The schedule was very tight. There was only one week of promotion time from the prelude song to the title song, and there was not enough buffer when the album pre-sale started. Everything seemed a bit urgent.
But there is no way, no one can predict the unexpected situation.
Moreover, the comeback date really cannot be postponed any further. If it is delayed for a few days in late May, EXO will officially launch the concert plan. At that time, it will start a devilish schedule of singing + ordinary activities + variety shows + concerts. Even an iron man may not be able to bear it.
So the time finally determined is already the best return date that can be obtained.
Even this date actually has many shortcomings. For example, the company obviously has no intention of letting the prelude song "dope" become a song, because according to announcements from major TV stations, on May 8, the week when "dope" was released, except for " m! Except for "c", the singing programs of the other three major TV stations have not been resumed and are still suspended.
When the show resumes next week, EXO will start the singing stage of "overdose".
In other words, there is only one singing stage for the prelude song "dope", which is "m!" on the day it was released! c", it can be said to be extremely pitiful.
And "overdose" probably won't last for a month, because if there is a conflict in schedule, of course the concert will be more important.
It can only be said that a month was left in vain, which disrupted many plans and preparations in advance.
…………
JYP building practice room.
"Is it open?"
"Ticket sales won't start in a few minutes... You've been urging me for a long time and they must have opened it long ago, then."
As Minazaki Saka spoke, she waved her cell phone to Nai Minami and asked her to look at the Gmaket web page that was open on the screen, indicating that she was working hard.
After seeing it, Mingjing Nan smiled sweetly at her and expressed her heart.
After she joined JYP as a trainee at the beginning of the year, she was very confused and uneasy for a few days as she was not familiar with the place and was not proficient in Korean, but fortunately, she quickly found her own organization.
JYP’s foreign trainees all stick together in a group. Several senior Neon trainees also welcomed the arrival of Najing Minami and decisively brought her into their own small group.
The peninsula is a relatively exclusive place. They are all tourists from the same country who came here to work hard and join a group to keep warm. They naturally have a feeling of closeness to each other. They hang out together basically every day. After getting along for a few months, they are already very familiar with each other. .
"Mina, you are really a fan of EXO. You have been urging me since just now. Didn't you say you like 2PM's seniors? Why haven't you snatched their concert tickets?"
Minazaki Saka was sitting there with her cell phone in her hand, feeling bored, and looked at Nai Minami curiously, and asked with a smile.
"Not really... I just like their stage better and think it's very beautiful."
Nai Minami shook her hand, hesitated and pointed to Hirai Momo next to her, dragging her down: "Didn't Momo-chan also say that she likes EXO and want to buy tickets to go to the concert together?"
"yes."
Hearing that she was being called, she raised her eyes from the phone. Momo Hirai looked at them and blinked, and said in a matter-of-fact tone: "They are the most popular boy group in the peninsula right now. Of course I like EXO because they are so handsome. I am eu-reu -reeu-reu-reong you..."
While talking, Momo Hirai, who was sitting on the floor, took the initiative to sing a line. At the same time, she twisted her upper body to cover the dance of "Roaring Filial Piety" and made a signature hammering movement, which looked impressive.
"Right."
Nai Minami's eyes turned into crescent moons and she smiled at Minatozaki Saka with her upper gums exposed. Then she waved her hands and followed Hirai Momo to cover her for a while, but after a few twists, she couldn't jump and became a mess.
"All right."
Saka Minatozaki sighed softly and sat there with a smile watching the dance of the two. After a while, after they calmed down, they mentioned something: "By the way, I heard about the MV for the title song of senior Lee Junho's new album. We are selecting actors among the trainees, let’s go try it out together.”
"Senior Li Junhao?" Mingjing Nan looked at her.
"Yes, I heard that this is Neon's solo album. We are all Neon people, so we have great advantages."
Minazaki Saka is the more cheerful girl in their neon line, who likes to socialize very much, has a more likable personality, and is the most well-informed.
