"Rough Camida..."
After finishing his speech, EXO turned around and saluted other idols. Even though they were a little disappointed in their hearts, Redvelvet and others quickly smiled brightly and congratulated their seniors for winning the first place. They kept bowing and saluting in front of EXO, no matter it was Expression management and etiquette are both done very well.
This is also something that the SM family has always been praised for.
Yesterday's commercial was shot by Bae Zhuhyun, who was obviously a little uncomfortable because of her height. Now she kept bowing with a smile on her face. When she faced Chi Jingyuan, she deliberately looked away. After taking a look, she took advantage of the opportunity. When the front camera was blocked, the whites of the eyes under the blond hair were slightly condensed. She glared at him lightly and immediately turned away, and then followed the large group towards the bottom of the stage.
Chi Jingyuan glanced at her walking movements with her upper body motionless and her hips twisting and turning from the corner of his eye, and secretly curled his lips.
Today's bangs are so thick, and the sides of the hair are turned outward toward the cheeks, looking as unsightly as a pile of weeds. If you don't quickly think about how to please Cody, he's still twisting there. Why does he stink so much?
I don’t know which cody in the company made Bae Zhuhyun’s look today. He could actually make a pretty person look so ordinary. He felt that he needed to avoid the thunder.
At the same time, Chi Jingyuan also noticed that the very strange choreography of the rap part in the redvelvet stage today where four people were doing sit-ups on the floor had been changed. Maybe SM also noticed that the effect of the choreography here looked strange.
When he turned around, the salesman's smile instantly returned to his face. He turned on the headset and started today's encore stage with the members.
After finishing the broadcast of "m!", EXO left m without staying. They went back to the dormitory to remove their makeup and change into private clothes. After a brief refreshment, the nine members took two nanny cars and drove towards nearby Cheongdam-dong. go.
Today, the 26th, is the birthday of the group’s eldest brother, Kim Min-seok. When I looked at the schedule, I found that there were no extra arrangements for tonight. I had been busy for more than 20 days in a row, and now that the singing period is coming to an end, some activities have begun to drop. In preparation for the upcoming new album's return, several members decided to celebrate together after a few words of discussion.
Originally, we were going to eat at a famous barbecue restaurant nearby, but Jin Junmyeon said that a very good hot pot restaurant had opened nearby. After eating it once, he and his friends felt that the taste was not better than what they had during the Xiaguo event. No matter how much difference there is, I highly recommend giving it a try.
With Chi Jingyuan's timely support, the venue for the evening dinner was finally decided here.
"Thanks, bro."
The nanny car drove to the underground parking lot. Chi Jingyuan and others thanked the assistant driver and walked out.
They came together in two nanny cars, but due to red lights and traffic jams, they didn't arrive together. The four people in Chi Jingyuan's car arrived nearly ten minutes later than the one in front.
This hotpot restaurant, which is translated as Shangguo, is located on the upper floor of a shopping mall in Cheongdam-dong. Four people stood there wearing hats and waiting for the elevator.
Because there are many people, if they all wear masks, it will be very conspicuous than not wearing them. Therefore, when doing group activities, they usually wear their own hats, baseball caps, knitted hats, etc., keep their heads down and keep a low profile. If they don’t meet For those super die-hard fans who can recognize who an exo is just by looking at their necks, they can still play some hidden role.
"The decoration here is really luxurious. I haven't been here often before."
"Cheongdamdong is normal. There are many big names in this mall, all of which are relatively high-end brands. I have visited it several times with my friends before."
Cheongdam-dong is one of the famous wealthy areas in Seoul. It is home to many international luxury and fashion brands and department stores. The decoration of the shopping malls is also unique, and of course the prices are far beyond the reach of ordinary incomes.
A few years ago, among the exo members who had just debuted, except for Ji Jingyuan, Jin Junmyeon, and Tao, who were from very good families, most of the other members had average consumption levels and family conditions. I just choose some ordinary barbecue restaurants, Korean food and other places, and privately I don’t have high price requirements for clothing and fashion taste.
Even when Chi Jingyuan was filming "Reply 1997" for the first time, other members had to come to the team to raise funds if they wanted to send a support vehicle to support.
However, with the popularity of EXO, especially after last year’s concert tour, each member received a very generous settlement from the company. In addition to their personal assets and endorsement income, today’s EXO members are in most industries in the peninsula. They are already considered a high-income group. Many people privately buy a lot of brand-name clothes and watches, and some are even ready to buy luxury cars and properties directly. They can easily afford some high-consumption meals and entertainment. commitment.
