The last time a public figure's death caused such a sensational effect was when Michael Jackson passed away.
The impact of Whitney's death was global. Even the death of heavyweight politicians like Charlie or Bloomberg wouldn't have such a response.
Taylor tapped away on her memo, turning today's feelings into lyrics, and fell asleep hugging Christmas tightly.
Dreams are the expression of desires and fears; her sleep quality was very poor that night.
"Awesome... yes, that's it!" Leon, wearing a heavy wool bathrobe, stood on the balcony holding a wine glass in one hand and his phone in the other, smiling from ear to ear.
Within three hours of the news of Whitney's death spreading, the play volume of her past works on the entire network climbed exponentially.
Once tonight passed, countless commemorative events for her would be held all over the US.
The media lay on her body, extracting this last bit of sweet traffic.
In 2012, whether it was American Idol or The Voice, Whitney's works would be sharp weapons for contestants to tell their sob stories.
The copyright Leon bought for $7 million would break through $30 million before long.
An unexpected piece of bad news turned this investment into a successful speculation.
At 11:40 PM, the inspiration refresh arrived as scheduled before midnight.
A lyrical and melodious piano sound rang out, supplemented by simple synthesizers and rhythm.
A trace of warmth intertwined in sadness.
It's been a long day without you my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again
After the R&B male vocal chorus opening ended, many familiar figures flashed in the MV.
Rapper Wiz Khalifa cut into the verse. Leon was no stranger to this ngga; the other party had participated in the production of his single Heathens.
As the MV plot progressed, Leon's focus was no longer confined to the song itself.
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and many other actors from the Fast & Furious series appeared one after another.
"WTF..." Intuition told Leon that this work must be related to the Fast & Furious movie series. No one would specifically invite two superstars to shoot an MV.
He had realized long ago that since the inspiration refresh brought out future works, there must be some clues about the future hidden in both MVs and movies.
Sucker for Pain had shown this point before; in the future, Robbie would play the role of Harley Quinn in a superhero movie.
At the end of the MV, Diesel and Walker drove their respective cars side by side on the highway. After smiling at each other, they drove towards different destinations at the fork in the road.
Seeing this, Leon's first reaction was—Did these two guys fall out?
In the early Fast & Furious series, Paul Walker was the undisputed first male lead. But Diesel's popularity and influence grew higher and higher, forcing subsequent films to change to a dual-hero plot.
In any movie with a dual-hero script, the status of the leading actors can never be truly equal; there must always be a primary and secondary.
The domineering Diesel was repeatedly exposed to have a discord with Walker to establish his core status.
Thinking about it this way, it was very possible for the two to part ways in the future Fast & Furious series.
When the last note stopped, the MV screen unfolded, and below the title See You Again was a line of small text: "In Memory of Paul Walker, Family Forever."
Leon became increasingly confused about what exactly happened. The tribute words looked strange, sounding as if Paul was already dead.
On screen, Paul was the perfect tough guy; in life, his performance could be called a moral model of Hollywood. Drugs, drunk driving, promiscuity—these typical idol scandals had nothing to do with him.
Outside of filming, he also tried to stay away from the Hollywood vanity fair; racing and family were his whole life.
Even if these were all an act, being able to act for more than twenty years was admirable enough.
Something stupid like dying from drug abuse like Whitney couldn't possibly happen to him.
"Fk..." Leon couldn't help cursing lightly—everything happening on the eve of the Grammys seemed related to death.
2012 seemed truly extraordinary as predicted by the Mayans.
At nine o'clock the next morning, the makeup artist team arrived on time. A mighty group of more than forty people mainly served Taylor.
Tossing and turning from morning until afternoon, they ensured every detail on her body was perfect.
Although Taylor's condition was much better than last night, her spirits were still not high. She sat on the makeup chair tilting her head and stroking the cat.
Leon hugged her from behind, nuzzling her hair and whispering, "The deceased wouldn't want to see the living sink into depression for them. Cheer up, didn't you say you wanted to outshine everyone tonight?"
"To become a winner, first you have to look like a winner."
A remark with little human touch was very effective on Taylor. Although Leon was encased in a steel shell, he could give people a full sense of security.
Leon's styling this time was unusual, choosing the costume from the Rockstar MV.
A red suit paired with heavy fur, more flamboyant than a rapper.
The lion head necklace made entirely of diamonds around his neck was very eye-catching, especially the different colored gems on each tooth.
The reason for not choosing the iconic Adidas tracksuit was mainly because it was too cold today.
"We should get going."
Leon and Taylor took the same Lincoln limousine to the event venue. This was the result of Columbia Records' insistence; the current number one couple in the music industry walking the red carpet hand in hand would generate more buzz.
