Chapter 117: Album release
The week passed quickly after the Harmony Lane interview.
The episode had gone viral — not massive, but enough to stir new conversations online. Clips of how calmly Dayo answered tough questions impressed fans, since it was well-known that new artists almost always slipped under pressure. But it was different with Dayo.
People praised his maturity, and soon, The Other Side started trending on music blogs and social dia.
Alice noticed the traction and got an idea. "We can build on this," she said during their morning eting at JD Records. "If we go grassroots, it’ll create stronger engagent — real connection."
"Most artists don’t go down that route," Dayo said, leaning back. "So are lazy, and many feel too proud to."
Alice nodded, smiling. She shared her plan — doing it the old-school way, with a mix of modern strategy.
Dayo agreed imdiately. That was exactly what he wanted — to reach people directly. No flashy campaigns, just music. So called him old school, and he didn’t deny it. After all, ntally, he was nearing his fifties.
He wanted sothing that would stand out — sothing unique.
So, for the next few days before the release of the album, he worked like a machine.
He hosted livestreams every evening — chatting with fans, answering questions, and even previewing short snippets of songs. From there, he joined collaborations with popular strears and content creators. They played snippets of his songs, joked with him, and helped spread the excitent.
At one point, he even stread a video ga session — and though he wasn’t great at it (or so he made people believe), still as far as it created buzz he was good.
The internet couldn’t get enough of him. He tried everything possible to increase awareness for the album.
All of this reminded him of his grind back during the Global Competition Wildcard days — sleepless nights, endless streams, and pure determination.
This ti, though, the energy was doubled. And the results showed in his followers.
TikTok: 16.2 M → 28.4 M followers
Instagram: 11.7 M → 20.1 M followers
Twitter / X: 6.2 M → 10.4 M followers
This brought a smile to his face all his hardwork from the Global Competition was showing.
The week went on.
By Thursday night, social dia was on fire.
#TheOtherSide trended across multiple platforms, and fan theories about the album’s the filled the comnt sections.
People even started betting on whether the album would flop or blow up. Real money was put down. It was chaotic, but it kept everyone talking — another idea that ca from Alice.
JD Records’ headquarters felt more alive than ever. Staff stayed late, final checks were made, and everyone waited for Friday midnight.
***
Friday finally arrived.
The entire JD Records HQ glowed under warm dim lights. Large screens displayed the album’s artwork — Dayo standing beneath a sky split in two colors, symbolizing life and loss. The hall was full — producers, marketing teams, sound engineers, even janitors. Everyone who had touched the project was there.
Alice stood beside Dayo at the center of the hall. Valery and Urich handled the setup near the main console, checking the live dashboard that would track streaming numbers. Sharon handed Dayo a bottle of water, smiling nervously.
"Everything’s ready," Valery said. "Once we hit play, the whole thing goes live worldwide."
Dayo nodded, taking a slow breath. His pulse was racing, but in a good way.
He’d done everything possible — and now, it was ti for the finishing touch.
Quietly, he opened his system panel and selected two cards he’d been saving.
> Global Spotlight Card → doubles exposure and reach for the next release (7 days)
Regional Expansion Card → expands fan reach from regional to national level, adding 25% dia traction and chart presence
He activated both one after the other first the regional Expansion card then the Global Spotlight Card . A faint blue glow flashed across his interface before fading away.
This was where his real confidence ca from. He knew the album wouldn’t fail.
The first card — the Global Spotlight — was one he had earned early on after completing a system mission. He’d been saving it for this exact mont, curious to see how much power it really held.
It was like a lifeline. Whatever exposure he was ant to get would double. If he was ant to reach 500,000 people, it would beco a million.
That alone was reason enough to grind as hard as he did.
The second card was newer — a reward from his recognition as a Regional Artist. It boosted his dia traction by 25%, permanently, and when combined with the Spotlight bonus, it reached 50% — though temporary.
All of this brought him peace.
Alice looked at him. "Ready?"
"Let’s do it," he said quietly.
A large digital countdown appeared on the screen.
10... 9... 8...
The room fell silent. Caras pointed toward the big display.
3... 2... 1.
The album went live.
Cheers erupted imdiately. The analytics board on the screen began to tick upward — hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of streams in minutes.
Dayo grinned. He looked around at the people who had spent months with him. "Bills on
tonight," he said. "We’re all going out to eat!"
The room exploded in laughter and cheers. Everyone had been working nonstop for weeks, so since the very first recording session.
Dayo didn’t mind spending. Money wasn’t an issue anymore. He was a millionaire now — and if anyone wondered how, it was thanks to Lois’ album, H.E.R.
It had gone gold and was just shy of platinum.
She could’ve easily passed the milestone if she had done interviews or if MM Records had pushed it properly — but they didn’t.
So the album never reached its full potential.
---
One-month totals (Lois — H.E.R. album, JD Records promotion):
Spotify: 131,200,000 streams in total stream
Apple Music: 50,300,000 streams
YouTube (tracks
visuals): 117,000,000 views
iTunes / Apple Store purchases: 170,000 purchases
Physical copies (vinyls & CDs): 250,000 units sold
Total first-month equivalent units: ≈ 720,000 units
Chart positions (approx., one month after release):
Billboard 200: around #85
Billboard Global 200: around #50
Top Song (H.E.R — Lois ft JD): ≈ 88,500,000 total streams after one month
---
The total amount made from the Album without task was about $3,262,610 and it could have been more if Lois was still under him.
He felt pained a bit but he shrugged it now was his mont and he would make sure to own it.
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