Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

"Taylor, did you write all these four songs?"

In Link's music office, producer Graham Goodall looked at the sheet music and lyrics in his hands and looked at Link in surprise.

"What do you think?"

"They're really good, especially this 'Chasing The Sun.' It fits all the elements of the current popular songs in the market. I can guarantee its sales won't be any less than those of top-tier singers' albums once it hits the shelves."

Graham said excitedly, slapping the table.

"How about this 'Never Say Never'?"

Link pointed at the second song and asked. This song was written and composed by the rapper Travis Garland and performed by Justin Bieber. The phrase "Never say never" became popular worldwide after 2010 and was an ear-catching hit song.

Graham hummed a few notes according to the score and shook his head, "The melody is a bit lively, doesn't quite suit you. You're more suited for ballads, dance music, and rhythm and blues."

Link looked at Graham with some admiration. With just a few bars of melody, the other party could judge the style of the music. His mastery of music was indeed strong.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Should we drop this one?"

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"No need, this song also follows the current trend. During recording, we can make some adjustments, and perhaps it will turn out well."

Graham said while looking at the score.

Link nodded; the song was quite popular and one of the few in his music library with which he had a clear memory. It would be a shame not to use it.

"Graham, how's the progress with collecting songs?"

"We received over a hundred songs, but the quality is not that great. I've contacted some old friends to tailor-make a few songs for you according to your style. So far, we have two and are six short; by the end of the year, we should have them finished."

Graham said, scratching his messy hair.

Link had no objections.

The two were discussing his debut album.

Following the tremendous success of his single, it was natural to strike while the iron was hot by releasing a debut album and expanding his influence in the music scene.

The theme of the album was 'inspiration', planning to feature 12 songs. There were not many of such songs in Link's music library, and he couldn't release them all at once, so he needed to spend money to commission songs, allowing musicians to tailor-make them according to his style.

This practice was common in the music industry; nearly all chart-topping singers had one or multiple teams behind them, creating songs that suited their style and met current market trends.

Upon release, the singers' names would be added to the composer and lyricist credits, signaling their involvement in creation and establishing their label as singer-songwriters to attract fans to buy.

It was precisely because of this that the singers under record labels did not have the rights to the songs.

Link's situation was different. Link Music paid for the songs, so the creation rights belonged to the company, and since Link was a major shareholder of Link Music, he naturally didn't have to worry about copyright disputes.

Link reviewed the two new songs that were just submitted, felt there were no issues, and since he didn't recognize any lyrics or melodies, he didn't comment further.

----

"Link, where are you going?"

As Link left the company and got into the business car, Ms. Mandy asked.

Link looked at his watch, it was half-past eleven in the morning, "To the boxing gym, I can still train for a few hours."

Ms. Mandy nodded and instructed the driver before handing a script to Link.

"This came from Simon. Someone sent the script to Dynasty Promotion to have you do a trial for the male lead. After Simon read the script, he thought you might be interested."

Link took the script and flipped through it.

Ever since he became famous, there had been many invitations for him to play supporting roles; mostly in commercial movies as hitmen, bodyguards, policemen, and similar characters, looking to capitalize on his popularity.

The offers were too low, not even reaching the initially agreed 1 million US Dollars with Simon, and the roles were too cursory, none being significant in a big production, so he didn't accept any of them.

Now he had a screenplay for a leading role, and out of curiosity, he opened it to take a look. The script was titled "The Fighter," fairly ordinary, but the content made him take notice.

The screenplay was adapted from a true story, telling the tale of two professional boxer brothers.

The elder brother was once a star in the boxing world, having fought the former middleweight star Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978 and even knocked him down once, becoming a local celebrity.

After gaining fame, he fell into drug addiction, which destroyed his career, eventually leading him to jail, becoming a negative example in an HBO anti-drug documentary.

The younger brother was also a boxer, inspired by his elder brother, aiming to make his mark in the boxing arena, but his career was hindered by family reasons.

Later, with the help of his girlfriend and his brother, he returned to the boxing ring and defeated the then-prominent IBF super featherweight champion Arturo Gatti, shooting to fame in one strike.

After reading the script, Link found it quite interesting; he had seen this film before, and the translated version in Hong Kong was called "Boxing Brothers."

The role of the elder brother was played by Christian Bale, an actor with exquisite acting skills who had starred in "Batman Begins," "The Prestige," "The Flowers of War," and others.

For his role as a drug addict with a gaunt physique in the film, he had lost 30 pounds before shooting, becoming a famous weight loss guru in the circle just like Jia Ling.

Playing the younger brother was Mark Wahlberg, another famous actor, and the female lead was Amy Adams, known for her roles in "Catch Me If You Can," "Junebug," and an Oscar-nominated supporting actress, also a renowned performer.

This movie received multiple Oscar nominations in 2010, and Christian Bale won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role.

The script was excellent, and the role seemed fitting, but Link was uncertain if he could handle the character of the younger brother.

The complexity of this role was not easy, especially having to act alongside Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

Against such co-stars, he worried about becoming the proverbial weakest link in the cast and facing severe criticism from the public.

But after some hesitation, he chose to give it a try.

While shooting "Deep Sea Quest 2," Stephen Herrick had talked to him about the counterintuitive plank theory, stating that commercial films don't demand much from actors, whereas in art films, directors expect each actor to deliver their best performance.

The multiple Oscar nominations indicated the high quality of the film.

Acting in such a production, even if he didn't perform well, he could still significantly improve his acting skills.

Link decided to take up the challenge and asked Mandy to contact the director of the movie, as he needed to have a chat with them.

"Link, won't you be overwhelmed taking on so much work?"

Ms. Mandy asked as she put away the script.

"No worries, after the fight with Tyson, there are no matches scheduled for the first half of next year, I can use that time to shoot the movie," Link replied after thinking it over.

The WBO-IBF Super Middleweight Championship was still underway, the WBC Championship hadn't started yet, and it would be a few months before the unification fight for the four major organization's Golden Belts. The WBA Championship challenge would also be after the new year.

He could use this period to build his fame in hopes of securing an appearance fee of over 10 million dollars in the next year's matches.

Ms. Mandy nodded, handed him his phone, and said, "Taylor just called; he's going back to Los Angeles to promote his new album for a couple of days. Also, someone named Gadot sent you a message; remember to call them back."

"Gadot is a friend of mine!"

With a touch on his forehead, Link remarked.

"Understood, don't worry, I won't meddle in your private matters," Ms. Mandy said, blinking, with a mischievous smile resembling Selena's.

Shaking his head, Link took the phone to call Taylor and texted Gadot back.

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