The Reincarnated Idol Hard Carries an Indie Band - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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My Past Life as an Idol, Now I’m Carrying an Indie Band
Episode 102
Topping the Lemon Chart is realistically difficult.
But overseas charts? That’s a different story entirely.
First-tier streaming platforms like Spotify and Vibe that service not just the United States and United Kingdom, but the whole world.
And then there’s Sounda, a second-tier platform beneath those giants.
Korea barely has any users on this platform yet.
But it’s still an authoritative service in its own right.
They hold year-end awards shows of considerable scale, run quarterly events, and frequently host concerts.
And the screen I’d shown the boss was Sounda’s real-time chart.
-01. OKTATOP – Riot
-02. Rich diia – Chick Chick
-03. Zebra – Calling
-04. Yebb – Loving you girl
-05. …….
“What… what site is this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hey, what is it? Let me see too.”
The interface was unfamiliar enough that even with eyes on the screen, the boss clearly had no idea what this was.
The others were in the same boat.
I had to explain what this was, what situation we’d found ourselves in.
“This is a second-tier music streaming platform that serves the world. And we just took the number one spot in real time.”
The explanation was simple enough.
But it took the boss and the others a moment to process it.
“Um… so what you’re saying is Oktatop hit number one on an overseas chart?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Oh… I see…….”
“An overseas chart?”
“We just suddenly……?”
“I feel a little dizzy.”
“What did you just say?”
Why were they reacting like this?
I’d expected cheers.
Instead I got five blank stares.
“Does no one here understand what kind of situation this is?”
They all nodded slowly, and the boss fell quiet in thought.
Which made sense.
They’d probably heard the name ‘Sounda’ for the first time today.
And naturally, it was the boss who understood the situation first.
A man with deep roots in the entertainment industry.
As he stared at the screen again, his expression gradually turned serious.
“Seo Ha.”
“Yes?”
“Is this real right now?”
“It’s real.”
“This is second-tier?”
The boss searched for information about the site with trembling hands.
“Man, this platform’s user base is huge. It’s only ‘second-tier’ because the first-tier platforms are absolute monsters. This is a global service.”
“I know.”
“On a platform this size, hitting number one in real time is a position that even Korea’s biggest entertainment companies would struggle to achieve even after pouring in billions of won.”
The boss swallowed hard.
“But you, without a company. Without advertising or local promotion…….”
Thanks to the boss’s explanation serving as a translator of sorts.
Color gradually began returning to the faces of the guys who’d looked blank.
“Wait, so what you’re saying is this is incredibly huge?”
Lee Do Young stammered as he opened his mouth.
“Yeah, there’s no comparison to domestic platforms.”
“Whoa…….”
Heo Jun Sung, suddenly ignited with late realization, shot up from the couch with sparkling eyes.
“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!!!”
Kang Min now seemed to feel it too, jumping up from his seat the same way.
“It’s shaking the earth…….”
“It’s what?”
“It’s shaking the earth! This is the ground trembling!! Ha ha! It’s amazing beyond the world!!!”
“That’s it!!”
Heo Jun Sung happily received Kang Min’s usual nonsense that everyone normally ignored.
This is way too loud….
Lee Do Young covered his mouth with both hands and stared at me like a teenage fan girl.
His eyes were gleaming excessively.
The boss just looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
Kim Ji Hu was quiet for a long while before slowly meeting my gaze.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
“You never cared about the Lemon Chart in the first place, did you?”
“…….”
“While we were staring at domestic charts, discouraged because we couldn’t hit number one.”
The corners of his mouth twisted in a look of disbelief.
“You were looking at this instead.”
“You said you’d get number one with a music release.”
I shrugged.
“But when did I ever say anything about the Lemon Chart?”
“…You crazy bastard.”
Kim Ji Hu let out a breathless laugh.
There was a brief commotion over the news of hitting number one on an overseas chart, but we shouldn’t forget why we’d gathered here today.
“So anyway, boss.”
I turned back to the boss.
“You said something earlier about doing a broadcast, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Right, you’re doing it.”
“Yes, we’ll do it. But not a Korean broadcast.”
I pointed at the Sounda chart on the screen and smiled.
“We’re going to take the stage where we came in first.”
The boss’s mouth slowly opened.
It meant we’d base our decision on this data.
Not on a domestic entertainment schedule—we’d ride the flow of the overseas scene that had made us number one.
A stage waiting for us beyond the Lemon Chart, across the ocean.
We were going to go grab it.
“It’s shaking the earth!! Ha ha!!”
“What does that even mean?”
