Chapter 106: Recording and Wrap Up

As long as you can get close to him, he's willing to sign autographs and take photos...""Oppa is really strong, their EXO-K broke notes on the music show stage, only Oppa's stage is the most stable,...What do you think of the lyrics to this song

Chi Jingyuan saw Sun Naeun's gaze and his heart skipped a beat.

This song, 《LUV》, expresses nostalgia and feelings about a past relationship through both its melody and lyrics, as well as some subtle emotions.

Like "Can't get back time Hard to believe, our story has become the past..." and so on. The APK transitioned from pure innocence to a mature feel, and the lyrics are so direct and heartbreaking.

Of course, Ji Jingyuan knew that Sun Na'en wasn't asking about the lyrics. She was trying to probe his thoughts through the lyrics. He hadn't contacted Sun Na'en through phone for such a long time. The other party would occasionally send messages to greet Ji Jingyuan, but he deliberately didn't reply. Unexpectedly, after so long, she still had some feelings for him.

Chi Jingyuan couldn't say whether he should feel helpless or happy.

However, to be honest, although they broke up, he actually has pretty good feelings for Son Na-eun.

Ji Jingyuan glanced at Zheng Eundi who was pretending not to understand, smiling and watching the commotion from the side. He twitched his mouth inwardly and cursed, but his face remained bright with a smile as he nodded naturally at Sun Na-eun: "The lyrics are pretty good, very fitting for the style of your title song."

Seeing that Ji Jingyuan didn't show any signs of understanding, Sun Na-eun pursed her lips and nodded slightly, forcing a smile. However, the smile looked rather strained.

But Chi Jingyuan did not stop, but continued speaking. Soon, the other person's voice came into his ears: "Compared to the lyrics, what impressed me the most was your Apk style and makeup transformation this time. I feel you are the most eye-catching one among them, much better looking than some people."

Hearing this very direct compliment, Sun Na-eun's eyes lit up, and she happily looked up at him, confidently asking: "Am I the prettiest"

"I, especially the part where you bob your head back and forth on stage, including the last one, the impression was really deep..." Ji-seong nodded in agreement and didn't even bother to take the half-eaten chocolate bar out of his mouth. He imitated Sun Na-eun's dance part from the 'v' stage, bobbing his head back and forth. His hair sliding back and forth along with the chocolate looked quite comical.

"Pfft..." Son Na-eun couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, covering her mouth as she giggled incessantly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, noticing that his whole demeanor had brightened considerably.

"Hm." Jeong Eon-di then propped up her dead fish eyes and elbowed Ji Kyung-won, staring at him as she questioned, "Who were you talking about when you said 'some people'"

"I don't know either." Chi Jingyuan blinked, looking at her with confusion: "Do you know"

"Hahaha..." Sun Na-eun smiled watching the two laugh happily.

"Die!" Jung Eun-ji was not pleased, punching him hard with her fist and threatening in a low voice, "Do you know what era this is This time we'll send you flying..."

"Annyeonghaseyo..."

At this moment, a voice greeted them suddenly from the side. The voice sounded rather weak, perhaps because it knew it was interrupting or maybe because it felt a little awkward about the surroundings.

Ji Jingyuan and several others immediately stopped fighting and turned to look. They saw five female members of a girl group in white singing costumes standing there, proactively bowing to them, their attitude seemed somewhat respectful.

"Annyeonghaseyo…" Ji Kyeong-won, Jung Eun-ji, and Son Na-eun also put away their smiles and bowed in return. After standing up, they smiled at each other and looked each other up and down.

Chi Jingyuan knows this girl group. Recently, besides the popular Apk, the hottest female idol group is EXID.

This girl group is not a newcomer, they debuted in February 2012, two months earlier than EXO. However, after two years of development, they went through multiple member changes and even changed companies, but they are still lukewarm.

To say they're just "unfazed" is actually a bit of an oversimplification. In reality, it's like they've vanished into thin air, leaving no trace in the K-pop world. You'd be lucky to find even one person out of 100 who knows their name.

Speaking of it, it was also thanks to the chance encounter with EXID performing on the street in a bustling street area at the beginning of this year. Park Kyung-won left a deep impression on him. Otherwise, he would have known nothing about this group that had been active for more than two years when he heard their name.

