booktalesy Chapter 970: Salaheheida
Chapter 970: Salaheheida
Chapter 970: Salaheheida
On February 2th, backstage at "Music Bank" in the KBS building, the Red Velvet lounge was very lively.
Today they came to KBS in advance to prepare to pre-record their own stage and some interviews for "Music Bank" the day after tomorrow.
"By the way, is the girl in Jingyuan Oppa's trailer a trainee from our company?"
"Yes, I chose it some time ago. We discussed it at that time..."
Park Soo-young and an assistant sister she knows are discussing Liu Zhimin's affairs there. After the trailer was released yesterday, in addition to discussing the last line of the trailer with a very nice singing voice, many people speculated that this line was the essence of the chorus, and they were also very interested in the girl who appeared very few times but left a deep impression on people.
Of course... there are also many extreme fans who just can't stand seeing their oppa having someone of the opposite sex other than themselves around him, and they have already started scolding him.
"I seem to have heard of her before... How was she chosen? I saw a lot of discussion about her online. How come I have never heard of her before?"
"I know I know!"
Jin Yilin raised her hand mysteriously and told the news she knew: "That junior is Liu Zhimin... We didn't know each other before because that junior just joined the company recently, it seems like only a few months ago. He was an ordinary student before... I think he was also a small internet celebrity..."
The reason why she knew so much was because her friend Li Kaican heard about Chi Jingyuan's MV and went back to the old building with a few people from NCT out of boredom to see what the girl Chi Jingyuan liked looked like and what characteristics she had...
If she's really good-looking...it wouldn't be easy for these already debuted artists to date a female trainee.
"I can work with Jingyuan oppa right after joining the company? Tsk tsk, my face is only in profile in the trailer and I can't see it clearly... What does he look like?" Park Soo-young clicked his lips and asked curiously.
"It's OK. There are not many ugly people who can enter the company... But looking at the photos, I think it's OK."
Jin Yilin first gave her own evaluation, then she remembered something and curled her lips: "But Kaichan and Taiyi oppa think it's pretty good."
Mainly because of her good figure… She had a deep impression of the expressions and eyes of Li Kaican and the others when they talked about this.
Although Kim Ye-rin is the youngest in the team and looks lively and likable, she actually knows everything... Who doesn't know who?
A few people were chatting over there, but Bae Joo-hyun, who was sitting not far away, seemed a little absent-minded, as if she was not very interested in the topic they were discussing.
She was scrolling through something on her phone, but she would raise her head from time to time and glance at the corridor outside through the half-open door.
"Ouni..."
Bae Joo Hyun's occasional look up caught the attention of Kang Seul Ki, who was texting happily. After glancing at her several times, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you waiting for someone? Do you have any relatives or friends coming to visit?"
"No, I'm not waiting."
Pei Zhuxuan waved her hand after hearing this, and then hesitated for a moment, without hiding anything. She glanced at the people who were discussing enthusiastically next to her, and asked in a low voice: "Isn't he going to perform on the first stage of Music Bank the day after tomorrow? Why hasn't he come to the pre-recording today?"
From a long time ago, after hearing some things about Ji Kyung-won's solo song from Kang Seul-gi, she has always been paying attention to and curious about this song. A few days ago, she watched the final interview of that personal variety show and has always been very concerned about it.
But of course she couldn't call Chi Jingyuan and say she wanted to listen to the song or something like that... But now there are still two or three days before the audio source is released on the 10th. Although it won't be long, for some reason, she always feels inexplicably anxious when she thinks about this.
But if you really want to listen to it, you don't have to wait until the audio is released on the 10th... The first stage must be pre-recorded with the background built by yourself, and when Chi Jingyuan was pre-recording today, she sneaked over to the side and saw it, and then she could hear it.
Bae Joo-hyun gave a thumbs up to her own wit.
But she waited for a long time and there was no movement.
Even though she said 'he', Kang Seulgi of course knew who she was talking about.
She glanced at the captain in front of her who looked very beautiful after putting on makeup, and while she understood, she also blinked and told him the news she knew: "Jingyuan is not coming today."
"what?"
"Although the first stage is to be pre-recorded, the on-site setup is too troublesome and does not meet the requirements... The company has already selected a venue in COEX to set up the scene for pre-recording, and also selected 100 of his fans to watch the scene, so he will come back for the live broadcast the day after tomorrow... He said this in the group yesterday."
He checked his phone: "Looking at the time, it should have started recording now..."
"Uh, haha."
Pei Zhuxuan was stunned for a second after hearing this, and then she smiled awkwardly when she thought of her previous actions and thoughts: "That's right."
