Thinking that Zhou Chen refused to release the commercial cover rights just to keep them for himself and cash in, nobody expected him to drop an absolute blockbuster move instead.
Released across all platforms!
Completely free across all platforms!
This unexpected move caused fans' affection for Zhou Chen to skyrocket.
Everyone couldn't wait to click and listen:
The intro began, clearly crafted at great expense.
Lyrics scrolled across the screen:
Arrangement: Zhou Chen
Lyrics: Zhou Chen
Backing Vocals: Zhou Chen
It was a sea of Zhou Chen's name in the credits!
So much so that everyone completely overlooked the fact that the final music production company was Feihong Studio, an industry heavyweight!
Lyrics and composition by Zhou Chen???
This news caught everyone completely off guard.
They had suspected these two songs might have been written by Zhou Chen, but many more had kept their doubts, especially since Zhou Chen had never explicitly confirmed writing them himself.
So when the lyricist and composer credits for both songs were finally revealed, the entire internet exploded!
It was one thing for the lyrics to strike a deep chord, but the composition was heart-wrenching enough to make the soul weep.
"What the hell? What did Zhou Chen eat to suddenly become this genius?"
"I literally just told my friend these two songs definitely weren't written by the same person, and the very next second I got slapped in the face."
"Did anyone go check the songs released by Wind and Moon Legend? Are the lyrics and music by Zhou Chen too?"
"Holy crap, holy crap! I see a single man who can rival a whole band!"
"Oh my god? How is this style so versatile? It went straight from tacky rural club bangers to high-end healing music!"
"Ahhhhh, were Zhou Chen's fans eating this good all along?"
"Did Zhou Chen even have fans before? My strongest impression of him was that he was just holding Zhao Min back..."
"You call that holding back? I'm starting to forget what that phrase even means."
"So why did we all think Zhou Chen was so terrible..."
"Well... probably because of Zhao Min?"
"To the user above, I think you've hit the nail on the head."
The public's impression of Zhou Chen was gradually undergoing a total reversal.
After all, aside from some dirt about him coasting in his group, people couldn't dig up anything else negative on him, and on top of that, he was generous enough to let everyone listen to music for free!
These two songs directly proved one truth: you can coast if you want, but you cannot lack genuine talent!
So Zhou Chen hadn't wanted to coast at all; he was clearly just doing it to avoid stealing Zhao Min's thunder!
Didn't you notice that Wind and Moon Legend's songs all centered around Zhao Min, with lyrics and melodies perfectly tailored to her vocal range and style?
It must have been so hard on Zhou Chen, playing the supporting background leaf for all these years.
No wonder he could write such a soul-stirring 'sweet song' like Ten Years—this damn thing was definitely based on his own real-life experience!
The more they thought about it, the more convinced the onlookers became, and they couldn't help but feel an increasing wave of affection and pity for Zhou Chen.
Gifts and tips poured in as if money meant nothing.
In less than an hour, the two songs were pushed to the top two spots on the gift ranking charts.
In the end, fans even split directly into two opposing factions:
"Since when can a mere love song like Ten Years lord it over our The Ordinary Road? Charge! Knock it off the number one spot!"
"Let me ask you, who here hasn't had their heart broken? Ten Years deserves the number one spot!"
"The Ordinary Road is the eternal god!"
"Will you guys stop fighting! Zhou Chen's mouth is probably split from smiling so hard, hahaha..."
"I'm dying of laughter, why don't you guys just send Zhou Chen straight to the number one overall spot?"
"All joking aside, if the lyric and composition credits hadn't both been Zhou Chen, I honestly wouldn't believe these two songs were written by the same person. They feel completely different."
"Even though the songs were written by the same person, our Broken Hearts Alliance anthem Ten Years will never surrender!"
"How can a real man get bogged down by petty romance? Brothers of The Ordinary Road, charge! We can't let them step on us."
A 'great war' was on the verge of breaking out.
Onlookers from both factions were determined to fight for a winner, transforming spontaneously into passionate promoters:
"Sister, are you listening to music? I hear Ten Years goes great with heartbreak!"
"Brother, what are you up to? Feeling lost? If you're lost, come listen to The Ordinary Road!"
"No way, no way? Is there really still anyone going through a breakup who hasn't heard Ten Years? An absolute peerless sweet song, you deserve it!"
"Help me bargain on Pinduoduo and we're still good brothers, but if you don't listen to Zhou Chen's The Ordinary Road, then our friendship is over."
"..."
As everyone jumped on the meme-making bandwagon, the streaming indices for Ten Years and The Ordinary Road on various music platforms skyrocketed like a rocket.
At the same time, trending searches across all platforms were completely dominated by these two songs.
#Ten Years and The Ordinary Road written and composed by the same person#
#Ten Years and The Ordinary Road free across all platforms#
#Wind and Moon Legend's king of coasting Zhou Chen drops new songs#
For a time, Zhou Chen's new songs possessed an unstoppable momentum, completely unprecedented.
They soared straight to third and fourth place.
The songs had been released at four in the afternoon.
The rankings were updated at eight that same night.
Why weren't they first and second?
Because those two spots were still firmly occupied by the recorded versions from Zhou Chen's livestream and the gala.
Industry musicians who considered themselves veterans of big scenes: "..."
They seriously had never seen this kind of spectacle!
Just two songs, and you damn well occupied the top four spots!
Isn't that a bit too outrageous?!
Some singers who had originally planned to release new music in the next few days suddenly felt their hearts pounding. With this kind of talent and this kind of hype, what kind of song could possibly hold its own against them?
Word has it that Heavenly King Liu's new song is dropping tomorrow?
Thinking of this, those singers swarmed to Heavenly King Liu's Weibo page to watch the spectacle.
Heavenly King Liu debuted at a young age, not to mention his massive fan base; after twenty years of grinding in the industry, he was a nationally recognized powerhouse!
Especially since Heavenly King Liu attached great importance to this new album, having announced long ago that he had cleared out half a year specifically for its recording!
From this perspective, Heavenly King Liu naturally had nothing to fear when going up against the rising newcomer Zhou Chen—
But the very next second.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
They saw Heavenly King Liu's studio publish a pinned Weibo post:
『Notice:
Due to scheduling conflicts, Heavenly King Liu's song recordings could not be completed within the stipulated time. The new album Nanxun, originally scheduled for release at the end of October, will be temporarily cancelled, and the specific release date will be announced later.
Thank you to all our netizens and fans for waiting, and Heavenly King Liu's studio expresses its deepest apologies.』
Scheduling conflicts?
What kind of excuse was that?
Heavenly King Liu didn't have any scheduling conflicts at all!
The singers who were watching closely, expecting Heavenly King Liu's new song to crush the up-and-coming newcomer Zhou Chen, were utterly dumbfounded.
Could it be that Heavenly King Liu lacked confidence in the album he had spent half a year meticulously crafting?