In the history of the Billboard singles chart, there are not only powerful singles that landed at the top of the list in the first week of release, but also popular singles that stayed in the top 10 for more than 30 weeks, and slow-burning singles that slowly gained attention after entering the charts and finally achieved a breakthrough. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In 2008, little-known female singer Lady-Gaga released the first single from her debut full-length album, "Just-Dance".

At the beginning of the release of this single, no one cared about it at all, and Miss Gaga's had to continue to promote it in major nightclubs and clubs, which slowly spread the reputation of the song, word of mouth, and fame, and finally, "Just Dancing" successfully topped the Billboard singles chart after 22 weeks of release and more than five months later, achieving Miss Gaga's first number one single.

Inspirational stories like this are not uncommon on Billboards, and the U.S. music market has always been known for its long-term durability compared to explosive power, and it's not uncommon for an album to sell for five or six years.

The record for the longest time to win the Billboard singles chart is held by Spanish duet Los-Del-Rio, whose 1995 single "Macarena" took 33 weeks to reach the top of the charts and remained at the top for 14 weeks – the joint second-highest number in Billboard's history.

This time, it was the turn of "Cleopatra" to make history.

From its release in March last year to its debut on the charts in May, "Cleopatra" has been out for 41 weeks, including 32 weeks on the chart, and has only reached the top 20 of the Billboard singles chart!

Compared with many history-making singles, "Cleopatra" still has no channel, no publicity, and to be more precise, no signing.

Whether it is Miss Gaga, or the people of the riverside, they were all unknown independent singers when they made history, but they all signed with record companies, no matter how big or small, at least the record companies can provide resources and carry out publicity.

In the American music system, without the support of propaganda resources and the blessing of radio broadcasts, it is equivalent to a Tour de France, where all the other competitors are cycling, but one person is running on both feet.

But it is under such circumstances that "Cleopatra" has written history, relying entirely on the spread of word-of-mouth, relying on the hot spots surrounding Lan Li, relying on the excellent quality of the song itself, relying on the indomitable tenacity of independent music, and creating its own history in an incomparably peculiar and incomparably absurd way.

Perhaps, some people will say, it's just a top 20 rank, not to mention winning the championship, not even the top 10, but considering that this song is still hanging under the name of the song cast, and no company has signed a contract, this feat is far more terrifying than the record that "Macarena" spent 33 weeks to finally win the championship!

This is definitely another folk miracle since the beginning of the 21st century.

Rock 'n' roll is dead, that's the consensus since the turn of the millennium, the rock 'n' roll of the '70s and '80s, the rock 'n' roll that swept through thousands of armies, is gradually declining, and no rock band has sold more than 10 million albums except for Linkin-Park. The golden age of a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools of thought contending is gone forever, and with it, the prosperity and hustle and bustle of the music market.

But people have forgotten that the disco that once served for a whole decade is no longer cared for, the jazz that once supported half a century has survived, and the ballad that once shined is dying.

At their peak, folk singers were known as modern poets, who used melody as a bridge and lyrics as a weapon to vent their aspirations for society, expectations for the country, criticism of politics, interpretation of literature, and understanding of life. Once upon a time, folk songs were modern poetry, and those singers were like Shakespeare, who used their talents to leave valuable artistic wealth in the long river of history, and made indelible contributions to society, culture, and the times.

But now?

What is a ballad? It's just old-fashioned, old-fashioned, ignorant, outdated, pale, tasteless, and a past that belongs to the grandparents' generation, piled up with a thick layer of dust, and they don't even want to understand. Even Bob Dylan is an unfamiliar name for the new generation of young people.

In the 21st century, can anyone win the Nobel Prize in Literature for virtue of the literary nature of folk songs like Bob Dylan? Can anyone be like Bob Dylan and give folk songs a profound literary artistry, even comparable to those masterpieces? Can anyone be like Bob Dylan, make music a part of social progress, use his guitar as a weapon, and become a pioneer in society?

No. In the midst of pop music, not even Bob Dylan's place is gone.

