Just as Chi Jingyuan expected, the crew didn't finish work until 12:30 in the morning today. After saying hello, changing clothes, and getting into the nanny car and driving out of the set, it was already close to one o'clock.
This was already considered leaving get off work early, but it was because the director knew that he would have to get up very early tomorrow morning, so he was humane. Usually it would be almost two or three o'clock.
Around midnight is the time when idol idols usually finish work, and it is also the time when they are most active after get off work, so Chi Jingyuan is not sleepy at all. He is actually quite energetic while sitting in the car, and he does not even feel cold. Open the window and let the cold wind blow in all the way.
Park Jin Young probably knew that EXO's dormitory was in Gangnam District, and the place where they made the appointment was also nearby, which was a slate barbecue restaurant.
After meeting so late, everyone was more relaxed and did not wait. After saying hello, Park Jinying directly greeted and served the food, and then started chatting casually.
After eating something and drinking a few glasses of wine, he was almost in the mood. After he and Chi Jingyuan evaluated the new arrangement of "Come on", he got down to business.
"Jingyuan, what do you think of Twice's debut this time?" This brother put one arm on the table, holding chopsticks in his right hand to hold the dish, but his eyes were looking at Chi Jingyuan. His expression when he was drinking and joking just now became more serious, but he didn't Do you know if your eyes are open?
"It's not bad, it was quite successful."
Chi Jingyuan thought for a moment and replied.
Twice's debut is not considered a monster newcomer, but the statistics are pretty good for a newcomer, and the campus schedule that they have been working hard to run after their debut has actually played a lot of roles. As a result, its visibility and popularity have increased significantly recently.
"It's really okay..."
Park Zhen was noncommittal when he heard the words, and nodded and told some internal news: "The financial report has not been announced yet, but Twice is actually very profitable. It has recovered its operating costs more than a month after debuting. The response from fans is very good. Some members, like Yes, Tzuyu also has great potential in the advertising market. Our fourth quarter financial report should be better..."
"Of course, it can't be compared with XO." He looked at Chi Jingyuan who was listening and made a joke.
"Haha..." Chi Jingyuan also smiled, picked up the beer and took a sip.
He actually wanted to say, 'GOT7 is actually okay,' but after thinking about it, he decided to forget it.
"but……"
Immediately afterwards, Park Jinying became angry: "The smooth debut is actually due to the popularity accumulated before "Sixteen". It has done so much preparation before, plus a lot of travel after debut. This effect can only be achieved... Although the popularity is It has performed well both in the market and in the market, but in fact there are still some things that have not met the company’s expectations..."
Then your expectations are really high. With Red Velvet’s debut, it’s unlikely that there will be a song like “Let It Be”...
Chi Jingyuan glanced at Park Zhenying, nodded slightly and took a piece of meat. Then he heard the brother ask: "Jingyuan, what do you think of twice's current style?"
"It's not bad. There are currently very few girl groups in Peninsula that are as handsome, sweet and stylish as they are. The market is quite promising."
Style is very important for a group, especially a girl group, as it determines whether your audience is the general public or a niche audience, and whether it is more male fans or female fans.
The styles of girl groups in the Peninsula music industry are actually quite clustered. Some small companies follow whatever is popular. Sexy style became very popular in the past two years, including Girlsday, AOA and the like. They all transformed into sexy and had a chance to stand out. , but this year the trend has obviously changed. Almost none of the newly debuted girl groups with good momentum is taking a sexy route. The groups that were popular because of the sexy route are also obviously undergoing transformation.
The sweet and cool style of Twice's "Elegant" is quite rare.
"If you were to run it, what style would you let them follow? Is it still the same as now?"
"Shall I come..." Upon hearing this, Chi Jingyuan paused and did not answer directly.
His reply just now was still somewhat polite, but seeing Park Jin Young ask so carefully, this question also sparked some interest in him. He tried to assume the feeling of 'he will run twice' and thought about it seriously for a while.
In his opinion, Twice is indeed the essence of JYP’s female trainees in recent years. Their overall appearance is far above the average. There are also members in the team who have outstanding characteristics, recognition and appearance. In terms of configuration and hardware, they are actually Very good. However, the overall strength of the members is really average. Whether it is singing skills or dancing, not to mention comparing with other groups, the gap within the team is actually quite obvious.
After thinking for two minutes, Chi Jingyuan said with some uncertainty: "If it were me, based on my impression of their age and appearance, I should let them take the youthful and cute route... But it's not simple. Pure, after all, there are too many girl groups with this style. To find the characteristics that are different from other girl groups, I feel that they still have great potential in this aspect..."
