Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 112: Lost & Found

<🎧 Song Recommendation: HOPE by NF>

...

They wrapped up the session shortly after. The emotional toll of the song had drained all of them.

Standing in the lobby of Neon Sound Studios, Alex picked up his black bag.

"I’m heading to the airport," Alex said, looking at Von. "It’s time I return to Georgia."

"Going back to the apartment?" Von asked.

Alex offered a tired smile. "Yeah. But... I don’t think it’s going to feel like a waiting room anymore. I think I’m actually ready to live in it."

Von smiled, pulling him into a brief, firm hug. "Call me when you land. And keep your phone on when the album drops. Your life is going to change."

"Thank you, Von. For everything," Alex said, turning and walking out the glass doors into the warm Miami night.

With the final feature officially locked in, the reality of the schedule came crashing down on Von. He was dangerously behind time.

Emily had been blowing up his phone for three days, aggressively pressuring him for the final masters so they could begin the marketing countdown.

Von had no choice but to step on the gas.

For the next two weeks, Von practically lived inside Studio A. With no other artists to manage or guide, he focused entirely on himself. He burned through his remaining tracks, utilizing his pure skills to lay down the final solo records for the album.

By September 16th, the tracking phase was officially over. All the vocals were recorded. The work wasn’t entirely done because Patch still had to spend a few days doing the final mixing and mastering tweaks but that wasn’t Von’s business anymore. His job was finished.

He sat on the studio couch, pulling up the System one last time to view the completed tracklist.

[Album Name: Lost & Found]

[Primary Artist: Von Varley]

[Label: Absolute Records (Independent)]

[Track Count: 10 Tracks]

[Featured Artists: Noah Billy, Midnight Pulse, Conor Prince, Alex Hall]

[Album Status: (Incomplete) (Unreleased)]

[Tracklist Breakdown:]

○ You’re Gonna Come Home — [74]

○ Frozen Attitude (ft. Noah Billy) — [83]

○ It Doesn’t Even Matter (ft. Alex Hall) — [90]

○ Forget Me — [62]

○ I Miss You — [82]

○ Journey — [72]

○ Don’t Stop — [65]

○ Thousand Miles (ft. Conor Prince) — [87]

○ Coming Home (ft. Midnight Pulse) — [78]

○ Welcome! — [70]

[Average Song Score: 76.3]

[Release album to secure rewards!]

It was a staggering lineup indeed. The lineup was a mix of pop anthems, heavy rock bangers, emotional ballads, and rap-rock.

Among the four final solo tracks he had rushed to add, I Miss You was a surprisingly tender love song. Von was genuinely shocked to see the System grade it so high with an 82, considering it was slightly out of his usual wheelhouse.

Don’t Stop and Journey were more average, leaning heavily into a radio-friendly pop-rap sound to round out the album’s energy.

But the one track he really loved was Welcome! It was a feel-good, high-energy finish meant to end the album off with a nice vibe. Von actually wondered why the System had graded it at a flat 70, but he trusted the math.

Even with a few lower-scoring tracks acting as glue, an overall average of 76.3 was a massive victory for an independent debut.

Naming the album Lost & Found wasn’t an afterthought.

Aside from it matching the obvious themes of the tracklist, it directly reflected Von’s own past and new life.

In his previous life, he had been entirely lost. He had been on the wrong track, physically and mentally rotting away. But now, after an impossible second chance, he had been found. He was on the right path, methodically chasing down every single goal he had set for himself.

Von felt incredibly good about the album as a whole. Even the visual aesthetic was locked in; Naomi had been the one responsible for designing the official album cover so he felt relaxed about that.

Later that exact same day, Emily took over.

When Von finally returned to the Venetian Islands mansion after his two-week exile in Studio A, he found Emily sitting at the massive kitchen island, her laptop open and surrounded by spreadsheets.

They met up and talked casually for the first time in weeks. Von looked exhausted but deeply satisfied, while Emily was practically vibrating energy.

After they caught up on the studio details, Emily navigated the systems to officially begin the album countdown on Musicify.

The release date was locked in to be on Friday, October 25th, 2019. With the digital infrastructure set, it was time to light the match.

Von pulled out his phone, opened his official Instagram account, and created a new post for the first time in months. He uploaded a carousel of pictures he had taken during the recording process.

The first slide was a picture of him and Noah Billy laughing in the vocal booth. The second was him standing with Leo and the rest of Midnight Pulse in front of their instruments.

The third was Conor Prince pointing a drumstick at the camera. The fourth was a rare picture of Alex Hall actually smiling in the studio lounge. The final slide was a picture of Von and Patch standing behind the massive mixing console doing hand signs at the camera, both of them looked completely exhausted but victorious.

Von made the caption:

"New Album: Lost & Found on the way, guys! 🫣

Anticipate! 😎"

Within an hour after hitting post, the internet completely erupted.

The post racked up 190,000 likes in the first sixty minutes and was still climbing rapidly. The comments section was an absolute flood refreshing faster than Von could even read them.

The hype wasn’t unearned. Von might have gone completely silent on social media to record the album, but Masquerade certainly hadn’t.

After peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, the independent viral track had continued to dominate. By mid-September, the song had acquired a staggering 170 million total streams on Musicify and 180 million views on InkTube. It was currently sitting on the Billboard Hot 100 for its 16th consecutive week, and even right now, it stubbornly remained in the top 20.

It was truly a monster hit, and many prominent music critics and internet personalities were already crowning it the "Song of the Summer."

The unprecedented success of Masquerade had naturally brought a massive wave of attention to the independent artist who released it.

The entire industry, from major label executives to casual pop fans, had their ears trained on Von, waiting for any news of his next move.

Now, their prayers were finally answered.

[THE PRESIDENT 😏: YESS!!! HE’S BACKK 😭😍🗣️]

[Classic Momenteri: What are those names I’m seeing 🫨 Is that Alex?? And is that Conor?!! Ain’t no way 😭]

[Mindcraft #1: Indeed, it’s them! 😳 But where’s Aura?? Sophie, Max... they’re not here 😭]

[i’m Hungry #21 😓: well, @Mindcraft #1, we can’t really tell why. But I’m more than satisfied already. This album is gonna cook fr! I’ve saved it already! 😁👌🏾]

All around the world, and even outside the usual internet circles, the hype was rapidly building for Lost & Found. The whole world had their eyes locked on Von Varley, waiting to see exactly what the Independent King had in store for them.