After wrapping up their promotional activities in Hangzhou, Lu Chen's team hurried ahead to their next stop: Shinkai City.
Lu Chen himself returned to his Binhai home with Chen Fei'er.
With his career soaring and his workload growing increasingly demanding, combined with his mother's reluctance to retire early and move to the Capital City, opportunities to see her outside of the Lunar New Year were rare.
As a filial son, Lu Chen, seized this chance during the Hangzhou promotion to visit his mother. Bringing his girlfriend along would surely delight both his mother and younger sister, allowing them to bask in the warmth of family.
However, due to their tightly scheduled itineraries, Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er could only stay in Binhai for a single day. Afterward, Chen Fei'er returned directly to the Capital City from Binhai, while Lu Chen headed south to Shinkai to rejoin his team.
For celebrity couples, breakups were all too common.
Unsurprisingly, news of Lu Chen's fan meeting in Hangzhou dominated the entertainment sections of major media outlets. While it didn't grab headlines, it still secured substantial coverage.
The reports naturally highlighted Chen Fei'er's surprise guest appearance and the record-breaking viewership of the event's live stream, injecting a fresh wave of excitement into the already thriving online streaming industry.
So, despite being ostensibly a promotional event for Lu Chen's new album, the true winners were the sponsors: China Motors and Whale TV. Whale TV, in particular, leveraged the record-breaking live stream to generate massive buzz, signaling a strong resurgence to its former glory.
If asked what changes Lu Chen's emergence brought to the Pan-Entertainment Industry, the first thing that comes to mind is how his unparalleled creative talent ignited a new wave in pop music, significantly boosting the morale of domestic original artists and improving the compensation for original songwriters.
Furthermore, the two TV plays he wrote and starred in became international sensations, pioneering a new model for Domestic Dramas. This forced the industry to seriously re-evaluate its past culture of imitation and plagiarism. Inevitably, film and television entertainment companies, inspired by the success of 'Autumn in My Heart' and 'Full House', will strive to produce more sincere and original works.
Another significant impact was on the online live streaming platforms.
Everyone in and outside the industry knows that while Lu Chen officially debuted through Singing China, his popularity accumulation and expansion largely relied on the Whale TV platform. Even after achieving fame and success, he didn't abandon Whale TV; instead, his popularity continued to soar on the platform.
According to internal sources at Whale TV, the platform intends to renew Lu Chen's endorsement contract with a fee reaching eight figures. Moreover, Lu Chen's monthly earnings from viewer tips and revenue sharing exceed hundreds of thousands.
Considering Lu Chen's limited livestreaming hours on Whale TV, his combined income from endorsement fees and revenue sharing is enough to make second- and third-tier celebrities green with envy.
His success has set a precedent, leading to an increasing number of celebrities and artists appearing on various online platforms. While established megastars with ample resources and popularity might scoff at this trend, it's irresistible for artists struggling to break through in the entertainment industry, especially young, wandering singers.
Conversely, as more celebrities frequently livestream online performances, they attract massive fan bases and viewers, further driving the growth of the entire industry.
People in the live-streaming industry joked that they should pool their money to award Lu Chen a massive medal. Without his success, the industry's value and popularity would never have skyrocketed so quickly.
But beyond these superficial or profound impacts and transformations, some were even more interested in the musical talent Lu Chen showcased in his compositions.
On the very night Lu Chen left for Shinkai, Donghu Sanren, a renowned Wave Blog blogger and music critic, published a deeply insightful commentary on "Jiangnan," the song Lu Chen had performed at his Hangzhou fan meet.
"[ Jiangnan ] marks a significant departure from Lu Chen's previous works. In my opinion, this represents a groundbreaking attempt by him as an exceptional singer to innovate and evolve in his original pop music compositions."
"For me, this piece is an absolute revelation, easily one of Lu Chen's finest works this year. He has skillfully unearthed traditional elements from our cultural heritage and seamlessly integrated them into his music, creating a strikingly unique and distinctive style!"
"Though I've only heard a stripped-down version of the song without its composed music or accompaniment, imagine how its charm would multiply if traditional folk instruments were used to enhance its themes! It's definitely something to look forward to!"
"I dare say that when the full version of 'Jiangnan' is released, Lu Chen's status in the pop music scene will reach new heights. If his future works maintain this style, he could once again lead a new trend!"
Donghu Sanren's laudatory blog post about Lu Chen didn't cause much of a stir online. There were already countless articles reviewing Lu Chen's work, and this wasn't the first time Donghu Sanren had commented on his original songs.
However, within the pop music industry, some astute observers sensed something significant brewing.
The future remains unpredictable. Whether a butterfly's flutter can truly spark a storm remains to be seen, with time as the ultimate judge!
Lu Chen's second promotional stop for his new album was Shinkai, followed by Tianfu for the third leg, and Sansha City for the fourth.
Leading his team, he embarked on a vast circuit across the country, covering thousands of kilometers and crisscrossing seven major cities. They finally returned to Capital City on the eve of the album's official release!
By then, Lu Chen's new album, Ordinary Road, had fully achieved its crowdfunding goals on Zhongchou.com, with several projects exceeding their targets by over 1000%. Combined with pre-orders from Xinhua Bookstore branches nationwide, the album had already secured sales in the millions.
Due to its overwhelming popularity, the official release date was postponed by a few days.
On September 1st, Lu Chen's new album, Ordinary Road, went on sale nationwide.
On its first day, digital album sales on WeChat Music exceeded 200,000 copies!
The success of this new album was undeniable. Everyone is eagerly anticipating how high it will ultimately soar.
It's worth noting that Chen Fei'er's album Flower Woman, produced by Lu Chen, has already surpassed 4 million cumulative sales, effortlessly achieving "quadruple diamond" status and closing in on the coveted "crown" achievement at 5 million sales.
If Lu Chen's own album also reaches "crown" status, it would undoubtedly become a legendary tale in the pop music world, a story that countless fans would endlessly recount with pride.
On September 22nd, Chen Fei'er's Extraordinary Fei solo concert will be held at the Capital City Olympic Five Rings Arena!
(End of chapter)
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