Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 81

“China? No… that’s not it.”

In China, foreign social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube are blocked.

Despite this, overseas media can become popular on their own social media platforms thanks to VPNs [Virtual Private Networks, which bypass internet censorship] that circumvent IP restrictions.

Of course, there are those who use VPNs to create SNS [Social Networking Service] accounts like Instagram, but they are a very small minority.

Using a VPN is illegal in the first place.

So, no matter how popular it is in China, it doesn’t make sense for the number of followers to increase this much.

There was another reason, and that was related to the challenge Taylor mentioned.

After checking the materials he sent, I was momentarily speechless.

– brilliant struggle challenge –

Directly translated, it means ‘brilliant struggle challenge.’ When I clicked on one of the SNS address Taylor sent, an amazing video immediately appeared.

The music of ‘brilliant struggle’ played, and a cheerful-looking man with blonde hair appeared.

“I’m taking on the brilliant struggle challenge.”

As he said that, he dumped a basket of ice water prepared next to him over his head.

-Ugh, ugh-

It seemed colder than he thought, and he was momentarily disoriented. He shook his head vigorously and said,

“I nominate my friend Michael and my sister Kelly for the brilliant struggle challenge.”

Smiling cheerfully, he was about to turn off the screen, but then he said, ‘Oops!’ and showed the phone screen, downloading ‘brilliant struggle.’

“…He actually made this a success?”

Taylor, who followed the concert tour in Korea, succeeded in making the challenge a trend in less than two months after returning to the United States.

Originally, this challenge was a fundraising campaign for ALS [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease] under the name of the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Taylor didn’t forget what I had mentioned in passing and finally succeeded in making this challenge popular under a completely different name, ‘brilliant struggle challenge.’

This challenge is unique in that it started trending among people in their 30s, not teenagers or those in their 20s who are typically sensitive to trends.

The platform itself is good for playing pranks among co-workers, and it’s also good for posting on SNS, so it started spreading quickly.

What greatly ignited the trend was the local news.

A reporter who came to cover this found it interesting and immediately performed the brilliant struggle challenge on the spot.

The reporter who dumped the ice bucket nominated the main anchor of the news he appeared on and the weather caster who was popular for her beauty.

The two, who were publicly nominated, immediately did the brilliant struggle challenge on SNS the next day and nominated their co-workers.

Just by preparing a basket of ice and downloading a song that costs less than a dollar, they could do good and have a special experience, so it was inevitable that it would become a trend.

The trend spread quickly, and not only those in their 40s and older but also teenagers and those in their 20s started uploading brilliant struggle challenge videos.

Of course, since the United States is such a large country, it seemed that it would take quite a while for it to spread throughout the United States.

However, major cities like New York were already swept up in this brilliant struggle challenge craze.

Of course, it wasn’t just the brilliant struggle challenge that became a hot topic.

-Oh my God! Is the main character of this music video a real person?-

└Did Chinese CG [Computer Graphics] technology develop this much? What am I watching right now?

└I know, right? Wow! I don’t know who filmed it, but Hollywood must be trying to catch this director right now?

-Anyway, Americans think all Asians are Chinese. He’s Korean.

└North Korea? South Korea?

└Logically, would it be North Korea? Do you have pasta instead of brains in your head?

└ㅋㅋㅋ He’s the vocalist of a band called Black Tiger that debuted just over a year ago.

-ㅋㅋ My heart is swelling. Is Black Tiger finally invading America?

└I know. Unlike other K-pop [Korean pop music], the reaction was so lacking that it was strange. Finally!

-YC? I guess the band’s vocalist is handsome? Honestly, I don’t know about that, but I’m a bit shocked. I naturally thought the band that sang ‘brilliant struggle’ was an American band.-

-I got into ‘brilliant struggle’ and now I’m replaying all the songs Black Tiger has released.-

└I’m not the only one! Especially the songs they released last year are so my taste! I even feel like I lost a year.

└The new full-length album that just came out is really crazy. But maybe it’s because I’m old, but the mini-album from last year that evokes old nostalgia is sniping at my taste.

└It’s a shame that it’s not an English song like ‘brilliant struggle’?

└I found out that YC has a version of ‘Snow Lady’ called Carol in English.

└Wow, that’s amazing? I’m already looking forward to this Christmas season.

-There were some comments about CG, so I looked it up. The videos uploaded on YouTube aren’t CG?-

└Gulp! How can a person be so sexy?

└I know, right? He’s very thin, but he feels more testosterone-filled than any man I’ve ever seen.

└Gulp~ He looks very young. He’s not a minor, is he?

└No. He’s 31 this year!

└31 years old? Crazy! Honestly, he looks younger than my nephew in high school!

‘brilliant struggle’ and Black Tiger, who sang it, also became a hot topic.

As this topic became hotter, interest in Young-chan, who is at the center of it, increased.

To be wary of himself in his memories who lived crazy about SNS, Young-chan didn’t even have a personal SNS, which is why the official SNS followers of Black Tiger are increasing like crazy.

