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Chapter 70 - Chapter 70 — Miss Beaver Enters the Music Scene

In Hollywood, movie soundtracks usually go on sale before the film hits theaters. The reason's simple enough — even though visuals and sound are like inseparable siblings in modern cinema, movies ultimately sell stories, and music only serves as seasoning.

It's like cooking: the dish can be eaten without spices, but once you add them, that aroma alone can draw a crowd, even before anyone takes a bite. So releasing the soundtrack early is basically a warm-up act for the movie's premiere.

But of course, there are exceptions.

All that applies to dramas. When it comes to music films, their soundtracks usually drop after release — because in those, the songs themselves are part of the appeal.

Still, even for musicals, the delay rarely exceeds a month after the movie's debut. Entertainment products are time-sensitive — miss the peak of the hype, and sales nosedive. Unless, of course, you've got a fresh publicity nuke like, say… an Oscar nomination.

"Ha."

Eminem let out a dry laugh. "Warner's really got some clever ideas."

His assistant stiffened. He suddenly remembered that his boss also wanted an Oscar — which meant this little topic might sting a bit.

Before he could patch things up, Eminem cut in again. "The Voice is ending its run, right?"

That caught the assistant off guard, but he nodded quickly. "Yeah. Officially finishes today."

"What's the total box office?"

"Uh… about $370 million worldwide. Not likely to hit four."

The Voice opened on December 25, 2002, and by March 24, 2003 — exactly three months later — it wrapped up. Three months is the industry's upper limit for a blockbuster's theatrical run. After that, it's diminishing returns.

At closing, it had earned $215 million in North America and $373 million globally. A few small markets hadn't screened it yet, but they wouldn't add much anyway. So failing to reach $400 million was inevitable.

Still, that performance was phenomenal.

For 2002, $215 million ranked it 7th domestically, and $373 million placed it 9th worldwide. Which meant every film Isabella Haywood had starred in so far had landed in the top ten box office of its year.

And the truly insane part? Thanks to The Voice's success, The Two Towers would likely stall around $800 million — leaving The Lord of the Rings to fight Spider-Man for runner-up of the year, while Harry Potter would sit comfortably in first.

That meant Isabella held two consecutive global box office crowns.

Honestly, that was even flashier than winning an Oscar.

And now, combine that with an actual Oscar run?

"Heh…"

Eminem grinned. The higher Isabella soared, the more fun it would be to drag her name through a track. The bigger her fame, the louder his own echo.

"Friday, I'll come to the office. So…"

He leaned back, staring at his assistant.

"I got it, boss."

The assistant nodded like his life depended on it. If the boss wanted Isabella's music, then that's what he'd get.

After Eminem left, the assistant immediately started digging for info on Isabella's upcoming release — and found the internet drowning in one unified message:

"Isabella is unstoppable."

Every article, every headline worshipped her like a saint of pop culture.

He couldn't help being jealous. That level of media coordination? Their hip-hop world could only dream of it.

"Man… so this is what mainstream entertainment feels like. Unreal."

Once he started noticing Isabella, it was as if the whole world started screaming her name.

Colleagues brought her up in casual chat.

Business partners mentioned she'd be dropping an album.

Even walking down his usual route, he started spotting her posters on billboards and storefronts.

It felt like the real world had turned into an algorithmic feed targeting him.

Of course, he knew it wasn't fate — it was Warner's ground team flexing their marketing budget.

They were making it clear: Isabella Haywood was their golden princess.

By Friday morning, when he stopped by his local record shop, the place was packed with young fans grabbing copies. And "grabbing" wasn't an exaggeration — most of them were on their way to school or work.

"Hey, do you have Isabella's new—"

"All Hermione Granger stuff's on the front rack!" the store owner shouted over the counter while ringing up sales. "Two new drops today, each in eight versions — Isabella's mini album and The Voice soundtrack!"

"Four formats each — cassette, and standard, deluxe, and premium CDs!"

"The deluxe and premium soundtracks come with movie merch!"

"The mini album comes with her personal items!"

"So—think before you buy!"

"And the prices are on the wrappers!"

The assistant followed the chaos to the shelf and froze at the prices.

The Voice soundtrack included 25 tracks — all songs and score pieces.

Cassette: $15.99

CDs: $25.99, $39.99, $59.99

Isabella's mini album had five songs.

Cassette: $9.99

CDs: $19.99, $29.99, $49.99

Those were superstar-level prices — Madonna-tier.

At $2 a track on tape or $4 a track on CD, the average hip-hop record couldn't dream of pulling that off. Their audience wasn't exactly swimming in disposable income.

Only MJ, Madonna, or Britney could price like this.

And Isabella's debut release was already priced on par with them?

Watching the deluxe editions vanish from the shelves while the cheaper versions gathered dust, one truth became obvious:

"When you've got fans, you can get away with anything."

"This is kind of insane," the assistant muttered, buying ten deluxe copies — five of each album.

He knew Eminem: if the rival's songs were actually good, he'd probably smash something. Better to have spares.

Back at the office, he dropped a set in the boss's room, then sat down with his own copies.

