Chapter 225: Shakira

"Yeah, we’ll start tomorrow morning, we’ll record the song with Britney and maybe a second one if we have time (Shakira and I)," I said. 

"And on Sunday we’ll continue. It’s 3 songs in total with her. Maybe we’ll record one more, since she accepted the invitation to perform at Tomorrowland."

"Wow, less than a month left, right?" Carly said, astonished. "Feels like it was yesterday when you mentioned Marshmello’s idea…"

"Jess, Carly, you haven’t even turned 16 yet and you’re already talking like an old lady," I joked, receiving a jab from her.

"Oh, another thing, she signed some NDAs, so I decided to reveal to her who I am. Besides, we’ll be traveling together to film the music videos," I informed.

"To India," Britney said excitedly.

"India?" Scarlett turned to me.

"Yep, it’s the second most populous country, it’ll solidify our global fame even more—for the three of us," I explained.

"They have their own Hollywood there. The Bollywood," Scarlett pointed out.

I nodded, "We’re going to use their biggest studio to film the clip, Film City. And since the idea is to respect their traditions, nothing political or social criticism like Michael’s ‘They Don’t Care About Us’ video, the authorities were very excited to welcome the three of us."

"That was a great song and clip," Britney said.

I agreed, "but Michael’s team had to convince the governor, who wasn’t so sure about having the poor area filmed and shown to the world—fear of bad publicity. There was another point too, it was a drug lord who ensured his safety in the favela."

In India, we will have the protection of the army. And they will probably strike an agreement among themselves as well.

"We might even make a big show at Salt Lake Stadium, reaching up to 140,000 people by using part of the field," I finished.

Then, everyone took their seats as I pulled the DJ platform forward and Britney adjusted her headset-style microphone.

"Oh, before I forget," I turned to Britney, "We bought VitaminWater, later you’ll need to arrange everything so part of it goes under your name."

"Okay," she nodded, "How much was it?"

"Total 25 million, your part is worth a little less than 12.5 million," I replied.

"Woah, you’re giving me 12.5 million?" she asked astonished.

"No. You’re coming in as a partner, so it’s good to promote this product well," I told her.

A light version (with sweetener) is already being created. But it will probably only be ready to launch around the middle of next year (because of the whole process of adjusting the flavor and passing through the regulatory agency).

Another thing, I already told Pepper to set a goal of gradually reducing the sugar content. I still remember the frenzy against sugar. I think we can make it healthier, but it’s ridiculous that they blamed the products and not the idiots who consumed them in absurd quantities.

That reminded me of another frenzy, Gluten free. Only 1% of the population actually has celiac disease, but the idea exploded. Then again, stupidity on a large scale is a force of nature.

Britney sang the new song we were going to record tomorrow, then we played a few more (Scarlett requested some. She tried to keep her cool, but you could clearly see the joy of a fangirl). 

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The next day, we were all gathered in the studio: Scarlett, Paige, Carly, Sam, Freddie, Cara, Cher, Regina and Pepper.

When Shakira arrived, we introduced ourselves and said hello, and I took off the mask. The reaction was similar to the one with Britney.

"Sorry, who are you?" she asked.

"Jake Harper. And it’s normal that you don’t know me," I replied.

The Oscar nomination part—few people actually know the names of the nominees except for the main awards (and the celebrities). 

Besides, Pepper kept my age under wraps (which could have caused a stir), plus we have agreements with some newspapers and tabloids.

"Aren’t you too young? How old are you?" Shakira asked.

"I’m 14."

"You are FOURTEEN???" she shouted, astonished. "Woah, I really was not expecting that..."

"Yeah, I had the same reaction," Britney joined the conversation, "and Jake was even younger when I first met him."

Meanwhile, I was thinking about something else: 25-year-old Shakira is surely in her prime. But I didn’t ogle or simp in the past, and it won’t be now that I start doing it (I’m more than used to being surrounded by beautiful girls). Besides, I’m with Scarlett…

We chatted a bit more and finally went to record the song: Lean On (Major Lazer). 

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After a few hours, we managed to record 2 songs. The second one I sang with Shakira, a track I used to like a lot in the past: Mi Gente (J Balvin). This will be the 4th song where I also do the vocals.

"Hey Shakira, I have two proposals for you," I said, looking at her.

She looked back and gestured for me to continue.

"The first one is going to be a teen party tonight at my house, the people there will be much younger, around 15 or 16 years old. 

But I’ll put you in a special booth, where we’ll stay with Britney, Natalie Portman, and maybe one or two others. The idea is that you join in the karaoke part, we can even sing Mi Gente.

I can pay your fee, no problem."

Then I continued, "The second proposal I think will need to be discussed with your manager and all, but it would be this:" I pulled out some boxes of Beats from a crate under the table and handed them to her and to Scarlett.

"Wow, what a different headphone design," Shakira commented, while Scarlett was also admiring it.

"This is the product I’m going to launch at Tomorrowland, my Beats headphones. Besides a much more attractive design, it’s also better in terms of sound quality," I said, as if I were selling the product.

I handed them two iPods to test it.

I was going to say I’d offer her the spot as the Blue Power Ranger, but that would be too lame