#rkmga4final

[rkevent]

MGA SEASON 4: THE GRAND WINNER

“Well… we only have two left now, don’t we?” Baek Jiyoung looks at the two boys who remain standing in front of everyone else. She gives them one of her kind smiles and you can tell there is more to come. “Today, I’ll be the one offering a contract to the winner. You’ve both worked very hard throughout this season, and I think it truly shows by the way your popularity constantly grows. The public likes you because you are both worthy competitors of the title of winner.”

The crowd stays quiet for once, and the CEO manages to proceed. “Apart from the title, and a contract offer, you’ll receive a few other things. You’ll get to perform your solo song that you performed today on the next week’s M!Countdown. On that same episode, you and all the other members from your team will get to perform your group song live, as well. Since you’re both on the same team, I guess there’s no hiding who’s going to win that.” The woman chuckles and then proceeds towards the end of her speech.

“On the day after, you’ll also have a solo fansign to interact with some of your lucky fans.” The crowd immediately erupts into cheering and screams. The only thing Jiyoung can really do is let it happen. It’s a win for both sides. “I’d just like to say that you’ve both grown a lot, and I want to congratulate you too, as well as wish you luck on whatever you choose for your future. Congratulations.“

The woman receives her fair round of claps, and she nods her head towards the two boys waiting for the results. “Kim Junmyeon and Joo Haknyeon. Between the two of you, the person who won the Mnet Global Auditions Season 4 is...”

Jiyoung gives him a small smile, and that’s when he knows. “Kim Junmyeon.” The crowd screams in cheering and confetti starts to fall on the stage. “You have a lot in you. Ever since the start, you showed a lot of charisma and managed to capture the public’s heart. As the episodes went by, you became more and more confident about your singing abilities as well. We’re all very glad about what you’ve become, and I hereby offer a contract with SPHERE Entertainment.”

The audience continues to cheer and the camera focuses on the winner for the time being. Hyun Bin calmly asks for everyone to settle back down, and directs his word towards the other boy. “As for our second place, Joo Haknyeon, I’ll be more than glad to offer you a contract with NOVA Entertainment. You’re a great dancer, as well as a rapper. Not only that, but you’re a good person, as proven by your healthy eating habits.” It’s obviously a joke, but Hyun Bin’s smile remains simple. “Congratulations to you, too, and thank you, everyone, who tuned in to this season of the Mnet Global Auditions!”

‘Stand By Me’ starts to play in the background while the camera flies all around the set, showing the audience, the judges and, of course, the no longer contestants on the stage. After a few seconds have passed, the fourth season of the MGAs come to an end.

( OOC: Thank you all who participated or showed an interest in this season of the MGAs. It was a long and arduous trip but we’ve all made it! Congratulations to all of those who survived this long, and hopefully you enjoyed your stay. 

Details about the winner rewards will come later in a separate post.

If your muse has been offered a contract, congratulations! It's been a long and stressful journey, and they deserve this little moment of glory. Be proud! 

Everything you need to know regarding the trainee life can be found here. If you have additional questions, feel free to send asks to the rkevent blog or Mod Mira on tumblr (@rkyebin)/twitter (@allevicte) or Mod Bianca on tumblr (@rkhoon)/twitter (@luvseungjoon)!

If your muse chooses to accept the offer, feel free to hop over their new company's blog and sign the contract. Keep in mind that there are no added penalties in case they decide not to be signed! The choice is entirely yours to make, so think carefully before reaching a decision!

To all of those who participated in this episode, feel free to add +2 CHARISMA and +2 SHOWCASE SKILL to your points sheet. This includes members eliminated on this episode. Please link this post as verification.

Not only that, but all of the finalists will also receive a +1WK VARIETY. You do not need to be a trainee to collect this. You are free to tally up this achievement on your blog even if your muse didn't sign a contract tonight - however, keep in mind that once your muse gets signed, you will have to add this to their base form as an achievement previously won through MGA SEASON 4.

[rkxhyunjin]

[rkmg]

〈★〉MGAS SEASON 4 - EPISODE NINE - SOLO PERFORMANCE                 ↳ intro : the most beautiful moment in life by bts kim mingyu                      ↳ mga season 4 finale: solo stage; #4049′s last chance                                ↳ click here for the stage inspiration / setup / style

Typically, as time goes on, people grow accustomed to doing things. Once you’re used to something, the nervousness begins to wash away and that unsettled feeling in your stomach packs up and moves on. Perhaps under normal circumstances, that’s exactly what would have happened. However, these weren’t normal circumstances.

With every week, every day, every hour, and even every second that passed by, the nineteen-year-old found himself growing more anxious. The problem was that he didn’t know how much time he had left. He felt like he was living each moment with an expiration date that he wasn’t allowed to know. Part of him kept thinking, when he wasn’t paying full attention to his thoughts, that he would drop dead at any moment. In reality, that was unlikely (not impossible, sure... but... there was a slim chance).

What did it mean? It meant that his mind felt like this was his single chance to finally pull this off. He wanted to achieve his dreams, though he wasn’t sure if this would do it for him. The contestants were shedding like a snake’s old skin and Daisy’s hair every single day of her life, though he wasn’t comforted by that fact. There were less people for him to be compared to, though they still couldn’t all win. The competition was fiercer than ever so there was hardly any time for him to relax. This was a tireless effort to finally prove to everyone that he was worth so much more than they’ve seen. He’s a winner... he could be, at least. But, this wasn’t exactly the time for him to get too caught up in all of that.

Finally, after two months, he was going to get to do a solo performance. Part of him thought he should be happy since his success wouldn’t ride on anyone else. Though, at the same time... it felt a lot scarier at this point. If he failed, he would know that it was his own fault. But, it was better this way. He knew that, really, he did. That didn’t really help to calm him down, however.

Failure wasn’t even something that should be on his mind right now. All he really needed to focus on was what he was going to do for his performance. He needed to intricately plan everything out and make sure that he can show everyone how much talent he actually has. He feels like he’s been overlooked the entire time he’s been on the show. Time after time, other people ranked as better rappers than him when he felt like he had more skill. For some reason, people weren’t taking notice of that. He’s fought to come out of his shell and display more confidence lately. He’s been a lot more talkative and playful and yet no one still seems to notice that he’s even there. He isn’t one of the judges, nor the editors of the show, so perhaps he will never know what he must’ve been doing wrong all of this time. This week, he was going to do everything in his power to show the entire world who he was and what he was capable of.

Something unique was going to be required if he didn’t want to end up having a stage identical to everyone else’s. Of course, the first idea that popped into his mind was to do something of his own creation. He was proud of his lyric-writing abilities so he knew it might be more impressive if he raps something that he took the time to bring into existence. Since he only had a week, he didn’t think it would be wise to start something brand new for his performance. Then, he’d have to write it, figure out how to get the music for it, envision and create his entire stage, and he just wasn’t sure he’d have the time for all of that. After all, he was going to need to do the group performance, too, and that would actually require much practice. That’s why he ended up looking through the journal in which he wrote down all of his lyrics and picked the one that stood out the most to him; he picked one that would do a perfect job of showing everyone who Kim Mingyu was.

The boy spends hours in his room rapping verse after verse, working on his computer to make the backing track. Since this was something that he made, he was going to have to put more work into it than some others would. People doing covers would already have the hardest part done. He was forced to bring his entire idea into fruition and make sure that he still managed to perform it perfectly onstage.

He finds himself in an empty auditorium at one point, a basketball held between long fingers. He’d record himself dribbling it in several specific ways, then he’d also get the sound of him shooting multiple hoops. Occasionally, he’d get carried away and lost in what he was doing, which only proved the lyrics of his rap even more.

For the stage, he didn’t have the intention of doing anything too flashy. He really wanted this to be a time for people to focus on him and what he can do, rather than getting distracted and lost in backup dancers and light shows that demand to be stared at.

When picking out his outfit, he was extremely careful and tried to be thought into it. He wanted to actually show more of his own style and let it speak to the audience. In the end, he ended up going with leather pants, his old high school basketball jersey, and a jacket with a hood over top of it. This was because he planned to incorporate the hood into the performance, so it was rather important for it. Since he isn’t going to have an excessive amount of props and anything else that would take the attention from him, he needed to get every single other detail down perfectly.

The week seemed to go by a lot faster than he hoped. He wanted it to go by slowly so he could feel as if he had enough time to get everything exactly the way that he wanted it to be. Instead, it all felt somewhat rushed. The closer to Sunday that he was, the sadder he ended up feeling. Then, when he was down, he wasn’t entirely able to throw himself into his work. His mind would end up wandering to the way that not all of his friends would be able to win. He also hoped that he would get to keep in contact with everyone that he grew close to during the duration of the show. In a way, he didn’t want it to end. Though, at the same time, he felt relief that all of this would be over. Being judged so harshly was taking a toll him him.

Being number 4049 left him being in the last half of the contestants to perform their stage. Now that so many people have been eliminated, he was right next to Won when it came to their numbers. That would mean that Won’s performance would happen right before his. That kind of made him feel excited since people would get to focus on them at about the same time. But, the only downside to it was that people would get to see Won’s immense amount of talent, only then to be followed up by Mingyu. Instead of thinking he wouldn’t shine as bright, though, he more so felt like they would be shining together.

Time slipped away from him. Before he knew it, his boyfriend was putting on the best performance that’s ever happened on the show and he feels himself being overwhelmed with love and pride. Then, it’s over and it’s his turn. He hopes that the excitement that he felt from watching the love of his life dance would carry over into his performance and help him to remain calm. This was not the time for him to choke. He had to do this perfectly. Failure wasn’t an option.

When he’s onstage alone, he doesn’t feel as anxious as he thought he would. His hood is pulled up and over his head as his back faces the audience. They can’t see him, but as soon as he begins rapping, they can hear him louder than ever.

오늘따라 림이 멀어보여 코트 위에 한숨이 고여 현실이 두려운 소년 공을 던질 때면 유일하게 맘이 되려 놓여 홀로 던지는 공 림을 향해서 내가 던지는 건

The stage is black and three lights are all that’s used to illuminate him for the crowd. There’s nothing to distract them now. They would be forced to listen to his rap and how passionate he is with it. He would finally be able to get lost in it in a way that he hasn’t had the opportunity to before. This stage was his. This crowd was his. The entire god damn world was his.

수많은 고민과 삶의 걱정거리 세상을 아는 척 하지만 아직 설익은 몸 슛 코트가 나의 놀이터 손짓에 따라서 발 옆엔 작은 공이 튀어 성적은 바닥을 기지만 난 더 오히려 세상에 다 잘 될 거라며 괜시리 소리쳐 하지만 세상은 되려 겁줘 그럴 거면 멈춰 머리를 채운 상념 공 대신 미래를 던져 또 남들이 칠하는 별점과 성공의 기준에 결격 덕에 암처럼 퍼지는 걱정 God damn it

The more he got into it, the more positive he was that he was finally being heard. He made sure to breathe when he had to since he was using up so much of his breath. After exclaiming “God damn it” he had a feeling he was going to be censored and hoped that it didn’t hurt him. Still, he felt like it would be best for him to show himself exactly as he was. He couldn’t cover himself up anymore. This was who he was and this is what he was capable of doing. They had to see that. For some reason, they’ve been blind to it, but he was going to open their eyes.

던져버린 공과 함께 퍼진 웃음 턱까지 차오른 이 숨은 꿈틀대는 꿈들 빨라지는 드리블 행복해지는 마음 이 순간은 영원할 듯 하지만 해지는 밤이 다시 찾아오면 좀먹는 현실 정신을 차리면 또 겁먹은 병신 같은 내 모습에 자꾸만 또 겁이 나 덮쳐오는 현실감 남들은 앞서 달려 가는데 왜 난 아직 여기 있나 숨을 쉬어 숨을 쉬어 아니면 꿈을 꿔 지금 심장박동에 맞춰 다시 노를 저어 남들의 얄팍한 잣대에 갇혀 모른 척 하며 살다간 코트처럼 인생도 노을 져 What am i doin’ with my life?

This was quite possibly the best rap to represent who he actually was. In a way, it was an introduction to himself. That’s why he ended up calling it “Intro”. Although they’ve seen him for over two months, this is the first time it would actually feel like they’re witnessing the truth. Half way through, he finally removed his hood and turned around, rapping to the audience now that they have been able to focus fully on him before. He was in control of his movements and facial expressions, ensuring that he was getting across the message that he intended to.

이 순간은 언제든 다시 찾아오지 않아 다시 나에게 되물어봐 지금 행복한가 그 답은 이미 정해졌어 난 행복하다

Once the last few lyrics were rapped, he harshly breathed into the microphone as the music finished, though it was planned and not just uncontrolled deep breaths. After the music stopped, the stage returned to being pitch black and he made his way offstage. This is what he wanted to show them all along. He hoped that this would be enough for him. He hoped that this would make the world pay attention to him now. He wanted to be heard and to be seen. He didn’t want to fade into the background anymore; he refused to.

[rkxsicheng]

MGA4 FINAL | GROUP PERFORMANCE Song: [x]  Line Distribution (Vocal 3): [x]

Sicheng isn’t thrilled with how low he’s ranked...and yet he can’t be mad, when he gets to choose first, because he’s nothing if not strategic. 

 He chooses his parts taking everything he can into consideration; his competitors, what he thinks they’ll want, his skills, what he thinks he can handle, and also what he thinks will allow him to shine the most. 

 The third vocal gets some decent parts, towards the middle and end of the song, which Sicheng thinks might make him more memorable when compared to vocalists who go earlier, and he’ll also get an adlib, which he’ll have to practice, certainly, but he’s improved in his vocal capabilities to the degree where he genuinely thinks he can handle one. 

 He also selects that position because he guesses that Moon Bin and Junmyeon will be going for the meatier ones, and that the most competitive slots will be the two rap breaks, considering that there are four or five rappers to fight for them. 

 His strategy works out for him in the end, when everyone has chosen, and he still has the third vocal position. 

 Practice is more urgent this week, being mandatory the day after they select their parts, Saturday, through to Monday, but Sicheng knows he’ll be practicing every day, whether with the group or no, but in spite of this urgency, he’s still strangely excited, largely because he gets to work with Mark for what is the very first time. 

 What are the odds that it’d have been saved for the very end like this? 

 They walk into the practice room together every day, of course, and Sicheng spends a very inordinate amount of time looking after the boy; his top priority is making sure him and Mark do their best, after all. What had once seemed like a pipe dream of getting signed to some Kpop company together now seems like something achievable, like something almost imminent.

  He doesn’t want to think of the alternative, almost like to foster such thoughts would be to invite negative energy in. 

 Sicheng has long felt a protective love for Mark, like he was a little brother he’d been meant to, but never properly had, and the thought of how crushed Mark would be if he was eliminated again is enough for Sicheng to do his best to make sure it doesn’t happen. 