Considering Chi Jingyuan's treatment and status in the company, he must attach great importance to the first stage of his solo comeback. The stage, lighting, effects, cheering and so on must have been carefully considered. How could he possibly do the same as them and directly come to the pre-recording for a music show?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little sad, but besides that, she couldn't help but feel a little proud.
After the brief conversation, Bae Joo-hyun seemed to be thinking about something, and Kang Seul-ki stopped talking, but while scrolling through her phone, she would secretly glance at Bae Joo-hyun next to her every now and then.
"Ernie."
After a while of silence, Jiang Seqi suddenly broke the silence again, blinked and looked at Pei Zhuxuan, and asked with a hint of meaning: "Are you interested in Jingyuan's new song?"
Bae Joo-hyun didn't know whether she felt what Kang Seul-ki meant, but she seemed to have changed a little during this period of time. She was no longer as entangled and hesitant as before, and she no longer avoided similar topics.
She looked into the other person's eyes, paused for a moment, and then smiled, a very beautiful smile:
"Yes, I'm very interested."
…………
"The stage is so cool, and the action of squatting on the stool to play the piano is so sensible."
“It sounds really good.”
"Oppa's solo will definitely be a big hit this time."
"Oppa, please participate in more activities during your solo this time."
"There will be more autograph sessions, chebai. I will definitely follow them no matter where they are held."
In the small theater of SM COEX, Ji Jingyuan, who had just finished the stage pre-recording, did not leave directly. He squatted on the edge of the stage and was talking and interacting with more than a hundred fans present.
Of course, most of the talking was done by fans, screaming, so he had no chance to interrupt.
Maybe it was because of his solo debut, Ji Jingyuan, who was performing on the stage as an individual for the first time, had a very strange feeling in his heart without the EXO members he had worked with for many years. Even though there were seven or eight choreographers standing there, he still felt a little lonely and also very nervous. He re-recorded the stage five or six times.
However, the fans present were very excited, especially when they heard the title song "Love Scenario", the long and warm atmosphere could no longer be concealed. Because they were required not to sing in chorus during the formal recording, they could not suppress their excitement, and they couldn't help but sing along loudly during the break between each recording.
This pre-recording of his should be the first time that the audio source of "Love Scenario" was heard by outsiders.
However, the fans at the scene are all die-hard fans, and they have checked that there are no recording devices. The mobile phones have been turned off when entering, so there is no risk of audio leakage... At most, they will brag about it to others online after they go back.
"Thank you very much for coming. Please be safe when you leave... Remember to pick up your small gift."
Finally, after chatting with the fans for a while, listening to some of the fans' praise and requests, and accepting the gifts and letters they brought, Chi Jingyuan said goodbye to the reluctant fans, waved his hand, and left the stage first.
If he doesn't leave, it's impossible for the people at the scene to leave.
In the corridor returning to the COEX backstage, Ji Jingyuan handed the letters and gifts that fans had just given him to his agent for safekeeping, and then wiped the sweat from his head with a tissue. Having debuted for more than five years, he had not felt nervous, uneasy, and sweaty because of a stage performance for a long time.
But this pre-recording made him feel this way for the first time in a long time, and it was very similar to the feeling when EXO just debuted in 2012...
"Have you arranged your schedule for the next two days and after the song is released?" He asked his agent beside him while wiping his sweat.
"Everything has been arranged." The agent said, "Tomorrow there is a photo shoot and a magazine interview. In the evening there will be a practice session with the choreographer and a rehearsal for the solo concert."
"After releasing the music on the 10th, I will be performing on the first stage of Music Bank and recording a program at the same time... I will be recording a personal variety show on the 12th."
"The promotion plan has been finalized. We will promote the song for three days in the first week, three days in the second week, and once on the third weekend. There will only be seven promotions in total."
"Book signings and fan meet-and-greets will start next week, and then..."
After listening to the agent's report, they soon returned to the lounge. Chi Jingyuan took a sip of water and smacked his lips softly: "Why does it feel like even though I debuted as a solo artist, my schedule is not as busy as when the group came back?"
He originally thought that he would be very busy with his solo debut, but after hearing what his agent said, it seemed that it was not as busy as he imagined.
"Because your variety show performance has always been average, and coupled with your personal preferences, the company didn't arrange too many variety shows for you, so you didn't have to participate in a time-consuming comeback."
The agent couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "At the same time, because of your current popularity and status, there is no need for you to go to small channels to promote your songs, and some low-end performance companies haven't accepted any of them..."
