T-Holic. The first group that held the idol industry tightly before VTIC came to power.
To put it shortly, it was a symbol of idols of all generations.
"T-this is the first song Moondae sang, right?"
"Yes."
'Party in me', which I sang during the rank evaluation in
'It's been a few years since they encouraged solo activities.'
The majority of contemporary idols had already gone their separate ways.
However, all but one of them released an album together again.
I inadvertently watched T-Holic's music video play automatically at the bottom of popular videos on WeTube.
Coincidentally, the member who sang the song I covered was the thumbnail.
[T-Holic – Let's go M/V]
To be honest, it didn't have a very sophisticated taste, and the sensibility felt like it was from a few years ago.
"T-Holic sunbaenim has made a comeback~
Wow, it's been a while. I did a lot of covers when I was in middle school~"
Lee Sejin, who was sitting in the back seat, poked his head out and pretended to know.
Thanks to that, even Cha Eugene got attacked, but…
"Who? Umm… I don't know them."
Maybe it was because he was an American guy, he didn't seem interested in idols who were popular more than 10 years ago.
However, Kim Raebin seemed shocked.
"T-Holic sunbaenim… You don't know them?"
"That's right!"
"It is unprofessional to not understand any background knowledge while actively promoting as a KPOP idol!"
"…..! I know a lot of KPOP Songs! It's not songs that I've studied!"
Yes. By the time KPOP reached the U.S., everyone was in the military and had little group activity, so Cha Eugene's argument had some truth.
"I know their name! T-Holic sunbaenim!"
"That's not enough!"
My ears were going to fall off.
These days, when a topic came up, the reaction exploded into a chain reaction, and it turned into a mess like this.
I watched as Bae Sejin, who was across from me, crumpled into a corner and plugged in his earphones without emotions.
The activities were cruising along, and no one had any particular concerns or showed suspicious behavior.
As a result, the response to such trivial conversations was great.
'We got used to each other.'
I looked at the guys who were holding each other's words and interfering in the conversation without hesitation, and sorted out the situation.
The reality show would come out well.
That was the end of my sentiments that day.
However, T-Holic's comeback caused a bigger wave than expected.
The first was a feeling of the past.
In short, nostalgia.
- Once again, there were a lot of new songs from T-Holic.
-Honestly, the individual charms of the previous generations were better, but now they are a bit like factory dolls
-Ah, I miss them, everyone was wearing Ugg boots ㅠㅠ
People in their 20s and 30s showed favorable reactions to T-Holic, reminiscing about their childhood.
With almost no members leaving the group and a group album being released after several years, it became a hot topic amid nostalgia and admiration.
People who hated T-Holic at the time responded positively, mixed with beautification and longing for their childhood.
'Of course, if the song isn't good, it'll be sentiments that will disappear like a typhoon in a teacup.'
But here came the next factor.
The second was the personalities of T-Holic.
These bastards… they were funny.
-I almost threw up laughing
-No, I think falling down is crazy. How did they all fall down together? ㅋㅋㅋ
-What did they do in the army to make them become more funny?
-I'm not even a fan, but when I came to my senses, all the video recommendations were T-Holic clips.
From WeTube content reminiscent of K-pop in the past, to TV broadcasters.
These guys hit the jackpot by appearing in variety shows. It was thanks to the skill of staying the same without being afraid of being broken.
Relaxed and witty.
'The experience they have isn't going anywhere. It can be seen as the opposite of VTIC's route of fine-tuning media exposure one by one.'
They greedily occupied the content and gained momentum.
Normally, it would be normal to lose freshness and fall down or become quiet, but a few lucky coincidences applied.
A few scenes from the broadcast became memes.
-T-Holic tray karaoke is legendary.
-Is it my fault?.swf
-Is it my fault? The source of the meme is T-Holic?
In the end, they succeeded in appealing to the younger generation by trending with the latest memes instead of the existing images that were consumed and ran out of freshness.
And driving that momentum, they even created a WeTube channel that aired their own variety show.
[We're starting anew on WeTube… PPL madmen of desire I T-Holic's Show Business Ep.1]
In addition, unlike this entertainment topic, T-Holic's records and music performances were not at a great level.
It was just to the point of being respectful and saving face.
In the current KPOP market, which was swollen with inflation, their sales volume was at the end of first-rate groups.
As a result, the current idol's fans also felt less restrained as a competitor.
- Show business is really neat. It's just professional entertainment ㅋㅋㅋ
- I hope our kids come out too.
They were classified and consumed in a different category than the existing idols.
And in the end, with this momentum, T-Holic's own entertainment became a hit within a short period of time.
That was a bad sign.
• * *
I checked T-Holic's entertainment ratings, which were organized into regular entertainment on CVN after being a huge hit on WeTube.
Episode 1 was open, episode 2 would be important…
Episode 2: 5.8%
It was a shameful number. Because it was at the level of CVN's primetime entertainment show.
'It's too much.'
They came in through a gap where there were no popular dramas or variety shows, and they did better than expected.
"Oh~ T-Holic sunbaenims have a good spirit."
Like me, Ken Sejin, who was waiting for the next shoot, shrugged and intervened.
I readily affirmed.
"I know."
Of course, it didn't seem like it would last long.
If things go well beyond the mark, there will be those who try to kill them anyway.'
