Chapter 160: America (2)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Kang Jae-ha felt a flicker of surprise at the PR Team leader's shout.

''Spotimy' at No. 188?'

The PR Team leader had rushed into the conference room with some hot-off-the-press news. Kisera's song 'BBlink!' had entered the Global Chart on the overseas platform 'Spotimy' at No. 188. The A&R Team members and the other employees around Kang Jae-ha immediately jolted in shock.

"What??! R-r-r-really??!"

"Kisera really made it onto the 'Spotimy' chart??!!"

"It's real, it's real!! Look!"

"Whoa!! It's really there??!"

"Wow- this is actually possible?!"

The temperature in the conference room shot up in an instant. Every employee started shouting over one another. Jae-ha alone remained calm. Of course, even he was fairly impressed inside.

'Oh-'

Entering the 'Spotimy' Global Chart at No. 188. At a glance, someone might think, No. 188? Is that really such a big deal? But it absolutely was. It was an enormous achievement. Not just for 'Kisera', but for any idol group, it was the kind of result worth breaking out the fanfare over.

'Spotimy' was the world's largest music streaming platform. It was massive enough to vie with 'Maple Music' for first and second place, and aside from 'Billboard', it could practically be considered the biggest music chart in the world.

Kang Jae-ha rubbed his chin.

'In some respects, 'Spotimy' isn't treated as simply the next tier down from Billboard, but as a more immediate and powerful indicator than Billboard itself.'

'Spotimy' had hundreds of millions of users worldwide. Its rankings reflected what those users were actually listening to at that moment, making it a much more real-time indicator than Billboard.

Of course, 'Spotimy' had several different types of charts.

Among them, the 'Global Chart' Kisera had entered was.

'A chart that tallies the 200 most-streamed songs around the world over the course of a day.'

Just as Jae-ha had muttered inwardly, it was essentially a ranking of the 200 most popular songs in the world on any given day.

'Current streaming activity is reflected immediately, and Kisera ranked 188th on that 'Global Chart'. No wonder the employees are shocked.'

In the global music market, people often said, ''Spotimy' blows up, Billboard follows'. In other words, making it onto the 'Spotimy' chart meant there was also a very high chance of entering Billboard.

'So far, only 'BBlink!' has made it onto the 'Spotimy' chart, but there'll be a spillover effect, so it's worth having some expectations for the other song, 'Starlight Error', too.'

In any case, the employees standing around in a frenzy still showed no signs of calming down, each of them busy talking while staring at their phones.

"M-my God......I'm looking right at it and I still can't believe it."

"Exactly. Just getting a Korean idol onto the 'Spotimy' Global Chart is hellishly difficult, and this isn't even some idol group with a sizable fandom. It's the freshly debuted 'Kisera' that did it- wow, this is one hell of a dopamine rush."

"The landscape itself is different from a few years ago. The Korean Wave definitely increased worldwide demand for KPOP, but the number of domestic idol groups exploded just as much, so the competition became that much fiercer too."

"Right, by now it had basically become a setup where only the established groups split the pie among themselves......Even 'Seriel' did fine in Korea during their last promotions, but overseas they were pretty lukewarm, right??"

The barrier to entry itself was already high for a Korean idol group trying to make it onto the 'Spotimy' Global Chart. They had to compete against other domestic idols, but even bigger monsters were everywhere across the world.

On top of that, they had to overcome the language barrier.

Even a massively popular girl group like 'Seriel' had to win over global listeners all over again the moment they went international, and they were treated almost like rookies.

"The fact that Kisera made it onto the Global Chart is seriously...almost a miracle."

The PR Team leader, the A&R staff, and the others, who had been working themselves into a frenzy for the past few minutes, kept talking nonstop until.

-Swish.

They glanced at Kang Jae-ha, who sat calmly looking at his phone.

'So in the end, Manager Kang Jae-ha did it again??'

'His judgment was right. This only happened because the circumstances, timing, and luck all came together perfectly, didn't it? He even brought in the songs himself.'

'If Kisera had done what other girl groups do, building popularity in Korea first, then expanding into Japan before going farther overseas......this result never would've happened. This absolutely happened because Manager Kang's plan worked exactly as intended.'

