American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 72 Love Stories Have Magic

"Oh—Elizabeth—look! What I bought!"

new York.

In an old house in Brooklyn, a girl is humming a song while holding a guitar.

Warm sunlight streamed through the old windows, casting dappled shadows on the warped floor inside. The thumping footsteps and sudden shouts seemed like an invisible finger plucking the strings of a musical instrument.

With a buzzing vibration, the girl stopped playing the melody and lost her train of thought.

Elizabeth Grant, with her thick blonde hair, looked up with a helpless expression. When she saw the figure rushing towards her, she caught a glimpse of her uncle's excitement and the gorgeous item in his hand.

"This is……"

She squinted, examining the item in her uncle's hand with suspicion.

"Isabella Heywood's mini discs are now available!"

The uncle quickly stepped forward, showing the album in his hand to his niece as he tore open the plastic wrap and took out the CD.

"Don't you like Harry Potter? And you envy Isabella's ability to sing freely? So as soon as the mini disc came out, I bought it for you. You're welcome, consider it my early birthday present..."

Elizabeth Grant was born on June 21, 1985, and will soon turn 18.

Her home is actually in Manhattan, but she is currently living at her uncle's house.

Her parents are both mid-level managers at SenseTime, one of the world's most independent advertising and communications groups. One is a copywriter and the other is an account manager. Her relatively good family background meant that she never had to worry about food or drink growing up.

However, because her parents were too busy with work to take care of her, she went astray a few years ago. Encouraged by her friends, she started drinking heavily and harassing others. By the time her parents found out, she was already addicted to alcohol.

This fact shocked and worried her parents, who immediately went to her uncle and asked him to take care of her.

Because her uncle was a teacher at an Anglican boarding school.

Thus began her journey to quit drinking and quit drugs.

Because quitting anything once you're addicted is extremely painful, her uncle taught her to play the guitar while she was trying to quit her addiction, hoping that the joy she found in her hobby would offset her physical discomfort.

She has indeed fallen in love with music.

Since she is also a Potter Heads, Isabella's effortless crossover has always been something she admires. She really hopes that one day she can sing on stage like Miss Beaver.

And today, Isabella released a new album?
"Oh—thank you—"

The little girl nodded to the old man.

Under her gaze, the CD player started up, and then four songs she had heard because of the movie began to play.

Isabella's clear, bright voice delighted her, especially after the beaver peeked out from behind the screen during "Love Story"—

“Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone~”

(Romeo, take me away, to a place where we can stay together forever.)

"I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run~"

(I've been waiting for this day; only by escaping can we break free from our constraints.)
"You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess~"

(At that time, you will become a prince, and I will become a princess.)

"It's a love story baby just say yes~"

(What a beautiful love story, darling, please say yes.)

Wow~~~ This song is so good~~~

Elizabeth Grant's eyes lit up after hearing it just once.

After repeating this process several times, she suddenly jumped up from her seat.

"what happened to you?"

The little girl's uncle also thought the song was nice.

But he didn't expect his niece to be so excited.

"I want to see the lyric book!"

The little girl flipped through the deluxe edition album and said, "I want to learn this song!"

"I think this song can help me secure a stable performance spot!"

Since Elizabeth Grant's goal was to get on stage, that was what she had been working towards for some time, and her approach to entering the industry was very traditional: working as a resident singer in Brooklyn bars and nightclubs.

Because there are many real estate agents in New York.

If you are chosen by them, you will have the opportunity to enter the industry.

She hadn't achieved success before, but some of her friends had already signed contracts.

Now, she feels her chance has come.

Singing hit songs in bars makes it easier to get noticed by agents.

What? Someone asked, how did she know that "Love Story" would become such a hit?

This question is very simple.

1. "Love Story" is a good song.

2. "Love Story" is a song by Isabella Heywood.

It's that simple!
"Oh wow—Catherine—I think your idea is great—"

At the same time, in Los Angeles.

A girl named Katherine Hudson had the same idea as Elizabeth Grant.

