Shigeru Shigeru made some guesses, but he didn't expect that he would be called. Without knowing what was going on, he followed the staff to see Kitagawa Kao and Iwahashi Shinichi, who was chatting and laughing with Kitagawa Kao.
Just now, I was just sitting on the sidelines, thinking wildly as an outsider, but now I was suddenly pulled into the situation.
"Jenison."
Jojima Shigeru saluted and said hello, lowering his head and not getting up. He recognized in his mind that the young man who came with his manager was Iwahashi Shinichi, but before Kitagawa Kaguya spoke, he still held back and did not express himself.
Until Kitagawa Kaguya mentioned to him, "This is Iwahashi-san from GENZO."
Then he saluted and said hello.
…
Iwahashi Shinichi took a look at Shigeru Shigeru, a rather simple and kind-looking young man. He said he was a young man, but he looked a few years younger than himself. He didn't know if he was an old man.
But anyway, it doesn’t have much to do with “beautiful boy”.
According to Kitagawa's intention, Shigeru Jojima would be the backbone of the band he would form next. Shinichi Iwahashi probably had an impression of this older teenager based on Kitagawa's positioning of Shigeru that he had revealed in advance.
.
"In the future, Producer Iwahashi's record company will assist JR with their music training." After Kitagawa Kuo finished speaking, he turned to talk to Shinichi Iwahashi, "Jojima-kun likes music, and he can pick up the instrument very quickly...I don't
As for the child who boasts about himself in the face of temptation.”
"Of course," he showed an unfathomable smile, "It's his own child, so it's normal to boast. Iwahashi-kun, please take care of me in the future."
Shinichi Iwahashi heard about Kitagawa Kaguya's strange habit of speaking. Even though he had met him several times, Kitagawa Kaguo always spoke seductively when talking to others... Even so, there was still an indescribable weirdness to his ears.
subtle.
The old man Kitagawa Kaguo sometimes makes people feel that he is not a real person.
Iwahashi Shinichi was complaining here, and on the other side, Shigeru Jojima lowered his head and felt embarrassed when he heard the praise from Kitagawa Kao. It was a blessing to be recognized and protected by Kitagawa Kao, but in front of a legendary producer whom he respected.
Saying this made him feel ashamed.
However, in front of the "adults", his subtle and implicit emotions seemed insignificant.
Shigeru Jojima was called over and introduced to Shinichi Iwahashi. After greeting him, Kitagawa Kaguo chatted with him and asked him which of the JR men he got along with. After that, he was allowed to leave. From beginning to end, he was confused.
After walking far away, I recalled in my mind that the most useful news was that Iwahashi-san's record company wanted to participate in JR's music training. So, shouldn't Iwahashi-san want to be a producer for SMAP?
However, I specifically called him over and asked so many questions.
Could it be...
An idea came to Shigeru Shigeru's mind. But immediately, he shook his head slightly and felt that it was unrealistic. Johnny had not released a solo idol for many years. Even if he were to launch one, he obviously was not the material.
And he still doesn't belong to any team.
…
After meeting Shigeru Jojima, Shinichi Iwahashi followed Kitagawa and met several other JRs. After Shigeru Jojima, a boy named Taichi Kokubu came over.
He is fifteen or sixteen years old, has big eyes, and has a delicate appearance. He looks more like "Johnny" than Shigeru Shigeru.
The small talk was nothing more than asking about JR's activities, what's going on recently, etc. Unlike when he met Jojima Shigeru just now, Kitagawa Kaguo only briefly introduced Iwahashi Shinichi and asked Kokubu Taichi to salute him. After that,
, he was just talking to Kokubu Taichi, and Iwahashi Shinichi listened.
Kokubu Taichi behaved neatly but not frivolously, and looked generous and natural who was accustomed to the world. After chatting, Kitagawa Kaguya asked him as usual who he got along with. Kokubu Taichi mentioned two or three names, and added, "Recently, Jojima
Big brother is teaching me guitar."
After he left, Kitagawa Kao considered the name Kokubun Taichi mentioned and called a JR from inside. Iwahashi Shinichi was listening and watching, and he probably guessed Kitagawa Kao's routine. In this way, back and forth, we met
Seven Jr.
After that, Kitagawa Kaguo acted irrationally and called several other teenagers over, meeting a total of twelve people.
