Chapter 374: The Apex of K-pop
July 30th.
Two months after the IZONE disbandment concert.
The public gradually forgot about the disbanded IZONE. Apart from the fans who still missed them, continuously returning girl groups and new girl groups that emerged quickly seized the large market IZONE once occupied.
It was truly a case of 'a whale falls, and all things grow.'
Today, aespa, who made their comeback at the beginning of the year, officially returned with their new single, “AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST.” As per DM Entertainment’s usual practice, the digital release was officially announced at 9 AM, and simultaneously, the album press conference was held as scheduled on the first floor of DM Entertainment.
This was the first time Jiang Shu appeared in the public eye since the IZONE disbandment concert. Many media outlets immediately published headlines about Jiang Shu’s status after the press conference.
They described the recent condition of the 'Girl Group Godfather' in text, analyzing his recent mood from his spirit, energy, and demeanor when speaking.
This, in turn, dissolved the public’s forgotten memory of IZONE’s disbandment, reminding them once again of IZONE, the first-generation top girl group.
Instead, it was the truly returning aespa who were overlooked by the media.
But that was only the media.
As soon as the single “AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST,” which was similar yet slightly different in style from aespa’s usual sound, was released, it immediately captivated the public’s ears.
This type of song, similar to the style of the disbanded YG girl group BLACKPINK, was actually even better than the songs BLACKPINK themselves released.
Many industry insiders stated that aespa and BLACKPINK’s styles were actually very similar, but there were still subtle differences between the two.
And this time, “AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST” was the perfected style of the path BLACKPINK had taken.
But the problem was that while the songs BLACKPINK released before their disbandment were also very good, none of them could compare to “AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST.”
It was clearly a standard YG-style, yet at this moment, it became a new attempt for aespa.
This made many music critics sigh with emotion, realizing that Jiang Shu truly lived up to his reputation.
Whether it was S.M.-style or JYP-style, now even YG-style has been assimilated by him, making him a true K-pop all-rounder.
aespa made a comeback, but they didn't go viral themselves; instead, there were overwhelming trending topics about Jiang Shu.
Ah, Qu Fan’s ‘Mr. Lei Emulation Plan’ really worked out for him.
I have to say, it’s quite comfortable to copy existing products, isn’t it?
Is this the spirit of our Mi?
It brings tears to my eyes.
...
With aespa’s digital comeback release, their promotional period was also set, with promotional activities scheduled for the evening of August 7th.
Many media outlets received news that DM Entertainment’s Chairman, Jiang Shu, would also attend this promotional event.
This was the second time Jiang Shu participated in aespa’s promotional activities. Previously, Jiang Shu generally only attended the promotional activities of groups fully operated by DM Entertainment, occasionally participating in jointly operated groups.
Now that news has spread that Jiang Shu will participate in aespa’s promotional activities, does this mean that DM Entertainment’s future development will lean towards aespa?
As a leading enterprise in the industry, DM Entertainment’s development direction largely determines the future trend of the industry.
After all, DM Entertainment’s market acumen is evident to all. Generally speaking, DM Entertainment’s development direction is synonymous with market trends.
In the past, small and medium-sized companies maintained their livelihoods by imitating DM Entertainment’s popular groups, serving as lower-tier alternatives.
For example, a dance group imitating ITZY would certainly not be able to compete with ITZY at their peak in the market, but it would be no problem to get a share of the profits.
The market was too big. Even if ITZY was incredibly popular back then and could compete with IZONE, she couldn't occupy the entire market; a portion would always flow out for others to share.
This leaked market was not something the Big Four cared about, but other companies would not let it go.
What was mosquito meat in the eyes of the giants was a big chicken leg in the eyes of other companies.
Now that IZONE has ended and ITZY is in a downturn, DM Entertainment’s only top-tier girl group is aespa. Before the debut of new girl groups, it seems reasonable for Jiang Shu to focus development on aespa?
As a result, tickets for “Inkigayo” on August 7th were snatched up, mostly by various media outlets and fans.
The former had to spend money to get first-hand news, while the latter simply wanted to see their idols after half a year.
Time quickly came to the evening, at the Inkigayo studio.
Backstage, in aespa’s waiting room.
Jiang Shu’s YouTube channel cameraman stood not far away, aiming his camera at the aespa members who were chatting.
And the program crew’s and aespa’s cameramen were doing the same thing as him.
As for why Jiang Shu’s cameraman wasn’t filming Jiang Shu…
Outside the waiting room.
Jiang Shu was on the phone with Li Duohui.
“The LESSERAFIM debut teaser will be released three days after aespa’s promotional activities.”
“Won’t that be too early? There are still three months,” Li Duohui said hesitantly from her end.
“It’s not early. We’ll just keep releasing news later. Releasing the debut teaser this early also happens to reassure IZONE’s fans.”
It had only been three months since their disbandment, and the members’ debut teasers were already being released. What did this mean?
It meant that DM Entertainment had always kept its word and had not abandoned the IZONE members. And it also allowed YG to bear the blame even more deeply.
“What about Eunbi and Yena’s solos?”
“I’m not handling those; you take care of it,” Jiang Shu said casually.
Li Duohui understood that, apart from Le Sserafim and IVE, her chairman didn’t pay much attention to the remaining IZONE members.
There was no problem with that either. Kim Minju, whom Jiang Shu had always liked, was in Le Sserafim, so it was fine if the soloists were overlooked.
Moreover, Jiang Shu was only not paying attention; he wasn’t abandoning them. On the contrary, these soloists actually had more resources than Le Sserafim and IVE.
After all, the company only had two solo artists, while there were many girl groups, meaning more people to share the pie.
“Yes,” Li Duohui responded, then thought of something and spoke again, “IU only had one comeback this year, Taeyeon had two, and the third is already in preparation. Do you think IU should have another comeback this year?”
When Li Duohui mentioned this, Jiang Shu remembered that Lee Ji-eun’s “Unique Star” had not been fully activated yet; it was still missing the link with Kim Tae-yeon.
“IU won’t have a comeback. This year, let’s work on getting Taeyeon to win the Daesang, or at least a Bonsang.”
The award winners weren't decided by Jiang Shu, but he could influence the outcome of this 'sharing the meat' process to some extent.
“Okay,” Li Duohui responded from her end.
This year was not the time for “Unique Star” to be activated. Let’s wait a bit longer.
Thinking this, Jiang Shu hung up the phone and put it down. The immediate priority was still to debut Le Sserafim and IVE and stabilize the huge fan base left behind by IZONE.
With IZONE’s massive fanbase, even a small portion given to Le Sserafim and IVE would be a dimensionality reduction attack on all other girl groups except aespa.
However…