Damn Idol – Episode 70
“That was fun.”
“Episode 3 moved pretty fast.”
“If they dragged it out any longer here, the whole concept of the show as a team battle would’ve gotten diluted, don’t you think?”
As soon as Episode 3 ended, I nodded along with what the members were saying.
As the team members said, the concept of Coming Up Next Episode 3 was all about speed and momentum. Unlike Episodes 1 and 2, a lot of content was packed into the narrative, and there was never a focus on just one song.
In some parts, it was almost dry in how plain it was, but they probably intend to release full videos on M Show’s YouTube channel.
[Hey, did you watch the broadcast? But why do I have so little screen time?]
[Also, what are you doing right now? A question came up while I was arranging “Players.”]
[Ah, and there’s something else I wanted to talk about.]
Whether he had been watching the broadcast or not, a message flew in from Eddie.
It’s not like there were real-time English subtitles, but seeing that he had watched the broadcast, he must have tormented a simultaneous interpreter again, I suppose.
I really don’t know why he does that.
If I were a Billboard Rising Star, I’d understand, but I’m still just a K-pop trainee.
For the record, Players is the English title for
I let Eddie’s text go unanswered and ruminated on Episode 3.
The broadcast had started with the meeting with Eddie, then returned to Team B preliminaries.
And without any dragging, it cleanly showed the cover mission stages of
However, Blackstar’s
Because the stage was good.
But since it was a stage where my performance had been deliberately hidden, there was quite a lot of talk about it online.
-I knew Han Sion’s team would be mediocre on stage lolol. He acts like an idol sent from the gods when preparing the song.
-Agreed lol. It was kinda gross when he was lecturing the kids.
-?? The kids on the winning team seem to like the stage, so why is the reaction like this?
-These days, Han Sion’s antis have been multiplying on the idol scene. They say he acts all high and mighty.
-Nah, it’s just Produce stans causing a fuss lolol. If he debuts, their idols are gonna get compared to him like crazy.
-Huh? Han Sion isn’t on the same level as ordinary Produce members, is he? Chris Edward called this one a genius, while the others are just barely getting by lol.
-It’s because of people like you that Han Sion looks bad; I can already see him being used as material to drag others down.
-It’s not putting others down—they’re originally below Han Sion, aren’t they...?
-Damn, that hits hard lolol.
-But the stage itself was good, wasn’t it? I watched with a grandma smile.
-Yeah, Choe Jaeseong was cute. His fluffy hair looks exactly like my puppy lolol.
-Um... if it’s not rude, may I fall in love with that puppy of yours?
-Get lost.
-I find NOP fans’ relief freaking hilarious lolol. They must’ve been anxious he’d grab them by the hair like WeFPL lolol.
-But if Han Sion covered our kids’ song, I think my heart would race too...?
-My heart is racing just imagining it.
-So damn scary.
In contrast, the atmosphere in communities frequented by the general public was slightly different.
There was a lot of talk about the program itself.
-Ep 3 was kinda no fun.
-I wish they’d done more with Chris Edward. This PD has no sense.
-So no more Han Sion solo stages, just team stages now? I don’t really like watching rigid synchronized group dances.
-Still, won’t he do one every now and then?
-The thrill when the Billboard #1 composer called him a genius was insane, agreed?
Especially those who’d had no interest in idols but were drawn in by
Ah, right, this was an idol program.
Whether he can keep them hooked as viewers will be a testament to PD Gang Seok-u’s competence.
Lastly, I checked out a hip-hop specialist community.
I was curious about the 2017 Korean scene’s reaction to my rap.
Hmm...
As expected, hip-hop fans aren’t that different whether in Korea or America.
It’s not like their job is jewelry appraisal; I don’t know why they’re so obsessed with what’s real and fake.
An idol can rap a bit, too—did they have to call him fake?
The relatively good comments were:
-Yo, he’s got some feel at least. If you only look at technical skills, he’s probably top tier among idol rappers.
-Yeah, he brought out the grime well.
-He’s good, but he has no understanding of the culture. Does it make sense to use grime for lyrics like that?
Top tier among idol rappers?
No understanding of the culture?
It’s absurd.
If you lined up Korean rappers in a single file, I’d be at the very front.
Hmm. Maybe I should go on Show Me later.
I was trying to finish monitoring after the hip-hop community, but the surroundings were strangely quiet.
“......?”
When I raised my head, the members had their noses buried in their smartphones.
However, none of them looked good.
They were frowning deeply as if they’d seen something they shouldn’t have, with Choe Jaeseong being the worst.
He must have seen malicious comments.
I don’t get hurt by others’ criticism, but I know this isn’t easy.
Because I’ve also had moments where I suffered from malicious comments.
“Don’t look at that stuff.”
I tried to take Choe Jaeseong’s phone first, but he shook his head.
“I’m not looking at hate comments.”
“Then what are you looking at?”
“No, I did look at hate comments, but I wasn’t looking at my own hate comments.”
Wondering what he meant, I listened, and apparently the members had paired up to check each other’s comments.
Yi Ion
– Gu Taehwan.
Onsaemiro
– Choe Jaeseong.
They had paired up like this to share pleasant compliments or feedback they could accept.
It’s because hate comments are scary, but not all comments are bad.
Of course, during this process, they could end up seeing malicious comments directed at themselves.
But if you’re careful, you can mostly avoid them.
Because the moment you spot an unpleasant opening, you just have to look away.
“But then why do you look like that?”
“Because people say things that are too unpleasant!”
