Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 182

53. Eun-kyung

It’s been a year since we resumed our world tour, which had been forcibly halted due to COVID-19.

A year that felt both long and short, filled with many events.

If I were to pick a few of the most notable incidents, the first would undoubtedly be breaking the Billboard record again.

-’TOP’ Achieves 20 Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100!-

-’TOP’ Achieves 21 Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100!-

-’TOP’ Achieves 22 Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100!-

We surpassed our own record of 18 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, setting a monumental record of 22 weeks at No. 1.

That alone would have been enough to be revered as a legendary band, unprecedented in history, but the real surprise came after.

-What Song Followed ‘TOP,’ Which Achieved 22 Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100?-

-’RED’ from ‘TOP’ Album Ousts ‘TOP’ from Billboard Hot 100 After 22 Weeks at No. 1.-

-Only Black Tiger Can Dethrone Black Tiger’s Song!-

The fact that the song to replace ‘TOP’ was ‘RED,’ another track from the same album, was truly remarkable.

‘RED’ then held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping 8 weeks.

But even more amazing things unfolded after that.

-’Artist’ from ‘TOP’ Album Dethrones ‘RED’ After 8 Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100.-

-A Series of Unprecedented Records!-

-Black Tiger, a Musical Behemoth, Tears Through Billboard!-

Another track, ‘Artist,’ also from the same album, claimed the new No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. This song held the top position for 4 weeks, creating a new, historic record that would be etched in history.

A single album held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 34 weeks, a monumental achievement.

Eight months.

That was the time we dominated the top spot on Billboard, a place teeming with monsters [highly competitive artists].

This was possible because of the classical music style that ‘TOP’ pursued.

Classical music aims for music that is ‘easy on the ears,’ naturally leading to a form of easy listening that people can enjoy for a long time.

‘Easy listening isn’t always a good thing, though.’

A song that’s easy to listen to can also be seen as bland and quickly tiring to some.

However, I was aware of this issue, which is why I incorporated hard rock.

Hard rock, with its heavier themes, stronger musical dynamics, and more direct lyrics than rock and roll, was enough to eliminate the blandness typical of easy listening.

Music that you can listen to for a long time without getting bored… the weaknesses were perfectly compensated for, which is why it was loved for so long.

Interestingly, this record could have actually continued even longer.

Because the one who broke Black Tiger’s record, which could have lasted a few more weeks, was none other than Jamie, known as the Queen of America.

Knowing Jamie’s status in the U.S., there were many discussions within the company.

Some suggested that Jamie’s album should be delayed, and Jamie herself had considered pushing it back by a month.

“No, that’s too late. Let’s proceed with Jamie’s album as planned.”

However, I opposed it.

And my uncles, after hearing about it, also opposed it.

“How embarrassing to even talk about such things.”

“As rockers, that’s just embarrassing.”

“Surely, you don’t think we can’t break this record in the future?”

“…We might not be able to, but Young-chan definitely can.”

“Hmm. Moon Il-beom is right. We’re not quite at the level to break this record yet.”

“Hehe. You guys have a strangely realistic sense.”

“……”

In any case, with my uncles’ and my opinions combined, Jamie’s album schedule was not delayed.

And as the company had feared, Jamie’s arrival finally brought a change to the Billboard order, which had been dominated by Black Tiger’s music.

Her new album’s main track, ‘A Beautiful Life,’ debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

However, the legend of Black Tiger’s ‘TOP’ album continued.

Although it lost the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 to Jamie, more than half of the songs in the top 10 were still Black Tiger’s music.

Experts were quietly suggesting that the tracks from the ‘TOP’ album would remain on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the longest period in history.

If the first major event was setting an amazing record on Billboard, the second major event was the success of the subsequent world tour.

After the European tour, we continued our tour.

We traveled through the Middle East and Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, across Australia, and back to the United States.

And each time, we achieved unprecedented success that exceeded all expectations.

-Walking Conglomerate!-

‘Walking Conglomerate’ was the nickname given to us by the media, amazed by this great success.

Knowing the circumstances, it wasn’t such a strange nickname.

The sales from Europe alone, which can be considered the starting point of this world tour, amounted to 4 billion euros.

That’s over 5 trillion won [approximately 3.7 billion USD], and the net profit was more than half of that.

This was the profit earned in less than half a year, so the nickname ‘Walking Conglomerate’ wasn’t so strange.

The world tour had many unexpected variables, making it challenging, but as time passed, it became unnecessary to consider those variables.

This was because the immense impact and influence of the tour led to a surge in the local economy as numerous fans visited the cities where the tour was held.

As a result, local dignitaries, politicians, and businesspeople came forward to welcome us.

Naturally, they easily took care of any problems, so all we had to do was successfully lead the performances.

But the reaction reached its peak in the United States.

The mayor of Glendale, Arizona, officially announced that the city’s name would be changed to BLACK City for the duration of Black Tiger’s tour to commemorate the start of the tour.

After the mayor received a great response to this announcement, the rest was predictable.

The mayors of cities with stadiums each held events related to Black Tiger’s name.