The young newcomers who once had little money have long been reborn, and now they all look like young hipsters and successful people.
With such a high income at their age, it's no wonder that so many people yearn for the entertainment industry.
"What floor is it on?"
"Didn't I say it before? On the seventh floor, there are all kinds of eating places on the entire floor."
"Actually, I prefer Sichuan food from Xia Kingdom to hot pot. Do you remember the spicy hot pot that Jingyuan brought back last time? That one was really delicious."
"Remember, it's indeed okay...but now you say it's useless?"
At this time, there were only the four of them waiting in front of the elevator. They glanced at the elevator that slowly ascended from the second floor to the negative level. Chi Jingyuan also scanned the surrounding decorations with interest, while listening to Park Chanyeol and Park Chanyeol next to him. Oh Se-hun’s dialogue, and Do Kyung-soo’s dialogue, which interrupted from time to time.
Maybe it's because the location and brand are relatively high-end, and the consumption is a bit expensive, or maybe it's the wrong time, but there aren't many people here, and the surrounding area looks a little deserted.
Chi Jingyuan doesn't have any special preferences or dislikes about shopping in shopping malls. It's just that he doesn't usually go there because he's lazy.
Compared to shopping, he is more interested in food, games, and even animation.
"arrive".
Following Park Chanyeol's reminder, the elevator door opened with a "ding" sound. Chi Jingyuan raised his head and glanced inside casually, then naturally opened his legs and was about to walk in. However, as he glanced over, he suddenly saw When I saw a familiar face in the elevator, I paused for a moment.
I saw only two women in the elevator at this time, both carrying bags. They looked about the same height. One was younger and the other was older. The younger one was carrying a few shopping bags. It looked like she had just been shopping here. Judging from their They have similar temperaments and look like a mother and daughter holding hands together.
And all the pauses were because he had seen the long-haired young girl wearing a black dress standing directly opposite Chi Jingyuan.
I've met her more than once, the female JYP trainee named Mina.
The middle-aged woman who looked like her mother was obviously very well-educated. When she saw three tall people and a shorter boy when the elevator door opened, she took the initiative to pull Mina and stood two steps back to make room. .
Although he was a little surprised to meet someone he had seen before by such a coincidence in this place, but after all, he was not an acquaintance. Chi Jingyuan returned to normal in an instant. He walked into the elevator with his members and looked at it. Najing Nan, who had not regained his composure, glanced at her and pursed her lips very lightly. She didn't care whether the other party saw him or not, even if he said hello, he stopped paying attention and turned around to press the floor button, only to find that the 7th floor had already been occupied. After pressing it, he blinked and understood, and stood still with his back to them.
Mingjing Nan obviously recognized Chi Jingyuan and the EXO member who were not wearing masks in an instant. At first, Tong Kong shrank and stared at his face in shock for a second. After their eyes met, he flinched and then quickly He glanced at the other three people next to him, then withdrew his gaze and lowered his head slightly unnaturally. He could clearly feel his heartbeat starting to accelerate.
"I just looked at the sign and it seems that there is also a large food court on the first floor. It looks pretty good..."
"I'm interested in bringing you a girl next time..."
Except for Chi Jingyuan, the other members did not show any abnormality at all. After entering the elevator, they were still chatting casually. However, when the topic of 'female votes' was brought up, Park Chanyeol suddenly realized that there was an outsider next to him. Halfway through, he It stopped suddenly, and several other people also understood in their hearts and all closed their mouths in tacit agreement. For a while, there was only a dull silence in the elevator, and the only sound that could be heard was the rising engine of the elevator.
The lighting of the elevator was somewhat obscured by the figure standing upright in front of her, and the remaining shadow covered Mingnan's head, making her face look a little blurry at this time. After the elevator started to rise, she couldn't help but look up and look at the people nearby. Chi Chi, Chi Jingyuan and several other EXO members, scanned back and forth several times and finally settled on the back of the person in front of them.
A light-colored hooded jacket and jeans, a very ordinary outfit that looked very comfortable on him. He wore a white baseball cap on his head. When they just looked at each other, Nai Minami saw the center of the hat. The picture printed on it was of Squirtle, a member of "Pokémon" that she was very familiar with, and the black hair that had been dyed back to its original color was exposed from the brim of the hat, and the neck could be clearly seen under the not-so-long hair.
