Episode 80
With the comeback showcase and the W-app live broadcast. The hectic day of the comeback passed by.
From the next day, the impact of We:uS's comeback began to appear in earnest.
[We:uS dominates charts at No. 1 upon music release with new song 'We'.]
The music of We:uS, released at 6 PM yesterday, took over the top ranks of all music sites' charts.
The title track 'We' was ranking No. 1 on all major music sites since its release.
On music sites providing real-time charts, a phenomenon occurred where songs from No. 1 to No. 5 were all filled with We:uS's songs for a moment.
Also known as lining up the charts.
A phenomenon that hadn't been seen for a while unless it was a super-large idol group's comeback, after the reorganization of music site charts.
It was reproduced once again through We:uS this time.
Such We:uS's potential and the impact of this album were being proven not only on music sites but also through the music video.
[We:uS 'We' Official MV]
Views: 27,642,137
The views of the music video, which hadn't even been 24 hours since its release, was quickly running towards 30 million views.
Compared to the last debut album, it was nearly double the figure.
Even if they were an idol group from an audition, it was an unbelievable achievement to have accomplished in their first comeback after just one debut activity.
Especially since We:uS hadn't even properly started overseas activities yet, it was a more encouraging result.
Naturally, with these results appearing just a day after the comeback, K-pop communities were bustling with talks about We:uS all day long.
-Crazy, look at the speed of We:uS's MV views going up. It seems like it'll hit 30 million soon?
└It's hard to even call them rookies now ㄷㄷ At this level, they seem like the top tier among the tier 1 groups.
└They haven't even done proper overseas activities yet ㅋㅋㅋ They don't even have a foreign member so they have almost no overseas fanbase right now, but they still have this much popularity. Imagine after they go on an Asian tour once...
-Seeing them line up the charts yesterday, it feels like We:uS will beat everyone except Cross and Next?
-I wonder how much the first-week sales will be this time. Could it be exceeding 1 million?
If there were people purely admiring and talking about We:uS's popularity like that.
-The kids here were acting like it would fail because Yoojin Kim composed the title track this time, but now that the results are out, where did all the people who said it would fail go? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The male idols debuting this year are so pitiful ㅋㅋ Even if they work hard, the Rookie of the Year award is already We:uS's.
└Wasn't there something called Zeus last time? Didn't they say their popularity was decent?
└They made a team out of the kids dropped from National Idol ㅋㅋㅋ If they were popular, they would have become We:uS ㅋ
-Honestly, We:uS is more talented than the kids from large agencies who only do media play. We:uS is good at live singing too.
Wherever you go, there were people who secretly disparaged others while praising a certain subject.
Also known as troll seeds. The fact that such trolls moved over to We:uS.
Was an inevitable phenomenon that appeared as We:uS's popularity rapidly increased.
Furthermore, We:uS still had one weakness that hadn't disappeared.
The fans of the trainees who failed to make it into the debut group during the National Idol era.
The fact that the troll seeds provoked the feelings of these people, who were highly likely to turn into We:uS's antis at any moment, could be said to be a bad omen for We:uS.
-We:uS kids are talented? That's a bit...??
-Honestly, We:uS didn't rise because of their skills. People who have been watching since National Idol would all know.
-Now that they're starting to do well, they're washing their image saying they rose with skills? ㅋㅋ
-We:uS isn't at the level to sell themselves with their skills yet.
-I have a lot to say but I'll hold back ㅋ...
Posts related to We:uS's skills that burst out at an unexpected timing.
Of course, it wasn't blown up enough to be called a controversy yet. There wasn't any particular incident to curse We:uS's skills for.
However, the very fact that these types of posts were continuously being produced was definitely not a good issue for We:uS.
***
A small hall inside the broadcasting station with a size of a few hundred seats.
It was filled with audience members looking at us with curious eyes.
And right now beside us.
"The guests we have on Yoo Hee-seok's Picture Note today. Ah... I think the word 'trend' suits these people the best these days. Let's meet We:uS everyone. Hello!"
"Two, three!"
"Together forever! Hello, we are We:uS!"
Clap clap clap-
Waaaaah-
Compared to the cheers I heard every time I stood on stage usually, it was a noticeably smaller cheer.
But it couldn't be helped here.
Yoo Hee-seok's Picture Note.
A late-night music broadcast that has been running for over 10 years.
Unlike music broadcasts that started featuring only idol groups at some point, it was a broadcast where singers of various genres appeared.
Of course, idols occasionally appeared too, but.
'It's almost unheard of for a rookie idol group like us to appear.'
Furthermore, we were almost like uninvited guests today.
Because.
'We came as a substitute.'
The singer who was originally supposed to appear was hospitalized due to a car accident, so we were urgently brought in as a substitute. That was us.
The writer who called us for the casting probably didn't think we would actually appear either.
Since Yoo Hee-seok's Picture Note itself wasn't a stage idol groups preferred.
Nevertheless, the reason we decided to stand on this stage, barely persuading our manager and adjusting other schedules was.
'Because there was no place better than here to give the impression of a live stage.'
After the last W-app broadcast, I looked up posts about We:uS with a strange feeling.
I never expected there to be so many posts cursing us for our skills.
Among them, what particularly remained in my memory was.
-The song is good, but is it true that 'We' can be performed live? They didn't even sing live at the last showcase, right?
Strictly speaking, it wasn't that we didn't sing live. It was just that the AR was heavily laid down.
I heard that it had to be conducted that way due to the nature of a showcase, so it was unavoidable.
