Damn Idol Episode 26
* * *
As soon as I got home, I passed out and when I opened my eyes, it was 6 PM.
I think I slept for almost 15 hours.
But I keep yawning.
"Hwaaaam."
Korean broadcasting stations are amazing.
I was told it would be a 3-day, 1-night shoot, but I had no idea it would be this hard to push it.
It's not like the United States strictly adheres to filming times, but such forced marches are rare.
With that in mind, I picked up my cell phone, and I guess I got a call from my uncle.
I received it by mistake.
-You, you bastard! When an adult calls... ... !
I pressed the call recording button on the phone I received and threw it under the blanket.
The voice is too loud and noisy.
Of course, I can avoid this by blocking, but it is a necessary process.
Attorney Choi Ji-woon will uncover the actions and intentions of an uncle who persistently contacts his nephew.
So, if I continued to ignore the phone calls, I was passing on threatening texts to Choi Ji-woon.
Although this alone is sufficient, it is also a good idea to record phone calls from time to time.
I went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee, but to my surprise, my Uncle on the other end of the phone was still cursing.
"Please leave me alone!"
So I said this and hung up the phone.
I think this guy would have done well if he were a rapper.
The diction that mixes curse words with money and hits you hard is excellent.
Do you think he has a talent for hip hop?
After drinking coffee and coming to my senses, I immediately called Seo Seung-hyun, team leader at BVB Entertainment.
* * *
"There are widespread rumors that Drop Out received a song from an outside composer as its sole title. Double M was a little embarrassed, but they said it was okay after listening to the song."
Team leader Seo Seung-hyeon, whom I met at the coffee shop, had a slightly flushed face.
It doesn't seem like he was excited about the beans that would be dropped on him, and he seemed surprised that Drop Out was pushing my song as the title song.
Well, Drop Out was K-pop's best output until LMC and Prime Time came out.
"yes. Good for you."
So he looked shocked at my indifferent attitude.
"No matter how good the song is, I'm surprised you're not surprised."
"For some reason, I felt like they're going to buy it."
"How much should we calculate the amount? Right now, it is the best."
"We'll take 70% or the amount that the team leader thinks is the maximum. Well, 60% is fine too."
Selfish is a good song, but it is not a song that anyone can sing successfully.
The basic concept is an earnest love song sung with a lively feel, but there are not many K-pop idol groups that can produce that kind of feeling.
No matter how you look at it, drop out looks the best.
I'm also curious about the future of Selfish, so I want to avoid a collapse in sales.
"Do you mean to sell other songs like that too?"
"no. Just drop out. Squeeze out the rest as much as you can and sell it to the place that offers the highest price."
"All right."
Team leader Seo Seung-hyun would know best how much K-pop entertainment companies can spend on one song.
He is the AR team leader at BVB Entertainment, who developed NOP.
Afterwards, Seo Seung-hyun shared various progress related to song sales with me.
BVB Entertainment also confirmed <I'm not your man> as the follow-up song to NOP, and will soon sign a contract.
"Quite a few companies are showing interest in the remaining songs as well."
"It's okay to sell slowly. Wouldn't it be the most expensive when Dropout releases the Selfish?"
"That's right."
"If you have the right amount, it's okay to sell it now."
Anyway, what I'm curious about is how the K-pop industry interprets, arranges, and sells my songs.
"By the way, Mr. Sion. Drop Out contacted me and said they would like to have a meal with the composer."
"Please refuse. The contract will be signed electronically, and my personal information will not be disclosed."
"Are you going to skip the concept meeting?"
"yes. Please just sell it. Anyway, in K-pop, once you get into the producing stage, the arranger is the main person, right?"
"Still, with this level of response, the composer may become the main character. Networks are an asset, so you go to concept meetings, right?"
It's a bit surprising.
From Seo Seung-hyun's perspective, it's convenient for me to hide my identity.
That way, you will gain strength by selling my songs, and you will not receive annoying interference.
To be honest, if Seo Seung-hyun had bad feelings, he could have tried to trick me with entertainment.
It's unlikely that I will fall victim to such a trick, but there is a possibility.
However, the current advice was pure kindness, excluding any relationship of benefit.
Should we call it a regressor's occupational disease?
I love seeing someone's defaults.
As people live, they face various choices depending on the external environment, but they usually act according to their own defaults.
And if this behavior shown by Team Leader Seo Seung-hyeon is his default, then this person is a trustworthy person.
Of course, we will have to take our time and watch it slowly to find out... ... .
I like this person a little bit.
"Team Leader Seo has that connection. I probably won't have to go out."
"why?"
"I feel uncomfortable because they are seniors in the industry."
"It is rare for singers and composers to consider seniority or juniorship."
"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm currently appearing on Coming Up Next."
"Coming up next... ... ?"
"do you not know?"
"Ah, that idiot from Lion Entertainment... ... ."
When Seo Seung-hyun suddenly stopped talking, I continued speaking in his place.
"yes. that's right. That stupid program."
"No, why are you there?"
"Just because. It looks fun."
"Why not get introduced to a good company through HR instead? Or I can help you."
"Oh, I didn't say that. HR was a lie."
"yes?"
I conveyed the situation to team leader Seo Seung-hyeon with an appropriate mix of lies and truth.
The previous visit was somewhat faked in order to sell the song to the industry.
Seo Seung-hyun seemed embarrassed that HR had been fooled so easily, but what could he do?
That's why I'm sitting here too.