Jason Mayez's "I'm Yours" stayed on the Billboard singles chart for 76 weeks, breaking the record for the longest time a single on the charts and reawakening people's fond memories of ballads, but it was only a flash of inspiration, and Jason's subsequent singles, which were no less of quality, did not have such devastating energy.

But today, "Cleopatra" slowly and leisurely entered the top 20 of the Billboard singles chart without any publicity, and in a trance, people once again saw the glory of the golden age of folk songs - that era of national carnival and national popularity.

Following "The Mixer", for the first time this week, the official magazine "Billboard" reported on "Cleopatra".

"It's hard to imagine that in the current era of pop and hip-hop, there is a singer who has so boldly returned to the embrace of folk songs. This is not a folk song that blends other genres, nor is it a folk song that caters to contemporary tastes, nor is it a folk song that follows the trend.

A simple guitar, with an unpretentious sand hammer, reproduces the most simple, pure and sincere arrangement, so that the moving and wonderful of each note are integrated into the melody; the poetic lyrics, like the whispers of a bard, the sigh of history, the perception of life, the recollection of life, and the literary heritage that is enough to awaken Shakespeare's memory, the charm of the lyrics is brought into full play, like a poem, timeless and profound.

This is a ballad.

Even for an indie singer, even for Bob Dylan, even for the sixties, this is an admirable song that is mesmerizing. ”

As the leader of national pop music, Billboard's authority is unquestionable, almost comparable to that of "The Rolling Stones", and they define this week's hot topic as "the return of folk", introducing not the blue ceremony, but "Cleopatra", as well as contemporary noteworthy folk songs, which once again gives "Cleopatra" enough recognition.

Forty-one weeks ago, if someone had said that a ballad would be in the top 20 on the billboards, everyone would have scoffed, even as a joke, and thirty-two weeks ago, if someone had said that "Cleopatra" would be in the top 20 on the billboards in eight months, they would have laughed out the big teeth of a bunch of people and laughed with tears.

But that's what happened.

Even Alan DeJanis, she didn't expect that an impromptu idea would actually create the emergence of history; even Andy Rogers, he didn't expect that the program that was originally to promote "Buried Alive" actually achieved the glory of "Cleopatra"; even the "Allen Show" program team, they didn't expect that a video edited casually would actually advance by leaps and bounds on YouTube and become a hot spot.

The advent of "Your Bones" detonated the focus of the conversation, and finally achieved the glory of "Cleopatra". For most casual listeners, the single was a new track that only appeared in 2011, but for the old folks in the pioneer village, it was the result of a year of hard work.

"Hudson, Hudson, Hudson!"

On the other end of the phone, Neil Tucson's shouting voice was clearly heard, and the uniform echo behind him could be heard, and it was estimated that everyone in the pioneer village had come out to heckle together, which made Lan Li laugh dumbly.

When "Cleopatra" first entered the charts, he made a bet with Neil that if the single could make it to the top 50, he would take Neil for a ride on the Hudson River in New York. Who would have thought that what was a joke at the beginning would really become a reality. And it's not just the top 50.

When Lan Li saw the billboard list, he still felt a sense of absurdity and unreality, even if it was a novel, he didn't dare to write it like this, but it was happening in real life.

"Hudson!, no problem!" replied Lan Li, and then continued, "It's not just Neil, everyone in the bar, as long as you want to go, we'll go together, I'll rent a private yacht and go to the Hudson River!"

The sound travelled through the microphone speakers, eliciting deafening cheers from everyone in the bar, who banged on the table as the ping-pong ringing was reminiscent of the bar scene every Thursday night when watching rugby.

"Stanley, you are not allowed to escape, none of this can happen if it weren't for you, so you must go. Lan Li seemed to anticipate Stanley's refusal, and preemptively blocked Stanley's back road, and sure enough, there was a burst of laughter from the phone receiver, and Lan Li could even paint Stanley's embarrassed and helpless expression in his mind, which made the smile on the corner of his mouth also outline.

Hang up the phone, and the snow-capped, tranquil valley scene outside the window spreads out.