"Okay, let's go try it together."
Hirai Momo nodded, looking forward to it.
Being able to star in and show your face in the MV of your debut senior is something that most trainees are very willing to do. Not only can they accumulate experience in performing in front of the camera, but they can also show their face after the broadcast. Maybe they can attract some fans and increase their popularity. Increase your chances of debuting.
They can also establish a good relationship with those seniors online, whether it is vanity or improving their own connections, it is very helpful to them in some aspects.
For example, Jiang Seulgi and Son Seungwan are just two ordinary trainees who have not debuted, but they are related to Ji Kyungwon. I don’t know how many female trainees are envious and jealous of them, and after the news spread, the former bullies and bullies in person Ling disappeared in an instant... Of course, there must have been more gossip and weirdness behind his back.
And even the head of the trainee room has a better attitude towards them.
These are real benefits.
Of course, getting to know other debut artists will not have the immediate benefit of meeting Chi Jingyuan, but it will definitely bring some help.
After chatting for a while, they looked at the time and quickly took out their mobile phones:
"It's about to start, it's about to start!"
"The time is coming, get ready to start grabbing tickets."
Several Neon Line trainees were holding their mobile phones. On them were web pages that had been opened for a long time. Everyone was waiting nervously.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the ticket window for EXO's concert immediately appeared on Gmarket. At this moment, countless clicks poured in, and the line was immediately overcrowded.
"Did you grab it?" Hirai Momo's phone was a little stuck. There was no response after clicking the link for a long time. She looked up anxiously and asked her friend next to her.
"I didn't...I ran out of tickets in just a few seconds?"
"I grabbed one..."
"Me neither..." Najing Nan looked at the word 'sold out' on the screen, her voice was a little low.
"It took several of us to get a concert ticket. SM is going too far. Is it really so popular?"
A friend said unhappily.
"There are no tickets for the shows on 24th and 25th..."
Saka Minatozaki saw that Nai Minami was a little disappointed, and after thinking about it, she comforted her: "The tickets are selling so hotly, I guess their company will add another show, and then we will grab it together."
"OK……"
…………
The news came out the next day. EXO’s first concert tour, two concerts in Seoul on May 24th and 25th, had a total of 36,000 tickets. After being released at the ticket window, it was announced that all tickets were sold out in just 1.1 seconds.
1.1 seconds. Those with slower hands may not even click on the link.
Countless fans who had been waiting eagerly with their mobile phones for a long time had already lost their tickets before they realized it.
Some were just stunned for a second, or the mobile phone network was stuck for a while, and when they turned around, they were immediately declared to have lost the opportunity.
This feeling of being eagerly awaited and prepared but not being able to get a ticket at all naturally makes people full of unwillingness and irritation. Some very angry fans even smashed their phones in anger.
Naturally, SM was rushed by countless fans who couldn't get tickets.
"Death to SM! SM is out of business!"
"If you don't know how to plan, can you get out of here? You've been looking forward to this for a long time?"
"Don't you know how popular oppas are or what? Can't you rent a bigger venue? Is there enough space for your whole family to fit in this venue with more than 10,000 people?"
"Is EXO a boy band from our peninsula, and is SM a company from our country? Why do EXO only have these two concerts in the peninsula during this tour? But there are more than ten concerts in Xiaguo? Thailand in Xiba There are two shows,%...&SM apologizes to all the people!"
"Extra show! Extra show!"
The official website and SNS were flooded with the anger of Planet fans. Some were just venting their anger and swearing, while others were urgently requesting to join the show.
Seeing this situation, SM's department responsible for planning EXO's concert tour also felt that they seemed a bit too conservative.
EXO's last regular album "XOXO" sold nearly 1.5 million copies, and sales volume is the best data to measure the number of die-hard fans an idol group has who are willing to spend money for them.
It is also the most intuitive data for evaluating tour box office and mobilization numbers.
