newcomer who suddenly became popular because of a niche youth web drama.

Without a nationally recognized representative work, without a long-standing fan base, and without the support of mainstream resources, their popularity comes and goes quickly. Ultimately, they are just web drama stars who can't be considered mainstream and are not worthy of being compared with established top stars.

These past few months, I've been living a particularly stifling life with just plain white rice.

Their idols dominate the internet, top the popularity charts, and outperform a host of other artists in terms of data, yet they are constantly being suppressed, ridiculed, and targeted by the fan circles of top celebrities.

Any fan who dares to speak out in defense will be labeled as "a newcomer trying to piggyback on the fame of veterans," "a web series star getting arrogant," or "a self-indulgent celebrity with a bubble of popularity," and will be attacked and purged by veteran fans from all walks of life.

In the eyes of these veteran fans, all of Jiang Bai's sudden popularity is just hype, and all the buzz is just empty talk.

White Rice, having endured for months, has been waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables completely and declare war head-on.

Today, the phenomenal success of Bangkok Airport being paralyzed, dominating the charts in multiple countries, and experiencing a surge in popularity overseas is the perfect opportunity they have been waiting for for countless days and nights!

This time, they no longer tolerated, backed down, or passively endured the insults.

War is inevitable!

We need a resounding victory to make these so-called veteran top-tier celebrities' fans realize the reality.

What's with this "Big Four and Three Small" thing? It's long overdue for a reshuffle!

So who should we choose as our opponent?

There was already a consensus among the White Rice group that Reed, Meganie, and Imperial Girls should be ruled out first.

These three fan groups, as the original top-tier fan groups, are at the pinnacle of the industry in terms of size, fighting power, and maturity. A head-on clash would only result in mutual destruction.

It's not that we definitely can't win, but that there's no need to.

Even if we win, it will only be a temporary, pyrrhic victory, not a decisive, decisive one!

Moreover, they are not in the same category, so it is difficult to make a horizontal comparison and crush the other party.

The ones who truly need to be settled, brought down from their pedestals, and crushed head-on are clearly Yang Yang's fans—the "wool"—who love to suppress newcomers to the entertainment industry and mock Jiang Bai for "being a web drama star who doesn't deserve to be a top star."

Wool has always been arrogant and looks down on all newcomers who come from web dramas.

Especially Jiang Bai, who is also an actor and has a very similar acting style to Yang Yang.

Over the past few months, Yangmao has been the most aggressive fan group in attacking Jiang Bai.

Since the premiere of "A Love So Beautiful" became a hit, fans of the show have dominated the Jiang Bai super topic, the public square, and the hot search comment section, using all sorts of creative mockery.

"Just a web series influencer, she'll flop immediately after the show ends, does she even deserve to be called a top star?"

"Lacking mainstream film and television resources, lacking national recognition, and having only elementary school student fans, its popularity was short-lived."

"The top stars in the Chinese entertainment industry are judged by their seniority and popularity, not by these assembly-line youth drama internet celebrities."

"You dare to call yourself the pinnacle of the Chinese entertainment industry after airing just one web series? You're just an Ioser who can't even get the male lead role in a primetime drama."

Countless similar sarcastic comments frequently appear on Jiang Bai's super topic page.

Whenever Jiang Bai trended on social media, a large number of fans would flood the comments section with accusations that "Jiang Bai's popularity is unfounded, he doesn't deserve to be a top star, and web drama stars are inferior."

Their ability to control public opinion, combat negative publicity, dominate online forums, and tear apart rivals makes them a formidable criminal force within the industry.

Previously, Bai Mifan had been restrained and tolerant, focusing on data collection, controlling public opinion, and protecting her idol, silently waiting for the opportunity to retaliate.

Even when the movie "Once Upon a Time" flopped and Yang Yang's look was outrageously bad, Bai Mifan (a nickname for a female celebrity) just watched coldly from the sidelines.

But today, everything has completely reversed.

When you see the impressive achievements before you: a thousand people welcoming you at Bangkok Airport, a paralyzed airport in another country, trending on Twitter in multiple countries, gaining millions of followers on Instagram, and being featured on overseas media.

