Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 132

Overnight Music Monster! Episode 123

Jamie’s debut preparations were progressing smoothly.

Since her track, “a lost girl,” didn’t require any dancing due to its genre (Adult Contemporary, a style emphasizing melody and emotional delivery), there was no need to worry about complex choreography that would take up a lot of time.

She was simply focused on creating the album.

In this process, Jamie grew immensely.

After endlessly taking what felt like magical growth stimulants, she had successfully shed the “rookie” label from “rookie monster.”

“…The American audience is going to be in shock, aren’t they?”

I nodded in response to the engineer who was helping with the work.

Especially for those born before the ’90s, the impact would be enormous.

It was as if Karen Carpenter [a hugely popular singer in the 1970s and 80s known for her pure voice] had come back to life, so there was no need to worry about publicity.

As we were heading towards the final stages of the album, the studio door burst open and someone rushed in.

“Did you see Jamie’s music video? It’s insane! This music video is crazy!”

The one who suddenly came in to deliver the news was none other than Semi.

As the head of Jamie’s dedicated team, she showed a level of competence I had never seen before.

She practically lived with Jamie, keeping her informed and filling in the gaps in her knowledge.

‘Thanks to her, the album work went smoothly.’

Since this album was focused on Jamie’s growth, there were many things she needed to learn.

She had to learn about various genres that might be unfamiliar to her and broaden her musical horizons.

It wasn’t just about scratching the surface; she needed a deep understanding of the music, which meant a lot of studying.

Semi did a great job in this area.

Her extensive knowledge of music theory was enough to make me speechless, and she was good at teaching it in an easy way. I praised her for being quite capable, but Semi shook her head.

“Jamie doesn’t need to be taught in the traditional way. I have her do practical exercises first, matching her insane talent, and then teach her the theory, so she just understands on her own. The important thing is the image, as you said, CEO.”

“That’s true.”

Theory and all that stuff were actually created to help convey that image and inspiration to others.

But since Jamie wasn’t going to teach anyone, and she didn’t need to learn old things like someone who majored in classical music, Semi’s teaching method was perfect.

As long as we get to Seoul, it doesn’t matter how we get there [meaning the end justifies the means].

Thanks to that, her debut, which I originally thought would be around the end of this year or early next year, was happening before autumn.

Anyway, since we had to make a music video, I asked Director Hong Ui-chan again, and he was amazed when he saw Jamie.

“Oh my, that level of sensuality. If her debut stage wasn’t Billboard, it would have caused quite a stir.”

I nodded in agreement.

Even though she wasn’t dressed up explicitly, Jamie, wearing just jeans and a white t-shirt, exuded an enormous amount of sensuality on her own.

But if Koreans saw Billboard, which is going crazy selling sex so explicitly, they might see Jamie as a ‘lady’ [a potentially derogatory term implying a lack of innocence].

“You’ll be appearing in this one too, right, CEO?”

“…Yes. I understand. But with a song like this, is there even a part for me to appear in?”

“Hahaha! That’s a very funny joke.”

“…”

I was being sincere, but Director Hong Ui-chan seemed to think I was just joking.

And in the filming that started less than a month later, I could see why Director Hong Ui-chan laughed.

If it wasn’t for Jamie’s debut album, which needed to highlight her, I thought my part in this music video would have been much larger.

“Are you listening? The music video is a hit!”

“I know. I already saw it first.”

“Ah! Hehehe. You saw it. Our Jamie is really amazing, isn’t she?”

I wondered if I had hired a manager or an extreme fan with the way she was acting so excited.

“Don’t be so noisy and get out! I still have a lot of work to do.”

“Ehehe. Yes. Good luck, CEO.”

Semi, who knew very well that this work was for her singer’s album, gave a bright smile and obediently stepped back.

I shook my head at the way she seemed like a different person, and the engineer who was with me smiled and said.

“Your manager is very enthusiastic. Well, I can understand why if she’s managing a singer who can sing a song like this.”

I had to chuckle at the engineer’s words.

Well, as he said, it might be natural to act like a fool for someone like Jamie.

* * *

-YC Entertainment Introduces Rookie Singer Jamie!-

-YC Entertainment’s First Singer from the United States?-

-What Kind of Song is Jamie’s Debut Track, ‘a lost girl’?-

-Many Critics Express Concern After Hearing That It’s an Adult Contemporary Genre Song.-

To build hype ahead of Jamie’s debut, information about her began to be released.

