TeStar's new song caused quite a stir from the first stage.
Shall we watch it from the mainland where it aired?
I entered 'You got a chance', which was the American variety show we appeared on, in the search engine.
Then, after confirming that English sentences such as 'who the hell are those guys wearing the jumpers?' were automatically completed, I nodded.
'It's classic.'
It was the only stage performed in that major entertainment show, which was the pick of the American public. We made a good impression there.
This was why the first major exposure was so important. Obviously, we didn't use all sorts of tricks for no reason.
"Why did we get a lot of recommendations from comments about not being a band? I guess we did really well in our acting, everyone is surprised~"
"Still, using the sound effects and instruments used in the movie to make a genre similarity to the bridge seems to be connected properly."
"Oh~ Yes. There aren't many people who feel uncomfortable with the music."
"People here ask are asking who Chungwoo hyung is. Can I at least answer that question?"
"Be patient, Eugene."
We were connected to the image of the movie, and I was happy that various noises and likes and dislikes came out. It was a precious amount of buzz.
Naturally, the inflow of music videos increased, and the increase in users on global music sites stood out.
'It's a level of exposure that is hard to expect in Korea.'
We were in the process of following the reaction process as it was when we were recognized on stage. It seemed that this was similar whether it was at a national level or a foreign level.
-What kind of training did they receive to be able to do that? K-pop is all about training, right?
└They are from an audition program, which means they are not beneficiaries-victims of K-pop's factory system!
… In the meantime, there were some guys who skillfully mixed the truth and bullshit to post pseudo-style sales posts, but I was going to do the same thing, so I just skipped over it.
In any case, the majority of favorable reviews seemed to have hit the mark in Korea as well.
-They're good
- Does it make sense that this is a live performance without any editing? Fans will be full even if they don't eat.
-How did they do the choreography of tumbling after the cannon;;; If it were me, I'd already break my neck
Originally, even if it was exposed, it had a taste that made people who would have normally skipped over it click on it.
Of course, the stage was chosen well enough to meet the expectations.
Because of this, the members who had been banging their heads, saying that they were going to collapse after the performance, changed their stance.
"We've grown up a bit. Wow, even our fingers are calloused, right?"
"Yeah, e-everyone, the energy is good… It was a great performance that suited the song."
"That's right! We were so cool."
The process of confirming the truth and accepting it had come to an end, until Cha Eugene made the declaration that he could now use the past tense correctly.
'I'm sure we'll continue going forward without modification.'
I nodded in satisfaction.
And the following Tnet's comeback show and local music broadcasting stages captured local public opinion once more.
'The sub-song is also good.'
We worked hard to develop the concept of a modern noir thriller using 'black cat', so wasn't it a waste to discard it?
We used it for a sub-song.
Unlike the title song, which was full of action and had a warlike feel, this had an elegant taste.
Of course, people who didn't feel sorry for it also liked it.
-I love both of them. Love it.
-Thank you guys, it's a feast.
Because of this, whenever we monitored, the faces of the members shined very brightly.
"This stage is also very well received."
"Hey, my fatigue is gone."
It was the best result among the responses that could be drawn realistically.
It was a warm environment that was not boiling hot or ice cold, which was rare for TeStar who had spent several years of eventful lives, which was expected from a popular survival program.
Even the top-rated comment on an article protruded from the social side, only good words were brought up.
- This is what national prestige is. Korea's unique Haetae style~ The Great TeStar is spreading Haetae, the apostle of justice~
Even so, in this attention-seeking industry, this was almost like a drug.
Wasn't everyone dreaming of becoming an idol?
Moreover, just in time for this, our independent label finally started publishing articles about our activities.
[TeStar Label, the beginning of 'ORBIT'… "We will demonstrate our artist development capabilities"]
Ryu Chungwoo smiled at the article.
"Orbit?"
"Yes."
I chose it. It was not intentional.
'These bastards were unnecessarily trying to give grandiose names.'
In other words, the first product the company came up with was the Super Nova.
'Why are they trying to attract aggro with the name of the agency?'
Since it was an agency's internal label, I didn't think it was necessary to go further, so I organized it on my own.
"I think it's just right because it feels like a planetary orbit. It's good to hear it again."
"… Thank you."
