A Leap Forward

Breaking News: "Ophelia" Officially Released on iTunes and Spotify!

Despite the lack of promotion, the recent popularity on YouTube quickly brought this exciting news to the attention of netizens. Someone immediately logged onto the Yahoo community to share the news, mentioning "Cleopatra (Arranged Version)" and expressing, "That damned Renly Hall finally decided to officially record it. Now we can finally listen to the full studio version. Jesus Christ, I've been listening to the original version for five months!"

The post quickly attracted a lot of attention and discussion, with speculations about deliberate hype once again surfacing here and there. On the thirty-seventh comment of the thread, "BrandoMania" posted:

"No matter Renly Hall's family background, the objective fact is he didn't use any resources for promotion. The 'Ophelia' video only got popular on YouTube with no follow-up coverage. 'Cleopatra' has been online for half a year with zero promotional resources, relying solely on word of mouth.

Regardless of any strong backing behind Renly Hall, the objective fact is, apart from professional reviews by 'The Fader' and 'Billboard,' it has entirely relied on netizens' excitement and attention to reach this point. There have been no tabloid scandals, no gossip hype, no radio ads, and no TV promotion.

Whatever the case, the fact remains that 'Cleopatra' and 'Ophelia' are genuinely good music. Isn't that what matters most?"

BrandoMania's post quickly sparked heated discussions among netizens. Some supported it, some opposed it, and some just watched the drama unfold. Overall, supporters had the upper hand, and gradually, this opinion became mainstream. The controversy, not too big or too small, quietly died down – after all, Renly is just a newcomer with limited discussion value.

However, this small controversy once again boosted the post's popularity, and more people became aware of "Ophelia's" official release.

Within just six hours of the single being uploaded, "Ophelia" smoothly entered the top 200 on iTunes' real-time download chart!

At first glance, the top 200 may not seem impressive, but considering there were no announcements, previews, reminders, or promotions, it's remarkable. It was purely driven by netizens playing detective, achieving such results is truly rare. And this is just the beginning.

As the news spread, "Ophelia's" download numbers soared at a visible speed, reaching the top 100 by 3 PM – only nine hours after the upload. The momentum continued, prompting questions like, "Since when did folk music become so popular?"

By 9 PM, "Ophelia" had climbed to the 14th spot on iTunes' real-time download chart, with its upward trend finally slowing. This development curve can only be described as incredible, showcasing the immense power of the internet era. Achieving such success without spending any promotional resources is truly astonishing.

Meanwhile, "Cleopatra (Arranged Version)" also garnered significant attention. Compared to "Ophelia's" hype effect, this single's appeal was more about word of mouth. Despite not having explosive download numbers, it still showed considerable staying power.

By 9 PM, "Cleopatra (Arranged Version)" ranked 64th on iTunes' real-time downloads, but by midnight, it had risen to 31st – while "Ophelia" remained at 14th.

Of course, the most noteworthy is the original version of "Cleopatra," uploaded in March. The day after the Emmy Awards, it peaked at third place on iTunes' real-time download chart, just behind Eminem and Rihanna's "Love The Way You Lie" and Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream."

This was an incredible breakthrough. Although "Cleopatra" only stayed at third place for 24 hours before sliding down, it was still encouraging. A week later, with the new singles gaining attention, "Cleopatra's" download numbers were somewhat diluted by the arranged version but still on an upward trend, occupying the 49th spot on iTunes' real-time download chart.

The success is beyond words. While these are only the results within 24 hours, and the future trend remains unpredictable, the buzz generated in such a short time is comparable to that of well-known pop artists. No one can deny that these two singles have indeed made a splash, considered a miracle in the indie music scene.

In recent years, many indie artists have released their singles through new platforms like Songcast, but their performance has generally been mediocre. In this information explosion era, without sufficient promotional support, breaking through is extremely difficult, with most singles failing to even enter the top 200 on iTunes, their download numbers hovering in the double digits. The plight of indie music is evident.

Now, "Ophelia" and "Cleopatra" have achieved such outstanding results by chance, undoubtedly a boost for the indie music scene!

But the story isn't over yet.

iTunes's streaming data is just one of many metrics for gauging a music work's success and popularity. The Billboard in the U.S. and the UK's Official Charts are the true benchmarks for comprehensive commercial performance in music.

The Billboard chart for the second week of September will be released on September 6th – the same day "Ophelia" was released, so its results will naturally be counted next week. However, "Cleopatra," which has been on the chart for two months, became the most notable single this week.

Last week, "Cleopatra" was still at the 89th spot, barely hanging on, but this week it rocketed to 48th place, not only becoming the single with the largest leap in ranking this week but also successfully entering the top 50!

This isn't iTunes' real-time download chart, nor is it Spotify or YouTube's daily play count chart. This is the Billboard, a commercial comprehensive index, where competition is incredibly fierce. Any single entering the top 50 is worth celebrating, especially for a folk song.

In the past decade, folk songs entering the Billboard top 50 are rare. Even Jason Mraz, currently one of the most successful, has only three singles in the top 100, with his record-breaking "I'm Yours" reaching a peak of 6th place but going no further.

This is the best commercial performance of a folk song in the past decade.

Now, "Cleopatra" has once again entered the Billboard top 50, breaking all barriers – without a music video, a physical album, promotional support, radio airplay, or a record label. This miracle is astonishing!

Though it's just 48th place, it still caused a sensation.

From obscurity to being sought after, from anonymity to a discussion focal point, "Cleopatra" has carved out an almost impossible development path, bursting through under a combination of favorable conditions. Suddenly, it seems like folk music has gained a bit more attention again, but how long this will last and what heights it will reach remain unknown.

Renly Hall, a newcomer who just made a splash at the Emmys, has now also made a stunning debut on the Billboard as a folk singer. The spotlight on him has suddenly increased. Reporters are starting to look for information about Renly, only to be greatly surprised –

They found nothing.

The journalists' findings were no different from the netizens'. Their only advantage was getting some basic information from the actors' union: height, weight, age, and confirmation of one question: Renly is from London. Finally, some outline of Renly's background started to appear, but beyond that, nothing.

In the internet age, everyone's information is exposed to the light of day, almost impossible to hide, even for ordinary people. The power of online "doxxing" is terrifying, let alone for public figures under the spotlight. Now, a mysterious figure like Renly, whose background and history can't be found, is incredible.

Journalists felt humiliated – it's one thing for netizens to find nothing, but for them, as professional information gatherers, also to come up empty-handed is embarrassing. Thus, their gossip fervor began to burn intensely. Silently, Renly became the target of many.

Then came September 9th, Thursday.

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200 powerstones - 1 bonus chapter