The soundtrack cover matched the film poster — Isabella on a glittering stage, singing under a spotlight, with the title:

The World's Voice: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Inside were a signed poster, a lyric booklet, a thank-you letter from the creators, and a small photo book showing behind-the-scenes stories in Q&A format.

The assistant skimmed them, unimpressed, and moved on to the mini album.

He'd seen the cover all over town — a hand-painted image of Isabella standing on a green field under a golden sun, holding up a little beaver (the film's logo mascot) like she was showing it the world.

"Wow… looks like something out of a fairy tale."

Even he had to admit it was adorable. He tore the seal and opened it up:

Inside were a printed fan letter, stickers, two posters, three bookmarks, four notepads, a lyric book, and a keychain — all beaver-themed.

Flip through the sticky notes fast enough, and the little beaver turned into a mini flipbook cartoon, laughing, crying, goofing around.

The posters were hand-painted too — one showing the little beaver version of Isabella from the movie, and another of her on a beach with the beaver sitting like a straw hat on her head.

He realized instantly: Isabella's fans were going to lose their minds.

Every piece screamed adorable and personal.

And each poster was signed "Isabella Haywood" and "by Catherine Haywood."

Everyone knew Catherine was Isabella's sister — so this whole mini album had been designed by the sisters themselves.

Fans ate that kind of thing up.

"Man… this feels like a Disney release."

He checked the box again — Warner logo. Unreal.

The packaging alone looked like a premium Disney bundle.

Setting aside the cute (and expensive) fan bait, he finally popped the CD into his Walkman.

If the wrapping was this fancy, the music had to deliver… right?

A few seconds later, a playful voice greeted him:

"Hi~~ good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or good midnight, wherever you are! I'm Isabella Haywood. I'm so glad you're listening to my music. I hope the next twenty minutes make you happy — or maybe sad, or something else entirely. Whatever it is, I hope when the music ends, you live well."

That cheerful tone made the assistant nod along. Anyone would smile at that kind of greeting.

Then came the songs —

"Be What You Wanna Be"

"Tears in Heaven"

"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough"

"The Climb"

All familiar, all featured in the film. The industry had already dissected them to death.

Good songs, sure — but nothing surprising.

He listened passively, until The Climb ended.

Then came a strumming pattern — steady, rhythmic, alive.

His ears perked up.

He straightened in his chair, eyes narrowing.

Something new was starting.

"Is that a guitar? And… a banjo? Wow~ such a bright, breezy sound~"

People in the music industry all understand music—otherwise, they wouldn't survive there. So, the moment Isabella's new song began, Eminem's assistant instantly caught the details: a mid-tempo, sentimental melody.

As soon as the strings came in, he felt a fresh, romantic country breeze blow straight toward him.

If he had to describe it, the music at that moment made him feel like he was lying in a vast golden field.

The sound of the wind brushing over the wheat carried both the vitality of spring and the laziness of summer.

That carefree ease wrapped around him, pulling him deeper and deeper in.

"Oh~ Sxxt~ this melody's pretty good."

"But this is a song that got cut from a movie?"

"This…"

"That can't be right, can it?"

See, Isabella had said in an interview that the songs in her personal mini-album were ones she'd written for the movie but didn't make it into the final cut. So, logically, everyone assumed the quality of her new songs would be average.

Makes sense, right?

If a song is really good, it'd meet the standard for the movie.

And if it meets that standard, why wouldn't it be included?

You have to remember, The Voice even used two cover songs!

Why use covers if you've got strong originals?

That could only mean one thing:

Isabella's third song just wasn't that great.

Right?

So in that case, any normal person wouldn't expect too much from her new song.

If you had to describe it—before actually listening—Eminem's assistant thought Isabella's mini-album was probably the kind of thing you could buy, you could listen to, but you wouldn't expect to be blown away. That's why his heart was thudding before he even pressed play.

But now?

The intro started, and it instantly grabbed his attention!

Forget everything else—just the quality of that opening melody was already better than The Climb!

'So what's going on here?'

Eminem's assistant was confused, but before he could think it through, the fifteen-second intro was already over.

Then came the vocals—

"We were both young when I first saw you~"

"I closed my eyes and the flashback starts~"

"I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air~"

"See the lights see the party the ball gowns~"

"See you make your way through the crowd~"

"And say hello~"

"Wow~Wow~~Wow~~~"

"This is cool!! This is cool!!!"

At the same time, plenty of other people in the music industry were also listening to Isabella's mini-album.

Couldn't be helped—Isabella was on fire.

Everyone in the film world knew her name, and in the music scene… well, fame doesn't always translate across industries. A hit movie doesn't guarantee a hit record—but this wasn't just any case.

Because Isabella's crossover came through a musical film, her movie's success was bound to drive her album's sales sky-high.

The public had already seen her musical talent on screen; they knew she was capable. So where was the barrier, really?

Exactly.

Since Isabella's EP was guaranteed to sell like crazy, of course everyone in the music world started studying her. After all, she was stepping onto their turf to take a bite out of their bread.