Born in 1984, she is now 19 years old.

She started taking vocal lessons at the age of 9, formally began learning guitar at 13, and released an album at 17, but it was unsuccessful.

Because she was following the gospel route at the time, and the audience for gospel songs is indeed not very large.

Because her debut album sold less than two hundred copies, she is currently unemployed.

Releasing an album costs money, right?

The small factory that signed the contract with her couldn't recoup its costs, so it went bankrupt.

This is truly a sad story.

After losing her job, she worked as a traveling singer in bars and cafes in Los Angeles.

Eager to gain new opportunities.

however……

God did not come.

This greatly disappointed her.

But that doesn't matter, because she thinks life is like a mining game. Even if you fail 99 times, as long as you can find a diamond on the 100th time, it proves that the previous 99 attempts were all successful.

So……

Let's keep moving forward.

And at that moment, she found her direction.

That means singing hit songs! Gaining massive attention!

"I will definitely succeed!"

Her friend's approval made her clench her fists and shout:

"I believe my life will be just like Isabella sang in 'The Climb'—"

"There's always gonna be another mountain~"

(There will always be another mountain peak)
"I'm always gonna wanna make it move~"

(Waiting for me to move it)

"Always gonna be an uphill battle~"

(There will always be another hill)
"Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose~"

(This is likely to be something I cannot overcome)

"Ain't about how fast I get there~"

(It's not about how long it will take me to reach the summit)
"Ain't about what's waiting on the other side~"

(It doesn't matter what the scenery is like on the other side of the mountain)
"It's the climb~"

(This is climbing)
"Oh—this song is so well written—why can't I write a song like this—"

At the same time, in another part of Los Angeles.

A young man named Peter Hernandez was also listening to Isabella's mini-disc.

"The Climb" is one of his absolute favorite songs. He fell in love with it after watching "The Voice of China" because he felt he could draw strength from the song, which was exactly what he needed right now.

Born in 1985, he is 18 years old this year.

Because his family was in the music industry—his mother was a singer in Hawaii, his father was a band musician, and his uncle was an Elvis impersonator who was very famous in Hawaii—he started playing music from a young age.

He also imitated Elvis Presley and was known as Little Elvis Presley;

He also imitated Michael Jackson, earning him the nickname "Honolulu Ghost Step Kid";
Imitate everything...

This made him famous from a young age.

Furthermore, back in 92, because of his 'fame,' he appeared in Nicolas Cage's 'Honeymoon in Las Vegas,' playing a small role in the film, and then he was noticed by Dr. Dre's people.

The other person said he was very talented.

Then, at the invitation of the other party, he came to Los Angeles at the beginning of this year.

He thought it was a good start, but no one expected that the record industry would have height requirements. The person who invited him thought he was too short, so they defined him as a behind-the-scenes worker, which made him very sad.

Because he loves to sing and longs to perform on a big stage.

Even if he didn't have the opportunity for the time being, he wasn't too discouraged, because Isabella said on "The Voice" - "As long as you don't affect others, it's okay to pursue your dreams even if you risk your life."

He believes his actions will not affect others, so he will continue to pursue his dream until it comes true.

With a sigh, I continued listening, waiting for "Love Story" to appear...

He, who had been slumped over the table looking utterly dejected, suddenly sat up!

"Wow~"

"This song—"

"Great!"

Since the official release of "Isabella Haywood," discussions about it have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. The noise is important to Warner, but also not so important, because the size of the public opinion can only prove the number of an artist's fans. What capital cares about most is how much sales the artist's fans can bring to the artist's works.

Therefore, when Warner's field staff came to report that people in various places such as record stores, schools, radio stations, and supermarkets were talking about Isabella, Warner's chairman Barry Mayer was happy, but at the same time, he was also uneasy.

Uh……

He also knew that Isabella's single was priced very high. He set the price because other people's regular albums only sold for $19.99, while Isabella's single sold for $19.99. This price seemed like ripping people off.

