King of Hollywood-Chapter 546 - 267 Grammy

I love competition, Adrian thought admiringly as he engaged in role-play with Gwyneth and Blanchett, both dressed in classic attire. In the past, he had hinted at it indirectly, but only Gwyneth had occasionally indulged him, and even then, it was quite limited. Now, however, it was different. Not only had the two women readily agreed to his request, but they had also chosen very retro roles. Even modernized classical lady garments were somewhat cumbersome to wear.

The current performance was "Queen and Miss," with Gwyneth and Blanchett each playing the roles they portrayed in the film, competing for Adrian’s favor. Of course, the ultimate victory would be decided in bed. Overall, Adrian was quite satisfied, his only regret being the slight rush, with no well-prepared script, relying solely on Gwyneth and Blanchett’s improvisation. Nonetheless, it was a tremendous pleasure to have two beautiful women, dressed in British retro-style long dresses and exuding classic elegance, moaning beneath him.

As for whom to favor, Adrian had already made up his mind. Although the other might be somewhat displeased, making it up to her by helping her win an Oscar statuette later would be enough.

That’s the beauty of competition, or rather, the beauty of healthy competition. Now, aside from Gwyneth and Blanchett, two others were about to start competing, and Adrian had some guiding to do.

The day after the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, the 41st Grammy gradually kicked off at the Temple Grand Hall in Los Angeles. As an established award in the United States, on par with the Oscars, Emmys, and Tony Awards, the Grammy, while criticized in many aspects, still attracts countless singers and celebrities each time. Those nominated, whether they liked the Grammys or not, all hoped to take home one or two awards.

"Do you know, you are adorable, Britney. I’ve listened to your album, and it’s really outstanding. I think you fully deserve the Best New Artist," Madonna said smilingly to Britney, who had clinched several nominations, including Best Single and Best New Artist, as last year’s most explosive and popular newcomer. All in front of the Temple Grand Hall foyer that shut out the noise of the journalists outside.

She was dressed, as ever, in a black long dress with curled blonde hair hanging down accentuating her long-standing mystique and wildness.

"Thank you so, so much, Madonna. You’ve been a superstar I’ve admired since I was little. It’s such an honor to meet you," Britney said, excited and agitated, with almost stars in her eyes. Her white long dress, in stark contrast to Madonna’s, made her look adorable, innocent, and a tad sexy.

"Is that so? That’s great. I’m having a party at my Beverly Hills home after the awards ceremony. Maybe you’d like to come?" Madonna fondly brushed the locks of hair by Britney’s ear, with an unspoken gleam in her eyes.

However, before Britney could answer, a sharp slap sounded on Madonna’s buttocks. The pop queen jumped, turning around annoyed and ready to scold, but upon seeing who it was, she immediately shut her mouth, and her complexion soured.

"Hi, Madge, I’m so happy to see you," greeted Adrian cheerfully, meanwhile escorting a tall, curvaceous woman in a strapless evening gown that accentuated her fiery Latin allure.

"I’m warning you, Ed, I hate that nickname. If you don’t stop, I won’t be nice to you," Madonna tightened her face, looking at him with irritation and apprehension, a stark contrast to her earlier smile tinged with arrogance.

"Why?" Adrian looked surprised, "Don’t you know? Madge is short for Your Majesty."

"Is that so?" Madonna paused then pondered, "In that case... it doesn’t sound too bad."

"Poor reporters, they just wanted to flatter you but ended up being misunderstood and disliked," Adrian commented sympathetically.

"Whatever, those guys aren’t trying to flatter me," Madonna snorted, then looked at Adrian with interest, "But I have to say, that nickname isn’t bad. You still have a way with words, Ed."

"It’s truly an honor to receive your compliment, Madge," Adrian smiled and leaned in slightly, prompting Madonna to step back half a step in apparent wariness and defense.

"By the way, who is this?" She deflected, turning to the fiery Latino woman by his side.

"This is Shakira, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, a beautiful and sexy young singer from Colombia," Adrian introduced promptly, "Shakira, this is our greatest pop queen, Madonna Ciccone!"

"It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Ciccone," Shakira reached out her hand, "I really love your music, you’ve elevated women in rock to a whole new level."

"Thank you, just call me Madonna," Madonna replied with her previously slightly haughty smile, then squinted her eyes.

With her discerning eye, how could she not notice the languid, springtime passion hidden in the lines of Shakira’s face? Without saying it, she knew what he and she had done earlier. Damn womanizer! Madonna cursed internally, and after shaking hands with Shakira, she half-jokingly asked Adrian, "So, did you attend the Grammy ceremony just to escort Shakira?"

