The Beat FM studio smelled like expensive air freshener and morning coffee. Frosh sat in the guest chair, his white shirt pressed by someone from the label, his hands folded in his lap to keep them from shaking. The host was a woman named Toolz sharp voice, sharper questions, the kind of person who had interviewed global stars and could smell a lie before it left your mouth. She smiled when Frosh walked in, but it was a professional smile. The real one would come later, or not at all.
"Frosh," she said, adjusting her headphones. "Welcome to the morning show."
"Thank you for having me."
"Let's start with the numbers. Your EP, RISE, just crossed eighty-seven million streams. Eighty-seven million. How does that feel for a young man who, by all accounts, was recording covers in a bathroom six months ago?"
