King of Stage

This summer seems to be particularly long.

In April, you can already feel the footsteps of the rolling heat wave approaching. In a blink of an eye, August has slipped to the end and is about to embrace September. The sweltering heat is still in full swing.

It is already six o'clock in the evening, and the sun hanging above the blue sea horizon is still bright and bright. The orange-red sunset glow in the sky will reflect the faces of passers-by into a red apple, with slightly blush cheeks and dripping sweat People can't wait to jump directly into that Wang Weilan.

buzz buzz.

buzz buzz.

The surging heat waves are mixed with the roaring engines of the traffic, and the hustle and bustle of the sea of ​​people. Every pore can deeply feel the wantonness and publicity of summer. A small number of people want to stay indoors and enjoy the coolness and comfort of the air conditioner, but more Many people can't wait to go out, embrace the sun, embrace the ocean, embrace the summer, revel in the party, stepping on the heat wave to bloom their lives.

until the end of the world.

That's the case at the Staples Center.

Even though it is now during the break of the NBA regular season, the summer league can still ignite the focus of attention every week. What's more, the performances and competitions that are on stage are open all year round. Every weekend, you can find the bustling crowds here and feel the population. Density frontal impact.

Today, it is no exception.

Everyone, everyone.

Dense crowds gathered in layers, from 500 to 1,000, from 5,000 to 10,000, from 20,000 to 50,000... The numbers have long since lost their meaning, and every corner of the Staples Center It was crowded with people, as if half of Los Angeles had already poured out.

Even when the Los Angeles Lakers played in the Finals, it was not so lively.

Because as a basketball venue, the maximum capacity of the Staples Center is 20,000 people, which means that no matter how crowded the crowd is, there is an upper limit; but now it can be seen that the crowd is more than twice as crowded as the basketball game There is only one possibility for the grand occasion that is enough to make a patient with intensive phobia faint on the spot——

concert.

As a concert venue, the Staples Center can accommodate between 30,000 and 50,000 people according to different arrangements and adjustments of seats.

Last year, when Bruno Mars boarded the Staples Center, the audience was 30,000; in the same year, Lady Gaga called for 50,000 audience at the Staples Center, which is also the top audience in North America. top performing venues in

New York's Madison Square Garden and New York's two jewels in the crown.

However, in today's general downturn in the global music market, even the 20,000-strong Staples Center is definitely not something that any singer can challenge.

It is precisely because of this that Staples Center and Madison Square Garden are known as "Dreamland", which is equivalent to the status of Lincoln Center for classical music. Countless singers dream that one day they will be able to stand in this area. Perform on stage. Among them, the Staples Center has been used as the venue for the Grammy Award Ceremony many times, which adds a bit of aura.

But I don't know who is going to be on the stage of the Staples Center tonight. Judging from the turbulent crowd at the scene, I'm afraid it has a lot of background.

Looking around, the red cheeks are full of excitement and excitement, and you can feel the surge of emotions from the bright eyes without words.

"Jenny, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

A young girl seemed to have met an acquaintance and cheered, but her mind went blank and she couldn't say anything, she just screamed forgetfully.

So did her friend, who responded with a scream.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

The two girls clasped their hands together, stood facing each other, and continued to jump on the spot, like rabbits, but the frenzied screams looked like groundhogs, and the joy and happiness radiating from their bodies were also infected. The other people around, even if their voices were a bit harsh, they all knew what they knew in their gazes.

Sophie Vierard also looked over, and naturally, the smile on the corner of her mouth rose up, shining with joy.

At this moment——

"Sophie! Here! Here! Sophie!"

A call came from the crowd, like thunder on the ground, Sophie looked over reflexively, and then she could no longer see the reserved appearance, the smile was completely blooming at the corner of her mouth, and she jumped up involuntarily, although she didn't make a sound, But use the whole body's movements to express their joy.

"Sophie! Aha! Found you!"

"Sophie, Sophie, long time no see."

"Haha, we're here, we're here!"

"Ahhh, so excited."

"Aha, the last time we met was in the Indio desert, right? It's been a year in the blink of an eye, so it's too fast."

"Kane, hurry up, what are you dawdling about?"

Amidst the chirping greetings, Kane Williams moved a little shyly, standing in front of Sophie, but a little at a loss, not knowing what to say, so he scratched his head foolishly and laughed.

That stiff look made the other people around roll their eyes, hating iron for being weak.

It was Sophie who greeted the show generously, "Hey, Kane, you are really here! I thought you would choose to watch it in Washington."

"How can that work? The Los Angeles field is special. This is the starting point of everything, and it is Ollie's dream. How can we miss it?" When Kane mentioned the familiar topic, he immediately became more at ease, and then turned his head to look at the scene. Looking around, my heart was surging, "Even if I got to the scene, I couldn't believe that there were so many people here."

