Damn Idol Episode 11
Album 2. C.
U.
N
The first filming of Coming Up Next, taking place at a convention center in Incheon.
Maybe it was because of the location, but for some reason, it felt more like attending a business conference than an audition program.
“…….”
Hmm, scratch that.
Now that I thought about it, the participants’ hair was too colorful.
And what the hell were they wearing?
As I looked around with that thought, I saw nine participants sitting awkwardly.
Ten participants, including me, were sitting in the main hall of the convention center, waiting for CEO Choi Dae-ho.
Perhaps because we hadn’t even exchanged names, let alone introductions, the atmosphere was one of stealing glances at one another.
Honestly, I didn’t know on what basis this program was being pushed forward.
Team A, Take Scene, which had been preparing to debut at Ryan Entertainment for a long time.
Team B, suddenly formed—no, to be formed—without even a name.
The two teams would compete, and the winning team would debut…….
Logically, Team A’s debut was a foregone conclusion, so Team B should be treated as extras, right?
It was an intent easy enough to guess even without Lee Hyeon-seok of LB Studio telling me.
Of course, justification wasn’t that important in the broadcasting industry.
What mattered was viewership ratings; if the ratings were high, justification came naturally.
So, would this program do well in the future?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t even remember if there had been a program called Coming Up Next.
I hadn’t intervened in its production, but that didn’t mean I could say for certain that this program had definitely existed.
It was something I’d learned through countless regressions: there were events that involved uncertainty even without my intervention.
For example, this.
American comedian Burnett Adel goes to prison this year for a drunk driving hit-and-run.
But sometimes, he carries on his activities without any problems.
Whether he didn’t drink, drank only in moderation, or simply didn’t get caught by the police.
I didn’t know the details, but anyway, that’s how it was.
The conclusion I reached was this.
Matters decided by an individual’s emotions could change regardless of me.
If the launch of Coming Up Next was swayed by CEO Choi Dae-ho’s emotions?
It might not have existed in my previous life.
Still, if there was one thing certain, it was that Take Scene would debut.
I hadn’t known when I only heard the name, but after seeing them on Ryan Entertainment’s YouTube, I understood.
They were a group that gained quite a lot of popularity, and the main vocalist sang very well.
Later, he shed the label of “former idol” and became a recognized solo vocalist.
‘I wonder if there’s no star among them.’
With that thought, I carefully examined the faces of the nine other participants gathered today.
There were people I felt like I’d seen somewhere, but I couldn’t pinpoint where.
I might remember if I saw them on stage.
Then a staff member came in and handed out large name tags to attach to our clothes.
After attaching the name tag with the large letters ‘Han Si-on,’ as I was trying to check the other participants’ names…….
“Hello, everyone.”
CEO Choi Dae-ho came in and began rattling off empty words.
That we were the wellspring on the front lines of K-pop, that Ryan Entertainment was always open to those with talent.
Things that sounded good in front of a camera.
While enduring the boredom and letting his words wash over me, something finally worth listening to came out.
“Before the main competition, we will proceed with a preliminary mission to introduce yourselves and gauge each other’s skills.”
Preliminary mission?
“Show us your skills and individuality with just one verse. Based on the preliminary mission rankings, you’ll be able to choose your performance order for the main competition.”
One verse.
Not a bad approach for the start of a program.
It would vary depending on the song or genre, but usually one verse was about 60 seconds.
Sixty seconds was short enough that even strangers singing wouldn’t feel boring.
Plus, you could get a glimpse of the participants’ sensibility through their song choices.
“The preliminary mission will take place in three hours, and the order of going on stage will be random. Now, I’ll take questions.”
The participant wearing his snapback backward got the first chance to ask a question.
“Can we use an original verse?”
Choi Dae-ho glanced at the questioner’s name tag and opened his mouth.
“Participant Kim Hae-un, are you a rapper?”
“Yes.”
“Rappers have original songs as an appealing point. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an original or an existing song. Anyone else? Participant Nam Seong-il?”
“Is dancing included in the evaluation?”
“We’ll look at the entire stage. If you elevate the completeness of the performance through dance, it’ll be a plus, but if you’re out of breath and panting, it’ll be a minus, no?”
“Do we have to sing only the first verse?”
“No. It means you sing only one verse. It doesn’t matter if it’s the second or third verse.”
“Then if I sing the second verse, can I play the MR from the chorus?”
“Yes. It’s possible. Since the preliminary mission isn’t the main competition, we’ll proceed while considering the participants’ convenience.”
Various questions poured out.
I had questions too, but the previous questioners had already asked what I was going to ask on my behalf.
So I stayed still, but suddenly CEO Choi Dae-ho looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Participant Han Si-on, don’t you have any questions?”
Choi Dae-ho had checked the name tags when calling the other participants.
But he hadn’t looked at mine.
This meant he had memorized my name; for better or worse, it meant I had made some kind of impression.
If I only considered skill, it would seem like a good impression, but thinking back to the head of the rookie development team’s reaction…….
Surely he hadn’t memorized it because he hesitated until the very end before passing me?
With that thought, I shook my head.
“I don’t have any.”
“Really, not even one?”
What?
Was there a question he wanted from me?
Honestly, I had no questions.
But saying no here wasn’t an attitude suited for broadcasting.
I didn’t know the idol industry well, but I was someone sickeningly experienced in how to get attention on TV.
“Actually, I do have one.”
“What is it?”
“Why Ryan?”
“……What?”
“If it’s Dae-ho, shouldn’t it be Tiger?”
The atmosphere turned cold in an instant, but I probably wasn’t the only one curious about this.
It was a question that came up every time you searched for Ryan Entertainment.
* * *
Perhaps because we’d gathered since early morning, lunchboxes were provided to the participants.