But when it got to 4 a.m. on the West Coast, after staying up all night waiting for the data, he heard some good news—

"What did you say? How many of Isabella's miniature plates have been sold?"

At home, in the bedroom, he excitedly sat up, leaning against the headboard.

Luckily, he's in good health. If he had high blood pressure, this could have caused a stroke.

And amidst his shouting, Nathan Bailey's yell came from the other end of the phone—

"Boss! Not counting the soundtrack, even Isabella's single!"

"We sold 41 copies in the US alone yesterday!"

"A total of 19 tickets were sold in the UK yesterday!"

"14 were sold in Canada!"

"11 were sold in Australia!"

"Then, 25 copies were sold in Europe, mainly in Germany and France, in one day!"

"After adding up all the data, Isabella's singles sold 110 million copies on the first day!"

"We've reached the top in every single listed market!"

"We won the bet!"

boom--

Barry Mayer felt like his head was exploding!
Because this data is fucking outrageous!
Putting aside everything else, just look at the US sales of 41 copies—this number may not seem like much—

That's right.

With 41 copies sold on its first day, the record only ranks in the top ten in the US. It can't even make the top two, let alone the top spot, because the top two spots are occupied by two super-grossing artists: the Backstreet Boys' "Millennium," which sold 50 copies in the US on its first day of release, and the NSYNC's "No Strings Attached," which sold 110 million copies on its first day.

Ok.

*NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" sold 110 million copies in the United States on its release day.

Even MJ couldn't sell for that many dollars.

But, whether it's the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC, the albums that made history for them weren't their debut albums!
Their explosion came after years of accumulation!
And what about Isabella Haywood?

This is not only Isabella's first foray into the music industry with a single album!

There are still some semi-new works that have been announced in advance!
And the price is indeed very high!

Then, despite being afflicted with so many debuffs, Isabella's small dish still managed to sell for the third-highest opening price in history?

Even though Barry Mayer has been in the industry for decades!
At this moment, he really wanted to check on the mental state of Isabella's fans!

In his eyes, Isabella's 41 in a single day was even crazier than Superboy's 110 million in a single day!

“Damn…”

Barry Mayer wondered if he was dreaming.

"This is insane...this is absolutely insane..."

He muttered to himself, at that moment he no longer knew what to say.

But he knew that this was only the beginning.

"Nathan! Be careful to guide public opinion! Be careful to control the public's perception!"

"Although we won today, it's not over yet. I hope we can keep winning! Keep going!!"

Anyone familiar with pop music knows that this is a fast-moving consumer good.

The herd effect triggered by high sales volume is more effective in stimulating product sales than positive media reviews.

However, this does not mean that word-of-mouth is unimportant in pop music.

Unless you're aiming for a one-off sale, you need to do your best to make good songs and maintain positive social commentary on your work. If many people dislike your work this time, even if the public buys it, they won't support you next time. And this is even more concerning for Isabella because—

Her main profession is acting.

Her main job is making movies.

Movies rely more on word-of-mouth.

Therefore, Warner Bros. must do its best to get positive reviews for Isabella's singles, and if it doesn't get positive reviews, it must not let public dissatisfaction with the singles affect HP.

However, while Warner was releasing promotional materials according to its pre-prepared schedule and arranging for an emergency team to monitor the market and public opinion 24/7 and act accordingly, none of the above concerns materialized.

The market's calm—no, its frenzied frenzy—left them somewhat dumbfounded.

The following day, March 29, sales of the single "Isabella Haywood" bucked the trend and increased!

It continued to sell 45 copies in the United States!

It continued to sell 23 copies in the UK!

It sold another 16 copies in Canada!

It sold another 13 copies in Australia!

It continued to sell 28 copies in the European market, mainly in Germany and France!

Isabella Haywood nearly sold over 130 million copies worldwide on its second day of release!
The final number sold was 125 million! Even so, it sold 15 more copies than on its first day of release!

On March 30th, although sales of "Isabella Haywood" had declined somewhat, the frenzy continued—

It sold another 32 copies in the United States!