Sophie leaned forward slightly, and blinked playfully, "Because we are all knights, no one wants to be absent."

Josh Harms is here, Danny Woodson is here, Mark Rich is here, Melissa Johansen is here, they're all here, and a group of old friends reunited here , no one wants to miss it. To be precise, everyone hopes to embark on this journey again.

Kane nodded emphatically, with a smile on his face, "Yes, we are all knights."

"knight!"

"knight!"

"knight!"

Josh was the first to boo, and then everyone cheered together. Kane and Sophie exchanged glances, smiled, and jumped up together, shouting loudly. That kind of pure joy and happiness cannot be expressed in words at all. indescribable.

Knight, come back.

One day the king came back—

To be precise, it should be Ronan Cooper who is back.

Exactly eight weeks ago, Atlantic Records dropped a blockbuster in the North American market: Ronan Cooper's first solo tour "King for a Day" officially launched!

In an instant, the situation changed!

In the first half of this year, the One Day King was ill-fated. First, Ollie died young and became a member of the "Twenty Seven Club"; then Ronan lost his hearing, and his music career suffered a serious blow at the peak; then It was Cliff and Maxim who successively announced their solo career and formed a new band.

So far, the smash hit One Day King has existed in name only.

In less than three years, the One Day King was born like a comet across the universe, shining with unbelievable brilliance. Whether it was the Grammy trophy or the results of the two albums, all of them fell overnight. The time has reached an incredible height, which is amazing.

But it was fleeting. The disintegration and ashes of the fireworks came so suddenly and so fast that it was over before even having time to recover, leaving only a sense of astonishment and regret. It is in full bloom, but it is not over yet, and the ceremony of remembering the king for a day has already followed.

For the Cavaliers, this is a period of collapse of faith and despair, even if it is only three months before and after, they are still distraught.

But neither sadness nor anger can restore Cliff and Maxim's heart. In addition, Ronan completely disappeared from sight because of his deafness. One day the king seems to have really become history. In a flash, this has become another legendary story in the entertainment industry.

It was a dark time, chaotic and disorderly, with no hope or light in sight. Perhaps, the music of One Day King is the only consolation.

Then, everything changed—

Ronan, back, that man is back!

Ronan, who was hit continuously, still did not surrender, and made his debut by airborne, declaring his return strongly, changing everything.

Originally, people still had doubts. One Day King is One Day King, and Ronan is Ronan. No matter how powerful Ronan is, it will not be the whole band. After leaving One Day King, how many knights can Ronan call for support? question mark.

Just like Cliff and Maxim.

Although with the halo of the One Day King, they are no longer unknown and do not need to worry about the embarrassment of being ignored, but after leaving the One Day King, they start from scratch. Everything is brand new and everything is strange. One day the king pays the bill but is not necessarily willing to pay for Cliff/Maxim.

In the past period of time, Cliff and Maxim have made a lot of noises, but after all, there is a lot of thunder and little rain, and there is still no reason for it.

So, what about Ronan?

Will it be different for Ronan as the lead singer?

It turns out that it is indeed different.

Atlantic Records officially announced that Ronan will no longer form a band, but return as a solo singer. A new beginning also means a new departure. The first tour is named "King for a Day" to commemorate Ollie and pay tribute knight--

"Life has never been a smooth road. Life is made up of accidents one after another. Many times we are often unable to change the status quo, but it does not mean that we have to compromise or give up. We still have the right to choose and become our own kings , even if just for a day.

Knights, never let life bring you down, because the end is never the end. "

This passage was written by Ronan himself, and it is also the reason for the tour's name - because the copyright of the band's name is in the hands of Atlantic Records, so Cliff and Maxim cannot raise objections.

The journalists with a keen sense of smell could already sense that the rain was about to come, and sure enough, there was no need to wait for the reporters to take the initiative to raise questions, the news was announced later.

Atlantic Records officially announced that the company has completed the signing ceremony with Ronan Cooper. This is a $60 million three-album deal, surpassing Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. Waiting for the popular superstar to write a new record——

The average contract per album is as high as 20 million US dollars, which also created the highest record after Mariah Carey's sky-high contract with Virgin Records in 1999.

Back then, Mariah Carey’s contract cost Viking Records a lot of money. Three years later, Viking Records paid 28 million US dollars in liquidated damages to terminate the contract. This also made all record companies cautious about signing subsequent contracts; So what's up with Atlantic's move?

At least, judging by the first wave of reactions on social networks, Atlantic's gamble paid off.

Full blown!

Mighty cheers filled the entire network, and the endless turbulent heat wave even broke out into a frenzy even stronger than midsummer.

For the knights, they all know that Ronan is the core of King One Day's creation. Even without a band, the soul of music still continues.