Many idol groups sound very popular and well-known, but there are not many die-hard fans who are really willing to spend money on them. Those passersby usually make a lot of noise on the Internet, and they seem to like this group very much. But when it came time to buy tickets and albums with real money, they all disappeared.
As for EXO's millions of sales, even if you exclude the number of Xiawen versions and the fact that many fans bought many copies individually, there are at least hundreds of thousands of die-hard fans in the peninsula who are willing to spend money on XO.
Under the influence of star-chasing culture, tickets for Peninsula’s concerts are not expensive, and many fans have developed the habit of going to concerts. The 35,000 tickets for these two games are really a drop in the bucket compared to the huge number of XO fans. .
The scolded staff of SM's planning department, whose whole family wanted to go to the concert together, quickly held a meeting to discuss. After a series of discussions and communications, the company issued an announcement, admitting that the previous planning was somewhat conservative, and expressed its sincere wishes to the majority of XO fans. apology.
At the same time, it was announced that in response to fans' requests, the first tour, which was originally scheduled to have only two concerts in Seoul, will have an additional concert on May 23. Ticket sales for this concert will open at 8 o'clock in the evening a week later, also at Gmarket .
Although the extra concerts made some fans feel relieved, there were still many people who kept criticizing SM for having too few local concerts. Even if they were extra concerts, there would only be three concerts in total.
And even with the addition of 18,000 tickets, it still meets the huge demand of EXO's fan base.
But there is no other way. The overall planning has been done a long time ago, and the venue is rented about half a year in advance. It takes a lot of time and energy to just renovate the venue, and adding a temporary venue already requires a lot of coordination. , the overall planning process is indeed difficult to change.
Faced with the torrent of accusations, these concert planners shrank their heads and pretended not to hear them.
Just scold them, they are used to being scolded anyway.
Just remember to pay for the tickets.
…………
Due to the suspension of entertainment programs, schedules such as events and commercial performances are naturally unavailable. Except for a few members with personal qualifications, such as Park Chanyeol and Byun Baekhyun, who are busy with their own schedules every day, other EXO members also I am happy to stay in the company's practice room every day.
All the work for EXO's second mini-album has basically been completed. In addition to practicing every day to familiarize themselves with the dance, the focus of work has shifted to the concert.
"Jingyuan, during EXO's tour in Seoul this time, what do you think about your solo stage?" Li Chenghuan called Chi Jingyuan into his office, gave him a cup of coffee, and the two sat there and talked. Get down to business.
EXO's concert is expected to last two hours, with a total of about 20 songs on stage. Naturally, it is impossible for twelve people to dance from beginning to end in such a long performance. There will be many other programs interspersed in the middle, such as chatting with the audience. Fart, and prepare some special stages.
"Gee" and "Say Your Wish" that EXO has been practicing in the past few days are one of them.
In addition to increasing the enthusiasm and atmosphere of fans, the most important thing about these shows is to give other members time to change clothes and take a little rest.
The members' individual solo performances are a very important part of it. Many members had their own solo stages at the first Seoul show, and Chi Kyung-won was naturally one of them.
"Are you going to choose a song or a solo dance?" Li Chenghuan took a sip of water, opened his notebook and continued.
"How do you choose the individual stages of other members?"
"kai is a solo dance performance, and tao is a personal martial arts performance. Except for the two of them, everything else is a solo stage."
Li Chenghuan flipped through his notebook and said while reading: "A few of the children performed self-composed music, such as Y and... They have always been interested in composing, and they had previously applied to the company to give the songs they wrote to EXO used it, but the company didn’t approve it because of quality and style issues.”
"It just comes in handy for this concert. It's a good idea to compose your own music, and it's easier to get closer to fans. And if it's used exclusively for concerts, it's quite a gimmick."
Thinking of this, Li Chenghuan's eyes flickered and he stared at Chi Jingyuan, and asked tentatively: "If it's you Jingyuan, I think it's definitely suitable for you to compose your own music for a solo performance. It's definitely better than the songs the company chose for you... Have you recently been suitable? Works?"