EXID, an 18-line girl idol group who should have been quietly unknown and eventually disbanded without a trace, somehow got famous. It's as if fate had decided they were due for their moment in the spotlight or perhaps a stroke of good luck. Recently, they became known because of a video that went viral.

EXID made a comeback in August with their title song "Up & Down" but it failed to make much of a splash. After finishing promotions, they started performing on street stages and small gigs to keep themselves afloat. However, in October, a viewer uploaded a fan-cam video of member Hani performing on YouTube.

and for some reason, this particular shot has suddenly gone viral recently. Both the online discussion and click-through rate have been increasing crazily, becoming one of the hottest topics on the internet right now, just like when池景源's《dope》 went viral with its amazing shots.

And these two days, because of hani's straight shoot going viral, EXID as a group, as well as the song "Up & Down" which had already passed its comeback period, has seen a significant rise in popularity. The long-charting "Up & Down" has returned to the digital charts and is climbing quickly.

Because of the heat surrounding this combination recently, several music shows have officially called back EXID to perform again. Today's "Music Bank" is their first comeback stage.

Ji Jingyuan looked at their expressions and felt like they weren't very used to the atmosphere here at KBS. They seemed quite nervous.

And he clearly felt that when he greeted them, several people were looking at him from the corner of their eyes. However, since both sides weren't familiar with each other, they didn't say anything. After a brief nod to each other, EXID just passed by them.

Although he had never spoken before, he felt that this unknown, insignificant group who had persevered for over two years, from the streets to the television station, was pretty good. At least this persistence was quite rare.

However, with the current popularity of APK and EXO's simultaneous comeback, EXID's decision to return to music shows is somewhat problematic. Unless they have a long enough promotional period, it will be difficult for them to secure a first place win against these powerful contenders.

Speaking of, there are quite a few artist groups returning at the end of December this year. Just today alone, many familiar names participated in "Music Bank," such as Nicole who left KARA and joined a new company to go solo, 孝琳 (Hyorin) and Kim Joo-young from the same company forming a mixed vocal group " ", and the newly formed sub-unit -F that debuted around the same time this year.

This year, there are also several new rookies who have debuted. There is a male solo artist who debuted last month and released a new single EP, making the stage feel very good to Ji-seong. He is currently promoting it. Also, there is a new girl group that debuted last month and has received a good response. In addition, there's GOT7, a new generation boy group that JYP Entertainment placed high hopes on after their debut at the beginning of the year.

After GOT7's debut, they became somewhat lukewarm in popularity. This was their third comeback of the year 2014, and it was clear that JYP Entertainment wasn't doing well recently. They had high hopes for this boy group to help them turn things around.

It's a pity that this time Park Jin-young's personally crafted title song "pit" still received a mediocre response. Like ordinary boy groups, the sound source soared to the charts at an incredible speed but didn't create much of a positive impact. This is their third comeback of the year, yet they haven't secured their first number one win on music shows. However, their sales have improved significantly; by December, they had sold 70,000 copies, which is already a good achievement.

Of course, if this result were given to EXO, the black fans would immediately start celebrating online, dancing and shouting "EXO has fallen!"

After listening to "Chi Jingyuan," the lead single, I think it's decent at least. The chorus, with its repetitive "Ha-Ji Ma Ha-Ji Ha-Ji Ha-Ji Ma," is pretty catchy.

The reason he remembers this GOT7 song so vividly is because a few days ago, when he was bored and browsing the internet, he clicked on their MV out of curiosity. The video was quite interesting, and there were several familiar faces in it. The female lead had a very distinctive look, and the other people who appeared on camera were all JYP female trainees he had seen before, including the one he met at the "Produce 48" event a few days ago.

JYP is truly a good manager. He has his artists shoot MV's using trainees from his company. This way, he can keep costs down while also giving these girls a chance to be seen. It's a win-win situation.

They are so happy.

Lastly, here comes AOA walking towards them with smiles and greetings. This year's popularity has been soaring for this girl group. Last month, they made a comeback with their second mini album, officially returning with the title song "Catwalk Lighthearted." Although they didn't secure first place on the three major music shows, the response was very positive, and their various data points have shown significant improvement.

...and the subunit of GD and Taeyang, who made a comeback last month but weren't promoting actively with music. Speaking of which, this period saw fierce competition among the contenders on music shows. For AKP to be able to stand out and become a candidate amongst so many other artists is truly impressive.

