Chương 187: **Chapter 185: Second Album Release**
After the MJ memorial service, Link and Taylor went home. They had seen the memorial concert for MJ, featuring performances by Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, and many others, with dozens of singers coming together to perform MJ's "Heal the World."
In the evening, Link drove Taylor back home.
"So, did you get any inspiration?" Link asked, glancing at Taylor in the passenger seat with a smile.
Taylor, wearing a blue dress, was curled up in her seat, her brows furrowed. She kept scratching her head, causing her long golden curls to become a mess, like a tangle of noodles.
"Why is it that you can find inspiration at the memorial, but I can't?" Taylor looked at him with a hint of jealousy in her blue eyes.
Link smiled gently. "I told you before, you didn't have a personal connection with MJ. His death didn't affect you, so naturally, it didn't spark any creative inspiration."
"Are you saying that you need to be close to someone to find inspiration?" Taylor propped her chin up, blinking her long lashes, her eyes slowly turning back to him.
"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Link pushed her forehead gently. "I've already given you plenty of inspiration. You can't just sacrifice me to the gods for your songwriting."
"I wasn't thinking that at all!" Taylor gave him a look. "I was thinking about my relatives who have passed away. My grandfather died too early; I was only eight or nine at the time, so I don't have clear memories of him. My grandmother, you know, she was also a singer from Tennessee, very beautiful when she was young, and had a significant influence on me. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2003."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Link said politely.
Taylor didn't respond, instead holding her face in her hands and continuing, "Maybe I can write a song for my grandmother."
Link nodded. Not only for her grandmother, but also for her grandfather, Mrs. Andrea, and so on. Link thought Mrs. Andrea seemed to have a tumor; he wasn't sure if it had been detected yet. He might consider taking them for a check-up next time.
"When are you planning to release your third album?"
"Next year, or the year after. I don't have any concrete plans yet."
"That's slow. I debuted two years after you, and I'm releasing my second album next week and my third next year."
Link smiled, his lips curling.
Taylor clenched her fist and tapped his shoulder. "Don't be so pleased. People in the industry know that it's best to release an album once a year. If you release too frequently, fans might not be as interested, and you could risk unsold copies."
Link smiled. She had a point. Releasing albums too quickly could lead to inadequate promotion and distribution, and a smaller artist's name might not be enough to ensure strong sales. That was one reason he'd delayed his second album's release by a month.
However, he wasn't too worried. The quality of his second album's songs was high, and the company was willing to invest in promotion, so he wasn't concerned about it not selling.
In addition, after the release of the second album, he was scheduled for a world tour, which would help promote both the first and second albums.
"Do you have enough songs for the third album? Do you need any help?"
"No! I have hundreds of songs in my songbook. I already have enough for the third album. I just want to write even better songs for my fans, unlike some people who just throw together a few songs and release them without sincerity."
Taylor glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a smirk on her lips.
Link shook his head with a smile, choosing not to argue.
Taylor huffed, adjusting her messy hair in the mirror. "The news says Link Music is like a family business, with one person handling management and the other handling creation. That sounds nice."
Link had seen similar articles that were meant to hype up his relationship with Ivanka.
Some articles claimed he was Ivanka's lover, with the two sneaking around and meeting on the top floor of TP Tower.
Others said the Thompson family was the backer and financial supporter of Link Music, and there were rumors that he and Ivanka had secretly gotten married in Las Vegas. More news suggested he was juggling two relationships, with Taylor and Ivanka, calling him a player.
Particularly after his fallout with the East Coast rap crew, such negative reports had increased.
But those tabloids lacked substantial evidence and only reported speculative gossip, which wasn't too damaging.
"I assure you, Ivanka and I don't have any special relationship. I'm being honest with you."
"I know," Taylor said, pressing her lips together. She turned to him with her blue eyes and said, "I just want to let you know that the Thompsons are businessmen who focus on profits. They keep pushing you to release albums, two or three a year, treating you like a money-making tool. That's not good; it will waste your talent and potential in music.
If you want to be a great artist, you shouldn't focus too much on profits. You should focus more on your work. Although your last album had six singles charting, which is great, if you take your time with your creations, every song on your first album could have had a chance to chart."
Link nodded. Taylor was right.
Artists who chase profit often produce commercialized work, dumbing down their creations to cater to the market, while truly great works are often niche and may take decades or even centuries to be appreciated.
But this situation didn't quite apply to Link.
Although he had learned piano, guitar, and music composition from Taylor, his current level wasn't yet sufficient to create standout original music. At this stage, he could only mix and match the few hundred future songs in his head and navigate the music scene.
Because these songs were time-sensitive, he needed to speed up his album releases.
Additionally, there were investment opportunities that were also time-sensitive, requiring him to earn money quickly.
So Ivanka's pressure to release albums and make money aligned with his plans.
"I understand your point, but don't worry. I'm at the peak of my creative phase. Releasing two albums a year is manageable for me."
Link pinched her cheek and smiled.
Taylor swatted his hand away and huffed. "Stop making excuses. You just can't let go of that woman with the big chest and butt. I'd be tempted to touch it myself. Don't tell me you're not interested."
"Uh, dear, we're discussing music creation. Can we not stray so far off topic? You just said you trusted that Ivanka and I don't have a special relationship."
