Episode 177
Album 16. 2+2+1 = 2
To Titi, Sedalbaegil was a little strange.
He understood that outstanding people gathered together to create outstanding music.
He also understood that they were people who knew how to be grateful for their fans’ support.
But even so, they were strange.
What was strange about them was…
The standard by which they chose their course of action was strange.
Just look at the last fan signing event.
The fan signing event, held in an absurd fashion under the proposition of “being grateful for the fans’ support,” had been carried out in a way that forced Sedalbaegil to shoulder an enormous loss.
Despite that, there had even been concerns that less popular members might feel a sense of relative deprivation.
Some of those concerns came from people who genuinely liked Sedalbaegil, and some were sarcastic remarks meant to belittle Sedalbaegil’s actions.
But Sedalbaegil’s response to that had been extremely simple.
No, cool.
[It’s a place where we meet our fans. Shouldn’t the method be centered around the fans?]
Their stance was that since a fan signing event was a place to meet fans, there was no need to consider anything other than the fans’ convenience.
But that was the same sort of logic as saying dragons or unicorns existed in real life.
To be honest, there was no one who didn’t know fan signing events were held to increase album sales.
Of course, there could be pure goodwill and affection within that.
The feelings behind buying an album, and the feelings involved in meeting the fans who bought those albums, could be pure.
But there was no denying that the act itself had been created based on capitalism.
And yet Sedalbaegil denied that.
This live broadcast was the same.
It was the first live broadcast they turned on after the success of Self Made, whose Season 1 had recorded an average viewership rating of 11.9%.
It was also a surprise appearance at a time when everyone thought Sedalbaegil would be in America.
If so, it would have made sense to stream on YouTube so that more of the general public could watch.
Thanks to that, people would subscribe to Sedalbaegil’s official channel, and reporters would excitedly spread the news everywhere.
But Sedalbaegil paid no mind to that and chose to stream on their official site.
Some liked that and considered it a return to their roots, but those who wished for even greater success for Sedalbaegil couldn’t hide their disappointment.
In that situation, Sedalbaegil appeared on the stream and began telling stories.
Self Made would end Season 1 in a four-episode format, air a special episode, and then air Season 2 again in a four-episode format.
So since they couldn’t fatally spoil a program that was still airing, everyone mostly talked about their personal experiences.
[Ah, the number of episodes will probably increase by one. Season 2 will be five episodes.]
There was also talk about matters that had changed midway.
Around then, questions about the Apple commercial poured in as well.
When they could see it on TV, whether the money earned from it would also be donated, whether they had met Steve Jobs.
[It’s not certain, but I think it’ll probably be revealed for the first time at next year’s WWDC. WWDC is like a conference Apple holds every June.]
[The money? Of course we have to donate it. We promised that on the program.]
[Uh… Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, passed away a few years ago, didn’t he?]
Sedalbaegil’s official site streams had little trolling and were fairly comfortable, so communication tended to go well.
Because if fan managers caused trouble on the official site, their streaming chat privileges were often temporarily or permanently removed.
So the members responded to someone’s question.
It wasn’t anything special.
It was asking what they would do now. Whether they would be taking a break.
[First, we’ll be appearing at the year-end music festivals. All four of them.]
[An award… I’m not sure. If they give us one, we’ll accept it gratefully.]
Judging only by their results, of course they should receive the Grand Prize, but they couldn’t say that for certain.
Sedalbaegil had broken through the checks from Choe Daeho and Lion Enter and settled into the music industry without much issue.
To those in the know, this was close to a miracle, something that made no sense.
But being incorporated into the broadcasting world and being incorporated into the cartel were two different things.
However, that wasn’t what the members of Sedalbaegil wanted to say.
[What we’ll be doing in 2018 will come out properly in Self Made Season 2.]
[You’ll be very surprised when you see it.]
At the fans’ cries asking for a hint, Han Sion smiled slightly, wrote something on a piece of paper, and held it up in front of the camera.
While the fans were putting question marks over the nonsensical equation, Han Sion smiled once more.
[It’ll be very fun. And it’ll be like magic.]
* * *
Sedalbaegil’s stream spread in clips, and many of those clips were turned into articles.
The thing mentioned the most was that they would donate all the profits earned from the Apple commercial.
[Sedalbaegil Decides to Donate All Profits from Apple Commercial]
[Han Sion, How Much Profit Will He Earn from the Apple Commercial?]
Naturally, there were quite a lot of articles speculating on how much the profits would be.
The next most mentioned thing was the quiz Han Sion had given.
The absurd equation of “2+2+1 = 2.”
It was obvious that this implied something other than numbers.
-Doesn’t it mean they’re releasing 2 singles, 2 mini albums, and 1 full album?
-In 2018? How long has it even been since they released an album?
-I have no idea;
-Is Hip Sion just openly deciding to be hip now?
-How is this hip at all;
-Am I the only one who thinks it’s hip?
But no one figured out what it meant.
From Han Sion’s perspective as he monitored the comments, there wasn’t even anyone coming close to the answer.
Well, it was too difficult a question.
Time passed like that, and the special episode of Self Made Season 1 aired.
Unlike its name, the special episode didn’t contain anything special.
It felt like the four episodes that had already aired had been edited concisely and tightly so that viewers could watch Season 1 Episodes 1 through 4 all at once.
Though unaired footage that had been edited out did appear steadily throughout.
-Ssaeng Show is really determined to wring this dry lololol
-They put three commercial breaks into a 100-minute broadcast lololol
-If you include the ads before and after, that makes five;
-Seems like they made it to grab people who didn’t watch Season 1 and pull them into Season 2.
The reaction wasn’t particularly good.