The event was held at the Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers. As soon as the two appeared, they were surrounded by a dark crowd of reporters.
This year, Leon was nominated for Best R&B Song and Song of the Year with We Don't Talk Anymore, and Taylor was only nominated for two country awards.
But the heat of the two suppressed the whole venue; neither Katy Perry nor Adele could hold a candle to them.
"Mr. Leon, your collaboration Shallow with Taylor was very successful. Do you have any plans to collaborate again this year?"
"Will you announce your engagement after the Grammys end? Music fans all over the US can't wait to send you their blessings!"
Compared to attending the Grammys last year, the reporters' questions were obviously much softer.
These changes were entirely due to strength and status. Last year Leon could only be called a "phenomenal newcomer," and with a turn, he had been upgraded to a "young godfather." No one dared to treat his harsh words as mere talk anymore.
Few Grammy Awards after the millennium were as devoid of suspense as this year.
The owners of the two major awards, Album of the Year and Best Pop Artist, were destined. No matter how shady the Grammys were, they dared not black out Adele's awards, otherwise they would be drowned by the spit of music fans globally.
The same was true for country awards; Taylor only needed a nomination in this field to win the award.
"Hey~ Leon, long time no see!" Kim Kardashian walked over with her two sisters, Kendall and Kylie.
Although she wasn't a singer and her only connection to music was limited to controlling Kanye with her lower body, Kardashian, who was good at leeching off heat, wouldn't let go of this great opportunity.
For this reason, she deliberately chose a sheer tight black dress. The light-transmitting effect like stockings made her curvaceous figure fully visible.
However, her brilliance was completely covered by her two sisters. Not seen for a year, Kendall and Kylie had grown taller, revealing the temptation of fruits about to ripen.
Reporters' cameras were also highly focused on these two girls growing up under the spotlight.
"Long time no see, Kim. Look at your two sisters; they are 'big' girls now," Leon said with a smile.
"Kendall is always talking about you. She has been chanting about shooting an MV with you for almost half a year." Kardashian sighed and said to her two sisters, "Come closer quickly, let's take a photo with Mr. Leon together."
Click click click—Reporters raised their cameras, aiming at Leon surrounded by women.
Taylor obviously showed a displeased expression. She had no good feelings for this group of women from the Kardashian family who climbed up by relying on bottomless hype.
"Where is Kanye? Is that guy really not attending this year's awards ceremony?" Leon asked.
Leading with seven nominations, Kanye's brain suddenly cramped after the nomination list was announced, declaring on Twitter that he would not go to the awards scene.
It was common for the Grammys not to favor Kanye. After experiencing several "wild nominations but empty runs" monkey-playing experiences, Kanye simply stayed at home like Jay-Z.
Of course, Jay-Z was at home figuring out how to keep his property in the divorce war, while Kanye was simply having an episode.
Kardashian looked around and whispered in Leon's ear, "I don't know how to persuade him... He should be at home watching TV while researching some witchcraft ritual..."
"Are you serious, Kim?" Leon's head was full of question marks.
"He firmly believes the world is controlled by lizard people, Jews are puppets created by lizard people, and the Grammys is a scam..." Kardashian held her head and shook it. "I think his thinking is still stuck at the stage of a child."
"Alright..." Kanye's overly bizarre brain hole left Leon speechless.
In the next half hour, Ariana, Cardi, and King Von walked onto the red carpet one after another.
Leon gathered everyone around him and took a group photo of Apocalypse Music.
King Von, attending the Grammys for the first time, was incredibly excited, jumping up and down like a monkey.
Facing numerous cameras, he actually made a shooting gesture.
The shadow of Whitney's death yesterday still loomed, and this provocative action clearly linked to death was obviously inappropriate.
"Restrain yourself, asshole."
Under Leon's reminder, a series of outrageous behaviors were brought under control.
He walked at the very front arm in arm with Taylor, heading into the venue.
Kendrick's seat was very close to his. Dr. Dre sat with Eminem. This time he finally didn't have a gloomy face and took the initiative to come up and say hello. "Although our chat wasn't very pleasant last time, that's in the past. We are still family, aren't we?"
"Of course." Leon curled his lip.
There are no family brothers in the entertainment industry.
A few days ago, the other party was anxious to cut ties with him. After Not Like Us helped Kendrick become popular, Dre completely changed his face.
"Your creative talent is truly amazing. Just a casual move produces a champion-level work." Dre praised with his mouth, but was sour in his heart.
Leon only needed to make a casual move to send Kendrick, whom he had promoted for many years without success, to the throne of a first-tier singer.
Blinding Lights had been number one on the Billboard chart for five consecutive weeks. Except for the second place Old Town Road, the data of other works couldn't even touch its shadow.