"Actually, we think so too." As soon as Chi Jingyuan finished speaking, the wine glass in Park Zhenying's hand was placed on the table with a muffled sound, and he answered with some joy: "The company has held many meetings and has decided to Changing the style of twice in the next comeback is consistent with the general direction you just mentioned..."
"Actually, there was still debate at the time and it was not completely determined. The company was also trying to collect songs according to several different styles to see if there were any suitable ones. Then I heard the song you sent..." Park Jinying smiled as he said it. Out: "It really gave me a big surprise at the time."
"Now it's confirmed that your song, Jingyuan, will be used as the title song for twice's next comeback. This song will be used as the core to transform the members' styles and create a new concept for the group. This song will be completed by you. You Your ability is also very obvious in the return of XO and Taeyeon Xi, so I think it is most suitable for you to be the producer of this song." At this point, the guy finally talked about tonight theme, an invitation was formally sent out.
Although Chi Jingyuan had some interest. Producer itself was one of his recent development directions, and his target was Zhou Ziyu's girl group, but he did not agree. Instead, he smiled bitterly and declined: "It's not me. I don’t want to go. I really have no experience in producing girl group songs. Those cute songs are completely different concepts from XO’s songs. If it fails...and there are indeed a lot of things going on recently, XO will probably have to start preparing for a new song. The album is ready, and I still have to film..."
What he said were all realistic situations, but the lack of time is one aspect but not the main one. After all, the most important part of Chi Jingyuan's schedule at present is the filming of "Signal". The return of XO has not yet been determined. Even if preparations begin, it is estimated You have to wait for a while, so if you have time, you can still squeeze it out.
But he really has no confidence in this kind of girl group songs, and he has never tried any pure and cute songs before. As for Kim Taeyeon's "I", it is completely different from this style.
And he didn't think the song "Come on" would be successful. After he originally wrote it, he thought the song was just average. The lyrics he filled in casually were not very careful, and the song had already been rejected by both SM and Lee Soo Man. Well...if the album and songs do not perform well after they are produced and released, whether it is Park Jin Young, Zhou Tzuyu, or even himself, it will be quite embarrassing.
However, Park Jin Young was not discouraged, and instead analyzed him very rationally: "According to how busy you are, you probably won't be able to spare time for the entire album, but the production of just one song actually doesn't take too much time. Participate in a few production meetings in the early stage, and then you can ask Twice to adapt to your time later. I have thought about it, and it is actually enough to spare a few hours at night when needed."
"Issues like style and experience... The general direction has been determined by the company. It's OK to just follow the plan. And it's still me. I will be the main producer of the entire album... Jingyuan, your ability is ours Absolutely, so this song gives you a lot of freedom and control.”
"How big is it?"
"I won't talk about the production of the song itself. You can also make the decision on everything from choreography to part assignment. You can even take part in the styling..."
"So big?"
Chi Jingyuan laughed and took two bites of the food.
He didn't understand things like styling, so how could he get involved.
And having said that, considering JYP’s emphasis on twice, if his ideas conflict with JYP’s overall plan, such as letting everyone wear swimsuits to shoot the MV, it will be completely inconsistent with the expected style. Park Jin Young will definitely put a stop to any nonsense.
Of course Chi Jingyuan knew it in his heart.
But if this guy can say this, he is indeed quite sincere.
After that, the two sides became quiet in a tacit understanding. Chi Jingyuan needed to think about it, and Park Jinying would not rush him too much if he wanted to give him time to think. After the two were quiet for a while, they naturally chatted about other things, mixed with various chopsticks. The touch of plates and the clink of glasses.
When the late-night snack was about to end, Chi Jingyuan put down his chopsticks, raised his head and asked, "Brother, do you JYP really think so highly of the song "Come on"?"
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't let you rearrange the song, let alone use it as the title song." Upon hearing this question, Park Zhenying glanced at Chi Jingyuan strangely, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Then he remembered something and added: "By the way, we changed the name of this song. Instead of using Korean, we named it in English. It's called "Cheer Up""
The corners of Chi Jingyuan's mouth twitched twice, not knowing what to say.
Don’t they all mean the same thing? Does it count as a name change just because it's translated into English?
For fashion?
After a strange pause for two seconds, Chi Jingyuan exhaled: ""Cheer Up"... When will the production of "Cheer Up" start?"
