When Tomato TV suddenly announced that its show, I Am a Creator, would resume filming as scheduled, it stirred curiosity within the industry. The show had previously been thrown into disarray when a renowned composer unexpectedly withdrew at the last minute.
How had they managed to regroup so quickly?
The show needed a major draw to attract viewers, and the prodigy composer had been a perfect gimmick. Now that he was gone, what could they possibly use as a replacement?
Could it be that a veteran songwriter was coming out of retirement? Or perhaps they had some other secret weapon up their sleeve?
Tomato TV remained tight-lipped, but they had already invested in promotional campaigns. The viral momentum of "Blooming Life" on the Doukuai Platform was beginning to fade. It was already remarkable that a purely organic video, driven by random shares from ordinary users rather than paid promotion, had climbed into the top five trending spots.
Typically, Doukuai's trending charts were dominated by paid promotions from Multi-Channel Network Companies, one of the platform's primary revenue streams.
But then, a fresh wave of support suddenly surged in, swiftly propelling "Blooming Life" back into the top five and then all the way to number one.
Many short video bloggers created reaction videos to the song. While some were slightly over-the-top, most viewers genuinely appreciated the track and actively promoted it.
This organic promotion was well-deserved, as the song's exceptional quality easily lived up to the hype.
Previously hovering around tens of millions of views, the song quickly surpassed 100 million and surged to 200 million, then 300 million.
When Director Zhang received his team's report, he was baffled. "How much did we spend on this traffic boost?" he asked. "I only allocated 700,000 yuan."
"Director, we followed your instructions exactly," the staff member replied. "We started with 300,000 yuan for initial promotion to test the waters. When we saw the results, we invested another 400,000 yuan in trending hashtags. You can check the transaction records."
Fearing Director Zhang suspected them of skimming commissions, the staff member hastily offered proof of their integrity.
"I'm not accusing you," Director Zhang clarified. "I'm just confused. On the Doukuai platform, a million yuan in paid promotion barely makes a ripple. How could this minimal 300,000 yuan investment have such a tremendous impact?"
He studied the metrics again, estimating that such engagement would typically require spending three to five million yuan.
While the entire production team remained baffled, "Blooming Life" had exploded in popularity. Its initial surge came from organic word-of-mouth, fueled by office workers scrolling through Doukuai after work to kill time.
However, Doukuai wasn't just promoting one viral video. Other videos with paid promotions naturally received greater exposure, indirectly suppressing the reach of "Blooming Life."
The 300,000 yuan investment acted as a key to unlock the platform's algorithm. Once the restrictions were lifted, the song's true vitality could finally shine through.
This was no longer just a viral short video within a niche community; it had achieved "breakthrough" status, with multiple online circles hearing the song and seeing the video.
Suddenly, a campaign titled "Find the Original Creator of 'Blooming Life'" began trending, boosted by a 400,000 yuan investment. The hashtag proved surprisingly effective.
Previously, they had managed to track down the singer. But the shaky phone recording, made without a stabilizer and after the person had been drinking, made it nearly impossible to confirm their identity. The only distinguishing features were their striking hairstyle and clothing.
These days, performance art is commonplace, even in the Demon Capital. It's hardly a novelty anymore.
It would be more productive to track down the composer and lyricist of this song. On Guochuangwang, outsiders can only see the song title and the credited name: One Leaf Knows Autumn.
Just who is One Leaf Knows Autumn, and which company employs him? To create a song like this, he must be at least a Golden Five-Star talent—even platinum-level writers might struggle to match his skill.
And if the same person composed both the music and wrote the lyrics, that's truly remarkable.
As more people began searching for One Leaf Knows Autumn, Tomato TV's official account announced the launch of their new show, I Am a Creator.
Filming would begin the following Monday. The promotional poster featured seven songwriting teams alongside a lone, shadowy figure labeled with the name "One Leaf Knows Autumn."
Immediately, a trending topic appeared on social media: "The original creator of Blooming Life joins I Am a Creator!"
This entire campaign was meticulously planned to generate hype, with coordinated promotion spanning short video platforms and social media.
Fortunately, Director Zhang wasn't disappointed this time. Judging by the current public sentiment, most people were eagerly anticipating the creator of "Blooming Life."
The show's popularity soared!
As the saying goes, "A lost horse may turn out to be a blessing in disguise." In truth, the promotional budget for this campaign was minuscule compared to industry standards. If the previous prodigy composer hadn't left, pushing his profile would have cost far more than a mere million yuan.
Now, the show's buzz was through the roof!
The official Weibo account gradually unveiled the star-studded lineup. First, they announced powerhouse vocalists Sun Nan and the Great Demon King Tan Weiwei.
Among the established singers were Liu Ning and Estelle Chen Yihan. Estelle, the Chinese singer who added an English name suffix, had debuted later and shared a name with a senior artist. She adopted the English name to differentiate herself.
Despite this, she refused to change her name and remained content with her modest fame.
Next came the idol category. Zhang Yanzhuo from the rap scene was announced first, followed by an even bigger name: Wang Lingkai, a former member of the first-generation idol audition group that had since disbanded and pursued solo careers.
The lineup also included Cheng Xiao, a female idol who genuinely trained overseas before returning to China, and Yang Chaoyue, a domestic idol who stumbled into the industry and was initially considered the least likely to make it into a group, yet surprisingly managed to do so.
Director Zhang and Shen Tao's collaboration on this lineup was masterfully executed. For the seasoned vocalists, they avoided flashy gimmicks and instead invited true powerhouses. As for the celebrity singers, they chose two slightly controversial figures whose performance abilities were at least passable.
Finally, in the idol category, the first two were known for their eccentric stage personas, while Yang Chaoyue, with her immense social media buzz, was undoubtedly poised to become the show's breakout star.
Despite having already debuted, joined a group, and seen her contract expire with its disbandment, Yang Chaoyue's current musical skills were arguably worse than those of an average person. If she were to face off against serious songwriters on stage, they would likely be eliminated.
Director Zhang had clearly thought everything through meticulously!
This variety show, teeming with headline-making personalities, was still missing one crucial element: the host, who would also serve as the creative initiator. The production team had deliberately kept this role a secret, withholding the reveal to build anticipation.