Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 91: Billboard Hot 100 Chart Entry

"Double happiness upon the doorstep?"

Now it was Renly's turn to be confused. How could he, as the person involved, not know what he had done today?

Everyone in the audience raised their hands high, applauding Renly's celebration—celebrating Renly winning his second role in his acting career. But Renly, standing on the stage, was still utterly bewildered.

Stanley immediately noticed Renly's confusion and burst into laughter, saying to Neil, "See, I told you, he definitely doesn't know anything, not a single clue."

Neil, however, didn't care at all. He excitedly rubbed his hands together, saying, "Trust me, trust me, after you see this news, you'll be as happy as we are!" Then he turned around to the back of the stage, found a rope, and pulled it down. A banner dropped down with a loud "swish," displaying large letters conveying the message accurately:

Congratulations "Cleopatra" on entering the Billboard Hot 100!

Renly's eyes widened involuntarily, his teeth biting down hard, almost dislocating his jaw. This... this... was even more unbelievable than when he defeated Ryan Reynolds to get the role in "Buried". To be precise, it was like something out of a fairy tale. Even if Renly guessed a hundred times, he wouldn't have associated the surprise with the Billboard Hot 100!

"See, I told you!" Neil shouted loudly, unable to contain his excitement, his face full of unbridled joy. "I told you!" Then he rushed over, giving Renly a big hug. "It's happening, it's all happening! Can you believe it? Just announced this morning on the latest Billboard Hot 100 chart, 'Cleopatra' really made it onto the list!"

Just a while ago, "Cleopatra" had climbed the iTunes instant download chart thanks to the popularity of "The Pacific". Renly thought that was already unbelievable enough and considered it a passing fad, not paying much attention to it. However, the development of things exceeded Renly's expectations.

Three weeks ago, a feature article in The Fader magazine strongly recommended the song "Cleopatra", once again elevating the song's popularity in a surprising way.

The Fader is an independent professional music magazine in North America, founded in 1999. With its lively style, sharp language, and humorous titles, it quickly became a best-selling magazine. Its professional attitude and music reviews became its biggest selling points, and it rapidly grew in just five years, surpassing two other independent music magazines, "Spin" and "Blender", threatening the position of the top magazine in the industry, "Rolling Stone", forcing the latter to attempt a new style.

In 2005, The Fader was voted the best music publication in the United States.

However, in recent years, the powerful impact of the internet began to challenge the dominance of traditional print media. The operations of many magazines faced bottlenecks, including The Fader. After several failed attempts at reform and innovation, The Fader officially announced its cessation of publication last April—only ceasing the print edition, but continuing to publish the online version.

Although the print edition had become history, The Fader's online version still received enthusiastic acclaim, especially among the younger generation of readers. Relying on Facebook, Twitter, and the timeliness of the internet, The Fader's influence remained undiminished, and its authority was unquestionable. Many people were willing to explore their favorite independent musicians from The Fader's recommended music list.

In the first week of May's issue, The Fader's professional music critic Clyde Coughlin wrote a special review on folk music.

The first half of the article mentioned the dismal situation of folk music in the United States, even among independent musicians, folk singers had almost disappeared. Currently, the truly developed areas for folk music were still in Britain and Ireland, where outstanding music and creators appeared every year.

Clyde believed that the real reason for this situation was the lack of foundation in American music. Folk music is a form of music that requires a deep literary foundation and profound thinking ability. Since Bob Dylan, there had been almost no commendable folk creators in the American music scene for nearly twenty years. Especially under the strong assault of commercial interests, music, like movies, began to industrialize, gradually losing its own characteristics and falling into an inescapable quagmire.

Just as Hollywood was losing its artistic quality and becoming a paradise for commercial films, North American music was also heading down this irreversible path. Not only folk music, but also popular, hip-hop, electronic, and other music genres were like this.

The latter half of the article recommended some noteworthy folk singers.

