HPDBC Chapter 1298 Transition!
Chapter 1298 Transition!
Chapter 1298 Transition!
"Annyeonghaseyo~"
After passing through security and walking out of the airport, Ji Kyung-won and his group were met by staff who came to pick them up. In addition to people from SM Entertainment's US branch, the leader was a white man who looked to be around thirty years old, very tough and energetic.
Upon seeing EXO, he immediately greeted them with a broad smile, speaking in rather broken Korean.
"I'm Kevin~"
After exchanging pleasantries, he smiled and introduced himself as Kevin, the agent manager for New Vision Records, responsible for EXO's life and work coordination in North America.
Judging by his appearance alone, he is sunny and friendly, giving a good impression... and although he doesn't speak Korean very well, his first Korean greeting made everyone at SM feel comfortable, at least his attitude was fine.
"Welcome to America, future stars from the peninsula! Your apartments have been arranged, and the car is outside. I'll take you there to familiarize yourself with the place. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, feel free to contact me. The first thing you should do is get some sleep to adjust to the time difference, and then head to the company this afternoon. We've been waiting for you for a long time..."
"Hope you like the weather in LA~ You're Even, uh, Yuna, right?"
Kevin was also very talkative. He led the way, making jokes as he quickly explained the day's arrangements. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back to look at Chi Jingyuan and asked a question.
After Chi Jingyuan nodded, he seriously showed an envious look: "Wow, you're a big celebrity here. The GUCCI collaboration you endorse is really famous among us Pokémon fans... because we can't buy it here at all!"
"Really? I'm honored!"
Chi Jingyuan raised an eyebrow and replied with a smile, "I happened to bring some with me, and there are a few that would suit you perfectly."
"This is the best news I've heard today... Forgive my bluntness, but I'm even happier than when I heard you were coming to America."
In just a few words, Kevin had already built a closer relationship with Chi Jingyuan. Walking ahead, he continued explaining the day's plans, then suddenly remembered something, turned around, and smiled knowingly, leaving everyone in suspense:
"Oh, right, I have a little surprise for you soon..."
As he listened to him, Chi Kyung-won translated for the other members. After hearing this sentence, he asked curiously, "Surprise?"
However, they didn't have to wait long. Soon, Chi Jingyuan saw the 'surprise' Kevin had mentioned.
"XO! XO!"
"Yuan!! My god!"
EXO!
Outside the airport, Ji Kyung-won was surprised to see fans waiting to greet him. Although the number of fans was not large, far less than when he left Incheon Airport, it was still quite a few, probably dozens or even hundreds.
Moreover, they were incredibly enthusiastic, no less so than the fans on the Peninsula, and perhaps even more so. Braving the sun, holding all sorts of support banners and posters, they cheered and screamed excitedly as soon as EXO appeared.
Upon seeing this, Chi Jingyuan and the other members immediately perked up, as if all the fatigue from the more than ten-hour flight had vanished, and they immediately smiled and waved to them.
Chi Jingyuan smiled happily... Kevin was right, it was indeed a pleasant surprise.
"Although you haven't released any English songs so far, and haven't had any official activities in the United States."
After boarding the bus, Kevin looked at the excited Alice through the glass and said with great emotion, "But the cohesion and enthusiasm of your fans is truly amazing... You have a very special power!"
The excitement from the American manager and the enthusiasm of the fans they had just witnessed were good signs, immediately putting the previously tense EXO members at ease.
The bus sped along the road, the street scenes on both sides rushing past the windows.
EXO had been to LA many times before, and had held several concerts there, so they weren't unfamiliar with the area and didn't feel lost or timid when suddenly arriving in a foreign country.
Not to mention Ji Kyung-won, who studied here before transferring to Seoul.
After about an hour, we arrived at our destination. The apartment the company had prepared for us was surprisingly nice. It was the Orion Apartments on Sunset Boulevard, with a large area and luxurious decoration. It had four double bedrooms and two spare bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.
The overall setup was actually much more upscale than their dormitory apartment in Seoul.
Chi Jingyuan had originally thought that if the apartment was only so-so, he wouldn't comment, but he would just go back to his own home after a few days. He never expected it to be so much better than he anticipated.
It seems EXO really has made money.
