CHAPTER 120: DAY 1 NUMBER

While the media burned with excitement, Dayo was home.

He had just gotten back from dinner with his team, and the night had been loud with laughter and relief. Before they parted ways, he told them:

"Tonight, nobody goes back to the office. Go home, rest. Tomorrow, we start again."

He smiled as he said it, but the calm in his voice made everyone obey.

---

At home, the moment he stepped through the door, his little sister screamed.

"Dayooooo!" she shouted, running to him. "Oh my God, your album made me cry! It’s so beautiful!"

Dayo laughed and hugged her. His parents stood nearby, smiling proudly. His father gave him a thumbs-up.

"We listened to it together," his mother said. "It’s special."

"Have you seen what people are saying online?" his sister asked, grabbing his arm.

He raised his hands. "Nope. I’m not checking anything until tomorrow."

"Why?" she asked.

"Peace of mind," he replied with a grin.

They all laughed, ate a small late dinner, and went to bed.

---

The next morning, the sun had barely risen when Dayo got dressed and headed to JD Records.

He was beyond excited. This was his first album — be it in his old life or this new one — so he was feeling emotions that couldn’t be explained in words.

As his car pulled up, he could already hear noise from inside — cheers, laughter, and the kind of energy that only came with good news.

The whole label was practically glowing; the smiles on their faces could blind anyone.

When he walked in, every head turned.

"Congratulations, sir!" one of the producers shouted.

"You did it!" another said.

Dayo smiled but stayed calm. "Okay, what’s happening?"

Alice met him halfway, trying to contain her grin. "Finally you are here. I would have said you were late, but we all came early."

"Yeah, and the fact that you said none of us should check it and wait till today is already frustrating enough."

"Hmm, and you came later than us — and it’s your album!"

"....." Dayo just stood there, speechless.

"You might want to sit down first," Alice laughed at his expression.

He did.

Valery turned the big screen around to face him. The analytics dashboard was live, numbers updating by the second.

The room went silent for a moment as everyone looked at the figures.

---

First-day sales and streams:

Spotify: 168,000,000 streams

Apple Music: 72,000,000 streams

YouTube (audio + visuals): 190,000,000 views

iTunes/Apple Store purchases: 480,000

Physical copies (vinyls & CDs): 320,000

Total first-day equivalent units: ≈ 2.95 million units sold

(Record: 3.1 million units – held by Harmony Drake)

---

They all froze.

No one spoke for a full five seconds.

"WHATTTTT!" Alice was the first to break the silence.

Valery followed, unable to take her eyes off the screen.

"He—he almost broke the global record..."

Wayne covered her mouth, shocked. "Oh my God..."

Urich looked at Dayo like he was an alien.

"I’ve always said it — you are not normal, and this proves it. How is this even possible?"

Urich was the most shocked because he knew what this number meant. Some artists in their lifetime might not sell half of what Dayo sold in a day — and Dayo was a complete newbie.

The numbers showing on the screen were beyond unbelievable.

He wouldn’t have freaked out if Dayo had sold that much in a week — that would be within expectations — but to sell 2.95 million in a single day was unheard of for a new artist.

Sharon spun her chair, eyes wide. "It’s official. He just broke the record for the highest first-day sales by a debut artist."

Rex was silent throughout the whole thing. He made a silent prayer, thankful that he chose to stay at JD Records.

The room erupted. Some clapped, others screamed, and some just stood in disbelief.

Dayo leaned back slowly, a small smile pulling at his lips.

Urich then said, "We have to meet the demands — the physical copy is out of stock, and fans are asking for more."

"I told you we should have made more," he said quietly.

Valery laughed. "Yeah, but even you didn’t expect this!"

"Maybe," Dayo said, shrugging. "But I believed in it."

He was now positive that the cards were working perfectly.

---

Top Track (Global): Say Something (with Luna)

87 million total streams in 24 hours

#1 on Apple Music Global Chart

#2 on Spotify Global Top 50

#1 on YouTube Trending (Music)

#3 on Billboard Hot 100 (Debut)

Album: The Other Side

#1 on Billboard Global 200 Albums

#1 on Apple Music Global Albums

#2 on Spotify Global Albums Chart

---

When they saw where the album was on the chart they blew up nobody vould belive theri eyes they refeeshed more times just to confirm what they were seeing

The morning after The Other Side dropped, the internet woke up to chaos.

Music News Network (MNN):

"This is the most shocking news in music history in decades"

Billboard Global:

"A two-week album just made history: JD Records’ newcomer hits massive opening day numbers."

RollingBeat:

"Everyone thought it would flop. It didn’t. It soared."

TuneCore Today:

"Dayo’s debut album nearly topples the all-time first-day record — fans call it a new era."

Across all social platforms, his face was everywhere. Reaction clips, reviews, fan theories — every corner of the internet had something to say.

"Dayo’s ’The Other Side’ sets new debut milestone — industry leaders call it ’the birth of a global icon.’"

"Dayo proved that the first time is not a fluke."

"It’s official. JD broke the record for the highest first-day sales by a debut artist."

"The big question now — can he break the record for the most albums sold in a week?"

"JD top chart on all platforms, a feat never achieved before by any newbie"

"Dayo’s ’The Other Side’ breaks first-day records for a debut artist — industry in shock."

---

At JD Records, everyone stayed long after work ended, celebrating the victory that felt almost unreal.

When Dayo finally got a quiet moment, he looked at the screen one last time.

2.95 million.

In his old world, he would have broken Taylor Swiff’s record, which was 2.7 million for the album The Life of a Showgirl —

but in this world, the record stood at a massive 3.1 million, and he had come very close.

He smiled softly.

He didn’t break the record — but he was close enough to touch it.

And deep down, he knew this was only the beginning.

There was more to come.

Now it was time to work — to push harder — to break the week.

And he was confident he would, because the Global Spotlight card worked for one week.

He just had to watch the magic unfold.