Charttoppers - 6. Price of Fame

It only took a week for Tyler to change his mind about his chosen profession once again. Seven days after his debut single hit the airwaves, the hopeful singer had an interview scheduled at one of the biggest radio stations in London, MC Max Radio. It was just the first of many events his label had set up as part of his promo schedule. As a new, young artist, Tyler’s name recognition was nonexistent, which meant he had to promote his work hard if he wanted to be noticed.

The excitement and joy he felt in the previous days had slightly waned, starting to give way to insecurity, as the British boy paced around the living room, already dressed in fancy dark jeans and a salmon-colored short-sleeved shirt. Even his little brother could notice that something was amiss.

“Ty, can you hear me?” Kit asked, waving his hands in an attempt to get his big brother’s attention.

“Oh! Sorry, I was distracted,” Tyler responded, going over to sit next to Kit on the worn-out but comfortable corner sofa. “What did you say?”

“Look! Mum set the radio to your station! We’re gonna listen to you talk!” the kid pointed excitedly at the stereo next to the TV.

“That’s great,” the nineteen-year-old forced a smile as he realized something. Probably everyone he knows would be listening to his first ever interview. The excitement was still there, he could not deny it, but there was also a certain amount of pressure. He wanted to make his family, friends and girlfriend proud and not embarrass himself in the process.

However, as he sat next to his little brother and listened to him talk about his plans for the day, Tyler gradually started to feel better. Family was exactly what he needed to focus on. No matter what happened at the interview, they would be there for him.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you, love?” his mom offered for what had to have been the tenth time that day, and Tyler yet again shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Yes, mom, I’m sure.”

“Alright, I have to ask. I know you’ll do great either way, pumpkin,” Marissa gave her eldest another hug before kissing his cheek. It was then that he heard his phone buzzing in his pocket. His manager and publicist, Florence Carter, was letting him know she had come to pick him up.

“Just in time,” he let out a sigh. “Well, I gotta go. See you guys later!”

After receiving another round of encouragement and hugs from the entire family, Tyler left the apartment and went down to meet the woman he had been working closely since the day he got signed by his label.

Florence was a thirty-something, slim woman with a simple black bob that Tyler thought looked too much like a wig. Even though she always seemed to wear high heels, she was the shortest adult he had ever met. However, what she lacked in size, she made up for in strong presence. Her loud voice seemed to be one of her biggest tools and Tyler quickly learned to hold the phone away from his ear whenever he talked to her.

“There’s my idol!”

As soon as he left the building, the singer could hear the familiar voice coming from somewhere nearby. He turned left and saw the tiny woman standing a little further away, leaning on her red Toyota, a Starbucks cup in one hand and a smartphone in the other.

“Hey there, mister! Are you ready to go?” the woman asked.

“Hey, Florence, how are you?” the singer greeted her politely, giving her a small, shy wave. He often wished he had her confidence, being able to talk to anyone without restraint.

“What’s with that?” she frowned, imitating his hand movement. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna get shy on me now. Nerves kicking in, huh? Well, that’s understandable.”

Tyler nodded as he joined her in the car, sitting in the passenger seat while she started the engine. “Yeah, you could say I’m kinda nervous.”

“Darling, you’ve got nothing to fret about! That’s why we scheduled you a radio interview first, and not a live TV show. Remember, no one’ll be able to see ya, that’s the beauty of radio. It’ll just be us, sitting in a room and talking. Well, I won’t do the talking, but I’ll be there.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll try not to mess it up,” he shrugged.

“You won’t mess anything up. We’re going to go there and you’re going to charm the pants off of everyone, alright? I know you’ve got it in you, you just have to let yourself go. Let me tell you something, every single person I’ve managed has had the same problem when they were starting out, so don’t think it’s only you. The trick is to just be natural, be yourself. Yeah, I know it’s become an empty phrase everyone and their mother puts on their Insta, but in this case it actually works. There’s no point in pretending and worrying about who’s listening and who you need to impress. Just act naturally, alright, love? People can tell when someone’s faking it, so if you just be yourself, they’ll appreciate it,” Florence said, gesticulating wildly with one hand as she kept the other firmly on the steering wheel.

“Alright,” Tyler nodded, soaking in his manager’s words. “Maybe I should’ve had a drink to relax.”