"What kind of song do you need?" Chi Jingyuan raised his eyes and thought about it, feeling a little moved.
"The style doesn't matter. The styles of the songs written by the other children are all very different... After all, the songs performed at the concert don't need to be too complete. The melody just needs to be more pleasant. If the lyrics can be related to the concert or fans, That’s even better.”
After Li Chenghuan said it, he looked at Chi Jingyuan and laughed: "But if it's you Jingyuan, the fans' expectations may be a little higher, but don't worry too much, they are already satisfied if you just stand there and compose your own music."
"Um……"
Chi Jingyuan nodded slightly, took a sip of coffee, lowered his eyes and began to ponder, thinking about whether there was a suitable song in his memory.
After two minutes, Chi Jingyuan looked up with a calm expression: "There is one song that is pretty good, but the lyrics are a bit inappropriate, and it has nothing to do with concert fans or anything like that..."
"Just this one, I'll change some of the lyrics."
"OK, Jingyuan, just hurry up and finish it in these two days, and then just give me the accompaniment..."
Li Chenghuan gestured happily. The more successful EXO's concert is, the happier his manager will naturally be.
Then he explained: "By the way, a VCR for this concert needs to use photos of your childhood. Jingyuan, you should have them there, right?"
"Of course, how small do you want it to be?"
I couldn't help but laugh when I mentioned this Chi Jingyuan. There were countless photos of him when he was a child.
As the youngest son, he was loved by everyone in the family. Almost every period of his growth was recorded by photos and videos.
"If there are any, please take a few photos of children, elementary school, middle school and high school. Even if some of them are not used for this concert, they will be used for many variety shows in the future. Prepare them now to avoid trouble next time."
Li Chenghuan thought for a while and said: "And if the growth photos are relatively complete, it can also be a good proof that Wuli Jingyuan is a natural and handsome boy. If not, those anti-fans who scold him every day will have nothing to say."
id=wzsy>
As a very popular idol, Chi Jingyuan naturally has a lot of negative fans. These people make all kinds of negative comments about him online every day. Although most of them are scolded by his fans for not having perfect skin and not dare to show their face when diving. , but there are also some determined people who persevere in blackmailing Chi Jingyuan no matter how they are sprayed.
These people often slander that Chi Jingyuan's 'boy band look' is the result of plastic surgery. They even brought out several people who claimed to be Chi Jingyuan's high school classmates to provide evidence, saying that it was indeed the face that happened when they were in school. Such changes have occurred.
And because of the atmosphere in the entertainment industry on the Peninsula, many people still agree with this view.
Chi Jingyuan also saw a lot of posts like this when he was browsing the news. It didn't matter if he was criticized for having plastic surgery. Some of the better-looking idols in Peninsula said so. He knew very well whether he had plastic surgery or not. This kind of purely fabricated accusations Criticism cannot attack him, but on the contrary, it can let him pass the time like it's fun.
But he was really speechless about the few people who anonymously said they were his high school classmates.
Before high school, he went to school in Xia Kingdom and the United States. After he came here, his high school on the peninsula was a high-end private aristocratic school. Ordinary people couldn't get in at all. There were not many classmates in it, and everyone was either individually or individually. Basically everyone in the family knows each other...
You said it's okay that you are my classmate in college and in high school, but who are you and what's your name?
When you open your mouth, you are my high school classmate. Do you know which class I am in...
Too lazy to think about those YY fans, Chi Jingyuan made an 'ok' gesture.
"Okay brother, I'll call back and ask my family to send some over."
…………
"'My clumsy heart may also be able to touch you'... Well, change it to 'In fact, it has already been touched by you'."
"'Actually just holding hands' was changed to 'Actually just looking at each other'.
Chi Jingyuan sat alone in a music room in the SM building. While playing the demo he had recorded previously, he spread out the lyrics book and tried to change the originally filled lyrics.
