The video was shot in a dimly lit boxing gym.
In the distance, a thumping sound could be heard, like a beating heart.
The camera slowly zooms in on a slender man with a strong, bare back, continuously punching a sandbag. His strength was immense, his movements agile, one punch after another, with a strong sense of rhythm.
Even those who didn't understand boxing would find it captivating.
"Link, start."
Someone shouted from behind the camera.
The man in front of the sandbag stopped and turned around. It was Link, with short, neat hair, chiseled features, and eyes like the deep blue sky, slightly sparkling.
Link wiped his sweat and looked at the camera, asking:
"Everyone, are you ready?"
"OK!"
Then, the melodious sound of violin and piano filled the boxing gym.
The camera slowly panned to the left training area, where a band was playing.
I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me
I remembered each flash as time began to blur
Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me
Link stood in front of the microphone, singing in a low voice.
His voice was powerful, full of emotion and sincerity, with a hint of huskiness, very infectious. Listening to his song gave people a very "burning" feeling, which was one of the reasons why his first single "The Fighter" sold so well.
After a relatively low-key narrative, the song's tone gradually became high-pitched and passionate.
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
So give me reason to prove me wrong to wash this memory clean
Link stood under the dim light, clenching his fists, his muscles tense.
His voice, like his muscles, was tough and powerful, able to strike deep into people's hearts.
Hearing this song, people couldn't help but tense up, wanting to shout along.
Taylor saw Link shouting, anger on his face, looking like a different person from his usual gentle self, and her heart was touched.
Seeing Link's nonchalant attitude these past few days, she didn't take the matter to heart. Now that she thought about it, it was likely that Link didn't want her to worry, so he pretended to be relaxed, bearing the pressure alone behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, Taylor's eyes couldn't help but heat up, her vision blurring.
Give me reason, to fill this hole, connect the space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
Across this new divide
As Link repeatedly sang, the screen gradually darkened, and Link's tall, strong figure gradually disappeared. The music ended, and the video finished playing.
"This song is amazing."
"Link sang so well."
The people on the terrace couldn't help but applaud and cheer. Blake Lively, Emma Roberts, and other more emotional girls even had tears in their eyes.
"Your boyfriend is awesome!"
Kristen said to Taylor, holding a lollipop.
Taylor blinked her wet eyelashes, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. She looked at the sky and suddenly felt eager to see Link.
"I'm going back first, let's get together again next time."
Taylor said goodbye and left the terrace with her small purse.
"Taylor, tell Link we support him!"
The girls on the terrace watched her leave and continued to chat and drink coffee.
"Hey, have you noticed that Taylor's butt seems perkier?"
Katy Perry gestured with her hand and laughed, "Seeing her butt, I can guess what position Link usually likes. Want to make a bet?"
"..."
Blake Lively, Emma, and the others looked at each other. Why were they talking about that kind of thing again?
"What position?"
Kristen asked.
Hearing her speak, the girls all turned their attention to her again. Seeing her still with a cold expression, seemingly indifferent to everything, they got even angrier and pounced on her, pinning her down on the sofa.
---
I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me
I remembered each flash as time began to blur
"Hey, whose song is this? It's pretty good."
In New York, Lady Gaga came out of the recording studio and saw her assistant playing on a laptop on the sofa. She asked curiously.
"Link's new song, posted on YouTube. In just three hours, it has over a million views."
The assistant turned the laptop screen.
"Link's?"
Lady Gaga immediately sat down and took a look. It was the same video account where Link had posted "Despacito" last time. The previous video had over 11 million views, and the one currently playing was the second video, "Give Me Reason."
After the video started, there were subtitles explaining Link's recent experiences of being besieged and criticized, being forced to apologize. Link asked all those accusing him to give him a reason.
Lady Gaga had also heard about Link's situation and sighed, restarting the video.
She saw a man with a strong physique, and her eyes lit up. Link's figure was amazing, very sexy. She could watch this kind of video dozens of times even without the song.
But when Link started singing, her attention was instantly captured by his voice. Link's voice was clean and powerful, very distinctive among the smoky voices and soft melodies in the music industry.
In this song, his voice had a bit more huskiness and struggle, more power, and richer emotions, making it very infectious.
Lady Gaga listened to it three times in a row, opened Twitter, clicked retweet, and strongly recommended it.
---
Due to the recent high volume of discussions about Link, his popularity was also extremely high.
After he opened his Twitter account, in less than half a day, the number of followers went from 0 to 1 million, becoming the fastest celebrity user to break 1 million followers since Twitter's launch in 2006, and also one of the celebrity users with the most followers at this stage.
His new song "Give Me Reason" also saw a sharp rise in views on YouTube, officially exceeding 5 million views by 6 pm.
The reason for its popularity, besides the high quality of the song and Link's excellent performance, was also inseparable from the retweets and recommendations of many celebrities.
This included popular singers Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Hollywood rising stars Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Emma Roberts, Paul Walker, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Watson, Latin queen Shakira, Amber Heard, and many others.
With the joint recommendation of these big stars, the song spread like a virus from the entertainment industry to other circles and every corner of America.
Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve
At around 4 pm, "Transformers 2" assistant director Jeff Gunn stumbled into the Los Angeles subway, found an empty seat, and sat down.
There were many hip-hop youths in the car, listening to music, dancing, talking, and laughing.
The car was chaotic, and so was his mind.
His work had not been going well recently.
After the filming of the movie was completed last month, it officially entered post-production, which included editing, dubbing, scoring, rendering, and so on. He was mainly responsible for finding suitable background music, theme songs, and scores for the movie.
The work on the background music and score was progressing smoothly, with most of it already completed, but the selection of the theme song was not going well.
He had approached three famous musicians to write the theme song for the movie, but after more than a month, they hadn't been able to write a suitable song. Either director Michael Bay wasn't satisfied, or producer Ian Bryce thought it wasn't suitable.
As the movie's release date approached, the theme song issue remained unresolved, putting immense pressure on him as the assistant director in charge of music. He had been anxious and sleepless for several nights.
Sigh!
Jeff sighed, took out a business card and looked at it. It was a business card given to him by a colleague, with the contact information of the band Guns N' Roses on it.
Guns N' Roses was one of the famous hard rock bands, and their members had good songwriting abilities. He hoped they could help this time.
"This song is awesome, I highly recommend you listen to it."
"What song?"
"Give Me Reason!"
In the corner, a few young men and women were chatting, their phone on speaker, making a lot of noise.
Jeff glanced at them, shook his head helplessly, and closed his eyes, preparing to take a nap.
So give me reason to prove me wrong to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Suddenly, a passionate voice came from the phone next to him. Jeff opened his eyes abruptly, his mind instantly awake. He frowned and listened quietly for a few seconds, his heartbeat quickening as he listened. This song was so infectious.
"This is the theme song I want!"
Jeff shouted in his heart.
"Hey, dude, what song is this?"
Jeff shouted at the young man.
"Link's new song, Give Me Reason, it's on YouTube."
The young man chewing gum shook his phone screen, showing Link singing in the boxing gym.
Jeff glanced at it and quickly took out his phone, clicked on Link's video, and listened to it seven times in a row. After listening, he let out a long sigh of relief and sent the video link to director Michael Bay.
"Director, this song is awesome. I suggest using it as the theme song."
He was sure that director Michael Bay would be satisfied.
(End of Chapter)