The subsequent promotions in Berlin and Rome proceeded as planned, including media interviews, TV specials, documentary filming, talk shows, radio chart interactions, magazine interviews, fan meet-and-greets, and more. On Christmas Eve, the 24th, he even attended a New Year's Eve party in Italy.
Linton was on the go constantly. On the 25th, in Rome, everyone celebrated Christmas together. He called Aunt, Cameron, Naomi, Winona, Sophie, and several work partners to wish them a Merry Christmas. Unfortunately, no romance like with Sophie Marceau occurred.
However, the promotional effect was quite good. Album sales in several places increased significantly. “You're Beautiful” topped the UK Singles Chart, France's France Musique Pop Chart, and the Germany Singles Chart last week.
The response in Rome was also good. The latest data for Italy's music weekly chart hadn't been released yet, but a Leap was highly likely. Bella's fan clubs in several regions were also progressing smoothly.
On the 26th, he left Rome by plane for Japan. At the airport, he heard an unbelievable piece of news: “The Soviet Union has disintegrated.”
As soon as the news was broadcast over the airport's public address system, the airport almost erupted in Ran. Everyone couldn't believe that a superpower that had contended with the West for over forty years had actually disintegrated. They all sought verification through various means.
After confirming the news was true, everyone was in an uproar, congratulating each other with wild joy. The promotion team was also a sea of happiness. Duke said,
“The Soviet Union has fallen. From now on, it will be the world of us Americans. Our records can now be sold anywhere in the world.”
Everyone agreed, feeling that the future was bright.
In December 1990, Universal was acquired by Japan's Panasonic Group. Therefore, this trip to Japan for promotion was equivalent to promoting in their home base.
Coupled with Japan's deep-rooted adoration for American culture, American film stars and singers have a strong market and high popularity in Japan. For example, Linton's three singles and album all sold very well in Japan and ranked highly on the Oricon charts.
Last week, the four songs “What Are Words,” “You're Beautiful,” “Natural,” and “That's the Way Love Goes” entered the top 10 on the charts, achieving remarkable results.
But it was strange, perhaps due to regional cultural differences, that the best-performing song was actually “What Are Words,” which ranked second last week.
This time, Universal's Japan branch also attached great importance to Linton's visit and arranged a very extensive schedule of promotional activities.
On the evening of the 26th, there was an airport pick-up event, and two newspaper interviews were scheduled for the night.
On the 27th, he recorded a TV talk show at Japan's Asahi Television in the morning, participated in the recording of a talk show in the afternoon, and was a guest on Tokyo Broadcasting System Radio in the evening, interacting with the audience and promoting his songs for the charts.
On the 28th, he attended a Pepsi commercial event in the morning, was interviewed by the music magazine MUSICA in the afternoon, and attended a banquet arranged by the Universal branch in the evening.
On the 29th, in the morning, accompanied by the branch office, he visited some famous historical sites in Tokyo. In the afternoon, he held a fan meet-and-greet (fan meet-and-greets are usually scheduled for the evening on weekdays and the afternoon on weekends).
On the 30th, he flew to Seoul, Korea, in the morning.
The entire itinerary was also filmed by Asahi Television, with the footage later produced into a short documentary for promotion.
At 6 PM Japan Tokyo time, at Tokyo International Airport, Koiichiro, the president of the Japan branch, came to the airport to pick him up.
Upon meeting Linton, he first performed a 90-degree bow. After a brief greeting, he reminded Linton that there were many media and fans outside waiting to greet him. Linton thought to himself, 'As expected of an affiliated country, they are so dedicated to hosting me.'
As soon as Linton exited the airport, he was met with frenzied cheers from nearly a thousand Japanese fans. The flashes from various media outlets almost blinded his eyes, which greatly surprised Linton, making him feel the scene was even more exaggerated than in the United States.
It didn't seem like a service Koiichiro had purchased. Could he really be that popular in Japan?
With this question in mind, on the way to the hotel, Linton directly asked Koiichiro,
“Do I have so many fans in Tokyo?”
“Yes, Anderson-san, your image and talent are very popular with young Japanese people. Your songs and albums are also very popular in Japan. You are now an idol superstar in the hearts of our young Japanese people.
Your new album sold over 800,000 copies last month, a feat that ranks third among all foreign singers.”
“Who are the top two?”