 He gives Mark tips and pointers where he can, and the boy also seeks help from Won. 

 He checks in on him often, too, to see how he’s doing, and sometimes to fix his hair, or give him a hug of encouragement that is really for the both of them. 

 Sicheng doesn’t neglect himself, either, seeking advice from the more skilled vocalists as subtly as he can, he also observes them, listening in to try and determine their oral posture, and at home he tries to replicate it, spam-watching YouTube videos about belting and improving one’s vocal range and likely annoying his younger roommate with hours of yodeling and humming. 

 The final week of the Mnet Global Auditions passes by in a whirlwind, a whirlwind of rehearsals, of fittings, of adjustments, of microphones being adjusted, of sound-checks and lighting checks, and it’s a uniquely fascinating form of chaos, to see how the staff members scurry about, how this whole big production is seemingly well organised, and disorganised all at the same. 

 They’re performing for the largest crowd yet, this time, although the crowd has never felt particularly daunting to Sicheng; part of him is used to it, and another part is simply all too aware of how many other eyes are perched watching on the other end of the cameras, from home, and the crowd before them suddenly seems quite small.

 It’s a long process. A day-long process. 

 From solo performances in the morning to rehearsal, to dress rehearsal, to standing around waiting for the diagnostics to be run, the lighting to be checked, it’s not a very pleasant waiting experience, all of it stacked atop the general sense of anxiety that this is it, and the knowledge that when the day comes to a close, some of the people remaining will be leaving, and some may be receiving their dreams handed to them on a silver platter.

 The group performance is suddenly a whole lot less nerve-wracking, perhaps because Sicheng had already been on stage, as a single entity, so now, flanked by his peers, it’s not really so bad. 

 That being said, he feels a renewed sense of competition with them, and although he does his best to remain in cohesion within his group, he pushes himself to do his best, as he still wants to be a stand-out, and almost worryingly, doesn’t feel much of anything for those who appear to be struggling a little more.

 The performance is a challenge, his adlibbed note coming out just ever so slightly flat, likely on account of the fact that he’d been dancing, but he more or less hits it, and a bit of flatness or breathiness is just a reality of live performances, especially where dancing was involved. This whole competition had given him a different outlook on such things, and he’d told himself that he’d be nothing but kind from now on, regarding judging the performances of musicians; it was extremely hard work, it was only their job to make it look effortless. 

 Once the performance is over, the lights dim, and the girls make their way on stage in near-darkness, and when the lights are brought back up, the perform a mash-up of the two songs, and eventually they are all left huffing in the final pose, and it settles on Sicheng how profound it is that this is the final performance that he will give on this show, and a bit of fear leaps into his chest, which he quickly chokes down. 

 As they’re brought backstage so that it can be arranged for what comes next, the proper end, he has to escape to a place of meditation, in which he repeats the words you’ve done your best like some mantra, or perhaps like a spell, that it might ring truer and truer with each declaration, and carry him further. 

[rkxluda]

MGA Season 4, Episode 9, Solo Performance Taeyeon Nara - Why, ( 00:05 - 00:27; 1:22 - 3:25 ) outfit | beauty

Tuesday, she started practising with the back-up dancers she was luckily assigned to get. There were a few parts in the choreo where she thought dancing all alone would look funny, and she was glad that she would have a little help now as well. It took a lot of work to learn a second song, but hopefully she wouldn't mix up the choreos. While it wasn’t easy to learn, at least it was fun to plan her solo stage. What to wear, what would she do with hair and make-up and the whole performance by itself.

It was difficult to decide which part to cut. She had three different versions that sounded good, yet was unsure which would be best. In the end she decided on the first – it was an easy cut and she found it made sense. One of the reasons for choosing the song was that it had a couple of repetitive parts. Now she could cut them without taking away too much from the song. On Tuesday evening, she had an appointment, so for once she left sooner to get her hair cut and dyed.

She didn’t spent as much time in the practise room this time, after all there was a schedule so everyone could privately practise with their backup dancers if need be. She got as many of those as was possible and otherwise practised when she was home – or wherever else she could.  

Wednesday they already had their first fitting and afterwards, they would record the group song. Recording was a new experience for her and she hoped she'd do well, making sure to warm up her voice before. She'd tried to make a good schedule of the week, write everything down: well in a timetable so nothing would be forgotten. She also wanted to make sure to not strain her voice too much – especially on Wednesday and Sunday. In the end, she did better than expected and was happy with the results. Still, the girl went back to practising afterwards.

Now only two days were left and she started feeling jittery. Theoretically she had everything for all three performances down, but she couldn't be sure how well she really would do. It was always possible to forget a line accidentally or make a wrong move – what if she suddenly got stage fright and forgot everything? Worrying surely didn't help, so she practised every second she wasn't sleeping or eating, for distraction. She'd also gone through her list of everything she'd had to prepare multiple times and – just as the previous time – nothing was ever missing, but the worry had her hands shaking.

Saturday went by fast and Sunday was worse. She still practised when she could, but she started to make mistakes. She forgot lines – just like she'd feared – or mixed them up, the original still stuck in her head instead of the shortened version. It made her all the more nervous for the final stages and she found herself close to tears. While it wasn't rare for her to cry easily, she rarely felt quite as distraught.

“You're only making mistakes because you're nervous. You said you were fine during practise, stop worrying.”

“I know it's hard, but I know that you can do it.”

“Just calm down, little by little, you'll see the mistakes will stop. It's normal to be nervous, but don't let it eat you inside out.”

“I'll be there, I'll be watching over you, so don't worry okay? You've got this.”

Without her mothers words of encouragement she probably wouldn't have made it through the day. Even though it was quite hectic, she'd read her mum's texts and replied to them as much as possible, for peace of mind and it worked. She was still nervous, but had at least calmed down a bit. Whether or not she could win, she would give the best she could.

The show was started by the CEOs and the contestants were all called up on stage to introduce themselves.

“Hello!” the girl bowed, “I'm your blooming daisy, Lee Luda!” And as fast as they'd entered the stage, they were off again. She wasn't under the first half of contestants and did her best to keep her worries under control. The songs were already cut to 150 seconds and still it seemed like forever until the performances were done.  After that, they showed them watching their past clips, which was at least something to distract herself with – and she was thankful for that. The 2nd half of performances started and she went through her steps and lines until she and her backup dancers were told to go on stand-by. She was lucky to have really nice backup dancers, that helped her calm down some more. And then it was finally her time to go up – after taking a last deep breath.

“You've done this a billion times, you can do it!”

She told herself while in position, waiting for the song to begin. The song skipped right to her starting to sing – 5 seconds saved.

Oh yeah yeah Oh sometimes my two feet, oh as they touch As the gaze that carries me away is stolen I long for unfamiliar places that I’ll walk to lightly I end up stopping again with an empty and long sigh

The backup dancers – unlike as what is shown in the original – “dance” their hands around her whole frame instead of only her head. She knew there'd be no focus on her from the viewpoint of those present for the performance, only for those at home, so she'd decided to change this part. There was now an overall focus on her and as she sang the first few lines, she signed the lyrics in KSL. Originally this had been the plan for the whole performance, but she was sure Hyunjin would incorporate this into his performance and she didn't want to take anything away from him, even if the thought might have been stupid. Plus, she wanted to show how much she'd gotten better at dancing, even if she was taking a big risk with the choreography that was yet to come. Her voice was soft and her body still moving like the hands around her “commanded”, left and right, her head following the moves like in the original.

The next part she'd decided to cut – it seemed like the best spot, since it repeated later and she would basically continue like she would have with the original next lines.

Why, why, why, the day I delayed for no reason Lots of worries have all disappeared, tonight yeah

Her voice is clear as usual and she's glad to have practised singing while dancing over the past week – but also those before. Originally she'd tried the dance of the first “why” part that during this, because it was easier – but that's exactly why she didn't. No shortcuts. She knew by now that singing and dancing was quite different from only singing, but it was a whole new experience as she wasn't in a group this time.

She crossed her arms, before throwing them to the sides and then crossing them again. She followed the dance well, though she didn't have the same energy in her moves as Nara. Luda still moved softer but her voice shone all the more and showed her strength.

If the wind blows, good, good, good, yeah Everything that unfolds, great, great, yeah My changing heart, work, work, baby It already glimmers in front of my eyes

The vocal part where the backup dancer first leaned her back and she then kicked multiple times up in the air, she'd decided to add to the playback, finding that it was always a bit difficult to sing – which she did with a heavy heart because she really liked singing it. The parts where she was closer to the backup dancers, whether male or female, had her a bit nervous at first, but luckily it lessened with every time they practised, which still felt like a bit of a surprise. Afterwards she continued singing herself, radiating youthful energy. The girl loved performing the song, while practising already. It was fun and while it wasn't easy she thought it suited her, so it would be a good choice for her solo stage. Originally she'd wanted to sing a ballad, but she worried that many of the vocalists would have the same idea. She also wanted to show her evolved dance skills, not just her vocals, even if her dancing still needed a lot of work.

“Your entire group was very well constructed and, honestly, you could have passed for a group of trainees set to debut.” Tiger JK had said after last weeks performance. Of course this was judged while watching them together, not individually, but her ranking had to mean something and she didn't want to disappoint. She'd always taken the safe path before, but this was the finale, she couldn't play safe when this was her last chance to shine.

The world isn’t all about trying to catch up Even if I walk all day, the same landscape will never be seen I wrote on white paper, why, my heart smears like ink

Having no real experience with love, the girl instead thought of her love of singing – no song was ever the same, like the mentioned landscapes and she was falling for performing on stage, even with the little experience she's had. She liked the next part most, no dancing and a high note – her favourite and it showed.

I’m falling, I’m falling, I’m falling to you

Her voice kept being stabler than her dancing throughout the rest of the performance, though her dancing was better whenever she didn't have to concentrate as much on singing, like during the small dance break, following the last part.

But I hesitate, why?

The song ended on a high note and she gave her best to give a melancholic smile, that would fit much better to the song than the earnest smile that she still couldn't completely hide and she ran her hand through her now short, blonde hair.

[junerk]

mgas episode 9: finals, group performance performance: stand by me + line distribution (vocal 1)

well, well, well. mnet was still as dirty as ever. 

this had to be just about the shadiest thing mnet could make the contestants do to each other, but if there wasn’t any drama this show wouldn’t air and get viewer, now would it? junmyeon was just thankful that he had the top rank so he was guaranteed whatever part he wanted. listening to the song, he knew exactly which part he wanted. it would be incredibly challenging for him, but he felt he could pull it off. to his surprise, no one takes it, not even the other singer left in the male contestants. he doesn’t have to play dirty or bump anyone, he gets the part he wants handed to him and he couldn’t have been more ecstatic about it!

come group rehearsal time, however, it’s clear there’s some tension in the air, and it makes junmyeon so very uncomfortable. every week his teams have gotten along decently well, at the very least. junmyeon doesn’t do well with teams that don’t cooperate. when there’s drama, he either clams up, or he does everything in his power to end it. usually he’s clammed up until he can’t take it anymore and bursts, turning into a frantic dad trying to make his children get along. there had been a few unfortunate bumps that had happened, which was impossible to avoid with half of them being rappers and only two rap parts to fill. it upsets him that both people in the conflict are previous teammates and leaders he’s worked with. he liked both jonghyun and haknyeon a lot, so it hurt him to see them in conflict and to see jonghyun especially so upset. junmyeon and jonghyun were the only ones left from team little star from the first battle, so he couldn’t help but feel attached to him, going over and rubbing his back to comfort him when he noticed jonghyun was particularly down. he didn’t know what to say to him, though, and so the physical comfort was all he knew to do. 

the dance for the song is... sharp and clean, and while junmyeon had come a long way with his dancing, he wasn’t quite good yet. he wouldn’t consider himself average yet. he was getting there, but he still felt pretty inadequate, so he knew the dance would be his biggest hurdle to overcome. the dance had to wait, however, since he needed to learn the vocals and memorize the lyrics in time for pre-recording the song. the verse and chorus parts weren’t too hard, and his pure toned voice suited it well, so that gave him confidence. it was the falsetto adlib that was going to be the hard part. his pure toned voice suited the adlib as well, his falsetto ringing clear when he hit it. he just needed to practice the riffing and sustaining the note with proper support. he focused a lot of his vocal rehearsal on it. this note would be his opportunity to shine, to really show the ceos how far he had come vocally and to show the viewers he was definitely more than just a pretty face. he was determined to show off his vocal skills, so much so that he focused on practicing that note more than the dance. 

the dance was on the difficult side for him, but he was never at the front or in some kind of focal point for the choreography. his parts were voice focused, and when the dance became more prominent he was off to the side or in the back for formations. he wasn’t the best dancer in the bunch by any means, he was just good enough to blend into the background. he had definitely improved since the beginning of the mgas though, that was for sure. 

performance day comes, and his nerves truly eat him up. his solo stage had been good, he felt, and while he had been nervous leading up to it, once he was onstage he had been fine. this performance, however, junmyeon found himself feeling nervous even while taking his position. the whole first verse and first half of the chorus was spent in utter anxiety as he followed through the motions of the choreography, either off to the side or in the back where he blended and wouldn’t be noticed. it wasn’t until he stepped forward to sing that he melted into the junmyeon that loved to perform now. he sang his ‘stand by me’ lines, his charismatic smile and dreamy eyes luring that camera in. 

his verse line in the second verse was perfect for him, since it wasn’t really a dance focused part, but more so an acting focused part, allowing him to move suavely and eye the camera as he sang. his following part is sung under the belted notes of two of the other guys in the performance, so the focus isn’t exactly on him for that part, at least not at the beginning of the part. it gears him up however for his final and most impactful part, where he strides right up into focus and delivers his falsetto high note he had worked so hard on, delivering it with confidence. he had been the most nervous for that one part, and yet when the moment came he had stepped up to the plate. it was his final chance at impressing the ceos and the audience and viewers before everything was truly out of his hands, and so his reflexes kicked in and he had given it his all. hopefully it showed the world that kim junmyeon was a force to be reckoned with.

[haknyeonrk]

⋆｡°✩ mga season four. ep ix. finals. ‹ #4010 › ⇢ performance: stand by me // line distribution     BOYS II MEN 

this was a competition after all. haknyeon’s known that but when their rankings are revealed he can’t help but open his mouth wide. first on his team yet they ranked second last –– what did that mean for him? still, he’d made it to the finals, he was a step closer now. so close, so so close.

the picking of positions felt a little cruel, haknyeon stands there watching as the people ranked below him chose their positions first. there are only two rapper parts –– two –– and as he eyed the room, he could tell very well that there were more than just simply two rappers, him included. he has his eyes fixated on rapper number one, he likes the flow of that part, the lyrics too. thinks that he can pull it off pretty well. he grips onto his shirt hard, as he watches the spots fill up, and lets out an ‘oh no,’ when jonghyun picks the position of rapper number one.

it’s his turn next to pick and haknyeon stands in front of the board, in total conflict. he wants rapper position number one, has the ability to push jonghyun out of that rapper position. he stares at the board and his face is full of conflict. though if he pushed jonghyun to rapper number two, would that mean that his own chances of keeping a rapper spot be decreased?

