Sales and word of mouth flying high together feels great.
All Nations Vol. 1 sold 3.77 million copies worldwide on day one. Asia made up 2.07 million of those, but in today's iron age for physical albums, that's a king's haul.
American heavyweights like Akenda Bell, the Freeze Men, and Raina Jackson all took notice.
"This yellow-skinned guy's scariest part isn't that he sang in eight languages, it's that he wrote all eight songs himself. Is there any way to commission a track from him?" Akenda Bell wondered.
"At least five cuts on this album can hit the million mark as singles. It's a little messy in tone and mood, but four songs crashing into the B100 top ten more than makes up for that," said Jackray, lead singer of the Freeze Men.
"The Asian market's huge. He'll rake in over a hundred million dollars off this album, right? That's insane," Raina muttered, equal parts jealous and impressed.
"He's God's secret son. His road in music's way too smooth," Gibaldi said. She didn't hate him for beating her once, but seeing the new album get dogpiled did make her a little happy.
Even so, Gibaldi was glad she hadn't posted anything snide about Chu Zhi.
She shut her laptop. She'd just checked Billboard's site. On the B200 album chart, the Chinese singer's new record debuted at number one with zero suspense. Number two couldn't compete at all.
As for reputation, the concept alone crushed ninety-nine percent of albums. Eight languages, unprecedented and probably never to be repeated.
On top of that, none of the eight were filler. Each track was praised in its home market.
Two quick pulls from mainstream media abroad:
"Moscow Nights is Chu Zhi's newest piece steeped in a strong early Soviet style, following Katyusha. Alexei, head of the Ministry of Culture's foreign exchange bureau, openly expressed his love. 'The song secures an early twentieth century color while staying fresh. Across its four phrases, no motif or development repeats, and the turns in the melody surprise at every step.'
Reportedly, All Nations Vol. 1 took the all-time day-one sales crown with ease." — Izvestia
Izvestia is Russia's third largest paper. Even "day-one sales crown" only shows the tip of Chu Zhi's impact there.
Professor Yevgeny at Gnesin Academy, the first foreign scholar to write on Chu Zhi, now had new material.
"The three Spanish tracks, Despacito, Sofia, and Danza Kuduro, charge like a bull with red eyes at San Fermín, rampaging through the Spanish-speaking world. No local matador dares raise a muleta against this furious beast.
We already saw his grasp of Latin culture at last November's World Cup opener with The Cup of Life.
'He doesn't just understand it,' said Rodrigo, guitar professor at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid.
The parallel thirds and sixths in the harmony, the smooth use of 6/8 and major-mode syncopation, all flow.
Steel drums, shakers, marimba, charango, congas, these are the bull's sharp horns.
Back then, his Spanish drew flak. Now his diction's like a native. It's clear the Chinese singer poured mind and sweat into learning the language. Respect for our cultures may be why so many countries love him." — ABC (Spain)
Those two modal flavors the article mentions are Latin staples, one from the Iberian stream that became a Latin signature over centuries, one rooted in Brazilian samba, both highly recognizable.
ABC and Izvestia nailed both craft and meaning.
We said two quotes, so two it is. For more takes, go peek at the parallel world. Writing more would just waste your data.
The verdict, sales and acclaim, both soaring.
As for Darius, Emmanuel, Otencia and the others who'd dunked on him, their faces were stinging. Nobody expected a wave that'd sweep the globe. Reactions split into two camps, delete and play dead, or double down.
Atlantic Records' CIO, Dula, doubled down. "Stitching together a few languages crudely, that's an album now? Music isn't a place to show off tongues."
That was pure stubbornness. Local media everywhere praised the tracks, so he had no business spouting nonsense.
Chu Zhi's Western fanbase wasn't Asia-sized, but it wasn't tiny either. And plenty of people love beating a fallen loudmouth in the name of justice.
"I love this album and the Spanish tracks. No wonder Atlantic's releases keep sounding worse. Their taste isn't ours."
"Atlantic's chief music guy doesn't know music?"
"If your home internet does more than let you spew online, try searching. All Nations Vol. 1 is number one on multiple national SPO charts."
"A few foreign-language tracks are trash, sure, but Thriller and Beat It alone are enough."
And so on.
Dula's only half a public figure, but he stands behind Atlantic. He was dragging the company through the mud. After a stretch of bull-headed posting, he got warned internally.
He backed off and deleted the tweets.
Meanwhile, Chu Zhi's domestic team was steering global sentiment on the album. They had to pull overtime.
A small thing happened at the office.
A paper letter came in, an international parcel that Qi Qiu signed for at the front desk. They opened it. The addressee was Chu Zhi, but the address was the company, and partners often mailed samples or event invites. Staff had to log that stuff.
If the sender's a random name or an internet handle, they don't open it. Those go into the fan-gift pile.
This one was from a certain public affairs office. The address read, No. 2 South Chaoyangmen Street, Beijing. Qi Qiu's heart thumped.
"Gui Guizi's too strong," Qi Qiu muttered, then rushed back inside to tell the team.
Qi Qiu noticed Niu Jiangxue was the only one calm. "Sister Niu, you're not surprised?"
"What's surprising? Chu-ge was a special guest before," Niu Jiangxue said.
"It's not the same. How can Annam compare to Russia?" Qi Qiu said.
"Let's ask Chu-ge when he's free," Niu Jiangxue said.
If he agreed to attend, the team would coordinate with the diplomatic side and set it up.
Same as last time with Annam. Back then it was his massive grassroots popularity that drew the invitation.
This time it wasn't just the public. People like Alexei and Yevgeny, officials and professors, wanted him there too.