Chapter 243 – Success is not a matter of luck
The first girl group in the country was established in 2000.
After more than a decade of development, there are now over 20 active girl groups in the entertainment industry, of course, only counting those with some fame and talent, excluding those makeshift groups formed with a few newcomers.
Although the domestic entertainment industry has been developing rapidly, and the market’s size keeps growing, the more so, the fiercer the competition becomes, especially in clearly defined market segments, which have long turned into a saturated market.
A girl group can have as few as three to five members or as many as dozens. For entertainment record companies, the resources and effort required to make a girl group successful undoubtedly far exceeds that of a solo artist.
Flying Stone Records has made a significant investment in MSN with the aim of grabbing a big piece of the market.
Unlike most girl groups, especially those from Japan and South Korea, Flying Stone Records’ timing for launching MSN is not considered very appropriate in the industry’s eyes. They seem to be rushing into it without adequate preparation, appearing too eager for success.
In countries like South Korea, most members of girl groups are carefully selected from the talent pool of entertainment companies. They undergo rigorous training for several years, building a solid foundation.
Even so, there’s no guarantee of market acceptance, and the competition is fierce.
Among the members of MSN, Su Jiajia is considered relatively normal. She was originally a trainee, so her fundamentals are solid.
Ning Tian graduated from music school, but what she learned is ultimately different.
As for Mu Xiaochu, she is even further away from all that. She was a student at the Beijing Foreign Language Institute, only gaining some recognition through “Singing China,” everything else is not even worth mentioning.
Such a team should have required at least a year or more of honing to qualify for a debut.
However, Flying Stone Records went against this norm. MSN had just been established when they released their first album, and they spent a huge amount of money on packaging and promotion, surprisingly achieving great success.
Therefore, many peers invited to attend this event were filled with envy and jealousy as they in the end come to appreciate the performance of the three beautiful girls on stage.
Undeniably, after the recent promotional tours across the country, the three girls have been polished, and their dancing and singing while it couldn’t be described as flawless was, at least, pleasing to the eyes and ears!
The cheers from the group of fans sitting in the banquet hall could practically bring down the ceiling.
For this Platinum Celebration Gala, Flying Stone Records generously invited 280 members of the MSN fan club, which are the true Iron Rice Fans, to attend. Many out-of-town members even had their travel and accommodation expenses reimbursed.
It’s worth mentioning that there were also 70 additional slots reserved for Lu Chen’s fan club, the “Lu Family Army.”
The reason is simple. Ever since Lu Chen collaborated with MSN, the Lu Family Army has established a good relationship with the MSN fan club. They’ve long considered Mu Xiaochu as Lu Chen’s younger sister and affectionately refer to her as younger sister Xiaochu.
With this close connection, coupled with their natural affection for the beautiful girls, the Lu Family Army has contributed a significant proportion to MSN’s album sales.
If “Platinum Record” can be considered a brilliant medal, then the Lu Family Army’s contribution cannot be discredited!
Regarding this matter, Flying Stone Records not only welcomed it but also actively supported it. If it weren’t for the limited capacity of the reception hall at the Lijing Grand Hotel, there would certainly be more slots available for them.
After the first song, “Not Yet Lovers,” was performed, Ning Tian smiled and asked, “Thank you, everyone. So, which song would you like to hear next?”
Among the members of MSN, Ning Tian is the oldest, at 20 years old, and she comes from the Northern Conservatory of Music, which can be considered a true professional background.
Her figure is the best and the most beautiful, and she has been established as the captain of MSN. What fans love most about her are her eyes, and when she smiles, it’s as if she’s speaking, irresistibly drawing people in.
As Ning Tian finished speaking, some fans immediately shouted, “Where’s love!”
“He Still Doesn’t Understand!”
Apart from “Not Yet Lovers,” these are basically the only two songs mentioned, and hardly anyone shouted for the other songs on the album.
This once again reminded the colleagues present that all three songs were created by Lu Chen!
Many people simultaneously looked towards Lu Chen, their gazes filled with complexity.
Although some attributed the massive sales of MSN’s first album, “Not Yet Lovers,” to the extravagant packaging and promotion efforts of Flying Stone Records, and even claimed that the sales figures were fabricated, calling it a false prosperity that would eventually be exposed.
But for those who truly understood the industry, this sour grapes mentality was not worth mentioning. While Flying Stone Records did invest heavily, without the three excellent songs custom-made by Lu Chen for MSN, such outstanding results would have been impossible.
There was no doubt about Lu Chen’s talent in songwriting!
People’s concern is how far he can go on the path of his originality. After all, in the history of the music industry, there have been numerous examples of sudden breakthroughs followed by rapid obscurity.
Depleted inspiration, being stuck in one’s ways, and lacking ambition…
Not many singer-songwriters can maintain a long-lasting creative state, and the same goes for professional authors.
Many lyricists and composers, after creating a few good songs, essentially fade into obscurity, no longer having flashes of inspiration and relying on their past reputation and basic skills to get by.
It seems that Lu Chen is different from them. However, when people started counting Lu Chen’s works over the past six months, they were amazed to find that his strong desire to create and his abundant inspiration had reached unimaginable levels.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Lu Chen is the most outstanding singer-songwriter in the Chinese pop music scene in the past decade!