Now, with overwhelming success in hand, Bai Mifan (White Rice) is full of confidence, assembled its entire team, and officially sounded the horn for a counterattack.

Once a few key followers coordinated, the message was relayed down the chain of command, and within fifteen minutes, all 20 followers were online and acting in unison.

They acted in unison and launched a massive campaign to clean up the fandom.

In an instant, Weibo's main page was completely overrun, the battle raging from Jiang Bai's trending topic page to Yang Yang's super topic, personal page, and so on.

Latest news and comments section.

The group that was originally posting casually and mocking Jiangbai's excessive marketing was suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of posts, caught off guard and suffering a series of defeats.

"You used to say that our Jiang Bai was just a web series star, had no national recognition, couldn't go international, and was only hyped up superficially!"

"Currently, Bangkok Airport is paralyzed due to thousands of people welcoming passengers, it's trending in four Southeast Asian countries, its views on foreign websites have exceeded 100 million, and it's on Instagram..."

Millions of fans!

"Has Yang Yang, who has consistently held a top position in the Chinese entertainment industry, ever caused a complete disruption to airport receptions overseas?"

"Is there any TV series that swept the Southeast Asian market?"

"Has there ever been a time when a topic dominated the trending charts across multiple countries?"

"Internally, they ruthlessly suppress outstanding newcomers, but externally, they completely disappear from public view. Is this what you call a true top star?"

"Yang Yang's Instagram followers are less than a fraction of Jiang Bai's, and he calls himself a top influencer?"

Every word was piercing, every sentence was true, and it accurately hit the wool's most fatal weakness, making them furious.

Yang Yang has been deeply involved in the Chinese entertainment industry for many years and has indeed achieved high popularity in China, as well as impressive drama broadcasting results. However, his shortcomings are extremely obvious, with almost no presence in the overseas market.

All his popularity, fame, and influence are confined to the domestic market.

In the past, even if white rice wanted to fight against wool, it couldn't produce any results that surpassed those of sheep.

But it's different now.

Jiang Bai's explosive success overseas has directly shattered the evaluation system for top celebrities in the domestic entertainment industry, achieving a complete reversal of expectations.

While the rice was still hot, Bai Mifan (a pseudonym) compiled comparison charts of actual results, screenshots of overseas trending searches, videos of tens of thousands of people at the airport, and collections of media reports, which flooded the entire internet.

Even Yang Yang's super topic square is full of Jiang Bai's overseas news.

"Web drama stars are sweeping Southeast Asia, while established top stars go unrecognized overseas. Who's just hyped up, and who's the real star?"

"Stop using seniority to intimidate others. The fan community has never been a retirement home where seniority determines everything; ability and popularity are the only true voices!"

"August-limited boyfriend? Let me tell you, this is the new generation of international superstar dominating Southeast Asia!"

"In the past, we were all made to stand up; now, we need the established top stars to make way for the new generation of overseas champions!"

The uniform rhetoric, the well-founded achievements, and the massive amount of controlled comments and social media activity instantly crushed all counter-arguments from the "wool-pullers" (a term used to describe those who exploit women for profit).

Caught off guard, the team quickly rallied to launch a counterattack, adopting a defensive and counter-offensive strategy in an attempt to maintain their long-standing status as a top star.

"The overseas buzz is all fake data inflated by fans; foreigners don't even know who it is—it's pure self-indulgence!"

"A thousand people at the airport and you dare to call yourself an international top star? Yang Yang's popularity is miles ahead of your idols!"

"Web series are just a quick fad; nobody remembers them in two months. They can't compare to the top stars on traditional television!"

"Without mainstream drama series resources, without high-end commercial endorsements, and only possessing superficial overseas popularity, it's bound to flop sooner or later!"

However, these rebuttals appear pale and powerless in the face of solid on-site videos, reports from official media in multiple countries, and a surge in natural traffic on foreign websites.

All the data was generated naturally on the external internet, representing an overseas achievement that countless artists in the Chinese entertainment industry dream of but can never attain. It cannot be smeared or questioned.

