I am a Pioneer

Poll Shift

The fallout from the latest episode hit like a nuclear warhead. The internet was bombarded, JYP's stocks fell, although were stabilised fairly quickly. The Seoul Young issue was taken care of behind the scenes so as not to drag JYPE's reputation down too far. Seoul Young's father was tried and sentenced to 19 years imprisonment and fined over 3.8 million dollars for tax evasion and market manipulation. Seoul Young being over 20 was tried as an accomplice and initiator, and given the same time as his father.

The show was continued, with some fun challenges to distract the public from Seoul Young. This included public performances and a sports day of some sort. They released 3 filler episodes before our next proper challenge was introduced. It was an individual challenge where we were to perform a cover of a foreign song. We had spent one week preparing for our performances as we were only required to sing or rap, and not dance. I had decided to go with The fighter by Gym Class Heroes, as I liked the sound of the melody and the meaning behind the lyrics. Now to address the attention I have received online. Especially since the popularity poll has now also been flipped.

My social media following had increased again. From 13k I had now reached over 190k. My DMs had been flooded with messages from fans and a couple of friends. There were compilations and videos on Youtube talking about conspiracies, and other details about me. My ranking in the popularity poll had shot up to number 1. The attention that the show was garnering also increased as it went from a 15% viewership rating to a 65% viewership rating in Korea and a 4% viewership rating to a 30% viewership rating overseas. This show was becoming international.

The performance day came up pretty fast. We were nearing the end of the show very quickly, so the challenges were coming up faster and faster. We were all grouped in a waiting room, preparing to perform. We didn't have any set, costume or dances as we were just going to use our raw vocals and rap to perform. Up first was Nam Youngjae, as a vocalist, he decided to go with a song that provided energy, while also showing off his vocal stability and his strength in holding notes. He walked out onto the stage and began to perform. His contagious energy had the crowd bouncing along and singing. The song, Hey Ya by Outkast fit his talents well. The next performance was Ra Chan-wook who performed Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. His vocal style fits well with this song. The country-style rasp that his voice has meshed well and gave it an authentic and emotional feeling that resonated with the audience. The next performer that came out was DongBang. Although his talents lie in dancing, he was also a pretty sufficient rapper. His performance was very enjoyable, and his adaptation of In Da Club by 50 cent had the crowd hyped.

Then came Akira, who like DongBang was a dancer that could also rap pretty well came out and performed Down by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne. He was also able to display some vocal talent with this song, which helped to boost his performance to the next level. Sim Hyun-Shik performed Kryptonite by 3 doors down following that, and then came Hayashi who performed a very well-done version of Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. His English pronunciation was amazing too. I was the second to last performance. I walked out onto the stage and greeted the audience. I then walked over to the microphone stand that had been set up in the centre of the stage. I smile slightly as I realise that this will be the first time I rap on stage. Although it's not for the full song, this will surely reveal that I can rap even if it isn't perfect. The music starts. I decided that I will try to mix as much emotion into the rap and vocals as possible, as I was very good at that. I wanted the audience to connect to the song, enjoy it and understand the message. Very quickly, the rap introduces the song. I watch JYP's eyes open wide as he realises that I am rapping. He nods his head along to the music and starts to appreciate the cadence.

"Just wakin up in the morning

And to be well

Quite honest with ya