King of Stage

"……I don't know either."

Ryan's voice broke the silence, and he seemed a little lonely and lonely in the surging night and neon lights, which made Ronan look away and turned his head to look at the past.

Light and shadow flowed outside the window, outlining the lines of Ryan's chubby face, which was simple and cute but revealed a temperament that was different from usual and different from the stage.

Inexplicably, the melody of "apology" emerged in Ronan's mind: it's too late, everything is too late. Behind the passionate and high-pitched release is heart-piercing pain and struggle. Only a soul that has really experienced it can interpret such emotions, and it can easily touch the hearts of the audience.

As if aware of Ronan's gaze, Ryan also turned his head, showing a faint smile, with a bit of bitterness and powerlessness, "We are still not completely out of the predicament."

This should be the first time that Ryan and Ronan discussed their respective situations in depth. When they spoke, they always felt a little abrupt, because their relationship should not have reached such a level, but after the words were spoken, they did not feel repulsive. Find a little sympathy in each other's eyes.

Facing Ronan's sight, Ryan widened his eyes and stuck out his tongue, making a dead man's funny face, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed.

"Actually, the success of 'Apology' was totally unexpected to me. I was so surprised by the response to the song that I didn't know what to do. Every day seemed to be living in a dream, even walking on the ground after getting up. It was like stepping on a cloud, everything happened so fast."

The Republic Era and One Day King are the same in many places.

Ryan Ted won the songwriting championship of the national TV competition as early as 2000, and was favored by the record company. He was luckier than Bruno Mars. The record company produced and released an album for him. Unfortunately, the record company The turnover was not good enough to declare bankruptcy, and the album failed to make any splashes. Instead, as a songwriter, Ryan gradually made some name in the industry.

In 2002, Ryan gathered a group of friends to form the Republic Era, and in the following year, he signed a contract with Columbia Records, a subsidiary of Sony Group, which was one of the top five record companies in the world at the time. , the band started to enter the tour mode early and is preparing to record an album.

However, ill-fated, due to various reasons, Columbia Records shelved the album, and in 2006 with the rescinded the Republic era contract, and then the band once again into the dark.

During those dark years, the band barely made ends meet on Ryan's songwriting income.

In 2006, the band continued to upload works through Juyou. "Apology" was the first single released in April of that year. In the era before Facebook dominated the market, Juyou was the leader of social network 1.0. They I also look forward to opening up the situation through the power of the Internet.

It's a pity that in the information ocean of the Internet age, the good talk that wine is not afraid of deep alleys has long since ceased to exist. The "apology" did not attract too much attention, but instead won Timbaland's attention again. Therefore, in 2007, Ryan is back under Timberlander's command—

As early as 2001, when Ryan's first record company went bankrupt, he joined Timberland as a producer assistant and began to learn the professional skills of the recording studio. He can also be regarded as Timbaland's disciple. Turning around, it was still Timbaland who took in Ryan.

In October 2007, eighteen months after "Apology" was officially released, Republic Times released a remix of "Apology" in collaboration with Timbaland.

Everyone knows the story that followed.

The Republic Era, Bruno Mars, King for a Day, they all have too many similarities,

To be precise, in the entire music industry, there are countless similar cases - Maroon 5, Joy, Shining Band, etc., have gone through a long period of waiting and struggling without a name, and met their own nobles:

Era of the Republic collaborated with Timbaland on "Apologize", Bruno and B.o.B cooperated on "Incomparable", and the One Day King served as Bruno's opening guest.

And then...become famous overnight and soar into the sky.

But being popular is just the first step in knocking on the door of Vanity Fair.

What the king of the day is experiencing now, the Republican era has experienced and is still experiencing.

"During that time, we were all lost, and our life and career were all in chaos. Even looking back now, I don't know what I was doing at that time, and how I got here. It's like It’s like having a long and real dream, and when we wake up, we are already standing on the edge of the cliff.”

Ryan looked at Ronan, with a bit of bitterness in his words.

In fact, Ryan had never had a deep conversation with other people before. On the one hand, he had no chance, and on the other hand, he was afraid to be honest. But facing Ronan, Ryan could also feel the sincerity and calmness behind those clear eyes. The faint warmth made it much easier to confess, as if the words had already been spoken without any effort.

Ronan also became heavy, "But everything is better now." He felt stupid, as if he had no better words than this chicken soup for the soul.

Instead, Ryan laughed happily, "No, Ronan, dear Ronan, things are not that simple." After saying the words that he never confessed, Ryan seemed to feel that a rock deep in his heart was loosening a little. , the whole person became relaxed, and gurgling laughter surged in his throat.

Naturally, the words flowed out continuously.

"Yes, indeed, the song 'Counting the Stars' changed our predicament and seemed to clear the fog again, but, Ronan, this is not all and it is not the end."

Ryan's explanation made Ronan suddenly realize——

For Republic Era, the three albums so far have shown a gradual decline, because people are too amazing and love the first album, which naturally raises their requirements and expectations, which also poses more challenges to the band.

Although the popularity of "Counting the Stars" has given the Republic era a breathing space, the next album is the winner. If it succeeds, everything is easy to say; if it fails, the band may soon fall into a more terrifying abyss. Moreover, the expectations of the audience will become more critical and harsher.

Between the ups and downs, the pressure only eased but never disappeared.

Vanity Fair is indeed a glamorous and glamorous place, but the pressure and attention that comes with it is also ten times and a hundred times.

Now Ronan is finally able to faintly understand the words circulating in Hollywood:

People living here are a bunch of lunatics. Maybe they were all normal people when they first entered Vanity Fair, but under the microscope of the spotlight, it is really difficult to continue to be normal.

Therefore, everyone needs to pay the price, and the law of conservation in nature is no exception here.