Chapter 296: Second Week Album Sales

"Undefeated Boxing Champion Link 'Defeated'"

The day after Link left Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles Times' headline used a startling title to kick off the day's舆论 frenzy, and that article became the most-read news in the US that day.

When readers saw this headline, they subconsciously assumed that Link had suffered a defeat in a boxing match, being beaten by his opponent.

Everyone knew Link was powerful, and no one had ever lasted three rounds against him. Now he was defeated.

How did he lose?

Who defeated him?

Seeing this title, everyone thought of many things at once, and couldn't help but open the newspaper or click the mouse.

This article was written by Mr. Mike Hilzik, the entertainment editor of the Los Angeles Times. In the article, he said that Link had been undefeated since his debut, both in boxing and music, which was very impressive. But this time, in matters of love, he tasted the bitterness of failure.

And the one who defeated him was Taylor.

Mr. Hilzik praised both Link and Taylor as great young people in the article, but said they were too immature in handling emotional issues. He advised them to have a good talk and also advised Link not to give up too soon, to find Taylor and apologize a few more times, maybe he could salvage the 'defeat'.

After reading the article, everyone couldn't help but curse "clickbait".

In addition to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Express, USA Today, CBA TV, NBC TV, and other major media outlets all conducted detailed and in-depth reports on this matter, as if they were investigating and studying the couple's love story as a criminal case, with various opinions.

On the Internet, the popularity of news about Link and Taylor was even higher and more chaotic.

On many social media platforms, Taylor's fans openly accused Link of cheating, calling him a playboy and holding him solely responsible for the breakup. They also cursed Emma Watson, using many words starting with 'F' and 'B'.

Many of Link's fans also stood up to defend him, claiming that the video was fake and that Link and Emma were just kissing, which didn't count as cheating at all, and that Taylor was making a fuss over nothing.

There were also Emma's fans who said that Link and Emma started dating in June 2008, half a year earlier than Taylor, and their kiss was a rekindling of an old flame, not a third party intervention. They even posted many previously unpublished photos of Link and Emma traveling in Miami and Orlando, claiming that they were a better match.

Since Link, Taylor, and Emma were all popular stars with a large number of fans, the three groups of fans quarreled online, causing a big stir and providing a lot of fresh gossip for the onlookers.

"Link, stop reading the newspaper and eat first."

Catherine put down a plate of vegetable salad, took off her apron, and sat down on the opposite sofa chair.

Link put away the newspaper and started to enjoy the Italian breakfast Catherine had made.

The breakfast was simple, just two croissants, a plate of seafood pasta, Italian thick soup, Italian fried steak, and a vegetable salad.

Although the quantity was not much, the preparation was exquisite, with both color and flavor, making it impossible for him, a person who cooked all year round, to find any fault.

"Catherine, your Italian food is even more delicious than what Michelin chefs make. Teach me sometime."

Link said, eating the oysters in the pasta.

"You're a big star, how come you like to cook?"

Catherine laughed.

"It's good to know how to cook, not only to satisfy your own appetite but also to make others happy. I think it's a very useful life skill."

"Yes, I agree with that."

Catherine held a fork, paused, and said, "Link, I know a girl who's great at cooking and taking care of people. She's also very pretty. Would you like to meet her?"

Link shook his head, "I just want to learn how to cook, I'm not looking for a chef as a girlfriend. If I talk about cooking with her every day, it might get boring after a while."

"Alright!"

Catherine smiled slightly and then talked to him about Palm Beach Pictures.

The post-production of "Easy A" was completed, and they were currently negotiating distribution with Warner Bros., planning to release it in July or August.

The pre-production of the movie "Bridesmaids" was completed, and all the actors had been selected. Filming was scheduled to start in June.

The main filming locations for the movie were in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, and other places, with an estimated shooting time of about two months. Link's scenes would take about five days, and the shooting schedule was entirely up to him.

In addition, the company had received many scripts, and Catherine and the production department had selected two low-budget female-themed movies, which they planned to produce in the second half of the year or next year.

This mainly depended on how much box office revenue "Easy A" would bring in after its release.

Catherine asked him if he wanted to read the scripts.

Link declined. Investing in small-budget movies wouldn't lose much money even if they failed, and it could help accumulate experience. He didn't want to interfere unless he encountered a good script, in which case he would recommend it.

"Link, remember the movie 'Buried' that you got back the year before last? When are you planning to shoot it?"

Catherine handed him a bowl of thick soup.

Link thought for a moment. After the release of his third album, he would continue touring and also shoot "Midnight in Paris" and "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". He wouldn't have much time in the next few months.

"At the end of the year or early next year."

Link took a sip of the seafood chowder and couldn't help but smack his lips. The taste was too delicious. He dipped the croissant in it, and it was still delicious.

"How's the renovation of the new apartment going?"

"It will be completed by the end of the month. I plan to bring Annie over next month." Catherine said.

"That's great! Annie is too young, having her by your side will allow you to focus on your work," Link said.