"The album planning has almost been finalized, and preliminary preparations have begun. As for the title song, it should be started in late January or early February." Park Jinying couldn't help but laugh when he heard Chi Jingyuan's tone, and opened his eyes to form a slit. .
"Well……"
Chi Jingyuan took out a tissue and wiped his mouth, then nodded slightly: "Then let me discuss it with the company."
…
It was said to be a discussion, but it was almost agreed. SM has never set any restrictions on Chi Jingyuan's itinerary.
In fact, as an SM artist, Chi Kyung-yuan is not very suitable to produce songs for artists from other companies. This kind of thing is fine in other small and medium-sized companies, and it happens from time to time, but SM still has some problems. , which can be seen from the fact that in recent years, almost all companies that have invited music from outside have been rejected.
Of course, it's not a complete denial. SM actually agreed to some invitations, but Chi Jingyuan didn't answer them after they were offered.
Although the relationship between SM and JYP has been good due to several cooperations, and there have been a lot of exchanges and cooperation in the past two years, Ji Kyung-won probably still needs to talk to Lee Soo-man specifically.
However, in the eyes of SM and Lee Soo Man, the song "Cheer Up" is a very ordinary piece of trash. It shouldn't stop him from doing anything. In addition to cultivating his abilities, he may even think about it. The malicious idea of letting Chi Kyung-won miss and letting JYP’s new girl group hit the streets directly...
Leading a girl group's song for the first time was indeed a big challenge for Chi Jingyuan, but it also ignited his long-lost interest and enthusiasm, which made him unable to sleep for a while after finishing his late-night snack and going back at night. His mind was filled with some ideas about twice and this song, and all kinds of wonderful inspirations popped up one after another, making him turn over and over again, and he was very energetic.
There are also some very weird ideas, such as what Park Jin Young said. He also takes the lead in dividing the lyrics into parts. In this case, can Zhou Ziyu sing the entire song without anyone else singing a word?
In this case, she won't be bullied by other members after returning...
Or don't say a word to Zhou Ziyu, let her be a backup dancer throughout the whole process, and make her mad...
Chi Jingyuan couldn't help laughing as he imagined that the girl was squeezing her lips next to her and didn't dare to resist, looking aggrieved.
Although I have envisioned a few very interesting scenes, these are things for next year. The most important task now is to get these end-of-year parties done.
Early the next morning, a refreshed Chi Kyung-won got up and followed the EXO group to Samseongdong COEX to participate in the recording of this year's SBS Gayo Daejeon.
This year's Gayo Daejeon will not be broadcast live but will be recorded in advance and played on the same day. The recording will be completed today on the 27th and will be broadcast on the 29th.
SBS always puts on some attractive gimmicks for its annual music competition at the end of the year, such as the charity chorus with hundreds of artists the year before, and the color-coded teams last year. The singing competition is usually the best among the major TV stations and has the highest ratings. of a party.
But this year, uncharacteristically, there were no fancy activities. It was obviously such an important year as the 25th anniversary of the establishment of SBS, but there was no special celebration method. Although some special cover stages for ancient artists were added, from the process and links From the looks of it, it's just an ordinary year-end party.
But after all, it is also a song competition, and the number of 32 groups of artists appearing is already impressive.
EXO has been a frequent visitor to the year-end party for several years, and is already very familiar with the various procedures. After arriving, they started rehearsing, putting on makeup, and pre-recording in a step-by-step manner.
Their stage today is still the two most popular hit songs this year, "Call Me Baby" and "Boy with Luv". In addition to Kim Jong-in's opening solo dance at the front of the stage, both songs are also remix versions, with a design in the middle. With a brand new special choreography and the cooperation of more than a dozen backup dancers, the overall effect looks very good, and the company has paid great attention to this.
Some time ago, Chi Jingyuan didn't have time to practice together while filming. He went back to the company to learn this from his teacher at night two days ago. Fortunately, there weren't many new choreographers, so he was able to cope with it.
Gayo Daejeon, or SBS, can always be said to be the exclusive domain of SM. The last few groups in the second half are all from SM. They are arranged in order of seniors, with EXO coming first, SHinee after the performance, and girls last. era.
Compared to the only two groups that JYP participated in, GOT7's performance position was not long after the start of the second half, and Twice only had 2 minutes of performance time. Such a comparison undoubtedly reveals the strength of SM in the music industry this year, climbing from the previous generation to the top. There are everything from groups to the top groups of this generation to the new generation with good momentum, which makes other brokerage companies jealous.