“Sure, just open that glove compartment and you’ll see a flask-” the woman pointed to her right before Tyler cut her off, laughing.

“I was only joking!”

“I wasn’t! If you wanna have a taste, go ahead. You won’t get drunk from a sip.”

“Maybe another time, but thanks.”

The atmosphere at MC Max Radio was much more comfortable than Tyler was expecting. He was not actually sure what he was expecting, having never been to a radio station before, but it was certainly a welcome surprise. Without having to wait at all, Florence and he were ushered into the studio on the third floor, where three hosts were sitting and chatting, having just started their afternoon show. One by one, each of the hosts removed their headphones and came over to greet the two guests, giving them a quick hug.

“Welcome, it’s great to have you here,” Melody, a good looking girl in her late twenties was the first to greet them, pointing Tyler to a seat between her and Charles, her tall, buff colleague.

As the singer took his seat and the headset that was given to him, Florence sat in the back, trying not to be in the way. Her role was only to provide moral support, not to get directly involved in the interview.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this commotion you’re hearing here in the studio means we have a new guest,” Charles spoke into the microphone, his voice clear and charismatic. “That’s right, as we announced earlier, here with us is a fellow Londoner whose song you may have heard making its way to the airways and charts across the UK. Please welcome our rising star, Tyler Edwards!”

As everyone in the studio clapped and cheered for him, Tyler smiled bashfully and gave the hosts a grateful glance. “Thank you, it’s nice to be here. Thanks for inviting me.”

“You’re very welcome! Now, Tyler, this is your first media appearance, is that right?” Benny, the third host, asked. Even though he was much smaller than his hunky colleague, his voice was almost as loud and deep as Charles’. They both sounded as if they were born to be on the radio, Tyler noticed.

“Yes, that’s right. Well, I used to call radio stations dozens of times, just to vote for stuff and enter contests, but this is my first time actually being interviewed,” the singer explained, casting a brief glance at his manager for support. She smiled and nodded, and Tyler immediately felt better.

“And you chose us. Thank you for the privilege,” Melody interjected. “We’ve been playing your song, The Day I Found You, since it came out and we love it. People are requesting it like crazy!”

“Oh, that’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that,” Tyler sent her a genuine smile, slowly starting to feel more relaxed.

“For someone with such an amazing voice, it’s hard to believe this is only your first song. Have you had any prior experience with singing?” Charles asked, and Tyler gave them a brief account of his love for music from an early age, participating in local festivals as a teenager and posting guitar covers on YouTube. He found that it was exactly as Florence told him it would be - he just had to be natural.

At one point, the conversation turned a little personal, as Melody inquired about his love life.

“So, the song is called The Day I Found You. Is it about anyone in particular?”

Feeling a slight blush in his cheeks, the singer chuckled into the mic and nodded. “Well, yes. Even though I didn’t write the song - it was written by two amazing writers, Perrie Martin and Nicole Lewis - I dedicate it to my lovely girlfriend Stacy.”

However, as soon as he finished the sentence and looked up, Tyler’s eyes met the stern face of his manager making a throat-slitting gesture. Startled, he stammered, wondering what he did wrong. Was he not supposed to mention his writers? Or… his girlfriend?

“Uh… so, I really hope everyone will be able to relate to the song. It’s been fun reading people’s reactions on Twitter and how the lyrics remind them of someone from their own lives,” the singer added in an awkward attempt to change the topic.

His concentration suddenly broken, Tyler stumbled through the rest of the interview, anxiously waiting for it to be over. After saying goodbye to the chatty hosts and promising to return for his album release, he rushed out of the building, Florence in tow.

“I… I’m not sure what happened there,” the singer hesitated as he turned to look at his manager, still wondering what he did wrong. Did he just mess up his first interview?

“Calm down, darling,” Florence spoke in a calm, but serious voice as they walked toward her car, and Tyler couldn’t help but feel that he was about to get a lecture. “You did good. Great, in fact. You served charisma, personality, everything people like to see in a star. Just one thing: when they ask you about your personal life, try to be as vague as possible, alright? This is your first time so you get a pass, and it’s my fault for not warning you beforehand.”

“What, I should hide that I have a girlfriend?” he asked, frowning. He did not like where the conversation was going.

