“I don’t know about that,” Zhang Yuanying said, shaking her head. “I don’t understand Chinese.”
Hearing this, Jiang Shu chuckled.
Xiao Yuan was once called Shandong Yingza, so it’s normal for her to say she doesn’t know Chinese…
“You should learn it when you have time. Your family background is naturally very suitable for attracting Chinese fans,” Jiang Shu said after some thought.
He had seen Zhang Yuanying’s family background; the company investigated the family background of every exclusive trainee.
“Is that so?” Zhang Yuanying blinked.
There were many Chinese people in her family, but the main reason she hadn’t learned Chinese was that she felt it wasn’t useful.
But Jiang Shu gave her a very good reason to learn Chinese.
“Once you can use Chinese fluently, I’ll tailor a variety show just for you,” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
Zhang Yuanying’s eyes lit up.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Zhang Yuanying clapped her hands.
“It’s a deal!”
“It’s a deal.”
The two made a pinky promise, and Zhang Yuanying was full of excitement.
An exclusive variety show, she was really looking forward to it.
Bae Joo-hyun sat by, listening to their conversation with a chuckle, wondering if she should also learn Chinese.
Ding.
The music suddenly started, and the performance began.
Jiang Shu leaned lazily in his chair, looking uninterested in the performance stage, but Zhang Yuanying and Bae Joo-hyun couldn’t be like that. They sat very upright, like they were attending a formal event, watching the stage with official smiles.
Time passed bit by bit, and Jiang Shu, bored, pulled out his phone and started scrolling.
About half an hour later, an announcement came that aespa was about to take the stage.
Jiang Shu put down his phone and looked at the stage.
The four members of aespa, already in their stage outfits, successively came to the center of the stage and stood still.
“Ouni!” Zhang Yuanying immediately got excited when she saw Liu Zhimin, raising aespa’s light stick in her hand and shouting.
Like a broken window effect, after Zhang Yuanying shouted, the surrounding audience also started shouting.
With the combined popularity of IVE and “Produce48,” although Liu Zhimin’s current popularity was overshadowed by Zhang Yuanying, she was still a legitimate top star, and aespa, led by her, was also the focus of much attention.
Upon hearing Zhang Yuanying’s shout, Liu Zhimin looked up, and after clearly seeing the figures of Zhang Yuanying and the other two, a smile also appeared on her face, and she waved at them.
Kim Minjeong and the other two also smiled and greeted their fans. They all debuted through “Produce Camp” and had fan bases; even Giselle, who had the least presence, had a certain number of fans.
“Thirty-second countdown, prepare.”
The PD’s voice came through their earpieces, and the four, who were greeting their fans, quickly took their positions, waiting for the countdown.
Ning Yizhuo and the other two stood in their positions somewhat nervously, looking at the dense crowd below, a sense of tension filling their hearts.
Liu Zhimin, at the very front, showed no signs of nervousness. Even though the countdown had begun, she was still smiling and waving to her fans.
The composure of an old artist.
The moment the debut song’s music started, Liu Zhimin, who was greeting fans just a second ago, instantly entered her performance state.
Looking at Liu Zhimin on stage, even without the boost of the C-position bond, she was still the most dazzling one on stage.
On one hand, Liu Zhimin had already debuted once. On the other hand, she truly had enough star power, while the other three…
Honestly, only Kim Minjeong performed well. Ning Yizhuo and Giselle still needed some post-packaging.
Compared to fans watching the show, Jiang Shu was more concerned about the future development of the members.
Ning Yizhuo needed adjustment; her current makeup style was not very appealing. S.M. truly loved to mess around with things as always.
For S.M. to ruin such a good prospect like Ning Yizhuo like this, it really is…
It’s better for DM Entertainment to take over Ning Yizhuo’s styling.
As for Liu Zhimin, there’s no need to worry too much. Although S.M. loves to mess around, they rarely put out eye-sore makeup on their main promoted members. It’s not that it never happens, but it’s very, very rare.
Kim Minjeong…
The big battle between little lemon and little ice cube is quite valuable. If this kind of popularity could be replicated, it could be pursued.
Liu Zhimin’s popularity is too high, and she has too many fans. Even if the fans of the other three were guided to attack her alone, they wouldn’t win, and her target isn’t these few people within the group, but Zhang Yuanying.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shu turned his head to look at Zhang Yuanying beside him.
Watching her excitedly cheering for Liu Zhimin, Jiang Shu pondered IZONE’s recent development.
In reality, IZONE, aside from the initial part distribution based on debut rankings, later focused on promoting the two Kims as the core.
IZONE in DM Entertainment’s hands clearly couldn’t operate that way.
Kim Chae-won can become popular, and she indeed has the fate to be popular, but she can’t carry IZONE. It’s better to keep her as the core of LESSERAFIM.
Jiang Shu’s style has always been to determine the group’s core from the beginning, to avoid frequent core changes affecting marketing and concepts.
Just like at the ITZY debut meeting, Jiang Shu directly finalized Shin Ryujin’s absolute core position, and IZONE’s core was also determined early on.
Zhang Yuanying, Sakura, Ahn Yujin, and Kim Minju.
The four members who had C positions were the main promoted candidates. If further divided, it would be Zhang Yuanying > Sakura > Kim Minju = Ahn Yujin.
Zhang Yuanying needs no further explanation; her popularity is extremely high, one of the two top stars of the second-generation girl groups.
Sakura’s popularity is also very high, and she represents the Japan market. Koreans are xenophobic and unwilling to give her normal treatment, but Jiang Shu is not Korean, and he has no nationality prejudice against artists. If you have value, you go for it.
As for Kim Minju and Ahn Yujin, one is the highly popular founder of the Zhou-line idols and IZONE’s visual, and the other is a dog-line idol with excellent variety sense and high popularity. Their promotion efforts are equivalent.
And IZONE’s current popularity development is no different from what the company is pushing; these four members have a significant lead in popularity.
However, aespa…
Jiang Shu looked at aespa on stage again.
Originally, S.M.’s marketing method was very suitable: under the big premise of four visuals, Kim Minjeong and Ning Yizhuo would serve as the main forces in opposition, Liu Zhimin would continue to compete with Zhang Yuanying, and Giselle would do her own thing.
But Zhang Yuanying, with the boost from IZONE, clearly couldn’t be countered by Liu Zhimin with a single bond. The main popularity still came from the love-hate relationship between Kim Minjeong and Ning Yizhuo.
The hint of Winter’s workplace bullying can be put on the agenda.
Jiang Shu didn’t care if it was real or fake bullying; anyway, she couldn’t escape it.
As long as the degree of control didn’t completely condemn her, as aespa’s popular songs kept coming, both haters and supporters would increase.
Damn, I’m really a genius!
Jiang Shu’s lips curved into a smile, very pleased with himself.