boxer to hollywood

The premiere ceremony this time was similar to previous ones, only larger in scale, with more reporters and fans present. As Link and Taylor walked hand in hand down the red carpet, fans and onlookers erupted in cheers, many shouting "Link, Link!"

Before the Super Bowl, Link was top-tier in both the boxing and music industries but second-tier in the film industry. Even though he was quite famous, many Americans, especially those who weren't keen on new trends, still didn't know him. This included a significant number of older adults.

After the Super Bowl, Link broke into the mainstream. According to a survey by The Hollywood Reporter, his recognition in the United States reached 91%. Out of 5,000 diverse moviegoers, 91.8% recognized him as a singer, and 74.8% could identify him by name and profession when shown his photo.

This level of recognition was only slightly lower than that of Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Schwarzenegger, Tyson, Ali, and the US President. Among the new generation of celebrities, Link was genuinely at the top.

Link and Taylor answered a few questions from the reporters on the red carpet, signed a few posters for enthusiastic fans, and then walked hand in hand into the Nokia Theatre.

"Hi, Link, Taylor! Long time no see."

Emma Roberts, Jessica Alba, and Jennifer Garner were already there when the couple arrived. There were hundreds of well-known actors and filmmakers present, making it feel like a grand party.

"Haha, long time no see!" Link and Taylor greeted their acquaintances warmly.

"Link, your performance at the Super Bowl was fantastic. 'Legends Never Die' was incredible," Jennifer Garner praised.

Jennifer is a famous actress known for her roles in "Juno," "Daredevil," and "13 Going on 30." She is also Ben Affleck's wife and Casey Affleck's sister-in-law. Link had shared a few scenes with her on set and chatted a couple of times.

Link expressed his gratitude for her compliment and then chatted with Ben Affleck. Ben is not only a famous actor but has also been transitioning into directing, winning the Golden Globe for Best Director for "Argo" in recent years. He's quite talented and could be a potential collaborator in the future.

"Link, are you still training at Muscle Beach?" Emma Roberts asked as she saw Taylor chatting with Jessica Alba.

"Yes, but I've been busy with work lately, so I only spend about two hours there each day."

"Will you be there tomorrow? I want to train too," Emma Roberts said, waving her small fists.

"Probably from 10 AM to 1 PM. Have you finished filming your movie?"

"No, I've finished two movies and have two more projects lined up for after May. I'm exhausted," Emma Roberts said, stretching her slender waist.

Link smiled lightly, thinking that this was a good problem to have. The other Emma, before signing with Palm Bay Agency, couldn't land a single role all year round. She would be ecstatic every time she got a part with more lines.

Emma Roberts, coming from an acting family and leveraging her aunt and parents' connections, never lacked resources in the industry. Instead, she was sometimes overwhelmed by too many roles. Same name, different fate.

After chatting for a while, the premiere began, and everyone sat down to watch the movie "Valentine's Day."

The film starts in a flower shop, where Ashton Kutcher's character proposes to his girlfriend, played by Jessica Alba, on Valentine's Day. Jessica initially accepts but then changes her mind, leading to their breakup.

Ashton shares his experience with his friend, played by Jennifer Garner, who discovers that her date is a married man and causes a scene at a restaurant. The story also interweaves with other customers of the flower shop, including a seven- or eight-year-old boy who orders flowers to confess to his teacher, played by Jennifer, while his babysitter, Emma Roberts, plans to sleep with her boyfriend on Valentine's Day. The boy's grandparents have their own love story, and his mother, Julia Roberts, meets Bradley Cooper on a plane, with Cooper's character being in a relationship with a same-sex partner, a football star. Taylor Swift's character and her boyfriend's Valentine's Day story also feature.

The film's story is presented in a web-like structure, with the plot not being very coherent. However, the continuous appearance of stars, like Christmas eggs, quickly made the audience forget the plot's flaws and immerse themselves in the Valentine's Day love story woven by the director.

"Why do I feel like my character is a bit annoying?" Taylor leaned over and said.

Link, holding her shoulder, laughed, "Didn't you notice while reading the script? Your character is supposed to be a spoiled, flamboyant high school girl. If you find your character a bit annoying, it means you played it well."

"Really? I thought it would be cute," Taylor said, blinking.

"Well, a bit of spoiling in a young, pretty girl can be somewhat cute, so you don't need to worry about any negative impact from this role."

"Your character seems a bit dumb, like a goof," Taylor teased as she watched the movie.

"Method acting!" Link responded casually with a smile.

"Today was a fairytale, you were the prince

I used to be a damsel in distress

You took me by the hand, and you picked me up at six..."

As the movie ended, Taylor's end credit song, "Today was a Fairytale," played.

Link's song "Girls Like You" was also featured in the movie as an interlude.

Clap, clap, clap!

As the lights in the cinema came on, the audience stood up and erupted into applause.

——

On the same day as the "Valentine's Day" release, Link's third album cover photo was also revealed online. The album, titled "The Woman I Love," was set to be released on March 22nd.

The cover photo features Link shirtless, embracing a blonde woman with a bare back. His face is ruggedly handsome, with sharp features and striking blue eyes. His arms are muscular and well-defined.

The woman in his arms has a very sexy back, with beautiful curves, sparking endless imagination and speculation.

Once the cover was released, it sparked a heated debate online, with many discussing whether the two were actually naked during the shoot and who the woman in Link's arms might be. Some speculated it was Taylor, while others thought it wasn't.

People also discussed the release date, noting that Justin's second album was set for release on March 1st, Usher's new album on March 26th, and Drake's debut studio album on April 20th.

This led to speculation that East Coast rappers were not only using Justin's album to compete with Link but also planning to overwhelm Link's album with a "people flood" strategy.

Link's new album faced significant challenges to break through the competition.

However, Usher and Drake refuted this speculation.

Usher stated that his album had been completed in April last year and was initially scheduled for release in August. However, he was dissatisfied with a few songs, so the release was delayed. After six months of fine-tuning and improvement, the album's song count increased from 18 to 23, with higher quality and more songs.

Usher claimed this album was filled with sincerity and was not inferior to his fourth album, which sold 1.1 million copies in its first week.

Drake also said that the release date of his new album had nothing to do with Link. His new album was rap, while Link's was pop, so there was no competition between the two.

Despite these explanations, fans still believed their own judgments. They thought these albums were aimed at Link's new album; otherwise, they wouldn't be released around the same time.

These speculations made the news about Link and Justin's chart battle even more lively.

Along with the release of Link's third album cover photo, the first promotional single, "All Of Me," was also released on digital music platforms and in physical stores. The song's music video was also uploaded to MTV Music Channel and YouTube's subscription channel.

Within three hours of its release on Amazon Digital Music Store and iTunes Music Store, "All Of Me" reached 38,000 downloads, topping the daily download charts of both stores.

In 24 hours, "All Of Me" reached 125,000 downloads, surpassing "Hey Daddy" and entering the weekly single download chart in third place.

First place was "Legends Never Die," with a second-week sales of 715,000 copies, maintaining its popularity.

Second place was Taylor's "Today was a Fairytale," with 482,000 copies sold, debuting as the runner-up on the singles chart.

Fourth place was Justin's "Baby," with 312,000 copies sold. The song remained highly popular online.

Kesha's "Your Love Is My Drug" was fifth with 266,000 copies, "Hey Daddy" was sixth with 121,000 copies, and Wiz Khalifa's "Black And Yellow" was seventh with 98,000 copies.

The Los Angeles Times reported that this Valentine's Day's singles chart was dominated by Link and Taylor's love songs. Justin needed to produce more sincere works to compete with Link on the singles chart.

(Chapter ends)