LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 195 See You Again
After Link spoke out on Twitter, everything unfolded as Mr. Merida had predicted—the number of articles on the media and internet claiming that Link rose to fame through hype sharply decreased.
The reason was that Link's aura was too dazzling, and the titles he held carried substantial weight. Someone as capable as him could completely withstand the hype, to the point that even the media's praise seemed justified.
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Those attacking him couldn't find a single example to refute his success, so they could only change topics, shifting their attacks to his music.
They said he couldn't rap and that he was outperformed on the rap charts by East Coast rappers. When he initially proposed entering the rap scene to compete for the championship against East Coast rappers, it now seemed more like a joke.
The music magazine The Source mocked Link, saying he 'thundered' into the rap scene only to 'quietly' leave, leaving behind a bunch of East Coast rappers without an opponent and claiming that Link won again with 'brilliant tactics'.
The mockery reached its peak when Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" was the Billboard single chart champion for the fourth consecutive week.
It was during this time that ABC's program commemorating MJ featured Link and Wiz Khalifa as special guests, performing his second rap single "See You Again."
The day was a Saturday, and the viewership of the first half of the program fluctuated around 20 million homes. During Link and Wiz Khalifa's performance segment, the peak viewership soared past 26 million homes.
"See You Again" became an immediate sensation across the internet upon its release.
The video of the duo's performance on YouTube garnered over 12 million views in two days, simply because the video title included 'In Memory of MJ,' prompting many people to click without a second thought.
Following the broadcast, Link also released "See You Again" on Twitter.
He made it clear that the song was created in memory of MJ and announced that he would donate 50% of the song's royalties from the artist's share to the MJ charity foundation and the other 50% to the International Red Cross Association to support children out of school.
The MJ Charity Foundation, MJ Fan Club, and the official account of the International Red Cross Association subsequently retweeted Link's post to express their gratitude.
Link's music label also released the studio version of "See You Again" on major digital music platforms.
On the first day of release, digital downloads reached 2.056 million copies, easily topping the download charts of major music stores, breaking records for single-day streams and downloads on platforms like iTunes, Amazon Music, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and more.
Professional reviewers in the music industry also highly praised the song, describing it as 'the best tribute track' and 'the most moving' song.
In the days following the release of the song, massive gatherings of MJ fans took place in Los Angeles, New York, London, and other places, with crowds reaching the hundreds of thousands.
Fans sang "See You Again" in front of MJ statues to mourn the recently deceased MJ, in what appeared to be a pilgrimage event and an outlet for their emotions.
When Link saw these news reports on TV, he was somewhat shocked. He had heard that after the song was released, it received a following from Paul Walker fans, who held several memorial services, though the news reported the gatherings to be small, with only a few thousand people.
However, with MJ as the focal point of commemoration, the impact expanded more than tenfold, turning into a massive rally, becoming a mainstream and international news topic.
These events far exceeded his expectations, leaving him unsure how to respond.
"Hey! Link, how did you manage to write such a great song? 'See You Again' is amazing," Paul Walker said excitedly over the phone.
Link's expression stiffened for a few seconds before he responded with a smile, "You like 'See You Again,' do you?"
"More than just like it, I absolutely love it. I listen to it every day now, over 100 times. It's the best song I've ever heard, and it's now my ringtone," Paul Walker laughed.
"I'm glad you like it!"
Link said with a gentle smile, then asked about Paul Walker's film shooting and when he would return to Los Angeles, proposing a car race bet where the loser wouldn't be allowed to drink for a year.
"See You Again" sold 5.458 million copies online in its first week, once again breaking the digital music platforms' weekly download record and setting a daunting new standard.
It also set a YouTube record with 87.27 million views in a single week.
Within one week, the song had been played 560 million times on various radio stations, setting yet another new record.
Simultaneously, "See You Again" debuted at number one on the Billboard single chart, ending "Empire State of Mind's" four-week reign with a figure that was more than sixty times greater.
This song's popularity not only skyrocketed but also boosted the ranking of Link's other songs.
"Believer" re-entered the Billboard single chart top ten, landing at number five.
"Give me a reason," "Trouble I'm In," "Keep On Movin'," "This Is Me," "I'm The One," "Unstoppable," "Never say never" and other songs re-entered the Billboard single chart's top 100, totaling 14 songs.
Apart from MJ and Auntie Susan, he had the most songs on the singles chart.
On the Billboard rap chart, "See You Again" debuted at number one, "I'm The One" returned to second, Mars and Little Bobby's collaboration "Lighters" to third, and Wiz Khalifa's single from last year "Say Yeah" ranked ninth.
After listening to "See You Again," MJ's fans went crazy, continuing to listen to Link's other songs and buying his albums.
Not only was Link shocked this time, but the media and record companies were also taken aback, having not anticipated a single song could cause such a stir.
The "New York Times" published an investigative report of over ten thousand words, explaining in detail the origins of the song, its impact, and the reasons behind it.
The origin was Link's inspiration, gained while attending Michael's memorial service and seeing his portrait.
The song had an enormous impact, becoming the official MJ fan club's tribute song for Michael.
Whenever fans sing this song, they think of MJ, and whenever they think of MJ, they sing this song.
MJ's fans span nearly two hundred countries worldwide, over a billion fans, and this song would be sung across the globe.
The reasons behind it are simple.
First is MJ's huge fame and influence, the 'King of Music';
Second, the song's quality is extremely high—the lyrics, melody, pop and rap music—it's all fantastic.
The energy produced from the collision and combination of these two factors is immense.
It is like the legendary 'whale fall,' where the death of a single whale gives life to many organisms.
After MJ's death, the popularity, attention, and public resources that once centered on him would gradually disperse and shift to other singers in the music circle.
Including those who debuted in the past two years like Taylor, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele, Link, and others.
With this song, Link seemed to inherit the largest share of those resources.
The "New York Times" commented that if Link did not stray from the path, he would undoubtedly become a superstar in the music world.
When Ivanka saw this news, she lifted the corner of her lips and looked at Mr. Graham across from her, "Last year, I told you to be strict with Link and to mold him into a top tier singer. At that time, I estimated that he had the chance to become a top tier singer in five or ten years. Obviously, my estimate was too conservative; he achieved the goal in just one year."
Mr. Graham sighed silently, too, startled by the immense influence this song had brought.
Two weeks earlier, when Link and Wiz Khalifa were recording in the studio, he had listened to the complete song and felt that it was terrific—a top-notch production with the potential to be a huge hit.
Although he knew the song was great, the energy and influence it produced after Link connected it with MJ went far beyond his imagination, like a music storm.
Link was the center of the storm and became a top tier star in the music world.
What the company needed to do now was to figure out a way to help him maintain his current position and not fall back to the second or third tier.
"You guys discuss and work out a better development plan according to Link's current situation. Link is the face and pillar of Link Music, and we must take his affairs very seriously,"
Ivanka said with a serious expression, crossing her fingers.
"Understood."
Mr. Graham nodded and picked up the documents on the table to leave.
Ivanka stared at the newspaper on the desk, and seeing the photo of Link's face with contours as sculpted as ancient Greek statues, a thoughtful expression appeared in her eyes.
Knock knock!
The office door was knocked, Ivanka straightened her back, trying not to let her full bust touch the edge of the desk.
"Come in!"
"Ivanka, the concert is about to start, when do we leave?"
Lana Del Rey said with a smile from the doorway.
Ivanka said let's go, picked up the newspaper from the desk, put it into her Gucci sling bag, and left the company with Lana.