“i...” he begins, and he really wants rapper one, yet there’s this conflict going on in his mind. he’s given the ability to do so ... so, why not? this was a competition.

a competition. and haknyeon wasn’t too sure if it was alright if he kept playing the nice guy anymore.

he moves his own photo to the position of rapper number one and puts jonghyun’s aside. then, picking up jonghyun’s he stares at the positions left. he could put him in rapper number two, sure, but that could ruin his own chances of staying as rapper. so he places the boy at vocal four. the singing isn’t too strenuous and jonghyun could get a good amount of screentime. at least, he tells himself that.

it’s hard to ignore just how shocked the other contestants look by his choices. haknyeon’s been a pretty sweet kid throughout this whole competition, perhaps he never looked like the type to pull something... like this. though it hurt him, and when he catches sight of jonghyun’s expression the guilt settles in. “hyung, i’m really sorry,” he says, but the guilt doesn’t go away.

it’s a competition. 

though haknyeon doesn’t get to keep his role as rapper number one. he’s kicked out by wonwoo, to which haknyeon can only respond to with a tired sigh. of course, with the placement he was in, it would’ve been too much to ask him to remain in the rapper position. he’s shifted to vocal eight and he bites on his bottom lip. a vocalist? haknyeon was nothing of that sort. his only shining hope here was that he’d have to repeat the same three words over and over again and that he had the ending line.

there’s more intensity this time as they practice. it’s the finals and everyone has something on the line. ten boys... haknyeon remembers when there were more and now here he was with nine other boys, trying to achieve something. 

throughout his time practicing though, haknyeon still feels an odd sense of guilt for what he’s done to jonghyun –– he feels as though he’s played dirty, despite it being a competition. he’s never been the kind of boy to do something like this, but perhaps the mgas had let out a side of him even he wasn’t sure existed. 

still, he tries to apologize to jonghyun a few times but the responses he gets are lukewarm. he’s only able to look at jonghyun with his eyebrows furrowed. 

truth be told, haknyeon’s in love with the song and especially so the dance. and he doesn’t hide how much he likes it. he expresses just how much he loves the performance from time to time, “the song is seriously so good,” he says, “the dance and formation is really amazing!”

they make use of chairs and it all feels so stylish. haknyeon feels like a true performer, maybe even idol, whilst learning this song that was composed specifically for the last episode. he forgets about how upset he’d been at the fact that there weren’t enough rapper parts, and instead takes it all in stride. 

he had to do well with what he was given and haknyeon would make sure of that.

learning choreography has never been much of a struggle for haknyeon but now he had to sing. he stays back till the wee hours of the night nearly everyday to focus on his singing. it’s only three words yet he wanted to do it flawlessly, wanted to do it well.

“stand... stand by me,” he starts to sing. he sits on the floor and stares at the piece of paper, frustrated. it’s scribbled with notes –– from the choreography to the singing, with haknyeon making arrows to point out which parts to raise his voice. “stand by me!” he sings again, louder this time, as he tries to hit the notes. 

“stand by me, stand by me, stand by me,” he sings and to make sure he can hit the notes, he pinches his thigh, hard. when he’s finally able to reach the notes he smiles, wide. he doesn’t pay much attention to the redness on his thigh but he does rub on it a little because it stings. he walks around the practice room, repeating his lines whenever he can, finds himself humming the tune of the song. you can do this, you can do this.

the dance itself, is something haknyeon had no qualms with. he’s almost glad that he’s been placed at vocal eight. the last line too is his and he tells himself to make the most out of it.

this was the finals and haknyeon wanted to perform with no regrets.

the day arrives. it’s actually it, he’s made it this far into the mgas. he performs his solo first before he’s made to change and get ready for the group performance. he takes in a deep breath, remembers the feeling of seeing so many people out there cheering him on. he’d known the mgas was a pretty popular show but this? this was almost surreal to him.

he can hear the cheering from backstage and he tries to let out any bit of nervousness he’d be feeling by jumping up and down. the boys are called up to get ready and haknyeon nods his head. it’s game time. and he’ll do well –– he has to.

the chairs are lined up and they all stand in position. as the song begins, haknyeon lifts his arm up, chic. he’d said it before but he loved the dance, loved the formation of it all. they snap their fingers and turn, moving from one position to another, before they all sit on the chair. it starts with changmin and haknyeon’s already in the groove of the song, ready to put on an unforgettable stage. 

fuck his fears.

he focuses on dancing as they’d choreographed, utilising the chairs and moving to smoothly. legs, arms, body. the chorus comes and haknyeon continues dancing, his eyes holding a kind of fire to them. 

after jonghyun’s part, it’s haknyeon’s. he moves to the front of the stage as the other boys line up behind him before they disperse into a v formation with every movement he does. 

stand by me stand by me stand by me

he sings, loud, confident. his face shows a fire, and while his lines are short, he tries to make his part in the center memorable –– wants to make it count.

his part ends and the performance continues. haknyeon dances, takes in the crowd cheering, how amazing the song is. despite not having a ton of parts he’s enjoying this, he loves the feeling of performing. 

nan only you keep it true we’ve been through please keep it to yourself

they all say these lines together and haknyeon feels a sense of unison. he points at the crowd, playful smirk on his face. the two vocalists hit their high notes and they repeat the chorus.

his next part is coming soon, and it’s a part he actually really likes despite it being only a line long. a part he wants to own and make his. he walks to the back as the rest dances and sits on the chair for the last line.

너 자체가 나의 benefit ( your existence is my benefit )

he crosses his legs and stares at the camera, raising a brow. he makes himself look tough, manly almost with an arm on the chair, and a smirk on his face. maybe he didn’t start the song but he ends it and he wants to end it with an impact. 

the stage turns dark and the girls come on for their ending group performance. it’s the first time he’s performed something like this but haknyeon takes in the energy of the cheers, knows that he’s not the only feeling intense joy right now. it’s an amazing feeling –– he doesn’t want to forget it not even for a moment.

and with that, the performances finally end. he smiles bright at the crowd, everything is blinding and he loves this. he’s in love with this feeling.

[rkjoohyvn]

↠ * mnet global auditions season 4 ,                                         ♥«´¨`•°.. » episode nine ! finale: solo stage »                 ¸.•* PROBLEM by ARIANA GRANDE ( as performed by AILEE !  STYLE ) `*•.

note ! performed parts are from 0:35 - 2:03 & 2:22 - 3:18

this is it.

it’s the final show, and she couldn’t feel more jittery. everything that’s happened in the past two months---the rehearsals, the anxiety, the fatigue, the restlessness---all of it has been leading up to this moment, and it all feels so surreal. just a couple of months ago, she’d nearly missed out on this opportunity, too afraid to take another risk, too down on herself because of past auditions. but now here she stands, a finalist, only a few performances left before she hears the result of all her hard work and sleepless nights.

it hadn’t been an easy road getting there. the week had been full of ups and downs, from the uneasiness during the battle for parts for the group song, to the past few hours of rehearsals, and even down to this very moment as she stands backstage, counting down the seconds until the show officially starts. 

the hardest part, she thinks, had been choosing the right song. for several days, she’d though long and hard about what song she should choose to perform as a solo, even going so far as asking her cousin jinah for advice, as well as her fellow contestant jinsoul, who had been an anchor for her throughout the week. even after she’d made her choice, she pored over the decision, ever wondering if it was the right choice, if it would make enough of an impact.

getting her own dancers for the performance and going through rehearsals with them had been what sealed the deal. for the first time, she could see with her own eyes just what she would be able to bring on the stage with her chosen song, the impact it would make with her dancers with her. throughout the rehearsals, she’d gotten to know their names and their personalities, and discovered that they were kind people who shared the same passion for music that she did, and had chosen to go about performing in a different way. she’d already respected the dancers that always stood behind the big names, but being bale to work more closely with them made her come away from the experience with a renewed appreciation for them.

on the days the practice rooms were taken by other contestants, she spent at the dance studio where she used to co-teach, going over the choreography on her own, sharpening her movements even more, making her timing more precise, strengthening her voice so it would not waver even during the most hard-hitting choreography. not once did she ever half ass her performance; she was always at full strength, always giving her all, because if she let herself slip for even a second, she knew that she’d fall behind everyone else, and the race was too close for her to allow that to happen.

for the entire week, she must have gotten, at most, ten hours of sleep for the entire week, closing up the studio well into the early morning only to open it up again in just a couple of hours. she made up for it as much as she could the night before the live show, her father stepping in to make sure that she got lots of rest in order to put on her best show and have no regrets.

and she doesn’t. for the most part, she doesn’t. her biggest regret, however, isn’t of her own accord. she stares down at her her phone gripped tightly in her hands, a text message read but never responded to. in a flurry of emotion, she’d deleted her mother’s name and number from her phone and they’d been estranged since the day that she left, but she still recognizes the number from the moment she’d seen it.

i hope you know that i’m proud of you, honey. good luck!

over the past few months, she’s tried to convince herself that her mother has no effect on her any longer, but that all comes crumbling down when she reads over the text and still feels anger, sadness, bitterness, and perhaps, against her own will, a bit of elation. but her mother messages as if nothing has changed, as if she doesn’t have a whole other family seola didn’t even know about, as if the loving family their household and childhood had been based on hadn’t been a lie. she’s entertained the idea of messaging back over and over again, a curt reply, a drawn out one detailing how much she still hurts, but in the end, she decides it’s best for her to leave it on read, at least for now. she has bigger and better things to worry about at the moment.

they call the contestants up onto stage, and she tries to shake off the all-too-familiar nerves that have built up again bundled up with the confusion she feels regarding her mother’s text, but it’s all in vain. regardless, she follows her fellow finalists into the lineup, and, once she’s in the audience, she puts on a brave front, concealing her jitters and emotion with a bright smile.

when it’s her turn to introduce herself, she first bows deeply to the audience, bending at the waist at an almost perfect ninety degrees in an attempt to show them just how much their support has meant to her throughout the competition. after all, what would a performer be without an audience for whom the perform? she remains in this position for a few seconds before coming back up, her hair falling gracefully around her shoulders, smile broad and eyes shining bright.

“hello, i am contestant #4025 kim hyunjung!” she declares confidently, accompanied by a small wave of her hand. “for this stage, i hope to show you my best self yet, and hope it will leave you anticipating even more. thank you!”

she’s rushed off stage once more, and the wait begins. unlike most of the past few episodes, she’s no longer the last, or one of the last, to perform, but that hardly matters now that it’s the finale. every second that passes is just as excruciatingly nerve-wracking as the last. she tries to wait patiently for her turn, but she can’t sit still, and instead quietly does vocal exercises until she’s called to go back up on stage for her solo performance. she closes her eyes, takes one deep breath, and follows the staff onto the stage.

with no introduction to be made, she falls into position, and the song starts.

the introduction is one that anyone who’s listened to popular music in recent years should be able to recognize, and one that seola is sure is a hit with the demographic for the mgas. she grins to herself when she hears whispers of recognition, eyes and face focused away from the camera and audience for the short segment.

hey baby even though i hate ya, i wanna love ya (i want you you you) and even though i can't forgive ya, i really want to (i want you you you) tell me, tell me baby, why can't you leave me 'cause even though i shouldn't want it, i gotta have it (i want you you you)

for the first verse, she focuses on connecting with the audience more than she does on vocal technique or choreography, only joining in with the dancers during key points of the lyrics. instead, she focuses on being engaging, making eye contact, singling audience members out and interacting one on one. she utilizes the entirety of the stage, strutting from one end to the other as if she owns the place. she’s become comfortable on this stage from all the previous times she’s performed on it, and in a strange way, it’s become a second home to her, and it shows.

head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders i should be wiser and realize that i've got

she remains at center stage during the pre-chorus, focusing more on vocal technique in order to deliver the high notes. she’s still maintaining a connection with the audience, however, staying high energy as she sings, delivering power with her notes. 

one less problem without ya i got one less problem without ya (i got one less problem without ya) i got one less, one less problem one less problem without ya i got one less problem without ya (i got one less problem without ya) i got one less, one less problem

it’s only during the chorus that she really joins in with her dancers, partaking in the entirety of the choreography, seamlessly joining in with them when it’s time. she utilizes the backing track during this time, allowing her to focus less on her vocals and to use more power and precision in her movements.

i know you're never gonna wake up, i gotta give up (but it's you you you) i know i shouldn't ever call back or let you come back (but it's you you you) every time you touch me and say you love me i get a little bit breathless, i shouldn't want it (but it's you you you)

once the chorus is over, she’s back to focusing on audience engagement, back to trying to use the whole stage in order to spread her presence from end to end. it’s obvious how much she’s practiced for this in the way that she seems so carefree as she sings, confident that she’ll hit the notes she needs to even as she moves around with such energy.

it’s a surprise, even to herself, that she’s so confident when only a few seconds before going on stage, she’d been nearly crippled with stage fright. her father’s words are ringing clearly in her ears now. just have fun. and she’s having the time of her life.

head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders i should be wiser and realize that i've got

once again she finds herself at center stage for the pre-chorus, finding steady ground in order to sing these more difficult lines. she delivers, hoping she’s making it look easy as she belts out the notes, this time joining in with her dancers for the choreography, albeit a less demanding version of it. she hopes the impact is as big as she’d intended, hopes she’s making it as memorable as possible.

oh~ (one less, one less problem) mm~ (one less, one less problem) head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders i should be wiser and realize that i've got

instead of jumping into another chorus, the song slows down and she stands in the center of formation, two dancers on either side of her. she takes this slight reprieve to regain some of her stamina, running her fingers through dark tresses as she slowly walks back up toward the front of the stage, singing adlibs as she goes. once she’s at the front, she’s once again delivering those high notes, not a waver to be heard. 

(one less problem without ya) hey (i got one less problem without ya) ah~ babe (i got one less problem without ya) ooh, ooh~ baby (i got one less, one less problem) (one less problem without ya i got one less problem without ya i got one less problem without ya) i got one less, one less problem (one less problem without ya) yeah (i got one less problem without ya) got one less, one less~ (i got one less problem without ya) i got one less, one less problem

during the final chorus, she gives it everything she’s got: the audience engagement, the singing technique, performing the same choreography as her dancers. she throws everything she has into those final thirty seconds of her performance, going harder than she ever has in her life, enjoying herself so much that it all just spills onto the stage.

at the end of the song, she’s in her final position, hip jutted out, one hand resting upon it. she’s completely out breath, her chest heaving up and down in an attempt to catch it, but she’s got a grin on her face that’s a mixture of adrenaline from her performance and relief that she’s delivered one of her last performances of the show.

there’s still more to come, still more to worry about in the next hour and a half, but for now, she’s content with what she’s put out, and can only hope it will propel her into the next chapter of her life.

