Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"...So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean, let the floods cross the distance in your eyes..."

In the Metropolitan movie theater, Link, holding a microphone and accompanied by the band, performed a song called "Give Me Reason."

This was the New York premiere of "Transformers 2," and Link had been invited to sing the movie's theme song before the film started.

Applause!

The performance ended to enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience.

Link waved his hand and went down to the front row to watch the movie, right when the 'Autobots' and 'Decepticons' were clashing, his phone vibrated a few times in his pocket.

He took it out, looked at it, and hesitated for a moment, then texted Anna.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! MJ's family already issued the obituary, it happened at two o'clock this afternoon."

Anna texted back.

Link shook his head and sighed.

He had had a premonition a few days before; originally, MJ's concert was scheduled for early June but had been postponed twice due to MJ's poor health. At the Lincoln Center rehearsal, only one session took place, and the rest were canceled because MJ was unable to attend.

Though he and MJ had only met twice and were not close, the disappearance of a familiar figure from the world also filled him with a sense of melancholic solidarity.

"Link, is the movie not good?"

Michael Bay, director of the "Transformers" series, asked.

"No, it's great, the most exciting movie I've seen this year."

Seeing Michael Bay's confused look.

Link smiled gently and shared the news of the other Michael's death; Director Michael Bay also responded with a sigh.

After the movie, on the streets, many electronic screens were broadcasting the news of MJ's death in Los Angeles.

The hospital announced that MJ had suffered a cardiac arrest at home and fell into a deep coma before being taken to the nearby University of California Los Angeles Medical Center for emergency treatment, where he later passed away after rescue efforts were unsuccessful.

As Michael was a major figure and had many dealings, in the days following his death, there were rampant rumors all over the internet, with various speculations about his cause of death.

Also, because of Michael's significant influence, all the media were filled with related news, and many music industry events and concerts were postponed in the days after his death.

Link's second album, "Keep On Movin'," was delayed until July as well.

"Anna, how are the sales for 'Lighters' this week?"

In the office, Link asked while flipping through files.

"Lighters" was released on major digital music platforms in mid-June according to the original plan, with no extensive promotion, its first-week downloads were 75,000, ranking 74th on the Billboard singles chart and 5th on the rap chart.

For newcomers Mars and Bobby, this was a very commendable achievement.

"This week it sold 108,000 copies, ranked 21st on the singles chart and second on the rap chart, just 2,000 copies behind the first place 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)' and 30,000 above Kanye's third place 'Monster,'" said Ms. Anna, holding a file folder.

"That sounds pretty good," Link said, taking a lollipop into his mouth.

Anna looked at him and laughed, "Yes, and not only are the sales good, but the media reviews of the song are also very high. They praise this rap track for perfectly fusing funk, rhythm and blues, and rap together, creating a new rap style and changing the limitations of how people listen to music, pioneering for rap music.

'XXL' magazine gave it a five-star rating, calling it one of the ten most recommended rap singles of the year."

"Five-star rating?"

Link was somewhat surprised; 'XXL,' also known as double-X-L, is the most authoritative professional magazine in the rap music industry, headquartered in New York.

Each month it reviews songs on the rap chart, giving ratings from 1 to 5 stars and featuring the best single of the month.

Link's own "I'm The One," and Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" had only received four-star ratings, but 'Lighters' got five stars, which clearly showed high regard for the song and indicated its high quality.

Given this momentum, "Lighters" could very likely hit number one on the rap chart next week.
Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

Unfortunately, that afternoon, a rap single "Forever" created by Lil Wayne, Kanye, Eminem, and Drake was launched on various music digital platforms.

Since the song was performed by three top rappers in the industry plus the rising star Drake, and because everyone knew their purpose was to stop "Lighters" from reaching the top of the rap charts,

the song immediately garnered a lot of attention upon its release.

Issued by Epic Records, the record company's representatives explained to New York Daily News reporters that the song was one of the soundtracks for the biographical movie about NBA star LeBron James, "More Than a Game".

The movie premiered in early June, and the single "forever" was originally scheduled for release then, not for the purpose of chart rivalry.

However, few believed in such an explanation. If it wasn't for the competition, they wouldn't have chosen to release it just as "Lighters" was about to top the rap chart. This situation was akin to Kanye releasing "Monster" ahead of time to suppress Link's "I'm The One".

Despite the controversy over the release timing, it didn't affect the song's sales.

"Forever" sold 237,000 downloads in its first week, successfully claiming the number one spot on the rap charts and ranked eighth on the Billboard singles chart.

"Lighters" sold 96,000 copies in its third week, surpassing Jay-Z's "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", and continued to rank second.

"Three top artists ganging up to suppress the newcomer Mars, it's too despicable. Link, should we fight back?"

Wiz Khalifa said indignantly in the Link music studio.

Link flipped through the latest issue of "Billboard" magazine and shook his head, "Three top artists plus a popular newcomer, even if we collaborate on another 'I'm The One', we still can't beat them."

"Link, you're a master tactician. Last time Jay-Z's 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)' was so strong, and yet 'Give Me Reason' managed to take the first spot. We can definitely do it again," Mars said with a beaming afro.

Bobby, Philip, and Ali beside him all nodded in agreement.

Link glanced at them and smiled helplessly.

"Give Me Reason" made it to number one on the singles chart due to the traffic generated by the movie and the song's high quality, which had nothing to do with tactics.

But some people thought it was his tactics, otherwise, why would he announce a compromise one week, only to surge to number one the next week? Media called it "Link's surprise counterattack", and even people from Link music believed it, leaving him with no room to explain.

"Let's put the chart competition on hold, MJ has just passed away, and it's not good to stir things up too much."

Everyone nodded.

MJ was so famous that his death was a significant shock to both the American music scene and the world. In recent times, millions of MJ fans around the world have been holding memorial events and parades, reportedly reaching into the millions.

MJ had also collaborated with East Coast and West Coast rappers to release two rap albums and had quite a few fans in the rap community.

Being too high-profile at this time could attract attacks from haters.

For instance, the recent chart rivalry actions of Kanye and Lil Wayne have encountered quite a backlash.

As a newcomer, Link had to learn how to attract fans, win hearts, increase his supporters, and minimize the number of enemies to remain undefeated.

After discussing for a while, they continued to talk about music creation.

All the artists signed with Link music were songwriters. Mars could come up with all the tracks for his first album, Lana had been an underground musician for four or five years with a thick songbook,

Wiz had worked with Warner Records in 2007 and had a hit single "Say Yeah". In September last year, he became a free agent after Warner delayed the release of his second album and opted to end his contract early.

At Link's invitation, Wiz agreed to have Link Music handle the production and release of his second album.

Bobby was an Atlantic Records artist brought in by Link mainly to help produce Mars' first and second albums.

Link would sometimes drop by to discuss music with everyone, occasionally playing some music snippets for reference and inspiration or collaborating with them on songwriting and lyrics, but he no longer handed over complete songs to them.

For songwriting artists, performing songs they've penned themselves can lead to a higher level of singing. Relying on others for songwriting is not a good habit.

Moreover, the artists had signed contracts with Link music for multiple records, and if they were all dependent on him for songs, he couldn't produce that many quality tracks.

"Boss, MJ's memorial service is set for next Tuesday," Anna called to say.

"Alright, book me a flight," Link said after a moment's thought.