Chapter 215 Guan Yu vs. Qin Qiong!
January 22nd, Music Core.
In IU's waiting room, Jiang Shu pushed open the door and walked in.
The originally noisy waiting room instantly fell silent as if a mute button had been pressed, and everyone quieted down in unison.
The first to react was Lee Ji-eun. Upon seeing Jiang Shu enter with Song Yuqi, she immediately stood up and bowed.
“Chairman! Yuqi.”
Jiang Shu often brought Song Yuqi to film vlogs. This position used to belong to Kim Minju and Shin Ryujin, but both of them had debuted, so now it fell to Song Yuqi.
Due to this somewhat special position, most people in the company were quite familiar with Song Yuqi and treated her as Jiang Shu’s assistant.
“Sit, sit, sit.” Jiang Shu waved his hand, “Xiao Yuan’s group is as noisy as a vegetable market; your side is much quieter.”
Hearing Jiang Shu’s words, the people in the practice room exchanged glances.
Their previous decibel level was considered “quiet.” How noisy must IZONE be?
Lee Ji-eun blinked, recalling the scene of a dozen girls from IZONE gathered together…
It seemed they really were comparatively “quiet.”
“Have they all come to greet you?” Jiang Shu asked, sitting on the sofa.
Lee Ji-eun quickly walked to the side, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, handed it to Jiang Shu, and then replied, “They’ve all been here.”
As she spoke, she picked up the albums placed nearby.
Jiang Shu glanced at them; they were albums from the other five companies, so it seemed they had all come to greet him.
Other groups unrelated to DM Entertainment also came, but Lee Ji-eun didn’t bring their albums over. She knew Jiang Shu wasn't interested in other groups.
“It’s good they came.” Jiang Shu unscrewed the mineral water bottle, took a sip, and looked back at Song Yuqi, “Do you want some? Grab it yourself if you do.”
“No, thank you,” Song Yuqi said with a smile, holding up her camera.
“Remember to film yourself more. You’re only filming me. What’s the point of having you come along then?” Jiang Shu said somewhat exasperatedly, seeing Song Yuqi almost put the lens into his mouth.
The public had already figured out his intention of bringing trainees to appear in his vlogs after dozens, even hundreds, of video updates. Now, it was acceptable to state it explicitly in the videos.
“Hehe, got it.” Song Yuqi said, flipping the camera around to face herself, “Hello everyone~~”
Then she flipped the camera back.
This scene left Jiang Shu and Lee Ji-eun somewhat bewildered.
We told you to film yourself more, and this is how you do it?
Jiang Shu decided not to bother with her anymore. Let her do as she pleased.
He casually picked up the performance schedule lying on the sofa. Times were progressing, and the program team was keeping up, updating the schedule to provide the order of appearance and approximate timings for each group, for their reference.
For the most anticipated 'Five Greats Siege IZONE', these six groups were all at the very end, with IZONE performing last.
In the past, the Three Greats TV stations still combined popularity with seniority, so even when IVE was at its peak, they still had to perform obediently earlier in the show.
But now it was different. With the advent of the streaming era, traffic was king, and popular artists always performed last.
With IZONE’s level of popularity, the five sisters combined could only barely compare to IZONE’s traffic. Their position as the undisputed number one in girl group popularity wasn't just talk.
However, as for this showdown, Jiang Shu actually saw it more as Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong.
Who knew why NMIXX’s debut song would be “Cheer Up”? Even more absurdly, the mini-album title track he arranged for IZONE was “Gee.”
The two top-tier bonds didn't appear directly, but their shadows were everywhere.
The only two girl groups to reach the top: Girls' Generation’s “Gee” vs. TWICE’s “Cheer Up”…
What else could this be but Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong?
It was just a pity. If there were no bond bonuses, Jiang Shu would have been curious who would win, but with the bond bonuses, the outcome had no suspense.
The effects of 'Six Trigrams Music' were more pronounced after becoming a fan, having little effect on fan numbers and the general public.
Well, in terms of pure effect, few bonds could beat twelve stars. fantasy fairy tale.
Lee Ji-eun saw Jiang Shu silently flipping through the program schedule, so she looked at Song Yuqi.
“What’s up, Ouni?” Song Yuqi asked proactively, blinking when she saw Lee Ji-eun looking at her.
“Nothing.” Lee Ji-eun smiled, “Recently…”
Lee Ji-eun pulled Song Yuqi into a casual chat. Before long, the screen of the TV showed the rookie group NMIXX.
NMIXX, who debuted on the tenth, had spread the song “Cheer Up” throughout K-pop after almost half a month of promotions and music distribution.
It was just a pity that in terms of popularity, “Gee” still had the upper hand.
As one of the earliest earworm songs, the highly addictive “Gee” undoubtedly captured the speakers of shops in streets and alleys more effectively than “Cheer Up.”
After a week of fermentation, walking the streets of Seoul now, you could hear the sound of “Gee, Gee, Gee, Baby, Baby” everywhere, and it even began to spread to other countries.
Looking at the 'Xiao Yuan' on stage, Jiang Shu couldn’t help but reach out and scratch his head.
Strange.
So strange.
When 'Xiao Yuan' danced to “Cheer Up,” to be fair, there was nothing wrong with their performance, but with the preconceived notions, Jiang Shu found 'Xiao Yuan' awkward no matter how he looked at them now.
In fact, he felt the same awkwardness when watching IZONE sing 'Into the New World' and “Gee,” which was why he rarely watched IZONE’s live performances.
Others didn't feel it, but he always had a strange sensation.
The performance on stage had already begun. With the popularity boost from 'Produce 48', NMIXX's starting point and the company's level of attention were far beyond anything in the past, arguably even surpassing the initial TWICE.
After all, although DM Entertainment entrusted JYP with the full operation of NMIXX, JYP also feared being held accountable by DM Entertainment if they mistreated NMIXX. Thus, they prioritized NMIXX’s treatment within the company.
Jiang Shu wasn't sure how far NMIXX, with the company’s full support, could go. Could they reach the heights of TWICE?
We shall see.
Watching the 'Xiao Yuan' that was identical to his memories, Jiang Shu lightly tapped his foot to the beat.
Although it wasn't the “original,” it had to be said that NMIXX’s version of “Cheer Up” also had a different flavor.
After NMIXX, it was Kim Tae-yeon’s stage, then IU, followed by Red Velvet, and then ITZY.
ITZY’s placement at the second-to-last position was entirely due to their astonishing popularity.
Currently, all their data had comprehensively surpassed the first-tier gatekeeper, Red Velvet, entering what various companies and media considered a first-tier group.
Moreover, the speed of this group’s ascent made many wonder if perhaps one day, 'Hot-blooded Girls' truly had a chance to challenge the 'Great Demon King'?
One after another, groups took the stage to perform. After ITZY finished, the last group, IZONE, took the stage!
Looking at the members standing poised on stage, Jiang Shu’s eyes also showed a look of anticipation.
In this cross-era Guan Yu vs. Qin Qiong battle, who would win?