In the process, the stock price of YC’s US branch fluctuated several times a day.

The market price was going up and down due to the expectations of discovering a singer from the American mainland and the fact that they were promoting a somewhat outdated genre called Adult Contemporary.

Ultimately, it was heading downhill, as criticisms were popping up like mushrooms after the rain [appearing rapidly and abundantly], saying that YC Entertainment, which had been on a winning streak, was taking a reckless move.

Usually, the company could just respond strongly in such cases, but for some reason, YC Entertainment was pouring oil on the burning fire [making the situation worse].

-YC. ‘I Guarantee That Jamie, Who is From the United States, Will Become the Most Beloved Female Singer in America!’-

-Critics Shake Their Heads at YC’s Arrogant Remarks!-

-Cultural Critic Larry, Known for His Harsh Criticism, Says, ‘All That’s Known is That She’s a 24-Year-Old American Girl Who Brought Out an Outdated Genre. Is There Anything Worth Paying Attention to Besides Being From the United States? I Respect YC and His Music, But I Find His Blatant Business Tactics Too Low-Class.’-

-Critics Pour Out Harsh Criticism Following Larry-

-Is YC Entertainment’s Success Story Coming to an End Amidst Criticism and Harsh Words From Local Media?-

-Unable to Overcome the Criticism? YC Entertainment Pre-Releases ‘a lost girl’ on September 5th!-

“The aggro [short for aggravation, meaning negative attention] was pulled too well.”

“Hehe. You’re telling me.”

Young-chan chuckled as he looked through the news from the media, which was criticizing as if they were going to start a witch hunt.

“Articles that are crossing the line are starting to come up. Quietly give these guys a warning.”

“Understood. By the way, I didn’t know that noise marketing [a marketing strategy that uses controversy to generate attention] would work this well.”

“That just means there are more people who want us to fail.”

Is it like the tax that celebrities who live off popularity have to pay?

Compared to other industries that deliberately throw out such gossip for noise marketing, YC Entertainment’s noise marketing is actually very tame.

But even so, the reason why aggro is being pulled so well is that YC Entertainment is so clean without a single flaw.

Even Black Tiger, who can be said to be the center of YC Entertainment, doesn’t have a single common scandal, let alone other singers.

Above all, in the case of idols, their management was thorough because they were doing marketing like pseudo-romance to their fans, and the idols themselves were aware of their position.

So, the only thing that could pull aggro was just this much.

‘I can’t help it. I’m going to take on Karen Carpenter’s image from her lifetime, so I can’t put out images like drugs or scandals in front of that.’

Young-chan thought that if the genre wasn’t Adult Contemporary, this kind of promotional strategy wouldn’t have been planned.

The current situation was a counterattack by critics against YC’s arrogance, which increased interest in Jamie.

Then, as time passed, September 5th, which was receiving a lot of attention from many people, came.

As soon as midnight passed, the music video for ‘a lost girl’ was uploaded to all SNS [Social Networking Services], including YC Revolution and YouTube.

And… an amazing thing happened.

I don’t know if it’s because it’s a music video released when the level of interest was at its peak, but ‘a lost girl’ on YouTube showed the power to hit 100 million views in less than a day.

YouTube alone had 100 million views, and if you add up the views of all SNS, it exceeded 400 million views.

What’s amazing is that the number of views that are going up doesn’t slow down. At this rate, it seemed like it could hit 200 million views before two days passed.

The reason why it boasts such a huge number of views is that ‘a lost girl’ is receiving tremendous acclaim.

-YC’s Past Remarks, ‘I Guarantee That Jamie, Who is From the United States, Will Become the Most Beloved Female Singer in America,’ is Being Re-Examined.-

-Critics Who Heard Rookie Singer Jamie’s ‘a lost girl’ are Praising Her.-

-Cultural Critic Larry, Who Sharply Criticized YC in the Past, Officially Apologizes and Comments on Rookie Singer Jamie, Saying, ‘I Thought Karen Carpenter Had Come Back to Life. I Could Understand Why YC Said That.’-

-Rediscovery of Outdated Adult Contemporary? Is This Also a Retro Trend Coming Back?-

As expected, many people thought of Karen Carpenter after listening to Jamie’s ‘a lost girl’.

In response, generations before the 90s cheered, calling it a miracle.