At the end of Girls' Generation's performance, all the artists reappeared. After the two MCs, Lee Ji-eun and Shin Dong-yeop, said a few concluding remarks, the big screen cut to a video of PSY's concert on the other side.
The final winner of today's song battle is PSY. This guy is really famous after his hit "Gangnam Style". Although his songs in the past two years have not been as popular as before and their overseas popularity has dropped significantly, he is still the most popular singer in the world. The well-known Kpop singer, who is full of fame, did not come to the scene. The organizers of the Gayo Daejeon still chose to record a video of his concert as the last stage of today's party.
All the artists on the stage looked at the screens next to them and cheered. Especially when it came to the song "Gangnam Style" at the end, the meaning of this song was really extraordinary. Everyone got excited watching it and swayed along with it. Got up the body.
EXO stood at the back when they were queuing up for the final appearance. When they got on stage, they didn't bother to push forward. They simply stood behind the crowd. The crowd in front was completely blocked by the crowd.
Chi Jingyuan stood in the crowd and smiled and clapped his hands gently, paddling lazily while looking back and forth casually at the artists around him. Twice happened to be in front of XO, and he didn't know about this new girl group. Is it because they grabbed the front row position to grab the camera? EXO also stepped forward, making expressions for the camera in the gap between the crowd.
It's really scheming.
But it was probably the first time to participate in a party like the Gayo Daejeon. Many of them looked a little nervous, such as Ming Jingnan and Zhou Ziyu in front of him. Their various gestures of support were full of business atmosphere. The movements looked a little stiff when the camera came over.
But today their makeup is pretty good, especially Zhou Ziyu. Her makeup today is just right, and her eyeliner is not too abrupt, making her big eyes look lively, without the naive aura of the past. It actually looks a bit beautiful.
On the left side of Chi Jingyuan and others is Red Velvet. At this time, Pei Zhuhyun and others are wearing stage clothes. The plush cake princess dresses in five different colors look very delicate.
Bae Zhuhyun and Son Seungwan were standing close together, gently swaying with PSY on the screen. When Chi Kyungwon glanced over, Son Seungwan said something uncomfortable in Bae Zhuhyun's ear. Then, the expression on Bae Zhuhyun's face instantly changed to one full of disgust. He frowned and moved his head to the side as if he wanted to stay away from her. However, Sun Shengwan seemed to be in high spirits, making an exaggerated and greasy expression and moving up hard. Sticking and sticking, the two of them had a great time, one sticking and the other hiding.
Chi Jingyuan looked at it strangely for a few times, smiled and then looked away. He glanced around and didn't look any more. However, when he saw the familiar or unfamiliar faces around him, his heart suddenly felt... Somewhat emotional.
The guests standing on the stage today have changed a lot from the year when EXO first debuted. Many familiar faces are no longer visible in such lively occasions as the Gayo Daejeon.
What has happened in the music industry in the past two years is that the once all-powerful second-generation groups are either declining or dissipating at an extremely fast speed. They have gradually withdrawn from the public's field of vision from their previous position as the mainstream of the silver screen.
For example, kara, 2NE1, beast, etc. were still at their peak when EXO debuted. The former top or first-line groups have fallen off at an unexpected speed.
Others are still struggling to make ends meet, like Tara, who is still making comebacks but is obviously in a bad situation. As a senior who debuted in 2009, in today's song battle where many newcomers participated, the order of the stage was actually ranked At the beginning of the first half, there were very few cheers.
To this day, they are still able to maintain their status, that is, they are the top groups like Girls' Generation and Big Bang.
The changes are really fast.
This year, the peninsula music industry has obviously begun to change. In recent years, the newly debuted boy groups and girl groups are like crucian carp crossing the river. There are not only a few who are famous and popular. Unknowingly, they seem to have replaced those who used to The face has become the new protagonist.
red velvet, MAMAMOO, EXID, Apink, Gfriend, twice, GOT7, ikon...
Among them, the most brilliant one, the one who has become the most undisputed protagonist and the top group of the new generation this year is EXO.
The loud music of "Oppa Gangnam Style" kept playing in his ears. Chi Jingyuan clapped his hands gently, looking past Twice standing in front of him at the camera in front of him, but his sight was blocked a lot by the shadowy people. .
When they first attended this kind of party when they first debuted, they could only stand in the back and watch the second-generation seniors, SJ, Big Bang, etc., become the center of everyone, and accept the cheers of fans and the envy of their juniors in the front.
Although he was still standing at the back this time, the sights coming from around him from time to time reminded him that they were no longer the same.
Kpop, it’s their time.
There is only one last chapter left in this volume