She also realized that much of her reaction was due to not wanting to be outdone, but there was absolutely no way she would go for it again; passing out several times from orgasms in one night and nearly dehydrating to the point of shock that once was enough. What’s more, Adrian today held even more power than a few years ago. If he wanted to play more tricks, should she agree or not?

Of course, one must have a clever mind in addition to talent and luck to become a world-famous pop diva and maintain it for many years, so Madonna definitely wouldn’t provoke Adrian.

"If that were true, it would be wonderful," Adrian sighed at that moment, regretfully glancing at Shakira, "I’ve known Shakira for over two years now, and she left a strong impression on me. At that time, I wanted my record company to sign her, but she said she wanted to develop in Colombia a bit longer, and I didn’t insist, hence missed the opportunity. Meeting her today, she’s already let another company handle her affairs in the United States. It’s a real shame. I should have signed a letter of intent with her back then. Maybe you can help me persuade her, Madge?"

"Don’t worry, Ed, when the contract expires, as long as you’re willing, I can get my agent to contact you." Shakira giggled, her laughter sexy yet tinged with a hint of licentiousness.

"Then you..." Madonna was about to ask more when Adrian already pointed to Britney beside him, "In addition to having never attended the Grammys before, I’m also here to support the popular singer from my record company."

He turned his head and greeted the young girl with a smile, "Hi, Britney, you look really beautiful today."

"Thank you, Ed," Britney immediately flashed a sweet smile.

Madonna’s face lit up with a sudden realization. No wonder Adrian came over at that time to interrupt her in that manner. It was not just because he had just been with Shakira; he probably saw through her intentions as well. With that thought, her expression changed again, and she quickly excused herself, "Alright, I’m heading inside, you two chat—goodbye, Shakira, Britney, I wish you luck."

After finishing, she walked towards the inner hall without looking back. Soon after, Shakira also took her leave. Being just as clever, she somewhat regretted not accepting Adrian’s invitation back then. Thus, crossing the red carpet and encountering him again today, all it took was for Adrian to beckon her with a finger, and she went with him to the restroom to let him taste her proud skills again. Since she had realized there was something special between Adrian and Britney, she naturally wouldn’t want to be in the way.

"You seem a bit unhappy, Britney?" After Madonna and Shakira had left one after the other, Adrian immediately turned to Britney with a chuckle.

"It’s nothing. This is quite normal, isn’t it?" Britney shrugged casually, but a few minutes later she still asked, "You and Madonna... um... Ed?"

"If you want to know the answer, you’ll have to use a different name." Adrian responded leisurely.

"Alright, Master?" Britney quickly changed her address, her eyes filled with laughter and a hint of excitement.

Although this title was still only used in private, in a crowded place like this, she couldn’t be too intimate with him, so whispering this title inevitably thrilled her.

"The answer is as you thought, Britney," Adrian shrugged, "but don’t learn from her in this respect."

"Did you do something awful to her?" Britney asked, recalling Madonna’s demeanor from earlier.

"That’s not something you should worry about, Britney."

"But, shouldn’t I be aiming to completely surpass her?"

Hearing Britney assert this with such righteousness, Adrian couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head, "Well, if you want to surpass her in every way, then why were you just now chatting so happily with her?"

"Do I have to stop being friends with someone to surpass them? No matter what, Madonna is also my idol, and I really like her songs." Britney suddenly sighed at this point, "It’s just a pity MJ didn’t come."

"Don’t worry, you’ll have a chance to meet him in the future," Adrian said reassuringly, then chuckled to himself. If he remembered correctly, Michael Jackson hadn’t released much music in recent years. After all, the scandals that had been heaped upon him weren’t so easily cleared, and some things hadn’t yet reached their peak.

But then again, could this be an opportunity? A plan began to form in Adrian’s mind. If it were refined, it could be quite good, and it would also give MJ a hand.

Of course, now wasn’t the time to think about such things, so Adrian quickly steered the topic back to Madonna, "By the way, Britney, if your idol, Madonna, wanted to get you into bed, what would you do?"

"Get...get into bed?" Britney looked at Adrian in shock, "You mean Madonna really is..."

"That’s right," Adrian nodded with a smile, "Now you understand why I interrupted before you agreed to go to her party, right?"

Okay, perhaps that was an exaggeration. Madonna might be somewhat interested in Britney but not to the point of taking the opportunity to invite her to a party to get her into bed; he couldn’t just lead on...

"...I understand, master!" Britney finally said after a moment, her tone unusually firm, which pleased Adrian greatly.

