[T/N: THere is no chapter 34. It was basically announcing the free chapters were over.]
[Chapter 35: Overseas Promotion Successfully Concluded]
No need to say much about the upcoming schedule; it was all routine work, and Linton was already quite experienced, achieving excellent results. Everywhere they went, fans passionately cheered and supported.
On the afternoon of the 27th, Bella rushed from Rome to Tokyo to meet with the main group. Considering that Japanese artists' income was known to be quite low worldwide, especially for artists like Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai who were just starting their careers, their income was probably modest. Plus, the costs for makeup, image, costumes, and travel for female stars added up, making their income quite tight.
Linton told Bella, "Go buy two of the latest handbags from Chanel for Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai."
"Boss, I'm busy, building the fan club is a huge task."
"Don't talk nonsense. Buy one for yourself too."
"Boss, I promise to complete the mission," Bella said eagerly as she took Linton's credit card. She had long admired a new Chanel bag, but with a price over $40,000, it was a distant dream.
That evening, Linton gifted the two new Chanel handbags to Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai, making the two women even more gentle and cooperative. Their performances became even more passionate.
...
The fan meet-and-greet was scheduled for the Tokyo Sports Arena in Shibuya, capable of holding tens of thousands of fans. The arena was packed with mostly young fans, with women accounting for over 60%. Seeing the fans' enthusiasm, Linton was in a great mood and sang all 13 songs from his album live.
Midway through, he invited Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai to sing with him, causing the young crowd to scream and go wild. The event was extremely lively. Several fans were invited on stage to perform with him, and 500 lucky spectators received signed posters.
The fan meeting was a huge success, selling nearly 15,000 copies of the album on site. It was also broadcast live on Japan's Asahi Television.
...
Under the arrangement of Universal Japan, media coverage of Linton's upcoming visit received massive exposure.
On the 27th, one of Japan's top five newspapers, The Japan Times, prominently published photos of nearly a thousand fans at the airport welcoming Linton, with a sensational headline: "American Superstar Linton Arrives in Nippon."
Other newspapers also sensationalized headlines such as "New Generation American Star Linton Debuts in Tokyo" and "Super Idol Linton Comes to Tokyo," full of teenage bravado.
However, most newspapers did not feature headlines until December 26th, when the news of the Soviet Union's dissolution dominated the front pages.
Ichiro Koi even apologized to Linton, saying the events weren't handled well. Linton understood -- this was a major political event affecting the global power landscape, and he wondered what right he had to compete for headlines.
...
In the following days, Linton maintained high-profile exposure across various media outlets.
To his surprise, although Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai were major stars, they stayed in his hotel room without media coverage, revealing the terrifying control of the Japanese corporate giants.
Four days straight, Linton enjoyed the company of both and his skills improved rapidly. Every night, the battles were incredibly intense and exciting.
Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai couldn't believe it -- Linton was busy during the day with performances, yet every night he fought fiercely, battling one or both opponents until dawn, with no rest at all. It was even more impressive than Ultraman, completely surpassing their understanding and leaving them thoroughly conquered.
He knew that Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai's futures weren't too bright; one died young of cancer, and the other fell into drug addiction, ending her star career. But since he was fortunate to meet them now, he vowed to help them in the future.
...
On the morning of the 30th, Linton bid farewell to the reluctant Izumi Sakai and Noriko Sakai. The group took a flight from Tokyo to Seoul.
Since Linton's fan base had already formed in Japan, Bella smoothly set up the fan club, completing it by the 29th. On the 30th, they finally boarded the main group heading to Seoul.
---
South Korea in 1991 was rapidly developing economically and its people were quite affluent, with strong consumption power. However, the entertainment industry was still in a barren state; Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Japanese music dominated movies and pop music, with Western English songs and similar cultural roots filling the charts.
South Korea's own entertainment industry only experienced a real boom after the 1997 financial crisis, which led the government to adopt a 'Cultural Power' strategy and implement supporting policies.
As a result, Linton's popularity in Korea was extremely high -- possibly even more than in Japan -- and his album sold very well.
...
On the plane, Linton received the Korean itinerary from Duke, which was quite similar to the previous schedule: media interviews, TV specials, recording documentaries, talk shows, radio chart performances, magazine interviews, signing events, and fan meet-and-greets.
He was surprised to find that Korean fans were even more enthusiastic than in any other place. As soon as they arrived at the airport, fans swarmed around them. With security's help, they managed to leave the airport and checked into the Hilton Hotel.
...
Unexpectedly, at the Hilton, some female fans managed to break through security and sneaked into Linton's room, wanting to have a romantic moment with their idol. But Linton would definitely not do that -- he wasn't a stunning superstar or a hugely popular actress. He believed in maintaining his principles and asked the hotel manager to escort the disappointed fans out.
The details of the Korean schedule were similar to Japan's, and the results were surprisingly good. Bella's fan club setup was also smooth.
---
In early January 1992, they left Seoul for Sao Paulo, Brazil, to promote, and returned to Los Angeles on the 7th, concluding their overseas tour.
Back in Los Angeles in the afternoon, Mira greeted them at the airport. After exchanging pleasantries with the fans, they returned to the company. They first visited Daniel's office to briefly review the advertising results.
Based on the data, this overseas promotion was a huge success.
...
After leaving London, the single You're Beautiful remained at the top of the charts for three consecutive weeks, with all other tracks also in the top thirty. Weekly sales increased by 50%.
By the end of December, album sales in the UK exceeded 1 million copies.
France saw similar success -- over 1.2 million copies sold by December 31st.
Germany's album sales topped 1.3 million, Italy exceeded 700,000, Japan surpassed 1.7 million, Korea sold over 700,000, and Brazil over 600,000.
Overall, the overseas market had surpassed 11 million.
"North America's sales had already exceeded 9 million by the end of December, and as of yesterday, the company's tally was 9.2 million. Given this trend, Linton's debut album is likely to hit 30 million copies. Cheers to the huge success."
Daniel handed out red wine to everyone.
"Cheers to the album's success."
Linton thought about Daniel's incentive points and said, "Thanks to the company, thanks to you, Daniel, for your strategic planning, and thanks to Duke for your relentless promotion. Also, thanks to the seven overseas branches."
He especially thanked Thomas Aig from the French branch and Ichiro Koi from the Japanese branch,
"Their work was exceedingly thorough. This overseas promotion felt most effective for France and Japan."
Hearing this, Daniel and Duke smiled happily.
"Alright, Linton, stop being modest. Such fantastic sales results are a testament to your quality as an artist. Of course, the company's effort played a key role. Everyone's contributions will be remembered, and they'll be reflected in the celebration rewards."
Finally, Daniel announced, "Tomorrow night at the Hilton, there'll be a celebration party for reaching 20 million album sales, and everyone must attend."
With that, the promotional team disbanded, leaving Daniel to stay with Linton while everyone else went home.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.