23rd September 1994
Ajay had spent the entire night racking his brain, trying to decide which song to release next. He had considered many songs, but either they were too popular or they had electronic music. In certain cases, the singers had to be foreign, either British or Nordic. By the time he decided on a song and slept, it was already 2 am. As a result, even when 11 hit the next morning, and the sunlight was streaming into his room, he remained fast asleep.
'Ring.....Ring'
Ajay's eyelids twitched at the sound, and he was about to get up, his face wearing a scowl, but the annoying sound of the landline abruptly stopped, and a young man's voice was heard.
Ajay suddenly remembered that the general manager of his company, Vincent, was in the hall. Satisfied, he collapsed into the bed once again. Sadly, he was only left undisturbed for a minute.
"Knock, knock."
Ajay's eyes suddenly opened, and he looked back at the door with a look of repulsion. Unfortunately, the knocking didn't stop, so he had no choice but to get up, put a loose-fitting T-shirt on, and open the door.
"What's up, Vincent?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn.
Vincent acted as if he hadn't seen the wax on the corners of the eyes and the boogers in the nose and promptly relayed the information he had received.
"Mr Tjay has invited you to a social event."
Opening the door for Vincent, Ajay was on his way to the bathroom, but after hearing what Vincent said, he sharply turned his head around with a look of surprise. "Again!?" he exclaimed.
Tjay had already thrown over half a dozen parties since 'Thrift Shop' was released. Ajay had personally attended most of them. For him, the parties were still a novel experience, and he did get to enjoy the activity at night, which made his mind and body completely refreshed with no strings attached. But after so many times, the novelty had declined, and he felt it was all a little hollow, so he was planning to reject it.
"Yes, sir," Vincent nodded. "However, this time it's not a private party. It's a formal event hosted by the Bertelsmann Music Group themselves."
"Oh?" It really did intrigue Ajay. He stroked his chin, lost in thought. "Fine, I've written a new song. Hopefully, I can find a suitable singer."
Vincent's eyes widened, and his body shivered.
"Really, you wrote another song?" Since he was employed, he was doing the job of an errand boy, investigating studios that can be rented, researching about where shooting equipment could be bought, where the tapes could be bought, finding Professionals, live musicians, and all sorts of things, but the boss continued to go to parties, hang around with his uncle and his coworkers, and occasionally even benge watch movies.
He felt like his job wouldn't be extended past three months, and he felt a little regretful about agreeing so readily.
But now a question echoed in his mind. 'Did this songwriter, whose first song was a gold record, write another song?'
Ajay looked at Vincent with an arrogant look. "You thought I was simply playing around all these days?" He gave a smug grin. "I am a gold record songwriter, Vincent. My standards are very high. If I can write a song like 'Thrift Shop' just by sitting at home, wouldn't I have already done it?
"I was just looking for inspiration, that's all."
Vincent nodded in understanding and looked at Ajay with admiration, completely ignorant about the act of pretence he was made to watch.
Ajay freshened up and came out of the room neatly dressed in a white coat and beige pants, matching it with a light beige shirt, making his skin colour pop.
"Vincent, the song is on my desk. Quickly send it over to Harish and have him register the copyright."
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Vincent happily agreed. "I'll get it done today, boss. Leave it to me."
Helson Hotel, Burbank
Ajay got out of a cab and looked at all the luxurious cars that were parked throughout the parking lot. He felt a little jealous, but a hint of determination also appeared in his eyes.
'I would be able to purchase them someday.'
He walked forward and directly informed the valet of his name, and he was immediately let inside with a respectful gesture.
Entering the ballroom, Ajay's eyes lit up. There were hundreds of people, some he could recognise, while the majority he couldn't. The ones he could were all junior artists signed to BMG. The others were either the artists' companions or staff from the company.
Ajay's arrival did go unnoticed by most people, but some Insightful people immediately recognised him. People like Herbert Lawrence, manager of Lil Pimp, an up-and-coming rap artist who made a name for himself with a breakout hit single "Coca Cola Drip".
