Looking at the overwhelming promotion of Ji Ruan's new album on various platforms, Xie Mingxuan, Lu Wei, and the others were speechless. After a long while, Fang Yu finally said in a muffled voice, "Was it done on purpose?"
Even if it was just a coincidence, the timing was far too perfect.
Ji Yan lowered his head and said expressionlessly, "It was intentional."
Moreover, he knew very well that the other party's actions were probably related to him.
Ji Yan stared intently at the television screen, where the host was enthusiastically introducing the album "Do U Like," claiming that the title track "She Knows" was produced by renowned musicians from both China and abroad, showcasing the Ji family's considerable wealth.
"...There is another piece of news in the music scene recently. The boy group 'Wings', which debuted from the talent show 'Idol Century', will also release the title track of their new album tomorrow. As we all know, Ji Yan, one of the members of 'Wings', once claimed to the outside world that he was born into the Ji family. The dispute between him and Ji Ruan about whether he is from the Ji family or not will also extend to the album sales. Let's wait and see."
"It has nothing to do with you." Xie Mingxuan patted Ji Yan on the shoulder. "Don't listen to their nonsense."
“But this is our first album,” Ji Yan said softly.
Xie Mingxuan wanted to help Ji Yan relax, but Ji Yan's grip on his arm only tightened further.
He didn't care how Ji Ruan treated him, or how the Ji family treated him, but he didn't want to see other people's efforts be harmed because of him. Only he knew how much they had sacrificed for the new album, and this was the one thing he absolutely couldn't be indifferent to.
He can't do it.
"I will settle things with them as soon as possible." Ji Yan clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unprecedented seriousness.
"Okay, Teacher Ji." Fang Yu put his arm around Ji Yan's shoulder. "Don't be so serious. Besides, nobody can predict how our album will ultimately sell. By the way, have you all listened to 'She Knows'?"
Ji Yan honestly shook his head, and Xie Mingxuan and Lu Wei also silently shook their heads.
"Then you don't need to pay. I listened to 'She Knows' a few times, and I feel... the level of international big-name producers isn't that great."
Fang Yu let Xie Mingxuan listen first, since Xie Mingxuan was the most skilled at composing among them. After listening, Xie Mingxuan remained silent for a while: "It sounds like it was rushed. Although the rhythm is quite fashionable, it's not very listenable."
As Fang Yu said, this is not the level of well-known foreign musicians. Xie Mingxuan even felt that their "Is Black or White" was better. This is not overconfidence, but a genuine feeling.
Lu Wei and Ji Yan share the same view.
...
The so-called "debate over authenticity" reported by the media naturally attracted the attention of entertainment influencers. While promoting Ji Ruan's new album, they also took the opportunity to promote "Yi" (the band's name).
"Wings' new album 'Mist' will also be released this week, but unfortunately, with Ji Ruan as a competitor, Wings' new album has not attracted any attention..."
Ji Ruan's fans scoffed at this:
"Isn't 'Wing' a million years too early to compete with Ji Ruan?"
"Who told them to be so unlucky? Counterfeits will definitely avoid genuine products, right?"
"'Wing's' fans actually think that I, Ruan, am deliberately blocking the way. Please, some show-loving fans, open your eyes and take a good look. Does your idol deserve this? It's really a case of trying to piggyback on the moon landing."
"Ji Yan's fans' confidence is really laughable. They've been proven wrong time and time again, and they still don't get enough of it. Do they really think they can gain a few active fans with 'The Voice of China'? They should try to raise money to buy more albums themselves."
On the "Liuge" platform, Ji Ruan's album sales have now climbed to number one. There are relatively few singers releasing songs recently, and the singer with the second-highest sales is the one who released a new album at the end of last month, so its real-time sales naturally cannot compare with Ji Ruan's.
...
The next day, "Mist" was released on the "Liuge" platform, and the title track "Is It Black or White" was also announced at the same time.
Compared to Ji Ruan's promotional efforts, the promotion of the album "Mist" was quite low-key. After DW Entertainment's official Weibo account posted the news, the members of "Wing" also reposted the news.
The music video for "Is It Black or White" was released at the same time as the audio.
On the "Liuge" platform, today's featured song is Ji Ruan's "Sugar," while "Is Black or White" is not prominently featured. Compared to the pink-themed atmosphere of "Sugar," the music video for "Is Black or White" is rather plain.
The members of "Wings" clicked on the new song as soon as it was released—although it was a song they wrote and sang themselves, it was the first time they had heard the finished product.
"A new song!" Ji Yan couldn't stop smiling. "Our new song!"
"Please don't repeat the same sentence ten times, it will make you look very unintelligent."
At this moment, they stopped thinking about Ji Ruan. Regardless of the final results of the new album, they truly had an album of their own, and that was a real thing.
As the music slowly begins, in the predominantly black-and-white music video, a line of text gradually appears on a large mirror—
Song: Is it Black or White
Lyrics by Xie Mingxuan, Lu Wei, Fang Yu, and Ji Yan.
Composers: Xie Mingxuan, Lu Wei, Fang Yu, Ji Yan.