Anyway, the fans loved it.
Of course, stock traders did too.
-Starting from Hollywood movies, these guys are doing very well. Don't lower your expectations.
-TeStar is very good. I hope they keep it up until the end of the year ^^
Every day throughout the weekend, good news translated from overseas reactions was heard, and fans were delighted with the overflowing content.
And the public took a one-shot of kimchi soup in anticipation for the Billboard chart, which would only be revealed next Thursday.
-No, it had already been said that there was an American variety show..
-But it looks like it will be a career-high this time too, so be vigilant and work hard!
-What is this? Why are there so many TeStar translation accounts?
While feeling burdened by the situation, when the fans themselves were also looking forward to it, other fans poured out texts like crazy with happiness, anticipation, worry, and confusion.
Among them, of course, there was also something about our moves.
-They'll go to America after they go to the music shows
- ㅇㅇ It seems like there have been quite a few love calls from the US
- They tried to stick to Limestone while dragging in all sorts of aggro, and now they're really trying to bite and go to America
└What? You guys would be ruined even if you pushed your butts in with a tightrope, but you want TeStar to explode because of the local response?
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
It was no use bringing in aggro.
Bae Sejin opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
"… This is the first time people have been so friendly."
"I know, right."
Public liking. This atmosphere seemed to established us as national idols.
The atmosphere was so good when the music video was released, and it was still the same even though it had already been a week since the release.
Anyone in this situation would nod their head and say, 'I am only walking on a flowery path.'
"Wow. It's really good."
"Yes, yes…"
However, the faces of those who said this did not have the comfortable smile that was typical of people who had reached a happy ending.
Then what expressions did they have?
It looked like they had cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.
In easy terms, 'What's next?'
It was a face that came out when thinking about the damned schedule.
The cause of this… Because the time was coming soon.
"… But in a little while, we're going to smash this with our own hands, right?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"… Enjoy it while you can."
"Yes…"
Those who put their noses in their smartphones were starting to enjoy the sweetness of public opinion.
And within a few days, the person in charge of bitter taste began to raise his head.
• * *
Long before the Billboard chart rankings came out…
On Monday, the beginning of the week, an article appeared.
[TeStar, appeared on a popular American entertainment show… Will the trend continue?]
Until here, everyone clicked thinking that something had come.
They must have been thinking, 'Oh, there's another American variety show coming out'.
However, if they read the article thoroughly, they would know the identity of the variety show that TeStar was appearing on.
[Don't mess it up]
It was an entertainment program that was not very famous in Korea, but once a person who knew about the show started to testify, the atmosphere changed.
-Ah… I don't like this because it makes you do weird challenges…
In other words, it was an entertainment program that gave difficult tasks to people and ruined them, or harassed them to see their reactions. In short, it was a grade-B show.
-This isn't a program for featuring popular kids. Why are they trying to appear in a place like this?
-It's perfect for forgetting all the top-class images that was captured in the first stage with the movie…
Ah…
However, TeStar appeared in only one section of this show.
In addition, usually, 10 teams made up one section, and the appearance time was only 17 minutes in total.
'It's perfect to look like a simple friendly appearance.'
It didn't end here.
For reference, a famous talk show that was quite cultured was aired at the same time as this program.
And most of the groups with global recognition, led by VTIC, performed in the program.
In other words, we could have appeared there, but we turned it down and came to this B-grade program.
At this point, it was pretty easy to guess the atmosphere.
-Are they crazy?
- I don't understand why they're appearing here.
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's so frustrating. I'm going to check it out.
It was even the first time that a KPOP idol appeared on this program.
In the first place, one of the previous production crew members even made xenophobic remarks. As a program that was cut, it had a strong local color among locals.
It meant that our treatment wouldn't be good.
-Hoo…
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
After this news circulated all over the Internet, what happened?
"…Well, it looks like it's quiet?"
"Yes."
Somehow, it was being ignored as if nothing had happened.
'I thought so.'
If we admitted that this was TeStar's embarrassing mistake, wouldn't the vicarious satisfaction disappear?
It didn't suit the taste of the gukppong they enjoyed, so the situation came when everyone pretended not to see it and deliberately didn't mention it.
"The fans are also on the quiet side."
