America's Road to Wealth

"Keep your head up, chest out, and release your confidence! Punks can't lack confidence!"

"You have to believe in yourself, you are definitely no worse than Britney!"

Michael Levine's good friend, CAA's senior agent Delevingne.

At this moment, he was looking solemn, looking at Avril Lavigne in front of him, and encouraging her.

"All this is actually normal. Very normal. You should know by now how big the competition is among singers."

"I'll give you an example, Mariah Carey, you haven't heard of it, right? She is very popular and has been famous for ten years, right? Then you know how she became famous? She fell in love with her boss , she married her boss! Without Tommy Mottola, do you think she can be so popular? Maybe, but it will be a hundred times more difficult, or even not popular at all!"

"Lavigne, if he hadn't heard your song and picked you. He recommended you to David Geffen. If not for this, you don't know how long you would have to wait if you wanted to get ahead!!"

"How many young girls inside and outside the company are jealous of you, and you know it very well, so please please him, hug him tightly when you have the chance, and don't let go! Do you understand?"

Avril's expression was twitchy and particularly troubled, "But...I...I have never chased a boy!"

"What are you afraid of if you've never been chased? You've always been chased, right? Let me tell you, it's not a secret, Jessica and Anne are popular now, right?"

"They were all chasing after him. Of course at that time, he didn't have the power or influence he has now. He wasn't the richest man in the world yet!"

Agent Delevingne opened his eyes and told lies, but young Avril Lavigne had no way of distinguishing the truth from the lies.

"Fortunately, it's not too late for you. It's not too late to start now. Remember, keep your chest up and your head up! Remember when he went to visit the class during the day and he was full of praise for your performance?"

"He said you have a rare temperament, which means that he actually admires you very much! Do you understand? Bring out this temperament in you and let him see it again and again!!!"

Avril finally nodded.

The agent looked not far away, at the drop-off area of ​​the Hilton Hotel. Cars kept stopping, and people came down and entered with invitations.

Delevingne took out his cell phone and wanted to make a call.

At this time, Avril suddenly stopped him, "How about... forget it, I really..."

I'm really scared and unwilling.

The manager looked at her, "Don't you want to be famous? Don't you want to be like Britney, where people scream for you wherever you go?"

Avril retracted her hand, "I want to. But... I think I myself too"

She feels that she can become popular just by relying on her musical talent.

It's just a matter of time.

"On your own? How long will it take you to do it on your own?"

Draven, who was already experienced, continued to flog the girl's self-confidence.

"Kanye West, you know, right? The company's new black hip-hop singer, you know how talented he is, right?"

Avril nodded.

Even if I dislike so-called black hip-hop and rap, I still hate black people.

But Avril Lavigne also feels that young Akan is extremely talented in music, especially in black hip-hop.

Whether it's singing or writing lyrics and music, they are all very good.

In this regard, even Avril Lavigne, who calls herself a musical genius, feels that she cannot compare to Kanye West.

Fortunately, both sides are good at different fields, so Avril is not afraid of being compared.

"Kanye's talent is no worse than yours, and he is even better than you in the areas he is good at. But look at him now? If his boss hadn't discovered his talent, he doesn't know how long he would have been a music producer for others."

Draven continues to brainwash:

"Fortunately, BOSS gave him a chance and released a record for him."

"You know how good that record is. But what? Because it was released at the wrong time, there was no way to promote it. Its current sales are miserable, less than 50,000 copies sold in a month!"

"You see, musical geniuses who have talent and luck are all like this because there is no one behind them to support them."

Delevingne stared at Avril Lavigne seriously, "Do you think your musical talent is comparable to that black boy?"

Avril couldn't help but whispered: "Our fields are different and cannot be compared."

That being said, in fact, she already felt in her heart that she was indeed no match for the black man in terms of talent alone.

"Then the examples I just gave of Mariah Carey and Tommy Mottola, do you understand?"

Avril nodded, her confident face silent for a moment, "I understand."

"That's fine."