[rkhosung]

mga 4 final episode presents                                    stand by me — boys ii men

(vocal 2) (line dist.)

Final episode. Final team stage.

There were a lot of ‘finals’ hanging in the air as he stared at the monitor without really seeing what was on it. This was it, huh, this was the end of the road. Some of them would continue on to be snapped up by the big companies and become trainees, maybe even debut in a few years time. That was the dream. But he knew that not all of them could go down that road, hell, not everyone wanted to. For Bin he hoped this wasn’t the end but a chance to move forward onto a new chapter of his life. This was a chance to really get a step closer to doing something he really loved.

The part that he’d chosen wasn’t the most prominent but he felt comfortable enough to perform it, even with the adlibs. The dancing on the other hand made him question if he would be stable enough to be able to hit those high notes required. Luckily there were always at least a few people in the practice room that he could sidle up to and ask for help when it came to choreography. He found himself spending a lot of time pestering Wonwoo hoping he could smooth out the kinks in his moves, apologising every time for being such a handful. He just wanted to do his best.

It was time.

Bin stood on stage waiting for the music to start. He felt nervous, but pleasantly  so. He had come to love being on stage, having people watch him, singing into their hearts.

They started. He moved smoothly across the stage to his chair, executing the choreography crisply, neatly, keeping in time to the beat and others beside him. Bin had the first choreo, and he had to sing while dancing. Hopefully his voice would hold. He mentally geared himself as his lines neared, standing to dance into formation.

Love you baby Take my breath away Even my last breath Take my breath away Take it all yeah

It went well, and he was glad he stopped singing just before the fancy footwork kicked in, his breathing slightly heavy as he concentrated on getting things right only half listening to the others as he continued to dance. Bin felt the sweat beginning to form on his forehead and neck, most likely glistening under the lights, but he had to keep his expression clean, professional. Once again this choreo afforded him a few moments of rest—which he took gladly—shoulders heaving as he tried to look as cool and unaffected as possible sitting down.

Then it was back to dancing, leading up to the chorus. He could feel his muscles beginning to complain after the jump but he continued on calmly, doing the footwork getting ready to sing with everyone else before his time to adlib came on. 

For me, it’s only you Keep it true We’ve been through Please keep it to yourself

For me, it’s only you Keep it true We’ve been through Please keep it to yourself

He pointed out towards the audience with a bright grin as they sang, moving to the side waiting for the single lull where he could take a breath before hitting the high note he wanted.

Woah ohhh baby Take it all yeah

Bin hit it cleanly though it felt like his lungs were on fire as he got into formation once more. He had one more set of lines. He could do it. He could get through this and pull it off with aplomb.

Stand by me Stand by me Stand by me

And then it was over.

Season four of the MGAs was essentially finished.

[rkevent]

MGA SEASON 4: GROUP PERFORMANCES!

There’s a more familiar scene: the stage of all the previous team challenges. All of the finalists are standing there with the outfits of their last mission, still waiting to discover what they’d need to do next. A group assignment is mentioned once again, but this time it’s for an original song specially made for the contestants of this season, one for the boys and one for the girls. There’s a twist, of course, which is only now revealed to the public: the lines of the song the contestants could sing would be chosen by them, starting with the bottom-ranked contestant first all the way up to the first-ranked contestant. A second twist: any contestant along the way could steal the previous contestants’ chosen lines.

‘Ladies first’, as the tradition says! Two boards are brought to the stage, and the girls’ song has a total of nine vocal spots and a single one for a rapper. A snippet of the song plays for the audience to hear. It is only a few seconds long and lasts just enough to be a tease. The image on the screen is of a practice room with the original choreographers dancing to the song. When focus comes back to the stage, all the contestants are already holding onto their lyrics sheet and looking as worried as ever.

The first one to go is Bae Joohyun, the girl who ranked at the bottom of the lowest ranking group. Without much thinking to be done, she places herself on the only rap spot available before moving to the other side of the board. The second one is Kim Bora who walks towards the board to steal the newly taken spot of the rapper and places Joohyun in the Vocal 7 position instead. The camera zooms into Joohyun’s face who promptly bites her lip.

Coming next is Jung Jinsoul. She stops and looks at the available options, still in doubt of what the best option would be. “I think if I took main vocal, people would kick me out of it…” So the girl sticks herself to the Vocal 4 position before turning to the remaining girls to try some sort of appeal. “Please don’t take this spot!”

Choi Yoojung goes next and she takes a moment to stare at the different positions before making a statement. “Rapper 1.” The role ended up being more popular than expected, and Bora was pushed to the Vocal 8 position. The girl who goes next shows less fear on her face, since a vocal had no reason to steal a rapper’s part. Kim Hyunjung sticks herself to the empty spot of Vocal 2 and then moves to the end of the line of those who had already chosen.

Dreams don’t last too long in Mnet. Seo Soojin walks towards the board only to take Hyunjung out and place her above, on the Vocal 1 spot. While it seemed like a nice thing to do, the camera turns to look at Lee Luda and Kim Yongsun, two power vocalists who hadn’t yet had their turn. But then the camera focuses on Jeon Somi, whose eyes are quickly wiped from glistening tears when her name is called to the board. She had shown herself to be a proper rapper on the last challenge, so nothing was stopping her from taking the contested Rapper 1 position.

Instead, the girl aims high and takes the Vocal 3 vacant spot for herself. All the main positions were already taken, and only three girls were left. As expected, Kim Yongsun moves Soojin away from Vocal 2 and down to Vocal 6. The previous owner seems to be in an obvious state of shock and Hyunjung comforts her from behind. There was still a solid singing position available, as well as the one with the hook of the song. When Kim Doyeon moves towards the board, everyone seems to be in shock.

The tall girl moves Yongsun away from Vocal 2 and puts her down to Vocal 9, the lowest position of them all. When a camera looks at Yongsun her eyes are wide in shock before she drops them down to the floor. “Unnie, I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t m—” Doyeon tries to explain herself, but the other ignores her completely. So she walks over to her spot in time for Lee Luda to go over to the board and steal the Vocal 1 position for herself, placing Hyunjung on Vocal 5.

Just like that, the part selection is done, and the results are more shocking than expected.

A few scenes of their practice time are highlighted. They all agree on calling their team Valkyrie but a lot of expressions don’t look too bright. The first day looks messy with each contestant mostly focused on learning the dance by themselves. Doyeon sticks to a corner of the room and the one attempted approach towards Yongsun that’s highlighted shows that the older doesn’t seem up for talking. By the third day, they’re all familiar with at least the few moves that are allowed to be shown.

It’s only on Wednesday that  Yongsun finally decides to approach Doyeon and let her speak. “This is not me trying to overshadow you or trying to steal your position, unnie, and I never meant to go after you. You encouraged me a lot during the first week and I’m thankful to you. Even if you hate me now, I’m still grateful. This is my last chance to prove I’m not just this model who can dance and I didn’t think clearly. I’m sorry for being selfish, I really am. I acknowledge it and I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

“Doyeon-ah,” Yongsun says softly. “You don’t have to apologize to me, unnie understands. I do. You are talented and beautiful, you are more than just a model that dances, they all see that– I see that, I saw that from the start. You just have to see it yourself. It’s ok, don’t worry about it, I am alright. Really. I’ll get to sing for my solo stage, so don’t worry and instead of feeling sorry and regretting your choices up until now. Make me proud instead.” They both lean over and hug each other, putting an end to the bad blood between them. “Good luck, unnie!” Doyeon cheers with a smile “I really want to see you succeeding.”

The video comes to an end, and Tiger JK welcomes the girls to the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our 10 female finalists, Valkyrie.” The girls make their way to the stage. This time, the cheering screams from the audience are heard louder than for any of the solo stages. They get into position in unison, some lying down while others were on their back. There’s a count to three as a notice for when the song was going to start, as well as signaling the first time it’d be heard by the public.

A beat starts playing and the girls begin dancing to their heavily practiced choreography. Yoojung’s voice is the first to be heard by saying the introductory words to the song. Joohyun takes the center position and starts to sing to words to the part she was put into. Her voice is sweet and soft, like the one seen on the memories video. The group moves in together to their designated sides so Soojin can make her way forward, singing her lines with charisma.

Luda starts her part as the first main vocalist before it’s time for Jinsoul, one of the few who managed to keep her initial spot. The pre-chorus is one of the most charming points, especially when it adds on Hyunjung’s lines and also Bora to compliment. The choreography is simple but charming, so if anyone was slacking off it’d be easy to spot. But the girls continue to dance together, all of them putting in all of their might for their last performance.

The chorus starts with Doyeon and her much-fought-for main vocal position. Her dancing skills help her keep the attention on herself before it’s someone else’s turn. Somi, who was now one of the youngest remaining contestants on the show, managed to keep a high vocal position and powerfully delivered her lines. It’s time for the hook, and the great vocalist Yongsun steps up to her spot.

“I’ll be there for you” is repeated multiple times and it’ll probably also be stuck on part of the nation’s head for the next few days. Bora also repeats the same lines before the beat changes.

Yoojung walks forward as the sole official rapper of the song. The rest of the girls move out of the way to give her the center of attention before Joohyun joins her side to add her own vocals to the rap. Before long, it’s time for the pre-chorus once again, and Hyunjung and Jinsoul switch their order for a drop of refreshment. All the girls move at the same time, delivering not only the good vocals they all fought for but also a solid dance routine.

This time around, Luda sings the chorus with more power than before, showing that the title of the best vocalist was given to her for a reason. The bridge is shared by both main vocalists. Even if the lines were in English, the delivery was very well-done and both of them got to shine. Yoojung steps back in to drop her line of impact before they all move out to dance on their own, signaling the nearing end of their stage.

Yongsun and Bora deliver their hook once again, but Luda is the one to finish the song and crouches down at the center of the girls during their final pose. The crowd roars with applause, and after a couple of moments have passed by, the camera is set to look at the judges once again while the girls leave the stage. “That was a good song, wasn’t it?” Katie Lee asks, to which the audience gives a positive response. “Well, we still have another stage to watch but, before that, let’s take a look at how they chose their positions.”

The old stage shows up once again, but this time the girls have already chosen their positions and the boys are the ones left to do it. Out of the ten there, five of them were considered rappers but there were only two rapper spots available. If the girls were already having trouble with it, whatever they were going to come up with was most certainly going to be entertaining.

Firstly comes Ji Changmin, the only boy from the lowest ranked team. He places himself as Vocal 7 which isn’t too hard of a vocal part but still gives him dance highlights, as expected of a dancer. The one after him is Dong Sicheng who takes Vocal 3, a position which requires strong vocals to maintain. Still, he wouldn’t be the first dancer to take on tougher vocals that day.

The third boy is Kim Jonghyun, who quickly places himself as the Rapper 1. “I know I’ll get pushed eventually but might as well start with a bang.” The young boy says before moving over to the new line... except an even younger boy comes around. Joo Haknyeon, the one everyone had always trusted, takes the Rapper 1 position for himself and moves Jonghyun to Vocal 4. Most people seem to be in shock, including Jonghyun himself. The boy scratched the back of his neck but at least his expression wasn’t too bad. “Hyung, I’m really sorry,” Haknyeon says as he joins him at the end of the line.

Hwang Hyunjin was another rapper, but instead of taking one of the two spots available, the child chose Vocal 7 instead, moving Changmin up to Vocal 6, which wasn’t too different of a part. The next contestant isn’t too much of a worry. Moon Bin is a known good vocalist, so the rapper position was safe for once. He takes the Vocal 2 spot and Jeon Wonwoo (who goes after him) covers the Vocal 5 slot with his face.

The choices are starting to slowly end, and when Kim Mingyu, another rapper, steps up to the board, the atmosphere obviously cools off once more. The boy takes Haknyeon’s face from Rapper 1 and puts him on Vocal 8. He was smart. There was a rapper set to go after him, and by taking Haknyeon out of the way there, he was bound to leave with at least one of the rapper positions. When Lee Minhyung goes after him it only serves to prove his point. The child takes Mingyu out of his position and moves him down to Rapper 2, finally settling the rapper debate.

As last, Kim Junmyeon should be unbothered. The Vocal 1 spot was left untouched during the entire selection process and the man showed no fear in taking it. And, just like that, their parts were finally chosen.

Unlike the girls, practice seemed to go much easier for the boys. Their team name was chosen to be ‘Boys II Men’ which served well for a group made up of boys and men. Even if things seemed to be awkward between Haknyeon and Jonghyun, they eventually warm up to each other again as shown by the chosen filmings. Minhyung gets some help from both Sicheng and Wonwoo when it comes to dancing with the chairs. Sicheng also seeks out for help since he decided to take a more challenging vocal position.

Meanwhile, the rapper boys who were kicked out of their spot, Jonghyun and Haknyeon, work hard on bettering their own skills so as to not to let their team down. The younger repeats his line “Stand by Me” over and over again to look for any sort of improvement. The camera zooms on his hands as they strongly grab onto his thighs for the extra bit of strength. His face is covered with a smile when his voice comes out better than before.

The video ends with a scene of them all standing together in the practice room, and then we’re back to present time. Baek Jiyoung takes the microphone to introduce them. A smile stays on her face until the crowd calms down long enough for her to speak. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our ten male finalists, Boys II Men.” The audience goes back to cheering as loudly as they can, and the boys make their way into their starting positions.

It starts with the boys spread across the stage and Changmin standing at the center. They cover their faces briefly before forming a line. With each new pose Changmin makes, the rest of the boys move away from behind him until they’re all seated on their own chairs. The boy sings his lines while doing the synchronized sharp choreography. Hyunjin stands by himself, the rapper who had decided to sing. His voice is nice and sweet and sounded just good enough on the few lines he had for the song.

After ups and downs, Mingyu starts his assigned rapper verse, stepping out the front of the stage. All eyes are on him as he raps, and he makes a great delivery out of it. Moon Bin is next with the charming chorus. The movements complement the singing, and they all make smooth lines in unison. Jonghyun, who had worked hard to perform that day, sings his important lines and does a good enough job to get a pass.

Haknyeon, who had found himself in the same spot, at least gets to show off his dancing skills quite beautifully. His fans cheer for him and give him strength. Junmyeon takes the next part of the hook, this time getting to show off his confident vocals. Wonwoo, popularly known as a dancer, takes this chance to highlight his vocal skills as well, and then the main vocal comes back in to sing his part.

The man of the day seems to be Minhyung who marches victoriously to the front of the stage while rapping to his assigned part which he was the last to steal. The rest of the boys dance behind and all together with the power of a unit. Next, the chorus starts with Sicheng, showing his vocals like he never had before with such a high position. Jonghyun still needs to go again, repeating his part as well as he had done before.

