Damn Idol — Chapter 40
* * *
“We’re revealing Sedalbaekil’s positions.”
No matter how much I’ve forgotten about and turned my back on the idol industry, I still know the concept of positions.
Main vocal, lead vocal, sub vocal. First, second, third.
Rappers and dancers are likewise subdivided in that order.
No, wait—there’s no sub-dancer?
Well, all idol members have to dance anyway.
Actually, in Anglo-American groups, they don’t distinguish between main vocal and lead vocal.
In the past, the pretty faces of bands were called “lead vocalists,” and it was rare for anyone to be called the main vocalist.
As time passed, lead vocal and main vocal seem to have come to be used interchangeably.
But in Korea, especially in the idol scene, they seem to be used as a barometer for measuring singing ability.
But what if there’s no clear gap in ability?
Could there be a team with two main vocals?
I’ll have to look it up on Namuwiki later.
But why do people call Namuwiki “Kkeomuwiki”?
‘I should just ask Choe Jaeseong.’
While I was thinking that, the positions were revealed.
- Onsaemiro : Main Vocal
- I Ion : Lead Vocal
- Gu Taehwan : Lead Vocal / Main Rapper
- Han Sion : Leader / Sub Vocal
- Choe Jaeseong : Main Dancer / Sub Vocal
“Me, not a main vocal but a sub vocal?”
By ordinary common sense, this means I sing worse than the main vocal and the lead vocal.
But there’s no way.
I have absolute confidence in my abilities.
Shall I be honest for a moment?
I don’t know about right now, but in two years, there won’t be a singer in Korea with a higher overall score than me.
The reason I said overall score is because there are people who surpass me in specific areas.
There are plenty of singers who can handle higher ultra-high ranges or lower ultra-low ranges, even if they can’t sing better than me overall.
But if you score the occupation of singer as a whole, I’m unconditionally number one.
That’s true even now.
At the very least, there isn’t a single person in this gym with deeper musicality and better singing than me.
That includes Blue, Yu Seonhwa, I Changjun, and Choe Daeho.
So after a brief flicker of doubt, I became indifferent.
‘They must need some kind of picture for the broadcast.’
Thinking it over carefully, it actually seemed like a good thing.
What I want is a quick debut after Coming Up Next ends.
If I show that I can handle any role the team needs without complaint, it’ll help a lot.
Besides, I’m the leader who can oversee the team as a whole.
Hmm, right. Let’s show diligence.
Since skill can’t be hidden even if you try to hide it anyway, I’d rather Coming Up Next treated me even more recklessly.
The picture of me pulling off a useless part brilliantly— isn’t that great?
Should I start some beef with Representative Choe Daeho?
What do I have to say to get under that gentleman’s skin?
While I was thinking that, Take Scene’s positions were also revealed.
- Juyeon : Main Vocal
- See U : Leader / Lead Vocal
- Fade : Lead Vocal / Lead Rapper
- I-Level : Main Dancer / Sub Vocal
- Ready : Main Rapper / Sub Vocal
“Well, their positions must have been decided a long time ago.”
Does this mean I’ll be clashing with I-Level or Ready?
I’d like to beat Fade one more time, though.
“If there is anyone dissatisfied with their position, please raise your hand. This is your only chance.”
When Choe Daeho said that, I could feel the Sedalbaekil members looking at me.
Especially Onsaemiro’s gaze was intense, and this time I could read the emotion clearly.
With his eyes, he was shouting, *What are you doing, hurry up and protest.*
He seems to have a bit of a tsundere temperament.
Moreover, Representative Choe Daeho and the production crew were also watching me carefully at this timing, as if hoping I’d say something.
Well, now that I think about it, there is something I must say here.
When I raised my hand, Choe Daeho pointed at me as if he’d been waiting.
“Yes. Please speak. Contestant Han Sion.”
“I think my position is wrong.”
“Specifically, which part?”
“I think the leader should be contestant I Ion, as the eldest hyung.”
“…….”
“Please reconsider.”
Why are you looking at me like that?
Isn’t it the universal rule to decline the leader position at least once on an audition program?
* * *
Han Sion never mentioned a single word about being a sub vocal until the end.
Even the writer and cameraman who had been assigned to Han Sion the whole time turned off the camera (though they filmed from afar) and went to ask him.
“Do you think I can do well as the leader?”
“Well, you’ll do well. It suits you.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you okay with the sub vocal position?”
“Of course. It’s good.”
“Why?”
“Do I need a reason? Every idol group has sub vocals, and those people are such shining existences.”
At Han Sion’s answer, the assigned writer returned to the PD’s side trembling.
There was no way they could say here that sub vocal isn’t a very important position.
If they did, they’d get beaten up by countless idol fans nationwide.
Drop Out’s Zero is a sub vocal position-wise, but he achieved number one on the music charts four times with a solo song.
NOP’s sub vocal, Juyohan, also came out with his first full album as a very sophisticated R&B tune and received rave reviews from critics.
“He’s fucking strong. Never bring it up.”
“Did you see his expression management? There’s no opening to ask anything.”
“Can’t we scratch him gently?”
“Scratch what? He’s steel, no, titanium. My fingernails would break.”