After staring for a while, as if he was worried about being sensed by Chi Jingyuan, Mingjing Nan withdrew his gaze again, pretending to be nonchalant and looking at the lines on the elevator floor.
The meeting on this occasion was so sudden that she didn't expect it. The happiness and cheerful thoughts she had just been shopping with her mother suddenly became a little complicated.
However, Chi Jingyuan didn't think so much. He stood there quietly waiting for the elevator to go up. Fortunately, there were no other guests in the middle, so he didn't stop. It didn't take long for the elevator door to reopen on the seventh floor. He put on his baseball cap. Pulling the brim of his hat down a little, he gently sniffed the faint fragrance coming from behind him, and then followed the members out of the elevator without stopping. There was also a soft sound of footsteps behind him.
"Didn't we set off together? Why are we so slow?"
The waiter guided me into the private room of the hot pot restaurant. As soon as I entered the door, I heard Bian Baoxian complaining loudly.
However, Park Chanyeol didn't tolerate him, and directly spoke back: "Why are you urging us? We can go slower, do you want to watch?"
"Axi..."
"I've ordered some dishes. Take a look at what you want to eat and order some for yourself." As tonight's protagonist, Jin Minxi, dressed very handsomely, Chi Jingyuan felt that he didn't even take off his makeup. With a childlike smile, he greeted a few people to sit down quickly, then picked up the menu and handed it over.
"Brother, just order some. You're the one paying the bill anyway. You're the protagonist today." The air conditioner was turned on a bit. Chi Jingyuan took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair. He took the menu but didn't read it, smiling. He waved and joked.
"Hahaha……"
"Let's take the certification photo first..."
…
On the other side, Minami Nai and her mother Yukiko Nai were sitting opposite each other in a Western restaurant, eating. However, she seemed to have something on her mind. Although she tried her best to act natural, she would still get distracted from time to time.
I was actually worried about my daughter being a trainee on the peninsula alone, so after Nai Minami came to JYP at the beginning of the year, her mother often visited her from time to time to care about her practice and life.
Because she knew that she had recently been selected for a survival talent show organized by the company for her debut, and because it was her birthday the day before yesterday, Mingjing Nan’s mother also came to Seoul to visit her daughter and helped her have a warm birthday the day before yesterday. , and because she was preparing to return to Neon tomorrow, she specially asked her daughter to take some time out of her busy practice today to take her to buy some clothes, and at the same time have a meal as a farewell.
"Do you know the boy just now?"
Feeling that something was wrong in the atmosphere, the mother had been keeping her daughter's appearance in her eyes from just now until now. At this time, she gently wiped her mouth and asked proactively.
"Well, he is a member of the most popular boy band in the peninsula. He is very famous here."
Nai Minami put the knife and fork down, nodded without denying the introduction to her mother.
"That's not what I asked..."
Sachiko laughed. When she looked at her daughter, the wrinkles on her face showed tenderness: "I mean the boy who walked into the elevator first, the one in the white hat, you should have a private conversation with him. Let’s get to know each other, not the kind of people who know celebrities.”
She had felt this from just now, especially when she got on the elevator, her daughter held her hand a little harder. After that, she looked a little unnatural and absent-minded, obviously having something on her mind.
"We know each other..."
After hesitating for a few seconds and thinking about it many times, fresh memories emerged in his mind. His feet lightly touched the floor under the dining table. Naijingnan pursed his lips and nodded: "He helped me accidentally before. busy."
She paused for a few seconds, then gave a brief introduction, but did not reveal the details of what happened in the club that night. Although she was very close to her mother and could confide most of her innermost thoughts, it would be very troublesome to speak out like this. Mingjing Nan still didn't want her family to know about things that would worry her family.
After all, so much time has passed.
"Really……"
Seeing her daughter's tone and expression when she spoke, as well as her eyes that clearly contained some memories, the mother looked at her child and said something in agreement, but she felt a little clearer in her heart.
However, she did not carefully explore the cause and effect, but asked naturally and curiously: "Then he helped you, did you formally thank him?"
"...Yes, I don't know if it's official or not."
Mentioning this, the scene of being rejected seemed to appear in front of me again. Najing Nan could not help but slightly curled his lips, looking at his mother with a little complaint and a coquettish tone: "And it was just a coincidence at that time. I guess it would have been early." Just forgot about it.”
Feeling her daughter's intimacy and somewhat unhappy mood, her mother laughed happily. At the same time, she recalled the way Chi Jingyuan paused vaguely when he saw Mingjing Nan inside when she entered the elevator, but she didn't Instead of saying what he observed, he nodded and agreed:
"It's possible..."