* * *
Oktatop could hit number one on an overseas chart precisely because we’d featured Moon Ga Young in the music video.
Moon Ga Young, who’d become so wildly popular recently that she barely made it into Korea anymore.
She appeared on various broadcasts centered around the United States.
Though her English was imperfect, she dominated the atmosphere with her unique aura and put on a strong showing.
And occasionally, beyond talking about Bricks, her own work, she’d mention Oktatop’s Riot at the right moment.
It was like she’d poured fuel on a fire that was already burning bright—amplifying Oktatop’s fame even further.
And the news of Oktatop’s overseas chart number one broke in Korea with a slight delay.
Naturally.
Sounda was a platform with almost no Korean users.
It was a small handful of overseas music fans who kept their eye on that space who noticed first.
And it was a single line from one music web magazine that caught it.
「Korean indie band ‘Oktatop’ with no company reaches number one on global platform ‘Sounda’ real-time chart.」
Naturally, the initial reaction was lukewarm.
-Sounda? What even is that?
└It’s a second-tier platform? Then it’s not a big deal, right?
└This is just nationalist propaganda
└How does a platform name sound like ‘arguing’?
└ㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅌㅌㅋㅋ’arguing’ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Sounda? Is it famous?
-What is that, you freaks
When there’s no information, you get reactions like this.
But even in Korea, there were definitely some people who knew about Sounda.
And the few who used it couldn’t bear to see their beloved platform being dismissed.
-They’re disrespecting it by calling it ‘second-tier’ but if you knew how big Sounda’s year-end awards actually are you wouldn’t say that
└facts, the lineup they nominated for Best Artist last year was insane
└Who?
└Yung Gum, Franky, D.Ouuuu, JeoNeo, Mullan Russ, Jackson J. Six total.
└?????? Aren’t all of them the ones who topped the Billboard?
└Yeah
-man I’ve been using Sounda for three years and now Koreans are finally finding out about it
-I hope Sounda gets more users, this place really handles all the unique music
-anyway a Korean hitting number one there is a historic moment, don’t just cover your eyes and ask ‘what is this?’ you idiots
└shit he pulled it off when he was in high school
└he’s twenty now lol
And such opinion spread quickly to the general public.
And the number one person spreading that news was naturally Dampa.
“Hey! Didn’t I tell you! About aiming overseas? Hey, you see my foresight? Did you see it? You don’t know anything, do you? No!”
Dampa, swollen with arrogance.
He sprawled across the chair completely and even pointed his finger at the camera as he spoke.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ there he goes again
-but this time he’s earned the right
-prophecy confirmed
-he really predicted it
“See, people like me who dig through overseas charts all the time just had to figure this out, okay?”
Dampa began explaining how he’d figured out Oktatop’s overseas strategy.
“Since around the end of 2018, there’s been a genre trending in America that’s been spreading. It’s Symphonic Rock, and Distruction, your rivals, actually did that back on Houthery, right?”
That was the song that had gone head-to-head with Oktatop.
“That genre is slowly climbing up right now, and Oktatop took it and tailored it perfectly to match American and British trends.”
-Oh, so that’s what it was?
-It wasn’t just because of Moon Ga Young?
-I thought it just got famous because Moon Ga Young looked good in the music video, but that’s not it?
-See, an expert is different
“Of course, having Ms. Moon Ga Young in the music video definitely played a role.”
Moon Ga Young’s appearance had spread Oktatop’s existence overseas.
But that wasn’t the whole story of this fame.
“The issue spreads it as an actress, but the music sustains it. That’s how this situation came to be complete.”
Combined with Dampa’s statement from his live broadcast, public opinion flipped rapidly.
From ‘what is that?’ to ‘how is that possible?’
An indie band with no company, no capital, had planted its flag in unprecedented territory.
With just that fact alone, the name Oktatop flooded the portals once more.
But what Oktatop and Jo Hyun Seop were hoping for hadn’t even reached Korea yet.
* * *
If you wanted to book Oktatop, you contacted Jo Hyun Seop.
This was a rumor that had spread through Korea’s entertainment industry.
But overseas?
Nobody knew how to book Oktatop.
So despite hitting number one on overseas charts, no one was contacting them.
Though there weren’t no means of contact.
A few enthusiastic companies eventually managed to find a way to reach Oktatop.
“Hello?”
-Hey! Cha Seo Ha!
“Huh, Ga Young, aren’t you overseas? What’s up?”
-Why don’t you just get yourself into a company or something! I’m swamped and I’m not even your manager, so why are all these Oktatop booking requests coming to me?!
“Oh, sorry.”
-Just sorry?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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