The song he was going to change was a song that had been put in the music library a long time ago. It was called "you=I". The style of the song was sober and warm, the melody was pleasant but not complicated, and the chorus was catchy. It fits the characteristics of solo repertoire that Lee Seung-hwan mentioned in his concert performance.
It's just that the original lyrics express a girl's love and attachment to her lover. Except for some inappropriate wording, the overall lyrics are a bit too sweet.
However, the melody and overall style feel very suitable, and a slight change in the lyrics can transform those attachments to lovers into passionate feelings for fans.
And in the minds of most fans, the idol they like is their lover. In private, they are all husbands, wives, and dear wuli. When you think about it, it becomes even more normal.
"If I could be like you and become the kind of person with a broader mind..."
"Well, what should I change to..."
Chi Jingyuan turned his pen, writing and drawing on the paper from time to time, and played the song demo over and over again in his ears.
…………
Although all entertainment activities in the peninsula have been suspended, the biggest impact on artists is that programs cannot be broadcast and schedules cannot be announced. Other work is still unaffected. Filming should be done, and variety shows should be recorded. It cannot be released in the near future.
Moreover, the peninsula cannot be used for activities, so many people directly left the peninsula to go on overseas trips. For example, Girls' Generation immediately started Neon's third concert tour, and I don't know what the excitement was there. Has the contract renewal been negotiated?
BTS was even more straightforward. After a month of activities in Xia Kingdom, they returned to the peninsula and released the follow-up song "Just One Day" to their second mini-album. Within two days of the event, the entertainment industry was shut down.
But he was not sad at all. He shook his butt and happily returned to Xia Kingdom to continue his activities. Judging from the development, he should be doing pretty well.
Instead of preparing an album, EXO's work intensity, which only focuses on preparing for concerts, has dropped a bit compared to before. Although they are still quite busy, at least they can take time out to do some of their own things from time to time.
A week later, on April 23, tickets for the additional EXO concert went on sale at Gmarket. This time the tickets were sold faster than last time, and they were sold out in less than a second.
This time, many fans still failed to grab tickets, but even if they tried to go to SM's official website and SNS company again, there was nothing they could do. The plan was already set and could not be changed. They could only send a message on behalf of EXO to thank the fans for their support and express their gratitude to fans for their support next time. We will increase the number of shows appropriately and will definitely work harder in the future.
Just an hour after the concert tickets were sold out, Chi Jingyuan received a call from Zhou Ziyu.
"What are you doing?" Even though Zhou Ziyu's accent was not deliberate, it still sounded sweet.
It's a pity that Chi Jingyuan didn't agree with her. He glanced at the members doing their own things next to him and switched to Xia Wen: "What am I doing? I'm on the phone with you. What am I doing... I have something to say. thing."
I always send messages to keep in touch, but now I suddenly called and it was obvious that something was wrong, and the little girl still insisted on going around in circles.
Chi Jingyuan estimated that she hesitated for a while before dialing, thinking about what to say after dialing, but after thinking for a long time, she thought, 'What are you doing?'...
Zhou Ziyu was not annoyed after being scolded for a few times. He hummed and hesitated for a second before speaking again, still in a greasy tone: "Can I buy your EXO concert tickets there?"
"Tickets? You want to come to our concert too?" Chi Jingyuan was a little thirsty, so he stood up with his cell phone and walked to the water dispenser to get a glass of water.
"Yes, my friends and I want to go see..."
Zhou Ziyu responded crisply.
"You didn't call me a few days ago, but you called me today because you didn't get a ticket for the last show?" After drinking water to moisten his throat, Chi Jingyuan felt much better.
"They were so quick. We prepared ten minutes in advance and didn't even get it. You guys, XO, are really popular. The fans are so crazy." A small complaint came over the phone.
Chi Jingyuan took a breath and replied easily.
"Okay, it's a small thing, don't buy anything, I'll just give you a few..."
