Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

At the end of February, Wiz Khalifa's second rap album "Deal Or No Deal" was released.

The album contains five rap songs co-created by Link and Wiz Khalifa, including "Black and Yellow," "We Own It," "Hello Hello," as well as 11 songs from Wiz Khalifa's past repertoire, including "Chewy," "Friendly," and others.

In its debut week, it sold 213,000 copies and shot to second place on the album sales chart, just 12,000 copies short of the goddess of war's album and a strong contender for the top spot the following week.

The album's song "Black and Yellow" surged to third on the singles chart, while "We Own It," "Hello Hello," and "Friendly" broke into the top one hundred.

Wiz Khalifa became the fourth artist under Link's music label to release an album, clinching the runner-up spot in the first week's sales, once again making Link Music's reputation as a 'Midas touch' in the music industry shine.

Unfortunately, in the second week of "Deal Or No Deal"'s release.

Justin Bieber's second studio album "My World 2.0" was released in the United States, with first-week sales of 283,000 copies, making it the Billboard album chart's number one that week, and making Bieber the youngest male artist to achieve this feat in the United States.

Wiz Khalifa's "Deal Or No Deal" came in third with 168,000 copies.

The goddess of war's album "Need You Now" was in second place with 183,000 copies sold.

Kesha's "Animal" was fourth with 124,000 copies.

That same week, Link managed to attend the 82nd Oscars held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

The film he starred in, "The Fighter," received eight nominations at the Oscars, just one less than "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker," making it a strong contender at the ceremony.

Link also received a Best Original Song nomination for the film's song "The Fighter."

In addition, he would be presenting the 'Best Original Score Award' alongside Jennifer Lopez.

Coming from the red carpet to the backstage of the Kodak Theatre, Link encountered many big stars there.

Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Cameron Diaz, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Carey Mulligan, Jack Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Oprah Winfrey, and many more of the hottest movie stars.

There were also a few acquaintances, Ryan Reynolds whom he had met once, Latin diva Jennifer Lopez, Bradley Cooper from "Valentine's Day," and two people he was more familiar with, Miley Cyrus and Christine Stewart.

"Wow, Mr. Link Baker, what are you doing here?"

As soon as Link entered the hall, a tall middle-aged man suddenly cut across the aisle, reached out to shake his hand enthusiastically, and said, "I'm a huge fan of your boxing, it's so cool, can we take a photo together?"

Link looked at this unexpected fellow.

In his forties, with a large chin and sinister looks, wearing loose-fitting suits, he stood out somewhat against the properly dressed stars around him.

This man was the famous 'eccentric director' of Hollywood, a master of film festival violence aesthetics, who had directed classic movies such as "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill," and "Sin City." This year he was nominated for Best Director for "Inglourious Basterds."

Director Quentin Tarantino.

"Hello Director Quentin, I'm a fan of your films as well," Link said as he shook the man's hand.

This wasn't just a courtesy; he particularly liked Tarantino's "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction" and had even imitated the dance scenes from the films at dance halls.

"Haha, that's great, the admiration is mutual," Quentin Tarantino replied, waving his assistant over and taking a couple of photos with Link.

"Link, how come you are here?" asked Director Quentin.

Before Link could reply, Kate Winslet passed by, stopped when she saw them, and laughed, "Hi, Director Quentin, the film 'The Fighter' that Link starred in got eight nominations, and he got one too. Didn't you know?"

"Really? Link, you're an actor too? And you've been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor? Wow, that's incredible, but wait, I don't remember seeing your name among the Best Actor nominees."

Clearly, Director Quentin hadn't seen "The Fighter."

Link didn't mind and told him that he was nominated for Best Original Song, not Best Actor.

"Oh, I remember now; you're also a singer. I've heard that song 'Legends Never Die,' and 'See You Again' was performed by you too, right? Wow, you, a world boxing champion, crossed over to singing and became so famous. How do you manage to be so amazing?" Quentin said with exaggerated gestures and tone.

"Link's acting isn't bad either; you should check out his performance in 'The Fighter,' it's stronger than many new actors," Kate Winslet said with a smile.

Link gave a gentle smile and thanked Ms. Winslet.