Seeing that it was a brand I’d never seen in my life, it was probably product placement.
The fact that product placement was already attached meant this program was definitely going to be broadcast.
Those who knew the entertainment industry from their days as trainees racked their brains, doing their best to eat the lunchboxes as if they were delicious.
‘Just one verse.’
Being evaluated by singing only one verse was an easy task.
Those weak in low notes could sing the second verse that started with high notes.
Those weak in high notes could sing the first verse with the charming low introduction.
The problem was this.
‘Everyone will probably be similar, won’t they?’
Except for participants who were rappers or strong in dance, the song choices would likely be more or less the same.
So I wanted to sing something a bit special, but I had no ideas.
The fact that half of ten would be eliminated was quite a lot of pressure.
Shouldn’t I at least push aside the person next to me?
Kim Seong-u, who had applied to Coming Up Next in a fit of rage after failing to make the debut group during his trainee life, looked to the side.
His eyes fell on a participant wearing a name tag that read “Han Si-on” and eating a lunchbox.
The attention seeker who had thrown a weird question at CEO Choi Dae-ho.
“The lunchbox is amazingly delicious, right?”
“It’s all right.”
“Did you happen to be a trainee? Your face looks familiar.”
It was a lie.
Because it was a face he’d seen for the first time.
“No. What about you?”
“I did it for a few years…… How old are you?”
“I’m twenty.”
“Ah, I’m nineteen. Speak casually.”
“Shall I?”
“Hyung, have you decided what song you’ll sing?”
Han Si-on nodded without much concern.
“It’d be awkward if we overlap…… May I ask your song choice?”
“‘Under the Streetlight.’”
“Huh? Were we allowed to sing the chorus?”
“I’m going to sing the first verse, not the chorus.”
“Ah…… It is a good song, though.”
Good my ass.
It was a stupid song choice.
“Under the Streetlight” was a rock ballad that developed with a boring verse before a dramatic high note exploded in the chorus.
A song that made everyone stare at their phones until the chorus came out when sung at karaoke.
Even so, it was a song loved for a long time because the chorus was so good.
And he was going to sing the first verse of such a song?
I could understand if it were the second verse.
The first verse had a low range, a boring melody, and repetitive development.
No, come to think of it, the second verse sucked too. It just looked less crappy because the first verse was so crappy.
‘He’s eliminated.’
Half of ten being eliminated meant half would never be seen again.
Though he wouldn’t be eliminated in the preliminary mission, if he was singing “Under the Streetlight,” he clearly lacked confidence in his vocals—elimination confirmed.
‘He’s handsome, but not handsome enough to carry him through on looks alone.’
If they needed a visual member, that guy named Lee I-on sitting at the end would make it.
Because he looked like an actor.
“Thank you. Enjoy your meal.”
Kim Seong-u naturally ended the conversation and turned his gaze away.
* * *
The Coming Up Next participants who had finished their meals were given individual practice spaces.
One-pyeong practice rooms commonly seen at practical music academies—soundproof booths with speakers that could be connected to cell phones.
There was no way such things existed at the convention center; they were hastily set up by the broadcasting station.
While the ten participants locked themselves in the practice rooms to choose songs or practice, the judges began arriving one by one.
Though it would air on Channel M-Show, Coming Up Next was ultimately an internal audition for Ryan Entertainment.
Naturally, the judges were people selected by Ryan Entertainment.
Ryan Entertainment’s CEO, Choi Dae-ho.
Blue, a first-generation idol from Ryan and currently a successful solo singer and broadcaster.
Yoo Seon-hwa, Korea’s top vocal trainer with a close relationship with Ryan.
Lee Chang-jun, Choi Dae-ho’s junior from college and a composer who had produced numerous hit songs.
They were all connected to CEO Choi Dae-ho, but it was a panel that even M-Show would be satisfied with.
Excluding Choi Dae-ho since he was the final decision-maker, Blue, Yoo Seon-hwa, and Lee Chang-jun were a lineup that could appear as judges on any major broadcasting network.
“Ugh, a one-night, three-day shoot at this age.”
“Are you the one staying up all night? The participants are the ones who will.”
“Is that true, CEO? The judges will just go and sleep, no matter what special situation occurs!”
“……You’ve grown a lot. The little brat who bawled in the practice room begging to debut.”
“You remember my debut year was 2000, right? That’s a whopping seventeen years ago.”
Yoo Seon-hwa interjected into the conversation between Blue and CEO Choi Dae-ho.
“Didn’t I train your group back then?”
“That’s why my knees still buckle when I see you, Seon-hwa ssaem.”
“What about me?”
“You too, PD Chang-jun. I still think about recording the debut album sometimes, you know? Again, again!”
Everyone had connections, so the atmosphere was good.
Though it was casual chatter sitting without a script, it was good enough for the filming PD to decide to use for broadcast.
“By the way, are there any usable ones?”
“Well. I picked them because they were all decent, but we’ll know once we see them on stage.”
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the participants began appearing on stage.
Coming Up Next didn’t have a host, but Blue was assigned to do light hosting.
He was the youngest, and the position of senior singer at Ryan Entertainment suited him.
“Do you all happen to know me? Young kids these days don’t know me, do they?”
“We know you!”
“What a relief. We’ll now proceed with the preliminary mission. The preliminary mission is important if it’s important, but it might not be that important either. I hope you’ll all do your best with a light heart.”
The participants nodded at Blue’s words, taking on the position of a kind senior.
Soon, a monitor slot spun with the names of the ten participants and showed one name.
“Participant Choi Jae-seong. Are you ready?”
“Yes……! I’m ready.”
“Please come up on stage.”
And so the preliminary mission began.
Han Si-on took the stage fourth.