Zhou Yan also watched Local Channel 6's "Pure White Music Station". After getting up early, he worked for a while and went to a restaurant to eat. He happened to meet Fang Xiu. He heard that they were going to watch the premiere of "We Are Young" together, so he went together. .
When the black female singer came out, Ma Dongfang smiled and said, "This little girl sings very well. She looks like she is only seventeen or eighteen years old."
Zhou Yan laughed. Said, "She is actually less than fifteen years old."
This statement made everyone's jaws drop.
"This is fifteen years old?!" Ma Dongfang's eyes almost popped out.
He guessed seventeen or eighteen, because he knew that people in Europe and the United States develop earlier, and Chinese girls aged seventeen or eighteen look greener than this.
And he never expected that this girl was not even fifteen years old.
What does it mean to be fourteen or five years old? in the country, you are still in junior high school.
“In the United States, do singers debut so early?” Fang Xiu asked curiously.
Not only this female singer, but also Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys, who is only sixteen years old this year. When he joined the group to debut, he was only thirteen years old.
Therefore, Fang Xiucai asked this question.
“In recent years, singers have indeed debuted earlier than before.”
Mainly because some young groups have become more popular in recent years, and a large number of middle school students have been discovered by talent scouts and entered the industry. Inside, the market determines everything.
"She is also in a group, and their group is about the same age as her." Zhou Yan added.
“There are many such combinations here.”
"Well, it feels similar to the Little Tigers from Taiwan."
"Yes, that's right, that's the feeling, but the songs of the Little Tigers are relatively simple and not as mature as theirs."
< br>...
Others were discussing the group, while Zhou Yan was listening with a smile.
The female singer who appears in the "We Are Young" music video is none other than Beyoncé, a member of the group "Destiny's Girl" and the future top singer.
The reason why she was able to participate in this song was completely by chance. Zhou Yan had also seen the group Destiny's Child by chance before.
Like the Backstreet Boys before, they have gained some fame in the local area, but they only have some underground performances and have not even officially formed a group. Before June, they were still called "Girls' Generation". Then it was changed to its current name.
Originally Zhou Yan wanted to sign the Destiny Girl group to the Zhou family, but now that the Zhou family has no roots in Europe and the United States, it was useless to sign them, so Zhou Yan just went with the flow and pushed them to Columbia Records.
Due to Mariah Carey's relationship, Columbia Records has always maintained close contact with Zhou Yan. This time, they also attached great importance to Zhou Yan's recommendation and quickly signed Destiny's Child. .
This time "We Are Young" is a collaboration between Zhou Yan, New Balance, Jive and Columbia Records.
Everyone gossiped about the group for a while, and Ma Dongfang suddenly said to Zhou Yan, "Brother, if you have time later, you can compile a richer version of this piece. We can play it on stage if we have nothing to do."
" This song still sounds good." Fang Xiu said with a smile, "Why don't I have a solo pop song show in the future and invite the singers who have sung your songs to have a lively concert?"
"Well, that's quite interesting."
Zhou Yan smiled, "You should focus on tonight's concert first. There are more than 6,000 spectators at the venue today."
< br>"I wasn't nervous at first, but after you said that, senior brother, I became a little nervous." Ma Dongfang said.
Everyone else laughed, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Everyone knows that Ma Dongfang has a big heart. The bigger the scene, the more the audience, the more excited he becomes.
To say that other people might be nervous, there was no chance for him.
Besides, although the concerts they held before were never of this scale, they were indoors.
As for outdoor encores, they have all experienced a venue with more than 10,000 people. Of course, they will not be afraid of a venue with more than 6,000 people. Everyone's heart has not been trained.
"Okay." Zhou Yan clapped his legs and stood up, "You should keep your spirits up and don't lose your temper at night."
"Don't worry, senior brother."
......
For Beyoncé, today is definitely a day worth remembering. This is the first time she has truly appeared in the public eye.
Although she has participated in some singing competitions before and even appeared on TV, it has not been widely spread, and there are not many pictures of her.
The Backstreet Boys are extremely popular now and are already the most famous teenage boy band in the United States. In addition, "We Are Young" is also a New Balance advertising song, so the popularity is naturally not comparable to that of ordinary songs.
As soon as the song was released, it was broadcast on major radio and television stations across the United States.
In fact, during the entire process of singing "We Are Young", she was confused and had no idea what was going on.