In the end, Seo Seung-hyun calmed down his confusion with coffee and came to a conclusion.
"Well, it doesn't matter."
"Anyway, I have to go back to my dorm soon, so I won't be able to contact you quickly."
"But it would be fun if Mr. Sion made his debut. You are the composer of Dropout's first external title song by a new idol."
"If it turns out, yes."
I have no intention of revealing the truth.
What I want in this life is a stereotype idol.
I want to live a very standard idol life.
Only then can I obtain general emotional information, rather than special situational information.
Of course, we don't know what will happen to the world, so we may have to reveal the truth at some point.
Well, if such a moment comes, I won't reveal it so bluntly.
Because the way a secret is revealed is as important as its content.
"Then, since we met, let's take a look at the terms and conditions of I'm not your man."
"Okay?"
* * *
At first glance, LB Studio's Lee Hyun-seok was just a guy running a recording studio and having fun.
It's not wrong.
Because he wanted to live that way, and he actually lives that way.
But does that mean Lee Hyun-seok doesn't have much influence on the Korean music industry?
Absolutely not.
The music industry is unique in that there are many cases where failed musicians lead the industry.
Successful musicians remain musicians, but unsuccessful musicians often transform into businessmen or producers.
Since you cannot achieve brilliant artistic results with your own talents, you should change your career path to making the talents of others shine.
CEO Lion's Choi Dae-ho was a failed singer in the 80s, and there were many indie singers who failed among A&R partners and producers.
That's why Lee Hyun-seok had influence.
Among the many failures he comforted, there were quite a few who are currently leading the music industry.
And Lee Hyun-seok showed his influence for the first time in a long time.
"I look forward to your kind cooperation. CEO Lee Hyun-seok."
"I also look forward to your kind cooperation."
Lee Hyun-seok's LB Studio is now in charge of Coming Up Next's music production.
In fact, this was a very unusual thing.
Even if LB Studio offered good conditions, it could not be better than producing it in-house.
In addition, Channel M Show also has an affiliated recording studio, so there is no reason to entrust the production of music to an external company.
Nevertheless, this was possible because... ... .
'You mean Han Si-on has already sung three songs? And even releasing one of them as a single?'
It was thanks to the persistence of Lee Hyun-seok, who was curious about Han Si-on's music.
He even persuaded Jo Ki-jeong, the original singer of <Under the Streetlight>, to sing.
Jo Ki-jeong had received an offer from Channel M Show to remake the song and had declined it.
If it had been a simple cover song, it would have been ok, but they refused to allow it because they said the song had been changed a lot.
Audio stars inevitably have a bias against video stars.
Whether it's distrust in one's abilities or an inferiority complex in one's appearance.
And idols are the ultimate video stars.
but.
"Kijeong hyung-nim. He's really a genius? No, not a genius idol, but a genius musician. I guarantee it."
Jo Ki-jeong immediately said OK to a phone call from Lee Hyun-seok.
After seeing this, M Show also finally gave the OK to Lee Hyun-seok's music production.
After sorting out the entire situation, Lee Hyun-seok was finally able to call Han Si-on.
"Mr. Sion. how have you been doing? Oh, it's nothing special, I happened to work with M Show. That's right. Coming Up Next. So, is today's time okay?"
* * *
After lunch, I arrived at the LB studio building.
Originally, the sound recording of <Under the Streetlight> was scheduled for tomorrow, but CEO Lee Hyun-seok made a request to visit.
What do you want to do?
The Coming Up Next filming team will be here tomorrow anyway.
With that in mind, I opened the door and went in, and CEO Lee Hyun-seok and the part-time worker who was said to be his niece were waiting for me.
"Did you do well filming?"
"Yes, I worked hard."
"What is the level of the kids? From what I heard from a friend who goes to M Show, it seems pretty good."
"Everyone was much better than I thought. I was very surprised."
"Who is the best?"
I tilted my head in response to a question from a part-time worker who suddenly intervened.
They're all just wannabe idols, but if I tell them their names, will they know them?
"Young-eun. Go look at the counter. We'll go in and talk."
"why?"
"It's crazy here."
"still... ... ."
Lee Hyunseok, who left the counter to his niece who seemed to want to join in on the conversation, pulled me into the conference room inside the studio.
"Mr. Sion."
"CEO. Please speak comfortably. I think I'll see you often."
"Oh, Should I? Okay. You're going to keep coming back for more music, but that would be better, right?"
If others see it, it will be a bit absurd.
Because CEO Lee Hyun-seok is not assuming that I will drop out of Coming Up Next.
But in some ways, that may be the case.
The person who has listened to my music most closely in this life is not team leader Seo Seung-hyun or the judges of Coming Up Next.
This is Lee Hyun-seok.
LB Because they watched my performance and music for the three days I was working in the studio.
I don't know exactly about Lee Hyun-seok, but he was a person with enough insight to recognize my skills.
"Um, yeah. I'll take it easy. You can call me senior too."
"Wouldn't it be better to call teacher?"
"What do you mean teacher? What should I teach you?"
After saying that, Lee Hyun-seok sat down in his chair and spoke in a soft voice.
"Did you see the video sent from M Show? Under the streetlight."
"Ah yes. How was it?"
"It was good. It was great. I was surprised and amazed... ... . Looking back, it was a bit disappointing."
"In what way?"
"Famous songs are not novelty."
I think we can raise our evaluation of Lee Hyun-seok a little higher.
He is a person who is sharper than you think.
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