Plonk Sound
Time was ticking away, and outside the window, the night grew even quieter, calm and peaceful.
After an enjoyable and secretive conversation, Miaoyi ended the call with a bewildered expression, slamming her phone on the desk with a satisfying "plonk" sound.
The phone call lasted for half an hour, which didn't give her much time to process the new information she had just received. After staring at her phone for a bit, a quivering smile appeared on her lips, "So, this K... K/DA project has been in motion for three years?"
Yes, that's right. This was the reason behind Miaoyi's loss of composure, as well as the content of her recent conversation with Song Ziyin!
Song Ziyin explained it to Miaoyi like this: Riot Games -specifically the Korean branch- has had a bounty posted for three years now for electronic music artists and idol girl groups worldwide. They're openly searching for personal images and exclusive single releases with full rights to create a set of LOL champion skins that Riot has been planning for a long time... It means that if a girl group truly meets the criteria and is chosen by Riot, they will have a set of exclusive skins tailored for them and become the real-life ambassadors of those skins.
The project had been in motion for three years, starting from the S5 season. Riot has been searching for suitable targets, offering extremely generous rewards and incentives under the name: K/DA project!
K/DA!
Miaoyi, a resident from an alternate reality of Earth, was familiar with these letters. In fact, every LOL player was familiar with these letters, and their fame even spread beyond the gaming culture.
K/DA was a series of skins created by Riot Games for the season 8 finals opening ceremony. Within the game world, K/DA was an Idol group from Riot Records, which takes place in a separate "skin universe" from the rest of the game. The reason this was special was the effort put into both the character design, as well as the quality of both the music, and the video that goes with it.
The group consisted of four animated characters, each with their own distinctive looks and personalities. In her original world, Riot Games used real artists as their voice actors, two solo artists, Madison Beer and Jaira Burns, and two members of the straightforwardly named idol group, (G)I-DLE.
It became a running joke that Riot Games had become a music company that also made games, a statement that resonated deeply with Miaoyi.
However, the revelation by Song Ziyin today set some gears within Miaoyi's mind in motion. The fact that Riot in this world also had a proposal for the K/DA project -which was very conveniently delayed- gave Miaoyi a clearer view of the whole picture.
Song Ziyin had been eager to recruit her into the team precisely because she had ideas about this K/DA project. After all, having a powerful electronic music producer on the team would undoubtedly save them from many detours.
The rewards and incentives for this project were quite tempting, at least for Song Ziyin.
"Well, this is getting interesting," Miaoyi murmured, her eyes sparkling with a different light.
She never expected that to be Song Ziyin's reason for wanting her in the group...
And so, as Miaoyi processed the information and contemplated her newfound involvement, she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of her situation.
After all, who would have thought that even in this world, Riot Games was delayed...
- - - - - - - - - -
The night passed quickly, with the moon sinking and the sun rising. It was November 20th, 9:30 in the morning.
Inside the headquarters of East Records in the imperial capital, within the Data Monitoring and Management Department--
The monitoring room was not particularly large, barely measuring thirty to forty square meters. Several computers were placed there, and a person sat in front of each screen, attentively observing their respective displays.
Huo Bei, the usually domineering team leader, now stood with his hands behind his back, appearing cautious as if facing a formidable enemy. He was ready to jump into action at any moment.
In front of him stood the manager in charge of the entire East Records, as well as several decision-makers. It was a row of big shots he rarely encountered, all with serious expressions, sipping hot tea absentmindedly. The atmosphere was tense.
Huo Bei was well aware of why this scene unfolded in the Data Monitoring and Management Department.
It was all because today, apart from "Countdown," TMY's other three new singles were officially released on iTunes, marking this the first day under the international spotlight.
"What's the current situation?" Taking a casual sip of hot tea, the manager asked in a calm tone.
"We're entering the account. We're almost there," Huo Bei replied promptly.
"Good, hurry up then." Nodding, the manager took a deep breath, regaining composure. After all, as a manager of a major label, he had to present the demeanour expected of him. While others could afford to be unstable, he had to remain steady no matter what.
Fortunately, one good thing about iTunes was that its data was updated in real-time. This meant that the platform's charts were refreshed periodically without needing to wait for significant data updates.
At least, there was no need to be too anxious.
"Report, we're in!" Soon, a staff member on the side swiftly reported.
This instantly grabbed the attention of everyone present, and they all rushed toward the computer that made the sound.
Suppressing the overwhelming psychological pressure, Huo Bei took a deep breath and looked at the computer screen. There, a chart appeared before his eyes.
The wisdom of the decision to sail TMY beyond oceans would be tested at this very moment!
It was clear that as the person who strongly advocated for the release of TMY's new singles on iTunes, if the response and performance of these singles didn't meet expectations, even as the manager, he would be hard-pressed to avoid blame.
The screen displayed: "iTunes International Chart - Electronic Music Category, Weekly Top Chart."
No. 1: "EDM Star" - Rlex.Future
Region: North America, USA
Total sales...
He quickly skipped over the first spot, knowing that it was highly unlikely to see TMY in such a top position.
Meanwhile, firmly occupying the top spot was Rlex.Future, a fearsome and dominant new DJ from America, rapidly gaining popularity in English-speaking regions. He was well-known, having ranked 74th in last year's Top 100 and most likely appearing in this year's upcoming list. He was a force to be reckoned with, establishing himself as a powerful emerging talent.
But all of that was unrelated to TMY. Other artists' dominance was their own affair. The most important thing now was to find TMY.
After scrolling through the chart for a while, the members of East Records finally found what they were looking for.
No. 26: "Faded" - TMY, Song Ziyin
Region: Asia, China
Total sales: 619,700
Weekly sales: 619,700
No. 29: "Levels" - TMY
Region: Asia, China
Total sales: 533,200
Weekly sales: 543,200
No. 33: "With You, Friends" - TMY...
Three new singles, one at 26, one at 29, and one at 33! All of them surpassed half a million in sales!
It was a number that no one had expected, leaving them dumbfounded.
At first glance, these rankings might seem like just the twenties and thirties, and what made them so remarkable wasn't apparent. But as someone experienced in the industry, they understood the significance.
These were the top 50 on the international chart of iTunes, not the domestic version used by many clever artists to artificially boost their egos. So, when looked at in this context, was this ranking considered low?