Everyone continued their promotional activities, feeling both tired and happy, and it was at this time that their opponents finally made a move.
First, a tabloid reported that Linton was a student at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, still enrolled, but had not appeared at school for the past three months.
The article claimed that not focusing on studies at school during this time, but instead singing and promoting every day, was putting the cart before the horse, and expressed concern that his talent would be overdrawn and his star career wouldn't last long.
The article concluded by suggesting that he should return to school to study hard, and only after mastering his skills and graduating should he come back to sing.
Mira handed the newspaper to Linton and called the accompanying public relations staff together to discuss countermeasures. After reading it, Linton said dismissively,
“This must be a competitor trying to target me, but this article isn't a big deal. Have Universal refute it on their own media.
My suggestion is two points: first, I have already completed my University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts credits, so working now does not affect my graduation, and everyone can verify this with the school.
Second, in the United States, especially in Hollywood, talent and ability are the most important; academic qualifications are not a necessity. For example, Seniors like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson didn't have high degrees, and Madonna Ciccone dropped out of college in her second year, but none of that affected their becoming superstars. I myself have always admired them.”
“I will contact the company immediately. This article is just an appetizer; more is yet to come. Everyone, pay attention,” said Duke, the head of public relations.
Universal basically agreed with Linton’s public relations strategy, but refined it, suggesting that this could be an opportunity to further promote Linton’s musical talent.
And they acted quickly. On the same day, several newspapers under Universal refuted the article, citing the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts’s credit certification for Linton. The articles concluded by emphasizing that the United States is an open and inclusive country where, as long as you have talent, you can fully display it and achieve success. Linton is proving himself with his outstanding talent, and for such a Genius, we should offer more support and encouragement, provide him with a platform, and help him grow.
Following the publication of these two articles, more audiences discovered that Linton not only sang well and was handsome, but was also so talented. They fell in love, wanting to become his fans. Soon, the radio airplay for both singles increased even more, and sales also improved.
His opponents couldn't sit still. Within two days, several more newspapers published negative information about Linton. This time, the argument was:
Linton is only 20 years old, so writing a love song like “Baby” is understandable, but “Numb” is an inspirational song, where the creator feels the helplessness and troubles of real life, but after enduring hardship, realizes he can no longer waste time, wallow in pain, but must break free from difficulties and embrace a new self.
This song, whether in its concept, lyrics, or arrangement, is imbued with the power of struggle and is a rare masterpiece.
But here’s the problem: to write such a song requires rich life experience, and Linton has been in school all this time, so where would he get such life experience? They believed this song was not created by Linton at all, but must have been plagiarized from somewhere.
There was even a veteran music critic who publicly stated in a newspaper that “Numb” was ghostwritten by someone hired by Universal to deliberately promote Linton’s Genius persona.
In short, the song itself was too good to criticize, so they attacked Linton himself.
Linton thought, “Don’t tell me, they actually hit the nail on the head. Both of these songs were copied, but I copied songs from later generations. But who would know? Now that I’ve written them, they are originals, undeniably so.”
But he also didn’t know how to refute it, so he asked the publicity team, “What do you all think?”
Duke, the head of public relations, said:
“Don’t be nervous. This is a common tactic used by competitors. Linton, you need to understand how much market share your rapid rise has taken away, and how many people’s arrival you have blocked. It’s inevitable that people will try to smear, defame, and give malicious bad reviews. This is the norm in our industry.
Your record is clean: no drugs, no promiscuity, no bad habits. It’s a good thing you just had that rumored fling with Cameron Diaz, otherwise they’d probably be questioning your sexual orientation.
They can’t find any dirt on you now, so they’re only using these baseless conjectures to smear you.
However, the United States is a country with very comprehensive copyright management, and both of your songs were registered with BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) when you joined Universal. As long as the company makes this information public, it will be clear to the public. Moreover, it can further promote your talent. In fact, they are helping us, hahaha!”
Indeed, on the same day, several newspapers under Universal published the BMI copyright registration information for “Baby” and “Numb” and the date Linton signed with Universal.
They clearly stated the origins of both songs and their complete copyright, then severely reprimanded the irresponsible media, finally emphasizing that the United States is a society governed by law, and any further irresponsible speculation or malicious smearing will be met with legal action.
That evening, Universal also arranged for Linton to appear on The Jay Leno Show, an NBC flagship program with great influence and high ratings across the United States. On the show, Linton performed “Baby” and “Numb” live. According to the pre-arranged script, Jay Leno asked,
“Linton, according to my information, you are a Senior at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts?”
After Linton confirmed, he then asked, “Recently, some media have said that you are not studying hard at school, and that singing and promoting every day is putting the cart before the horse. They are concerned that your talent will be overdrawn and your star career won't last long, suggesting you go back to school to study hard. What do you think?”
“First, I have already completed my university credits at school and am just waiting to receive my diploma at the end of May. Everyone can verify this with the school.
Second, what I want to say is that learning is very important, but the purpose of learning is to enhance your abilities, to equip you with the capacity to achieve your dreams. When you have the ability to achieve your dreams, you should, of course, do so without hesitation.
For example, Mr. Bill Gates, as far as I know, and Mr. Michael Dell, and Steven Jobs—I’m sure these three are not unfamiliar to everyone.”
Laughter erupted from the audience. “You can go and find out that all three of them started their businesses during college and achieved tremendous success. Compared to those three Seniors, what I’m doing is nothing, right?”
The audience applauded.
“Also, in the United States, especially in Hollywood, talent and ability are the most important; academic qualifications are not a necessity. For example, Seniors like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson didn't have high degrees, and Madonna Ciccone dropped out of college in her second year, but none of that affected their becoming superstars. I myself have always admired them.”
The audience applauded even more enthusiastically. Jay Leno continued,
“That’s very well said. If you have a dream, you must work hard to achieve it. I also saw a report here that says you don’t have enough life experience and couldn’t possibly write a song as profound as “Numb,” and it suspects that you plagiarized it or that Universal hired someone to ghostwrite it for you. Do you have anything to say about that?”
“I can only say that they don’t understand the world of a Genius. I do indeed have limited life experience, after all, I’m only 20 years old,”
The audience burst into applause and laughter.
“Art comes from life, and yet transcends life. Since I was young, I have focused on observing everything around me. You tell me, aren’t the stories in the song “Numb” present in your own surroundings?
But that’s just the foundation. The most crucial aspect of art is finding inspiration and emotional resonance within these observations. With inspiration and resonance, coupled with musical skill, a song is naturally created.
Furthermore, this song of mine was written before February, and its copyright was registered with BMI in February, before I joined Universal. The copyright information is clear, and the logical progression is perfectly straightforward.”
The audience applauded enthusiastically. Indeed, his talent was unstoppable; he was truly a Genius singer.
The Jay Leno Show had a huge impact, and his opponents indeed backed down. With this round of debate, more people learned about Linton’s talent, and the nickname “Genius Singer” completely spread, leading to even more fans for Linton.
Thanks to the added prestige of being a Genius Singer, a multitude of student groups became Linton’s fans, further accelerating the spread and sales of his singles. His explosive momentum was simply unstoppable.