Another 14 copies were sold in the UK!

Another 8 copies were sold in Canada!

Another 6 copies were sold in Australia!

Another 16 copies were sold in the European market, mainly in Germany and France!

On its third day of release, Isabella Haywood sold 76 copies worldwide!

Isabella Haywood sold a total of 311 million copies in just three days!

The results shocked the world.

Anyone who follows entertainment news was stunned by the results of Isabella's debut single!
Although everyone knew this single would definitely sell well, but...

311 million tickets in 3 days?

You're aiming for historical records, aren't you?
While countless media outlets reported on the event, The New York Observer published a column stating that Isabella Heywood's success was surprising but not entirely unexpected.

“3天卖出311万张细碟在流行乐坛属于一个非常非常非常震撼的数字，因为一周的时间有7天，这意味着我们的海狸女士只要努努力，那便极有可能在接下来的4天里打破后街男孩在2000年创下的单张专辑单周全球销量500万的世界纪录。”

"If Ms. Beaver succeeds, she will become the world's most shining youth icon after the Backstreet Boys and MyNS, without exception. But even if Ms. Beaver does not succeed, she has already surpassed all her peers and become the most shining star of the new century, or rather, the sun."

"Because her achievements are so outstanding. In the film industry, she has a total global box office of 20 billion. In the music industry, her first single reached the A+ standard in the pop music scene."

"To be honest, while writing the article, our entire editorial team was skeptical about whether these achievements were real or not. Why was Isabella able to succeed time and time again? Why were each of Isabella's successes so exaggerated?"

"But after we reviewed her resume, we realized that her success was perhaps inevitable."

"There are even three reasons—"

"The first reason is that Isabella is Hermione Granger."

"As the world's best-selling novel, Harry Potter has hundreds of millions of fans, and Isabella, as Hermione Granger in HP, has a natural fan base."

"Furthermore, her base has always been worth hundreds of millions."

"This makes it easier for her to succeed in whatever she does compared to others."

"Because when she does something, she doesn't need to introduce herself to the world like the general public. Her face and her name are her business card. Everyone knows who she is. This convenience can save her tons of trouble."

"Right now, she is already reaping the benefits of this opportunity."

"The whole world knows she released an album, but she hasn't done any publicity."

"Then, everyone can accept her invisibility."

"Because everyone knows she's filming 'Azkaban'."

"This is a terrifying thing! It means she has 48 hours in a day!"

"If a person had 48 hours in a day, they would succeed no matter what they did!"

"The second reason is that Isabella is a sincere girl."

"Although she rarely appears in public, every time she does, every time she is interviewed, we can see her sincerity in her words. In a previous interview with People magazine, she said that she actively sought out the role of Hermione Granger. This year, when she was a guest on ABC and BBC, the host asked her what her next step was after The Voice ended and whether she had any plans for her life. She said that her next step was to play Hermione Granger well."

"This might seem like a very ordinary answer to many people."

"Or, to some people who value individuality, her answer was quite boring."

"But we want to say that Isabella's answer was very good, very good."

"Because her words can convince those who like her."

"Isabella doesn't think her success is due to how great she is. She clearly knows that the reason countless people like her is because she played Harry Potter. So, when she can openly say all this and express that she is a Harry Potter fan just like everyone who likes her, she has actually become one with the fans."

"The impression she gives people is—"

"We're all Potter Heads."

"I was just a little lucky."

"Now that I have won J.K. Rowling's favor, I will not let her down, nor will I disappoint everyone's expectations."

"This honesty and sincerity may be the key to her ability to continue using magic after leaving Hogwarts."

"In our editorial view, this is why countless Potter Heads would support her personally."

"Her authenticity is her greatest personal charm."

"The third reason is that Isabella is indeed very talented."

"Her single 'Isabella Haywood' is indeed very good."

"And her new song, Love Story, is even more creative."

