Chapter 370 How Is the Novel Going?

Zhou Yan also watched the local six-channel "Pure White Music Station". After getting up early, he worked for a while and went to the restaurant for dinner. He happened to meet Fang Xiu. He heard that they were going to watch the premiere of "We Are Young" together, so he followed them.

When the black female singer came out, Ma Dongfang smiled and said, "This little girl sings very well. She looks like she is only 17 or 18 years old."

Zhou Yan said with a smile, "She is actually less than 15 years old."

This made everyone drop their jaws.

"Fifteen years old?!" Ma Dongfang's eyes almost popped out.

He guessed that seventeen or eighteen was already a guess, because he knew that people in Europe and the United States developed earlier, and Chinese girls of seventeen or eighteen years old looked more immature than this.

And he never expected that this girl was not even fifteen years old.

What is the concept of fourteen or fifteen years old? In China, she is still in junior high school.

"In the United States, singers debut so early?" Fang Xiu asked curiously.

Not only this female singer, but also Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys, who is only sixteen years old this year. When he joined the group and debuted, he was even only thirteen years old.

Therefore, Fang Xiucai asked this question.

"In recent years, singers have indeed debuted earlier than before."

Mainly because some young groups have become popular in recent years, and a large number of middle school students have been discovered by scouts and entered this industry. The market determines everything.

"She is also in a group, and the members of this group are about the same age as her." Zhou Yan added.

"There are many such groups here."

"Well, it feels similar to the Little Tigers in Taiwan."

"Yes, yes, that's the feeling, but the songs of the Little Tigers are relatively simpler, not as mature as theirs."

...

Others were discussing the group, and Zhou Yan was listening with a smile.

The female singer who appeared in the MV of "We Are Young" was none other than Beyonce, a member of the group "Destiny's Child", a future top singer.

And the reason why she was able to participate in this song was completely coincidental. Zhou Yan also saw the group Destiny's Child by chance before.

Like the Backstreet Boys, they have gained some fame in the local area, but they only have some underground performances and have not even officially formed a group. Before June, they were still called "Girls' Generation", and then they changed their name to the current one.

Originally, Zhou Yan wanted to sign the Destiny's Child group to Zhou's company, but now Zhou's company has no roots in Europe and the United States, so it is useless to sign them. Zhou Yan took advantage of the situation and pushed them to Columbia Records.

Because of Mariah Carey, Columbia Records has always maintained close contact with Zhou Yan. This time, they also attached great importance to Zhou Yan's recommendation and quickly signed Destiny's Child.

And this time, "We Are Young" is a collaboration between Zhou Yan, New Balance, Jive and Columbia Records.

After gossiping about the group for a while, Ma Dongfang suddenly said to Zhou Yan, "Brother, when you have time, please make a richer version of this song. We can play it on stage when we have nothing to do."

"This song is still good to sing." Fang Xiu smiled, "Why don't you have a personal pop song show in the future, and invite singers who have sung your songs to come and have a lively concert."

"Well, this is also quite interesting."

Zhou Yan smiled, "You should focus on the concert tonight first. There are more than 6,000 audiences on the scene today."

"I was not nervous at first, but I am a little nervous after hearing what you said." Ma Dongfang said.

The others laughed, "What are you talking about."

Everyone knows that Ma Dongfang has a big heart. The bigger the scene and the more audiences, the more excited he is.

If others may be nervous, he is completely impossible.

Besides, although the concerts they held before were never of this scale, they were indoors.

As for outdoor encores, they have experienced the scale of more than 10,000 people on the scene, so they are certainly not afraid of this venue with more than 6,000 people. Everyone's heart has been trained.

"Okay." Zhou Yan patted his legs and stood up, "You should pay attention to get enough rest and don't let down at night."

"Don't worry, senior brother."

...

For Beyonce, today is definitely a day worth remembering. This is the first time she has really appeared in the public eye.

Although she has participated in some singing competitions before and even appeared on TV, it has not been widely spread, and there are not many pictures of her.

The Backstreet Boys are now very popular and have become the most well-known teenage boy group in the United States. In addition, "We Are Young" is also the advertising song of New Balance. Naturally, the popularity is not comparable to that of ordinary songs.

As soon as the song was released, it was spread on major radio and television stations across the United States.

In fact, she was confused during the whole process of singing "We Are Young" and had no idea what was going on.