As the song slowly comes to an end, the chorus is sung by all the boys together. Hyunjin takes the center first, dancing in the middle of them, before Changmin switches spots with him. The final chorus is highlighted by Sicheng and Bin’s combined high note, all while Junmyeon sings to the lyrics with his own heavenly voice. Sicheng proceeds to sing what was usually sang by Jonghyun before the music reaches its final course.

Bin starts with the hook while Junmyeon reaches an even higher note behind him. Wonwoo does the last piece of the hook until the boys all part to reveal Haknyeon sitting on a chair by himself just in time to deliver the last line of the song. The crowd erupts into cheering, some calling out for specific names. When the stage goes dark, however, none of the judges say a word, waiting for the series of events to complete itself.

A light turns on and it reveals Choi Yoojung who delivers her killing line from Like A Star. A mashup of both original songs start to play and boys and girls stand together on the stage. The audience can’t help but cheer wildly at the sight. At first, the girls dance at the front before the boys step forward to show off their own dance. When the second part of the chorus starts to play, they all copy the key dance of Like A Star, and the audience starts a new wave of cheering. Then, the girls follow the choreography of Stand By Me, and the crowd screams even louder. Everyone strikes a pose at the center. The top twenty contestants are seen all together in one spot until the music comes to an end.

The crowd continues to cheer, even after the finalists break out of their positions. The final stage was done, which meant there was only one thing left to do. It was the same as every other episode, except all of them would have to move on by the time this one ends. So Jisub takes his microphone and says a few words to calm the crowd down before he’s able to speak. “You’ve all worked hard today, as well as during all the previous weeks. The entire world was able to see your growth and you wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe you had a chance at winning this. Before anything, thank you all for participating in this season of the Mnet Global Auditions. You’ve worked hard.”

He settles down his microphone and starts to clap. The rest of the CEOs join him, and the entire crowd soon joins as well. Some cheering and screaming start popping up here and there, and claps gain more strength. Jisub raises his hand so the audience can calm down before he proceeds to speak. “With every end of an episode comes eliminations, and we’ll be doing that quite soon. Before that, I’d like to bring into attention what Tiger JK said at the start of the evening. You were evaluated for your performances today, but the final results involve your entire journey here on the show.”

“So, before we reveal the official and final ranking…” The screen behind the stage lights up. It is covered in white, except for four different grey squares. “As you can see, we’ve separated two different rankings of the day to show you. This is, of course, only for your performances today, and not the official final ranking. On the top, we’ll reveal the top 3 contestants of the day. On the bottom, we’ll reveal the contestant who ranked fifteenth today.”

The man stops for a moment to not only gather his breath but also so the public can understand what he’s saying. “Why the fifteenth rank, though, some of you may be thinking?” A loud voice from the audience screams “Yeah!” and Jisub can’t help but raise one corner of his lips. “From the twenty contestants standing here today, only one of will be considered the winner, but the top 15 will get a contract from one of the Big 5 entertainment companies.”

Not only does the crowd erupt in chatter, but some of the contestants react to this news as well. This information was never revealed before, but now that the end is as near as ever, this type of thing is enough to send chills down someone’s back. Hyun Bin grabs his own microphone and asks for silence before he himself proceeds, giving Jisub a break. “We’ll start with the top 3 of the day which, again, is not the final result.” He takes a paper from the table in front of him and starts to read out the announcement.

“Ordered by number, and not by rank, the top 3 of the day were Kim Junmyeon, Lee Luda and Jeon Wonwoo.” The audience starts to cheer, while some others stop to hold their breath. The top three grey squares on the screen vanish to show their pictures behind them. “The one who ranked first today was… Lee Luda.” He gives a nod towards the girl who’s standing far away, and the crowd cheers for the female, some male fans shouting louder than others. “You’ve worked hard to get here and, as we’ve already said this before, you’re an amazing singer. But, that doesn’t stop you from having various other qualities. We wish you luck on the final ranking.” The crowd applauds once again, and Hyun Bin’s eyes shift between Junmyeon and Wonwoo. “As for the second and third place… I’m sure the boys wouldn’t mind not knowing.”

The CEO smirks as he settles his paper down, even putting it on the bottom of his thin pile. Some members of the audience try to protest, but the judge is smart to continue with his speech before anything can happen. “And now, I’ll reveal who was the contestant who ranked fifteenth today. This is, of course, not the final ranking.” He lets out a sigh, already tired of having to repeat the same thing. “And that person was… Seo Soojin.” The man stops and stares at her a bit so the screen can finish updating with her face before proceeding. “At the start of the show you barely got any attention which was really a shame. You proved yourself by being here and standing on this stage today. If this was the final ranking, you would have won a contract. Hopefully, you’ll continue to grow even beyond this competition.”

Once he’s done, the audience claps, but the expectations are now higher than ever. There is now, really, only one thing left. Hyun Bin sighs, but his lips show a small smile. “Now, the time has come… The final ranking has already been decided and we’ll soon start to reveal them. Thank you to all of you who are standing today on the stage, as well as all of those who left us at some earlier point in the competition. Would you do the honors, Katie?”

For the first time tonight, it’s so silent that it feels like no single person is speaking inside the set. Katie Lee picks up her microphone and gives Hyun Bin a knowing smile. “It’d be a pleasure.” Her eyes focus on the list in front of her with exactly twenty names written down. They all know who will win, and the only thing left to do is share it with the world. “We’ll start from the bottom ranks and then we’ll make our way up.” Everyone watching seems to hold their breath. “The person who’ll finish in the twentieth place this season is…”

→ next

[rkxhyunjin]

✧ MGAS SEASON FOUR: SOLO PERFORMANCE - LADY KILLER

hwang hyunjin’s signed dance performance of jane zhang’s lady killer for the solo performance of episode 9

preparation: ( august 17 ) ( instagram ) ( memories ) ( group performance ) ( august 21 )

Isolation did funny things to Hyunjin’s mind.

In a way, it gave the student relief from spending weeks in an environment where he was constantly listening, constantly speaking. Speech slips from his head as he paces around the empty practice room, circling the wooden floor as he works through the choreography, signing comments to himself here and there. Only like this could Hyunjin streamline his thinking, one thought simply sliding in after the next; fingers memorising the concepts and tucking them away one by one.

Isolation also brought on that sharp criticism that he had been attempting to avoid for the past two weeks. There were no distractions to remind him that just one mistake during practice would not lead to a catastrophe on stage. As he stares into the mirror, all he’s looking for is for mistakes, finding even the smallest of adjustments and amplifying them into the worst fault of his entire dancing experience.

Sometimes, he can’t help it. Feet heavy, he falls to the floor, exhaustion taking over as he curls up, head pressed between his knees as he counts down in his head. Ten. He’s afraid of something that he can’t even dictate into words. Nine. Scared of some unforeseeable future that every part of Hyunjin knows won’t happen. Eight. Yet his mind can’t help but reject every bit of common sense that tells him otherwise. Seven. Hands tighten around his legs, pulling them in closer as he tries to hide himself for just a moment longer. Six. His fingers itch to hold someone, anyone’s hand. Five. Why was he like this? Four. There wasn’t time for him to be like this. Three. Breath heavy and chest heaving, he lifts his head and wipes away his tears. Two. He could do this. One. Breathe in. Focus. Stand. Zero. Hyunjin isn’t going to let this get in his way.

．．．☆　☽ 

For this week’s performance, Hyunjin wanted to portray a different side of himself. Wanted to portray a side of himself that was an amalgamation of everything that he had learned throughout the competition; everything that he had expanded and grown into. The high energy of Cloud 9 and Start Again that he had signed to during his auditions. The finesse and theatrics of Before the Dawn. The confidence of Ddu Du Dddu Du. The softness of the Coffee X Stay mashup. The precision of Love Me Right. The strength and unapologetic assured nature of Instruction. The eye-catching movements of Tell Me. This week, Hyunjin would include all these elements to show off a new side of himself – one that he had yet to present to the audience, or even himself.

There’s no line between soft and strength during dance that forces a dancer to separate the two types of movement. A move can be both gentle and firm, and he looks for a song to reflect that. In the end, he chooses a strong ballad, the singer belting out thick notes that shake his body as it thrums through the practice room’s speakers. It was a song that called for a soft allure, one that could only be achieved with assured confidence.

However, this song also called for something more in the dance beyond oscillating movement and signing between fast and slow. It required a killing part. A move so unapologetically extravagant and impressive that it would be remembered throughout the entire performance and after.

Choreographing these killing parts was one thing, but actually performing them was another.

The first move comes to him as he’s stretching out after practice, bent down close to the floor with one leg crouched and the other outstretched. Experimentally, he stands, sinking back down to the floor on one leg until he’s crouching there, hovering with his right leg straight out in front of him. Again, he stands, repeating the movement, but this time tucking the right leg underneath his crouched left while refusing to let it touch the ground. He falls, but he knows this is it.

The next move comes to him more by sheer coincidence and a stroke of ingenuity. Wanting something to mark the climax of the song, he skirts across the dance floor, trying to think of the best way he could cross the expanse to finish his dance near where he had initially started. A flip. Flips weren’t an entirely new concept to Hyunjin, he had played around with them before, but had never really had the confidence nor the space to put them into any of his choreographies. A stage like the one he was performing on on Sunday could without a doubt give him enough room to perform a flip. Testing his own capabilities, he gives himself a running start before jumping into the air, managing to pull off most of the flip after the first few tries. If he worked hard to perfect it, he could do it.

Early in the week, an opportunity presents itself as he approaches Sicheng during the practise for the group performance. The boy had shown that he was capable of flips early on, and if Hyunjin wanted to present a proper flip, Sicheng was probably one of the few people who could teach him. He’s lucky really, Sicheng readily agrees and gives the dancer some pointers on where to improve. Immediately putting the other boy’s tips into action the following day, without a doubt, Hyunjin’s flips improve. They’re no longer unstable, and when he lands, his feet land firmly on the ground, maintaining his balance all the way through the flip. Without a doubt, Hyunjin was going to make this work.

．．．☆　☽

“Hello everyone,” the crowd is a mass of darkened faces before him, and Hyunjin takes reassurance knowing that somewhere out there his parents are watching as he signs his introduction, “My name is Hwang Hyunjin. Today I’ll be performing a self-choreographed signed dance to Lady Killer by Jane Zhang; a dance which implores you to listen with both your eyes and your ears. I truly appreciate all the support that everyone has given me, but I’d like to give a special thanks to my parents who are both here today. Every day, they inspire me to work as hard as them. Truly, to my mother and my father, I thank you both”. Arms pressed to his sides, he bows forward in a ninety-degree bow, holding the position as his fingers shake with anticipation. Righting himself once again, he adds, smile wide, “Please enjoy today’s performance!”

．．．☆　☽

Offering simple props and full control of stage effects, Hyunjin had taken advantage of what he could to further elevate his performance. He starts out on a short pedestal nestled towards the centre-back of the stage, seated as he waits for the music to start. The lights go dark and a spotlight beams down on the pedestal, dry ice seeping out from underneath.

In the beginning

As the music begins, he sits with his legs spread, looking down and feigning nonchalance, waiting for the singing to start. The first lines present themselves and a single index finger presses against his lips before pulling away and pointing up towards the ceiling (beginning). He sits up fully, turning to face the camera but remains seated, simply moving his upper body with the sway of the music.

Once upon a time you had all of my heart

Hyunjin’s right hand forms a ‘three’ by opening the first three fingers of his hand, pressing the digits against the centre of his forehead before pulling his arm back and towards the audience, fingers closing only for his hand to return in the dancer’s direction, ending next to his right shoulder (once upon a time). That same hand falls to his chest, flat palm pressing against partially revealed skin under the loose shirt (my) only for his right hand to pull away from his chest in the next beat, folding in all but one of his fingers and pressing it against the palm, and then back of his left hand (heart).

Right from the start babe

Rolling his head with the beat of the music Hyunjin’s right hand flips so it’s flattened, palm facing downward and fingertips facing outwards; thumb and middle finger to pinching together as he raises his hand (start).

I thought you were cupid

In the next moment Hyunjin begins to rise from the pedestal, pulsing up and down over the surface as he signs. From a fist, his index finger unfolds and he taps his right temple, later uncurling his middle finger as his wrist jerks forward and back twice in a knocking motion (assume). His right hand uncurls completely, drawing invisible circles over his left hand with its pinky finger and thumb raised (eros).

But you put the arrows down a round came from your gun

Fully standing now, Hyunjin starts making his way forward towards the front of the stage in time with the music. As he does so, his left arm stretches out, thumb sticking up to form the ‘bow’ as his right hand forms an ‘okay’ shape, proceeding to ‘draw’ the ‘bow’ only for the index finger of his right hand to shoot forward, mimicking the trajectory of the ‘arrow’ as it fully thrusts him centre-stage (arrow). A gun replaces the bow and arrow as his right hand points forward at the camera in a signed gun.

Shot me more than once baby

His two fingers forming the barrel of the gun pull back on an imaginary trigger (shoot) and he’s stumbling back from the aftershock, ending dead-centre in the middle of the stage.

 You hit the bulls eye pin it on

Creating a circle with both of his hands, his right hand breaks the formation to trace the circumference of a large circle in front of him (target), body already slowly sinking to the floor as he does so.

My chest so cold in blood

On his knees, Hyunjin makes extra effort here to make the signs look as close to dancing as possible, lacking the normal footwork that would give the viewer an obvious indicator that he was indeed dancing. Clutching his chest as he kneels on the floor, his shoulders and arms roll, shaking before a finger draws across his chest in a modified sign for blood.

Your love’s assassin, a Gemini

Sweeping a leg in front of him, he seats himself fully on the floor only to pull himself up, rolling his body as he faces the audience until he’s fully stood, two fingers forming a peace sign that sweeps forward and away from his stomach (Gemini).

Boy you got me on the run

Hyunjin pumps his arms as he ‘runs’ backwards towards the pedestal, as if he was running away from something at the front of the stage. Only in the next moment he’s moving back forward to the centre stage with another burst of energy, sparing a few seconds of lyric-less song to solely dance without sign as he crosses and unfolds his arms to the beat of the music.

You are the reason that this hole is in my heart

The lyrics resuming, he points towards the audience (you), the hand turning so its palm faces the ceiling before arcing down and up in a digging motion against the expanse of his chest (hole). At heart, his right hand unfolds a single finger and pokes the back and then inside of his left hand in a familiar sign that he had used before.

Baby one shot from you I’m torn apart

Slowly rolling his body, the motion travels down from his head to his hips, hand pointing towards the audience once again (you) before both of his hands clench into fists as they meet in the centre of his body, dramatically torn apart in the next moment (tear) as his body roll finishes.