“Absolutely,” the woman was blunt. “It’s just how the business works. You’re young and pretty and teen girls are going to be your main fanbase for now, whether you like it or not. You gotta cater to them. If they know you’re not available, well, you’re not really eligible then, are you? And they’re gonna find some other pretty boy to swoon over.”

“Umm, I don’t know how I feel about that. I don’t want to hurt Stacy,” Tyler replied, wondering what his girlfriend would think if she heard him say he was single or if he refused to acknowledge their relationship. As he often did when he was nervous, the singer raised his hand to fix his bangs, but then remembered he no longer had any. His caramel blond hair, which was usually so long that it would fall into his eyes, was now neatly cut shorter and combed back in a stylish pompadour, part of his image overhaul directed by his label. It was yet another change he would have to get used to.

“I know what you’re thinking, I do. But this isn’t just my advice to you - although I strongly recommend you listen to me. These are orders from the label. They want to make you marketable for as big of an audience as possible, but teen girls are going to be your main fanbase. It’s the same with all young male stars. That means that in the eyes of the public, you’re to present yourself as single,” Florence instructed him.

“But… what about other singers, like Samson? Everyone knows he’s gay and he’s still popular.”

“Darling, Samson is a whole other beast, ok? He caters to a different, older audience with his provocative, mature image. And more importantly, he already has an established fanbase. You don’t - at least not yet,” the woman explained.

For the rest of the drive home, Tyler mostly just silently stared at the road ahead, weighing his manager’s words. Even though his phone was blowing up with notifications, he put it on silent and shoved it back into his pocket, ignoring all the texts and fans’ reactions. He would deal with all of that later. For now, he had to figure out what to tell Stacy. Becoming a star at the cost of losing her was not a risk he was willing to take.

~~

Standing by his open closet, Tyler was going through his clothes in an attempt to find the perfect outfit for that night. The party celebrating the release of his first single was to start in a few short hours. It was going to be a fairly casual affair in a local restaurant, with his parents, friends, girlfriend and the closest associates from his team - his stylist, the two songwriters, the producer and, of course, his manager Florence.

After a lot of consideration, the singer finally pulled out a pair of fitted, dark red pants and a sand-colored shirt. He quickly changed and checked himself out in the mirror hanging on the inside of the closet door.

“What do you think, Sally? I don’t even want to ask Queen, she never has anything to say,” he glanced over at the tank on his dresser, which contained his two pet salamanders. The animals lay peacefully on the rocks, sleeping off their meal of crickets and worms, and Tyler couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit jealous.

“You girls always get along, huh? No cares in the world,” he asked, subdued, thinking of his girlfriend.

Ever since the radio interview the other day, all he could think about was what his manager told him - he had to pretend to be single. The woman’s words echoed in his head: “These are orders from the label.”

No matter how much he tried to keep himself distracted, those thoughts always came back to him. It was something he knew he had to discuss with Stacy sooner rather than later, but he kept putting it off, unable to find the right words.

“You’re right, Sally, I’ll talk to her tonight, if I can get her alone,” he sighed, neatly folding the casual outfit he had taken off and placing it on the bed.

“Hey, love. Getting ready for the party?” his mom’s voice came from behind him and Tyler almost jumped in surprise, turning to see her standing at the door.

“Oh, hey, mum. I was just-”

“Talking to Sally Mander?” Marissa smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your siblings. Or Stacy. I do it too, you know.”

“You do? You never told me that,” Tyler asked in surprise. A moment later, he remembered just how chatty his mother was and realized that her confession actually made perfect sense.

“Of course, what do you think I did all day after I had you and your siblings? Your dad would go to work, you’d all fall asleep and I had no one else to talk to but the pets,” the woman shrugged. “I would’ve gone mental if I had to keep my mouth shut all the time!”

Tyler laughed, imagining his mother having one-sided conversations with the numerous pets they had over the years - a hamster, a few birds, an old cat they adopted that passed away a few years ago, and now the two lizards.

“Come on, Kit and Lucy are already in the kitchen, waiting for you to have some snacks. You’ll be starving by the time the party starts,” Marissa suggested, motioning for her son to follow her. “Just don’t stain your shirt.”

“Yeah, I’ll put on a sweatshirt over it,” Tyler followed, feeling as if he could eat a horse.