Even though his career is still relatively short and his industry recognition is not enough compared to truly big celebrities, when it comes to creative talent, there are not many who can compare to him.
A song like “In Spring,” an album like “My Old Classmate,” and another album like “Not Yet Lovers” are the flags that Lu Chen has planted in the pop music industry, fluttering in the wind and making everyone take notice!
He is also currently involved in the production of Chen Feier’s new album, the transformational work of this diva.
Once Chen Feier’s album succeeds, Lu Chen’s position in the industry will become unshakable.
Everyone admired Lu Chen’s talent, envied his collaboration with Flying Stone Records, and regretted not taking action earlier. Otherwise, there might have been a girl group similar to MSN under their label.
Those who attended this celebration included staff from some companies, and it’s said that they offered MSN a performance fee of over 300,000 RMB to do a commercial performance for them!
Surprisingly, Flying Stone Records hasn’t agreed to that yet, as the price may go up.
This sourness they are feeling, really makes people’s teeth nearly fall out.
Some of them were cunning, thinking they should seize the opportunity to chat with Lu Chen later.
Lu Chen hasn’t signed with any entertainment agency; he has his own studio. So, as long as you paid a sufficient price, even if you can’t get the same treatment as Flying Stone Records, it shouldn’t be a problem to buy a good song, right?
Unconsciously, Lu Chen’s reputation has already been established.
Onstage, after Ning Tian waited for the fans to finish shouting, she smiled and said, “Since everyone likes ‘Where’s Love’ and ‘He Still Doesn’t Understand,’ shall we sing both songs?”
The fans were all satisfied with that: “Yes!”
In fact, she didn’t need to say it; these songs were all supposed to be sung. But Ning Tian had another idea: “Everyone knows that your favourite songs have all been written by Teacher Lu Chen. So, for the next song, let him accompany us. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes!”
The fans were ecstatic, as they were shouting Lu Chen’s name: “Teacher Lu Chen!”
In various local dialects, “Da Da” can mean different things like “brother,” “father,” “uncle,” and so on. However, the popular internet usage of “Da Da” generally refers to a skilled, talented, or expert individual, expressing deep admiration and worship towards someone. (T/N – In the previous couple of sentences author used Lu Chen Da Da and I translated that as “teacher”, I think I will continue using that term even with what the author wrote next. Please tell me if you have a better idea)
Ning Tian referred to Lu Chen as “Da Da” instead of “teacher” for two reasons. On one hand, it expresses her admiration and worship towards him. On the other hand, it’s to get closer to the fans.
The fans who attended this celebration event, whether they were part of the MSN support team or the Lu Family’s Army, were mostly young people and the main force of the netizen population. Therefore, hearing this term of address made them feel particularly close to them.
As the saying goes, it’s hard to decline when faced with such enthusiasm, so Lu Chen had no choice but to stand up and wave to everyone.
Ning Tian took two steps forward and stood at the edge of the stage, a charming smile blossomed on her pretty face as she leaned forward and extended her hand towards Lu Chen.
This was an inviting gesture.
Fortunately, MSN was following the route of youth and purity rather than being seductive and alluring. Ning Tian’s attire was very conservative. Otherwise, it would have been quite a revealing sight, giving everyone an eyeful.
Fans cheered and applauded with smiles on their faces.
Lu Chen couldn’t help but laugh and, without refusal, held Ning Tian’s hand.
The stage in the banquet hall wasn’t very high. With his agility, he was easily “pulled” up by this beautiful girl.
At this moment, the staff brought out a piano that had already been prepared.
A beautiful white grand piano.
Lu Chen took the microphone and addressed everyone, “I’m very happy to be here tonight at MSN’s Platinum Celebration party. I’ve made so many friends, and well, the food is delicious too.”
Everyone laughed.
Lu Chen continued, “And what makes me happiest is that MSN has achieved the success they truly deserve because during our collaboration, I witnessed how hardworking and dedicated they are!”
“I’ve seen Ning Tian practising singing until midnight without taking a break…”
“I’ve seen Mu Xiaochu, younger sister Xiaochu practising her dance, enduring blisters on her feet but still persevering…”
“And there’s Su Jiajia…”
The banquet hall fell silent, whether it was the executives of Flying Stone Records or the invited colleagues, whether it was MSN’s support team or the Lu Family Army, they all listened attentively to Lu Chen as he shared the stories he knew.
These were all real stories.
It’s precisely because they lacked a strong foundation that these three girls put in tremendous effort during the production of ‘Not Yet Lovers.’ Sweat and tears were a regular part of their routine, and injuries during practice were quite common.
It wasn’t just Lin Zhijie; Lu Chen was also very strict with them.
But the three lovely young girls all persisted and did not drag the scheduled release of this album.
Others saw the success of “Not Yet Lovers” because of either Flying Stone Records’ promotion, or the kindness of Lu Chen who wrote for them a couple of good songs, or it was simply because they are young and beautiful, making it easy for them to attract fans.
However, no one mentioned the effort they put in.
So at this moment, Lu Chen wanted to tell everyone that their success was not just a stroke of luck!
T/N – When it comes to the term Da Da, if you want I can also keep that as it is and not translate it, I will just go with “Lu Chen Da Da”, of course, if that is what you want, please tell me your opinion.
T/N – If you like this novel, please give a review or rating on Novel Updates
T/N – If you want to support me check out my – KO-FI