Ain’t no saving us you hurt me more than once

Turning counter-clockwise, Hyunjin’s foot ticks with he music, body rotating beat by beat. Before he has a chance to fully turn and obscure himself from the front of the audience, he sharply turns, meeting the camera with a narrowed gaze thrown over his opposite shoulder. Hurt causes his right hand to open in full view of the audience, fingers curling ever so slightly at the tips as his palm faces the ceiling, hand purposefully shaking until it raises to his temple, index finger pointing down and drawing a descending line from the corner of his visible eye in a mock tear (hurt).

And the damage is done

To sign damage the dancer presses his thumbs and index fingers of both hands together in front of his chest in a diamond formation and promptly breaks the formation as his hands sweep down and away from each other.

Lady killer

In a move sure to garner attention (his first self-dubbed killing part), Hyunjin sinks to the floor, right leg sweeping out with his hand and coming in to curl behind and under his crouching left leg as he sinks to the ground. Even fully lowered to the ground, the dancer’s right leg remains straight, foot never touching the ground as his left leg balances while simultaneously raising him ever so slightly up and down; pulsing to the beat.  

Killer

The move ends and he unwinds from his position, but even then, he doesn’t let his right foot touch the ground, maintaining balance even as he stands. Only once Hyunjin stands fully upright does he move on to the next step and place his foot on the ground.

You hit the bulls eye pin it on My chest so cold in blood Your loves assassin a Gemini Boy you got me on the run 

Circling the platform, Hyunjin takes his time making his way back to the front of the stage as the song builds. Having signed this portion of the song earlier, the dancer takes more liberties when it comes to signing this portion of the song, stylising his sign and further blurring the line between dance and sign language.

You are the reason that this hole is in my heart Baby one shot from you I’m torn apart Ain’t no saving us you hurt me more than once And the damage is done Lady killer Killer

Gaining momentum as he approaches the flip in his routine, Hyunjin spins twice across the stage before he jumps; legs maintaining their form and posture as they effortlessly rotate over his body in an act that seemingly leaves him floating mid-air. Landing cleanly from the flip, he sinks down onto his knees, running his hand down his face to obscure half of it as he stares into the camera.

As he stands from his spot, his hand falls away enough to catch his tongue lolling out and licking the corner of his lips, expression morphing into a confident smirk as his entire expression is revealed. In the last few seconds of the song as the music plays out Hyunjin returns to the podium, back to the audience right until the last beat where he turns his head and looks over his shoulder, still wearing that same smirk as before.

Breathe in. Focus. Stand.

( He tells himself this before he goes on stage – Hyunjin isn’t going to let his anxieties get in his way. He’s going to exude confidence even if he tricks himself into doing it. A sensual, unapologetic confidence. Or even, simply, unadulterated confidence. In the end, he hadn’t needed to trick himself. Even if he wasn’t confident in other aspects of his life, Hwang Hyunjin was confident about dance – and it shows ).

[rkmg]

〈★〉MGAS SEASON 4 - EPISODE NINE - TEAM PERFORMANCE             ↳ finalists ( #03, #10, #28, #29, #32, #36, #42, #46, #49, #54 )                    ↳ stand by me by boyz ii men / mga boys - line distribution

The group performance was going to be important. However, it was also going to be extremely emotional. This was going to be the very last time he was going to perform with all of these particular people. It made his heart hurt, in a way. Would he ever get to stand on stage with Yoojung again? With Jinsoul? He didn’t even have to ask himself about Won, however, because he already knew he’d refuse to be onstage when he debuts without him. But, still... this was going to be tough. He needed to make sure that he showed everyone how hard he has worked and how far he has come since the start of this. This was his last chance to prove that he deserved to make it. By the end of the week, they were going to have the results and this period of their life was going to be over. Truthfully, it hardly felt real.

Picking the lines was very difficult. It didn’t really feel fair and he wasn’t sure how this would end up. It seemed a lot crueler than the past weeks, but he knew that he had to do whatever it takes for him to succeed. He hated the idea of stepping on others to get closer to the top, but what other choice did he have? He felt lucky that he was in the team with second place last week, even if he was the lowest ranking on his team. It made him feel nervous that Mark was going to be choosing after him, so he had to put a lot of thought into his move. This was something that was going to take strategy so he could end up with a rapping part anyway. Having around five rappers in the show and only two rapping positions felt kind of messed up. But, that’s the way that it was so he was just... going to have to try his hardest not to think about it and ensure that he gets one for himself.

There were only three empty spots by the time that it got to him. There was rapper two and vocals one and eight. If he puts himself in rapper two, then Mark could end up moving him and then there’d be no available rap for him to go to. He’d be in vocal one or eight, then that’s where he’d be stuck. However, if he moved Haknyeon to vocal eight, then if Mark wanted to move him, he could only be moved to rapper two or vocal one. Junmyeon would obviously want vocal one, so then he’d be moved to rapper two anyway. It was perfect.

That’s what he did, regardless of how guilty he felt moving a rapper to a vocal position. But, he was the same one that had moved someone else away from the spot, so perhaps it was just... what goes around, comes around. He was just happy that he would be able to have lines that he was truly capable of pulling off.

Upon meeting with the other group members to learn the choreography, the first thing that he did was hug Won tightly in his arms. He knew that it would be too telling if he was as intimate and soft as he usually is, so he was very aware of his actions. He had to make sure that it simply looked like two best friends reuniting after a while and not... two boyfriends reuniting after awhile.

Of course, he took advantage of this new opportunity to get help with the choreography from Won, though he isn’t allowed to hog him as much as he’d like. Being the best dancer in the competition, multiple people obviously wanted his help, too. So, Mingyu shared his boyfriend, although it wasn’t actually his choice. He’s lucky that he’s come such a long way with his dancing skills since the beginning, because he doesn’t even require hours and hours of help. He just... sort of wanted it so that he could spend time with Won. However, the MGAs were almost over and then they’d have all of the time in the world.

On the night of the performance, he was all dressed and ready to go on. He was beginning to feel... some strange type of emotion. He couldn’t even entirely pinpoint what it was, he just knew that he wanted it to go away. It’s really hard for him to believe that he’s managed to make it this far. This is so surreal. No matter what happens tonight, he knows that he made it. He’s already given them all that he had and now it was just time for him to pray that it would pay off.

After introductions, solo performances, and the girl’s group performance, it’s now their turn. He took a deep breath, looked around at everyone (gaze lingering on Won for a moment as a small smile graced his lips), and prepared himself to go out onto the stage again.

The performance is fun and interesting, given where so many people were placed against their will, and it also goes by a lot more effortlessly than he thought.

시간이 남을 때마저 내 머릿속은 바뻐 네 생각을 놓기엔 내가 싫고 그러기엔 일이 안 잡혀 그림자 뒤 가려진 날 꺼낸 시선 어디를 봐도 넌 모든 부분에 있어 다시없을 무대에 너를 언급해 내 말을 이해했다면 칭찬해줄게

Mingyu had the first rap in the song and it was seemingly over far too soon. Still, he felt grateful that he was able to finally put on a performance such as this one. He’s missed dancing and having choreography, so this was making up for his previous weeks. He was finally feeling like an actual idol again. He would have been happy if the ten of them could have debuted together. At least then, he would know that Won would be by his side (still... there were too many rappers, so... maybe that isn’t the entire truth... he would mourn his lines).

L O ve ya (yes)

This was coming too close to an end too fast. It was his first time being able to stand on stage like this with Won and it seemed to be passing by in a blur. He hoped it would seem more like it was passing by in slow motion as he has every opportunity to savor the moment. Instead, he feels like it’s slipping through his fingers like water or sand; even if he clenches his fists even tighter, it would still all be gone in a matter of moments. That isn’t something that he liked when he didn’t know what the night had in store. Would this be the only time they’d be able to be like this? In his heart, he didn’t think so. But, it was impossible not to worry.

난 only you Keep it true We’ve been through Please keep it to yourself (x2)

Each of his lines made him feel on top of the world. He felt lucky and extremely grateful that he had more than some of the other teammates. But, he wasn’t exactly a selfish boy so this made him slightly unhappy for them. He wanted things to be fair, but he also wanted to win. Admittedly, he is more selfish now than he was before the competition. Though, he kind of had to be, right? Wasn’t that, like... sort of part of this? You stay in this or you go home... so he wouldn’t just slack so that someone else could get the upper hand. This was do or die.

L O ve ya (yes)

After the performance, his breathing was hard and his heart was heavy. He briefly wondered if he was going to cry, though he didn’t. He’s still stronger than he gives himself credit for. All that was left now was the group performance with the girls, which he looked forward to because of Jinsoul and Yoojung, and then the eliminations. He felt like his stomach was knotted. But, he had this... The world was still his, right?

Yeah. This was going to work out for him.

[rkxsicheng]

MGA4 Final | Solo Performance Song: Move by TaeminJun [0:05-2:37] Outfit/Hair/Make-up: [x] [x]

 When he learns that he’s made it through, there’s a release of pent up pressure in his chest like the crisp snap of a bottle being twist open, a sense of relief so sharp that it almost registers like pain, but the relief is washed away by a wave of anxiety, laced with anger, when the position selection process begins, and he discovers how low he’s ranked. 

 Second to last. 

 He almost spends the rest of the day upset, the anger quickly fading into a distinct sense of hurt. Was he not good enough? 

 The hurt makes it difficult for him to focus for a couple of hours, as they’re told about their schedule for the upcoming week, it only barely registers how chaotic it sounds. A solo stage and a group stage, rehearsal on your own time, appointments for costume measurements tomorrow, fittings during the week, stage effects and back-up dancers available upon request, here’s who to speak to for that, where to go, it’s a barrage of information, and it ends up being just a little too much, and he has to duck into a restroom to gather his thoughts, to find some quiet. 

 Sicheng aches for this 

 It’s a recent revelation, sparked in part by the heat of the competition, but he wants this.

 Perhaps he even needs it; he hasn’t got much in the way of prospects in South Korea at the moment, and there’s a fear that creeps further in him with each passing day that his parents will eventually see fit to cut this little adventure of his short if he doesn’t produce some kind of result soon. And the thought of having to leave behind the friends he’s made here hurts him. 

 The low ranking hangs over him like a spectre, and seems an insurmountable barrier, something hopeless, before it occurs to him that it’s something new for him in the competition. Somewhat, at least. 

 He thinks back to his first five or six weeks on this show; he’d been ranking high, second or third out of eight or nine, regardless of the amount of screentime he’d gotten, he’d been doing well, in a manner of speaking. 

 Of course, he’d been in a very different mental space at the time, this competition had seemed so light then, hadn’t felt like something he needed, it’d been easy to practice and to perform and to do his thing, and then between Donghyuck and Xuxi’s health scares and hospitalisations, Mark’s original elimination, everything, the show had become so very heavy, so very real, and it’d thrown Sicheng off of his game. 

 He had to rediscover that focus, that lightness. He had to figure out again how to rid himself of the anxiety and fear and just do his best, free of distractions.

 The first order of business, of course, is to determine what he’s even doing.

 This is the final, and that meant a lot of things. First and foremost, of course, it was the final impression the audience and the panel and the production team would all have of him, but it was also more than that, it was the first solo performance since the beginning of the competition, since there had been so few contestants. It was a proper chance to stand out, to show off his individual colour, to make a mark and prove that he had some sort of spark that warranted collection. It was an opportunity that he was going to take full advantage of. 

 He only had to decide what colour he really was. 

 Chinese traditional dance is the obvious choice. It’s what he’s trained in, for a lifetime, and he can perform a routine like it’s nothing, with the ease of an auntie idling through a shopping centre, and at first it seems like the best choice, too, until he really gives it more consideration; he’d already done it twice in this competition, three times, if one was to count his Shangri-La performance, and how he’d worked it in there, and at this rate...perhaps it was what people expected of him. They expected him to do a traditional dance routine, and the more Sicheng thought about it, the less of a good idea it seemed. It wasn’t all that relevant, truthfully, and although interesting, would be relegated to some sort of “special talent” that he showed off on variety shows if he were to actually become an idol. 

 He wanted to not only do something unexpected, something new, but he also wanted to prove that he could perform, that he could be an idol. 

 So he decides he won’t be doing his traditional dance, and although there’s a flare of anxiety in that decision, in straying from what is easy and known, he thinks that it is a choice that will serve him well in the end. 

 When it comes to the task of deciding what exactly he’ll be performing, if not traditional dance, it’s a somewhat difficult matter, and after a good twenty minutes of empty-handedness, of half-thoughts and neverminds, he tries to narrow his options down by asking himself: who does he admire?

 What kind of performer does he want to be?

 It’s an easy answer. He recalls having written it on his application form, even. Sicheng admires a complete performance; he admires artists who sing, dance, but most importantly, embody their performance. He isn’t sure what it is, exactly, more than some kind of electricity in their eyes, a measured sureness in their movements, the x factor that bridges the gap between someone merely talented, and someone noteworthy. 

 A tall order, certainly, and a challenge to his skills, he thinks, but that’s the performer he wants to grow into, and that’s the kind of performance he wants to give for the final. 

 He eventually settles on Move by Jun. The LC9 member had sprung to mind as possessing that spark that Sicheng had admired, and although other songs by him, like Press Your Number, had seemed just a little too far outside of Sicheng’s range, especially with only a week to prepare, Move’s lighter, more sensual vocals and focus on performance had seemed like the perfect choice. He thought he’d be able to handle the vocals, playing to his strengths by not going for something too intensive while still showing that he could do it, that he was easily a triple threat in the making, while also allowing him to focus on the dance itself, which had a delicacy and a grace to it that would match quite well with the inherently lyrical forms of Sicheng’s movement. 

 He talks to who he needs to talk to after this decision is made, and it’s approved, and he’s got back-up dancers, four women, and it’s a lot. He almost doesn’t even know where to start, but the ladies are professionals after all, and he arranges times to meet and rehearse with them, between this and the group rehearsals he’s not got time for much more than practice and a...passable, if not great, night’s sleep every day of the week, and Sicheng thinks that that works for him. 

 He wants to do his utmost, and he hopes the strange lump of magma, of determination and nervousness twisted round into one, would serve as some sort of fuel that he could use to push through into his best form, into his best performance. 

 Maybe his mother had helped him by driving him like some sort of dance robot; it’d made it easy for him to shut everything else out and do only dance, it’d hardened him to hours and hours in wood-floor studios, watching his reflection glide across it. 

 He can’t go into autopilot, though. He doesn’t want to let himself appear vacant, especially with a song so sensuous, he had to be present. 

 It’s something he struggles with over the course of the week: the sex appeal. 

 Sicheng isn’t blind, or stupid, or unaware; he isn’t some egomaniac, but he’s aware that he’s generally considered good-looking, although he tends to hear pretty more often than handsome, he doesn’t think that will be hindrance, that maybe it will match well with the strange, androgynous appeal of the song he’s performing. What isn’t, though, is anything close to sexually assured, and although the song isn’t explicit, its lyrics are suggestive, and the performance itself delicately sexy. It isn’t outright, in the form of hip thrusts or anything, but it’s still more than he’s accustomed to. Feeling and exuding sexy wasn’t something he was well-versed in. 

