[Chapter 17: Rising to Prominence]
[Wow, this song is really... something special. I've never heard anything like this. Orlando, did you come up with this new style yourself?]
After a crazy busy stretch, on the sixth day after the single's release, Orlando finally got to sleep more than five hours at once.
He woke up and stayed in bed until three in the afternoon. He didn't have any work scheduled until after three, because he had a flight out of JFK to Miami that afternoon to keep promoting Old Town Road.
While he was stealing a moment of downtime, Frank brought him lunch. Orlando ate and talked with Frank, while MTV ran an interview with him on the screen.
On TV, the Black female host clearly loved Old Town Road. Whether she genuinely liked it or was paid by Warner Bros. Records to gush, Orlando didn't know. Wait, MTV originally belonged to Warner.
[It wasn't exactly a new genre, the idea just came to me all at once. I just tried to put it into music,] Orlando said on the TV with a smile.
[I'm pretty sure this is a brand new style. I mean, you mixed Trap's 808 drum machine, heavy bass, and rapid hi-hats to create an intense rhythm. Then you paired a lilting country vocal and banjo with the clean flow of rap -- I can't believe you're only 18!] the host praised.
[You summed it up very professionally. I haven't studied music long; I just used what I had access to,] Orlando replied on screen, smiling as he accepted the compliment.
[I'm glad you injected something new into country music. We've been tired of the debate between neo-traditionalists and pop culture -- you pointed us to a whole new path! Maybe we can call it the Orlando sound, since you made it,] she went on.
[Wow, I am honored. But I think people would be willing to try new things from time to time,] Orlando said modestly.
[Wow, you're so modest! Listening to it once in a while isn't enough! I'll take this home and play it over and over. This song is amazing!] she gushed.
It was an MTV country music program. The Black female host came off a little starstruck, but she knew her stuff. Her commentary hit the level of a music critic, and she hyped the song sky-high.
Orlando felt a little guilty inside. He thought, I don't even know what neo-traditionalism is -- I just sing whatever inspiration hits me. He had muddled his way through the interview.
Looking back, the segment had worked well. He'd looked handsome on TV, and alongside the host's praise, he'd come across as a genuine musical genius.
---
"You're completely on fire," Frank said.
Orlando tore his eyes from the TV, took a bite of his sandwich, chewed, and said, "It went okay. The show looked good."
"No, that's not what I meant."
"Not what you meant?"
"Jenny Jane's music interview show only pulled average ratings among its peers. Even if you were brilliant there, at best maybe a million people saw you."
Frank had been reading the paper. He pushed it across the table. "This is different. The Hollywood Reporter -- one of the two biggest entertainment dailies in America -- sold about 800,000 copies a day, but its readership is nearly ten million."
"Not only The Hollywood Reporter; a bunch of papers are running this story today," he added.
Orlando didn't have to look down to know what Frank was talking about. Late last night, arranged by Warner Bros. Records and Seymour, he'd shown up at Madonna's house and the tabloid rumors about a publicity hookup had exploded.
Almost overnight, every paper and media outlet in America that covered entertainment, music, and gossip had run the story. Madonna was a pop queen at the height of her fame, and he was a rookie being pushed by Warner Bros. Records like a supernova.
They both had hot new releases, and they were a handsome pairing with the older-younger-fling angle. Madonna had recently gone through a divorce and had been pulled into a lawsuit involving a southern religious group. Her own heat level was already sky-high.
All the pieces fed the voyeuristic appetites of Americans obsessed with entertainment. Even outlets that had been slow in the morning were running with it by noon. The story was everywhere.
"Let me see...," Orlando swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and took the paper.
---
POP GODDESS CAN'T RESIST YOUNG CHARMER! MADONNA CAUGHT WITH 18-YEAR-OLD LATE-NIGHT, TERRACE ROMANCE ON THE EDGE
When the pop queen took off her fishnets, her new prey turned out to be Warner Bros. Records' hottest new star!
At 4 a.m. on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the 32-year-old pop queen was photographed meeting with the young musician on a terrace! Under the warm lights, Madonna's signature lace bustier was casually wrapped in a leopard robe, and beside her stood the six-foot "mystery boyfriend" -- none other than 18-year-old wunderkind Orlando Keller, who was trying to overturn the Billboard charts!
The later copy got even worse. Orlando found it almost unreadable, like smut.
The Hollywood Reporter was still under the Wilkerson family era, and that paper had a taste for sensationalism -- an approach that emphasized lurid detail. The article stopped short of writing exactly what happened, but it dangled enough hints to make readers imagine the worst.
---
"By the way," Frank said with a curious tone, "last night with Madonna -- did you really...?"
"No!" Orlando snapped without looking up, decisive.
"Really? She's so irresistible. I don't know if there are even ten thousand men in America who wouldn't want to get into bed with her. Some call her the living Marilyn Monroe -- I mean--"
"It didn't happen. Frank, this was publicity, you know that."
"Alright, alright..." Frank didn't believe him.
He couldn't buy that Orlando could have been alone in Madonna's room for nearly two hours and done nothing. After all, Orlando had come out of Madonna's room just before dawn. Earlier that night, the third floor and up of the whole villa had been occupied only by Madonna and Orlando.
Frank let the curiosity drop. He also knew Orlando had a murky relationship with another woman who was even more powerful than Madonna. Being young and handsome helped.
Frank said all this as he continued laying out the likely fallout. "You're really on the map now. Sure, the Madonna scandal might give you a little conservative backlash. But you'll get far more fans. Guys will envy you for getting Madonna's attention and might be tempted to spend a few bucks on your record. Women -- well, you were already easy on the eyes and now Madonna's 'stamp of approval' makes you even more appealing. Boy, you're going to be a big star."
*****
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