I recommend reading this while listening to Oasis's 'Don't Look Back in Anger.' By the way, the acoustic version fits even better.
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Concerts organized overseas generally fall into three categories.
The first is a concert hosted by a broadcasting station; the second is hosted by an overseas promoter who curates a lineup of various artists; and the final—the method Enfants Terribles primarily employs—is holding an independent concert with their agency acting as the direct intermediary.
So, among these three, which type does the music industry loathe the most? Anyone who has actually ground their gears in this business would, without fail, point to the concerts hosted by broadcasting stations.
The first reason is that the pay is abysmal.
Promoters at least pay proper market value to bring you in. If you handle it yourself, there are no middlemen to take a cut, meaning a single stage can bring in a fortune. In contrast, for concerts hosted by broadcasting stations, you often don't make money—you lose it.
In the music world, the ultimate power-holders are the broadcasting stations that maintain a tight grip on the platforms and the distribution of information. Consequently, the base pay for their concerts is pathetic, and in many cases, the artists must personally bear all expenses, from travel costs to wardrobe fees.
This rule is no exception even for Enfants Terribles. Since they are already world-renowned superstars, skipping a broadcast has zero impact on their fame. The problem is that the broadcasting stations begin to place internal restrictions on the entire label Enfants Terribles belongs to.
Since this is a long-standing industry practice, once a label gains a 'bad reputation,' they face massive difficulties getting any of their other artists on air.
"That’s why... you damn stars... I’m asking just this once... Because you guys blew off the last one saying the treatment was garbage, those bastards are now threatening us using B-Komachi."
"What?! Using B-Komachi?!"
The Bald Bassist, who was busy tearing into a massive, blood-dripping rare steak with his bare hands, shot back with a shocked expression.
"Unlike AAA, who have already hit their stride, B-Komachi hasn't even set foot in America yet... I'm sorry..."
The Bald Bassist gave a tip to the waitress, who was blushing just from looking at the shape of his head, then wiped the meat juices from his mouth with his tongue.
"But the reason we blew them off was to make a statement—to tell them to stop bullshitting about travel and costume expenses, even if we look past the pay, right?"
The muscular mixed-race drummer, who was consuming glycogen to fuel his muscles while shouting 'Steak must be rare!' from the side, spoke up.
"We have to fix that shitty behavior. Maybe we're fine, but where are rookies supposed to get the money to cover travel and costumes?"
Enfants Terribles intended to use their fame and popularity to dismantle the arrogance of broadcasting stations and the unfair practices wrapped in the deceptive packaging of 'industry customs.'
"Leader, can't we just write a song for B-Komachi?"
"You want to write an idol song? Have you ever even written one?"
"Leader! I'm the genius composer who created [OK Computer]! An idol song is a piece of cake!"
As they were sharing this conversation, a loud noise erupted from outside the private room.
"Is this how you treat your customers?! Look, there's hair in this food! Are you saying I'm lying?!"
Opening the door slightly to check, they saw a Caucasian woman with her child by her side, arguing with a waiter.
"Ma'am... this hair is..."
"What?! My hair is blonde, what are you talking about! This one is purple!"
As the woman’s voice grew louder, attention began to drift toward them. Of course, it was none of Enfants Terribles' business. In fact, intervening would likely only make things worse.
For the remainder of the time, they discussed the collaboration with B-Komachi over steak before preparing to leave the restaurant.
"Can you really write an idol song? I feel like it’d be better if I did it."
Getting up from his seat, I looked at Shuji with skeptical eyes. Shuji was originally the type to loathe idol music, claiming music should be pure art.
"I'll write it. It'll be nice to see Ai's face, too."
I hadn't seen Ai in quite a while because I had been staying abroad. Visiting her under the pretext of writing a song was truly killing two birds with one stone.
"Leader! Write it with me! Let's go to Japan together! It'll be great to squeeze in a date and everything!"
"Man, I'm jealous of you and the baldy... so jealous..."
It was just as we were walking out the restaurant door that we heard the sound of a young child crying from somewhere.
"Everyone, shut up for a second."
