On the morning of the 7th, after the two finished breakfast, they drove out of the community.
As expected, paparazzi were still staking them out, but this time their questions were not just about the two's relationship, but more about Linton's new single, "Numb."
After yesterday's media promotion, "Numb" had already charted on various radio stations across the United States last night. When they turned on the car radio, no matter which station, the song was playing. There was no other way; it hadn't even gone on sale yet, but everyone wanted to hear it, so they called the radio stations to request it.
It was said that the record stores in the city center hadn't even opened yet, but long queues had already formed outside, all waiting to buy the "Numb" single.
This time, Linton gave simple answers to a few questions; after all, they all had standard responses, and it could expand the publicity, so why not? However, regarding their relationship, the two continued to avoid the topic.
He dropped Cameron off at her apartment, and the same treatment was repeated.
By the time he arrived at Universal, the entire promotion team was already there, just waiting for him to leave. The team included Mira, assistant Molly, and two bodyguards.
This time, the route was adjusted compared to the first. Last time, cities were promoted sequentially based on purchasing power, which is a common practice for promotion and distribution. However, this meant a lot of backtracking, wasting more time on the road.
Because of the foundation laid by last month's "Baby" promotion, it was still the same 50 cities, but this time they planned to advance city by city by region. The first stop was San Francisco, then they would continue north to Oregon.
Upon arriving in San Francisco, they first held a live performance event at the San Francisco Center shopping mall. It started with singing and performing, interacting with fans, and then signing autographs for them.
In the afternoon, he took two TV interviews, and in the evening, he was a guest on a radio show, chatting with the host about song creation, and of course, gossiping. He joked and chatted with the host, and also answered a few questions from listeners live on air. The atmosphere was heated, and when he went offline, the radio host said that the ratings for that episode were two points higher than usual, demonstrating Linton's popularity.
After going offline, they headed straight to Portland, Oregon, that night. It was a grueling journey, traveling day and night, with meals and accommodation mostly on planes or in cars.
This trip was even tighter than the last because Linton had to return to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts on the 30th for his graduation ceremony. He needed to visit 50 cities across North America before the 29th. If you do the math, how could the schedule not be tight?
Generally, for super-large cities, they spent no more than one day; for large cities, half a day; and for medium-sized cities, they would do one event and then leave.
Of course, the method of promotion also changed this time. After all, he was no longer a newcomer but a popular singer with high buzz. Media interviews, radio, and audience interaction remained the same, but live performances in city squares or parks were replaced with fan meet-and-greets, and live autograph sessions were added at the top 20 record stores by sales.
Everywhere he went, he felt immense enthusiasm. Linton clearly noticed that during the last promotion, everyone's focus was still on the songs themselves, and occasionally, those who paid attention to him personally did so because he was handsome. But this time, it was different; almost everyone focused more on him personally than on his songs.
Perhaps it was because two consecutive hit songs, both written and performed by him, had completely captivated everyone. Especially upon hearing that he was still in college, people became even more interested in him.
Of course, no matter the occasion, everyone cared about his love life. Some even asked him why Cameron Diaz wasn't the female lead in the "Numb" music video, showing that scandal hype was indeed something everyone enjoyed, as gossip is human nature.
If the media was like this, there was no need to even mention the fans. Wherever he went, there were crowds of people, and cheers that shook the sky. This also made him feel that the time was ripe to establish a fan club.
After this promotion tour, he would still need to hire a professional assistant to establish the Linton Fan Club, with Mira assisting in managing and guiding fans and expanding the fan base.
In particular, he needed to Cultivate loyal fans. A loyal fan's help in providing popularity for his Cultivation was a hundred times that of an ordinary fan, and loyal fans could also help him expand his fan base. No matter how much emphasis he placed on this, it was worth it, even if the investment was significant.
He would not be like the idols of later generations who specifically exploited fans; he wanted his loyal fans not only to not spend money but also to be able to earn money.
His requirements for fans were to like him personally and to like his works, and to discuss and mention him frequently.
The operating expenses of the fan club would also not be borne by the fans. He would allocate sufficient special funds, and his fans would not need to spend other money, buying merchandise or anything else. They only needed to buy his works, like him, and discuss him.
He had initially considered having Mira be responsible, but later thought it was not suitable. The management of this fan club would report directly to him and should not be too closely tied to the management company.
It was better to hire a dedicated assistant to manage it, with Mira assisting. This way, if cooperation with the management company did not go well in the future and a change was needed, the operation of the fan club would not be affected.
On May 19th, the latest Billboard singles chart was released, astonishing everyone. "Baby" was already the weekly champion, and "Numb" debuted at number 4. "Baby" sold over 800,000 copies that week.
A newcomer, debuting less than two months ago, with only two songs released, actually had both on the Billboard charts, and ranked so high.
These were achievements typically seen only from A-list stars. Now, a newcomer had achieved it. What was this if not a Genius singer and a music idol?
From this moment on, both the media and the public truly began to acknowledge Linton's status as a popular singer, rather than just media hype and fan slogans.
Linton felt it even more clearly during his Cultivation. In just one week of promotion and scandal hype, his Cultivation speed had more than doubled compared to May 6th.
This indicated that his popularity was growing exponentially. At this rate, in at most another week, he would be able to Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation, the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation.
During this period, he also received many sweet phone calls from Cameron Diaz. She told Linton that her own fame had also grown rapidly in the past few days, and her agent had already increased the standard for appearance fees, and even so, she was now overwhelmed with offers.
However, Linton still reminded her to calm down, take time to improve her acting skills at an acting school, and encouraged her that she could definitely become a film and television star.
With Linton's rapid rise to fame and the popularity of "Baby" and "Numb," MTV and local TV stations were repeatedly playing the music videos for both songs.
Not only did Cameron benefit with a significant increase in fame, but Naomi also received a large wave of traffic, and her visibility was rapidly increasing. Recently, her agent had received a noticeable increase in invitations for appearances and auditions.
Last night, Naomi called. She first congratulated Linton on his achievements and the great sales of his singles, then talked about her own situation, thanking the music video for its help, and finally couldn't resist asking about the relationship between Linton and Cameron Diaz.
Linton honestly told her that it was scandal hype, needed for the promotion of the new single, and that Universal had requested it.
Naomi felt a wave of relief after hearing this. This was good; it meant she could continue to pursue him. She then said,
"Then when you come back, I'll treat you to dinner."
Linton thought, 'It's not just dinner, is it? You also want to 'eat' me,' but he also had the same idea, so he agreed over the phone to reunite in Los Angeles.
Aunt Kelly's family also called with congratulations. Aunt Kelly excitedly kept saying over the phone, "Go, Linton!"
His cousin Judy shouted from beside her, "Brother, you're amazing! Many classmates in my class like you. Next time, you have to give me lots and lots of autographs!" Linton agreed.
Similarly, WMA Vice President Logan also called with congratulations, but did not mention the management team. He probably assumed Mira had already reported his intentions, and WMA had compromised, maintaining the status quo.
Daniel from Universal called with good news every day, his laughter unstoppable over the phone.
There were also many congratulatory calls from other acquaintances. Mira told him that she had received many more brand endorsement inquiries. Linton told Mira to decline all of them. He still wanted to stick to the plan: brand endorsements would be considered after July.