Every melody and every word of this song was written by them, so it sounds very different. When they first heard the finished product, they even felt a sense of unfamiliarity. After the whole song finished playing, Ji Yan reached out and touched hands with Xie Mingxuan, Fang Yu, and Lu Wei in turn: "We're awesome!"
"Awesome!"
An hour after the new song was released, comments started appearing on Ji Yan's Weibo: "Is It Black or White? It's a great song!"
"The new song is great! You can feel the dedication of the Wings band."
"I really like the feeling of the song 'Is It Black or White'; it's warm and peaceful!"
Ji Yan scrolled through the comments one by one, and as more and more comments praising the new song appeared, he couldn't help but smile.
Of course, on the "Liuge" platform, as a newly released song today, "Is Black or White" did not have a high number of plays, even less than some classic old songs. On the weekly new song chart, "Is Black or White" ranked outside the top ten, with Ji Ruan's "She Knows" and "Sugar" ranking first and second respectively.
Perhaps because they had prepared themselves mentally beforehand, Ji Yan and the others remained calm about the outcome.
Anyway, now that the new song has been released, let's leave the outcome to fate.
The number of plays for "Is It Black or White" also reflects the album sales of "Mist" to some extent. Several hours have passed since the release of "Mist," and it is still nowhere to be found on the sales charts.
"Can anyone tell me, was 'Wings' ever really popular? Nobody buys their albums at all!"
"Both of them are new albums released in the last two days. Ji Ruan's 'Do U Like' is absolutely crushing 'Mist'."
"Idol groups are all basically free-to-play fans. 'Tsubasa' has even fewer fans than others. Their active fans have almost all left, and there are even fewer fans willing to spend money."
Ji Ruan's fans also mobilized, posting screenshots of the sales charts on Weibo, where the gap between Ji Ruan, who was in first place, and "Yi," who was in the 20s, was particularly obvious.
"Someone has finally shown their true colors. How much hype did they put on during the 'Singer of the Sky' campaign? Did they really think the popularity was their own? It was the popularity of 'blue' and 'spaceship', okay?"
"Actually, I don't need to care about that person at all. That con artist can't live without con artists. Luckily, he still has some shame. This time, he didn't stick to me and cause trouble when he released his new album."
"How dare he hype this up? His new album's sales are so bad."
Statistically speaking, The Mist's performance was far from outstanding, especially compared to Ji Ruan's new work, which made it seem even worse.
Fang Yu initially stared at the sales charts, but after a while he also got bored, so the group simply went downstairs for a walk, not even bothering to bring their phones.
They just saw the hashtag "Wings New Album Sales" on Weibo, and when they clicked on it, there were a lot of comments mocking them, which made them even more annoyed.
It's impossible not to be disappointed, after all, this is their first album. If it sells well, there might be more to come, but judging from the current situation, this is probably their last album.
"Don't overthink it. Just because we like it doesn't mean our fans will."
"yes."
Xie Mingxuan sighed softly: "At least it's out, so the result isn't bad."
The four of them ran around the riverbank, lap after lap. The cool breeze cleared their heads considerably, and they didn't return to their apartment until it got dark.
Fang Yu opened his phone and glanced at the "Liu Ge" ranking list, still unwilling to give up. Then, he stared at the phone for a while, making sure he wasn't mistaken, before slapping the table to remind the others: "It's gone up."
The Mist, which was just outside the top 20 on the sales charts, has now risen to number nine!
In the new song play count section, "Is Black or White" is prominently displayed, following closely behind "She Knows" and "Sugar," currently ranking third on the new song chart.
"This song is so beautiful! It inexplicably made me want to cry."
"Whether it's black or white, light or dark, you shaped my colors, you made my life vibrant. The transition from black and white to color in the music video is so stunning, and the harmony of the four members of 'Wings' is simply perfect!!"
"I listened to this song 20 times; I spent the whole afternoon on repeat!!"
As comments on the "Liuge" platform increased, Fang Yu searched for updates on Weibo and found that music critic "Blind Guest" had used an entire long paragraph to introduce the song "Is It Black or White"—
"This is the best new song I've discovered this year, 'Is It Black or White' by Wings. This song was created by all four members, and the lyrics and music were also written and composed by them."
"In this song, I saw their sincerity and their expression of music. Logically speaking, black and white are opposites, and there are other colors besides black and white. So in the first half of this song, I could only see black and white, but in the second half, I could see more bright colors."
"The members of 'Wings' have a singing ability that exceeded my expectations. Although I have never heard them sing live, there is not a single abrupt sound in this song. Everyone knows exactly what role they should play. They can highlight their own voices while perfectly complementing their teammates' voices. The lyrics are also very moving."
"Good songs should not be buried. I hope more people will hear this song, 'Is It Black or White'."
The "blind guy's" comments also occupied the "Wings New Album Sales" tag. Below his comments, the screenshot of Ji Ruan's fans mocking the sales of "Mist" also remained highly popular.
However, just as Ji Ruan's fans continued to mock "Yi," the chart for "Liu Ge's" new song quietly changed—
"Is It Black or White" has overtaken "Sugar" to climb to second place on the new song chart, and its play count is getting closer and closer to the number one song, "She Knows".
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