But to think they would nitpick even this.
This title track 'We' was a song that put a lot of emphasis on the choreography.
It was true that live singing was difficult because there were many big movements and the dance was flashy.
Because of that, I could somewhat understand the suspicion of whether we could properly sing live.
Well, it wasn't a big controversy, and I know it's a suspicion that would naturally disappear as we continue activities.
And also that as popularity grows, anti-fans are bound to appear inevitably.
However.
'There's no need to avoid it if we can prove it.'
Just then, an unexpected opportunity was given to us.
Since we confirmed our appearance suddenly, the audience seats had none of our fans.
The audience probably had no expectations for us either.
'This is the first time... It's not bad.'
It was new to stand in front of people who didn't know us well, having only received cheers from fans always.
'I'll just think of it as preparation before advancing overseas in advance.'
I waved my hand to the audience with a relaxed smile.
None of the members showed any signs of nervousness either.
They were that confident. Confident about the stage we were going to show.
But...
'Those eyes are a bit burdensome.'
We greeted him once in the waiting room, but as the recording started, Yoo Hee-seok's eyes looking at us shone like a hawk's eyes.
While I was looking at Yoo Hee-seok's eyes that I wasn't used to.
Yoo Hee-seok's gaze was directed exactly at me.
Grin-
I saw Yoo Hee-seok suddenly getting up from his chair and approaching me with a smile.
'What, what is it?'
Yoo Hee-seok, who approached me, offered a handshake, and I took his hand while being slightly flustered.
"Mr. Seonwoo Rin, it's so nice to meet you! I really wanted to see you, you know?"
"Yes? Ah! I wanted to see you too, sunbaenim."
When I quickly answered Yoo Hee-seok's sudden words.
Yoo Hee-seok looked at the audience and spoke.
"Everyone, I was really surprised when I saw Mr. Seonwoo Rin in the waiting room today. Do you know, Mr. Seonwoo Rin? Exactly 20 years ago."
"Yes?"
"You look exactly like me 20 years ago."
At Yoo Hee-seok's words, laughter burst out from the audience for a moment.
"I'm telling you, it's like looking in a real mirror."
Yoo Hee-seok returned to his seat, saying playfully.
We started the interview with Yoo Hee-seok in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
"Everyone, do you know how amazing We:uS is? No. 1 on the music charts right after their comeback! It's still No. 1 right now, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Being No. 1 itself is amazing, but what's even more amazing is that these people haven't even debuted for a year yet."
Yoo Hee-seok, who said so, looked at the audience and spoke.
"Such amazing people have appeared on our Picture Note. Do you realize my greatness once again, everyone?"
Seeing Yoo Hee-seok, who praised us to the fullest but eventually finished with his own self-praise, I thought that an MC is indeed an MC.
While the praise for us continued endlessly under Yoo Hee-seok's skilled hosting like that.
"Now, then let's talk about We:uS's music."
The atmosphere of Yoo Hee-seok, who was hosting, suddenly changed.
'From now on, he's not an MC but a musician.'
The reason this program could run for a long time. It was also because of the host Yoo Hee-seok's serious attitude and passion for music.
'Yes, this is what I wanted.'
Because of Yoo Hee-seok's comfortable interview, I had pushed it slightly to the back of my mind. Thinking about the real reason we came here, my mind quickly snapped back.
"Could you explain what kind of song the title track 'We' is?"
As soon as the question about the title track was asked, Yoojin Kim, who was next to me, picked up the microphone and opened his mouth.
"This title track is, a new beginning."
"A new beginning?"
"Yes, I would like to say that it is an answer to what kind of music we will do in the future and how much we can show."
For a moment, Yoojin Kim and Yoo Hee-seok's gazes clashed intensely.
They soon withdrew their gazes from each other, but I could see it.
Yoo Hee-seok's eyes seemed to be saying, "Let's see how well you do."
'This gives me chills...'
Yoo Hee-seok, who gave me such tension, soon returned to being the host and spoke with a soft smile.
"Then let's go see We:uS's stage right away."
***
We:uS's fan Kim So-young let out a sigh after searching the internet for a while.
"Haa, why did it have to be last week..."
It was because of the news that We:uS appeared on Yoo Hee-seok's Picture Note, one of Kim So-young's favorite programs.
From Kim So-young's perspective, who applied for audience tickets whenever she had time, she regretted missing the opportunity to see her favorite singer on her favorite program so much.
"The interview must have been fun too...?"
Yoo Hee-seok and We:uS's meeting...
This was a combination that couldn't be missed.
"Uwaaaah.,,"
Kim So-young, who had been rolling in regret for a while, searched for Yoo Hee-seok's Picture Note again in the search bar.
"Did a pre-release video even come up? Please... Huh?"
The video Kim So-young had been hoping and hoping for was uploaded.
[Pre-release] We:uS - We [Yoo Hee-seok's Picture Note]
Kim So-young, who cheered inwardly looking at the uploaded video, was about to click the video right away but felt something strange and looked at the screen again.
"Why is the length like this?"
The pre-release video, which should have been uploaded with a length of a little over 1 minute as usual, was uploaded with a length of over 4 minutes.
"Did they upload it by mistake?"
If they accidentally uploaded the full version, it would be a really big deal.
She thought about whether she should even contact the broadcasting station, but.
'First, I'll watch it myself first...'
Kim So-young's mouse cursor instinctively headed for the video.
And in the played video.
Thump thump thump.
Ziiiiiiing-
The sound of the band playing heard clearly.
'Don't tell me... a full band live?'