Tokyo Reborn: Dark Superstar

Chapter 208 Treaty of Kyoto

The Asian music scene in 1998 had already entered a stage of fierce competition since March, and the competition was getting more intense.

After the Beasts band left the stage, the competition entered a white-hot stage.

Morning Musume's "Face Time" (First Time) stands out, and the rest of the rankings depend on each group's ability.

The power train's "Dang", which rode on the popularity of the Asian phenomenal TV series "My Fair Princess", and the first-generation Korean boy band HOT's third album "Resurrection" stayed in the top three for a long time.

There is also Mika Nakashima, who debuted this year. With the audition tape she sent to the record company, she won the chance to participate in the joint audition held by Sony Music Japan and Fuji TV.

As a result, she was discovered and starred in the TV series "Shinjuku Scar Love Song" broadcasted by Fuji TV and sang the theme song "STARS".

This year, Mika Nakashima released her debut single "STARS", which ranked third on the Oricon Singles Chart with sales of 10.2 in the first week. The cumulative sales have exceeded 3. On major charts in Asia, she is basically in the top five and is expected to be in the top three.

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When the singles of the Beast Band sung by Akina Nakamori started to be released, the long-established boy group Shonentai of Johnny's Office released a new song "Wangan Skyya".

The boy team composed of Kazukiyo Nishikori, Katsuhide Uekusa, and Noriyuki Toyama is the prototype of the Izu Island Little Tigers.

This veteran boy band has a strong fan base, has won many awards, has sufficient exposure, and has strong album sales, so it has a certain status and fame in the Japanese entertainment music scene.

The title song "Wangan Skyya" is of good quality and easily made it into the top ten of the charts.

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In the current situation, artist agencies such as Stardust Communications, Hori Productions Co., Ltd. (H), Universal Music, Ken-On, and Avex are all avoiding the attention of the Beasts.

Not to mention Sony, its strategic ally in the Japanese market, and One Piece Entertainment's own artists, who of course have to make room in the market for their mainstay, Beasts.

The fact that Johnny's chose to confront and send out a youth team was a clear statement.

No matter who is attacking One Piece Entertainment, Johnny's will definitely help...

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In addition to Johnny's office, another big female singer, Yumi Matsutoya, released a new song "Ame no St. Ishion" (Station in the Rain).

Yumi Matsutoya's music has changed the Japanese people's taste in music.

The new music movement she initiated ended the enka era and ushered in the era of Japanese pop music.

The media dubbed her the Queen of pops.

The quality of her lyrics was also highly praised, and she became the first solo female singer in Japan to win the literary award, the Kikuchi Kansho, and was praised by the Kikuchi Kansho as "creating a new spiritual landscape for Japan."

The literary quality of Matsutoya Yumi's music has been highly recognized by the government and the public, as well as its musicality, and also in terms of sales.

"Ame no St. Ishigion" (Station in the Rain) reached the top ten of the charts many times, and even entered the top three of the charts in the second week of its release.

If Morning Musume's "Face Time" wasn't so popular, this song would have already usurped the throne.

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Before the Beasts released "Blue Bird", the ranking trend of the Japanese Oricon chart was basically:
Morning Musume's "Face Time" (First Time) remains firmly in first place.

"Dang" by Power Train ranked second thanks to the popularity of "My Fair Princess".

A crossover between Yumi Matsutoya's "Ame no Stijen" (Station in the Rain) and Mika Nakashima's "STARS".

Songs such as "Resurrection" by the first generation Korean boy band HOT and "Wangan Skyya" by Shonentai fought fiercely in the mid-range position, occasionally counterattacking and rushing into the top three.

After "The Blue Bird" was listed, it took less than a week for it to take turns to top the list with "The First Time".

"When" by Power Train was pushed to third place, and the rest of the songs were demoted.

When everyone was eagerly watching the peak battle between "The Wind Rises" and "The First Time"...

The Beasts Band released a new song "Ten Years"

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"Ten Years" and Eason Chen are like twins. "Ten Years" will almost certainly be performed at any Eason Chen concert.

As long as the melody of "Ten Years" is played slowly, the emotional defenses of the listeners will collapse in an instant, and countless emotional stories will begin to flow gently with the music, leaving the listeners with nothing to hide.

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If those two words didn't tremble
I won't find myself uncomfortable
How to say it

It's just a breakup
If there is no request for tomorrow
Holding hands is like traveling

Thousands of doorways

Someone has to go first.