 He asks one of his dancers about it, ears red, extremely embarrassed to be asking someone how he might be a little sexier, but she’s amused by the question. 

 “You’re...adorable,” she squeals, prompting a whine from the boy that she quickly hushes, “You just...have to believe it. Or at least feel it, just then. You’re so pretty, though! I think it suits you really well, like...my advice is to not think so hard about it and think more about how you want to feel, and other people will feel it, too?” 

 Sicheng thanks her for the advice, although it doesn’t exactly reassure him. 

 He sets out on the task of discovering his own sexual self-esteem, which initially is absurd to him. Embracing that aspect of his identity isn’t something he’s done much of, but he eventually settles into some strange space where after a while, sometimes he’ll find himself blushing at the end of a practice run, at himself really, and he wonders if he’s become a megalomaniac, if it’s the confidence boost he’s felt from fan comments, or what, but he manages to convince even himself that he’s got a very definite sense of sex appeal. 

 He’s got pretty eyes that radiate intensity with a bit of smudgy make-up, a long elegant nose, and big, plump lips...and if he thinks too much about all of those things he feels a strange heat in his chest. 

 He’s very particular, he finds, making every decision available to him with a thoughtfulness that surprises even himself, although he’s always been prone to overthinking. From the cut of the song he’ll be performing, chosen to peak and fade out dramatically in the end, to the clothing him and his dancers will wear; they’ll be dressed simply in all black, and he’ll wear something a little revealing, in red and white stripes. It was something he’d once spoken to a costume designer at his old dance company about: you could use colour to draw the viewer’s eye to a certain dancer, or area of the stage, and Sicheng wanted every eye on him. 

 Perhaps it’s the amount of practicing he’s doing, or the anticipation that boils inside of him, swelling with each days until it’s oceanic, but the week passes by in a blur, and he feels like he’s had just enough time to pull his performances together, to tighten them into something worthy before the day of filming arrives, but not a second longer.

 He wonders how everyone else feels about how polished they are, about where they stand, because for him, it’s a strange cocktail of peace, of confidence, of anxiety, of need, and he tries to strangle it into some form of submission before it’s his time to film, succeeding only very narrowly before his number is called, and production staff are ushering him around, double-checking his mic, reminding him of where his cameras will be.

 It’s not as nerve-wracking as he thought it would be, standing on stage by himself, perhaps because he isn’t really, with his dancers. 

 He waits for the lights to raise, and the track to click on, a staffer off the side of the stage giving him a finger count until it does, and almost immediately he’s singing. 

 The song isn’t hard to sing, for the most part, not for Sicheng. It’s a gentle vocal performance, rooted in suggestion, the song itself all about furtive glances, strange feelings, dizzying attraction. 

  Sicheng does his best to embody the energy of quiet intensity that the song requires, rotating his hips slowly over top the beat, his arm movements, thought careful and rehearsed, move like morning mist over water, he invites his listener to smudge her carefully applied make-up, running a thumb over his lower lip as he does so. 

 It’s an intense performance, and even with the large crowd, and the cameras, Sicheng is blushing under his BB cream by the time he’s finished, something about the performance having felt strangely intimate, perhaps a combination of who he’d secretly been thinking of, largely by accident when trying to embody seduction, and the fact that he stood alone on stage this time. 

 He bows when he’s done, as the light dim and the music fades, and he makes his way backstage, where he’s told to change into something more comfortable, and updated on the schedule for the rest of the day, which he barely registers, the adrenaline still pumping through him, clouding his perception. 

 Sicheng is proud of himself, and although he knows what he wants, and that he’ll be disappointed to lose out when he’s so very close, when the prize is in nearly in grasp, he can’t help but feel a strange sense of peace, as though what is meant to happen will happen. 

 If what he’s done isn’t good enough for those judging him, he will at least have the knowledge that it was good enough for himself, that he’d challenged himself, and rose to it.

 He’ll be fine either way, he knows, but he hopes that someone on that panel sees the spark he’d found in himself, and saw fit to give him another challenge to rise to. 

[rkwon]

stand by me.

( ★ ) mgas season four      → 9.3: finale group performance !            → stand by me ( line dist. — vocal 5 ) !

standing waiting for eliminations in the semi-finals had been hard. every week it’s difficult knowing that it’d only take a few seconds for your name to echo out over the room and end your journey through the competition but this time it’s worse because it’s the last hurdle. making it through the semi-finals makes you a finalist no matter what happens and that’s... almost unbelievable in a way. he hadn’t thought ( though he had hoped with all his might ) that his audition two months ago would get him this far for their dream but it has and it feels kind of... crazy, and it hadn’t really sunk in how it could feel to be eliminated at this stage until the possibility was staring him in the face — until so jisub turned his attention to the ‘tell me’ team. 

he doesn’t want any of the team to go home, he doesn’t want anyone in the competition to go home because everyone deserves this but he knows that’s not what mnet want, what the public wants. they want to see hopefuls rise above the carnage having their dreams crushed on this stage will cause and they won’t stop at anything to cause it. maybe he’d been thinking about it wrongly this whole time — an elimination wasn’t always putting out the fire within someone but instead igniting a new one much more ferocious than the last. still, that didn’t mean he wanted to experience it, knowing that his own success impacts much more than his own fire, but maybe understanding it a little better will make things a little easier at the end of this all if things don’t go their way. 

( he thinks back on december and decides that’s probably wishful thinking but it’s also all he has at the moment so he rides the wave regardless. ) 

when his name isn’t called, his heart drops for jinhee yet a sigh of relief passes his lips. mingyu’s team’s elimination hadn’t been announced yet but he had faith the older would make it through; it had only been himself that he’d worried for. it feels selfish to be glad a friend is going home because it means he can move onto the final stage but when he thinks about what this means to each of them, he knows they’d understand. he’ll be glad when this is all over and the feeling of being pitted against new friends is lifted from his shoulders. he isn’t the type to sabotage those he cares about ( something that he has thankfully grown into over the past year ahead of the show, otherwise perhaps he never would have made it this far ) but even the secret thoughts swimming around his head, quietly hoping someone else makes an error that pushes him through and stops him from disappointing his loved ones when his insecurities hit a new high... even then, he feels sick with guilt about the person he’s starting to re-become. he thought he’d left that behind, but perhaps being so disconnected from the person who keeps him grounded has weathered him over the past two months. 

thus, he’s grateful when the final group challenge is announced as boys vs girls. he’s a little bitter that the first time he gets to stand on stage with mingyu is their last chance to but he’ll take it over never any day. the song has been created especially for them and listening to it, won thinks it’s exactly what he expects — an emotional, romantic boy group bop with an airy electronic vibe. as a lover of high energy girl group songs it’s not entirely his cup of tea but given his strengths vocally, he feels blessed that this is the track the producers decided to give them. he doesn’t expect to have a lot of lines like he’s been lucky to have in the past, not with exceptional vocalists like bin in the group, but for the parts he does get, he wants to do his absolute best. 

hearing they’ll pick in reverse order doesn’t really fill him with much confidence, though. 

the ‘tell me’ team ranked a comfortable middle ground, so he’s at least glad he won’t be picking first and thrown around by higher ranked competent vocalists. when he sees he also ranked first within their team, he isn’t sure whether or not his second sigh of relief is for the fact that he’d done well when he had only just been filled with fear and self doubt or the fact that the only vocalist above him in that case was junmyeon, who he’s sure wouldn’t settle for the smaller vocal parts won is aiming for. he wants something that solidifies his presence in the song but allows him to mostly focus on the dance, allows those who are weaker dancers and stronger vocalists to have an equal chance as him to shine. maybe at this stage he should be indulging in mnet’s attempt to encourage them to sabotage one another and show not only that their passion for winning has no boundaries but also their true colours but it doesn’t sit right with won. pushing someone out when there’s going to be so many vocal spots available for the group to choose from feels dirty. 

for mingyu, however, maybe it’s double standards but he doesn’t feel any anxiousness as lower ranked members begin fighting for the top rap position immediately. there’s too many rappers left for them all to be happy and whilst he absolutely doesn’t believe anyone deserves their comeuppance for ranking lower, he desperately wants mingyu to get a position he’s comfortable in. he knows he’ll make whatever he gets his bitch but he can’t help the warmth in his chest yearning for him to be happy. but first, he has to choose himself, so he wanders over and fills in an empty spot — vocal 5. it’s exactly what he wants; he gets a pretty couple verse lines mid-song that he pictures having a more delicate choreography paired with them ( thus allowing him to make sure he delivers them stably and strongly ) and a later chorus part that should get him a few seconds as centre towards the end to hopefully make an impression that lingers in the mind of viewers. it’s perfect and it feels like fate that it had still been open for him when his time came. 

then, mingyu chooses. he moves another rapper from the first position and momentarily, won wonders why he hadn’t just taken the open second spot, but the more he thinks about it, the more he’s reminded that mingyu has always thought about things carefully. when mark steps up, won feels bitterness take over his body as he watches him reach for his card and knock him down to the second position, but a quick glance over at mingyu confirms his suspicions — he’d guaranteed himself a rapper position no matter what. 

so what is won in this relationship if mingyu is both the brawn and the brains? he smiles. 

their next step once the line distribution has been finalised is to meet in the practice room and learn the choreography from the show’s top choreographers. it’s the first time since the competition started ( and for a very long time outside of the competition, too ) that he’s learnt from a ‘true’ professional and the thought excites him but what excites him more is getting to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s torso the moment they get a little downtime whilst they wait to get started. sleeping in the same bed the few nights a week they’d been home at the same time isn’t the same as getting to spend time with him awake and he almost cries like a god damn baby just being held again. there’s nothing overly intimate about their hug — mingyu doesn’t run his fingers through his hair and whisper comforts in his ear like they would if they were alone, in private — but it still feels that way all the same. if no one was watching, won would kiss him until there’s no air left in either of their lungs but he can’t so he settles for offering him a rare, wide smile full of genuine happiness. this team is so strong and he worries he might pale in comparison but with mingyu by his side, he starts to believe that he can do anything. 

learning the choreography isn’t too hard as a dancer. it’s strange learning from people rather than teaching or choreographing things himself, but he adapts quite quickly, already confident by the time the choreographers leave them to their own devices on the third day. instead, he spends his time helping others when they need it. he and changmin get along a little better this time, already knowing their differing energy levels and adjusting to one another as they practice the dance together and chat late at night when exhaustion starts to take over and breaks become more frequent for the older. he knows that after this, he’ll need to go out and practice his own performance, so he takes advantage of a little downtime to bond and recuperate. for the most part, he thinks everything is coming together well. it’s the first time he’s worked in such a big group and it’s inevitable that there are people he barely talks to because of just how quiet he can be but when it comes to the dance, he assists anyone he thinks he needs it in as careful a way as he can. it’d be all too easy to say a single wrong word and come across as patronising, so where he can, he after asks vocalists he helps to listen to his own vocals and give feedback. he tries not to help mingyu more so than anyone else because he doesn’t want to be accused of any kind of favouritism ( as true as it may be, but it can’t be helped; if his boyfriend wasn’t his favourite, he’d be more concerned ) so he savours the moments he does get to help him. it’s easier to get mingyu’s posture correct because he feels no hesitance tugging on his shoulder or pushing his foot with his own. it’s more comfortable because he knows mingyu won’t ever misunderstand his intentions or his tone. but he can’t settle for what’s comfortable all the time. he has to step out of his comfort zone and show that he deserves this as much as mingyu does — this is their shared dream and he has to earn it. last time he hadn’t done enough but he’ll be damned if he lets that happen again.

so he practices hard, gives it his all, lets his heart open up to help others and before he knows it, sunday is here and he’s done all his fittings, all his rehearsals, even his solo performance, and all that’s left is this final test. it’s his final chance to come together in harmony with a group and show the world what jeon won has to offer. 

모든 게 그대로 멈춘듯해 시간은 계속 흘러가는데

his first vocal line isn’t until a minute and a half in and he’s grateful because it means he can focus on his dancing. there’s a fine balance between powerful and adaptable in a performance of this size — he doesn’t want to look like he’s slacking or slipping, but he also doesn’t want to obnoxiously overpower weaker dancers. they’re supposed to be a team and any sign of anything other than unity will only make the performance begin to crumble and essentially hands the ceos a criticism to make at the end of the show as they announce all the final verdicts. he knows it’s impossible for anything to be perfect but he wants this to be close and that means finding that balance. he’d spent all week solidifying it and he thinks he has a good grasp on it, particularly in the moments when focus is on a smaller amount of members, whether that includes him or not. at the beginning of the song as they sit on their chairs as certain members sing, he subtly smooths his movements to make sure all the focus is kept on the member who’s chance it is to shine. when the moment after his own solo lines features only three of them, he doesn’t shy, particularly since the respective singers mostly stay stationary during their parts. that being said, he never sacrifices his talent. he is clear in his movements, expert in each step, but also aware of those around him in a way that’s far deeper than keeping an eye on formations. it’s something he’s learnt over the course of the show and it feels good to know that the growth he’s made since this all started is coming together in this final performance of the season. 

he doesn’t sing again until the last few seconds, so he continues to focus on his primary skill. as they work around one another, he’s reminded how grateful he had been for getting the part he wanted. as much as showing off a high adlib would benefit him ( if he did it right, of course ), there’s skill in picking what’s best for you and he’s not ashamed to admit he’d have picked vocals 6 or 7 with the same comfort and happiness because what he shines the brightest in is dance and all the extras that make him a good dancer beyond literal ability. singing is something he loves and adores but dancing is where his strongest talents lie and it’d be foolish to think otherwise. 

( he really doesn’t think he’d even make it through the performance if he’d have ended up in vocal 1 or 2, let alone to a contract at the end of all of this, or even the winner by some miracle. ) 

난 only you, keep it true, we’ve been through, please keep it to yourself.

난 only you, keep it true, we’ve been through, please keep it to yourself.

he doesn’t worry too much about his voice in the bridge, every member of the team ‘singing’ together. as long as his deep tone doesn’t ring out over everyone else and there’s no embarrassing cracks as he bounces into formation to dance tighter together ( and he doesn’t accidentally punch anyone else in the face or get knocked himself ), then everything will be fine. 

thankfully, they breeze through it with practised ease.

stand by me, stand by me, stand by me.

his second vocal part comes almost at the end of the performance and it’s simpler choreography being the second repeat of the ‘stand by me’ lines in the chorus helps him stay stable in the higher ‘by’ word of each line. not to mention he stands front and centre as the second to last person to do so. his hope is that it will help him remain in the minds of the ceos and three thousand people present in the audience and the many, many more watching the live stream at home. after this, all that’s left before the final results, the moment of truth, is their joint performance with the girls. truthfully, he likes the idea of getting to perform on one stage with all the finalists a lot — it feels like a climatic end to what has been a roller coaster of a competition. placing them all together will hopefully reveal how much each and every one of them deserves this. 

he continues to perform with all the passion in his heart until the very last second, his chest pounding and his breathing heavy as the crowd screams. this is the rush he wants. adrenaline pumps through his veins, keeps him up as they gather for the last time. 

may the best contestant win. good luck, everyone. 