I remember one day when several group members were rehearsing, her father suddenly ran in and announced the news.
Then within a few days she was roped in to record, and then she filmed a music video with the members of the Backstreet Boys.
She still doesn't know why she was chosen. After all, their group has just officially formed a group and has no reputation at all.
Because of this incident, the atmosphere in the group was a bit wrong.
Although the group is signed to Columbia Records, their manager is still Beyoncé’s father Matthew Knowles, and Kelly Rowland in the group is also Beyoncé’s cousin.
Originally the other two members were worried that Matthew Knowles would tilt resources towards his daughter and niece.
Now that something like this has happened, the two members are naturally more suspicious.
For this reason, Beyoncé even went to ask her father if this was the case. However, Matthew Knowles told Beyoncé that everyone in the group has equal resources and there is no one who is superior or inferior. It was Columbia Records' decision that Angce be able to sing "We Are Young".
Matthew Knowles also said that he originally helped several other members fight for it, but failed.
Beyoncé naturally believed her father's words, and when she returned, she swore to the other members that there would never be any uneven distribution of resources.
The little sisters are not very young, so they naturally believed Beyoncé’s words and felt relieved.
……
Zhou Yan received a call from Matthew Knowles at eleven o'clock.
The call was connected, and Matthew Knowles introduced himself, "Hello, Mr. Y. I am Matthew Knowles, Mr. Right's agent."
Received Matthew Knowles' call. Zhou Yan was quite surprised by Knowles' call. Although he had considered signing Mr. Right before, he never implemented it. Moreover, he had never been in contact with Mr. Right, not even Zhang Youan. "Hello, Mr. Knowles, do you have anything to do with me?"
I am sure it is Zhou Yan, Matthew Knowles is very happy, "I am making this call I don’t mean anything else, I just want to express my gratitude to you. Thank you for giving Beyoncé such a good opportunity to participate in the song "We Are Young". If I have the opportunity, I will definitely express my gratitude to you in person. ”
It turned out to be for this, Zhou Yan said with a smile, "You're welcome, Mr. Knowles, it's just a simple collaboration. Beyoncé's performance is good. I believe that the duo will get better and better."
"Thank you for your blessing." Matthew Knowles thanked him, and then suddenly sighed, "Beyoncé is still young. Although she signed in Colombia, she still didn't have many opportunities. If it weren't for your recommendation, she would still be here now. There is no official work yet."
Zhou Yan couldn't figure out what Matthew Knowles wanted to say, so he could only follow his words, "You also said that she is still young and will definitely have many opportunities in the future. There is no need to be too hasty. I also believe that Colombia must have its own arrangements for them."
"Mr. Y, are you satisfied with Beyoncé's performance this time? Is there anything that can be improved? ”
“It’s pretty good. She’s already doing very well at her age.”
Matthew Knowles was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "Then will she still have the opportunity to cooperate with you in the future?"
Hearing this, Zhou Yan probably understood that Matthew Knowles wanted to hug his thigh. of.
“You want me to write a song for Mr. Right?” Zhou Yan asked directly.
"No, no, no, you misunderstood. What I want to ask is, whether Beyoncé has a chance to work with you again."
Zhou Yan squinted his eyes, and he finally understood. , Matthew Knowles just wanted to seek resources for his daughter, and this agent was too selfish.
Zhou Yan knew that Matthew Knowles was Beyoncé's father, but he didn't expect that Matthew Knowles, as the manager of Mr. Right, would be so partial.
Everyone has selfish motives, which Zhou Yan can understand, but Matthew Knowles's bottomless selfishness is not good for the development of the group Mr. Right.
But Zhou Yan couldn't control this matter. He said calmly, "Beyoncé is so good. I believe we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future. Anyway, she is now signed to Columbia Company. What business will she have in the future? If there is a need for cooperation, I will tell Columbia.”
This was also made clear to Matthew Knowles, telling Matthew Knowles not to come to him directly. If there is anything, just go through Columbia.
Originally, Matthew Knowles was Mr. Right’s manager and Beyoncé’s father, so Zhou Yan didn’t mind chatting with him. However, after the conversation, Zhou Yan discovered that this man was short-sighted. Too selfish, not suitable for more contact.
Matthew Knowles is also a veteran, so he naturally understood the meaning of Zhou Yan's words, but he was thick-skinned enough, so he still smiled and said, "Okay, okay, next time when we have a chance, George and I will go and invite him." You eat."