Among them, there are some who say they have a "good relationship" with each other, and some who are not that familiar with each other. Some are good at one or two musical instruments, some like music, and some are best at back flips. And there are others who can do anything, it doesn't matter.
of.
If nothing else goes wrong, these twelve people will be assisted by Iwahashi Shinichi's GENZO to train them, and then suitable candidates will be selected from them to form a new band.
"I'm thinking about the idol part, Iwahashi-kun, please focus on the band part."
Kitagawa thought carefully, "In the same group, the image and setting of the members cannot be too similar. When deciding on candidates, I considered not only the members' musical talents, but also the relationship between the members.
Their compatibility, as well as their own personalities and images. These are things Iwahashi-kun didn’t have to consider when forming the band.”
This future band will have to work with both hands to flourish, so they are particularly picky in the selection of members.
Shinichi Iwahashi knew what he was talking about and didn't say much, "In short, except where there is absolutely no compromise, we have to discuss it with Zenisando."
Except for the part that cannot be changed, and any change will cause the "idol + band" model to collapse, the rest can be handled through consultation between the two parties.
After the matter was settled, Iwahashi Shinichi's GENZO sent people to take over the music training of these twelve people. On one side, he was considering the candidates for the band, and on the other side, Kitagawa Kaguo was considering the candidates for the idols.
Except for Shigeru Jojima, who has been confirmed, the others are still a mystery. Iwahashi Shinichi and Kitagawa Kaguya each drew cards. When they matched the cards later, some of them matched, and some of them had different ideas.
As for how to seek common ground while reserving differences, and how to never compromise, these are things that will happen later.
…
Shigeru Shigeru himself didn't know that he was the candidate approved by both parties. Each of the teenagers who came to participate in the camp were called over to chat individually, and they all knew that the unfamiliar young man was "Iwabashi Production"
people".
The boy who had a vague impression of that face now knew the answer and spoke quickly, explaining to his companions who had no idea. Even the staff joined in the fun and talked about Iwahashi-san.
Suddenly a producer came to visit, and there was a trace of excitement and expectation among the teenagers. It seemed that the next moment, Kitagawa Kaguya would call a few of them together and inform them that they were ready to debut.
As long as he makes his debut, the treatment he receives from JR now will be completely different.
When I was fourteen or fifteen years old, I was not that worried about JR's identity as someone who came to participate in club activities, but when I was older, I felt the urgency of having an opportunity before my eyes, and even a phantom wanted to reach out.
Jojima Shigeru has a steady and steady personality. The one who stayed with him this time, Sakamoto Masayuki, who is one year younger than Jojima Shigeru, is a little impatient. He graduated from high school this year and failed to enter college. In two months, the graduation ceremony will be held.
For rituals, you should act like a vagabond.
In club activities, you have to retire in your senior year of high school, but there is no specific time for retirement in JR activities. Unless you break the law, Kitagawa will not take the initiative to fire trainees. If you can't become a Taoist, as long as you don't resign, you can continue training at the age of thirty.
.
However, there are newcomers every year, and the older they get, the harder it is to debut. JR knows this well.
SMAP, who was already able to compete in Budokan performances before his debut, was able to mentally select the candidates for producers, but the older JR, who has not debuted, can be a life-saving driftwood for anyone as long as he can catch it.
Masayuki Sakamoto went to talk to Shigeru Shigeru, wanting to hear the thoughts of this "JR-senpai" who was older than him and had been on the bench longer than him.
Shigeru Shigeru thought for a moment and showed a troubled expression, "I don't know."
Masayuki Sakamoto was a little disappointed, "Then there's nothing we can do."
"However," Shigeru Shigeru said, "wait patiently and practice hard. When the opportunity comes, you will be able to catch it."
This sentence not only encouraged Masayuki Sakamoto, but also encouraged himself. However, Masayuki Sakamoto was worried and was at a crossroads of choices, so such beautiful words just passed through his ears.
The older JRs had their own thoughts, but the younger JRs had already forgotten about being called by Kitagawa Kao to talk to each other, and about "Iwahashi-san".
"Brother Chengdao"
Thirteen-year-old Inohara Yoshihiko ran over with a smile and bowed to Sakamoto Masayuki again, "Brother Sakamoto."
A young man who is carefree and has plenty of time is enviable for his innocence.