Of course, there are still some differences and controversies among the fanatical fans. There are still a small number of knights who want to see the band as a whole, but this kind of opinion is still a minority after all. Fans who like the band often follow the soul of the music, just like the Beatles. Same with John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Thus, the desperate knights found their enthusiasm again and burst out with incredible energy.

For the people who eat melons, in fact, they have only heard of the band One Day King, but I am afraid they don’t know who the band members are and how many people are in the band. In their impression, "One Day King is equal to Ronan- Cooper", such a formula has long been deeply imprinted in my mind.

It is precisely because of this that not only is there no controversy when learning that Ronan is flying solo, but it is a matter of course, "Didn't Ronan fly solo since last year?" In addition to the music of King One Day, the "classic" The collaborations, "Saturday Night Live" appearances, and stand-up performances were impressive.

Boom boom boom!

Boom boom boom!

Applause and cheers filled the air, and the "King for a Day" who had been silent for several months seemed to have found a way to continue his vitality in Ronan.

If it was just that, the media would not go crazy. After all, the popularity of social networks is mixed with water. The reporters really can't understand it all too well. Shouting is just shouting. The real situation still needs to be seen at the box office of the tour. Is it another time? The situation of "a lot of thunder and little rain".

Then, the "One Day King" tour officially opened for ticket sales.

The confidence and ambition of Atlantic Records can be seen from the tour cities and venue arrangements——

Both Los Angeles and New York are on the list, and the venues are Staples Center and Madison Square Garden respectively. This move alone can explain too many problems, but it is not all.

London, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, Magic City, etc., a total of 13 international metropolises are arranged, and the tour will also leave the North American continent for the first time to travel around the world, which is even more shocking.

At the beginning, even the king of the day could not reach the heights. Now Ronan climbed the peak vigorously. There was an uproar in the big news media.

Ambition is ambition, so how did the market respond?

All, sold out!

In North America, the tickets were sold out in just 37 minutes.

Among them, the 30,000 tickets for the Staples Center were sold out in less than eight minutes, and then the voice of the extra show could not wait to appear. Atlantic Records responded immediately, and the Staples Center released another 20,000 tickets, which also means that the utilization rate of the venue will reach the highest, it should be the rock area of ​​the audience, but the second batch of tickets was sold out again in less than 14 minutes.

shock!

"The greatest charm of the One Day King's performance lies in Ronan's live control and emotional expression. No one should miss Ronan's live performance."

The evaluation from the Cavaliers made a footnote for the frenzy of ticket sales.

Overseas regions also snapped up all the purchases in less than forty-nine minutes.

Tickets for the three games in London were sold the fastest, and it only took seven minutes before and after. It made people deeply feel how strong the overseas influence of the One-Day King is. I am afraid that overseas knights have also waited and waited. ’s tour was finally going overseas, but he didn’t expect that at the end of the round, the king still came one day, but this time there was only Ronan alone.

But also.

sensation!

From billing to selling out, Ronan's "One Day King's World Tour" has caused too many topics, which also convinced the news media. They really witnessed Ronan's sturdy popularity, and only then did they sigh:

Different, after all, still different.

But I don't know what it's like for Cliff and Maxim, and I don't know if there is any regret flashed deep in their hearts?

But these are not important anymore, all the knights from all over the world are summoned, eagerly looking forward to the start of the tour.

For the knights, this tour is also special and unique, and they even exploded with enthusiasm and madness that surpassed the love of "Departure".

As Kane and the others said, they hope to come to Los Angeles, not only to commemorate Ollie, not only to enjoy the performance at the Staples Center, but also to set sail again following Ronan's footsteps and embark on a new journey.

So, they gave up the Washington field and arrived in Los Angeles to join Ronan.

And they weren't the only knights with such thoughts.

In the crowd, Duncan Turner heard the passionate shouts, "Knights! Knights! Knights!"

Duncan was a little unfamiliar and reserved, but also a little excited and agitated, and then he raised his right hand high:

Three finger salute.

Calling on the knights to gather again, guarding the spirit of the king for a day, guarding Ollie's dream, and... guarding Ronan to continue his journey.

Jessica Ryder, the neighbor next door, laughed when she saw Duncan's actions. Although she was a little shy, she still raised her right hand and saluted with three fingers, and shouted one after another.

Now that they have bravely left New Orleans and embarked on a journey to Los Angeles to follow Ronan, it is better to let go of the burden, break free, and enjoy the happiness of the moment.

"knight!"

Looking at it, Jessica's smile is completely blooming, that kind of pure happiness is so simple and so wonderful.

Lucy Elder cheered, Ella Freeman cheered too, exchanged glances, couldn't help laughing happily, and then turned her head to see Emily Stein and Phoebe Fisher Two middle-aged women who have been working in the society for many years, they are more relaxed and more comfortable, jumping and cheering, and even signaled them to join the ranks with their eyes.