“Ugh, I imagined it. Me saying, ‘But still, being a sub vocal is a bit……’ and getting pummeled by idol fans nationwide.”
Those were the words of the assigned writer and main writer who had gone to Han Sion in turn.
Actually, it was an interpretation slightly different from Han Sion’s real thoughts, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either.
Han Sion truly didn’t care at all about becoming a sub vocal, but he was thinking that he mustn’t be seen in a bad light by viewers because of his reaction after becoming a sub vocal.
In the end, the production crew postponed extracting Han Sion’s reaction for a moment and resumed filming.
They figured they would try to hear his honest thoughts when the filming dragged on and he was physically exhausted.
The filming that followed was the “self-introduction stage.”
Take Scene and Sedalbaekil had never properly seen each other’s stages before.
During the karaoke mission, those in the front order had heard the songs of those in the back order, but it was ambiguous to call that a proper stage.
Since they’d be competing with each other going forward, they needed time to gauge each other’s skills.
For that stage, Han Sion chose a recent song that had been released less than a year ago.
SINCE’s *Never Joked Around*.
A song that secured both an addictive chorus and easy listening, giving the unknown group SINCE instant public recognition.
Though it fell off after just one day, it also recorded number one on the music charts, and even placed within the top 50 on the monthly charts.
However, every song other than *Never Joked Around* failed completely, and even *Never Joked Around* itself had terrible stage performances, so no fandom stuck to them.
When Han Sion selected this song, people tilted their heads.
It was undeniably a good song.
Even people who had never heard of a group called SINCE would probably know the chorus of this song.
Because it played so often on the streets.
But the original stage for this song was really not good.
No, from the music video to the choreography, everything was just bad.
I’d treated it like a joke until now, but the confession of a situationship guy saying he had never once played around…….
‘It was truly a song that made the viewer solemn.’
In the MV, the SINCE members displayed every ounce of charm they had, but it was an excessive feast of feigned fatal charm.
So much so that the top comment on the official MV was this:
-If someone confessed to me like this, even a thousand-year crush would cool off, fuck.
-People who like this are definitely perverts who want to feel sympathetic secondhand embarrassment.
Of course, these comments were quickly reported and taken down, but in that short time they received so many likes that they were screenshotted and circulated as memes.
That was why Han Sion’s song selection was strange.
It would be weird to just stand blankly and sing, and he’d chosen a song where he couldn’t change a senior group’s choreography.
But…….
Light skinship, aggressive jokes
Time spent together with boring facial acting
Though I pretended like it was nothing, I
-never once
Joked around
On stage, Han Sion was truly skilled and perfect.
First, he only performed exactly half the choreography.
Not that he only followed half of the overall choreography.
His upper body, which was singing, only lightly caught the rhythm, and he performed the choreography with only his lower body, making it half.
Especially in the original song’s chorus, there was a frantic dance where you spun round and round the girl…….
Han Sion slightly smiled and restricted his range of motion.
Yet his footwork was fluid.
Thanks to that, the choreography that had once created solemnity instead felt like an expression of shyness.
Of course, this type of performance wasn’t without risk.
Only performing half the choreography was definitely an element that left him open to criticism.
-Guess the senior group’s stage was fucking tacky, lol. He’s showing it right away?
-This bastard hasn’t respected the original song once throughout the whole program, lol. He just lives doing whatever the fuck he wants.
Humans who want to attack others are everywhere, and idols are easy targets for them.
But this time, it was a bit ambiguous.
Why?
Because.
When spring comes (when it does) I (I)
See the flowers
- Want to, us (we two)
This crazy bastard had copied all the parts originally sung by seven people exactly as they were.
Even though it was an MR hastily secured so there were parts filled with AR, he packed the original harmonies full.
Because he perfectly pulled off a packed section to the point where onlookers could barely breathe, it was quite ambiguous to criticize him for dancing somewhat shoddily there.
No, to be precise, you could if you wanted to, but…….
-No, did someone hold a knife to his throat? How is there not a single word he skips, lololol
-Knife-threat singing technique, damn
-Aah, you idol destroyer. This is [respect] for a senior
-It’s a part with AR? Then I’ll copy the senior’s harmony, ha!
-Oh? It’s a part where two people sing the harmony? Then I’ll produce the exact combined note of the two harmonies, ha!
-A music maniac, damn
-SINCE moms are complaining that he poorly performed the senior’s choreography, lol
-Leave the over-immersion bugs alone, lol
Those attacks wouldn’t elicit sympathy.
Of course, if he clumsily did something like this, he would ruin the stage and be ridiculed.
But as expected, skill was a tyrant.
Though I pretended like it was nothing, I
-never once
Joked around
Delicate note handling, clean high notes, accurate pronunciation.
The emotional line expressed through those.
Though it was clearly a house-based easy listening song where it was difficult to show off, when Han Sion sang it, it felt like a luxury good.
Listening to it gave a fresh, heart-fluttering feeling.
The writers watching Han Sion’s stage wore expressions of futility.
‘Is he protesting right now? So I’m still a sub vocal even after this?’
‘I thought he seemed fucking strong……’
‘What an incredible show of force……’
And so, with a slight misunderstanding, Han Sion’s self-introduction stage came to a close.