CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 118: THE DUST SETTLES? OR IS IT JUST THE BEGINNING OF A STORM!_2

"Yeah! When is President Xu releasing a new album? Or maybe we could start with pre-sales?"

"Have you all lost your minds? Can you be a bit more rational? Who releases a second album right after the first one? Of course, the next step is a concert!"

"Right, right, a concert is the real deal! That way, we can listen to it live!"

A concert was impossible at the moment; the conditions just weren’t right. Not to mention, the number of songs was far from enough to support a full concert. Even if they had enough songs, they couldn’t maximize profits yet. They had to wait, at the very least, for the album’s influence to spread. Only then, once its impact had grown, could they consider a concert that would meet everyone’s expectations. Otherwise, if it was critically acclaimed but no one bought tickets, wouldn’t that be a huge joke?

"It’s only been three or four days, why does it feel like a lifetime has passed?"

"Bullshit ’a lifetime has passed’! Stop being so melodramatic! The whole game has changed!"

Indeed, the landscape had shifted. As more and more people joined the discussion, and the topics became more focused, the buzz intensified.

In such circumstances, new trending topics were born, and the popularity of related terms rose unceasingly.

One of them shot up like a rocket, landing directly at the top of the trending searches.

#TheDivineAlbumReemerges#

#XuQingqiu’sNewAlbumRelease#

#WithDreams,BeginAnew#

The top three spots on the trending searches were firmly occupied by Xu Qingqiu. She also claimed half of the top ten. Among the top fifty trending topics, thirteen were related to Xu Qingqiu’s new album.

It was an astounding phenomenon; such popularity could have turned anyone into a top-tier star.

And this was a height Xu Qingqiu had never reached before, which also proved one thing: no matter when, the quality of the work is key.

If the quality is good enough, the reputation will naturally follow. Once the reputation is established, even casual fans and organically-grown support could drive the popularity to unimaginable heights.

Everyone could feel that this album had swept in like a hurricane; it was just unknown what kind of shockwaves it would cause.

At the same time, such an incredible phenomenon naturally made countless people green with envy.

Some were so jealous they were shaking, wishing they could take her place.

Of course, there were also some who took the opportunity to ride the wave of popularity to gain some attention for themselves and make their presence known.

[I’ve been following Sister Qiu’s new album these past few days; it’s simply fantastic! My favorite is "Song of the wind." Congratulations to Sister Qiu on the album’s great sales!]

[I’ve worked with Qingqiu before, and I like her style a lot. I bought the album too. Let me help promote it for Qingqiu; everyone go buy it~]

[I’m also a little fan of President Xu. I finally got President Xu’s new album! Don’t hesitate, just go for it~]

[The album is so great! I want to buy a physical copy for my collection. Does anyone know when Sister Qiu will start selling them?]

When the album was released, very few people helped promote Xu Qingqiu online.

Back then, she was caught up in a dispute with the production team of "The Sound of Nature," and fans from both sides were fiercely clashing.

Hardly anyone dared to stand up for her. In the end, it was Hua Ruyue and Ye Lanzhou, two senior artists she met on the show, who posted in support.

Besides them, a couple of lesser-known singers from Baise Entertainment also tweeted their support.

Apart from that, no one else openly stood by her.

Now, after the album became a massive hit, all sorts of opportunists and hangers-on emerged.

Suddenly, everyone was a "good friend," somehow managing to claim a connection.

They all called her Sister Qiu, acting as if they were close. Some even unabashedly professed to be fans.

Real fans felt like spitting in their faces and calling out, ’You fake fan!’

Of course, they definitely couldn’t do such things. Li Chunhua’s team had always been firm about restraining fan behavior, urging them to focus their energy on the album rather than creating unnecessary trouble.

However, it had to be said that with so many celebrities collectively jumping on the bandwagon to gain exposure—even if there weren’t any A-listers among them—a sufficient number could still trigger a qualitative change.

For instance, one person’s comment about wanting to buy a physical album unexpectedly sparked a major controversy.

