Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Leaving the airport, Link, carrying a sports duffle bag, boarded the business van driven by the chauffeur Bob, while his assistant Anna was also waiting in the vehicle.

"Boss, I just called Miss Ivanka to discuss giving the golden records to fans, and she also thinks it's a great publicity method."

Ms. Anna, holding her work briefcase, spoke from the opposite seat.

Link nodded, drank a glass of iced lemon water, and felt much cooler. He wiped his hands with a wet towel.

"I only heard from the reporters that the second album topped the weekly sales, but how is the situation with the singles chart?"

"Empire State of Mind took the number one spot on the singles chart this week, Black Eyed Peas' 'I Gotta Feeling' is in second place, 'Believer' moved up a spot to third, 'This Is Me' is ninth, and 'Keep On Movin'' is at 18th. Including the originally released 'Give me reason,' the second album has nine songs on the chart.

Rolling Stone magazine gave the album a 4.2 rating, and on iTunes and Amazon Music Store, the album scores over 8.5, with very positive reviews," Anna said with a smile.

Link crossed his fingers and nodded, "All good news, any negative press?"

Anna thought for a moment and said, "There is! Some media are hyping up your private life, saying it's chaotic. Apart from Taylor, you're also maintaining lover relationships with Ivanka, Amber, Emma Watson, and Du Chen Kloster, claiming you have hundreds of secret lovers."

Link laughed it off, unconcerned. Gossip comes with celebrity, and it didn't affect him much.

"Also, two women in Miami have come forward claiming to be your ex-girlfriends who you dumped after becoming famous, with one claiming you are the father of her child and asking for child support," Anna continued, looking directly at him.

Link raised his eyebrows. Before being assassinated, Link had four ex-girlfriends, but none of the relationships lasted long, and he wasn't sure if any children were involved.

"Is it true?"

"After the news broke out, Ivanka immediately arranged for an investigation. Only that woman named Sunny had spent a few days with you, but the child was fake. Someone gave them a thousand US dollars to lie to the reporters," Anna explained.

Link also breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he wasn't becoming a father just yet.

"Any other bad news?"

"Yes, there are many rumors on the internet claiming that the sales for our album are fabricated, suggesting that the record company is spending money to boost the numbers for such high data. There are also accusations that your second album's songs are plagiarized, with intentions to sue you in local court.

The legal department is already looking for the source of these rumors and has filed lawsuits against several social platforms, accusing them of lax supervision and holding the related individuals legally responsible," Anna reported.

Link nodded. While rumors of sales manipulation didn't worry him, the plagiarism accusation was malicious, intending to destroy him completely.

However, it served as a wake-up call for him; he would be more cautious when drawing inspiration from songs in the future.

He could provide music snippets or song ideas to Graham, Mars, and the others to complete and compose a broadly similar song. With his fame and singing ability, he could still be a big seller.

Alternatively, paying others to write songs was also an option, as his first and second albums included such songs.

If plagiarism was ever proven, earnings from his records wouldn't be enough to cover the damages.

The car returned to the Santa Monica beach villa, where Taylor had invited a group of friends living in Los Angeles to the villa for a party.

It was a celebration of both his world championship victory and his second album topping the weekly sales chart—a double joy.

Guests included Blake Lively, Emma Roberts, Katy Perry, Paul Walker, Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Du Chen Kloster, Jamie King, among others.

Looking around, Link realized his and Taylor's social circle was quite small, limited to just a few fixed friends.

"Link, why are you standing here by yourself?"

Katy Perry came over with her wine glass in hand.

It was a beach party today, and everyone was dressed in cool outfits. Link was only wearing beach shorts, while Katy Perry had on the breeziest attire, a red bikini with straps, barely covering her ample bust and curvy hips. Standing over one meter seventy tall, she had a very hot figure.
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Her hair was originally black, but she had recently dyed it blonde. Combined with her British-heritage face, she looked a lot more stunning.

"I have to go to Vancouver for a signing event tomorrow, so I need to get some rest in advance,"

Link called out.

"I heard that every signing event you do, you sign more than ten thousand albums. That's really impressive. My fans suggest I learn from you, Link. You've just raised the bar for being a singer,"

"It's my honor,"

Link joked.

Katy Perry sat down in a beach chair next to him, made small talk for a while, then hesitated before saying, "Link, the thing last time about recommending a single for Jay-Z was arranged by the company..."

Link raised his hand to stop her, "Katy, I understand, there's no need to explain. We're friends on a personal level and don't get involved in business matters. Those things are quite boring."

Katy Perry was a signed artist under the Capitol Music Group, which had collaborations with record companies like those of Jay-Z and Kanye, so promoting Jay-Z was quite normal.

When he released "Give me reason," the other party had also helped forward and promote it.

"Link, are you going to continue competing with East Coast rappers? They have a lot of people and a wide network. Continuing the competition isn't in your favor. Have you thought about making peace? I'm also friends with Rihanna, and I can be the messenger of peace for you two."

Katy Perry leaned on the beach chair, turning her body towards him. As she moved, she revealed even more of her voluptuous figure to him, bringing to mind the saying 'tip of the iceberg', suggesting that only a tiny part was visible, while the larger portion remained hidden.

Link shook his head and said, "Katy, it's not that I want to compete with them, it's that they don't want to let me win, and I'm someone who doesn't like to lose. Unless they're willing to give up fighting for the charts and stop deliberately suppressing my songs and albums, I'll consider making peace with them."

"Yes, Jay-Z and Kanye are also very strong-willed and hate to lose. But your competition for the charts has livened up the music scene a lot. Now, I look at the news about your chart battle every day to see who wins and who loses,"

Katy Perry laughed.

Lady Gaga, listening nearby, laughed, "Yes, the news about Link and Jay-Z is very hot right now and a lot of people want to see it. It has also significantly reduced the publicity for other albums. All the artists releasing albums this year are complaining that their competition for the charts means everyone else loses."

Katy Perry laughed out loud, in agreement with Lady Gaga's remarks.

Link smiled as well. Before he and Jay-Z released their albums, the media had focused on both of them, eager to see who would win or lose this 'battle for the charts'.

After the competition started, he and Jay-Z's camp both put in a lot of effort and created big news stories, providing the media with plenty of material to report on.

Some media outlets even created a 'Link vs Jay-Z' column, updating daily on the sales of both their albums, changes in song rankings, and their activities from the previous day.

The two of them took up so much media attention during the battle for the charts that it led to other artists' albums getting far less exposure, as the news about promoting their albums was less readable and interesting compared to the news about the battle between Link and Jay-Z.

Also, both Link and Jay-Z were big stars in the United States with a lot of influence and many fans. The competition between them was like joint promotion, where 1+1＞2, and nobody else could compare.

"Link, will you be able to surpass Jay-Z on the album chart next week?"

Katy Perry smiled.

"I don't know, but I'll do my best."

"Go for it! I wish you another week as the defending champion on the album chart,"

Katy Perry and Lady Gaga said, raising their glasses with a laugh.

Link also lifted his champagne glass and clinked it with the two of them.