That was indeed the case. Kang Jae-ha had handled Kisera's Rebuilding, and he had designed everything from the concept to the plan. He was also the one who had brought in the songs. Jae-ha had sent 'Kisera' down a path completely opposite from that of ordinary girl groups, and the strategy of targeting overseas markets from the very beginning was now paying off in full.

Jae-ha had even controlled the videos and timing of the overseas viral campaign.

'This gives me chills. It's incredible. Just what the hell does Manager Kang Jae-ha see that we don't? Why does everything he touches leave a mark on the market and blow up like this?'

The employees felt a strange mix of emotions as they looked at Kang Jae-ha. There was jealousy, but also awe. Whatever the case, while working in Team 4, Kang Jae-ha had produced yet another 'miracle'.

"I'd appreciate it if everyone could calm down a little."

Jae-ha raised his head and spoke dryly to the employees.

"I'd like us to do some analysis."

This was only the beginning, and they still had to keep pushing.

Afterward.

The PR Team, A&R Team, and other employees who had barely managed to calm themselves down took seats around Kang Jae-ha. At Jae-ha's request, they began analyzing Kisera's entry onto the 'Spotimy' Global Chart.

Though they were still plenty excited.

"This is insane! The 'Kisera' viral videos we uploaded to content platforms, including TilTok! They've already passed 50 million views! And that's not even counting SNS Reels!"

"When the hell did this blow up so much??"

"How are we supposed to track every fluctuation in real time? This is a market where something like this can happen overnight."

The 'Kisera' videos they had put out for overseas viral marketing had ballooned enormously before they knew it. Combined, the total views across all the videos were already approaching 100 million. Listening to the employees' analysis, Kang Jae-ha spoke.

"This should be more than enough to start domestic Media Play."

The PR Team leader exclaimed as though it were obvious.

"Enough?! This is more than enough!! A story this big could turn the entire idol industry upside down!"

There were, of course, Korean idol groups that had made it onto major overseas charts like 'Spotimy' and 'Maple Music'. Leon's 'Seriel' had charted several times as well. It wasn't the first time a Korean idol group had made an overseas chart, but.

"Right after debut!! And Kisera is the first to pull it off through overseas viral marketing alone! You know that perfectly well, Manager Kang-nim!"

Getting onto the chart the way 'Kisera' had, with nothing behind them and charging headfirst into the overseas market from the very beginning, was a record. It was more than enough for the press to milk for all it was worth. Kang Jae-ha nodded and gave the employees another set of instructions.

"It looks like we've caught the momentum, so let's hit the domestic press hard with Media Play first. Once things get noisy enough, Youtube, SNS, and the rest will naturally jump on the issue."

"I'll handle the community side."

Kang Jae-ha nodded and continued.

"Yes. We'll move up the overseas viral plan we had scheduled. Keep putting out the videos we've already prepared, and we should start getting the English versions of Kisera's songs ready to go too."

"It's a little too early to drop the English versions right now."

"Right. We can start once they're at least settled somewhere in the top 100 of the Global Chart. But I have a feeling that point will come sooner than I expected."

"With the way things are moving now, it might happen as early as next week."

Once an upward trend caught momentum, it could shoot up at a frightening pace. In other words, Kisera's overseas chart ranking could not only break into the top 100, but even reaching the top 10 was no longer just a dream. At that thought, one of the A&R Team employees pressed a hand to their chest.

"Oh my god, I'm shaking. What if Kisera manages something even Seriel couldn't??"

The PR Team leader tried to rein in the excitement and replied.

"Not yet. Not yet. We can't get ahead of ourselves. This might be the peak right here. But if Kisera actually makes it into the top 10 of the Global Chart......Ha- honestly, I can't even imagine how huge the impact would be."

For the record, it had only been two weeks since the rebuilt 'Kisera' officially debuted in Korea. They were finally gaining real traction, but Kang Jae-ha thought that moments like this were precisely when he needed to remain even more levelheaded.

