The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 959: Momentum Continues
In 2002, a new reality show arrived on Fox TV, "American Idol".

At this time, the reality show craze had just emerged, starting with the British "Pop Idol", which allowed the entertainment industry to see new business opportunities; but until this moment, people still did not really realize that the rise of the "reality show" program format would completely change the model of the entire entertainment industry -

Cameras have penetrated deeply into people's lives, satisfying the general public's desire and impulse to peek, gossip, and spy on other people's private lives. The desire is getting worse and worse. Not only public figures, but ordinary people are no exception. In just twenty years, the creed of entertainment to death has been pushed to a whole new level.

And now, history has just opened its door.

Last year, in the first season of "American Idol", Kelly Clarkson, a small town girl and a bartender, won the championship and completely changed her life overnight. This also made the "American Dream" more real than ever before, and everyone was crazy about it.

After Kelly Clarkson became the show's first champion in history, her No. 1 single after topping "American Idol" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Singles Chart, demonstrating the show's far-reaching influence. Last month, she released her first solo album, which again topped the Billboard Album Chart, and her first single also made it into the top ten of the Billboard Singles Chart, performing brilliantly.

Everyone thought, if a small-town bartender could do it, then so could they.

This has brought the popularity of the second season of "American Idol" to a new peak, sweeping the ratings charts with incredible strength.

Currently, the second season of "American Idol" has come to an end. Ruben Studdard won the championship, which was a big upset. Clay Aiken, who was generally favored before the game, unfortunately finished second, bringing an end to the new season of this reality show.

Next, following Kelly Clarkson's release of her first solo album, Reuben Stuttard and Clay Aiken are about to release their first singles after the show.

The craze swept across the entire North American continent.

How crazy is all this?
Just imagine the influence of the World Cup on the globe, except for North America. When the group stage is underway, the whole world celebrates together; when entering the knockout stage, although the number of countries and regions celebrating decreases, the expectations for the championship continue to rise, and can continue until a month after the end of the World Cup.

"American Idol" is having this momentum right now.

Bustling and noisy——

The North American music market is entering a new era. The physical record market, which has been in a slow decline since the late 1990s, has been given a shot in the arm by the emergence of "American Idol" and has regained its vitality, even competing with the Hollywood summer season.

It was in such a hustle and bustle that August 31st came quietly, but rose strongly at the right time.

Before the Cannes Film Festival kicked off, "Hoar Hey" had climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart, just behind Fifty Cent's "In That Club."

There is no doubt that this is a great feat. There is no large-scale publicity, no comprehensive distribution, and it all depends on word of mouth. It takes us back to the time and space of the rise of folk songs in the 1960s. Compared with publicity and promotion, it relies on the reputation of the work itself to open up the situation. Good wine needs no bush. It was a simple and honest era. The power of capital is important but it has not yet overshadowed all attention.

After the single was released, "Hooray" incredibly climbed to the second place on the Billboard singles chart for 27 weeks, or more than six months. An unknown grassroots band actually accomplished such a feat, which complemented the grassroots dream of "American Idol".

The whole network is abuzz.

What's more, the lead singer of the band August 31st is actually Anson.

As an actor, everyone knows "Anson Wood", whether you like it or not, this name is everywhere; but as a singer?
…hell.

When people associate Peter Parker with the lead singer of the band August 31st, swear words come out involuntarily.

The key point is that Anson did not reveal his identity, and there was no publicity. The victory was decided by music, and everything started from scratch. This invisibly fits the spirit of "American Idol", which makes everything happening before our eyes even more incredible and exciting.

In addition to being amazed, the admiration and recognition surrounding Anson continued to increase.

This is something that people never expected. For many reasons, expectations are rising, including professionals in the music industry are looking forward to when "Ho Ho Ho" will top the Billboard charts.

Everything seems ready.

However, it has not happened yet.

Second. Second. Second.

It ranked second for three consecutive weeks and was never able to break through; Fifty Cent's "In That Club" was really too strong and held the championship throne for two months, completely suppressing the fresh and clean style of the August 31st band.

Then, the billboard finally shuffled.

"In That Club" stayed at the top of the Billboard Singles Chart for nine weeks, ultimately failing to break into double digits. This week, the championship throne changed.

So, "hoo hey"?
No, the new champion is Sean Paul's "Get-Busy."

Billboard singles chart in the second week of May.

Champion, "Get busy."

Runner-up: “Ho Hey”.

Third place, "In That Club".

On August 31, the band continued to be stuck in second place. Although they finally defeated Fifty Cent and firmly occupied the second place, they still could not break through the constraints and lost to Sean Paul, continuing to be stuck in second place and missing the championship.

For a moment, I didn’t know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

In a way, this is not surprising, as it confirms some of Myers's points -

Folk, rock, jazz, bluegrass, these music genres are gradually declining; in sharp contrast, pop, rap, etc. are on the rise.

Or to put it another way, a new club music is becoming popular across the board, and just like the disco craze that swept the clubs around the world in the 1980s, music that is played in clubs and makes people sing and dance always wins wider support.

From disco to electronic to rock and now to pop and rap, music types have been changing, but clubs have always held the lifeblood of the market.

Whether it is "In That Club" or "Getting Busy", different music types but with the same bloodline, this is the shackles that "Ho Hey" cannot break through——

Imagine, would you like to hear a cello while dancing, drinking and chatting up people in a club?
The current situation doesn't seem so strange.

Honestly, compared to the fact that "Hoar Hey" failed to top the Billboard singles chart, it is more amazing that "Hoar Hey" was able to maintain the second place amidst the successive competition of "In That Club" and "Get Busy". It has become a landscape of this summer.

Suddenly, people became curious.

How strong is the staying power of "Hoar Hey"? How long can it continue to stay in the top ten or even top five of the Billboard singles chart amid such fierce competition?

(End of this chapter)