There were too many commercials, and they had filled 100 minutes with content everyone already knew.
Because of that, the topic of conversation among those talking about the Self Made special episode shifted slightly.
-Ssaeng Show hasn’t really had a successful in-house variety show besides Coming Up Next. Self Made is the second.
-Both were hard-carried by Sedalbaegil… haha
-True. Ssaeng Show should really bow down to Sedalbaegil.
-I don’t know about the terrestrial channels, but won’t Mshow give them the year-end Music Grand Prize?
It was the Music Grand Prize.
-If you look only at results, every music festival should give them the Grand Prize.
-I don’t know about broadcasting stations, but wouldn’t they just receive something like the Seoul Music Awards if it’s based on sales?
-No, no. Surprisingly, album sales only account for 30% of that. 40% is the organizing committee’s vote, and the remaining 30% is mobile voting.
-Hul?
-What are the ratios for broadcasting station music festivals?
-It hasn’t been officially revealed, but it’s probably similar. Around 20 to 30% contribution to their own station, and around 30 to 40% preference survey.
Around then, people who didn’t want Sedalbaegil to win the Grand Prize also joined in.
At the current point in time, Sedalbaegil was too hot, and their image was good.
Especially after the article saying they had decided to donate all profits from Apple’s commercial had gone out.
So even the side trying to subtly provoke people by saying Sedalbaegil shouldn’t receive the Grand Prize couldn’t openly attack them.
The point they attacked wasn’t skill or results, but broadcasting activities.
-Huh? The broadcasting station’s Music Grand Prize is given to a singer who contributed to the broadcasting station. Sedalbaegil barely even promoted on TV.
-If they receive it just because they sold a lot of albums, then that’s more like the Hanteo Chart Grand Prize.
-Other singers wanted to rest too, but they worked through schedules to give viewers enjoyment. Shouldn’t the Grand Prize go to people like that?
-Sedalbaegil fans are so greedy. They know perfectly well Sedalbaegil barely did broadcast activities because they spent time for their fandom.
-It was mostly fan signing events, concerts, and events.
-I’m not saying Sedalbaegil did anything wrong, just that from the perspective of fairness, that’s how it is.
In truth, those words weren’t completely wrong either.
The Music Grand Prize given by broadcasting stations was often embroiled in controversy over the selection of winners, but it didn’t become that big of a problem.
Because in the end, it was something the broadcasting station gave to “the singer who helped our broadcasting station’s profit-making activities the most.”
In other words, if they ignored complaints with the logic of, “We’re giving it to the kids who helped us. Got a problem with that?” there wasn’t much anyone could say.
Of course, if they truly lined people up like that, the credibility of the year-end music festivals would decline more and more, so they probably wouldn’t go that far.
Since the situation was like this, viewer reactions to the Self Made special episode ultimately came down to whether Sedalbaegil should receive the Grand Prize or not.
It was an argument where neither the side supporting Sedalbaegil nor the side hating Sedalbaegil would reach a conclusion, but…
“They’ll probably try to settle it with something like a special award.”
Han Sion reached a conclusion.
* * *
I’d received far too many awards, and I’d given out an enormous number of them too.
Hadn’t I stood as an award presenter at least a thousand times?
And as an award winner, probably at least ten thousand.
Based on my experience, there was no way the music festivals would give us the Grand Prize.
If there was one exception, Mshow might be possible.
Not because Mshow was fair, but because our side formed the mainstream there.
Back during Coming Up Next, there had been a side defending the behind-the-scenes contract Lion Enter and Mshow had made, and a side attacking it.
The side that won that factional fight and survived was the attacking side.
In other words, including Producer Kang Seokwoo, the people who had risen to the mainstream thanks to Sedalbaegil were leading Mshow.
And although we had appeared on small radio variety shows and interviews, our first proper variety show appearance had been on Mshow.
At this level, they might give us the Grand Prize.
They might not, though.
On the other hand, there was no way the terrestrial channel music festivals would give it to us.
It wasn’t something to feel disappointed about, nor was it something to be angry over.
Of course, it was unfortunate that our fans would feel disappointed and sad, but that was the logic of show business.
This wasn’t Neverland, where Peter Pan lived and dreams and hopes flowed freely.
But…
I knew how to create Neverland.
“We don’t need things like awards.”
It might just be my personal opinion, but awards had no meaning.
What held meaning for me were the fans who bought my albums and cheered me on.
And my resolve to acknowledge that their feelings wouldn’t be eternal, yet keep loving them one-sidedly forever.
“It’s enough if the people watching the music festival stage know. Ah, if we’re talking skill, they’re the Grand Prize winners.”
Other people’s opinions didn’t have to become our self-esteem, and other people’s recognition didn’t have to become our pride.
Our self-esteem and pride came from our music.
It was enough if the fans listened to that music and were satisfied.
And if people listened to that music and became our fans, then I was satisfied.
When I finished speaking, Choe Jaeseong gave a faint laugh.
Seeing him lately, I didn’t like how Choe Jaeseong’s way of laughing seemed to be becoming similar to mine.
“Hyung Sion really takes the words ‘let’s work hard’ and says them in such a roundabout way.”
“It does kind of feel like a leader from a Hollywood movie.”
In the practice room surrounded on all sides by mirrors, Choe Jaeseong sprang to his feet and said,
“With a performance like this, wouldn’t it be laughable to cling to something like an award?”
Then Lee Ion cut in.
“Jaeseong. Even so, you shouldn’t attach ‘something like’ to an award someone will receive and be happy about.”
“……
Yes.”
Seeing that, I burst out laughing.
And a few days later.
The first year-end music festival we would attend approached.