'It's dangerous to throw everything at it just because it flashed for a moment when it hasn't even been a month yet. Slowly, but surely, we roll out what we've prepared.'

An article about 'Kisera' was released globally about an hour later.

《[Exclusive] Rebuilt Girl Group 'Kisera' Enters 'Spotimy' Global Chart at No. 188 Right After Debut, Before Even Heating Up at Home!》

This would be the starting point of their Media Play, but Kang Jae-ha couldn't stick around to see how things unfolded.

Because it was about time for him to head to the airport.

Kang Jae-ha's flight from Incheon Airport was at 4 PM. So, to leave himself plenty of time, he had to set out now while it was still morning. The subordinates traveling to LA with Jae-ha were Ha Yeon-ji and Go Chun-seok. They should have been on the move by now as well. They planned to rendezvous with Commander Kang Jae-ha once they reached the United States.

Several people from Leon, including members of the PR Team and A&R Team, were also accompanying Jae-ha on the business trip to the United States. Well, they could move separately once they were there, so it wasn't much of a problem.

And as for CEO Han Tae-sung.

'We're only on the same flight, that's all.'

Kang Jae-ha arrived at the airport around 1 PM, pulling his suitcase behind him. After finishing the baggage screening and check-in procedures with the Leon employees, Jae-ha met CEO Han Tae-sung about thirty minutes later.

"Manager Kang Jae-ha."

Dressed in a full suit and accompanied by directors and secretaries, CEO Han Tae-sung called to Jae-ha in a low voice. When Jae-ha turned around, CEO Han Tae-sung wore a faint smile.

"I hear 'Kisera' is getting some traction on Spotimy?"

Kang Jae-ha nodded dryly.

"Yes, moderately."

"No freshly debuted rookie idol has ever made it onto that chart. Even if the response is only 'moderate', you've still made your mark. Good work."

"Well, it's only the beginning."

"Right. It's only the beginning. Still, you've accomplished something no one at Leon has ever done before. You deserve the praise. Try looking a little happier. You've accomplished something pretty remarkable, haven't you?"

"I am happy."

"That's what you say, but your face couldn't look less interested."

"I was born this way."

Jae-ha's reply was utterly dry. Conversations between Han Tae-sung and Kang Jae-ha generally had this kind of tone, but the directors and employees around them were quite startled. Kang Jae-ha's manner of speaking rubbed them the wrong way.

"How...insolent."

But at CEO Han Tae-sung's icy gaze.

"!!!"

The director immediately shrank back and averted their gaze from Kang Jae-ha. CEO Han Tae-sung then spoke calmly to the directors and employees.

"Don't throw around accusations of insolence just because you're relying on your rank and age. It's unpleasant to watch. It might be another matter if you were at least on a similar level."

"......"

CEO Han Tae-sung spoke to Kang Jae-ha.

"I'll see you again in the arrivals hall in LA."

CEO Han Tae-sung gradually moved farther away. He was flying business class, while Kang Jae-ha was in economy. Of course, CEO Han Tae-sung had offered to upgrade his seat, but Jae-ha declined.

Kang Jae-ha silently watched CEO Han Tae-sung for a moment.

"......"

Then, without much reaction, he sat down in one of the waiting-area seats. He boarded the plane with the other employees about two hours later, and not long afterward, the plane carrying Jae-ha rose into the sky.

More than ten hours passed like that.

Kang Jae-ha had boarded the plane in Korea at 4 PM on the 19th, yet when he got off the plane, it was 9 AM on the very same day. Perhaps because he hadn't adjusted to the time difference yet, Kang Jae-ha rolled his neck from side to side as he waited for his luggage.

Before long, Kang Jae-ha passed through the exit doors with the employees.

A scent unlike anything back in Korea immediately hit his nose. And the sight of the airport lobby, teeming with people of all different races, filled Kang Jae-ha's vision.

'This is something else. Just what I'd expect from LA, America.'

Kang Jae-ha had arrived in LA.

At the same time.

【Hello, Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

A woman's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

【It has been confirmed that Kang Jae-ha-nim has arrived in another country (United States).】

The 'Language Pack' Kang Jae-ha possessed had activated.

*****

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