First and foremost was the Train Band. "Hey, Soul Sister" strictly belonged to the alternative rock category, but the song combined folk, soul, and rock styles, forming the unique temperament of the Train Band, winning applause. This single didn't attract any attention at the beginning of its release, but with word-of-mouth spreading, it gradually entered the public eye, ultimately achieving unbelievable results—

At the time of the article's publication, "Hey, Soul Sister" had already entered the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, the first folk single to achieve such success in ten years since Elton John, causing a stir and also serving as the motivation for Clyde to write this article.

In addition, singers such as Gotye, Iron & Wine, Jack Johnson, The Weepies, and Mumford & Sons were also on Clyde's radar.

Among them, Renly's name was prominently listed.

"This is a mysterious guy, almost impossible to find any relevant information. So far, he has only created one single, quietly disappearing like a missing person. But with just this single, this newcomer is enough to attract everyone's attention.

'Cleopatra' is a cheerful and sad single, with poeticism and profound meaning between the lines, beautifully heartbreaking, bringing people back to the beauty of music. The lyrics follow Cleopatra, the most famous tragic woman in history, telling a story about women, love, and freedom. The lively notes and bitter sadness burst forth under the touching interpretation, emitting an indescribable charm, making people unable to extricate themselves.

'The only gifts from my Lord

Were a birth and a divorce

But I've read this script and the costume fits

So I play my parts.'

Life is like a drama, everyone is just an actor on the stage, but they are involuntary, can only follow the script written by God, like puppets on strings, without freedom, without life, without a soul. The beautifully poetic vocabulary touches the softness in every listener's heart, the sadness is misty in the eyes, and the surging reflection follows, reminiscent of Bob Dylan.

Renly, his future is worth looking forward to."

A brief review, but it was not stingy with praise. It was clear that Clyde admired Renly.

After this article was published, it undoubtedly sparked widespread discussion once again. Whether it was the heated discussion about folk music or the attention to recommended singers, a frenzy of discussion erupted online, and Renly naturally became the focus of attention.

Initially, people didn't connect the singer Renly with the actor Renly. After all, there were too many newcomers in the entertainment industry every year. The screening of "The Pacific" had ended nearly a month ago, and the hype had subsided. The influence of YouTube videos was also very limited. However, the truth was quickly discovered—after all, this was the internet age, and the power of netizens was strong without the need for further explanation. And then, the internet exploded.

A promising newcomer actor turned out to be a talented newcomer singer? Expectations soared.

In just three weeks, the exposure rate of "Cleopatra" began to rise visibly, first entering the top twenty of the iTunes instant download chart, ranking sixteen, and even continuing to rise slowly. The daily increase in downloads was also stunning; then the video's click-through rate on YouTube also skyrocketed, jumping from two million directly to twenty million, a tenfold increase!

When "The Pacific" was aired, the video attracted a lot of attention, but objectively speaking, it was just a mini-series broadcast on cable TV, and its influence was ultimately limited. The real test would come after entering the videotape market. The audience base was still relatively weak, with only one out of a hundred people searching for Renly because of the character Eugene "Sledge Hammer" Sledge. Placed in the world of online video with click rates calculated in billions, the two million click-through rate of "Cleopatra" was really nothing.

This time, The Fader's powerful influence on the internet was fully manifested. "Cleopatra" even entered the ranks of the week's trending videos, attracting countless views. In addition to the twenty million click-through rate, the daily new click-through rate had exceeded five hundred thousand, not only not weakening but also strengthening. Even the number of likes had surpassed one hundred thousand.

Unexpectedly, "Cleopatra" became so popular that netizens became interested in the singer Renly, starting to search for his information. Then Google's links attracted netizens to the relevant pages of "The Pacific", thereby sparking another wave of heated discussions about the series. Yahoo Community's posts became lively again.

This was a result that Clyde hadn't anticipated before writing the review.

Previously, the TV series brought attention to the music; now, the music was boosting the popularity of the TV series. As a newcomer, Renly's number of discussions in just three months completely deviated from the normal track.

Thus, a miracle was born!

Without a physical album or radio airplay, "Cleopatra" miraculously entered the top one hundred of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Renly's first officially listed single!