Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 672 - 486: Grammy Awards

Some believed it was the result of Link's and Lionsgate Films' public relations efforts, implying the award was bought.

Others claimed that Link, being a billionaire and the owner of Lionsgate Films, influenced the jury members with his status and influence, not because of his exemplary acting skills.

In response, the chairman of the jury for the festival, renowned British director Mike Leigh, stated in an interview that awarding Best Actor to Link was the result of jury voting.

In the first round of voting, Link and the main actor from "The Royal Affair," Mikkel Persbrandt, both received eight votes; in the second round, Link got five votes and Mikkel three, making Link the winner.

Director Mike Leigh also commented that Link's starring film "Buried" was a rare, groundbreaking experimental movie, featuring only Link in a wooden box less than three square feet, using a few simple props to deliver a gripping story.

Link's performance in the film was brilliant; with minimal props and simple actions, he completely captivated the audience, an impressive feat.

Director Mike Leigh said that after watching "Buried," eight of the jury members were deeply moved by Link, which led them to cast their votes for him.

Other jury members confirmed Mike Leigh's comments in interviews, stating that Link deserved the award. They argued that failing to vote for him simply because he was a global superstar, a billionaire, and the owner of Lionsgate Films would have been the real injustice.

Upon hearing unanimous praise for Link from the jury members, the media and public grew curious about "Buried," eager to see just how fascinating the film was, and how Link managed to perform lying in a coffin.

Following the Berlin Film Festival, Lionsgate announced that "Buried" would premiere across North American theaters on Friday, February 17.

Snap!

Harvey threw the newspaper onto the table, his face crinkled with greasy folds, and looked at Mickey Lox, the head of the production department at his company.

Harvey hadn't had time to attend the Berlin Film Festival himself, so he had arranged for Mickey to lead the team, scouting for noteworthy films and simultaneously promoting "The Iron Lady."

However, instead of good news from Mickey's trip to Berlin, Harvey read a distressing piece of news in the newspaper—Link, that playboy, had won the Best Actor award at one of the world's top three film festivals, becoming the Berlin Film Emperor, and adding another illustrious title to his name.

Seeing this news, Harvey wanted to curse out loud. How good could Link's acting even be? His best performance, in "Midnight in Paris," was merely upper-mid-tier actor level, and yet he was now the Berlin Film Emperor?

"Mickey, have you seen 'Buried'? How credible is Link's win?"

Harvey asked sternly.

Mickey Lox replied, "Boss, 'Buried' is actually quite good. It's over ninety minutes long, with Link performing alone. The entire film is edge-of-your-seat exciting, with no dull moments. At the screening I attended, which had over a thousand people, the audience was very engaged, nobody left midway, and there was fervent applause after the film ended. German film critics also highly rated it; there's not much doubt about Link winning Best Actor."

Upon hearing this, Harvey's expression grew even darker. He wanted to hear negative reviews about Link, not praises about his impressive capabilities, which he was sick of reading in the newspapers.

"Hmph! Who is Link, anyway? A boxer, a singer; how much time does he even have to practice acting? I've seen a few of his films, and his acting is quite average. I don't believe his performance could have suddenly exploded in this film. Have you seen 'Caesar Must Die' and 'The Royal Affair'? Are you sure Link's acting was clearly better than the other four candidates? Was there a significant difference?"

Harvey pressed, unconvinced.

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Mickey Lox hesitated, admitting that to say Link's acting surpassed the others by a lot would be difficult.

Link won not just because he was the only actor in the film but because he managed to carry a ninety-minute movie by himself with no dull moments and a spot-on performance, a feat few actors could achieve.

Overall, Link qualified to win the award, and the other four candidates did too, but Link was just luckier, gaining the favor of the judges.

"Boss, 'Buried' premieres next week, why don't you watch it then decide?"

Mick Locke said.

Harvey snorted coldly, thinking that would be fine.