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Ten years ago
I don't know you you don't belong to me
We are still the same

By a stranger
Walk through the streets that are gradually familiar

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Ten years later
We are friends and we can greet

Just kind of gentle
No more reason to hug
Lovers will inevitably become friends in the end...

A long time ago, when I was listening to the song "Ten Years", I wondered why Eason Chen was so unlucky, always having broken up or being abandoned.

A long time later, when I listened to "Ten Years", I no longer felt Eason Chen's mood, but my own mood.

For some things, you have to experience them yourself to understand the bitterness.

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I think if a song is very popular, it must be something that many people can empathize with...

All we can say is that reunions are always short, but separations are common.

So everyone can understand this feeling.

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Especially the last line of the lyrics

"Until we've been friends for many years..."

"I just understood my tears."

"Not only for you, but also for others..."

The end of the story is not just depression, but a feeling of being reborn, breaking out of the cocoon, and realizing that love is not everything in life.

This is the true feeling that most people will have when they go from strangers to acquaintances, from acquaintances to strangers, and finally to staying with friends.

It's like a veil of calm covering the sad emotion. That looming sadness is the soul of this song.

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Such excellent songs, coupled with the popularity of the Beasts band, the retirement of bassist and lead singer Akina Nakamori, not to mention the popularity of the MV of "Blue Bird" tied to the Nagano Tokyo Olympics.

"Blue Bird" and "Ten Years" immediately rushed to the top three of the Oricon charts, and then, while resisting the impact of "When" by Power Train, they also surrounded Morning Musume's "Face Time" (first time) with "The Wind Rises".

The two hit songs released by the Beasts Band's third album "Ainu" both made it into the top three, and the song quality is excellent.

This attracted the attention of music critics and fans, and everyone couldn't help but think of Tetsuya Komuro's admission of defeat and Hayashi Yoshiki's "crazy talk".

Could it be that the Beasts band really produced a god-level album this time?
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The following week, One Piece Entertainment released three "old songs" again.

These are the works that made Akina Nakamori famous as a solo singer: "Girl A", "Unbreakable Ship" and "DESIRE -Passion-".

The main theme is a Showa sentiment, a must-have for fans...

Although they were covers of old songs, the results were not bad, although their best results on the Oricon charts only barely made it to sixth, ninth and twelfth place.

But Bunta Takakura of the band Beasts won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival, one of the three major European film festivals.

Win the dark gambling agreement and obtain the T0-level resources in western Japan.

This makes the strength of Beasts' T0-level resources in Japan second only to Ikuko Iijima, which covers the entire country, and even suppresses Takuya Kimura SMAP, which occupies T0-level resources in the Kanto and Kinki regions and once had the second strongest T0-level resources in Japan.

When these three famous songs of Akina Nakamori were re-released, they inevitably attracted criticism because they were old songs sung in new styles...

In order to ensure the publicity campaign, Bunta Takakura decisively mobilized T0-level entertainment industry resources.

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On January 1998, 1, the Executive Committee of the United Nations Convention for the Protection of International Copyright and the Intellectual Property Committee of the World Trade Organization (WTO) began to establish a Joint General Council and issued the agreement in Kyoto, Japan.

The Kyoto Treaty is also known as the Kyoto Protocol, and its full name is the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Copyright Protection.

Its goal is to "stabilize the intensity of the global dark gambling agreement confrontation at an appropriate level, thereby preventing the drastic class solidification of the global entertainment industry and stifling human cultural innovation capabilities."

193 countries and 31 regions around the world have signed the Kyoto Treaty, which stipulates that artists (groups) can only use T0-level resources once a year worldwide, eliminating cultural industry barriers among countries.

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According to the Kyoto Treaty released this year, the T0-level resources of stars (groups) can only be used once a year, and the global dominance of superstars, queens, and groups has been weakened.

New forces around the world are beginning to stir.

This makes the use of T0-level resources more like a weapon of mass destruction in the entertainment industry that is restricted to use once a year...

If used at the right time, it can change the situation of the battle...

The Beasts band invested its 1998 T0-level resources in the three songs "Girl A", "Unbreakable Ship" and "DESIRE -Passion-".

The song started to be sung in the streets and alleys of Kinki, Sanyo and San'in, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa and Chubu in western Japan...

The positive public opinion in western Japan overflowed, clearing up some of the criticisms that had just been raised, and completely dispelled them...

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Currently, "Ainu" is still in the promotion stage before the album is released, with four of them in the top ten and two in the top three.

If we release all the remaining songs on the album, will there be any chance for others to survive?
Many people who were following this singing battle suddenly had a feeling that they were about to witness history...

(End of this chapter)