[Enfants Terribles! They Have Finally Conquered Europe!]
[Bald Shuji's Courtship Snake Dance for His Lover!]
[Enfants Terribles Syndrome Confirmed in Europe! The World Speaks the Language of Enfants Terribles!]
After finishing their recharge in Japan, Enfants Terribles headed back to Europe. They created a stir everywhere they went, dominating the music charts of various countries and proving they were the global trend.
To summarize in one word, the first world tour of Enfants Terribles was a resounding success.
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Who was the artist with the most number-one hits on the Billboard charts?
In his past life, it was 'The Beatles,' who had an incredible 20 songs reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In this life, it was 'Mariah Carey,' with 19 songs hitting that top spot.
As for Enfants Terribles, since they were a brand-new band just beginning their career, they had only just placed two songs at number one. This meant that Enfants Terribles were essentially greenhorns who had just started writing their own history.
Of course, they were catching up at a breakneck speed, but at this point, their records couldn't even be compared to those legends.
However, now that the world tour was over, Enfants Terribles were challenging a different record.
Specifically, the record for the longest consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Most of the American media was reporting on the challenge being mounted by these history-making rookies.
[Enfants Terribles from Japan are challenging the record of 18 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, currently held by Mariah Carey.]
'Stairway to Heaven.' It was the masterpiece of the century created by Shuji, and the song that signaled the start of the Enfants Terribles invasion in mid-October of last year.
Even though its streak was briefly interrupted by 'Champagne Supernova' from their first album, 'Stairway to Heaven' was now back on track to challenge the grand record.
After reclaiming the number-one spot from 'Champagne Supernova,' 'Stairway to Heaven' has been sitting at the top for 14 consecutive weeks.
The only artists to have ever reached this milestone were legends like Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, and Los Del Rio. Considering that the longest record ever produced by the rock genre was only 14 weeks, the momentum of Enfants Terribles was staggering.
As the records showed, Enfants Terribles already had one foot firmly planted among the greatest artists of all time. Right now, all of America was focused on whether or not they could break the Billboard record.
- So those rascals are actually challenging Mariah Carey's 'One Sweet Day'?
- If 'Champagne Supernova' hadn't cut off their streak for a few weeks, they would've passed it already. They're basically the GOAT.
↳ LOL, look at this internal house war. wwwwww
↳ Upvote if you want to smack Shuji on behalf of Hide right now. wwwwww
- You guys know this? The 15-week consecutive spot is still vacant.
↳ Enfants Terribles is definitely the GOAT of the Japanese music industry.
↳ The fact that [AAA] and [Kat-Tun] also charted on Billboard but are getting buried because Enfants Terribles is on another level is legendary. wwwwww
↳ By the way, what the hell is [Strawberry Productions]? They own both [AAA] and Enfants Terribles?
↳ Don't ignore [B-Komachi]. That girl named Ai also writes songs well, so who knows what'll happen.
Japanese netizens were setting off celebratory fireworks. Sweeping the General Field at the Grammy Awards for the first time was incredible enough, but now they were writing yet another record.
- Honestly, isn't the acoustic guitar part of 'Stairway to Heaven' the best?
↳ BS, the part where Hide sings while shredding his throat is the peak.
↳ Stop arguing and just listen to the whole thing.
The reason 'Stairway to Heaven' could challenge the record was that it contained the absolute essence of the [Rock] genre. The track masterfully arranged the various rock styles Shuji had absorbed, building through a perfect narrative structure.
The second reason was their identity as a band from Asia. Enfants Terribles were a fresh novelty to Americans. Hardly any Asians had knocked on the Billboard charts before them, so that sense of mystery helped maintain the song's freshness.
Furthermore, the unique personality of Enfants Terribles—constantly getting into trouble while simultaneously creating all sorts of heartwarming anecdotes wherever they went—kept the listeners from feeling fatigued.
- Our BRO's muscles are insane.
- Music is definitely best when it's Black music.
↳ Enfants Terribles wouldn't have made it this far without Yokishi BRO.
↳ The fact that his father was a patriot who died in the Gulf War makes him the GOAT.
- Go listen to [Tears] composed by our BRO. It contains the sorrow of our people.
↳ I cried buckets listening to that, BRO.
Thirdly, Yokishi's life story helped garner support from the Black community, who were usually exclusive toward Asians. The story of Yokishi—losing his father to the Gulf War, enduring all sorts of discrimination in a distant land, and then coming back to conquer America—made him an object of fanatical support within the community.
And those supporters were currently looping the streaming to help Enfants Terribles achieve the grand record.
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After finishing our performance in Australia, we were finally able to wrap up the world tour that had lasted several months. We could have gone longer, but we shortened the duration due to physical exhaustion.
"So, the so-called GOATs of Japan. You're going to rest a bit and then drop another album, right?"
Miyazaki Makoto, who had grown quite accustomed to managing Enfants Terribles, spoke to the band members sprawled out on the sofa.
"Well, I do have a lot of songs written..."
"Miyazaki-san, if we've made money, shouldn't we spend some? You know, have an intimate date with a girlfriend and all that."
Just as Shuji mentioned, through the world tour, Enfants Terribles had earned the staggering sum of 550 billion won. Of course, a fair amount would be deducted for tour expenses, but each member was still expected to take home about 100 billion won.
The problem was that the amount felt so surreal I didn't know what to do with it. I had 100 billion won, but there was nothing I specifically wanted to do.
From the start, my dream was to become a rock star, start a happy family, and make a living through music.
"Yokishi, what are you going to do with the money coming in this time?"
"I paid off my debts a long time ago, so I'm thinking of buying a house for my mother, hyung-ssi."
Yokishi wore a satisfied smile and pulled out his phone to call his mother.
'A house...'
Buying a house was a good idea. But the thing was, even if you buy a house, it's meaningless if no one lives in that space, isn't it? If I was going to live alone, I didn't need a big house in the first place.
Thinking that, the memory of Ai welcoming me at home with curry rice suddenly flashed through my mind. In truth, that memory had been a great source of support in helping me endure the hardships of the world tour.
'Maybe I should buy Ai a Häagen-Dazs factory.'
If I was going to spend money, I wanted to spend it in a way that would make the people precious to me happy. At my core, I've always been an average Joe, even in my past life. The kind of commoner who finds happiness in buying hotteok instead of fancy cake.
"Ah, should I go on a trip...?"
But the real problem was that I had no one to go on a trip with. Yokishi would be busy spending time with his mother in the countryside, and Shuji had already filled his schedule with plans to spend time with his girlfriend.
'Wait, I've never gone on a trip with Ai before...'
In this world, the concept of a 'staycation' probably didn't exist yet. If so, it wouldn't be bad to give her the world's first 'staycation' experience.
'Hmm... Should I just rent out the entire hotel?'
This was a simple reward, free from any ulterior motives. A reward for how well Ai had looked after me.