**Chapter 181: Conspiracy**

Link called Anna to inquire about *Transformers 2* and the single.

Anna informed him that *Transformers 2* had a first-day box office of $82.95 million and, after five days, grossed $201.2 million in North America, making it the second highest in the "Five-Day Box Office Record." The film also earned $162 million overseas.

Because the film was a big hit and its theme song, "Give Me Reason," perfectly matched the movie's plot, it was humorously called the song's MV by viewers. As a result, many people chose to download the song online or buy the physical single after watching the movie.

In just five days, the single's total sales reached 627,000 copies, surpassing Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" by 5,000 copies in the second week of its release.

With a slight edge, Link's single topped the Billboard Hot 100, marking his second number-one single.

"So that's how it happened!"

When he and Graham discussed releasing the single before the movie, they aimed to leverage the film's popularity for promotion. They expected the song would sell a few more tens of thousands of copies after the movie's release, but selling 620,000 copies in a week and topping the charts was completely unexpected.

Anna explained that after the film's release, many mainstream media outlets actively promoted the single, praising its lyrics as positive and anti-war, making it a worthy song for promotion.

The video Link posted on YouTube in March had over 20 million views, with many fans leaving supportive messages, advising him to stay away from the rap scene and focus on pop and rock music.

The film's promotional trailers also featured the song as background music, with one trailer on YouTube receiving over 5 million views.

Additionally, the song was of high quality, and Link's performance was excellent.

These combined advantages helped "Give Me Reason" reach the top of the charts.

The fact that the song outperformed "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" and topped the Billboard Hot 100 shocked the industry.

Just two weeks ago, Link was embroiled in a feud with East Coast rap groups, and Jay-Z's single had taken the top spot.

Faced with numerous attacks from critics, Link's side had to compromise and announced a two-week delay for the new single.

But in just a week, he quietly reclaimed his position on the charts with a rock song, defeating Jay-Z once again.

This outcome was highly unexpected.

Many conspirators saw this news and unanimously believed it was part of Link's scheme. They claimed Link used various sophisticated tactics, including feints, strategic retreats, deceit, Trojan horses, and surprise attacks.

These conspiracy theorists considered him a tactical genius in boxing, using intricate strategies to defeat strong opponents.

Now he applied these tactics to the music industry, defeating the rap king Jay-Z and giving the East Coast rap crew a hard slap, which was quite impressive.

Jay-Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, and their fans were caught off guard by this sudden number-one single.

Previously, when Link Music announced a delay in releasing the song, they had privately mocked Link as weak, taking on the East Coast rap crew alone and overestimating his abilities.

But just a week later, the Billboard charts changed dramatically, with Link's pop-rock single dominating the charts.

"This must be Link's scheme. He pretended to be weak to lower our guard, then launched a surprise attack. What a despicable guy."

Lil Wayne said angrily.

Jay-Z remained silent, frowning and smoking his cigar.

Rihanna glanced at Jay-Z. She had signed with Jay-Z's Def Jam Recordings in 2005 and became one of his artists.

Her three albums were also produced with the help of Jay-Z, Kanye, and others, helping her establish herself in the North American music scene, maintaining close ties with the East Coast rap team.

However, frequently hearing Katie Perry talk about Link had given her a positive impression of him.

Rihanna thought for a moment and said, "I think this is a coincidence. 'Give Me Reason' suddenly sold so many copies in its fifth week. Link Music probably didn't anticipate this either."

"Rihanna, you're underestimating Link."

Lil Wayne shook his head. "Link Music initially said they wouldn't compete with us for the charts, but after *Transformers 2* was released, they immediately ramped up promotion for this song, with media outlets praising it. Isn't this competing with us for the charts? Also, the song's sales just surpass 'D.O.A.' by 5,000 copies. It's clearly a slap in the face. I suspect they might have hired people to boost sales."

Boosting sales is not uncommon in the music industry. There are companies that provide such services, though it's costly and can harm a singer's reputation if exposed. Independent labels rarely engage in such practices.

Only major record companies, when packaging their artists and giving them a bestseller halo, might use such unconventional methods.

Rihanna, having heard several of Link's songs, felt that his songwriting, composition, and performance were all impressive. With his many accolades and good image, selling so many copies was not surprising.

"Rihanna, Lil Wayne is right. Link is not a good guy."

Her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, said.

Rihanna shot him a glance, snorted, and turned away, crossing her arms and remaining silent.

"What should we do now? Should we still compete for the charts?" 50 Cent asked.

"Compete? That's the number one on the Billboard Hot 100, not just a category chart. It's too difficult to win the top spot."

Kanye said with a serious expression.

There are many musicians in the U.S., and new works are released every month. Songs that make it to the Billboard Hot 100 are all of high quality, making it extremely challenging to enter the top 50, let alone secure the top spot.

Even superstars like MJ only had 14 number-one singles, and legendary rock band The Beatles had 20 number-one singles, the highest in history.

Last time, Kanye's "Monster" had a chance to top the charts in its first week with 610,000 copies sold, but it faced competition from the Black Eyed Peas' hit "Boom Boom Pow," which topped the charts for twelve consecutive weeks, preventing other songs from rising.

It wasn't until Jay-Z released a single and everyone promoted it together that he snatched the top spot from the Black Eyed Peas, only to be dethroned by Link shortly after.

Realizing this, Kanye's eyes widened, and he showed an incredulous expression.

Link had only debuted six months ago and already had two number-one singles, whereas Kanye, in five years, had only four. At this rate, Link would catch up to him in less than two years.

"Damn it!! I will not let you succeed."

As they were talking, Kanye suddenly shouted angrily, kicked over the coffee table in the middle, then put on his hat and sunglasses, and stormed out without a word.

Everyone was stunned, but considering Kanye's bipolar disorder, they didn't take it too seriously.

"Jay-Z, the track 'Forever' that I recorded with Kanye, Eminem, and Drake is ready. It's of high quality. Should we release it early to boost the charts?"

Lil Wayne suggested.

Jay-Z, thinking for a moment while smoking his cigar, said, "Let's hold off on chart battles for now. We'll talk about it after MJ's concert ends."

Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and the others nodded in agreement and stopped arguing.

(The End of This Chapter)