Following Kevin's arrangements, everyone was assigned rooms in the apartment and rested for a morning before regrouping and heading with him to the headquarters of New Vision Records, EXO's partner in the United States.
Although New Vision Records is just a record label under Universal Music, it carries considerable weight, owning several independent labels and wielding significant influence in the North American music scene. Its current portfolio includes some of the most famous artists, such as Lady Gaga, who is currently on a world tour; Kendrick Lamar, who swept North America this year with his album "DAMN."; Selena Gomez, currently a key artist; Madonna, whose position is somewhat precarious; and Billie Eilish, a promising newcomer who signed last year.
Their headquarters building is on Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. Before the car even stopped, Chi Jingyuan could see the three-story glass curtain wall building of New Vision Records. The diagonally cut design of the facade looked like a vinyl record that had been pulled out.
"This was renovated just two years ago, and its modern minimalist style is very unique among the record companies in Santa Monica."
"Although the renovation has changed, the logo on the signboard hasn't. You'd never guess that Dr. Dre designed the signboard himself in 2013."
As Kevin got out of the car, he led the way while enthusiastically introducing New Vision Records: "Did you guys notice the graffiti on the east wall of the parking lot when we got out of the car? It was left by Banksy a few years ago, and it's called 'The Mouse Playing Guitar'... But I don't think it really fits the company's style."
Whether it was out of pride in the company or a desire to educate these artists who had traveled all the way from the peninsula, Kevin was very talkative, as if every blade of grass and every tree in the company building was imbued with the spirit of fashion and trends.
However, Ji Kyung-won did sense the company's strength, or rather, its popular culture, from his words.
Following him into the building, the entrance floor was made of some kind of marble, inlaid with brass Grammy Award winner stars, which made a slight clicking sound when stepped on.
As soon as he stepped inside, the air conditioning hit him instantly. Chi Jingyuan looked up and saw a very eye-catching electronic screen in the lobby. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be displaying the streaming data of some artists in real time.
Led by Kevin, they boarded the plane at the front desk and received their internal artist cards. EXO then followed him up the ladder.
A faint scent of cedar wafted from the air conditioner vents. Chi Jingyuan sniffed it twice and found it quite pleasant. He glanced around and quickly noticed a yellowed sticky note on the side of the elevator. Upon closer inspection, it read, "DON'T PLAY DEMOS IN HERE?"
"That's something Eminem had in his early years, and he never removed it."
Noticing his gaze, Kevin took the initiative to introduce himself. Although his tone was flat, Chi Jingyuan sensed a faint sense of pride and superiority.
"That's cool..."
He shrugged and added a comment.
EXO didn't meet with Yannick Carter, the chairman of New Vision, or Sam Reeves, the vice president, this time. It wasn't because they were arrogant. In fact, New Vision and SM Entertainment have a good relationship. I heard that Lee Soo-man has already become familiar with the senior management of New Vision. They were just absent today because of other matters.
The person who received Chi Jingyuan and his group was Nick, the company's artist development director. Nick was dressed in a suit and sneakers, and this outfit made a deep impression on Chi Jingyuan as soon as they met in the conference room.
The conference room was on the third floor, and the air conditioning was even stronger than outside. It was already cold enough, but as soon as he came in, he felt the temperature drop a few degrees.
There was an interesting rotating painting hanging on the side of the conference room. This time, Kevin didn't need to brag about it; Chi Jingyuan saw the signature on the painting.
Damien Hirst, as Ji Jingyuan knows, is a very famous British artist.
The EXO members took their seats one by one, each with an unopened bottle of banana milk in front of them. Ji Kyung-won glanced at it and noticed that it was the Peninsula brand, clearly prepared especially for them.
He looked up again at the executives of New Vision, including the director Nick. Unlike EXO, they all had cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices in front of them, which he heard had become very popular in recent years and were a standard for Los Angeles elites.
Looking back, through the gap in the slowly drawn but not fully closed curtains, one can clearly see the Santa Monica pier and the enormous Ferris wheel.
The curtains were drawn, the door was closed, and the atmosphere became quiet.
"so……"
Nick, the director who chaired the meeting, closed his iPad, a smile that was somewhere between polite and curious cursing on his lips. He looked at EXO in front of him with a somewhat indifferent expression: "You guys are just a boy band that wants to 'teach Americans to speak Korean'?"