…………
After the birthday party, there was actually still time to spare, but after a short discussion, the members rejected Park Chanyeol's idea of singing on the grounds that 'nine people are too many' and 'all men are too boring'.
To be honest, this time the results have been great because of the return of "e". There has been a significant rebound in various data, popularity and popularity. It seems that exo has come out of the gloom due to the continuous withdrawal of members from the group, but at the same time, it has also The energy that the members had gritted their teeth and persevered in before their comeback was relieved a lot.
But it is also normal. Chi Jingyuan has been a little more relaxed these days. After all, he has been working hard to prepare the album for so long, and because he has been suppressed by the outside world for so long, he always needs to relax.
And the results of this return are indeed somewhat unexpected.
After ruthlessly defeating the junior group redvelvet twice again and winning two singles of "Music Bank" and "Music Center" on the 27th and 28th, there is no graduation mechanism and you can still participate even if you win three times in a row, EXO officially ended This time, I participated in the singing activity of "callmebaby".
From the official return on March 1st to the 28th, starting from the second Saturday of "Music Bank", EXO won all the trophies of all mainstream singing programs except "The Show".
"shoion", "m!" ” and “Inkigayo” all graduated three times in a row.
"Music Bank" and "Inkigayo" took the initiative to end their singing competitions after each won their fourth championship.
There are a total of 17 singers, tying the record for the second most by a male artist in the history of EXO in 2013 with "Pao Xiao".
"Callmebaby" and "Baoxiao" both tied for second place with 17 crowns, second only to "Gangnam Style" which topped 19
In fact, with the popularity of "Call Me Baby" and the current momentum of EXO, there is a high possibility that they can continue to win songs in the future, or participate in "The Show" a few times to get better song data, but to be honest To them, being a leader really doesn't mean much anymore. Now it's just a kind of proof of one's own achievements and status.
Kim Jun Myeon has almost lost his acceptance speech this week, and Lee Soo Man has been thanked so many times this month. Even fans are tired of hearing those words repeated over and over again. In the past few days, His acceptance speech will basically end within ten seconds at the speed of light.
In addition to playing songs, other data are also very gratifying. In terms of sales, although the initial pre-sales were not satisfactory, sales have bucked the trend for two consecutive weeks after the official return, even though it may be due to the lack of single albums. It has reached the height of one million in the past two years, but it is still a terrifying number that other groups cannot touch.
In terms of music sources, after the astonishing explosion of being ranked first on all charts on the first day, the stamina did not disappoint. Although it quickly fell from the first position, the two songs of "e" still remained the same even after a month. Wandering around the inner circle of the list.
The sales volume has dropped slightly, the sound source has been stable and the popularity of the album has increased significantly, and the number of YouTube MV views has increased. This time, through the first single album "e", EXO can be said to have fully rejuvenated.
As for whether it can go further, it still depends on the response of the subsequent single albums to see if it can have a greater promotion effect.
After finishing playing songs, Chi Jingyuan and the others put all their energy and work focus on the second wave of comeback, which is coming in April, the single album "x".
At 12 noon on March 29, SM also released the trailer video of the title song "Springday" of "X" on its official account.
…
"Lyric?"
In YG's president's office, Yang Hyun Suk opened his laptop in surprise after hearing the assistant's report, then clicked on the page and played it. When he heard that the trailer was obviously not a dance music but a lyrical melody, a slight expression appeared on his face. Weird smile.
There seemed to be some disdain and some surprise.
Idol groups, especially male idol groups, rarely release ballads. Even if they do release most of them, their results will be very average, and it is difficult to create too much splash.
Because in the hearts of many people in the peninsula, there is an instinctive prejudice against idol groups. They subconsciously do not think that idols can sing ballads well. Such songs should be performed by those essential singers, and idols should sing, dance and express well. The stage is ok.
This kind of prejudice is common among ordinary passers-by. This also leads to the fact that even if an idol group releases a ballad, no passers-by will actively listen except their fans. The stage effect of ballads is weaker than that of mainstream dance music. , no one is listening to it on the sound source, so I just ignored it.
So now it is rare to see a boy group releasing ballads. In the entire peninsular music industry, people listen to any song they release. Whether it is kpop, hip-hop or even lyrical music, there is only one boy group that has a good reputation, and that is Big Bang.
