<h4>Chapter 166 - Rebirth Melodies </h4>


    The hype surrounding the uing release of Iris Long’s new album "Rebirth Melodies" was due to several factors.


    First was that it was the piano version of the already sessful "Rebirth" album.


    Second was that it would be apanied by aplete piano songbook which was of great interest not only to pianists but also to other instrumental musicians as well. Even to those who weren’t musicians but were Iris Long fans, especially the ck Stars, the songbook was a great collectible.


    Third was that it was an album intended to be released internationally right from the start.


    Fourth and the biggest factor of all was that the album was first announced alongside the bombshell about Iris Long being appointed as officialposer for an as of yet unknown film.


    These were the reasons why it broke pre-order records for instrumental albums in the country’s music history.


    Despite the hype and the record-breaking pre-order sales, many music industry experts still predicted that "Rebirth Melodies" wouldn’t be able to directlypete against the usual pop albums because it was an instrumental album. They reasoned that the majority of people weren’t that interested in purely instrumental music.


    In the past, the only instrumental albums that could directlypete in the music charts were the official soundtracks of popr TV drama and movies. Even albums by the country’s most celebrated ssic instrumental musicians rarely entered the music charts.


    "Rebirth Melodies" wasn’t any of these, not an official soundtrack of a popr TV drama or film, and Iris Long wasn’t a celebrated ssic instrumental musician either. So the music industry experts’ skepticism about the album made sense.


    Finally, the release day of Iris Long’s album "Rebirth Melodies" arrived. Following the music industry experts’ skepticism, many radio stations declined to y the album’s piano songs. Only a handful readily yed them, including DJ Song’s radio show.


    Despite not getting sufficient radio airy, "Rebirth Melodies" still managed to debut at number 8 in the music charts. It aplished this feat based purely on streaming power and sales. It was currently the only instrumental album in the music charts’ top 100.


    Its daily streaming power was on its way to catching up to the original "Rebirth" album. People liked to listen to "Rebirth" and "Rebirth Melodies" simultaneously topare. The two albums technically contained the same songs, but listeners were quickly discovering that "Rebirth Melodies" had apletely different vibe from the original album.


    Iris Long didn’t just transcribe the original songs as they were but rearranged them to evoke purer and rawer emotions from the listeners.


    In the original "Rebirth" album, the presence of Iris Long herself and her amazing vocals added a big entertainment element to the listening experience. Her skillful and emotional singing was the album’s most important quality.


    In "Rebirth Melodies", however, this element was not present. There were no vocals, so the listeners were left only with their pure emotions evoked directly by the piano music.


    As for the piano songbook, people had the option of buying it separately or with the album, no matter if the album was a physical or a digital copy. Since the songbook was published in book format, it was listed as such and was also avable in all major bookstores. It quickly became a bestseller, breaking records for the fastest selling sheet music in the country.


    The industry experts were stunned. Then some ssic instrumental musicians expressed their displeasure with how "Rebirth Melodies" continued to break records.


    One of the most aplished ssical pianists in the country who was treated as a national pride for decades was recorded saying, "I’m utterly disappointed that instead of learning to appreciate proper ssical music, our younger generation today are choosing to listen to some pop singer’s simplistic piano transcription. This is further proof of the degradation in the education of our youth today. They don’t know how to discern real art from sham. I feel insulted not only for myself but for all the real pianists in the world that a mere pop singer is pretending to be one of us."


    Thisment by such a famous pianist caused headlines.


    The ck Stars were, of course, enraged. And since the pianist also criticized young people, even those who weren’t Iris Long fans felt offended by hisment.


    "What a snob! I hate people like him the most who think that they’re better than the rest of us just because we don’t know how to ’appreciate proper ssical music’. Proper, my a**! Boring is more like it!"


    "He’s just jealous because despite winning many awards, his albums never sold well. Why? Because he’s just ying the same ssical music over and over. Even his ownpositions sound like the onesposed by Beethoven, Mozart and the other greats. No originality at all. He just ys the piano really well. At least, Iris Long creates her own music AND ys well."


    "Your time is up, old man. Stay in the past where you belong! This is the era of our generation. And if we choose to like Iris Long, we’ll like her! Backward people like you don’t have any right to tell us what to do!"


    The pianist didn’t expect such a bacsh from hisment. He felt upset and humiliated. As a result, his fellow ssical musicians quickly banded together to defend him.


    Although Iris Long personally didn’t say or do anything against them, these ssical musicians still med her for disrespecting one of the most respected pianists in the country. They demanded an apology from her.