Catherine glanced at him, hesitating before asking, "I left you very early, and now, for work, I'm leaving Annie at home again. Do you think I'm not a good mother?"

Link was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "I did have that thought, but it's the 21st century now. You're not just a mother, you're also an agent, a colleague, a producer, a CEO. No one is demanding that you must be a good mother."

Catherine smiled slightly, "Link, thank you for understanding. Sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't left you, would you have become as outstanding as you are now? I don't think it's possible, I couldn't have raised such an excellent son. So I'm considering whether to treat Annie the same way I treated you, maybe Annie will also become a remarkable person in the future."

"... You're joking, right?"

Link asked speechlessly.

Catherine laughed a few times and said, "Of course."

While they were having breakfast, his assistant, Ms. Anna, also came to the villa, bringing him the latest issue of Billboard magazine, his work schedule for the next week, and some news.

"The Woman I Love" sold a total of 813,000 copies in its second week in the US, a significant drop, but it also became the second album in music history to sell over a million copies in its first week and still sell over 800,000 copies in its second week.

The first was the Backstreet Boys' third album "No Strings Attached", released in 2000, which sold 2.41 million copies in its first week and 867,000 copies in its second week.

The seven-day sales of "The Woman I Love" were 139,000, 122,000, 87,000, 65,000, 117,000, 132,000, and 151,000 copies respectively.

On Wednesday, his private video with Emma was exposed, and many news articles online accused him of being a scumbag and a liar in relationships.

Album sales were also affected, dropping below 100,000.

On Wednesday, he and Link Music issued a clarification, but the effect was limited, causing sales to continue to decline on Thursday.

However, due to the exposure of the private video, the new album received significantly more media attention. Coupled with the strong support from fans, by Friday, album sales rebounded, exceeding 100,000 copies for three consecutive days.

Because the album sales curve from Monday to Sunday resembled a smile with the corners of the mouth turned up, and the right corner was higher, like a smirk, Billboard called it "Link's Smirk".

"The Woman I Love" sold a total of 2.55 million copies in two weeks, making it the highest-selling album in the US this year.

The runner-up in album sales this week was Usher's "Raymond v. Raymond", with first-week sales of 424,000 copies.

Although this result was not bad, and if released at another time, it would have a good chance of winning the weekly championship.

But compared to Link's second-week sales of 813,000 copies, it was still a big gap.

Ranked third was Justin Bieber's "My World 2.0", with fifth-week sales of 156,000 copies and cumulative US sales of 1.18 million copies.

Fourth was Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now", selling 66,000 copies in its 15th week, with cumulative sales of 2.1 million copies.

This album had a good reputation, and sales remained strong.

Fifth was Wiz Khalifa's "Deal or No Deal", selling 38,000 copies in its sixth week, with cumulative US sales of 756,000 copies.

Sixth was Ke$ha's debut album "Animal", selling 24,000 copies in its fourteenth week, with cumulative sales of 814,000 copies, and it was expected to break a million copies within the year.

This week, there were a total of eight albums on the Billboard 200 with weekly sales exceeding 10,000 copies, a 22% decrease from last week.

On the singles chart, the champion single this week was "Girls Like You".

This was also Link's first album to have two champion singles, and this song was his third champion single this year.

The remaining songs "Everything You Need", "Here With You", "Someone You Loved", and "Stay With Me" were still in the top ten.

Ten songs, including "Legends Never Die", "The Woman I Love", and "All of Me", were still in the top 100 of the singles chart.

Anna also brought another piece of news.

SB Entertainment had filed a lawsuit against the computer repair technician and his friend, charging them with theft of personal property, illegal distribution of others' videos for profit, invasion of privacy, and other offenses.

They were seeking $30 million in damages from them and a public apology to SB Entertainment, Link, Emma, and others.

The Manhattan District Court had accepted the case.

At the same time, the Link Music legal department also filed lawsuits against YouTube, MySpace, Yahoo, and other news platforms and media outlets.

They accused these parties of publishing unverified fake news and unauthorized video recordings, infringing on Link's privacy rights, and making illegal profits.

They demanded $100 million in compensation for Link's mental distress.

Dynasty Promotion also filed a lawsuit against the O2 Arena management company, claiming that their security loopholes led to the leak of Link's privacy, and demanding £10 million in compensation for mental and reputational damages.

In addition, Link Studio also reported the case to the British police, requesting them to arrest the person who secretly filmed the video.

Because the other party was not only suspected of illegal filming but also suspected of forgery and framing, seriously violating the privacy and reputation of Link and Emma Watson, it fell under the scope of civil litigation.

The London police had accepted the case and were investigating.

Link's side took intensive actions and demanded several large sums of compensation.

The purpose was not to seek compensation but to create hype.

On the one hand, they used this method to attract media and public attention, proving that the video was fake and Link was an innocent victim, in order to restore his reputation.

On the other hand, during the trial of this case, it could also increase Link's exposure and boost album sales.

(End of Chapter)