"Jingyuan..." Over there, several AOA members were still chatting, and Park Chan-ryeol walked over. From afar, he saw Ji Jingyuan and waved with a smile, greeting each other.

Although they aren't very close, Pool Jingyuan and AOA have seen each other many times backstage at various shows and chatted with some members a few times, even exchanging contact information. Although they don't usually keep in touch privately, he doesn't reply to messages, when they do see each other face-to-face, they can still chat for a few sentences.

Being a group that debuted in the same year is also a kind of fate.

With Park Chan-wook and Jeong Eun-ji's playful interactions setting the mood, everyone started chatting in the corridor. After about ten minutes, EXO was called away by staff to prepare for rehearsals and an early recording session.

Because it was the first week's stage, for stage effects ** company prepared a set for EXO to be pre-recorded in advance. The effort put into it of course couldn't compare to previous MAMA stages, but with dedicated lighting and scenery it was definitely better than ordinary public performances.

> During EXO's pre-recording, besides the Eris who had applied to cheer on early, many staff members and idols were also watching the excitement at the backstage exit. Including Jung Eun Ji and Son Naeun, even Park Bo Gum’s two maknaes ran out at some point and stood beside their members, whispering to each other while keeping their eyes glued to the stage nonstop.

Because there was no dancing, it was just standing and singing with a few simple gestures. Recording was basically effortless, especially since it was a semi-live recording. Even the vocal performance of the ballads, which usually requires focus in live settings, didn't need much attention. Just a few takes were enough to finish recording.

"In the overcast sky, there must be brighter lights."

"My heart."

"u~~"

"Ah~~ah…"

The final harmony part of the song "Follow the Flow" feels completely different live compared to watching it on TV. When recording, everyone seated in the audience was an EXO-L. When they heard Ji-sung and Dohyun's duet at the end, even the cheers seemed to fade away as they were lost in the moment, feeling both excited and immersed in the beautiful sound. A few fans were visibly touched and couldn't help but cry tears of joy after hearing it.

A few people nearby were buzzing with excitement, like Jung Eun Ji and Woo Hyeong-jun who clearly loved the chorus and harmonies of "Go With The Flow". They watched intently while softly singing along. At the end of the harmony, everyone's mouth shapes were a perfect 'u', looking incredibly unified.

Because EXO is a new song released this week and not included in the music chart results, today's Music Bank first candidate is Apk’s “Luv” and Park Hyo-shin’s “ether”.

As expected, the last one was given to Apk.

Pool Kyung-won smiled and clapped from the side, then followed the members off the stage. He also felt that Apink was really gaining momentum now. To be honest, relying on this unreleased physical album winter single, which is still a ballad, it's hard to say if EXO could beat Apink's "LUV".

He thinks the most promising opportunity is during the first week of promotions, where he can leverage his massive fanbase and strong digital sales to secure one or two first-place rankings. Otherwise, if he misses this chance, the chances of winning a first-place ranking later on will only decrease. Without the usual perfect album sales scores that boost his comeback campaigns, his current situation feels somewhat strained.

If I don't get first place next week, I guess it's really over. I wonder what Jung Eunji would be doing with her mouth wide open in front of me like she's smug about something.

Actually, this winter comeback is mainly to give back and comfort the fans. Neither EXO nor ** company really cares too much about it, one member leaving or staying doesn't really matter.

But Ji Jingyuan just didn't want to see Zheng Eundi so arrogant. He felt that actress Zheng was only the most charming when she was angry, baring her teeth and stamping her feet.

Let's see about next week.

………………

Although EXO pre-recorded their performances for music shows for three consecutive days this week, only Park Ji-sung stayed until the very end of the final award ceremony on "Music Bank" on the first day. He left the television station and returned to the drama set after pre-recording in the morning for the next two days.

Now that it's December, "The Unseen" also aired episodes 15 and 16 on the 5th and 6th. This week's two episodes saw a very noticeable jump in viewership, directly rising from episode 14's 7% to 8.2%. Being able to make such a big leap on an already impressive viewership base also proves just how hot "The Unseen" is on the peninsula.

Now, "The Untamed" has become the most dazzling drama among all contemporary television series. Its viewership rating is remarkable, ranking high even among terrestrial television channels, not just cable ones.