Even more devastatingly, countless passersby, casual observers, and casual fans of celebrities watched this battle unfold online.

Everyone had just finished watching the sensation caused by Jiang Bai's arrival in Bangkok, and had just finished watching various fan-taken videos and news reports. Their goodwill towards Jiang Bai was at a high point.

Regardless of whether you knew this celebrity before, as long as this celebrity "brings glory to the country" and is admired by foreigners abroad, that's commendable!

We must support him and speak out for him!

As a result, a large number of passersby also joined in the fun and supported Jiang Bai.

"To be honest, Jiang Bai really crushed them this time; the overseas buzz can't be faked."

"Yang Yang is indeed very popular in China, but he has absolutely no international presence, there's no denying that."

"This is the first time I've seen a Chinese celebrity travel overseas with such fanfare. The airport was completely paralyzed. It's incredible."

"People used to say that the new generation of celebrities didn't have any prestige, but now Jiang Bai has really brought honor to the Chinese entertainment industry. If he's not a top star, then Yang Yang is even less of a top star."

"In the fan community, strength speaks for itself. It's normal for newcomers to achieve new results and for established top stars to be surpassed. There's no need to relentlessly criticize them."

"Among the four top celebrities, only Lu Han and Chris Wu have overseas popularity. Now that Jiang Bai is so popular in Southeast Asia, he can definitely be ranked among the four."

The complete tilt of the market towards casual observers has made the counterattack of the "wool" (referring to the perceived lack of interest in the product) increasingly powerless.

The original advantage in controlling public opinion has completely collapsed, and the front row of the square is full of Jiang Bai's amazing achievements in going global, as well as the public's recognition of the new top star.

Meanwhile, fans from other groups in the industry were all watching from the shadows, observing the entire showdown between the new and old top stars.

Li Yifeng's fans remained calm and indifferent throughout the entire event, neither taking sides nor speaking out, silently watching the reshuffling of the fandom landscape.

The fans of Lu Han and Chris Wu remained silent throughout, showing no intention of getting involved.

Please, Jiang Bai just made headlines overseas, and his fans seem determined to take over a top celebrity and replace him.

In this situation, even Reed and Megan wouldn't be interested in getting involved.

Better to die than to die myself.

As for whether the wool lives or dies, what does that have to do with us?

What kind of friendship can there possibly be among the fans of the four big and three small stars in the Chinese entertainment industry?

Everyone's hoping their rivals will die!

Thus, this fan war, initiated by white rice fans and won decisively, officially announced to the entire Chinese entertainment industry that the old era of top idols is over.

Yang Yang is no longer worthy of the title of top star; his fans could easily be kicked to death by Jiang Bai's fans.

From this day forward, no one will dare to mock Jiang Bai as a "web drama-limited traffic star" or a "flash in the pan internet celebrity."

No established fan groups dare to casually criticize or provoke this rising star anymore.

"So, are you truly a top star now?"

Having participated in the battle entirely with a secondary account, and personally witnessed Jiang Bai's achievement posters dominate Yang Yang's super topic square, Tian Xiwei asked with satisfaction.

"Probably...right?" Jiang Bai was also a little unsure.

He never expected that the news he created in Thailand would actually make him a star in the Chinese fan community.

It can only be said that in 2017, its popularity overseas was quite impressive.

Currently, the Chinese entertainment industry also places great emphasis on so-called "international influence" and the overseas popularity of Chinese celebrities, believing that artists with overseas popularity are superior to others.

This is different from the post-domestic entertainment era that demystified the so-called international style and overseas markets in later generations.

However, now that Jiang Bai is an artist with overseas influence, he immediately supports the evaluation standards of domestic entertainment fans.

This overseas influence definitely needs to be managed well!

Even though Southeast Asian fans don't have the same spending power as fans from China, Japan, and South Korea, the added value they bring is still considerable!

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Bai logged out of Weibo and logged into Instagram.

To increase the cohesion of these Southeast Asian fans, start by frequently interacting with them in the comments section.

Fortunately, his English is very good, so he should be able to get along well with these international fans!

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