The party officially started at nine, and as hosts, Tyler and his parents arrived at ‘Ace of Hearts’ some time ahead of schedule. It was one of the favorite restaurants of the Edwards family, though they could not afford to visit it frequently. One of Marissa’s best friends agreed to babysit Kit and Lucy since they were too young to join, but Tyler was determined to have a good time even though his baby brother and sister would not be there.

It was about half an hour later that the first guests started to arrive. As the young singer guessed, it was his girlfriend and a few of his best friends.

“Wow, can you guys believe this nerd here is going to be a star?” Nathan, one of Tyler’s closest high school friends, teased as he gave him a bro hug, patting him on the back.

“I know! You better give us a shoutout when you win your first Starship Award,” Geoff said. He was a burly guy from South Africa, a year older than Tyler and Nathan. He lived in the same block as the singer, so they spent a lot of time hanging out.

“It’s Stardust, you plank! Not Starship,” Stacy corrected him, but Geoff just rolled his eyes, waving her off.

“Yeah, whatever. As long as he wins one!”

After Tyler gave his girlfriend a kiss, the group joined his parents at the table, ordering drinks for everyone. It wasn’t long before the rest of the guests arrived and Tyler quickly lost count of how many hugs he received that night. Even though he didn’t know the people from his team that well, the singer thought it was the polite thing to do to invite them. After all, they had been an immense help since day one, working with him on his songs, making sure he looked good for his photoshoots and just helping him enter this new world of show business.

He certainly did not regret inviting them, as everyone seemed friendly, cracking jokes and keeping the atmosphere jovial. Of course, Florence was the loudest of them all, especially after she had a few drinks.

At one point in the evening, Tyler excused himself to go to the toilet. On his way back, he could clearly hear whispers behind him and his heart promptly started beating faster.

“Oh my God, that’s Tyler Edwards!” one girl whispered, sounding very excited.

“Are you sure?” the guy standing next to her asked.

“Yes! Should we ask him for a selfie? I wanna ask him!”

“Ok, hurry up then!”

The couple quickly caught up with Tyler, stopping him as he was about to enter the main hall.

“Sorry to bother you, you’re Tyler Edwards, right?” the girl asked nervously, clutching her phone in her hand, obviously ready to snap a photo. The guy stood next to her, holding out his hand for a handshake.

“We’re big fans,” he said, smiling.

Tyler quickly shook his hand, fighting what would have probably been the biggest grin of his life. It was his first fan encounter! The whole scene felt surreal, as if it was happening to someone else and he was just there, observing it.

“Uh, yeah, I’m Tyler,” the singer replied as he came back down to earth, feeling his chest fill with pride. “Nice to meet you, guys.”

“We love your song!” the girl exclaimed, grinning at Tyler and then at her friend. “And we were wondering if we could get a selfie with you?”

“Sure, sure,” the singer nodded politely and the two friends quickly stood beside him. Even though they were the ones who were starstruck, he seemed to be just as awkward as them, as he clumsily fished his phone out of his pants and opened up the camera app.

“Umm, I was thinking with my phone,” the girl pointed at the device in her hands, “because I kinda wanna keep the picture?”

“Right! Silly me,” Tyler facepalmed, making the two fans chuckle. Once they were all in position and smiling, the girl proceeded to take a selfie and quickly turned the phone to check the photo.

“This is amazing, thank you so much,” she gushed, her eyes back on Tyler.

“It was great meeting you! Good luck!” her friend added.

“Thanks! Have a nice evening,” Tyler waved at them as they went their separate ways. Even though he calmly walked back to his table, on the inside he was bursting with excitement. If only he was alone in his room, he would be jumping up and down, squealing with joy at the fact that he had just met his first fans! Reading messages of support on social media was one thing, but meeting actual people who say they are fans of his music was something out of this world.

“You are never gonna believe what just happened!” he whispered excitedly to Stacy as he sat next to her, grabbing her hand.

The girl turned to him, but not before giving Florence a quick glance, which did not go unnoticed by Tyler. “What’s going on? You seem so pumped.”

“I just got recognized! There were some people over there, they stopped me and asked me for a selfie. And they said they loved my song,” he blurted out so quickly that Stacy was barely able to follow.

“Oh, wow, that’s amazing. Your first fan encounter,” she tried to appear happy, but her smile did not quite reach her eyes.