But the reason this show became so popular is that viewership is secondary. After all, the television station broadcasting it has inherent limitations. The real reason it went viral was its incredibly high discussion rate online, especially among professionals on the peninsula. It was a huge hit among white-collar workers, completely dominating that age group's market.

Under such widespread discussion, the influence of has long transcended the category of "TV drama". Its shadow has already appeared in the lives of many white-collar workers, students, teachers and ordinary viewers. Some lines and dialogues in the show have become common workplace phrases.

And on December 10th, the production team of "The Uncanny Counter" and tvN also released the long-awaited behind-the-scenes special of "The Uncanny Counter," which includes many funny moments during filming, NG takes, playful interactions between the main actors, individual interviews, and footage of the cast's viewership agreement signing ceremony. In addition, it features new interviews with white-collar office workers on the street, as well as renowned magazine journalists and editors.

What do you like about the show "The Untamed"

Faced with this question, the program team randomly interviewed many working professionals.

"It really resonated with me. I felt great about it."

Although I'm off work, watching "The Untamed" gives me that same feeling of being alive at work. I relate to it a lot.

"I also work in the business department, and I really resonated with many of the characters in 'The Untamed.' Just like Zhang Kexin and other characters, I've also gone through a lot of difficult periods. At that time, it felt really sad, but once it passed, those times would become precious memories."

Facing the camera, a diverse group of white-collar workers, all clearly in their thirties, unanimously expressed their support and love for "The Untamed".

"The Untamed is actually a hugely popular drama that can boast about its viewership ratings."

Even disregarding the viewership numbers, it's palpable how incredibly popular this TV drama is.

When renowned journalist Pei Xianying faced the camera discussing the popularity of "The Untamed," she said, "It's extraordinary even in the television industry that it can make viewers think 'there is no other drama comparable to this recently.'"

And News reporter Kim Ji-yeon also expressed her great fondness for "Our Blues": “'Our Blues,' which directly depicts the joys, sorrows and anger of office workers, ranks far ahead of other popular programs. It has held the top spot on the Tepower index for seven consecutive weeks, influencing a diverse range of fields including politics and economics.”

"Even in the real workplace, people from large companies might say to the new HR director: 'Now I'm still immature, but if I take just half a step further, I'll become mature. Can you help me' This kind of wording."

Let me know if you have anything else you'd like me to translate!

“I also heard that some employees of enterprises have referred to methods and techniques used in the drama "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU" after watching it, because there are similarities in business operations. When dealing with some internal issues within the company, “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” has become a good textbook.”

"Making a television series, unusually has a huge impact on many areas of society."

All the reporters and editors who appeared in the behind-the-scenes special expressed deep emotion about the extraordinary influence of "A Love So Beautiful," which transcends the realm of television dramas.

Although it does have some flattering elements, they aren't entirely wrong because many of the examples are real events, and the impact of "Umibozu" is truly astonishing.

There are even rumors that because "The Untamed" is so popular and influential, the government on the peninsula is discussing modifying previous regulations and laws to improve the unfair treatment of "contract workers" like Wei Wuxian in companies.

Although it hasn't been formally realized yet, if this powerful advancement is truly achieved because of "The Promised Neverland," then that would surpass all reviews and ratings.

As of now, the entire drama with twenty episodes has aired sixteen episodes, and the broadcast of "The Untamed" has entered its latter half. The overwhelmingly high ratings and response have already proven the success of this television series. It has brought many benefits to both the actors and the production crew. The entire cast and crew are in high spirits, and the atmosphere on set is very good every day.

The only goal now is to reach the 10% viewership rating, which is extremely difficult for cable television stations, at the finale. That way, everyone wins, and there will be no regrets for the drama "Youth."

Because the filming progress was fast enough before, there aren't many shooting tasks left. If it weren't for Ji Jingyuan frequently taking leave due to team schedules midway through, the crew would have probably announced the wrap-up a few days ago.

Even so, the official wrap-up and disbandment of the crew should be just within these two days.

"Cut!"

"Good, let's continue this afternoon after lunch." Kim Yeonsook took the loudspeaker and said with a chuckle.

"Pdn, what are you having for dinner today Won't it still be hamburgers and zhajiang mian" Because the atmosphere was good, several lively actors and crew members chimed in jokingly.