Agent Delevingne quickly got through the phone with a smile on his face, "Hey, Michael, it's me. We've arrived, look... Hey, OK OK, no problem, okay, got it! Then we're going in! OK !”

After hanging up the phone, Delevingne turned to Avril and called Avril, "Let's go in!"

Avril crossed her hands behind her back and scratched her fingers, some of which turned white from the exertion. It was obvious that she was very nervous.

She followed the agent and walked forward quickly.

It starts to get cooler in New York in October.

Especially now that night has fallen, we are walking in the commercial center of Brooklyn's Benson District, on the road leading to a Hilton Hotel at the core.

Avril Lavigne felt that the evening breeze was a bit cool.

As they walked, Delevingne reminded her again, "The person I called just now is named Michael Levine. Two years ago, he and I were just agents of CAA, and we had equal status. Two years later, I He is still the agent of CAA, but he is already the president of Smith Media, a big shot that both Hollywood and the Grammys respect."

"Do you know why?"

Avril Lavigne nodded, thought for a moment, and shook her head.

"It's not that his ability is better than mine, I think our abilities are about the same!"

Draven was sighing with emotion, and seemed to be persuading the confident girl.

"There are only two reasons for the difference in status between Michael and I."

"The first one is that this guy has a relationship with Anne Hathaway. They can be regarded as relatives! And the relationship between Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba and BOSS is quite special. Because of this relationship, Michael was reused !”

Thinking about the past six months, this agent has been very good to me.

Avril Lavigne chimed in at the right moment: "What about the other difference?"

"Another difference is... hey..." Delevingne sighed, "At that time, Michael and I met BOSS at the same time. At that time, the boss was just an ordinary Wall Street tycoon. We had a misunderstanding at that time, and I was scared away. But Michael got in touch with him because of Anne Hathaway, and then started working for him."

"Those are the only differences between me and Michael."

Draven looked at the little girl, "But these two differences make our current status completely different."

Avril thought that was true.

Michael Levine is a hot topic in the American entertainment industry right now.

Michael Levine is currently ranked in the top ten in the entertainment industry power rankings listed by some entertainment media.

As for Draven.

As a senior partner and senior broker of CAA, his status is indeed not low.

But that depends on who you are competing with.

Compared with myself and those little stars and singers, my status is indeed extremely high.

But compared to the people on the power rankings in the entertainment industry, Delevingne is really incomparable.

No wonder he was so emotional.

Avril Lavigne thought.

When the two walked to the entrance of the Hilton Hotel, they happened to see Michael Jackson and his sister Janet Jackson get out of the car together, waved the invitation in their hands and walked in.

Draven sighed again.

"You must have heard about the dispute between Sony and MJ, right?"

Avril Lavigne nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

As a superstar in the pop music circle, the talented MJ has always been the idol of all kinds of singers or people who have dreams of singing, no matter what the genre of music is.

MJ's fame and influence are there, but there are conflicts, disputes, and even lawsuits between him and Sony.

Of course, it has attracted much attention from industry circles. After all, this is also related to their future interests.

Avril Lavigne is the same, she still fantasizes about being as popular as MJ in the future.

"Sony has already set its sights on MJ. It is impossible for MJ to get rid of it. Even if he files a lawsuit, it will be useless even if he hates Sony. Sony will not let him go."

"Luckily, MJ's friend Ted Lerner, his daughter is BOSS's girlfriend. MJ asked Ted Lerner for help, and the boss helped."

Delevingne spread his hands: "Do you think Sony is still causing trouble for MJ now?"

Avril shook her head, this matter was not some hidden news in the circle, of course she knew about it.

Rumor has it around that Sony is very afraid of Abel Smith.

Spider-Man was snatched back before, and Britney and MJ were snatched back later.

But the poor Neon man didn't dare to do anything, he only dared to watch Abel abuse him.

Don't think this is weakness on Sony's part.

Sony's weaknesses are also targeted.

Also this year, several other music companies or singers have had disputes with Sony.

Unlike Britney and MJ, who were not as lucky, all these companies and singers were taken care of by Sony.