"Love Story is a country song that uses Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to tell a beautiful love story. Since love is something that young people yearn for, when the theme of the song overlapped with Isabella's fan base, she naturally gained the support of her core group."

"Then, Isabella Haywood sold out on its first day."

"Then, as the upbeat and excellent music unfolds, we discover that Isabella has modified the ending of Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet are a tragic couple, and death is their destiny. But in Isabella's song, Romeo proposes to Juliet. This happy ending is truly a clever modification."

"As I said before, young people crave love, but they are also full of rebellion. So, when Isabella changed the traditional tragedy that everyone has heard of into a happy ending, the romance of being together even if it means abandoning everything suddenly emerged."

"If we had to describe it, our editorial team would even say that the romance in Love Story is no less than that in Titanic! Or rather, the romance in Love Story is a dream come true version of Titanic!"

"At the end of Titanic, what we all hoped for most was that Jack and Rose could be together and grow old together, but James Cameron didn't do that. He said that tragedy is more moving than comedy."

"Six years ago, we reluctantly accepted his explanation, but now, our Miss Beaver is pressing her wand against James Cameron's back and telling him that a happy ending is just as wonderful!"

"That's really cool!"

“From a musical point of view, the structure of Love Story is indeed very simple.”

"But the creativity deserves full marks."

"And this may be the reason why Isabella Haywood sold 311 million copies in 3 days."

"HP's popularity + a sincere image + rebellious romance and a happy ending = invincible. If this is still not accepted by the public, then it's not Isabella who has a problem, but the world."

"The world is fine, so Love Story became a hit."

"As of press time, Love Story has already begun to climb the charts in various markets. We believe that it will reach the top of the North American Billboard within a week at most, because Isabella has unlimited potential."

"At the same time, we also believe that this achievement of 311 million in 3 days may just be the beginning for Isabella."

"She is destined for a brighter future!"

"She might become a symbol of Generation Z!"

"Because there are seven Harry Potter books, she will grow up with everyone!"

"Because she is beautiful, sincere, and talented!"

"When she was able to bring a unique kind of brilliance to the world while playing Harry Potter—"

"The sky may not even be her limit!"

"An interesting soul will not be bound by a boring world!"

Isabella was spotted by The New York Observer on the set of Leavesdon.

Uh……

Ok.

Actually, it was Chris Columbus who read the contents of the newspaper to her in front of everyone at dinner.

Isabella couldn't stop laughing as she listened to the expressive reading.

She's not embarrassed at all.

She even thought the New York Observer was quite good.

This isn't because she's shameless.

Rather, she enjoys being praised.

As the report was finished, applause erupted, and the enthusiastic cheers prompted the little girl to repeatedly thank everyone.

After a while, she finally sat down, her face glowing.

At the same time, Columbus also cast a regretful glance at her—

"Isa."

"Ok?"

"You won't blame me, will you?"

"What's your fault?"

"Is it my fault for getting in your way?" Columbus shrugged, pouted, and raised an eyebrow. "If I hadn't killed 'Love Story,' you might have become a diva two months ago..."

"hahahaha——"

Isabella waved her hands repeatedly and laughed heartily.

Her meaning was simple: Columbus had overstated things.

That's right, just like Columbus said, the reason why "Love Story" didn't appear on "The Voice" is because he rejected "Love Story" because he felt that "Love Story" was not a good fit for the movie.

The reason why "Love Story" came about is as follows:

Previously, when Columbus suggested that the song for each game could be integrated with the story of the previous scene, Isabella thought that "Love Story" might be a good 'theme song' for her parents.

Even though Columbus said that it's best to use cover songs for competitions.

Because the parents in "The Voice of China" don't have any emotional problems. Their conflict is that the father doesn't care enough about the mother, and the mother feels wronged. So, as they reconcile, "Love Story" can appear.

Isabella then thought that Lily Zeller could sing "Love Story" in the second competition.

She tells the public about the love between her parents from her daughter's perspective, a third-person viewpoint.

At first, Columbus thought Isabella's idea was brilliant.