Just then, a familiar voice came through, "Hi, Britney, hi, Ed."

"Ah, Kristen, finally made it?" Adrian immediately grinned.

"Sorry I’m a few minutes late," Christina said with a smile, wearing a long-sleeved lace chiffon dress with her platinum blonde bob parted at the sides. Though not as innocently charming as Britney, she was much more sensual.

"I’m so glad to see you, Kristen," Britney reached out and hugged Christina.

"Me too, Britney. You look really beautiful today," Christina responded warmly.

Yet both girls’ smiles were somewhat forced, a subtle competitiveness that did not escape Adrian, who stood by their side.

"What were you guys talking about just now?" Christina asked.

"Ah, just some things about music and dance, the unique aspects of various singers," Adrian fabricated a topic, "like how Madonna raised the status of women in rock."

"I’ve been talking to Madonna for a long time with Ed, and she really likes my new album, even wishing me luck on winning Best New Artist," Britney boasted proudly.

"Is that so? Well, congratulations to you then, Brit-Brit," Christina said nonchalantly, "but I never take people’s polite remarks as the truth."

Britney wanted to retort, but then she remembered what Adrian had said earlier and hesitated, ending up with just a snort, "We’ll see when the time comes."

Her hesitation was, of course, noticed by Christina, whose tone became even more mocking, "Yes, we will see. Reality often contradicts expectations."

"Exactly, so you better not get your hopes up, Kristen!" Britney countered heatedly.

"Come on, both of you, weren’t we just discussing the qualities of a singer? How did the topic shift to winning awards?" Adrian, who enjoyed observing the drama, jumped in at the right moment to smooth things over.

"Yes, that’s right," Britney quickly caught on, having chatted with him for a while, and promptly followed his lead, "By the way, Ed, what’s so special about Shakira?"

Christina wasn’t stumped at all, "Shakira? The Colombian Latin singer? I’ve seen her perform, she’s indeed quite good, especially... her ’electric hips’ are very attractive, right, Ed?"

"That’s right, her ’electric hips’ are indeed very attractive, I like them a lot," Adrian nodded in approval to Christina.

Christina immediately smiled smugly, while Britney frowned slightly. She hadn’t expected Christina to even know Shakira’s name and glared at her in frustration. But then an idea popped into her head. Adrian had said he liked Shakira’s electric hips as well, and considering the previous situation... Britney wasn’t a fool. She quickly figured something out and her eyes lit up.

Christina seemed to have also thought of something, showing a knowing expression, and then their eyes met. They both snorted and turned their heads away.

"All right, ladies, let’s go inside. The award ceremony is about to begin, and no matter what, we will have the answer in a few hours," Adrian intervened again.

Britney and Christina each had several nominations at this year’s Grammy, then "crashed" into each other for Best Single, Best Dance Recording, and Best New Artist. They had had some troubles since their time in the Mickey Mouse Club, and after Adrian signed them, the psychological rivalry planted by his intentional arrangement took root. Subsequently, both were brought by Adrian into a more personal competition involving his favor—though Christina was a year older than Britney, and her emotional intelligence was higher, her brainwashing by Adrian was no less severe.

As a result, they kept positioning themselves against each other, competing even more fiercely in their careers. If it had been another time, they wouldn’t have spoken to Adrian as they did just now.

This was the difference between young girls and mature women in competition; they were more direct and more explosive. A disagreement might lead to a lifetime of ignoring each other, without the mature women’s smoothness or the idea of keeping verbal sparring within acceptable limits. However, their approach was more thrilling, more satisfying, and also... easier to control.

Therefore, Adrian wasn’t too concerned. Besides, this antagonism between the two wouldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, he was going to mold them into the pattern of Gwyneth and Blanchett.

Indeed, the Grammy Awards were quite grand, with the most awards among the major awards—about a hundred. But don’t think the Grammys are easy to win. The many categories, from Record of the Year to Album of the Year and Song of the Year, let alone Best Pop, Best Rock, Best Blues, Best Country Song, and so on, along with rap, jazz, groups, choirs... all divvied up so finely anyone would be amazed.

Many singers might excel in one aspect, those nominated in the pop category might not get a rock nomination, those nominated for country would definitely not have a jazz nomination, so a plethora of awards doesn’t necessarily play to a singer’s advantage. If the Grammys decide to snub you, then just wait for the day they change their mind or have a moment of conscience. That’s why Adrian wasn’t surprised when the Best New Artist was announced.

"The winner of Best New Artist is... Christina Aguilera!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to cast your vote of recommendation, monthly ticket. Your support is my biggest motivation.)

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