“Michael Jackson and Madonna.”
This filled Linton with pleasant surprise and anticipation for the upcoming schedule.
The group arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo, where the hotel was also surrounded by enthusiastic fans. With the help of security, Linton and his entourage successfully checked in.
Upon reaching his hotel Room, he walked out onto the balcony. The floor wasn't high. He smiled, waved, and blew kisses to the fans below.
This drew enthusiastic cheers from the fans, as well as screams from women, while the reporters present frequently pressed their shutters. After interacting across the distance for over 30 minutes, Linton returned to his Room, and the fans gradually dispersed.
After a simple dinner, he immediately accepted interviews from two newspapers in the hotel's conference Room. The interviews went smoothly, as they were pre-arranged promotional press releases, and concluded by 9 o'clock.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he returned to his Room, Koiichiro knocked on the door. After discussing and confirming the upcoming itinerary with him, he said,
“Anderson-san, this is your first time in Tokyo. I'd like to introduce you to two newly debuted Japanese female singers. Both are very beautiful and popular. You are all young people, so interact more. Later, they can act as your guides and accompany you to see the Tokyo night view.”
“Since we are colleagues, naturally we should interact more.” Linton thought, 'I even get this treatment. The rumors are true; Americans coming to Japan really do get god-like enjoyment.'
Koiichiro made a phone call, and immediately two young and beautiful women entered.
“Anderson-san, this is Sakai Izumi, and this is Sakai Noriko.”
“Pleasure to meet you, pleasure to meet you,” Linton greeted enthusiastically. These two were both hugely popular singing superstars in Japan in the 90s! They must have just debuted, right? This was a perfect opportunity for Dual Cultivation! Koiichiro must have put a lot of thought into arranging for them to come.
“You young people should interact more.” Koiichiro left discreetly after the introduction.
Because they had just met, everyone was a bit reserved, and Linton was also a little uncomfortable. Although he was no longer a novice, he had never experienced a one-against-two situation.
To avoid awkwardness, Linton opened a bottle of red wine, offering a glass each to Sakai Izumi and Sakai Noriko. The atmosphere began to ease. Sakai Izumi, being slightly older, was more relaxed.
“Anderson-san, I heard all the songs on your album were written by you?”
“Yes, you're too amazing, aren't you? I really admire you.” Sakai Noriko chimed in.
“Actually, you can too. Usually, observe and pay attention to the people and things around you. Whenever you have good ideas and inspirations, record them. When you have free time, you can try writing. It's okay if it's not good; just work on improving. With your talent, you'll gradually find your rhythm.
Moreover, your voices and appearances are both excellent. I believe you will become very popular soon.”
Linton actually knew the future development prospects of these two, so he didn't hesitate to encourage them.
Slowly, the atmosphere began to heat up. The second bottle of red wine was opened quickly. Then, as if a little tipsy, the atmosphere became ambiguous.
First, Sakai Izumi leaned into Linton's arms, acting coquettishly. The nearby Sakai Noriko, infected by the mood, also joined in.
Slowly, the game began to change direction, turning into Linton's offensive. The battle began. Although it was a one-against-two, Linton was fearless, always maintaining the initiative. The specific war scene is omitted by 60,000 words. The three did not cease fighting until dawn.
During Dual Cultivation, Linton also confirmed that the popularity of these two girls was not low, even not much worse than Winona, helping him to greatly improve his cultivation of Qi.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them popular singers, of course, there was still a relatively large gap compared to Sophie Marceau, but it would be hard to say in another two years.
“My dears, I have a full schedule today and will be busy until evening. Do you have any plans?”
Sakai Izumi and Sakai Noriko exchanged glances. Sakai Izumi said,
“The company gave me 5 days off. I'll spend these days with you. You go and be busy. Besides accompanying you to the banquet on the evening of the 28th and attending your fan meet-and-greet on the 29th, I'll wait for you at the hotel.”
“Me too,” Sakai Noriko followed up.
How thoughtful! This Koiichiro is truly considerate and has a great future ahead of him.
However, Linton still had Duke contact Universal Japan's branch office to send an invitation for a guest performance to the two women's agencies and pay the corresponding fees at the normal commercial rate.
Duke was practically green with envy. First, Sophie Marceau's devoted companionship, and now Sakai Izumi and Sakai Noriko, both at the same time! Is there no justice in the world?
