Chapter 357
Chapter 357
Telling people we’re suddenly back on for schedules we already canceled that same day?
Naturally, that doesn't fly.
Setting aside whether it’s a nuisance or not, in most cases, the logistics simply don't allow for it.
As a result, the day we resumed activities was quite leisurely. The only news coming out were moderate articles like: ‘TeSTAR gets the green light to resume activities after two days… currently focusing on recovery.’
Thanks to that, the members spent the day relatively relaxed, only carrying out schedules directly managed by the company.
“Mmm~ I feel both sorry and grateful to the company staff.”
“Y-Yeah. Truly… I agree.”
Right. Even if they had to pay cancellation fees, a sudden issue with the artists must have been a massive headache. This time, the company actually earned its keep. I was grateful to the staff.
However, I had anticipated something else.
‘I bet things are still a mess online, though.’
Keun Se-jin had been quick to post on social media to smooth things over, but it was obvious what the people who had been itching for a fight since the Starry Melody incident would be saying.
‘I should prioritize cleaning this up.’
As the one who caused the problem, patching it up was a mandatory step.
I refined a few plans and accessed the internet.
‘Huh…?’
Surprisingly, the total chaos I expected hadn't broken out.
Instead, the Billboard rankings had been posted, slightly overlapping with the news of our hiatus.
“Wow… I completely forgot about this.”
“Indeed. It seems I momentarily confused the previous movie OST with this title track.”
Good grief.
‘They’re really trying to think the best of me.’
I wouldn't have minded if he just honestly said he got distracted because of that whole mess with Seon A-hyun.
I shook my head and scrolled down the screen.
First, the album chart. The Billboard 200.
[8. <WEAPON for you> / new!]
Number 8.
“Ooooh.”
“S-Single digits…!”
The members, who were only now checking after the chaos settled, were delighted. However, this was within the range of what I had predicted.
It wasn't jaw-droppingly rare anymore for a K-pop boy group with some recognition in the US to hit the top 5 of the Billboard album chart during their peak.
‘Still, it’s a very satisfying result.’
It was a sign that our chronic weakness in the overseas market had been resolved.
The problem was what came next.
The singles chart, the so-called Hot 100.
[15. Savior / new!]
“……?”
“Wait, what?”
It… landed at number 15.
‘What?’
One might wonder why I was surprised when it was lower than the album chart, but for a foreign-language song to break through the ranks on this digital chart is several times harder than the album chart. It requires a level of public popularity that offsets the language barrier, or an insanely massive fandom to push it through.
So, this was… a bit strange.
‘I expected the 30s at best…?’
Actually, even the 30s would have been unthinkable if not for the momentum from the movie OST we released just before.
‘This is… a rank that could rival the Korean weekly digital charts from back when TeSTAR released performance-heavy songs a few years ago.’
It was almost unsettling.
And thanks to this, the internet's reaction to TeSTAR's hiatus was settled.
Like this:
Since no one in their right mind would rest in this situation, the consensus was that we must truly be ill.
Furthermore, conspiracy theories like ‘The noise was caused by rushing to shift to US schedules’ emerged, absorbing all the underground nonsense.
“…….”
Things really worked out incredibly well, but I still didn't know the logic behind it.
Perhaps having studied a bit through WeTube, Bae Se-jin asked the local expert with eyes full of suspicion.
“Is it… is it normal for it to perform this well?”
However, the local expert refused to answer.
“I don't know! I don't really look at Billboard.”
“Then what do you look at?”
“Umm, Dotifiy~”
“Dotifiy?”
It was a global music streaming site popular in the US.
‘…Streaming, huh.’
At that moment, it clicked.
“Ah.”
Right. I should have checked where the points were coming from first.
I immediately checked the Billboard score breakdown.
Digital sales, streaming index, radio airplay….
“Hmm.”
‘The airplay score is higher than I thought.’
Foreign language songs rarely get played on US radio, so considering that, it was decent. The company must have spent a good amount of money.
And naturally, digital sales driven by the fandom were the highest, but….
“…!”
‘The streaming is good too?’
Indeed. The streaming numbers were almost identical to the songs ranked just above and below us.
As expected, this was….
“Cha Yu-jin, do you have a Dotifiy account?”
“I do!”