Chi Jingyuan's lips twitched slightly. He glanced at his manager beside him and was about to speak.
...Unlike when the leader usually speaks during activities on the peninsula, Kim Junmyeon's English is not good, and he is not familiar with the local culture, so Ji Kyungwon is the main speaker during activities here.
"Welcome to Santa Monica, EXO members!"
Before he could even speak, Nick's cold demeanor vanished instantly. He clapped his hands with a smile and said, "We're thrilled to have partnered with you. We've been following your performance in Asia, and it's truly impressive. Now it's time for American audiences to get to know you."
"Of course, they may have known you for a long time; your fan base has become quite famous recently."
He smiled and made a joke, but didn't say much more, gesturing for Chi Jingyuan and the others to look at the documents in front of them: "There will be plenty of time for greetings later, let's get down to business now."
As he spoke, he glanced at Chi Jingyuan and casually asked, "Your English shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Chi Jingyuan's expression was slightly strange. He glanced at the member sitting next to him, shook his head, and replied in fluent English, "No problem... just tell me."
This is a big problem. Currently, besides him, only a few people in EXO can communicate smoothly. The others are not worth mentioning and are currently intensively catching up under the company's strict requirements.
"OK~"
Seemingly surprised by Chi Jingyuan's authentic accent, Nick glanced at him in surprise, nodded, and continued, "What's in front of you is the complete promotional plan for this album release."
Chi Kyung-won opened the document and started reading, while Wu Se-hun and the other members, who knew they couldn't understand it at all, awkwardly and embarrassedly flipped through it, and then instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
The other party was very thoughtful; the document was in both English and Korean.
Ji Kyung-won watched very carefully. Although EXO had basically reached the ceiling of boy groups in Asia, they were all complete novices here. Neither EXO nor he himself, nor SM Entertainment, actually had any successful experience in the American market.
Or rather, the entire Kpop scene lacks it.
At the same time, Nick's voice kept coming to my ears:
"We started our preliminary promotion before you came to North America. Although the mainstream market did not pay much attention, the response from the corresponding audience seems to be very good so far, and many people have expressed their expectations."
"The album will be officially released on September 23. We have already partnered with Google Music, and our music video will be featured on the YouTube homepage on that day."
"While releasing the song, we will also be simultaneously promoting it on social media, launching a series of promotional activities on Twitter and Instagram, such as dance imitation activities like the #EXOONChallenge. We have also contacted several influencers to help with publicity."
I've already seen the music video for this title track. The choreography is excellent and very suitable for this kind of challenge event. With proper guidance, it could very well become a trend.
"At the same time, you also need to release vlogs, with content such as showcasing members' English learning and impromptu street performances. Fans really enjoy watching these."
"However, EXO, or rather K-pop, is currently a niche group in the North American market, and they don't even have their own brand. This series of promotional projects may achieve some success, but they may also be completely ignored..."
"Therefore, we have prepared a second round of publicity."
He paused briefly, clearly building up to the main event: "We've booked you for a recording of 'The Ellen Show' in early October. You'll be performing on stage and talking about various topics related to you. It's a great opportunity to showcase yourself and let the local people get to know you."
"So we will start the second round of promotion with the Ellen Show broadcast as one of the core points, while also launching a campaign on radio."
After saying that, Nick looked at a staff member next to him, but the staff member looked troubled: "It's a bit difficult now... We contacted several radio stations in New York and LA, but they are not very interested in 'Kpop'. Many people even asked me 'what is that?'"
"After I explained my purpose..."
He shrugged, somewhat helplessly but also seemingly taking it for granted: "All the radio stations chose to refuse, without exception."
"It's normal."
Director Nick, however, wasn't annoyed. He shrugged and said unsurprisingly, "Three years ago... or even two years ago, I hadn't really heard of K-pop either."
After he finished speaking, he looked towards EXO.
Most of the EXO members couldn't understand it, but Ji Kyung-won knew it was bad news.
Unlike the music scene on the Korean Peninsula, the North American music industry has its own unique system, with radio playing a crucial role in promotion.
"so……"
Nick rested his hands on the table, looking down at Ji Kyung-won and the EXO members from a superior angle:
"In a market where most people don't know about or have no interest in understanding K-pop, what do you think is your biggest advantage?"