Some companies went bankrupt or lost money; among the singers, two of them gave in and returned to Sony. Among the others, three chose to pay money and settle the matter, and two were sentenced.

So it's not that Sony is weak, it's just that Abe Smith is too strong.

When encountering him, even someone as powerful as Sony becomes weak.

The bottom-level practitioners in the entertainment industry now have this consensus.

Avril lowered her head and encouraged herself silently in her heart, "No shame, no shame! He is so handsome, so I don't have to pay for it. Besides, he may not like me! Work hard, work hard, and become thick-skinned. I want red, I want red, I want red..."

Although I have always been very confident and consider myself beautiful and talented.

But this kind of beauty and talent also depends on who you compare with.

When the person being compared is Abel, he is as confident as Avril Lavigne.

At this time, she had not yet become famous, had not yet stepped onto the stage, and had not yet experienced an inflated self-confidence.

Even if his character is full of confidence, he actually feels guilty at this time.

When I feel guilty, I just want to cheer myself up.

The punk girl became the cheer girl.

This cocktail party is held tonight in the Golden Banquet Hall of the Hilton Hotel in the Business Center District of Benson, Brooklyn.

is presented by DreamWorks Music, a division of Smith Media.

The purpose is to thank the singers and music companies who will be participating in the charity concert that will be held in Times Square soon.

No appearance fees were paid, not even carriage fees.

If you can't even give it a try, that's too much.

At the same time, this kind of reception can also take the opportunity to strengthen the status and influence of DreamWorks Music in the circle.

It will make those superstars or young newcomers with potential feel that the music industry is no longer just a place for three big ones and one small one.

The newly emerged music dream factory has become a dream factory for everyone to pursue their dreams!

In order to strengthen this concept and attract potential newcomers or superstars to join DreamWorks Music.

It is said that the super big man Abe Smith will also appear.

This big boss will appear, and you can imagine what kind of people will appear at the cocktail party tonight.

According to Delevingne, this is——

“Universal, Sony, Warner—their CEOs will all be here, and they all took special flights and came right away!”

There are only so many invitations to the cocktail party, and they have to be given to the big shots.

A-list superstars in the music industry, such as MJ, Britney, and Mariah Carey, can also come.

In the end, how many opportunities will there be for the second-tier, third-tier, and even fourth-tier, fifth-tier, and sixth-tier starlets to join in and get familiar with each other?

There is almost no chance.

Even if someone is lucky enough to get an invitation, who wouldn't cherish it more?

As for taking the public route to get it, it is even more impossible.

"You know Kanye West, right? He is currently the number one recommendation among the newbies in the company, even higher than you."

"After all, there are so many black people. The market for black hip-hop and rap music is huge, and it seems very profitable, which is normal."

Delevingne said: "But there is no way he can get the invitation tonight. Because he is not qualified, and his agent is not qualified either!"

"I know I can come because you are qualified!" Avril Lavigne praised Delevingne in a low voice.

Delevingne thought to himself that I have the qualifications, but you are here because of that guy Michael.

Delevingne felt that he was really no match for Michael Levine when it came to guessing the boss's intentions.

Regarding Scarlett, I only found out about Abel's thoughts through Ovitz and Robert.

This time Avril was obviously his contracted artist, but in the end it was Michael who thought of sending her to his boss in advance.

Draven couldn't help but pat his head, blaming himself for not thinking ahead.

"Anyway, just cherish the opportunity." Delevingne said to the little girl:

"If you can become the Anne and Jessica in the music industry, then even Michael Levine or Robert Iger will be polite when they see you."

The girl started to yearn for that kind of scene.

The top ten people in the entertainment industry's power rankings are polite and respectful when they see me.

Just thinking about it makes the girl who has not seen much of the world and has not released her own album become excited and yearning for it.

Entering the hotel, you will be led by staff.

The two people followed the staff into the elevator, and soon arrived at the golden banquet hall floor where the celebration was held.

The flagship and core stores of Hilton Hotels will basically have this golden lobby.

