From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Average viewership: 6.3 million. Peak instant viewership: 7 million.

Average rating: 5.7. Peak instant rating: 6.6.

The aforementioned data, placed on any late-night program on any television station, would be shocking; even not limited to the late-night time slot, it would still be astonishing, easily ranking among the top three in all-day programs, undoubtedly dropping a depth charge on the North American continent—

Submarines, one after another, surfaced.

And all of this was just the viewership result of the forty-minute second half of "The Tonight Show."

It might sound absurd, but if you added the viewership data from the first half with Natalie and Ivan's interview, the final average score would actually decrease significantly.

Although this was still enough for "The Tonight Show" to easily crush a group of competitors, effortlessly creating the best viewership results of the first half of 2002 and continuing to solidify its position as the king of talk shows; but since when did "Star Wars," the undisputed king of traffic in North America, become a burden dragging it down?

Ridiculous!

However, all of this was indeed happening.

Viewership numbers were the most direct and accurate evidence, and even "The Tonight Show" production team themselves did not expect such an outstanding performance.

Of course, they had a feeling that the show would do well, but to be this outstanding?

Incredible.

Perhaps, Jay Leno was the only exception.

No wonder Jay Leno was so confident, even going directly to NBC television executives, not hesitating to make a big deal out of it. Otherwise, with Jay Leno's twenty years of experience in Hollywood, how could he resort to higher-ups over minor matters?

It seemed, as Jay Leno himself said:

This is his show, and he knows the effect better than anyone else. If the show's quality wasn't satisfactory, why would he ruin his own reputation to please an independent band?

After the viewership results were released, the reasons behind Jay Leno's series of actions became clear.

Even more surprising and absolutely worth mentioning was that the peak viewership moment was not during the opening or closing musical performances, but during the interview segment.

The moment Anson got up to leave the studio.

To be precise, it was the moment Anson switched from being in a band to being an actor, and it was also the rare moment when Jay Leno was caught off guard.

This scene, this moment, sparked widespread discussion in countless households, and one could imagine the spectacular sight of jaws dropping across television screens.

This, was the pinnacle.

In other words, Adam Scott's worries did not materialize. Not only did they not materialize, but on the contrary, Anson's eloquence, performance, and reactions became the biggest highlight of the show, even surpassing the band's stunning performance and becoming the highlight of the entire evening.

Things, just happened like that.

Moreover, the ratings frenzy was only one aspect. The media frenzy led by "The Los Angeles Times" was the true climax of this show.

"From the streets of Manhattan to 'The Tonight Show' studio, an independent band treks to chase the dawn of their dreams."

"Jay Leno's bold attempt: An unknown band shines on 'The Tonight Show.'"

"No name, no record, the underdog journey of a makeshift band."

"So, is this... an octet piano performance?"

"From 'Wake Me Up' to 'Heroes,' an unknown band ignites midnight fever in North America."

"Wonderful, exquisite, incredible, a breath of fresh air—however, unreleased."

"Captivating from the first note, the birth of a brand new band."

Focus, sensation, discussion.

The result?

A frenzy arrived, completely detonating.

First and foremost, it was still the related reports of "Star Wars: Episode II". Like a mountain torrent, it poured down mightily, worthy of being the king of traffic.

Among them, there were scattered reports about the band.

But, gradually, reports focusing on the band began to surface, sweeping across the field of vision with an overwhelming momentum.

Reporting on "Star Wars: Episode II" was a habit. Regardless of the show's effect, the reports still needed to keep up. No reporter would be foolish enough to miss it.

Reporting on the unknown band was a passion. As Jay Leno said, such an eye-catching and topic-igniting band was actually a loosely organized makeshift group. Not to mention recording songs, they couldn't even be considered a band, which was absolutely a bizarre and magical scene.

The band, had no name.

The performed songs, had no titles.

What kind of absurd scene was this?

After the show aired, if the audience was interested in the band or songs, they were helpless. There was no way to buy albums, no way to request songs on the radio, and even no way to listen to them again.

This was not imagination, but reality.

It was so absurd that people couldn't help but laugh. The well-informed media also said:

This scene, had never been experienced before.

Thus.

Major and minor media outlets, without needing to be mobilized or greeted, spontaneously focused, and the discussion surrounding the band couldn't stop—

Sincere discussions unfolded.

The heatwave, gradually surpassed and submerged "Star Wars: Episode II".

Later, a laughable scene did indeed unfold on the North American continent.

In 2002, the development of the internet was limited. If you accidentally heard a song that you liked very much but couldn't find, calling the radio station to request the song was the simplest method, and the radio airplay rate was also an important reference indicator for the charts.

After this episode of "The Tonight Show" aired, a phenomenon appeared simultaneously in different cities and regions of North America, with minor differences.

Listeners called radio stations, requesting songs, but couldn't say the song title or the singer, they just hummed a melody, or gave a strange name that they guessed, hoping the radio host could help.

Something like "Let Me Go," something like "Young and Ignorant," something like "Perceive the Road," something like "Lost Myself," something like "Masquerade," something like "Walk With Me."

Strange and bizarre.

These were completely unheard of song names. All kinds of "mishearing masters" emerged, adding laughter to radio programs and becoming topics of conversation.

But without exception, no radio host could help.

There was no way, was no way—

Even if the listeners accurately said "The Tonight Show Band," or hummed a melody, the radio station still couldn't help, because the band had not released any records.

Laughably, "The Tonight Show Band" left a legend. Everyone knew that band, but no one knew the band's name, so they all used "The Tonight Show Band" instead, becoming a nickname.

An unintentional act yields unexpected results.

If this was a project, a mysterious band carefully planned by a record company, it would often be difficult to succeed, because being too deliberate would destroy the natural feeling; but now, things just happened like that, becoming a phenomenon.

Moreover, this was still not all.

As of now, there were only two waves of heat. The third wave, had just arrived.