It was interesting gossip that a person who used to be popular went bankrupt. The moment a weakness was caught, the momentum would die due to controversy.
Even if it wasn't that, entertainment show type popularity didn't have that long of a lifespan. So, the lifespan of this was… At most three or four months.
'That's not even competition.'
Everyone knew that it would be embarrassing to even mention it in the same context when it came to success in the first place.
However, the problem was that it was occurring during this time.
'We shouldn't lose popularity in the second half.'
Although TeStar sold both music and albums well, neither one was an overwhelming win, and it was not confirmed that we'd win the grand prize for either category.
'That's VTIC and Youngrin.'
So, in order to win the grand prize in the current evaluation system, which was divided into music and album, the image of being 'trendy' had to be solid.
But, all of a sudden, these guys were sucking up popularity.
'And these guys are officially classified as idols anyway.'
So, the idols with the most attention right now was… It was T-Holic.
'It's dangerous.'
If the value of the 'current trend', which existed separately from results, dropped, and TeStar's presence was damaged, winning the grand prize would be disrupted.
I muttered as I turned off my smartphone screen.
"We should work hard too."
"Right?"
Keun Sejin lightly affirmed.
Seeing that he didn't say any comments like 'We're already working hard, what are you talking about,' it seemed that this guy also noticed something.
"Yes, fighting for the end of the year~"
And even those who didn't know the details, they were motivated and determined to cheer up.
"Yes! I, too, will talk more in variety shows…!"
"Undoubtedly, idols are comprehensive artists, so I feel once again that they need various entertainer talents as well as album activities."
In that sense, there were people in this group who could be used even with numbers not displayed on the status window.
Their mental states.
It meant that even in such an openly successful situation, they maintained a sense of improvement enough to consider various variables and make rational decisions.
'Usually, people get possessed in this situation.'
We were currently shooting a photo shoot.
"Yes, I will proceed immediately~"
"Yes!"
It wasn't just a regular magazine pictorial.
Through a partnership with a magazine, they were in the process of creating a special issue using only TeStar's pictorials, interviews, and advertisements from beginning to end.
I knew that this magazine, which was made up of 8 types of covers, from individual shots of individual members to group shots, had already exceeded 800,000 pre-orders.
"Oh my God, so pretty~"
"Haha!"
During the filming, there were no staff members who said anything unpleasant. It was an almost unconditional treat.
'It's an environment that spoils people openly.'
Especially for those who were in their 2os, it was perfect for social skills and manners.
Since there was no penalty for yelling at the people you work with, it was hard to not be rude and sincere when they were having a hard time in a situation where there was no coercion.
The difference between physical strength and mood became extreme.
'If you want to act like X, you can act like X.'
However, these guys were maintaining a tension that was not much different from our debut days.
"One more time~"
"Yes!"
The group cuts were to be used as covers. We were all wearing jeans and T-shirts to take cuts.
And in the short time to change and complement the concept, Bae Sejin muttered.
"…. It reminds me of when we debuted."
"I know. That's the color of our hair at that time."
"I like my red hair!"
The concept of this pictorial was from TeStar's debut to the present.
It could be seen as a concept worthy of a group that had the best male idol song of the year.
'Has time already passed like this?'
I looked back over the years with a strange feeling.
We went through a lot of unbelievable incidents, and when I thought about it, it felt like I did
And it seemed that the filming of 'Magical Boy' was just a while ago.
Right before filming resumed, I inadvertently recalled the compliment I had intentionally given to Bae Sejin at the time.
"Hyung is good at taking pictures then and now."
"Ahem, you guys are doing well too."
And Bae Sejin, unlike then, meekly and earnestly accepted the compliment.
'Yes, something has changed.'
That was, the mental distance was reduced. I was sure trust has built up as we had been through all sorts of odd things in between.
"…"
"Moondae-ssi's expression is so good!"
"Thank you."
Well, now was not the time to indulge in sentimentality.
There were only a few steps left to the grand prize but had to clean up the falling rocks that suddenly fell.
So, what was the best way?
First of all, benchmarking entertainment shows was stupid.
'If we put out a reality show together at this timing, it makes it easier for comparison.'
There was no need to stick our heads into the results of luck and experience that had led to regular entertainment programs.
So, we had to get into some more tricks…
'Hmm.'
I thought about it until the end of the shoot and came to a conclusion.
'Let's use it in reverse.'
To catch a tiger, you had to enter the tiger's den.
• * *
T-Holic's program went well.
What that meant was that now, T-Holic's popularity was actually subordinated to their entertainment programs.
And the popularity of the program could be used by anyone appearing on it.
In particular, if you were a guest, depending on the format, you could beat the hosts and become the main character of the program.
This was the case if people found the guests as more of a topic than T-Holic.
And if people find them interesting.
'That's the best.'
So, after discussion within the group, we analyzed T-Holic's program format and picked two that would have the strongest impact.
Completely customized.
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
Cha Eugene.
"This is the first time I have been selected to appear on a variety show with such a small number of people, so I will do my best!"
Kim Raebin.
And… The one person who could control these two guys who also wasn't invited to a different variety show during the same time.
"Alright."
Me.
I came to the filming set of T-Holic's 'Show Business' with Cha Eugene and Kim Raebin.