…
Once the matter was settled, Iwahashi Shinichi began to prepare for cooperation with Johnny, or to be precise, with Kitagawa Kao.
It was finalized verbally here first, and in the next working day, Johnny and Kitagawa would send another formal invitation to cooperate. After GENZO approved it, it was only legitimate to participate in the training of the twelve JRs.
Mondays for office workers are hectic. For office workers who have just spent their rest day, it is inevitable that they would like to escape at the beginning of Monday. However, GENZO employees are quite excited about the beginning of the new week.
expect.
Without it, it’s a new week and new sales data is released.
Good things came one after another on Monday. The planned album continued to sell well in the previous week. The new sales statistics list came out and successfully exceeded one million copies, achieving the record of the first million album this year.
Newspapers, morning news, and later music magazines and music information programs will definitely take turns to report on this matter. The continuous heat and attention will be enough for half a month to a month. Music magazines include weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly.
s difference.
A million-dollar album has sales of nearly 3 billion yen.
When the single was produced, the cost had already been shared. Before the planning started, Shinichi Iwahashi wanted the distribution rights for the album. When the album was released, the cost was very low by including the single. Now, even if
After deducting the original disc copyrights for singles that have to be paid to other record companies, this business is also very profitable.
It’s similar to releasing a collection of popular singers’ collections. After packaging, you just sit back and collect the money.
The success of the project has won external fame and status. Now, the planned album has sold well and this big business has been made. As the president, Shinichi Iwahashi, internally, the prestige of the record company has reached a new level.
Coupled with the hot sales of Bo LAN's new single, ZARD's single with a Fujifilm commercial was released in late January. It debuted at No. 3 on the chart that week, selling more than 100,000 copies. It continued to sit at No. 3 the following week.
, another 90,000 copies were sold, and it seems to be a long-term sales trend.
In the new week, the record company is preparing to arrange stronger promotions, and Xingchen is also actively cooperating, preparing to give the band a weekly chart championship in the third week of release.
This time, ZARD not only had a best-selling new single, but the Fujifilm commercial featuring all members of the band was also well-received. As the absolute protagonist, Kamaike Sachiko was very popular with her fresh image and refined but not distant temperament.
welcome.
Regardless of men, women, old or young, there are very few people who don't like the image of this female lead singer.
Although she has a shy personality, through shooting fashion magazines and participating in advertisements, Kamaike Sachiko has gained considerable popularity among young white-collar women and the general public in these ways of being close to the public but keeping a distance from them.
Support recognition.
The single released this time with Fujifilm's advertisement has a refreshing and catchy melody, coupled with what she is best at, lyrics that are life-like but not cliché. In one go, the band members and the band's songs are brought together.
Put it in front of the public.
While the single was selling like hotcakes, at this week's meeting, the staff in charge of ZARD's affairs brought new news that several advertisers had invited ZARD, especially Kamai Sachiko herself, for advertising endorsements.
The manufacturer's offer is also extremely generous, with the starting price being 30 million yen.
Even so, Iwahashi Shinichi was not dazzled by the advertising fee. To be precise, compared to the huge profits that the band's song sales can bring, the advertising fee of 30 million yen is nothing.
...it sounds a bit arrogant.
But best-selling bands can be so arrogant.
Now, the band is at a stage where they are highly favorable and mysterious, and everything is just right. Rather than filming commercials and being exposed, it is more important to consolidate the popularity and sales brought by this single, and to create a better future for the band.
Preparing for the next piece of work.
Whether it's advertising or magazines, they are all supplementary materials.
ZARD's manager has made an appointment with Xingchen. For this reason, Iwahashi Shinichi has to reach a consensus with Xingchen on the band's arrangements. Although Xingchen has been a hands-off boss from before the band's debut to now, the more popular the band becomes, the more business it will bring.
The higher the value, the more places need to be communicated and the frequency of communication becomes higher and higher.
The planned album was a hit and solidified Iwahashi Shinichi's reputation within the company. He also gained popularity in the new year. As the chief producer, everyone in the company was unconvinced.
If Iwahashi-san takes action, he will definitely succeed. If he follows Iwahashi-san, he will become a first-class company in the industry. Iwahashi Shinichi represents GENZO. This idea is deeply rooted in the hearts of employees.
The internal situation is currently stable, and then the potential crisis will be resolved.