Chapter 496: Preparing for a Solo Concert

Chapter 496: Preparing for a Solo Concert

After midnight, the first-day sales figures for the album *Dreaming* were released.

The fifty thousand physical copies sold out went without saying. After the pre-order function was activated on online channels, total pre-orders on the three major e-commerce platforms smoothly exceeded fifty thousand before midnight. In other words, if Meng Fan had prepared enough albums, selling one hundred thousand physical copies on the first day would have been no problem. And that number, to be honest, was terrifying. Even in the heyday of the record industry, few could sell one hundred thousand on the first day. It showed just how explosive Meng Fan’s popularity was.

As for digital album sales on Penguin Music, if there was an adjective for it, it would be "dominating everything instantly."

Sales in the first hour ranked third in history; sales in the second hour tripled the previous record for a single hour; and first-day sales (which were actually only fourteen hours) nearly doubled the previous first-day record by twenty times!

The previous first-day record holder was a young idol singer, whose first-day sales were mainly propped up by the first three hours. By the second hour, Meng Fan had already tripled him, and the gap only widened from there.

Of course, although that young idol’s subsequent performance was mediocre compared to his early hours, his album still ranked in the top ten of the historical charts. After all, digital albums had only truly become popular in recent years, and many popular and talented singers hadn’t necessarily released new albums in that time.

For instance, the capricious Jay Chou himself once said the reason he hadn’t released an album in a long time was—"I’m just playing around right now!" Even so, an album he released four years ago had entered the top three in sales.

Shi Shiwu was relatively diligent. Besides *Little Bottle*, released at the end of 2017, which entered the top ten, his latest album from the end of 2019 also made the top ten. His strength and popularity were undeniable.

Li Chunchun also had two albums in the top ten, occupying the first and third spots. In terms of qualifications, strength, and popularity, she couldn’t be compared to the so-called top-tier influencers of today. As for fan purchasing power, the Corn family had few rivals in China. The most crucial point was that both the idol and her fans were low-key in action and humble in demeanor—very Zen-like.

Time sifts the sand. How many of today’s trending stars could endure the ups and downs for years or even decades like Li Chunchun? Forget enduring; how many could break out of their niche without relying entirely on fans to pay the bills? And plenty couldn’t even sustain their niche for a few years.

Those who truly persevered were naturally the best. However, the current entertainment industry environment was such that it wasn’t that these trending idol artists weren’t working hard, but rather that capital was too ugly. Most of them drained the artistic life of their artists, giving them no room for learning or growth. They just exploited them until the contract ended, then discarded them and moved on to the next.

Of course, there were also trending female stars or young idols who worked hard and whose companies gave them opportunities to learn and grow. They gradually moved from being criticized by outsiders to being recognized, thus breaking out of their niche.

Returning to the topic, Meng Fan’s *Dreaming* had broken into the top ten of the historical digital album sales chart by around eleven o’clock that night. The speed was so fast that—well, no one was surprised. Three hours after its release, people were already predicting that Meng Fan’s album would definitely make it into the top ten.

Speaking of the data, it was all fine. What really made netizens, especially casual observers, want to flood Weibo with these numbers was the quality of the songs. Besides the title track *Dreaming*, several other songs had also become hits, trending on hot searches. The number of loops was beyond mention.

Beyond the internet, the album was also a hit in real life. That very night, countless stores across the country were already playing songs from *Dreaming*.

"Ding! Successfully released an album and achieved 100,000 sales. Completed [Singer] sub-task two. Reward: Singing skill +1, Points +500."

This notification appeared shortly after *Dreaming* went on sale. The entire achievement task [Singer] now only had sub-task three left unfinished. That sub-task required holding a solo concert with an audience of 10,000. For Meng Fan, this wasn’t even a requirement. A concert for ten thousand people? He could arrange it in no time.

The next day, Meng Caiwei left with the cast of *Crossing the River Pawn* for a film festival in Europe. Bai Zhi and Su Qingcen accompanied her. Bai Zhi, as a fellow cast member, naturally received an invitation. *Crossing the River Pawn* had quite a few nominations this time, including Best Actress and six other awards like Best Picture.

As for Su Qingcen, like many domestic actors and singers who hadn’t been nominated, she also received an invitation. After all, it was one of the three major European film festivals—a chance for exposure and a matter of prestige. Almost everyone invited went, and Su Qingcen was no exception. However, unlike pure red-carpet walkers, she also had performance duties and other festival-related activities to attend. She held a major endorsement deal in the host country, so a trip there naturally involved some events.

With the three best friends going together, there was bound to be some "street-sweeping" shopping sprees. Mentioning that, Wu Tong, who had no painting restoration tasks at the Forbidden City in the coming days, inexplicably found herself with a plane ticket and joined them, along with Meng Caiwei’s friend Jiang Shangshang.

Meng Fan drove Meng Caiwei and Wu Tong to the international airport in Shanghai, then immediately returned to Hangzhou. These days, he occasionally drove, and his driving skills had improved significantly. He could now handle the sports car given to him by that tycoon from Qatar. After returning, he immediately sought out Shi Shiwu, who was still in Hangzhou.

"Solo concert?"

Shi Shiwu, dragged out of bed by Meng Fan by force, was still groggy. After washing up, he perked up a bit, eating the steamed buns and fried dough sticks Meng Fan had brought, paired with coffee—quite the aesthetic. "You want to hold a solo concert? That’s not a big deal. You’ve got stage experience, you’ve been through all kinds of big scenes, you’ve got thick skin and good stamina. You can handle a solo concert no problem. As for the concert’s song list, one album’s worth of content is enough to fill it. If not, throw in a few anime songs, or some covers. You can also invite a few guest performers to stretch the time. As for the audience, are you planning for fifty thousand or eighty thousand?"

Before Meng Fan could answer, he answered himself: "Well, that probably isn’t a problem for you either. So go ahead. If you have trouble finding a team, I can lend you my concert team."

Meng Fan laughed. "No need for fifty or eighty thousand. Ten thousand people is enough."

Shi Shiwu studied Meng Fan carefully, unconvinced. "Since when did you become so modest?"

(End of chapter)