"After all, Jingyuan, you are now the top idol. Many idols who have debuted for many years have gone solo, such as GD, and they no longer participate in music promotions in the later period... But Jingyuan is fine, he has debuted for five years."
"That's right." Chi Jingyuan nodded: "If we have this much time, why not hold a few more book signings..."
In fact, he didn't want to participate in various variety shows where they had to make a fool of themselves or perform for money... Although it was a strange feeling to debut as a person, he didn't want to experience the embarrassment of EXO when they first debuted and had to accept any commercial performances, even if the remuneration was a bag of rice.
"Uh..." Hearing him say that, the agent paused for a moment: "Actually, the company didn't arrange too many book signing sessions... Because the pre-sale results are already too good, the company doesn't think it's necessary to hold too many book signing sessions."
The main purpose of a book signing event is to boost sales, and Chi Jingyuan's pre-sales have completely exceeded SM's expectations. Chi Jingyuan also understands SM's idea that there is no need to avoid the book signing event.
He couldn't help but laugh: "So according to what Brother Zhao said, I will have a lot of free time after my solo career, right?"
"Not too many, after all, with your popularity, you will definitely have a lot of activities and invitations..."
"Well……"
After taking another sip of water, Chi Jingyuan thought for a while and said, "If we have extra time, we should hold a few more book signings or meet-and-greets."
Compared to those TV station recordings, Chi Jingyuan actually prefers this kind of offline face-to-face interaction with fans.
After the agent agreed to communicate with the company, Chi Jingyuan remembered something and looked at him and asked, "How much is the pre-sale today? When will the company announce the pre-sale sales?"
"Yesterday's trailer was very effective, and the growth rate doubled. As of today, there are already 300 million copies sold. According to our prediction, it should be able to reach million copies before the official release."
"Three million..."
When Chi Jingyuan heard this number, he was deeply moved.
It's no wonder that SM feels that holding a signing event is unnecessary. The pre-sale figures even exceed the average sales of Kpop idols by one or two major versions. They are completely different from those boy bands and girl bands who can send out big-character posters to announce the good news with just a few hundred thousand or one hundred thousand pre-sale figures. Even in Europe and the United States, these are very impressive figures.
Among them, the sales volume contributed by Peninsula is only about half, while the figures contributed by the Japanese market, especially the mainland, are staggering... It is estimated that after this time, there will be many brokerage companies that will be jealous of Chi Jingyuan's overseas popularity and imitate the various settings in his album this time.
Maybe because he has heard too much in recent days, Chi Jingyuan has become somewhat desensitized to these big numbers.
"We sold so many... the company is happy, but..."
He didn't have any extra thoughts, but his agent and the company seemed to be under some extra pressure because of the astonishing sales figures.
The manager took out his phone and logged into Melon's music charts. Thinking about the recent situation in the music industry, he couldn't help but say with some concern:
"Zion.t's songs are currently dominating the music charts, and the OST of "Goblin" is still strong. Red Velvet, which has good music charts, has been directly squeezed out by them."
"Let's not talk about NCT, but Baekhyun's collaboration with Soyou is about to be released? The collaboration between these two is also very popular, and there are many competitors at the fog level.
"Although the sales are unexpectedly good now, if the source of the music doesn't have an advantage in the face of the fog when it is officially released, or even if something unexpected happens and it drops off the charts, I'm worried..."
The agent sounded somewhat worried at the end.
Such a high pre-sale price is an honor, but also a pressure. Chi Jingyuan is a big name and has many supporters, and there are also many people who want to have fun.
Under pressure, one will naturally think more, thinking about the possibility of poor performance and public ridicule. Even agents who know the quality of the album and the resources invested by the company can't help but start to worry.
Although I’m confident about the song and the album…but what if the results aren’t good?
Yuan is very concerned about his reputation...and if his solo fails, it will be a big blow to the company's future plans for EXO as a whole.
However, after hearing what his agent said, Chi Jingyuan did not react. He sat on the sofa, picked up the schedule next to him, and read it hastily, saying casually:
"…I heard from Mr. Li of the company a few days ago that there are already four or five idol groups that have changed their plans and postponed their comeback dates because of my solo debut, and they are all popular groups with good popularity."
"At the same time, the recent K-pop album sales market has not performed very well. My sales alone account for more than 80% of the market... Hehe, does it sound exaggerated?"
"Okay, stop looking so sad, bro."
Chi Jingyuan glanced at his agent, cursed with a smile, then crossed his legs, looked at the form in front of him, and said casually, "What's the matter with the fog?"
"For other artists of the same period, now..."