“Let me see it for a second.”
I accessed the rankings through Cha Yu-jin’s smartphone.
‘Ranked 26th on the Global Chart.’
Considering it had been about two weeks since the release, the staying power was incredible.
And when I checked the US chart instead of the Global one….
[25. Savior / by TeSTAR]
“Oh~ 25th is good!”
“…!”
It was higher than the Global chart?
This was also abnormal. Usually, K-pop has a higher global index than its US index….
“Hyung, are you going to use my phone for a long time?”
“Just a second.”
I monitored fan accounts on my own smartphone while continuing to check the Dotifiy streaming rankings on Cha Yu-jin’s phone.
Then I realized.
“It’s a promotion.”
“…Promotion? An ad?”
“Yes. It looks like they recommended this song to people who listened to our movie OST.”
They played the new TeSTAR title track for people who had listened to ‘Black Hole’ from Cosmic Gunner.
They had requested a US promotion algorithm with that specific link.
‘…It’s effective.’
Since the songs were composed by the same person and sung by the same group, and the samples had a similar feel, they naturally appealed to the same taste.
It was a maximization of natural promotional effects.
On top of that, the image we established through our movie cameo and variety show appearances created a synergy.
‘…The image of "my-pace," fun-loving aliens.’
So, even the incomprehensible lyrics acted as a unique charm, seemingly softening any rejection.
To draw a comprehensive conclusion…
“The company did a great job.”
“Yeah.”
I couldn't deny Ryu Cheong-woo’s words.
I could feel a level of obsession with squeezing everything out of the US market…
There was only one person who would do this.
“Here. Thanks for the phone.”
“Okay!”
I handed the smartphone back to Cha Yu-jin and smacked my lips.
The taste was bitter.
‘…To think the General Manager is actually good at his job.’
It seemed his obsession with the US business wasn't for nothing. Or perhaps he learned something from the trial and error with Mirinae.
It was a good thing, but it felt incredibly strange. Was it because I internally thought of that guy as a total joke?
“Moon-dae, Moon-dae~ Aren't you getting out?”
“Ah.”
I finished my thoughts as I stepped out at the concept photo shoot for the tour.
For now, I’ll just work… and I should probably create a Dotifiy account for monitoring.
That day, I brushed off Cha Yu-jin’s unsolicited advice and set up a US account.
And the very next day, I realized that was a pretty good idea.
It was a night when I crawled back into the dorm past midnight due to a busy schedule.
Just as I sat in the bathtub to relax my muscles.
[H-H-Hyung! Did you see this?]
While absentmindedly checking the status window, I suddenly saw Keun-dal frantically typing in the status window.
[Rookie girl group appears like a comet… Will Powty conquer Billboard?]
[Young-rin’s juniors, Powty: “Please love both of our double title tracks!”]
[Powty’s raid on global music charts, the emergence of the ‘Next Young-rin’]
“…….”
After reading through the flood of text.
I forced my mouth open.
“Double title tracks, you say.”
[Yes….]
I then accessed the Dotifiy account I had created for monitoring and checked the rankings.
New songs that had just been listed were there.
[14. Love Soul / by Powty]
[17. Underwater / by Powty]
Two songs in the top 20.
When I clicked, a trendy, well-made English dance track started playing.
-Hey goody, do you want a….
It had the structure of a commercial song. It was catchy. Even if it was predictable, it was a masterpiece with the kind of public appeal that everyone would like.
“…….”
I stopped the music and pressed my temples.
“This is…”
F*ck.
What on earth is this situation?
[That… apparently a teaser parody using both titles went viral on TickTackTok and is getting a great response even in the US….]
I appreciated the supplementary explanation, but the cause wasn't what mattered right now.
What mattered was the result: these rookies had become an out-of-the-box, massive hit.
‘We’re screwed.’
…First, let’s look at what the ‘K-pop Record Break’ I was aiming for was.
[Two TeSTAR songs simultaneously listed in the upper ranks of the Billboard Hot 100]
That was it.
As you can see, it was a choice made considering that our movie OST would likely still be on the Billboard charts by now.
OSTs tend to have a long run until the movie is released to the general public and gains more exposure.
So, I thought it would be possible if the title track just maintained its momentum.
‘When I looked it up, even VTIC hadn't aimed for this.’