"Yeah! Don’t other artists have physical albums? Does Xu Qingqiu have one?"

Some passersby who weren’t fans only realized the existence of physical albums after reading these online posts.

If others hadn’t mentioned it, they might not have thought of it. But once the idea crossed their minds, the desire to own a copy for their collection grew wildly, like weeds.

They were dying to get their hands on it, to slowly admire it.

This album was just too classic—a divine album! How many divine albums had there been in the entire history of Chinese music? Precious few, with most concentrated in the last century when today’s audience was still young. Now, to witness the birth of a divine album right before their very eyes—not buying it would be like missing out on a hundred million, wouldn’t it?

Whether for its commemorative significance or its collectible value, this album was more than worthy.

It was like a Pandora’s box; once opened, the desire rapidly swelled.

It immediately triggered intense shockwaves and discussions online.

"Diva Xu, when is the physical album going on sale?!"

"Teacher Xu, please tell us! We want to buy the physical album! Does any well-informed expert have any news?"

"What’s a physical album? I don’t really get it. Can’t you just listen to the album on your phone? What’s the physical one for?"

"Right, right, I know about physical albums, but what formats will there be? Cassette tapes? CDs? Or vinyl records?"

"We don’t even know if there will be any yet. What’s the rush?"

Faced with the netizens’ discussions and public appeals, Li Chunhua was also feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Physical albums did exist. In fact, preparations had been underway for a long time, and a portion had already been manufactured. This batch of physical albums was a complete gift box set, including a lyrics booklet, posters, a postcard set made from MV stills, and three formats: cassette tape, CD, and vinyl. She was currently holding a sample that had just passed inspection: a square box roughly 32 centimeters on each side, with a decorative bellyband wrapped around it. Glancing at the album box in her hand, a wave of panic washed over her. This was the age of the mobile internet; physical albums were no longer the mainstream format for releases and were rarely produced specifically. They were generally created for well-known singers, superstars, or as memorabilia for phenomenal variety shows. In most cases, they were privately gifted for collections, or a small number were purchased by fans for their own collections. She’d never even considered selling such items publicly. It made sense if you thought about it: besides dedicated fans, who else would buy celebrity merchandise? Unfortunately, physical albums had long been relegated to the status of such merchandise. Who would mass-produce them? She’d never imagined that a casual online post by a minor celebrity, someone they barely knew, could generate such an enormous buzz. Actually, it wasn’t entirely due to this minor celebrity. Zheng Mingqiu, the veteran singer from Hong Kong Island, had subtly mentioned wanting to collect it in a Weibo post much earlier, though he hadn’t been too explicit. After all, this was the only divine album in the last twenty years; its collectible value was off the charts, wasn’t it? Anyone with the slightest interest and the money to spare would want to buy one, right? The music audience was inherently vast; people just usually didn’t voice their opinions so openly. But who would have thought one album could bring so many people out of the woodwork?

"Sister Hua, what do we do now? Do we need to issue a response?"

With so many people clamoring online, it really wouldn’t look good if the official account didn’t respond.

"Here’s the plan," Li Chunhua said. "Contact the factory and tell them to double the quantity of these collector’s gift boxes. For the other two types, the simpler one should be produced at five times the current quantity, and for the most basic version, let’s start with twenty thousand copies."

"Also, notify the operations team to release a statement. Say that the physical album is already in production and will go online within a week. Ask everyone to follow the official account for notifications."

"Oh, and find the fan management team. Have them inform the fan clubs that there will be a special purchase link for them, so they don’t have to compete with everyone else."

"Alright, Sister Hua!"

The employee acknowledged and quickly hurried out to make the arrangements. Li Chunhua couldn’t help but rub her eyes. She felt somewhat exhausted, but more than that, she was excited.

If all went well, this album could be the studio’s big break, a real turnaround.

The studio’s statement was released swiftly. Sister Hua’s team also worked with high efficiency, quickly coordinating the sales channels.

On the third day, the purchase address and link were made public.