[junerk]

mgas episode 9: finals, solo performance performance: my answer (00:00 - 1:08, 2:05 - 3:24)

oh how far he has come.

junmyeon hadn’t expected to make it far, if at all in this competition, and here he was, heading into the finals with the top rank for the boys in the competition. he could never have dreamed this in a million years, really, somehow finding fame and adoration through this program, and a very real chance at getting a contract with one of the big five companies in south korea. it was actually crazy to think about. there was just one more week left of this competition and he was both more ready than ever and completely unprepared. 

this week would be the roughest of them all on him as well, since there was both a solo performance AND a group performance he had to prepare for. not to mention, he’d be in a recording studio for the first time in his life to record an original song that would actually be available for streaming... that was so crazy to him! this was all just... it had to be a dream! 

the group performance would definitely entail some dancing, so as to not stress himself out completely, he decided to make his solo performance a stand-and-deliver ballad song. he picked a song that would really let him act and portray the emotion of the song, playing right into his strength of performance and charisma. it wasn’t exactly the most challenging song. there were some high notes (and some riffing he managed to leave out) but the melody was pretty straightforward and not too hard to learn. the song was good for his skill level, and it was perfect for his acting too. he wanted to really charm the crowd one last time before this was all over. 

practice entailed going over the song, memorizing lyrics, and practicing the performance in the mirror to see when he should do certain hand gestures, if any, and which expressions were best suited to which lines. on his solo performance practice days, he didn’t stick around in the building too long, preferring to go home and practice there, filming himself and sending it to wendy for some coaching and advice. he knew wendy would be honest with him, and she wouldn’t sugar coat it either, which was what he needed in order to truly perfect his performance. he sent the video privately of course, waited, practiced a few times for memorization’s sake, and then checked to see if he received any feedback. eventually he got a message from her and he made sure to work on everything she had given him in her notes. she was truly an amazing friend. if it weren’t for wendy, he wouldn’t be in this competition still. she was the reason he had done so well, really. he’d have to send her a huge thank you letter and some gifts later. 

with wendy’s tips and his dedicated practice under his belt, the performance day came. as always, he was up first for the solo performances. everyone would get to see him during stage rehearsal and dress rehearsal going first, and he’d be the very first solo act during the live episode. why was he always first?? it was his fate, it seemed. maybe, then, it would be his fate to come in first? he could only hope at this point. at some time, luck always runs out. 

the rehearsals are a blur to him, he doesn’t even remember them the moment he steps off the stage each time. he can’t even remember his name when he stares at the stage from the side during the live episode, feeling his stomach drop, his heart rate pick up, and sweat build on his brow. this was the biggest moment in the entire competition. no screwing up now junmyeon...

so of course he trips as he makes his way onto the stage. 

he catches himself before he can fall, immediately growing shy and bowing apologetically to the audience, waving and smiling to let the audience know he was okay. in a way he was glad he had tripped, because it broke some of the immense tension weighing on him. the audience was massive, but as scary as that was.... he really liked it. after all the performances he had been through, onstage felt like home now. as he looks over the faint outline of the crowd, just visible past the bright lights, he smiles a genuine, broad, entire face encompassing smile, before he takes his spot, bows his head, and melts away into his zone for my answer. 

just like his first audition, as he raises his head and begins to sing, he sees the one person he would truly want to sing this song to. dahye’s gorgeous face appears in the camera before him, and he sings his heart out to her. she was the other reason he had done so well in this competition. she was such an inspiration to him both musically and just in life generally. she was such an amazing woman, full of accomplishments, and he wanted to do her proud by paving his own accomplishments as well. she was supportive of him too, having rooted him on this entire time... she truly held his heart in her hands, so this song was for her. 

all too quickly and not soon enough, the song ends, and he sings his final notes before he bows his head again, the lights dimming on his mga experience. everything was completely out of his hands now, he had done everything he could, worked his butt off, showed the country and the world his charms and abilities, along with his mistakes and flaws. he had morphed into something he didn’t know he was capable of being. whatever happened now, he was proud of himself for coming so far, working hard, and developing a love and a dream of performing. 

thank you, mgas... 

[memoriesofyccjungrk]

mga season 4 finale ― group performance

#4007 ― choi yoojung  •  like a star  •  line distribution @rkxluda, @rkdoyexn, @rksomi, @jinsoulrk, @rkxseola, @rkssoojin, @irenerk, @rkxsua, @rkyngsun

yoojung hadn’t quite realized she was in the finale until the songs they would be performing next week were played for them, and they were going to be choosing their positions live. the joy of her making it into the finale was quickly replace with the embarrassment of ranking so lowly, as well as the fear of what part she would end up with at the end of the choosing. the fact of the matter was, yoojung couldn’t sing. or, well – she could, but she wouldn’t. after the last performance, she was apprehensive to sing whatsoever – after all, she’d pretty much been told her voice was bad. or, at least not her strong suit – and she wasn’t really willing to put up with embarrassing herself again.

not that being the fourth lowest ranking female was any kind of boost to her self-esteem.

what made it even harder was watching people she knew were talented rappers as well walk up and choose her part. rose, dear rose who had created an amazing choreography for their previous round together was the first to choose – and, of course, she chose the rapping part. yoojung’s chest ached, and she bowed her head as she waited – listened as sua moved rose from the rapping position. she was reeling – how could she possibly move someone ? take away their chance to do what they wanted to do most ?

in the end, yoojung couldn’t stop herself when she stepped up. once asked what position she wanted, yoojung stared at the other names before finally stating, “ rapper 1. ” it was the only thing she could do – she’d have absolutely no luck doing anything else – so she couldn’t do anything else but move sua. after some thought, the other was moved to the eighth vocalist, and yoojung moved back behind the board. the moment she said the words, however, her voice immediately cracked – tears threatened her eyes. it wasn’t until she finally stepped back into line that the tears finally flowed – she turned to rose and sua both, giving them her apologies before she ducked her head.

yoojung isn’t quite sure when she had grasped jinsoul and seola’s hands – but somehow it felt comforting. somehow, the feeling of the other two girl’s hands in hers made it a little easier to bare as the rest of the female contestants came down the line. once somi was through, however, yoojung couldn’t say she was worried – yongsun, doyeon, and luda were all vocalists. her position was safe, and as bad as she felt about moving sua, it meant that she would be able to perform her best this week. and, ultimately, it was a competition – what else was she supposed to do but give herself the advantage ?

of course, that didn’t stop yoojung from immediately running over to sua and rose the moment they stepped into the practice rooms at seocho on saturday. “ i’m so sorry unnies !! i’m sorry – i wish we had more rapper positions – i’m so sorry for pushing you !! ” she’d cried, tears eventually running down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around the older girls. neither seemed to hold a grudge against yoojung, thankfully – but she knew they had to be upset. she knew she would’ve been devastated if she had to change positions. she counted herself lucky for once.

most of the members learned the dance quickly, allowing them to start practicing as soon as they were all together, and mostly in-sync. of course, they were the top ten mga female contestants – shouldn’t they be able to pick up on things like this relatively quickly ? the comfort of the choreographers being there helped ease their minds on knowing the moves, but yoojung couldn’t say she was too worried – after all, they were all talented women. they had made it this far, hadn’t they ?

of course, this round was completely about how she shined on stage, wasn’t it ?

the concept of them not being judged on their performance as a group, but instead their individual performance in a group was still something that yoojung was having a hard time grasping – especially with how close all the girls had gotten over the weeks. after all, the mgas were a tough, long-winded competition that completely and utterly consumed their lives. they had nothing but each other, of course they were going to bond with one another. how else would they have gotten through everything while still being sane ?

it really hit yoojung how far she had come when seola had walked in the room – a bright smile broke across the younger’s face at the sight of one of her first group-mates in the mgas. sure, they hadn’t done well that round – but yoojung wouldn’t have traded her team for the world. it was hard to believe that most of the contestants she’d worked with over the weeks were gone now. there were twenty left in all – twenty of the best, yoojung supposed – and their individual performance next week would dictate whether or not they would be asked for a contract. and of course that was nerve-wracking – especially when, from day one, she never really thought she would make it until the end. quite honestly, yoojung would’ve never guessed that she would’ve managed to make it past the first round – and she was almost convinced she’d made it to the final round on luck alone.

however, at this point that didn’t matter. because she was here – the ceos clearly saw something in her – which meant that she needed to woo them over just one more time. while she managed to stay in the competition, yoojung still wondered whether or not her individual performance had wooed them. she hadn’t ranked the lowest in her group, but she also hadn’t managed to rank the highest. she still had room for improvement, yoojung knew – but that just meant she needed to work harder during this round. she needed to shine in the group of ten – and then twenty during the full-contestant performance. she needed to make an impact – otherwise, she had no chance. they weren’t solely judging on their solo performances, clearly they needed to be able to make some sort of an impression on the ceos in a group for them to even consider any of them for a spot in their company. and yoojung hadn’t gotten much feedback on that sort of thing other than, we need more.

so, yoojung was going to give them more.

the dance was a lot sexier than she had done at all during the mgas, but it wasn’t exactly a concept that was foreign to her. after all, working in the studio, yoojung had managed a lot of different styles. not to mention, she actually ended up at least visible throughout most of the performance, and didn’t end up getting stuck behind anyone far too tall. after all, she was the second-shortest contestant on the show – it was always the biggest worry she had.

however, yoojung knew she had a presence on stage – especially now. she wouldn’t have made it to this point if she didn’t make some sort of an impact – and she was determined to make even more of one this time around. rose and sua made it easier to be confident, being that both girls, albeit sad they lost the rapper position, were supportive and helpful with yoojung learning the rap, as well as giving her tips on how she could make it better.

during breaks, yoojung spent a lot of her time practicing expressions in the mirror once her dance moves were perfected to her liking – something that had become habit over the weeks and, even if she felt as though she was ready, she still thought it benefited her. anything she could do to at least get a leg-up would be beneficial, yoojung knew. she hadn’t managed to get a lot of a spotlight in the eyes of the ceos, at least with how little they commented on her. she wanted to change that, ever so desperately.

there was never something yoojung wanted more – however, she knew that everyone in that practice room was wanting the exact same thing.

group practice goes well, however – and yoojung is confident in her abilities when it comes to their performance. she was surprised when she still felt confident, sitting in the makeup chair in her outfit for the performance. it was a little odd to actually have her outfit made specifically for her, but it was also sort of exciting, quite honestly. never in her life had she managed to do anything that warranted a custom-made costume – and while she guessed she shouldn’t have been so surprised, she can’t help it. sure, it’s the mga finale, but she hadn’t quite expected all this. her makeup was done fairly simply, and quickly, before she’s ushered out of the chair for the next girl to get done – and yoojung isn’t quite sure how to feel. she’s overwhelmingly proud of herself for having made it this far, but she wants nothing more than to be successful. for this to be her big break into the industry – even if an actual debut could take years. she wanted this. but she wasn’t the only one who did. the ceos knew. and just because she wanted it the most didn’t mean she was going to actually get it.

it doesn’t feel real when they step out onto the stage as a group – solo performances are done, and all that’s left is their final group performances. yoojung feels less nervous than she had when it was just herself – then again, she was on stage with nine other girls, how could she not feel less nervous ?

yoojung stars off the performance with the lines “ like a star in the night – mga, ” before rose started with her first verse.

none of the dance was particularly difficult, especially in the beginning of the performance, but yoojung continued working as hard as she could on stage beside the other girls. they had great teamwork over the last week, despite them actually being pitted against one another – but that really didn’t matter to them, it seemed. after all, the entire group only continued to bond after the very first day, and were eager to get to know one another and talk, and simply be themselves. it made yoojung overly happy that, despite them competing, it didn’t really feel like they were competing whatsoever.

yoojung turned as the other two split in front of her, running a hand back through fading-pink locks – she walked with purpose to the front of the stage as words dripped from her lips --

유난히 길어진 겨울 감기와 찾아온 캄캄한 밤이었지

over the course of the performances, yoojung had managed to learn how to play to the camera – she did just that as she drug a hand across her face; she winked at the camera before nodding, a smile set on her painted, pink lips.

눈이라도 내리면 더 좋았겠지만 너와 함께여서 나 충분했지

yoojung rapped out, her voice strong and confident – very different from the one she had in her first performance on the mga stage. it was amazing to her, how far she had come in such a short amount of time. two months passed quickly, she knew, but she didn’t realize how much her ability to perform was going to change. two months ago, yoojung knew, she wouldn’t be standing in front of thousands of people, performing with the confidence of someone who had done so for years.

if anything, yoojung knew she would be proud of the impact the show had made on her personality, and her stage presence. something, she knew, she had little of at the start of the competition. she wasn’t sure how she had made it this far yet – but she wasn’t about to complain.

rose came up behind her, joining in as a melodic rap over her own – yoojung couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face as her friend came up behind her – yoojung was glad the elder had managed to get the part, and was around her height. otherwise, she was sure the movements would’ve seemed strange. she was comfortable with the elder, however – so their movements were smooth and comfortable as their voices mingled.

시간을 빌려줘 빌려줘 빌렸으면 해 배시시 배시시 더 미소를 봤으면 해 시간을 빌려줘 빌려줘 빌렸으면 해 baby, i’ll be better, better, better for you, uh

yoojung couldn’t help but wink at the camera again, a smirk on her face before seola took over the lead. all of her movements stayed strong and consistent, just as she had practiced them, as the performance went on, and – despite this being her second performance of the night, she showed no wear. instead, her expression shown bright as she danced easily alongside her fellow contestants.

it seemed as if the performance was over before yoojung knew it – she rapped out her final line befre they moved on into the chorus again – luda’s saccharine vocals finished out the song as each member stood strong in their final pose.

leaving the stage, yoojung was happy to wave and blow kisses to the audience alongside her fellow contestants as they moved off stage before the boys were welcomed. yoojung’s heart was still racing as she sat there, watching the boys as they did their own performance – up until they were ushered backstage once again to join together with the boys to finish out the mgas.

once the boys and girls were mixed on the stage, yoojung couldn’t help but want to smile. the words, “ like a star, mga, ” left her lips once again before the real performance began – before their final joined performance began. yoojung couldn’t help but enjoy herself as the final twenty contestants stood on stage. the bright smile on her face was, once again – how could she help it ? after all, they were all together.

one last hurrah as the season four mga finalists.

she didn’t want to believe it was her last time on stage – the last time she would share a stage with these people. she didn’t want to believe that, after this moment, it was over.

it was all over.

after all this time – it was over.

all that was left was their ranking.