Chapter 428 Giegie, Fly with Confidence
To be honest, sometimes even Eminem himself is a little envious of Zhou Yi.
He was born in October 1972, and as of February 2003, he was just 30 years old.
This is a rather awkward age - he can no longer use the so-called marketing method of dissing people everywhere when he was a teenager or twenties.
In the past, when he was in his teens and twenties, he would diss people everywhere and write the insults into songs. Others would say that he was young and frivolous because of his talent. But if he still does this in his thirties or forties, the effect will undoubtedly be greatly reduced, and even the number of advertisers who come to him will decrease.
But Zhou Yi is still very young. According to the universal calculation of age, Zhou Yi, who is 22 years old this year, is only 21 years old now.
Although he is still very unhappy with Zhou Yi's provocation, he has to admit that this guy's talent can support such arrogance.
"No matter what, you absolutely cannot lose this Grammy. You two are jointly nominated, either you get it or neither of you get it."
The agent still emphasized this point.
As things have developed to this point, even he, a veteran in the American entertainment industry, dare not guarantee it.
Originally, Zhou Yi, a Chinese, could have multiple nominations because the Grammys took care of his album market performance, but now it seems that the public relations channels behind him may be wider than Eminem's team thought.
"After all, even if we put aside Samsung, which is still not sure whether it will end or not, the involvement of the Bronfman Group is real. Although that little Edgar Bronfman is just a second-generation rich man who can only squander his family's wealth, his connections and influence are indeed real..."
At a stalemate when Warner Records, Coca-Cola, and even Jobs' Apple and Pixar Animation were all trying to help Zhou Yi with his Grammy public relations, the Bronfman Group found by Zhou Jianhui was undoubtedly a help beyond everyone's expectations-
In their opinion, the little Edgar Bronfman who had just lost from Universal should be in a stage of secretly feeling sad, but it was unknown what kind of magic potion that the Chinese man named Jianhui Zhou had given him, and he was willing to suddenly intervene when they had nothing to do with it, catching everyone off guard.
"How many channels can we still contact now?" After a moment of silence, Eminem asked calmly after a brainstorm.
"Yes-"
Ring ring ring!
The agent was about to announce the dishes when the phone in his suit pocket suddenly rang.
"Hello?"
Three seconds later, under Eminem's surprised gaze, the agent jumped up from the sofa: "What did you say?!"
……………………
"Disney???"
Imperial Capital, Warner Building, Qian Jiang's office.
Zhou Yi paused while cracking almonds, turned his head in surprise and looked at his agent with a smile on his face. His tone was rarely incredible: "You mean, Disney people also came out to help me with public relations?"
"That's right."
Qian Jiang, who was so happy that he almost whistled on the spot, supported his sturdy general belly: "Remember the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean"? The producer of this movie is Disney, and you happen to have a theme song collaboration with "Pirates of the Caribbean".
"Although the movie has not yet been edited, I can't send it to you to let you go through the plot and theme to write the theme song, but the speed is fast, after all, the release date is tentatively scheduled for June this year. ”
Qian Jiang excitedly recounted what he had learned from Zhou Jianhui: "Also, do you remember Steve Jobs who is going to cooperate with you? Pixar Animation, which he brought up, also has a very deep cooperative relationship with Disney.
"Zhou Jianhui visited the person in charge of the Disney project of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the Disney executives introduced by Steve Jobs with sincerity, and persuaded them to join this public relations war..."
Qian Jiang did not elaborate on how much effort and brain cells Zhou Jianhui had spent to persuade them to work together. He just happily informed Zhou Yi of the result.
To be honest, Zhou Yi was very surprised.
Disney, the American entertainment industry - no, it should be said that it is a giant that stands firm in the international entertainment industry.
Unlike Time Warner, which is now plagued by negative news such as tight capital chain, Disney can be said to be truly strong and powerful, with both North America and the world flourishing.
Naturally, the factional struggle within Disney is also very fierce.
Zhou Jianhui was able to win the support of some factions of Disney for him under such circumstances?
I can only say that he is worthy of being the president who pulled Warner China back from the bottom of the valley with a quick knife. He is really very skilled. This series of public relations tactics can be said to be very sophisticated and the timing is just right -
First, create public opinion, then lead to racial discrimination to create social pressure on the Grammy jury, and then Warner Records + Coca-Cola's conventional public relations;
After that, it was like a magic trick that an ally appeared every few days - first Apple, then Pixar, then Bronfman Investment Group, and finally Disney.
After playing all the cards in his hand, he still gave people the illusion that "no one knows who I can pull in", and there was a Samsung princess on the side to assist.
Especially after Disney left, no one knew whether Samsung would come.