It turned out Choe Jaeseong was hurt from reading the hate comments directed at Onsaemiro.
-Onsaemiro seems f***ing useless. Face loses to Yi Ion, singing loses to Han Sion, youngest member position goes to Choe Jaeseong, and hardcore bias pick probably loses to Gu Taehwan lolol.
-Doesn’t Onsaemiro’s expression look f***ing sullen?
-Yeah, Han Sion seems like he’s showing off because he’s overly eager to do well, but Onsaemiro doesn’t even seem to want to do well.
-His name is f***ing loser-ish too lolol... hm.
If these were comments about me, I wouldn’t care at all, but it’s a bit much for Onsaemiro to see.
He doesn’t seem to have a thick skin against others’ criticism either.
“Just look at the compliments and relay those. As the general public’s reaction.”
“I was going to do that too. But I accidentally fell into the abyss.”
It seemed not just Choe Jaeseong, but everyone was in a similar situation.
I suddenly thought it was strange.
“But what about me?”
“Huh?”
“If four of you are checking each other’s comments, doesn’t it occur to you that one person is left out?”
“You, hyung? You like reading hate comments.”
“Me?”
“Last time, you were laughing while reading comments, and when I looked, they were hate comments....”
Uh, it probably wasn’t because of the hate comments—the surrounding comments were probably funny.
Isn’t it funny seeing comments like this?
Come to think of it, Choe Jaeseong does kinda look like a dog.
With his big eyes and fluffy hair.
Anyway, judging by the atmosphere, it seems to have turned into a team-wide monitoring session.
In the end, I started skimming through online posts in timeline order, too.
Today’s broadcast covered everything from Team B preliminaries to the room assignment mini-game after moving into the dorms.
The karaoke mission that had taken place in between was portrayed very low-key.
There had been a fair amount of tension and competitive spirit on site, but in the broadcast, it was peaceful.
Because of that, they hardly showed any scenes of singing.
With’s
Honestly, I don’t care about that.
People were disappointed that Episode 3 didn’t have main songs like
If there really had been something like that, it would have been exhausting; Episode 3 is right to be a breather.
But there was one strange thing.
Something that should have appeared didn’t.
The impromptu performance at LB Studio.
Even though we had created an amazing stage with former stars named Jo Gijeong and Yi Hyeonseok.
Of course, it might come out later, but isn’t now the appropriate timing for it to appear?
I’m not saying they should show the whole song—just enough to show that this happened and pique curiosity.
I really don’t know what PD Gang Seok-u is thinking.
Just then, I heard someone coming up the dorm stairs, and Eddie appeared.
“Why are you replying so late?”
Wait, I thought I heard he’d booked a hotel near Dongdaemun Station; why is he commuting all the way to Pocheon?
“A brilliant idea came to mind so I arranged it; listen and evaluate it for me.”
“Eddie, in this program, you’re the judge. I’m a contestant.”
“Fine. Then I’ll evaluate your song too.”
“You have to do that in front of the cameras.”
“Then just evaluate mine.”
Damn. He’s impossible.
I sighed and got up from my seat.
* * *
Right after Episode 3 of Coming Up Next was recorded before a live audience.
PD Gang Seok-u received a summons to the director’s office.
Usually, when a PD is called by the director, their heart pounds even if they’ve done nothing wrong.
Program evaluations—hang them on your ear and they’re earrings; hang them on your nose and they’re nose rings.
A star program that consistently pulls in ratings can be evaluated as a washed-up show with no more potential depending on the higher-ups’ tastes.
But this time was different.
Average viewership rating: 3.8%
Capital area average viewership rating: 4.3%
Peak minute-by-minute rating: 5%
These were the records he had just been briefed on in the master control room.
They had exceeded the target—by a wide margin.
And with only the third episode at that.
With results like this, shouldn’t he be the one summoning the director?
Hand over the corporate card so we can eat some beef.
With that thought, he knocked on the director’s office door.
“Come in.”
As soon as he entered, the director welcomed Gang Seok-u with exaggerated excitement.
“Gang Seok-u, you rascal! Come here. Let me touch your hand. I thought I’d faint looking at those ratings!”
“Director, have you been well?”
“What’s with ‘Director’? Last time you called me senior. Did you change once you hit it big?”
“Come on, Senior.”
“Haha. Sit, sit.”
As is typical of meetings between white-collar workers, they spent time praising each other’s accomplishments with smiles plastered on their faces.
The director praised Gang Seok-u’s vision and directing, and Gang Seok-u praised the director’s decisiveness in adding a second episode to the schedule.
Of course, it was only natural for the higher-up to subtly voice some disappointment.
“Ah, but the YouTube channel side seemed quiet?”
Meaning: “The ratings are great, but don’t expect too much special treatment? You didn’t pull off YouTube.”
“Come on, Senior. Subscribers increased by nearly 50%. View counts for Coming Up Next-related content are solid, too.”
Meaning: “It was so low to begin with that the increase isn’t noticeable. Plus, your other content besides Coming Up Next is subpar, so it can’t build any momentum.”
“Was it?”
“Yes. I’ll pay more attention to YouTube from now on. Chris Edward suddenly attached himself to us, so it’s been chaotic.”
Meaning: “Don’t you know I’m the one who brought Chris Edward in?”
After that lengthy exchange of words with hidden meanings, the director finally got to the main point.
The time to praise and keep in check a general returning victorious from war was over.
Now it was time to talk about the spoils of war.
“Han Sion—it’d be a waste to just let him go, don’t you think?”