TTIG Chapter 56.1

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Fang Yinnian’s “Listening to Snow,” released on Valentine’s Day, surpassed veteran singers Ji Xiaoran’s “Love You Every Day” and Tang Liao’s “Nights Missing You,” successfully topping major music platforms.

 

These two singers were quite famous in the industry, especially Tang Liao, a veteran who debuted ten years ago and had been active on various music variety shows in recent years, with a stable fanbase and audience.

 

What gave a little idol like Fang Yinnian the right?

 

Not only was Xu Baichuan surprised, but other colleague singers were also very surprised.

 

Some people sneered: “This is definitely data manipulated by paid commenters bought by Shengyao Media.”

 

Others felt jealous: “It’s great to have a big company backing you. With their complete marketing and hype machine, even a new song can be hyped to first place.”

 

People who said such things actually hadn’t listened to Fang Yinnian’s songs.

 

They simply defined Fang Yinnian based on the preconceived notion that “idol singing skills are definitely terrible.”

 

But most people who actually listened to Fang Yinnian’s new song gave positive reviews—his voice was very distinctive, his emotions genuine, and his gentle ballads could easily touch people’s hearts.

 

On Valentine’s Day night, Fang Yinnian’s Weibo followers first broke through 5 million, and his personal super topic fans also exceeded 1 million.

 

On major music platforms, many fans and casual listeners followed singer Fang Yinnian, and his name entered the top 100 of the “Chinese Popular Singer Chart.”

 

Having such achievements with just one song released, the industry responded with mockery and jealousy, but some also felt a strong sense of crisis.

 

The younger generation is formidable! If Fang Yinnian develops as a solo artist in the music industry in the future, might he achieve even greater success?

 

Idol singing skills and vocal quality have always been criticized by the public. Could Fang Yinnian transform into a singer? Many people had such questions.

 

Meanwhile, on Weibo’s #Fang Yinnian# topic page, many messy mockeries and hate images appeared.

 

“Is FYN the legendary Shengyao heir?”

 

“Shengyao has money to burn, FYN can casually release a song and buy his way to number one”

 

“With company support, even a dog could be made famous”

 

“Who exactly likes someone who looks like this [Fang Yinnian hate image.jpg]”

 

Seeing various online mockeries, Xu Baichuan couldn’t help but sigh—whenever Fang Yinnian made any move, discussion levels instantly maxed out.

 

Praise, criticism, encouragement, mockery—everything came out, with all kinds of demons and monsters clinging to him.

 

This is the natural constitution of a big star!

 

Exceptional fan-attracting ability, but also haters all over the internet. Wherever he goes, he attracts attention without worrying about lacking heat.

 

He’s only 19 years old with no family background. Standing out in this brutally competitive industry isn’t easy.

 

The next day, Xu Baichuan called Fang Yinnian aside privately and advised: “Yinnian, you’re still young. We’re not rushing solo songs. Let ‘Listening to Snow’ be a test run. I won’t arrange any more solo song plans for you before Christmas this year, okay?”

 

Fang Yinnian nodded and smiled: “No problem, I’ll cooperate with team activities.”

 

He couldn’t affect the team for personal interests. FTM still had many new song recording plans, and he needed to keep up with his teammates.

 

Xu Baichuan said: “Next, focus on practicing ‘Secret Garden’s’ harmonies. After this song is released, continue practicing ‘Blazing.’ In the future, when FTM’s position is stable and you graduate from university, if you want independent development, I’ll support that too.”

 

Fang Yinnian said happily: “Thank you, Brother Xu. Actually, I initially wanted to be a solo singer, but after meeting them, I think developing with the group is also good.”

 

Thinking of his teammates, Fang Yinnian couldn’t help but smile: “They’re all good people. I’m used to being with them now. If I had to separate from them, I’d actually be reluctant.”

 

Xu Baichuan looked up at him: “You’ve developed feelings for them?”

 

Fang Yinnian said seriously: “Yes, I’m an only child with no siblings and haven’t made very close friends. They’re like family to me. I really like being with them.”

 

Xu Baichuan smiled with relief: “Your relationships getting better is a good thing. No rush—you’re only a sophomore. How you develop in the future can be discussed after graduating senior year. Whether to go solo or continue with the group, we’ll discuss it properly then.”

 

Fang Yinnian nodded: “Yes!”

 

He was grateful that their manager could respect their opinions.

 

Although he had released a solo single, he didn’t want to rush into going solo and transforming into the music industry. After all, FTM hadn’t established a firm footing yet, and he couldn’t abandon his teammates at this time.

 

In the following time, FTM’s five members attended classes every day.

 

The second single “Secret Garden” was quickly mastered. Everyone recorded the final version in the studio and handed it to publicity to decide the release date.

 

Meanwhile, the group dance for the third single “Blazing” was also being intensively practiced.

 

This song’s rhythm was twice as fast as “For the Music.” Mo Xun danced with ease, but Fang Yinnian and Tang Che were clearly struggling.

 

When they first practiced the group dance for the first song, they had practiced for a long time. This time, with increased dance difficulty and faster rhythm, they needed to spend more time learning each movement.

 

Fortunately, Mo Xun patiently taught them.

 

During the month-long winter break, they spent every day in the practice room. Perhaps from dancing so much, their bodies gradually adapted to the dance rhythm.

 

Fang Yinnian worked out with Mo Xun every day and developed a thin layer of abs. Having some muscle made his core strength more stable for dancing.

 

In a blink of an eye, it was late February. FTM’s second single “Secret Garden” was officially released on a weekend at the end of February.