"Warner Records + Coca-Cola + Apple + Pixar + Bronfman Investment Group + some factions of Disney, you now have enough public relations resources, I can guarantee that you will definitely not get nothing in this Grammy!"
Qian Jiang was so excited that his cheeks flushed at the end: "You can break the record of Asian pop singers in this regard, and become the one who opens a single page of history!"
In the Asian pop music scene, no one has won the Grammy Award in the field of Grammy pop music.
In fact, Japan, the world's second largest music market, has always been envious of Zhou Yi's success in the United States, as evidenced by their title for him:
The Emperor of Music of China, not Asia.
Although there are many fans of Zhou Yi in Japan, there is a genius from the Showa era in Japanese music history who can compete with him: Sakamoto Kyu, born in 1942.
He started playing in a band at the age of 16 and officially debuted in Japan. In just three years, he became the most famous young talent in the Japanese entertainment industry.
In 1961, the 19-year-old Sakamoto Kyu composed and sang the legendary song "上を向いて歩こう" (Walk forward with your head held high), which successfully dominated the Japanese music scene.
Two years later, in 1963, the 21-year-old Sakamoto Kyu entered the American music scene and directly won the American Billboard singles chart championship with the English version of this Japanese song "SUKIYAKI", and it was a three-time championship with great value!
In 1964, the 22-year-old Sakamoto Kyu created an Asian legend in the United States with a single sales of over one million in one year.
You have to know that this was the United States in 1964.
The young genius has soared to the sky since then!
Unfortunately, because of his Asian and Japanese identity, this legendary genius in the Japanese entertainment industry did not receive the favor of the Grammy Awards. Instead, he was frequently discriminated against by the European and American music scene because of the lack of support from the company behind him.
The frustrated Sakamoto Kyu immediately stopped activities in the United States and shifted his focus back to Japan to enjoy life. He also made achievements in hosting, movies, stage plays, etc.
However, in 1985, the only Japanese singer in the Japanese music scene who reversely entered the American market died in a plane crash at the age of 43.
It is precisely because of this that after Zhou Yi also entered the American market, many Japanese media directly brought out Sakamoto Kyu, the great god, to counter the comments of those domestic fans who praised Zhou Yi.
There is no way.
After Ayumi Hamasaki and Mai Kuraki failed in the United States, Hikaru Utada, the only historical talent that the Japanese music scene had high hopes for, got married unexpectedly last year. She has no plans to graduate from English, but she is having a happy honeymoon.
They can only bring up the deceased Sakamoto Kyu.
The same young genius, the same soaring at the age of 19;
Sakamoto Kyu won three consecutive titles on the US B chart at the age of 20, and sold over a million singles in the US at the age of 21, making a lot of money;
Zhou Yi sold over a million singles in the US at the age of 20, and won twelve consecutive titles on the US B chart at the age of 21, making a lot of money.
Moreover, because Sakamoto Kyu died in an accident, it gave the Japanese media unlimited space to brag -
Marketing rhetoric such as "If Sakamoto hadn't had an accident, he would have been the first person in the Asian music scene" is endless.
Some even imitated Sakamoto Kyu and said pretentious words such as "I am Sakamoto, what can I do for you?" on the show, in order to counter the comments of a large number of listeners in the Japanese music scene and some magazines and newspapers admiring Zhou Yi.
Of course, in the face of this situation, under the operation of Warner (Japan), Zhou Yi's fans in Japan have become more loyal.
"I think Yi Jun's chance of winning the Grammy Award and making history is still very high. After all, he is backed by Warner, one of the world's five major record companies, and the situation is completely different from that of Sakamoto Jun back then."
On a music program on Fuji TV in Japan, Shinichiro Watanabe, a famous Japanese animation supervisor who created the top animation masterpiece "Cowboy Bebop" that was recorded in the world animation history at the end of the last century, stood on Zhou Yi's side in an interview.
"Cowboy Bebop" is a space fantasy road movie that plays music to the extreme. Shinichiro Watanabe's use and tribute to music can be said to be textbook-level. Not only is it known as a top masterpiece in Japan, it also has a large number of fans in Europe and the United States.
Yuji Ohno, a famous Japanese music master who created "The Straw Hat Song" and the classic theme song for the Japanese national animation "Lupin the Third" series, also stood on Zhou Yi's side during an interview - "I don't know Zhou Yi, but I think his songs have a vision and production level that transcends this era.
"When we, and even the European and American music scene, were still in the 2000s, his songs and musical aesthetics were already a decade ahead of us, I think so..."