Herbert immediately came forward and introduced himself as Lil Pim's manager, and Ajay, although caught off guard, quickly recovered and reciprocated.
"Mr Williamson, if you have another song, please do consider contacting me." He quickly pulled out a card from his pocket and extended his hand. Ajay did not think about refusing and directly accepted it.
"I will," he said.
After a few more encounters like this, he felt a little disappointed because they were only asking him to write another rap song, but his plans were different, so he gave a perfunctory response, trying his best not to step on anyone's toes, and left, wanting to find Tjay, only to find him surrounded by a lot of people, artists and managers alike.
He understood that he wouldn't be able to chat with him today, which was a little disappointing because he wanted to ask him to recommend an artist, but oh well. Taking advantage of the fact that not a lot of people recognised him, he simply sat in a corner enjoying the buffet while he began to think.
Ajay chose "A Thousand Years" as his next song not only because it was a big hit in his last life when it was released in 2011, but also because it continued to be an important song throughout the decades to come. By the time he had died, it had already accumulated over 2.8 billion views on YouTube and Its popularity was only boosted by Shorts, Reels, TikToks, and other short-form content. Not to mention it had become a go-to song for weddings, first dances, piano covers, talent shows, and other YouTube covers.
Additionally, it was not a complicated song. It did not have any advanced electronic sounds that he couldn't produce right now. It was a simple pop ballad with piano driving the lyrics, with strings bringing the energy. The vocals were not too hard either. It did not have ridiculously high notes, and it did not have impossibly low notes either. It was in the middle range, and any female singer could sing it. Not to mention, it was quite melodic and catchy as well. It was the main reason why it did so well in his past life, apart from being the title track for the infamously famous Twilight Saga Season 1.
So, in order to perform the song, he had to find someone to replace the singer from his last life, Christiana Perry. He wanted to collaborate with the top dogs of the industry like Taylor Carpenter, Brittany Schwartz, Mariah Lift, and Whitney Washington, but he didn't know how feasible that idea was.
"Hello."
Ajay suddenly heard a voice from his side. He looked at who it was, and he was immediately caught off guard because it was a young, beautiful girl with curly hair and light chocolatey skin, but also because he recognised her face.
"Hello, Miss...?" He paused, letting the young lady introduce herself.
"My name is Malissa Keys. A new artist signed to BMG."
Ajay could have sworn she was Alicia Keys, the singer featured on Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." However, he quickly grew confused. Although she strongly resembled Alicia Keys, it couldn't be her, since, if he remembered correctly, Alicia would only be around 13 at this point in time. This girl looked at least 20, and she also seemed to have a birthmark on her chin.
'What a weird world.' He never knew that people with faces similar to those he was familiar with in his last life could be found. Then suddenly, an idea hit him.
'Well, this changes everything.' A slight curve appeared on the corner of his lips, thinking about the possibilities. 'Could I find the artists from my previous life and make them famous again? I could even make a talent agency and bring everyone together.' He stopped himself before drifting too deep into his thoughts and responded to the lady who was waiting for his response.
"Hello, Miss Malissa, my name is Ajay, but you can just call me Jay."
The lady laughed. "Of course, I know who you are. Veronica has been talking about you, Oh, Veronica is the manager who scouted me and brought me to BMG, so I came to say hi."
Ajay couldn't help but look at her, his eyes mesmerised. He hesitated about something in his heart and finally decided.
"Melissa! I have a new song. Would you give it a try?"
Malissa was caught off guard. She looked at Ajay with confusion. "Is it a feature?" she asked.
"No, it's not a rap song." Ajay immediately knew what she was implying and made it clear. "It's a ballad."
Melissa's eyes widened, and her expression morphed into one of surprise.
'Jumping from rap to ballad, what kind of a progression is this?' She couldn't help but question in her heart.
But thinking about it, it should be a good thing, right? Making a connection with a Gold record songwriter is not bad. Besides, it's just giving it a try, isn't it?
She ultimately nodded and agreed with a smile. "Thank you. Here is the contact information. Send me the song, and I'll send you the demo as quickly as possible."
Ajay took the card and nodded.