That’s not to say that Jamie was ignored by generations after the 90s. Her song ‘a lost girl’ penetrated their hearts regardless of age.

Above all, Jamie’s appearance in the music video for ‘a lost girl’ became the center of attention.

Jamie, who boasts an enormous sensual beauty that seems to penetrate the simple angles, was enough to set fire to the hearts of both men and women.

There was already a debate going on about her appearance.

-Do You Think That Appearance Actually Exists? Unfortunately, Her Sensual Beauty is Just an Illusion Created by CG [Computer Graphics].-

└Hahahaha! I Heard a Really Stupid Sound. Don’t You Know Who the Director Who Filmed the ‘a lost girl’ Music Video Is?

└Is He a Famous Director? Certainly, the Visuals are Really Crazy. Especially the Visuals of YC Who Made a Special Appearance in the Music Video~

└Director Hong is Very Famous. You Can See That He Takes All the Music Videos That YC Entertainment Puts Out. What That Means is That It Can’t Be CG. He Has Never Put CG in His Music Videos Before.

-Then This Will Be the First CG Music Video. Hey! Admit What You Have to Admit. Honestly, Does It Make Sense to Be a Singer With That Kind of Visuals?-

└Then What Should She Do? Have You Never Heard ‘a lost girl’?

└Please! I Hope This Guy is Wrong. I’m Loving Jamie Right Now!

-Think About It! When We First Met YC in a Music Video, We Had the Same Story. And Everyone Knows the Result, Right?-

It was a dispute over whether or not Jamie’s appearance was CG-processed.

Her sensual appearance was especially well-received in the United States. There were so many people who said they had lovesickness just by looking at her breathing in the music video without doing anything.

Four days later, their fight was over.

This is because Jamie appeared on the Kane Show, which had a relationship with Black Tiger in the past and is now nationwide, with YC.

Jamie, whose appearance was first revealed in the United States, caused a huge wave.

Not only did she appear as she did in the music video, which was said to have been CG-processed, but the songs she sang in the Kane Show in a voice reminiscent of Karen Carpenter were enough to capture the hearts of Americans.

Could it be because of that?

Her first report card, which rose to 45th place on the Billboard Hot 100 in just the first week.

It’s really unbelievable that a rookie singer who just debuted achieved this.

-Jamie Rises to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 3 Weeks With ‘a lost girl’.-

-How Long Will Her Run Last? Sets a Record of 1st Place for 4 Weeks!-

-Debuts and Takes 1st Place on the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 Weeks!-

-Chanel! Overt Love Calls Continue to Her.-

-Jamie Ranks First as the Most Beloved Artist in the United States! YC’s Prediction in the Past Comes True!-

Jamie was loved by everyone in a storm-like schedule.

Her status changed every day, but Jamie, who was suffering from the schedule, did not recognize it.

Rather, the person who understood her status best was Semi, the manager in charge of Jamie.

You could see that just by looking at Chanel, who was trying to catch Jamie.

The better the conditions, the more you postpone it, it was like a goblin’s club that makes money when you swing it [a metaphor for a lucrative opportunity].

More than a month later, Jamie entered a break.

And only then could she feel her changed status.

She earned more than $100 million in a short period of less than three months, so if she wanted to, it would be easy to buy a huge mansion or a famous New York home.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she donated that money to AIDS charities.

This was not for the sake of publicity, so it was done quietly.

“Jerome. You would have been surprised. Your sister kept her promise.”

On the day of the donation.

Jamie smiled as she looked at her little brother in a small photo album.

Jerome, who faced a miserable death as an AIDS patient without receiving proper treatment due to exorbitant medical expenses, looked at her with sparkling eyes until the end.

Jerome, who endured because he thought his sister would have a hard time if he was sick and in pain, was like an angel to her.

But Jerome also had the same thought.

To Jamie, who quit school to take care of him, he made a wish for her on his last birthday.

“I like it best when my sister sings. My sister’s voice is sweeter than any other singer in the world. I want my sister to be a singer. A singer that many people like…”

After that, Jerome died like a lie, unable to hold on for a few more days.

Leaving a promise that might not be kept.

But Jamie kept her promise with her brother after 4 years.

She succeeded in becoming a singer that so many people like, a popular singer, enough to surprise her brother in the sky.

She kept her promise, but she wasn’t happy.

-Drip, drip, drip-

She just soaked her pillow with tears all night long.