Of course, the number of views of music videos and videos uploaded by YC Entertainment is rapidly increasing, and Young-chan couldn’t hide his interesting expression as he finished the concert in Hong Kong, the last tour location.

“I really did a good job acquiring Taylor.”

Why would Young-chan have prepared an English version of ‘brilliant struggle’?

It’s also to target Japan and China, but it’s actually to get over the still high walls of the United States and Europe.

The brilliant struggle cancer patient event was also aimed at this.

In fact, he also became a hot topic in that way in his memory and advanced into the United States.

“At that time, it was a miraculous advance with a lot of luck.”

But the work that is unfolding now did not have many elements of such luck.

It is a snowball that rolled in thorough calculation around good materials such as songs and events.

The snowball that rolled in that way was by no means inferior compared to the reaction at the time when he advanced into the United States.

And that was a huge deal.

That’s because the brilliant struggle challenge has not yet spread in earnest.

Perhaps for the next month or so, it will go up at this pace, and by then, Europe will be swept up in no less enthusiasm.

“Maybe I’ll be back in Asia again.”

‘brilliant struggle’ is hot on SNS in Asia, but it was different from the brilliant struggle challenge form.

So, there was a high possibility that it would flow like the history of the Ice Bucket Challenge.

* * *

While organizing the data sent by Taylor, I was thinking about entering the United States based on the experiences of the guy in my memory, and I approached my uncles in the morning.

-Hwaaaak!-

As soon as I opened the door where my uncles were, a tremendous smell of alcohol wafted out.

“…They’re not dead, are they?”

As I carefully approached my uncles who were sprawled out, I felt relieved when I heard groans from here and there.

The sound wasn’t unusual, but it was enough as long as they were alive.

Last night, the long Asian concert tour ended, and we had a proper after-party.

If I hadn’t heard this amazing news from Taylor while I was drinking at the after-party, I would have been sprawled out among my uncles.

‘I’d probably be around here.’

I stared at the empty seat next to Uncle Kwak Do-hoon for a while, and then I thought of the G1 band kids who left yesterday, leaving behind a splendid trace.

The G1 band kids, who recklessly rushed in with only their youth, were carried out one by one without even drinking much.

It was a natural end for the kids who didn’t know their alcohol tolerance.

Surprisingly, Ji-won was the last to remain, but I wished he would pass out sooner.

“Saying what he said and then crying and laughing again….”

He was sticking next to me and doing that, so I couldn’t fully enjoy it as I suddenly became a babysitter.

If it hadn’t been for that situation, I wouldn’t have answered Taylor’s call, which was obviously a business call, at the drinking party.

“Anyway, I have to wake up my uncles… Not like this.”

How happy were my uncles when I entered Japan last year?

I was proud and happy to see them blushing and making a fuss like children, but on the other hand, I was also bitter.

That’s because I could see my uncles’ inner thoughts when I told the guy in my memory to enter Japan as a solo artist.

‘They must have had a great desire to enter Japan.’

But in the end, my uncles made the guy leave the band and pushed him on.

Because he was still young and couldn’t control his talent, they didn’t want to be a burden to him.

So, if I talk about entering the United States, which is virtually the pinnacle of the world stage beyond Japan, I couldn’t easily imagine what kind of reaction my uncles would show.

That’s why I came to find them as soon as the sun rose, but it was so difficult to come to my senses like this, so I was just embarrassed.

I stared at my sprawled uncles for a while and ended up laughing.

“Come to think of it, the timing is amazing.”

If this opportunity had come before the concert tour, I might have hesitated.

“They had improved a lot, but there were still many shortcomings.”

That’s because my uncles weren’t ready.

Based on domestic standards, there was nothing lacking. You could say that they were emphasizing their own music and tone as professionals.

But on the world stage, that wasn’t enough.

The moment I crossed Korea, I realized how many geniuses were teeming in the world. Especially in the United States, the home of the genre, the degree was severe.

There were countless geniuses here who seemed to be going through time alone, which could not be overcome with effort.

‘Well, that’s obvious. Billboard… Because geniuses from all over the world flock to eat that huge music market.’

For this reason, the guy couldn’t hide his embarrassment for a while when he first entered the United States.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing in the indie scene, but Black Tiger isn’t aiming for indie.

The main stage is Billboard.

To reveal yourself on such a stage, you had to be a pro among pros.

You had to be able to imitate even the master.

That’s why I probably would have worried if it was before the concert.

Opportunities can be seized again, but it could have been a matter of breaking the wings of my uncles who would fly with me.

But now it was different.

“Through the concert tour, my uncles have grown amazingly.”

As if finding their place, my uncles embodied the inspirations I was talking about each time they finished a concert.

That’s why the stage they did in Japan was more amazing than the stage they did in Korea, and the stage they did here in China was even better than the stage they did in Japan.

‘Of course, it’s still a long way to go….’

Still, I had to see that they were able to imitate the master to some extent. The stage they did here in China was even better than the stage they did in Japan.

‘Of course, it’s still a long way to go….’

Still, I had to see that they were able to imitate the master to some extent.