"Let's talk about it later, I'm sorry, I have something to do here."
"Well, I won't disturb you anymore."
< br>After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan couldn't help but shake his head, Beyoncé actually has such an unreliable father.
He just hung up the phone when there was a knock on the door of the room.
"Who?"
"Me." Zhang Youan's voice came from outside.
Zhou Yan stood up and opened the door, only to see Zhang Youan standing at the door wearing a cowboy hat and a floral shirt. He looked like he was on vacation in the United States.
"Old Zhang, your life is getting more and more carefree now." Zhou Yan teased with a smile.
Zhang Youan smiled and took off his cowboy hat, "Didn't Mr. Xu say that you can't always work, you must learn to enjoy life properly."
"You were not like this before."
Zhou Yanke remembered that when the two first met, Zhang Youan was a very enterprising person. He was busy helping Zhou Yan find a job every day, which not only made Zhou Yan busy , he himself is too busy every day.
Because of this matter, Xu Feng also talked to Zhang Youan, asking Zhang Youan not to find so many jobs for Zhou Yan, so that Zhou Yan could have time to rest.
It's good now, Zhou Yan's work intensity has not decreased at all, and Zhang Youan is starting to enjoy life.
"People will always change." Zhang Youan entered the room and sat down on the sofa, "In the past, when you were just starting out, you were always worried that you would just become famous. If you don't work hard while you are young, , the good days will slip away soon. Now I have discovered that I don’t have to worry about doing work for you. The work just coming to your door every day is enough for us. Now I can enjoy my life even if I take some time off from my busy schedule. .”
"It looks like I work for you." Zhou Yan teased.
Zhang Youan shrugged, "Isn't the boss supposed to work for his employees? How about after this round of concerts, put your work aside and I'll take you to have fun?"< br>
"Come on." Zhou Yan waved his hand, "Now I am almost overwhelmed with the work on hand, so I have no time to rest."
Zhang Youan spread his hands, "Look, it's not I push you, but you are running forward with all your strength. Every time Mr. Xu says that I push you too hard, I feel aggrieved. Now it is clearly you who are pulling us forward."
< br>Zhou Yanyi glanced at him, "How about turning over all the business in my hands to others? This way you will have more time to travel around."
Zhang Youan immediately changed the subject, "I'm here to talk to you about business. Chris told me that "Shutter Island" has entered the formal preparation stage, and the leading actor has basically been determined to be Bruce Willis."
< br>"Very good." Zhou Yan nodded.
Bruce Willis was also selected from the three people he listed before, and he was naturally satisfied.
"Kevin Costner and Tom Hanks both have schedule issues." Zhang Youan explained.
Zhou Yan smiled. He thought Bruce Willis was pretty good. As for the reason, he didn't care.
"Where are the other characters?" Zhou Yan asked.
Zhang Youan shook his head, "The other roles haven't been decided yet. I heard that the chief doctor is looking for Ben Kinliss. We are talking about it now. It should be no problem. He has schedule, and Scorsese is with He has a good relationship.”
When he heard about Ben Kinliss, Zhou Yan was quite surprised. He didn’t expect that Ben Kinliss could be found to play this role more than ten years in advance. What a coincidence.
But speaking of it, Ben Kinliss is indeed quite suitable. He is in his fifties and has many famous works. He only acted in "Schindler's List" a few years ago and is a very well-known person in Hollywood. supporting role.
In addition, Scorsese has a good relationship with Ben Kinliss, so it seems reasonable to find him.
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Yan nodded, "Very good."
Zhang Youan knew Zhou Yan well and knew that his reaction was indeed satisfactory to the casting.
“With these two roles finalized, other roles will be easy to find, and there will probably be news soon. Chris also asked me how the novel "Shutter Island" is going."
"How did you answer him?"
"I said you have been busy recently, but you are still finding time to write, and you will definitely be able to complete it within the agreed time." Zhang Youan smiled and asked Zhou Yan, "You How’s the writing going? ”
"As you said, I'm still finding time to write."
In fact, the first draft of the novel "Shutter Island" has been written, but Zhou Yan left it at home and never revised it.
Originally, he planned to wait until this round of concerts was over and take some time to revise the manuscript.
But now because of the new movie, he has to postpone this matter and wait until the movie is finished before thinking about it. Anyway, the agreed time is still early, so there is no need to be too anxious. (End of this chapter)