When someone's reaching for your bowl, you'd better keep an eye on them.

And once they did fixate on Isabella…

"Wow~ the production quality of this song's pretty high."

"Besides the guitar and banjo, there are cymbals, violins, and drums too?"

"Compared to other genres, that's not a huge range of instruments, but in country music… this setup's already trendy. You could even call it experimental."

Los Angeles. Dr. Dre took off his headphones.

Sure, he did hip-hop—but that didn't mean he didn't understand other genres.

One spin of the CD, one burst of sound, and he knew: Isabella's new song was way above the industry's average standard.

In fact, it might even be redefining traditional country music. Traditional country arrangements rely almost entirely on string instruments and tend to reject electronic synths.

The creative logic of country music is simple melody, steady rhythm, strong storytelling.

But Isabella's song? There were electronic elements, drumbeats—even a whole-tone key change in the final refrain.

That…

Honestly, from a purist's standpoint, that was kind of sacrilegious.

But—

"Did Isabella write this song herself?"

New York. Madonna flipped through the mini-album's lyric booklet.

When she saw that the lyrics, composition, and arrangement were all credited to Isabella herself, she looked up at her assistant.

"Warner's not trying to play god, are they?"

To be fair, as the undisputed Queen of Pop, Madonna normally wouldn't bother with Isabella.

No matter how famous the girl was, in the music industry she was still a newbie crossing over. Even if her musical film sold like crazy, that wasn't enough to draw divine attention. But exceptions exist, don't they?

Madonna had heard the Hollywood gossip.

When Warner and Disney practically went to war over Isabella at the Oscars, she got curious. What kind of girl could have both giants fighting over her? And now, Isabella's mini-album was about to drop? Madonna decided to give it a listen.

And then—she was surprised.

Because the song Love Story? It blended country and pop.

The chords were simple, the storytelling old-fashioned—it was basically Romeo and Juliet. Madonna could write a hundred of those in a day. And Isabella's vocal skills? Compared to Madonna's, they were basically nonexistent.

But… it was catchy. And singable.

After hearing it twice, Madonna could already sing along.

And that—honestly—is the key to pop music's success: easy to love, easy to sing.

Pretentious artistry and over-technical production only make audiences disappear.

Isabella had grasped the essence of pop songwriting.

That was what shocked Madonna most.

"Yes, Isabella really wrote it herself," her assistant said under Madonna's stare. "All her new songs were recorded at EMI's London headquarters, with EMI's own team. After The Voice was released, people started asking around, and EMI confirmed—Warner didn't help her. She did a lot of it on the spot herself."

"They also said her technique's still a bit raw, since she mostly learned piano before and rarely touched other instruments. But her creative direction was crystal clear. She knew exactly what she wanted."

"That's a little terrifying," Madonna murmured.

"EMI said the last person they met who didn't know every instrument but still knew exactly what their song needed was John Lennon—and he was fifteen then."

"And Isabella…"

"She wasn't even thirteen when she made this."

"So you're telling me acting's actually holding back her music career?" Madonna raised an eyebrow.

The assistant shrugged. "That's EMI's take."

"Okay, okay, okay. That's EMI's take." She laughed, put her headphones back on, and listened again.

A moment later, when she took them off, she couldn't help sighing.

"The pop industry…"

"…might be in trouble."

"This song really is good."

"Even if it were on my album, it could be the lead single."

"Of course, I don't do country."

Her tone was casual.

She was the top female artist in the world—nothing could threaten her. Whether the industry imploded or not wasn't her problem. Besides, everyone knew Harry Potter would have seven films. Even if Isabella wanted to switch careers, she'd need to sell two hundred million records before she could challenge Madonna's throne.

But Madonna's calm didn't mean everyone else could handle the fallout.

With the release of Isabella's debut mini-album, fans rushed to buy it—and once they listened carefully, everyone was stunned.

Because Isabella's new song Love Story was good.

No—really good.

If you asked them to explain why in musical terms, most people couldn't.

But who cares?

They weren't writing songs—they were listening. If it sounded good, that was enough.

Everything else? Irrelevant.

That kind of unselfconscious, wordless love—that's the purest kind.

And when admiration is that pure…

"Oh oh oh—"

"Miss Beaver is so cool!"

"Her new song—uh—what's it called again—Love Story?"

"Her new song Love Story is totally, totally amazing!!"

"Anyone wanna try singing it???"

In a high school somewhere in America, a white girl shouted, waving her headphones in the air.

And at that same moment, similar scenes were unfolding in schools all across the country.

To be honest, word-of-mouth promotion is usually slow.

But… Miss Beaver had a lot of fans.

And with the frenzy of her followers and the curiosity of the public, on Friday, March 28, 2003—

Isabella's debut mini-album Isabella Haywood officially took root in the English-language music scene.

Well… "took root" doesn't sound dramatic enough.

Let's put it this way:

On March 28, 2003, Friday—Little Beaver, wearing the One Ring, kicked down the door of the English music world, lifted her chin, planted her hands on her hips like a proud baby dragon, and shouted—

"I'm gonna take on ten at once!"

Heehee~

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