“Did something happen while I was gone? You seem kinda distracted?” Tyler had to ask. He knew his girlfriend well and she was not the type of person to get shy and nervous, especially not at a party.

“It’s nothing, we can talk about it later. I don’t wanna spoil the fun,” Stacy waved him off, but he could not be reassured that easily.

The singer turned to look at his manager, wondering if she had told something to Stacy. The woman seemed cheerful, drinking and chatting to Jenny, Tyler’s stylist. Still, the seed of doubt was planted in his brain and he could not get rid of it. He also could not help but notice that Stacy seemed thoroughly distracted from that point on, checking her phone every few minutes, looking at the time.

Finally, Tyler had had enough and stood up, whispering to his girlfriend. “What do you say we go outside for a bit? Get some time alone, huh?”

“Alright,” Stacy nodded and stood up, following him until they were in front of the restaurant.

“Let’s go over there,” the singer suggested, leading them to a nearby bench, away from passersby. “Can we talk about what happened there? Did Florence tell you something?”

The girl hesitated. “Well, yes and no. She kinda suggested that you had something important to tell me, but she didn’t say what exactly,” she explained. “But the way she said it, it didn’t exactly reassure me. Babe, is something bad going on? You know you can tell me anything.”

“I know, but this is…” the blond guy stopped, not knowing how to finish the sentence. It was the moment he had been dreading. “I do have something I wanted to tell you, but I just didn’t know how, so I’ve been putting it off.”

“Is it about your music?”

“No. Well... sort of,” Tyler stuttered, looking down at his shoes. After releasing the breath he was holding, he looked at Stacy again. “It’s about my record label. You know the radio interview I did the other day, and how I mentioned that I dedicated the song to you?”

The girl nodded without interrupting him.

“Well, the label didn’t really like that. Florence says they want me to pretend I’m single. Supposedly, that’ll help me grow my fanbase - you know, teen girls.”

“Yeah, I get it. They wanna fantasize they can have you, like you’re singing to them,” Stacy said bitterly. After all, she spent much of her early teenage years pining for various boyband members, imagining she was the object of their affection.

“Pretty much. I’m sorry. You know this wasn’t my idea,” he pleaded, taking her hand.

“I know, I’m not blaming you,” she looked away, but kept her fingers entwined with her boyfriend’s. “I just… I bloody hate it.”

“Me too,” Tyler nodded.

"It's like they don't believe you can gain fans on your talent alone," the girl stated angrily. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like I have much choice,” he replied sadly. “But I think it’s only going to be temporary. And we can still see each other, we just have to be careful, you know…”

“Yeah, we’ll sneak around and hide. Such fun,” Stacy rolled her eyes. “Maybe I can pretend to be your best friend or cousin.”

“I’m sorry, that was a dumb idea.”

“No, it's not your fault. You know, I didn’t want to admit it, but it’s like on some level I knew something like this would happen sooner or later.”

“What?”

“That when you become famous, things would change for us,” the girl looked at him, her brown eyes welling up with tears. “I just didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”

Tyler watched as his girlfriend reluctantly got up from the bench, separating their hands. She straightened her dress before giving him an awkward, sad look. “I think I’m gonna go home now. It’s getting late.”

“Oh… Do you want me to drive you?” he asked, hoping for a positive response.

“I’ll grab a taxi, but thanks. See ya, Tyler,” the girl gave him a half-hearted wave before turning around and walking away, leaving Tyler gazing after her.

When he and his parents returned home in the early hours of the morning, Tyler went straight to his room with the excuse of being exhausted from the party. The truth was that he just wanted to be left alone. He did not want to see or speak to anyone, especially if it involved pretending he was in a good mood.

The conversation with Stacy played over and over in his mind, and he kept wondering if what he was giving up on was worth it. Would his budding career make up for the sacrifice he was making?

After putting his phone on silent, he covered himself up with a blanket and closed his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep, he completely missed the notification for a link one of his friends sent to him:

UK Singles Chart – week of April 8

‘The biggest gainer of the week is the debut single of talented Tyler Edwards – The Day I Found You. After entering the charts at #75 last week, the track surges into top 20 this week at #15. With critical acclaim and continued growth in all metrics, the song is almost guaranteed to be a big hit for Edwards. And with a voice like that, is anyone really surprised?’