It is generally used to hold various cocktail parties. When facing the entertainment industry, Hilton Hotel will discount its usage fee.

This makes most companies in the entertainment industry prefer to hold their receptions in the Golden Hall of the Hilton Hotel.

The elevator is very fast, and Avril, who rarely visits such high-end places, rarely takes such high-end elevators.

I felt a little dizzy all of a sudden.

There were many men and women walking around and talking in the splendid hall.

Intimidating.

Avril has never seen scenes like this before.

Although she has always been a little singer, she hasn't even released a record yet.

But it has been half a year since I became a singer under a powerful company like Music DreamWorks.

In addition, music director David Geffen paid more attention to it, and the agent who signed the contract was Delevingne, a big agent.

She was also taken to see the world, and of course she had seen similar scenes more than once.

But at that time, it was often the home venue of DreamWorks Music. Young singers like her went there to eat, drink, and watch superstars and divas from a distance. There was no pressure.

But this time, the hall was full of distinguished guests, but she came with a mission to charge Mount Everest!

The pressure is naturally different!

Here, Avril, who was following Delevingne, saw many familiar faces that could only be seen on TV stations and newspapers in the past, but it seemed that Abel was not there.

Wow, Bryony!

She felt that Britney had a peculiar aura, one that was sexy, charming, cute and pure——

Delevingne said several times that Abel praised her for having a personality that is rare among ordinary female singers.

But in fact, from Avril's own point of view, she is actually more envious of Britney's contradictory temperament.

Because that kind of temperament is almost common among men and women in Europe and America!

Young girls hope they can be as sexy and charming as Britney.

Older women hope that they can still maintain the innocence of Britney.

Younger men like Britney's contradictory mix of sweetness and sexiness.

The older middle-aged men admired the Lolita-like Britney more, who wore conservative clothes and sang and danced sexy songs.

A Britney, the temperament created by her successful personality.

It satisfies the fantasies of almost all men and women in the United States aged 12-50.

This leaves Britney in a situation where her singing skills are not particularly outstanding and her musical talent is almost non-existent.

It only took two years to directly equal the superstar Michael Jackson in terms of traffic, fame, appearance fees, and fans.

At the height of her popularity last year, Britney was a symbol of American pop music.

The ceiling of American pop icons.

Avril, who is about the same age as Britney, is certainly envious of this.

Like most European and American girls of this era, she wants to be Britney herself.

Or want to be as popular as Britney.

If it's below the hotel.

Avril Lavigne is still wondering whether she should do that and look like many women in her circle.

At this time, she had seen a banquet that was probably bigger than the cocktail party after the Grammy Awards.

The confident punk girl, whose actual height was estimated to be less than 160cm, held her pink fist tightly.

Avril recalled that when she was in school, her male classmates laughed at her because girls couldn't catch fish.

In order to slap her in the face, she called a group of girls and went to the river to catch 78 fish.

Avril Lavigne believes in herself this time.

She believed that she could also catch the fish named Abel Smith.

Even if it's a great white shark!

"Go this way." Draven suddenly said to her:

"The BOSS is over there. Look, Tommy Mottola, Rune Landfern, and Edgar Bronfman Jr. are all surrounding him. Next to him, they look like slaves!"

"Avril, dear Miss Lavigne. Imagine if you were standing next to him now, how glorious would you be at tonight's reception?"

"Imagine the CEOs of Warner, Sony, and Universal all smiling at you. How would it feel?"

In the sound of Draven's persistent brainwashing.

Avril Lavigne looked over.

She saw the tall and handsome figure.

He was surrounded by a group of middle-aged and elderly men, with a faint reserved smile on his face.

She didn't know that the three names Delevingne mentioned just now were the CEOs of Sony, Warner and Universal, the three major music giants.

She only knew Abel who was standing among so many people, regardless of his status or wealth.

Just his appearance and height made Avril's heart beat faster.

He is so handsome.

He is so tall.

If he picked me up, I might just look like a child in his arms, right?

Avril thought shyly.