Because the narrative of the song "Love Story" is related to "Romeo and Juliet".

Shakespeare's stories appear in British films?

This addition will make the local flavor of the film even stronger.

However, after much deliberation, Columbus rejected the song, or rather, Isabella's idea.

There are two reasons:

1. That's because it's an original song. Since "Love Story" wasn't released in real life, including it in the movie would confuse viewers who hadn't heard it before, leading to two possible scenarios:
The first reason is that they think the song is nice to listen to.

Once this idea took hold, no matter how well "The Climb" was made afterward, it wouldn't be amazing.

This will cause conflicts between the film's subplots and the main plot.

The second type is those who think the song is just so-so.

If that idea comes up, the whole movie is doomed. When the audience thinks your song is no good, how can you possibly win?

Right?

Therefore, from the perspective of theatrical creation, using cover songs in the first few competitions was the safest approach.

2. If the song "Love Story" were to appear in the movie, then when Lily Zeller sings it, the movie would have to add a scene using flashbacks to tell the story of her parents' love story.

Because if the story isn't told, the song's narrative quality will be very weak.

However, if the film were to include the parents' love story, it would seem to lose focus.

After all, The Voice is Lily Zeller's story.

Furthermore, participating in "The Voice" was Lily Zeller's dream.

What do you think about adding a supporting character's romantic subplot to the protagonist's dream...?

They're all off-topic.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Columbus could only apologize to Isabella.

But Isabella didn't care.

Because it would be better to release "Love Story" as a mini-disc.

You should know that in her previous life, Taylor Swift's "Love Story" was the greatest country music song of all time.

In the year it was launched, it broke the sales record for the entire country music category.

Well, she earned her title as the Country Queen by dominating the entire Country category.

By 2025, Love Story's total sales had reached 20 million.

Using this kind of song as background music in a movie is a bit of a waste.

Putting it in a mini disc as a surprise will help her mini discs sell even better.

hmm~~~
Her current results are entirely within her expectations.
If HP's popularity, coupled with its god-like status as the strongest in history, can still lose, then there must be a bug in this world!
hee hee~
We chatted with everyone while having dinner.

The constant stream of laughter made Isabella happy.

After finishing her meal, Isabella returned to her dormitory in high spirits amidst everyone's congratulations.

Just as she was about to go online to check today's news...

Uh……

Ok……

She just wanted to visit websites like Yahoo to see how people were praising her.

She just wanted to show off a little.
But at the same time, she suddenly noticed that Robbie, who had returned earlier, was using the computer in the living room.
Since Disney's movie doesn't start filming until June, Robbie would stay with her before filming began, either learning acting from the crew or helping out. So Isabella wasn't surprised at all by the little guy's appearance.

Isabella assumed that Robbie was looking at a post about himself, with a serious expression on his face and his eyes fixed on the screen.

So she crept over stealthily, peeking her head out—

Curious, she asked, "Oh~ Margot~ are you checking online opinions for me again?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the screen.

After sweeping twice, oh—

She suddenly realized that Robbie wasn't looking at a webpage related to her.

"Oh—Sister Isa—you're back?"

Isabella's voice startled Robbie.

But after regaining her composure, a smile returned to her face.

"What are you looking at?" Isabella asked curiously.

"Oh—I was just looking at posts about you, and they're all praising you online—"

"Everyone online is saying your new song is amazing—super amazing—"

Robbie Jr. gave an irrelevant answer.

"Humph~"

Isabella spoke through her nose, continuing, "Then I'd like to know, what made you suddenly stop watching?"

"What could be more attractive than me?"

"Uh……"

Little Robbie drew out her voice, her boss's narcissistic manner making her both amused and exasperated.

But at the same time, she replied, "It seems that Charles Ingram's case is coming to an end."

"It seems he really did cheat."

"What?" Isabella didn't understand.

Robbie Jr. scrolled the mouse wheel and explained, "It's a cheating scandal in 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'."

"The case from 2001 has been resolved."

(End of this chapter)