In addition to changing the city’s name like Glendale, they even independently organized large festivals.

Among them, Las Vegas was the most memorable.

The entire Las Vegas Boulevard was decorated with Black Tiger, and considering how extravagant Las Vegas already was, the sight was beyond spectacular.

Another impressive city was Nashville, Tennessee.

Although it’s small compared to the size of the U.S., they created a performance to commemorate the Black Tiger tour.

My uncles were amazed by the sight of statues and even benches named after Black Tiger, saying that America was truly on a different scale.

“Thanks to that, there’s talk of creating a Black Tiger Park in Korea.”

As this became a hot topic, and there were talks about whether Korea, Black Tiger’s home country, should do something, there were actual movements in the political sphere to carry out this project.

I was embarrassed by the idea, but my uncles seemed quite excited for some reason.

The third major event was not related to Black Tiger.

However, it was something that many people around the world were eagerly waiting for, and personally, I was also looking forward to it.

It was the release of the third and final installment of the ‘King of Arrogance’ series.

The release date for the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story was set earlier than expected, largely due to the huge success of the second ‘King of Arrogance’ story.

Despite the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, the huge success of the second ‘King of Arrogance’ story, which broke all the records set by the first ‘King of Arrogance’ story, brought Films [the production company] immense wealth and fame, making them scream with joy.

Films poured all the funds they earned into production costs, and as a result, they were already working on more than five projects.

Including projects that were planned, it was more than ten, and naturally, their funds were gradually drying up.

Investors who had already profited from the ‘King of Arrogance’ series were competing to invest, but conversely, it meant that Films’ profits were decreasing, so they naturally moved up the release date of the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story.

Usually, in such cases, the director would inevitably feel pressured.

This was because the previous works hadn’t just been moderately successful, but had broken all records and then broken those records again.

In fact, even the most daring person would feel immense pressure.

People’s expectations had already soared sky-high.

Naturally, people would be waiting for a third story of equal quality… it was enough to drive a weak-hearted person to a nervous breakdown.

However, Director Bell surprisingly accepted Films CEO Jones’s proposal easily.

“I understand. Let’s do that.”

“??”

The fact that he even offered to release it during the Christmas season, which was earlier than the date they wanted, caused a stir at Films.

Because Director Bell, who they thought would curse and swear for breach of contract, was acting like this, they wondered if there was a problem with the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story.

I also had the same thought.

After hearing such stories, Director Bell laughed heartily and, a few days later, held a screening of the partially edited work, with the music not yet finished.

It was a screening for major investors and key figures within the company, and of course, it was not unusual for me, as the largest investor, to be there.

-Clap clap clap clap!-

When the screening ended, everyone applauded without reservation.

That included me, who had appeared in the work myself. As ‘Jin,’ a key figure in the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story, I was a fan of the work, regardless of my role.

Therefore, I was simply in awe of Director Bell, who had succeeded in bringing it to life in an even more amazing way than the original comics.

“I understand why Director Bell is so confident.”

In the comics, the second episode was more interesting than the first, and the third was more interesting than the second, but the final third story of the ‘King of Arrogance’ series showed even more than that.

What’s amazing is that this work is a form of work with CG [computer-generated imagery] work really minimized.

Perhaps that’s why they were able to set the release date faster than expected.

In any case, the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story, which received tremendous internal acclaim, began to be promoted with nearly three times the production cost.

They started promoting it on SNS [social networking services] and almost every medium they could, and of course, the reactions of the people who first heard the news varied.

-Oh my god! Is the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story coming out this fast!-

└What’s wrong? It doesn’t make sense that it’s coming out this fast. Especially since Director Bell is famous for being a pervert in terms of detail!

└I know. Usually, if a work is strange, they either delay the release date or set the release date this quickly.

-I’m nervous! I’m nervous! Is the third ‘King of Arrogance’ story going to be a flop?-

└I’m already nervous because Films is doing too much.

└I heard from a reporter I know that Films is short on money right now. They say they’ve poured too much into production costs.

-No! If my life’s work series fails!-

The reaction was generally anxious, as expected.

Well, even the company was anxious, so they held a screening early, so it wasn’t a strange reaction.

However, their reaction didn’t last long.

That’s because the teaser video came out two months before the release date.

-……Who said Director Bell was stupid!-

└That’s you! And me too! Ah~ How foolish was that thought? I want to go back in time and break all my fingers that wrote the comments.

└Hehe. Me too……. To think they’d give us such a twist! Or should I not call it a twist?

-Crazy! It was such a crazy quality. Especially ‘Jin’s aura~ Oh my~ Is that really not CG?

└If there’s a place that can make that aura with CG, that company will be the best in Hollywood that day.

└When will I wait two months? I keep thinking I shouldn’t have watched the teaser.

-I heard that it will be released in Korea first again…… I’m thinking of going to Korea that day.

└Hehe. I have a guy around me who thinks like you. But I’m tempted after hearing that story.

└I heard that Korean theater facilities are amazing.

└Should I go on an overseas trip for the first time in a while?

Of course, after the teaser video came out, the reaction changed to favorable. It was a great review.