I just remember that one day, several members of the group were rehearsing, and her father suddenly ran in and announced the news.

Then she was pulled in to record a few days later, and then she filmed a music video with the members of Backstreet Boys.

She still doesn't know why they chose her, after all, their group had just been officially formed and was not famous at all.

Because of this, the atmosphere in the group was a little bit wrong.

Although the group signed with Columbia Records, the agent is still Beyoncé's father Matthew Knowles, and Kelly Rowland in the group is Beyoncé's cousin.

Originally, the other two members were worried that Matthew Knowles would tilt resources towards his daughter and niece.

Now that such a thing has happened, the two members are naturally more suspicious.

For this reason, Beyoncé even went to ask her father if this was the case, but Matthew Knowles told Beyoncé that everyone in the group has equal resources, and there is no one higher or lower. Beyoncé's ability to sing "We Are Young" was a decision made by Columbia Records.

Matthew Knowles also said that he had tried to help several other members, but failed.

Beyoncé naturally believed her father's words, and went back to swear to other members that there would never be uneven distribution of resources.

The sisters were not old, so they naturally believed Beyoncé's words and felt relieved.

……

Zhou Yan received a call from Matthew Knowles at eleven o'clock.

The call was connected, and Matthew Knowles introduced himself, "Hello, Mr. Y, I am Matthew Knowles, the agent of Destiny's Child."

Zhou Yan was quite surprised to receive a call from Matthew Knowles. Although he had considered signing Destiny's Child before, it had not been implemented, and he had never contacted Destiny's Child, not even Zhang Youan.

"Hello, Mr. Knowles, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Mathew Knowles was very happy to confirm that it was Zhou Yan. "I have no other intention in calling you, but just want to express my gratitude to you. Thank you for giving Beyonce such a good opportunity to let her participate in the song "We Are Young". If there is a chance, I will definitely express my gratitude to you in person."

It turned out to be for this. Zhou Yan smiled and said, "You're welcome, Mr. Knowles, it's just a simple cooperation. Beyonce's performance is good. I believe that Destiny's Child will get better and better."

"Thank you for your blessing." Matthew Knowles thanked him, and then suddenly sighed, "Beyonce is still young. Although she signed with Columbia, But there are still not many opportunities. If it weren't for your recommendation, she wouldn't have any official works yet. "

Zhou Yan couldn't figure out what Matthew Knowles wanted to say, so he could only follow his words and say, "You also said that she is still young, and there will definitely be many opportunities in the future, so don't be too anxious. I also believe that Columbia must have its own arrangements for them."

"Mr. Y, are you satisfied with Beyonce's performance this time? Is there anything that can be improved?"

"Very good, at her age, she has performed very well."

Matthew Knowles was silent for a while, and suddenly said, "Will she have the opportunity to work with you in the future?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yan probably understood that Matthew Knowles wanted to come and curry favor.

"Do you want me to write a song for the girl of destiny?" Zhou Yan asked directly.

"No, no, no, you misunderstood. What I want to ask is whether Beyonce has the opportunity to work with you again."

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes. He understood that Matthew Knowles just wanted to seek resources for his daughter. This agent was too selfish.

Zhou Yan knew that Matthew Knowles was Beyoncé's father, but he didn't expect that Matthew Knowles, as the agent of Destiny's Child, would be so partial.

Everyone has selfishness, which Zhou Yan can understand, but Matthew Knowles's selflessness is not good for the development of Destiny's Child.

However, Zhou Yan couldn't control this matter. He said lightly, "Beyoncé is so outstanding, I believe we will definitely have many opportunities for cooperation in the future. Anyway, she is also signed with Columbia Company. If there are any business cooperation needs in the future, I will tell Columbia."

This statement was also made clear to Matthew Knowles, asking Matthew Knowles not to contact him directly. If there is anything, just go through Columbia.

Originally, Matthew Knowles was the agent of Destiny's Child and the father of Beyoncé. Zhou Yan didn't mind talking to him, but after this call, Zhou Yan found that this person was short-sighted and too selfish, and it was not suitable for more contact.

Matthew Knowles is also an old hand, so he naturally understood what Zhou Yan meant. However, he was thick-skinned enough and smiled and said, "Okay, okay, next time when there is a chance, I will go with George to treat you to a meal."