"Still those, wait until the victory banquet to let the TV station treat you all well..." Kim Yeonsook didn't mind, waving his hand and smiling with an amiable air.

"Oh dear, when will that ever be..."

Chi Jingyuan sat at the table, holding a pair of chopsticks in his right hand and devouring a bowl of fried sauce noodles and sweet and sour pork. With his left hand, he browsed through today's hot news on his phone.

The past two days have seen a slight dip in the heat surrounding Alice and VIP's feud, as it no longer dominates the hot searches. However, the battle continues intensely both privately and on various online forums.

These two boy group fandoms are now truly at each other's throats, all because of a single diss during MAMA. It wasn't even directed at EXO specifically, not to mention it wasn't explicitly aimed at them. However, due to some people stirring the pot and fanning the flames, AROHA and VIP, the two largest fanbases of these K-Pop groups, have become sworn enemies.

Both sides have incredibly powerful combat abilities. Ordinary insults and obscenities are no longer effective. Under their efforts, fabricated rumors and slander have appeared everywhere these days. Even past scandals have been brought up again by the Ali team, becoming important leverage for attacking each other's weaknesses.

They don't care whether it's true or not, whether they've cleared things up or not. As long as what they say can break your defenses and have an effect, that's all that matters to them.

To be honest, over the past year, as EXO has exploded in popularity, Ai Li, a fan, has been running rampant online and hasn't really encountered any true rivals. This time, with both sides going toe-to-toe and exchanging barbs, it's truly ignited the fighting spirit of many teenage girls.

The reason for the quarrel is now even forgotten by everyone, but the grudge between them is real.

As expected of EXO members, ** remained silent and pretended nothing happened despite promising to handle the situation. Pool Kyoung-won even believes that some of the instigating posts could be orchestrated by their own company.

I can only say that ** truly lives up to its name.

While looking at the scenery, Ji Chang Wook saw the news about Girls' Generation, including Kim Tae Yeon.

After a long period of silence following Jessica Jung's departure, Girls' Generation held a concert yesterday, December 9th, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, as scheduled. The concert attracted over 55,000 fans, marking a resounding success overall.

This is also the first time Girls' Generation has held a concert at Tokyo Dome since their debut seven years ago, and the second girl group from the peninsula to hold a solo concert at the venue.

First is kara, they held their Tokyo Dome concert in January 2013, and the 45,000 tickets sold out in five minutes.

Yesterday's DVD concert just finished, and it hasn't even been released yet, but fan-taken photos and videos, as well as audience reviews, are already buzzing all over the internet.

Chi Jingyuan watched for a while and found that the stage that caused the most discussion was the one where eight people sang their debut song "The World Where We Meet Again" a cappella when they were young.

In the picture, there is a spot in the formation where one member is missing. The eight members of Girls' Generation who are performing on stage have purposely left an empty space for what was originally meant to be occupied by Jessica Jung.

And many other SNSD members in the picture were crying very sadly, like Sunny who burst into tears on stage, bowing her head and crying so hard she couldn't sing. YoonA and Seohyun were also like that.

This picture instantly made countless Sones break down and cry.

After seeing this, Chi Jingyuan also felt a bit emotional.

Singing their debut song, they even left a spot in the middle for the departed members. It's truly both ironic and sentimental, no wonder sone couldn't take it anymore.

If EXO holds a concert at the Tokyo Dome in the future and sings their debut song "MAMA," would they need to leave three empty spaces in the middle

I feel like there's a little too much empty space here. It's probably best to just leave it as it is.

Moreover, Qi Jingyuan himself definitely wouldn't be able to cry. I wonder if Park Chan-lyeok and the others will be able to cry.

Although Sunny is very smart and appears very calm, Ji Jingyuan knows that she can be quite emotional at times. Crying like this isn't really surprising, to be honest.

It's surprising that someone like Yoona sunbae, who is so image-conscious and rational, could cry on stage in front of tens of thousands of fans. She must be going through a tough time emotionally.

Either her acting has really improved.

First Release on Chinese Novels Networkould be the face of the group."Chi Jingyuan's words left everyone stunned, they looked at each other."Does this need to be discussed I definitely count as one."Kim Jun-Mian adjusted his hair in the mi...