Lucy and Ella could feel the genuine friendliness even with strangers they had just met, and they jumped up too.

Lewis Rude looked at Ruth Holliday, who was jumping and laughing wantonly. The bright smile bloomed in the gorgeous sunset, as if he could feel the burning energy of the soul, which made Lewis laugh along with him.

Perhaps, they will never go back and become lovers again, but their memories will never disappear, and they are firmly bound together through music. This friendship is treasured in memory and becomes the most important existence in each other's lives , which seems to be more beautiful than love.

Then Lewis yelled at Ruth, "Knight!"

Ruth also shouted back to Lewis, "Knight!"

The shouts resounded through the sky, blooming wantonly under the blazing sunset, as if the whole world was shaking together, until night fell, until the end of time.

Hoo hoo.

Hoo hoo.

The air also boiled together.

"Ronan, are you ready?"

Johnny's voice came from the roiling heat. Ronan smiled and nodded gently, "Of course, this is my world."

Strong self-confidence can be felt in the understated words, which made Johnny smile, and then followed Ronan all the way forward, stopping at the side stage for the final confirmation before going on stage.

gurgling.

gurgling.

The turbulent air waves surged around the stage, even though it was a boundless darkness, you can still feel the bright and gorgeous frenzy, rushing towards your face, every pore on the surface of your skin can feel this energy in detail, The beating of the heart could not help but also speed up.

He is ready.

Footsteps stepped on the steps, ready to go on stage, but there was another shout from behind, "Ronan..."

Turning his head suddenly, Ronan saw Ollie.

Ollie, whose smile was still bright and brilliant, was happily waving at Ronan, put his hands to his mouth, and shouted at Ronan.

"Don't kneel down, enjoy the carnival! Ronan, keep running, keep singing, I'm by your side, always."

In an instant, my mood was surging, and my vision was slightly blurred.

"When the nightmare comes, gently wake you up, even if you close your eyes, I will bear the weight, but I will not speak, I will restrain myself and turn into the melody, just be the melody (Be-The-Song).

When the inner fear emerges in the eyes, the darkness blurs the sense of direction, I can't speak, I will restrain myself and turn into the melody, just become the melody.

Flowing along the mountains, love gathers in the valleys.

Flowing along the mountains, love gathers in the valleys. "(Note 1)

Ollie, dear Ollie, I know you are always there, entangled in my fingertips like a melody, follow me on the journey, keep going, keep running, keep chasing dreams.

I know. I always knew.

Believe me, I will carry on with your dreams until the end of time.

Thoughts, as if returning to that night, he appeared in New Orleans ignorantly, time and space were all chaotic, opened his eyes and saw Ollie in front of him, that magnified face was full of worry, but in After the chaos, I trusted him unconditionally and performed together on stage.

Together they performed "Don't Give Up Your Faith."

Since then, the melody has connected their lives together, becoming each other's best partners, fighting side by side and marching forward side by side, all the way to here.

"I've been here the whole time, you know that?"

"Well, I always knew."

He remembered the last conversation between him and Ollie in the Hilton Hotel that day. In his chaotic memory, the conversation that he thought had disappeared forever, he finally remembered again. He could even clearly see Ollie's face. The blooming smile is so clean and simple, just like a child.

In the hazy vision, Oli seemed to be calling out to Ronan, "Ronan, I'm always here, you know that?"

A burst of hot tears surged up, but Ronan seemed to be able to see a gorgeous smile blooming on Ollie's face, jumping on the spot and waving his hands vigorously, the corners of his mouth also rose together with Ollie, showing a light smile The curvature, and then happiness bloomed in the depths of the eyes.

Ronan nodded slightly, and murmured, "Well, I always knew."

Fingertips, gently across the side of the guitar, engraved with the name of "Olly Love", he felt the lines of the words with his fingertips, as if he could feel the heavy weight on his shoulders, On this next road, he is not walking alone, and he will never be alone again.

"Ronan! Get ready to go on stage!"

Johnny's voice came again, waking Ronan up, looking back, turning around, standing on the spot and taking a deep breath, his shoulders quietly straightened up, his chest was opened, his waist was straightened, his eyes gleamed with determination, and he walked step by step Climb up the stairs.

In front of him, a faint ray of light emerged from the boundless darkness. Quietly, it became brighter and brighter, just like the morning sun, tearing up the night and scattering the sun, and his footsteps were resolutely heading towards that ray of light. Walking forward, the tall and straight figure just blended into it.

In the ears, there was a roar, and the overwhelming roar was stirring for a long time.

"Ronan!"

"Ronan!"

"Ronan!"

The earth-shattering rolling sound filled the entire Staples Center, as if the whole world was shaking together.

The book is over.

Note 1: Become the melody (Be-The-Song——Foy-Vance)