 

This song was a very gentle ballad written by Teacher Yu, perfectly showcasing the five’s vocal tones.

 

The song featured extensive harmonies—duet harmonies, three-person harmonies, five-person harmonies—fully demonstrating the advantages of being a “harmony group”!

 

To fans’ delight, besides releasing the normal version, they also released separate track accompaniments on the K-song platform.

 

Just like last time with “For the Music.”

 

This time there was no cover contest, just separate track audio released for netizens to freely cover.

 

The previous cover contest had high popularity, and participants and netizens who took part all had deep impressions of FTM.

 

Perhaps people couldn’t remember their five names clearly—but they definitely remembered their five voices, which were very distinctive.

 

Hearing that the harmony group had released a new song, these “organic promoters” came out saying: “I want to try singing it!”

 

Many entertainment forums were also discussing this.

 

“The harmony group released a new song!”

 

“The K-song platform released separate track accompaniments. This song’s key isn’t as high—I can sing it.”

 

“I’ll record one to try too.”

 

“I listened—they sing very well, the harmonies are surprising!”

 

“Among Chinese boy band songs, only FTM’s are listenable. Go listen quickly.”

 

Large amounts of organic promotion appeared online.

 

On the day FTM’s “Secret Garden” was released, it topped the new song charts on all major music platforms.

 

It also topped the “7-Day Cover Song Rankings” on K-song cover platforms and quickly rushed into the top three.

 

More and more people learned that the harmony group had released a new song, and more talented civilians spontaneously joined the “cover army.”

 

Love songs have a soothing rhythm, making them simpler to cover than singing and dancing songs.

 

Moreover, their harmony separate tracks were ready-made. Netizens could casually sing a few lines, add their harmonies, and it would sound good!

 

Cover works of “Secret Garden” constantly appeared on the homepage.

 

Some people even posted their recorded songs to WeChat Moments, Douyin, and other platforms for display, attracting praise from many friends and family.

 

“Did everyone listen to the harmony group’s new song today?”

 

“Saw a bunch of cover works!”

 

“Many masters from the last cover contest are active again, right?”

 

“Those kids who won also recorded a version—children’s voices sound good”

 

“There’s also a female version, recommend everyone listen to this ”

 

“…”

 

Peers watching FTM’s new song’s rocket-like popularity all showed “subway grandpa looking at phone” expressions.

 

They didn’t understand.

 

Why would an idol boy band’s new song have such high popularity?

 

Aren’t idol boy band songs supposed to be “fan circle exclusive” works to appease fans? Why could FTM break into another track?!

 

Why could FTM’s songs gain public recognition?

 

Was it just because of the cover contest?

 

Many music companies and singer management teams in the industry began a round of “seminars,” all themed around FTM’s marketing strategies.

 

After analyzing and studying for a long time, everyone concluded: “Their manager is quite capable. He once managed Xie Shiqi and has good ideas for managing singers.”

 

“Xu Baichuan still has some skills. Spending millions on the last cover contest was completely worth it—he cultivated a large group of organic promoters across platforms. Now whenever FTM releases a song, the cover circle gets popular first.”

 

“An alternative promotional method that really established the harmony group’s reputation. FTM now has particularly good public reputation—many casual listeners are willing to listen when they release new songs.”

 

“Damn, why didn’t I think boy bands could be played like this.”

 

“They call themselves a harmony group, seems like they’re taking the music track, quite different from the traditional idol track.”

 

“…”

 

After all the industry research, they ultimately attributed the credit to manager Xu Baichuan, saying he knew how to operate, market, and had good ideas.

 

Xu Baichuan heard about this from friends.

 

“Old Xu, now the industry is praising you like a god, saying you have good ideas and marketing skills, and they want to learn from you.”

 

“They’re even holding seminars, discussing why FTM’s songs can become popular. They’ve been researching for days—it’s hilarious.”

 

“Even some singer teams are cooperating with WeSing, offering higher prize money to hold cover contests, learning from you, haha.”

 

Xu Baichuan: “…”

 

Just imitating superficially.

 

FTM’s cover contest was so successful mainly because of rich harmonies. The DIY method of different audio tracks could stimulate massive creative desire among civilian singers.

 

Plus the five had good image, temperament, and pleasant voices. Even as idols, they wouldn’t cause disgust.

 

Xu Baichuan sighed and replied: “Some people in the industry still can’t see the essence through phenomena.”

 

His old friend asked: “So what’s the essence of FTM’s popularity? Isn’t it your Shengyao’s powerful marketing?”

 

Xu Baichuan smiled and said: “The key to their success is themselves. If you asked me to create another group like this now, I couldn’t do it, because these five are irreplaceable.”

 

A group with such perfect and harmonious combination of voices and image—you couldn’t find a second one in all of Chinese entertainment.

 

It could be said that FTM would be an unprecedented and unrepeatable boy band, a unique existence that Chinese entertainment wouldn’t find a substitute for in many years to come.

 

This was the true source of Xu Baichuan’s confidence.

 

Promotion and marketing were just icing on the cake.

 

The key was—they themselves were gold, which is why they could shine so quickly.

 

In March, a bunch of “cover contests” suddenly appeared on karaoke platforms. Many veteran singers released their song accompaniments and spent money organizing competitions.

 

The five FTM members were collectively shocked when they saw this.

 

Fu Fei complained: “Damn, the industry is copying us!”

 

Tan Junwen chuckled: “They just follow trends.”

 

Mo Xun analyzed: “Capital is best at copying and imitating. They think FTM’s song became popular because the cover contest attracted many organic supporters, so they’re all following suit.”

 

Tang Che said coldly: “Then let’s wish them success.”

 

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