As Zhou Yi's latest song, "Super Star" was also introduced to the Japanese market by Warner and EMI at this time-
The two companies wanted to use Zhou Yi's popularity to open up the Japanese market for Sun Yanzi and Xiao Yaxuan. The wolfish ambition is obvious, but the Japanese market can do nothing about it and can only let Zhou Yi and his people go in and out of them.
Although the language is not common, the powerful melody of "Super Star" has opened up a small market in Japan. Kuraki Mai, who will cooperate with Sun Yanzi this year, even sang the Japanese translation of this song and several English songs of Zhou Yi at her own performance.
"Super Star: A rising star in music, a beautiful voice that stirs the soul!"
On February 13, Soichiro Tanaka, founder and editor-in-chief of the famous Japanese music magazine Snoozer, expressed his appreciation for the "Queen Group" from China in his column-
"When we talk about the beauty of music, we are not just talking about melody and lyrics, we are talking about a flow of emotions, a resonance of the soul.
"Fortunately, in such a song, I feel that I am not only a beneficiary of hearing, but also a traveler of the soul. Thanks to Zhou Yijun, he created such a masterpiece that can lead us through the abyss of emotions.
"Super Star" is not just an ordinary pop song. Zhou Yijun combines a variety of musical elements, from dynamic electronic music to moving pop rock. Every note is like a carefully carved gem, shining with a unique light.
"The ups and downs of the melody are like a musical feast. Combined with the singer's unique voice, people are immersed in it and can't extricate themselves..."
Tanaka Soichiro, who firmly refused to admit that he had received bribes from Warner, even when he was photographed entering and leaving a high-end club with Warner (Japan) executives, still refused to admit it. While highlighting Sun Yanzi, he took advantage of Zhou Yi's fame to praise such a Chinese song.
EMI also found the famous young music critic in the Japanese industry, the editor Uno Yuzheng, who was nicknamed the genius Utada Hikaru Special Researcher, to praise Xiao Yaxuan and Zhou Yi -
"Super Star conquers the world!"
This double entendre praised Xiao Yaxuan and Zhou Yi in disguise, and boosted his next Grammy trip.
"In the ocean of music, every star has its own unique light, and "Super Star" is the most dazzling one among them. It is not just a song, but also a beautiful melody, an indescribable emotion.
"I look forward to Super star Zhou Yi breaking through history and becoming the first in Asia at this year's Grammy Awards!"
Whether it is out of kindness or intention, the Japanese music scene and music fans, fearing that their last fig leaf will be lost, have basically begun to pay attention to the Grammy Awards ceremony to be held in ten days.
In China, "Super star" was already a huge hit, and there are all kinds of rich guys on the Internet who are willing to take the trouble to copy the evaluation and analysis of Zhou Yi on the Internet and news in Japan and the United States, so naturally the discussion is also in full swing.
"Fuck! There is such an awesome ancient god in the Japanese music scene?"
"To be honest, Japan is the second largest music market in the world, stronger than the UK. It is not uncommon to have such awesome people. The market is high-quality and mature."
"The above, the Japanese music scene was not very impressive in that era. It was a miracle that this person could leave Japan, not to mention that he is so awesome in the United States."
"I originally thought that Zhou Yi's experience was a unique cheat in the history of Asian music, but now it seems that I am shallow..."
"No matter, the person is dead, let's go to the underground to cool down! Zhou Yi, come on!"
"That's right, Zhou Yi, don't worry! As long as you win a Grammy, I swear I will never black you again in my life!"
"..."
In 2003, although there was a firewall on the domestic Internet, the prevention strength was not difficult for domestic netizens who were used to climbing over the firewall. They only needed to toss a little to climb over it.
Then Zhou Yi's blog, where he passionately argued with others abroad, was copied back intact by the black man...
The majority of domestic netizens realized that this guy was not a bully at home? !
Is he so fierce in scolding? !
So the news in the domestic media was reported after being beautified?
"Zhou Yi, go to the United States and scold the Americans more! Just scold like that!"
"Brother Zhou Yi, don't worry! I have scolded you back, no need to thank me!"
"Everyone can scold, it's okay, we will carry Zhou Yi and take the blame."
"..."
On February 14, Zhou Yi, who had already started packing to go to the United States, almost squinted his eyes when he saw the public opinion on the Internet.
Especially when he found Sun Yanzi's account that mixed in with the crowd and started a trend...
"Explain to me what it means to rush to Zhou Yi when there is something going on, and rush to Zhou Yi when there is nothing going on?"
Sun Yanzi's home.
Zhou Yi crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked down at the woman sitting on the computer chair.
The latter's eyes were erratic. After looking at Zhou Yi, she subconsciously shrank her head and grinned, trying to get away with it: "Hey, Zhou Yi, what time is your flight tomorrow? I'll take you there?"