"Let's talk later. Sorry, I have something to do here, so I have to hang up first."

"Well, I won't bother you anymore."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan couldn't help shaking his head. Beyonce actually had such an unreliable father.

Just after he hung up the phone, there was a knock on the door of the room.

"Who?"

"Me." Zhang Youan's voice came from outside.

Zhou Yan got up to open the door, and saw Zhang Youan standing at the door wearing a cowboy hat and a flowered shirt, looking like he was on vacation in the United States.

"Old Zhang, your life is getting more and more carefree now." Zhou Yan smiled and teased.

Zhang Youan took off his cowboy hat with a smile, "Mr. Xu said that we can't work all the time, we have to learn to enjoy life properly."

"You were not like this before."

Zhou Yan remembered that when they first met, Zhang Youan was a very career-oriented person. He was busy helping Zhou Yan find a job every day. Not only did he keep Zhou Yan busy, but he himself was also busy every day.

Because of this matter, Xu Feng also talked to Zhang Youan, asking Zhang Youan not to find so many jobs for Zhou Yan, so that Zhou Yan could have time to rest.

Fortunately now, Zhou Yan's work intensity has not decreased at all, and Zhang Youan is starting to enjoy life.

"People always change." Zhang Youan entered the room and sat down on the sofa. "In the past, when you were just starting out, you were always worried that you had just become famous. If you don't work hard while you are young, your good days will soon be gone. Will slip away. Now I realize that I don’t have to worry about getting work for you. Just the work of visiting the house every day is enough for us. Now I can enjoy life while taking a break. "

"It looks like I work for you." Zhou Yan teased.

Zhang Youan shrugged, "Isn't the boss supposed to work for his employees? Why don't you put your work aside after this round of concerts and I'll take you to have fun?"

"Come on." Zhou Yan waved his hand, "Now I'm almost overwhelmed with the work on hand. I don't have time to rest."

Zhang Youan spread his hands and said, "Look, I'm not pushing you, it's you who is running forward with all your strength. Every time Mr. Xu says that I push you too hard, I feel aggrieved. Now it's clearly you who is pulling us." Moving forward."

Zhou Yanyi glanced at him, "How about turning over all the business in my hands to others? This way you will have more time to travel around."

Zhang Youan immediately changed the subject, "I'm here to talk to you about business. Chris told me that "Shutter Island" has entered the formal preparation stage, and the leading actor has basically been confirmed to be Bruce Willis."

"Very good." Zhou Yan nodded.

Bruce Willis was also selected among the three candidates he listed before, and he was naturally satisfied.

"Kevin Costner and Tom Hanks both have schedule issues." Zhang Youan explained.

Zhou Yan smiled. He thought Bruce Willis was pretty good. As for the reason, he didn't care.

"Where are the other characters?" Zhou Yan asked.

Zhang Youan shook his head, "The other roles haven't been decided yet. I heard that the chief doctor is looking for Ben Kinliss. We are talking about it now. It should be no problem. He has schedule, and Scorsese has a good relationship with him."

Zhou Yan was quite surprised when he heard about Ben Kinliss. He didn't expect that Ben Kinliss could be found to play this role more than ten years in advance. It was such a coincidence.

But speaking of it, Ben Kinliss is indeed quite suitable. He is in his fifties and has many famous works. He only acted in "Schindler's List" a few years ago and is a well-known supporting actor in Hollywood.

In addition, Scorsese has a good relationship with Ben Kinliss, so it seems reasonable to find him.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Yan nodded, "Very good."

Zhang Youan knew Zhou Yan well, and knowing his reaction, he was indeed satisfied with the casting.

"With these two roles settled, other roles will be easy to find. There will probably be news soon. Chris also asked me how the "Shutter Island" novel is going."

"How did you answer him?"

"I said you have been busy recently, but you are still finding time to write. You will definitely be able to finish it within the agreed time." Zhang Youan smiled and asked Zhou Yan, "How is your writing going?"

"As you said, I'm still finding time to write."

In fact, the first draft of the novel "Shutter Island" has been written, but Zhou Yan left it at home and never revised it.

Originally, he planned to wait until this round of concerts was over and take some time to revise the manuscript.

But now because of the new movie, he has to postpone this matter and wait until the movie is finished before thinking about it. Anyway, the agreed time is still early, so there is no need to be too anxious. (End of chapter)