She was 36 that year, looked a bit older than in "Titanic," but still looked good, with a full-bodied figure, wearing a platinum-colored strapless gown matching her hair color, and under the bright lights of the hall, she sparkled.

She had won the Oscar for Best Actress last year for "The Reader" and was the presenter of the Best Actor award this year. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

"Okay, I'll definitely check out 'Fighter' when I have time, Link, you're my idol, I hope you keep fighting in the ring and win more Golden Belts in the future."

Director Quentin still seemed more interested in boxing as, after saying a few words, he returned to the topic of boxing.

"Sure thing!"

Link bumped fists with him.

Director Quentin then called his assistant over to take a photo of the three of them together.

After Quentin left, Link had a chat with Ms. Winslet.

The two had never met before, but last year he had mentioned her at London Airport, calling her his childhood crush.

Ms. Winslet teased him a bit and left a contact method, suggesting they could work on a film together in the future.

Link also shared his contact information and invited her to his concert in London.

After Ms. Winslet left, Link looked around the hall full of movie stars. Before the awards ceremony started, everyone, dressed in formal attire, was drinking and chatting in the hall like at a celebrity party.

Link adjusted his black bow tie and stepped into the party, greeting the actors he recognized, introducing himself enthusiastically.

In the world of boxing and music, he was a top star, but in the film industry, he was considered second-tier at best, less recognized by the public than many actors present.

Plus, he was planning to deepen his roots in the entertainment industry, so getting to know more people was certainly beneficial.

Confronted with his initiative, the actors there all gave face and warmly responded to his greetings.

The reason was simple: Link was famous and had strong earning power. A single boxing match could bring in forty to fifty million US dollars, more than the box office of many actors' films. Some actors don't earn in ten years what Link can in five minutes.

In a capitalist society, money is king.

Moreover, in the entertainment industry, singers generally have a slightly higher status than actors.

In art history, music has an older history than drama, and musicians and composers are held in higher esteem and are more respected than playwrights, having a greater influence on society and culture.

For instance, many actors present love rock, blues, and worship Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, John Lennon, MJ, and are fans of their music.

But it's rare for a singer to be fanatical about an actor, even those as distinguished as Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Tom Hanks, generally earning at most affection.

And in terms of earning power, singers earn more, faster, and stronger.

In Hollywood circles, those with a film salary over thirty million or who receive box office profit-sharing are considered top-tier, and they number fewer than fifty.

Most actors see their popularity and pay decline as they age or if their new films perform poorly at the box office.

In the music industry, however, many people earn hundreds of millions each year from record sales, concert tickets, song rights, and more.

For example, in '09, MJ earned over a hundred million from album royalties and song rights. Link, too, made over a hundred million from albums, commercials, and concerts.

Also, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Taylor, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye, Britney Spears, Linkin Park, Green Day Band, Coldplay, P!nk, and others—all made over twenty million dollars.

Some singers can live off a hit song for a lifetime, like Mariah Carey with her Christmas song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", earning millions in royalties every year.

Link's inspirational songs like "unstoppable", "the fighter", "chase the sun", "America dream", "believer", etc., have been frequently played at sports events or other athletic competitions since their release last year, earning him millions in royalties annually.

Actors need to keep taking roles each year to maintain their fame and lifestyle, and due to the overabundance of actors and rapid turnover, it's easy to be replaced, making competition fiercer and money harder to come by.

This is also why many actors, once famous, consider switching to become singers.

Facing a billionaire like Link, anyone not too proud or lofty will respond to his greeting.

But there were some at the event who didn't pay much attention to Link, namely, the group of Black actors, such as Forest Whitaker, Jamie Foxx, and others.

After last March's Grammy incident, they had publicly criticized him and accused him of racial discrimination. Later, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, and others publicly apologized, but these actors had made no such gesture.

Even if Link was willing to reconcile, he couldn't extend a hand first, as a rejection would be too embarrassing.

"Hey, Link, over here!"

Link said goodbye to Robert Downey Jr. and was about to chat with the dashing Keanu Reeves when he saw the ever-smiling Miley Cyrus, this year's presenter for the Original Song Award, waving enthusiastically. She was surrounded by girls, including Amanda Seyfried, Penelope Cruz, and the expressionless Christine Stewart.

Link waved back and walked over.