His eyes were calm, half-closed and flashing a polite smile, but his tone was full of extreme and unquestionable confidence:
“I am the fog.”
.........
As February 2th approaches, in addition to the news about Chi Jingyuan's solo being revealed bit by bit, many other artists and companies who either don't believe in it or can't avoid it have also announced their plans and news.
However, most of the news attention and popularity were overshadowed by Chi Jingyuan’s debut.
On February 2, NCT Dream released their first single album "THE FIRST" since their debut, with a total sales of 9 from pre-sales and the first day, which is on the same track as Red Velvet. The title song "Last First Love" debuted at 89 and then topped the charts within two hours.
No one cares
Although they knew that this schedule would definitely lead to them becoming cannon fodder, seeing their own group's first album fall into such a state, many NCT fans were angry, lamenting, resentful, and helpless... or else they could not help but feel unhappy with SM, especially Chi Jingyuan, and started cursing them crazily on the Internet.
At the same time, JYP announced that the contract of its girl group Wonder Girls will expire in January. Yeeun and Sunmi decided to leave JYP Entertainment. Wonder Girls, which debuted 1 years ago, announced its official disbandment on January 10 and released their last farewell song "DRAW ME" on February 1.
The end of such a legendary girl group that once competed with Girls' Generation did make many fans and passers-by feel sad. After all, who hasn't heard the national hit song "Tell Me"? If it were at another time, people would definitely pay attention to it out of sentimentality.
But we have to say that the release date of this farewell song was not well arranged. It was on the same day as Chi Jingyuan’s solo, so the popularity and topic were immediately overshadowed.
So...no one cares.
On February 2, SM Entertainment announced that last year's "STATION" project received a lot of praise, and the second season of the "STATION Subway" project will be launched in March this year.
This has attracted a lot of discussion. Last year's subway project had a total of 52 songs. Although there were many songs of varying quality and filler, there were also some songs like Kim Taeyeon's "Rain", EXO's "Dancing King", Ji Kyung-won's "Really Really"
and "Spring on the Stonewall Road at Deoksugung Palace"...
These are excellent songs, so this project is still very attractive. As soon as the news came out, many people discussed and expressed their expectations.
It's valid news.
At the same time, SM also announced that the MV of "The Star That Rises in the White Day", the OST sung by EXO's captain Kim Junmyeon for the TV series "Star of the Universe", will be officially released on February 2.
No one cares.
SM and Starship announced that EXO Baekhyun and Soyou's new song "It's Raining" will be officially released on February 2.
No one... Well, a lot of people are looking forward to this. Soyou is the queen of collaboration. Her personal music has a very good reputation and her songs perform well every time she releases. And Baekhyun is a member of EXO's most popular group. The collaboration song between these two people can be called a big collaboration.
In just one week, the busy and crowded music industry has produced countless cannon fodders, apart from a few valid and valuable news and returns.
And these fallen cannon fodders, like NCT... used their own corpses and blood and tears to accuse the new solo artist who relied on his popularity to act tyrannically.
This time, the attention on Chi Jingyuan's solo is really high. There has been a great response since the news was made public, and even the release of no material will cause a lot of discussion.
And it's not just EXO's own fans, the entire fan circle is paying attention and discussing it.
Everyone in the fan circle can deeply feel the heat and expectations of the entire circle this time. It has been a long time since there was an idol or comeback that made everyone quarrel, scold and praise at the same time, but everyone couldn't help but pay attention to.
Everyone, including passers-by and even haters, actually agrees in their hearts that Ji Jingyuan is now at the top of the idol industry, so unlike the previous few comebacks of EXO, there are always some people who jump out to predict the future.
This time, especially after the pre-sale figure of nearly 300 million was revealed, few people were pessimistic. Really everyone thought that Chi Jingyuan’s solo should perform very well... After all, even his haters recognized his popularity and fan base.
I just don't know how good it will be.
Did it really live up to expectations... or was it just so-so? Fans can only close their eyes and praise it.
But in fact, apart from the fans, most of the black fans and even passers-by actually subconsciously hope for the latter, and hope that Chi Jingyuan's performance will be as worse as possible... After all, watching a person with a halo fall from the clouds is much more interesting than watching another person build another golden body.
...CBX is still talked about today.
And as a group of cannon fodder were born and countless people were expecting, either hopefully or maliciously, the clock struck midnight on February 2th on time.
In an instant, the music source website began to lag and almost collapsed.
At the same time, in Seoul, Busan, the entire peninsula, and even across Asia, countless people heard a brisk song from their computers, speakers, and headphones:
"Sarangheheida, Gamana in the house~"
(End of this chapter)