However, EXO’s performance in the winter specials and winter singles in 2013 and 2014 were pretty good. In addition, due to its outstanding vocal ability and its lead singer being active in many TV series OSTs, EXO can barely be considered a half.
"The momentum of their comeback is so good. If the next few singles can achieve this kind of results, they really can't stop it. They actually released a lyric and the title song right after... SM is so confident? "
Yang Hyun Suk took one last look at the SM company logo frozen on the laptop screen, shook his head and smiled.
Because the comeback methods are the same, and half of the comeback dates overlap, and the company is not very cooperative in the first place, yg has been paying close attention to the data and results of EXO, BigBang's main opponent, since a month ago.
"Although it has won a lot of first place in the top charts and it seems that the momentum is good, in fact, according to the analysis of the marketing department, exo's return this time is actually not as good as it appears."
"SM has invested a lot of resources for their return this time. Through channels and connections, we can clearly see that there are traces of human operation in many aspects, including publicity, rankings, broadcasts, clicks, etc. They have achieved The actual gains are not as much as shown.”
At Yang Hyun Suk's signal, a middle office manager began to report: "The most intuitive thing is sales. This is EXO's official comeback after ten months and nearly a year. According to market logic and the expectations of their fans, To this extent, the purchasing power that has been held back for so long should have a very obvious explosion in sales.”
"However, one month after the release of the single album "e", it still has not exceeded one million sales and is still far from it. It is far lower than their average level. This reflects the lack of followers due to the departure of members and the The public perception has declined, and overall I think EXO’s decline is actually quite obvious.”
"After SM opened the pre-sale channels for their second single "x" a week ago, although the pre-sales have increased compared to "e", the extent is not as high as expected and is lower than our enthusiasm for them. the expected increase.”
"So according to our analysis, we will carry out BigBang's promotion, warm-up and comeback according to the original plan. EXO will not have a big impact on us. Even if everything goes well, their popularity and attention will still be in a certain way. The level of transfer to us has served as a stepping stone.”
"..."
Yang Hyun Suk was sitting on the boss's chair wearing a baseball cap, holding a steel lighter in his hand and tapping the table gently with a muffled sound, thinking about the employee's report.
In fact, he was still a little worried. Whether it was true or false, or whether it was the company's injection and operation, everyone could see the momentum of "Callmebaby" this month. On the surface, the results completely exceeded their company's previous expectations. .
I just watched the preview of "Spring Day" and found out that it was a ballad, and I suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.
It's not just him, but many of yg's staff responsible for this are like this.
Only those working in the industry know how terrible the prejudice of the masses is.
Just when Yang Hyun Suk nodded slightly and the atmosphere in the room relaxed, Cui Shengxuan, who was sitting next to him, listened for a long time and suddenly asked curiously: "The sales volume is far below the average? So what is their sales volume now? ?”
He somewhat disliked Chi Jingyuan. Although the sales data was posted on several lists, he would not take the initiative to check it.
Moreover, Choi Seung-hyun actually regards this junior group as a competitor, but when he heard the word 'far lower', he suddenly became interested and wanted to know how low it was.
"Well... As of yesterday, G-list data shows that the sales volume of EXO's first single album "E" is... 100 pieces, which is far lower than last year's second mini-album "Overdose", and also far lower than their average level. "
Excluding this time, EXO has released three mini-albums and one regular album since their debut. Because the regular 1 and mini-3 have reached the million-selling level twice in a row, even the debut album "Mama" and the winter special "Ten" "February Miracle" is a bit of a drag, but on average it's still a very high number.
The 650,000 for "e" pales in comparison.
But after hearing this data, the voice in the office became strangely quiet.
Because the last time Big Bang came back was "Alive" in 2012. That album, which had excellent results in all aspects, only sold 260,000 copies in the end.
Cui Sheng blinked and chewed the word 'far below' hard in his heart, suddenly feeling a little awkward.
As the backbone of YG Company, although Big Bang has a great reputation and has been playing since the second generation until now, whether it is sound source, popularity or even income, all the results are extremely good, but sales, which is very important for a boy band, have always been These are their biggest shortcomings.
It can't be said that it's not good. After all, two hundred thousand is already very powerful for a men's team. It is a number that can only be achieved by first-tier or even top teams, but compared to their other data, it is obviously a hindrance.
After an eerie silence for a while, Yang Hyun Suk knocked on the table again to attract the attention of the surrounding people. He finally set the tone with a high-pitched voice:
"In this case, the plan remains unchanged. We will also officially announce Big Bang's return on April 1st."
"Continue to prepare..."