They are strong in albums, and their songs are less public-friendly.
Since their massive fandom focuses their purchasing power on just the title track, they never even used such an inefficient method.
So I thought, this is it.
‘I’ll strike here.’
Records, excluding the traditional core ones, are usually subject to public perception.
Depending on how much they are generally recognized, they can become meaningful records or just end up as media play for the fans.
In that sense… seeing the same singer's name twice in the top 20 has quite an impact, doesn't it?
Naturally, I had it checked by Keun-dal too.
That’s what he said.
‘So I proceeded, thinking it was almost a sure thing….’
But now, rookies suddenly pull off something similar?
I immediately started racking my brain.
‘Unless a bigger variable occurs, the rookies’ final scores in sales or streaming are bound to be lower than ours.’
In other words, in terms of Billboard, which calculates weekly performance, we would definitely win.
‘But that’s not what’s important.’
Even if their song rankings are lower than ours, don't dark horses always get a boost in public perception?
If the public gives them the win in spirit… then the meaning of this as a record….
“…….”
Dammit… No, let’s try to save this first.
“…Hmm.”
Suppressing a sigh, I asked as nonchalantly as possible.
“Anyway, since our Billboard ranking came out first, the mission condition should be a success. Two songs listed in the top 20 for the first time. Then there’s nothing much to worry about.”
Basically, I was telling him to count it as a mission success since we did it first.
However, Keun-dal didn't answer.
Then, slowly and creakily, as if making an excuse, words began to appear.
[If this happens… uh, in terms of public perception… it might be hard to see it as an overwhelming record. Since the promotion periods overlap, there will be comparisons…. Especially since they’re a rookie group.]
“…….”
Is this punk…?
[T-This isn't happening by my will, it’s my subconscious…! The systemic subconscious is making the judgment! ㅠㅠ]
[I’m sorry, hyung, but I really don't know either ㅠㅠ Will… will it work?]
“…….”
Fine, f*ck, it’s not your fault.
‘Will it work? Probably not.’
I sighed.
Young-rin’s company isn't stupid; now that things have turned out this way, they will definitely make the media cling to comparisons with TeSTAR, who are active at the same time.
‘It’s perfect for raising their status.’
Besides, they’re a group of a different gender, so it feels less like a direct fight.
Then the picture of TeSTAR being recognized for an impactful solo record is bound to go down the drain.
Because a similar minor case is following closely with great momentum.
“…Right.”
I cooled my head.
‘Young-rin… Young-rin’s juniors.’
Then I realized. They were the ones Young-rin introduced during the last awards season. I gave a bitter smile.
Seriously, this industry has so many variables that competitors just pop up like this.
[Hyung…….]
But now is not the time to accept this as a competition.
I have to tear it apart completely.
To do that… I’ll have to intervene artificially as well.
“…….”
A method of intervention, huh.
I lowered my head, lost in thought.
The opaque water, colored by bath salts, rippled. The fact that I couldn't see even an inch ahead felt just like the current situation….
Wait.
“Ah.”
I see.
‘I have to muddy the waters.’
Let’s split the board.
“This will be fine as long as we aren't mentioned alongside these rookies.”
[?? Is that… possible?]
Why wouldn't it be?
‘I just have to blur the narrative and pit them against a different weight class.’
I just need to set up a stage that’s more interesting to the public.
I sat there until the bathwater grew cold, continuing to plan.
Cutting this, trimming that.
Toward the most beneficial and certain direction.
And the next day.
“Manager-nim, a moment please.”
“Yes?”
Before even leaving for the early morning schedule, I put in a request for a meeting with the General Manager.
It was the first time I had reached out voluntarily since the label contract, and I was curious how he would take it.
Mmm. And one more thing.
As I got into the car, I picked up my smartphone and sent a text.
[Please contact me when you have time after seeing this text.]
The call came back as soon as I sent it.
“Hello.”
A voice full of discipline that I hadn't heard in a while.
“Thank you for calling. I have something I’m curious about.”
It was Park Min-ha of Mirinae, the girl group that was our direct junior.
After a slight pause, I got to the point.
“By any chance, do you have any concerns lately?”
“Regarding the group’s direction.”
Right.
Since we’ve established a label, I might as well contribute to the company.