If 'Buried' turned out to be good even if it was by a sheer stroke of luck for Link, and if 'Buried' was trash and Link's acting was mediocre, then the media would harshly criticize Link later on, saying he used U.S. dollars to lobby for the award, making him the least deserving Best Actor in the history of the Berlin Film Festival.

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By early February, the 54th Grammy nominations were gradually announced. Link, with his album "love is gone," received five nominations, including Producer of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Vocalist, and Best Pop Album.

Since its release in August, his new album had sold 5.54 million copies in the United States, including digital albums, making it the highest-selling album in the country the previous year.

The second was Adele's "21", with sales of 5.04 million in the U.S., and third was Justin Bieber's Christmas album, currently at 2.75 million copies sold nationwide.

The album sales of three singers under Link Music each surpassed one million copies.

Bruno Mars's "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" sold 1.47 million copies in the U.S. and 6.35 million globally.

Lana Del Rey's "Dorn to die" sold 1.24 million copies in North America and about 16.5 million worldwide.

Wiz Khalifa's new album "Rolling Papers," released at the end of the year, had already sold 830,000 copies in the U.S.; reaching a million was just a matter of time.

Link Music's artists, including Justin Bieber, had three in the top ten and five in the top twenty of the annual album chart, which became big music industry news at the beginning of the year.

This also drove the market value of Link Music to 1.4 billion U.S. dollars.

Link Music itself was valued at over 800 million US Dollar, and the 16.8% of Spotify shares it held were about 400 million US Dollar, with the current Spotify market value around 2.8 billion, nearly tripling since the beginning of last year.

Furthermore, Link Music held 38% of SB Project Entertainment shares, valued at approximately 120 million US Dollar.

Link Music had now become the sixth largest music company in the world, just after Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony Music, Bertelsmann Music, and EMI, and the highest-valued independent label in the world.

Since last year, Link Music also began to focus on expanding international distribution channels, significantly enhancing its album promotion capabilities.

Leveraging the company's channels and Universal Music's promotions, "love is gone" currently had a total overseas sales of 38 million copies, making it one of the highest-selling English albums of the past decade.

His album sales were high, and the critics rated it very well, leading the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to nominate it for several of the most valuable awards once again.

However, he was not the artist with the most nominations this year; that was Kanye West, who, with his solo album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" and the collaborative album "Watch the Throne" with JAY-Z, received 7 nominations.

Adele and Bruno Mars, along with the Jet Band, each received six nominations.

Lil Wayne and Skrillex Sunny John Moore each received five nominations, and Lana Del Rey received three nominations.

Taylor released a six-song children's album in December last year, earning her a nomination for Best Children's Music Album. This album had sold 420,000 copies in the United States and 3.8 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-selling children's music albums in the world.

Taylor also received high praise for this album.

This year's Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12th at the Staples Center.

The day before the awards ceremony, "America's First Voice" and pop music diva Whitney Houston accidentally died in her Beverly Hills Hilton hotel room from a heart attack due to drug overdose, subsequently drowning in her bathtub, at just 48 years old.

Whitney's accidental death deeply saddened her colleagues and fans, who commemorated the music icon through various ceremonies.

An impromptu memorial segment was also added during the Grammy Awards ceremony that evening.

This event also affected Link.

One, he lost a favorite singer; Whitney's "I Will Always Love You," "Greatest Love Of All," "My Love Is Your Love," and "When You Believe" were songs he often listened to.

Two, someone took this opportunity to create trouble, claiming Whitney Houston was indirectly killed by her husband Bobby Brown, and thus drawing a connection to Link and Taylor, suggesting Taylor should distance herself from Link, calling him a toxic man, implying there was no benefit to being associated with him for the long term.

Taylor's fans agreed, often leaving comments online encouraging Taylor to find a new boyfriend and to cut ties with Link completely.

Link, seeing this kind of news, could only sigh helplessly, feeling misunderstood by everyone.