I stopped the group as they headed toward the car. Everyone looked at me with confusion, but I used the faint sound of crying as a guide and tracked down the source.
Sure enough, a small Caucasian girl was shedding tears, searching for her mother. Seeing that frail child wailing, I felt a deep surge of pity, wondering if Ai had been in a similar situation right after she lost her mother.
"Leader! Where are you going!"
"Dammit! You damn stars... now we're gonna blow off the radio show, too!"
Shuji and Yokishi rushed after me, then looked shocked when they saw the sobbing girl.
"Huh? Isn't she the kid of that lady who was fighting with the waiter?"
"What? She's a mother and she just left her kid on the street? What a total bitch."
Saito Ichigo, who had followed us late, wore a troubled expression as he looked at the child. In the meantime, the fragile girl saw Saito Ichigo's terrifying face and began to cry even harder.
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"You damn stars... what are we going to do?"
Saito Ichigo was panicking. A child left alone in a parking lot? She was either abandoned or her parents had accidentally let go of her hand. Given that the woman had been with her during the fight, the latter seemed more likely.
"Well, we have to look after her until we find the parents."
At Ichigo's words, the blonde handsome man shrugged his shoulders lightly as if there was nothing to deliberate.
"Old man! That’s a great idea! Let's call the police quick!"
Yokishi replied with a bright smile to Hide’s suggestion, but unlike the band’s reaction, Saito Ichigo’s expression hardened.
Dammit... we’re definitely blowing off the schedule...
Unlike Korea, America is a massive territory. It’s a country where it can take over 30 minutes for the police to arrive even after a call. In particular, due to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the spread of protests known as the September movement, much of the public force had been diverted to handle the demonstrators. And just as Ichigo feared, the police did not arrive even after 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the child was crying even more sorrowfully, calling for her mother. Enfants Terribles and Saito Ichigo, who had zero experience with children, were having a miserable time trying to soothe her.
"Hey! Saito! Do something! She's going to collapse from exhaustion! Don't you have a kid on your family register!"
"Dammit... I have a child on my register, but I adopted Ai after she had grown up a bit, so I don't know how to handle this either!"
It felt like a shocking fact had just slipped by, but Enfants Terribles was too busy trying to comfort the little girl to pay attention to the news. However, there was no way a little girl would be calmed by a bunch of hulking, scary-looking muscular men making 'peek-a-boo' faces at her.
If she had known who Enfants Terribles was, she might have liked it, but the girl was far too young for that.
"Slip inside the eye of your mind..."
Suddenly, the blonde handsome man began to sing the lyrics of 'Don't Look Back in Anger.' As the sobbing girl looked at the blonde man with a swollen face, Hide gave her a warm smile and stroked her hair.
Then, Hide continued singing the rest of the song. Once the girl stopped crying, Shuji hurriedly brought an acoustic guitar, and Yokishi, seeing no other suitable instrument, grabbed a tambourine rolling around in the back seat.
In that shabby parking lot, a raw performance was staged as the three members of Enfants Terribles created a perfect harmony.
Then, the asterism-shaped stars embedded in the girl's eyes began to shine brightly. As the warm lyrics and the sincerity of these rough-looking men reached her, the girl finally regained her composure.
As three minutes passed, people began to flock to the parking lot, drawn by the sudden sound.
By the time the police arrived, the people who had recognized their identity were already singing along to 'Don't Look Back in Anger' while holding each other's shoulders.
Though Enfants Terribles missed their radio show, they had done something much more valuable.
"Kid, what's your name?"
"Billie Eilish!"
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The footage of Enfants Terribles singing to soothe the young child was recorded from beginning to end and shared on YouTube.
[The Reason Enfants Terribles Blew Off the Radio Show!]
[Why They Are Called the Zeitgeist of the 21st Century!]
This video spread like wildfire, becoming the first on YouTube to reach 3 billion views.
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●Hoshino Ai●
- That’s the same smile he uses when he's comforting me!
- Hide... did you have that kind of preference....? ( •́ ▾ •̀ )
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"Dammit... that's not my preference at all..."
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