Link said helplessly.
"But you must have been mentally unfaithful. The movies are right—men are fickle and never satisfied."
As she spoke, Taylor suddenly stopped, took out a notebook and pen from her bag, and began scribbling on her lap.
Link realized she had found inspiration and didn't dare disturb her. He slowed the car, driving along the West Coast highway lined with tall palm trees, slowly making his way to the sunny beachside villa area.
On Wednesday, the second album, *Keep On Movin'*, released its second promotional single, "Believer," following the first single, "Give Me Reason," which was released in May.
The second single is also a rock song, released by Imagine Dragons in 2017.
The song's style is aggressive and intense, much like Link's boxing style. The accompaniment features heavy drumming with a strong rhythm, paired with Link's passionate voice. Its powerful rhythm makes it feel like a battle song overcoming obstacles and breaking through difficulties.
The theme, style, and background story of "Believer" are well-suited to Link's identity and experiences.
"Believer" had previously reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Rock Songs chart, showing its high quality.
On its first day, digital music platforms recorded 126,000 downloads, and within 12 hours, it became the iTunes Music Store download chart champion. It took just 16 hours to become the Amazon Digital Music Store download champion and the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart champion.
Many musicians in the industry also praised the song. On Amazon's digital music store, it received 23,049 ratings with an average score of 9.1 out of 10.
Rolling Stone magazine gave it a five-star recommendation on their website.
The positive response to "Believer" led to a surge in both online and offline pre-sales for the second album. By Friday noon, pre-sales had exceeded 100,000 copies, and the album's first-week sales were expected to exceed 300,000 copies.
However, on Friday, Jay-Z also released the second promotional single from his 11th album, "Empire State of Mind."
This song, about New York, is one of Jay-Z's representative works and is of high quality. On its first day, it recorded 164,000 downloads on major digital music platforms, overtaking "Believer" as the digital music download chart champion.
After the release of "Empire State of Mind," entertainment media shifted their focus to the music scene, concentrating on the new songs by Link and Jay-Z.
After two to three months of media coverage, the feud between Link and Jay-Z, along with other East Coast rappers, had become one of the hottest topics in the industry, aside from MJ's death.
Reports stated that since April, the two sides had been competing for chart positions, first for the Billboard Rap Songs chart and then for the Billboard Hot 100.
Link Music's team included Link, Wiz Khalifa, Atlantic Records' rapper
Lil Bobby, and Link Music's new artist Bruno Mars. Of these five, only Link and Wiz had released albums; the other two were considered newcomers.
The East Coast rap side included Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem, Lil Wayne, T.I., Drake, 50 Cent, etc., all well-known in the rap music scene with album sales and influence within the top 20.
Comparing the fame and numbers of both sides, East Coast rappers seemed to have the upper hand.
However, surprisingly, Link Music's side didn't get overwhelmed at the start of the competition.
Link's "I'm The One" and "Give Me Reason" won the top spots on both the Rap Songs chart and the Hot 100, defeating Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)," Kanye's "Monster," and T.I.'s "Dead and Gone."
The only loss came with the rap song "Lighters," released in mid-June, which was beaten by Kanye, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and Drake's "Forever" and remained at number two on the Rap Songs chart, never reaching number one.
Though the song was performed by two newcomers and suppressed by three top-tier artists, the loss was still respectable.
Now, both sides were competing again, not just for singles but also for album sales.
Link's new album, *Keep On Movin'*, would be released on Monday, while Jay-Z's 11th album, *The Blueprint 3*, was scheduled for Tuesday, just one day later.
Both albums were strong contenders.
Both the first promotional singles from *Keep On Movin'* and *The Blueprint 3* had topped the Billboard Hot 100.
The second promotional singles had also become digital music download champions.
In terms of the albums themselves, it was hard to distinguish a clear winner.
In terms of fame and influence, Jay-Z, who had been in the industry for over twenty years with a solid fan base and was known as the 'King of New York Music,' had the edge.
"But we can't underestimate Link. He's a remarkable guy. His debut album went double platinum in the U.S. When his songs were competing with Kanye's in May, everyone thought Kanye had it in the bag. But Link suddenly won eight swimming gold medals at the World University Games, which was amazing.
This news also propelled his songs to the top of the rap charts. I've heard Link has signed up for next week's Berlin World Swimming Championships. If he can beat Michael Phelps and other world champions and win another eight gold medals, *Keep On Movin'* might have a chance to win. Yes, *Keep On Movin'* is the name of Link's second album. From the two singles released so far, we can tell that the album tells the story of a fighter, with a very positive theme.
So, it's still uncertain who will win between the two albums."
John Ferrero, a renowned music critic from the Los Angeles Times, wrote in his article.
Aside from the Los Angeles Times, major American newspapers, TV stations, and radio stations have been discussing the competition between Link and Jay-Z's new albums, speculating on who will come out on top, which album will have more chart-topping songs, and which single will reach number one.
There are even new betting projects where people can wager on the first-week, first-month, and three-month sales of the two albums. According to odds from various betting agencies, Link's album has a winning odds of 1:1.8 for weekly sales, while Jay-Z's album has a winning odds of 1:1.2, giving Jay-Z a higher chance of winning.
(End of Chapter)
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