There was another reason.
'They're strategically patient.'
TeStar's recent momentum was so good that it made them even more angry, so at the same time, they didn't want to help the momentum continue, so they kept quiet.
It was becausee there was no benefit to canceling an already scheduled schedule, especially an American entertainment schedule, when there was no substitute for it.
So, overall, TeStar's buzz went off and the heated praise and reactions went out like a candle.
The only thing left was a mental victory-type advocacy video on the gukppong channels.
"… …"
"… …"
It was a rare situation where people didn't go overboard with insults even after hurting the public's heart, but it might have been more convenient to be criticized.
Look there, even Bae Sejin, who already knew what this appearance was for, was looking into the translation channel for overseas responses that had stopped uploading with a sad face.
"… …"
"Hyung."
"I know. What is necessary is right!"
Yes. Because we had already discussed this.
KPOP was no longer an unfamiliar genre in the US, but a genre with a solid fan base as a subculture.
The benefit was obviously great, but in the end, it was only well known to the people who actively searched for it.
'We even collaborated with the Limestone movie to avoid that.'
So, we couldn't just go flat on this plate and go in the direction everyone else was going. We couldn't just eat all the Limestone-raised pies.
Bae Sejin looked back and nodded.
"… We can do well according to our plan."
"Yes."
I shrugged. Then I hit Cha Eugene, who was standing next to me, on the shoulder.
"He's got it all sorted out. It's his home country, after all."
"That's right. I believe we can do it! We're good at it!"
"No, I do believe!"
I let the two of them talk and looked back at Seon Ahyeon, who stopped while monitoring the same thing.
Since he put a lot of effort into this activity, I thought he would care about the cool atmosphere… But he raised his thumb instead… ?
"O-of course, I believe… !"
"… Yes. Thanks."
"Yes!"
Yes. If so, then….
'Last check.'
I relaxed my shoulders and checked the top-rated comments from the first stage that were still moderate.
There were quite a few stories.
-It was crazy when Park Moondae got introduced ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Really, he's insane
- The AR team should have added a spot for him in the song so he can catch his breath, but they have no conscience, cowardly and vocally.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Park Moondae is a top grade main vocalist. His voice melts easily.
It was a rewarding reaction because of my stats.
I remembered my status window.
My singing stat… it was 'S+'.
Yes. I added the one remaining stat point to my vocals.
If I used the point for my dance stat, which was currently at a B+ rank, it would only change to an A-, so why would I do that?
It was because I was convinced by seeing and comparing various ability-level guys in real life.
'S+ grade is the completion type.'
For example, there was a guy whose dance stat had finally entered S+ with this album.
[Name: Cha Eugene]
Dance: S+
Now, people would stare at this bastard even if he danced to any song on the street. Even the bouncing feeling acted as a point.
And… There was another guy with S+ stats in another group.
I frowned.
[Name: Cheongryeo (Shin Jaehyun)]
Dance: S+
Cheongryeo.
A dance stat being S+ grade meant that it was perfectly optimized for the person to be the dance center of a KPOP group.
There was a power that came when the intended feeling was realized 'ideally' with precise power and nuance.
It would probably look good even if they gathered a bunch of clumsy C and D-class guys and put them next to themselves.
In fact, considering that an EX grade seemed to be legendary, S+ was the final step for a person to sublimate into art.
So, in order to completely block the number of cases where 'our song doesn't work', it was best to raise the grade of singing to S+.
'We can't miss it.'
And… There was one more reason why I didn't put my remaining point into my dance stat.
… Because I was in a group, not by myself.
'There are so many good dancers.'
It wasn't like I was going to have a dance break while being in the center, so right now there was no problem in meeting the group's choreography with a B+ level.
'I have to stand out with what I am good at.'
It was more helpful to the quality of the team to digest the role I had been assigned to a higher quality.
And, besides me, everyone else did the same.
I looked around with rather satisfied eyes. The guys who stopped monitoring looked pretty trustworthy.
Anyway, it was time to use the vocals that became S+ once more.
This shoot was unconditionally well done and paid off…
"Wow~ Some of the production staff here posted that our company directly contacted them to appear on the show voluntarily. Hey, that's really great."
"… …"
I'd see those bastards after filming.