#this talented dancer/director > other k-idols

[loonarii]

MADE IN KOREA: EP. 1 (my thoughts on the tv show for that british kpop bg sm decided to do for some unknown reason)

So if you didn't hear, SM Entertainment is the latest kpop company to dip their toes into the concept of a western kpop group - we had VCHA from JYP and their show A2K, KATSEYE from HYBE with their show Dream Academy (and I believe upcoming Netflix docu-series?), and now we have 'Dear Alice' from SM with the show 'Made In Korea: The K-Pop Experience'. Unlike the previous two groups, Dear Alice is a boy group, and are specifically all British, whereas the girls of VCHA and KATSEYE are from all over the world. As your local british kpop stan with access to BBC iPlayer (where this show is streaming) I decided to watch and drop my thoughts on the show and see if its any good, basically.

Right off the bat, the pitch to SM was clearly: 'we will make you a new One Direction' - like you can easily pick out of the lineup who is supposed to be Harry and Zayn and so on. It's not a stupid idea because after South Korea, the UK is probably the biggest exporter of music groups beloved internationally, but I doubt whether kpop stans will take to this well. At least they are promoting this on the BBC, directly to the UK, which is presumably their target audience.

They keep calling this whole thing an 'experiment' which it obviously is, but the higher ups at SM seems to be very on edge about the whole thing - after the groups first performance to Heejun (the director basically) she called a fucking emergency meeting with the SM team and the british producers - there generally seems to be a lack of confidence in the success of the group.

In the beginning of the episode they briefly mention (but for the most part gloss over) the audition process for this show, claiming they chose the five boys for their talents in singing and dance. Throughout the episode though it becomes apparently clear though that they (in the nicest way possible) don't really hold a candle to the debuted idols from SM. The whole show is based on this 'make a british kpop group in 100 days' gimmick, but the truth of the matter is you need a lot more than 100 days to become idol level good at dancing and singing - most idols train for 2 years minimum, some upwards of 6. I have no idea why they didn't choose boys with more preexisting skill in the audition process, or just give them longer to train - perhaps there could've been a bootcamp for a month before the going to korea bit to build basic skills - none of the 5 seem to be overly familiar with the kpop industry and it seems that pretty much all of their context as to what is expected of an idol is drawn from the SMTOWN concert they attended before their training began. They came off as quite unprepared, and Heejun's harsh comments to them in their evaluation clearly came as bit of a surprise to them. It is only episode one though, so i think if anything, now they know the level they are supposed to be at.

All of them apparently have a background in theatre or dance in some capacity (one of them is a tiktoker... ok) but only Dexter and maybe Reese struck me as having much aptitude for kpop dancing, but again it is only episode one so I'll cut them a little bit of slack. They struggled a lot with coordination and accuracy, but from my perspective as a dancer myself and kpop stan, the dance they learned to their song 'Feel the Vibe' (we will get to that don't worry lol) was not what I would call hugely difficult?? the members other than Dexter lacked a lot of fluidity but none of them were awful and I think with a lot more training they could be quite good. Olly seemed to struggle a lot with the dance, and there was some chatter from the producers that members could be cut, and if I had to guess anyone right now to be dropped (momentarily, I'm assuming anyone they kick is going to pull a Momo and be brought back) it would be him.

The song 'feel the vibe' is like.. what you would get if you asked an AI to spit out a 'boy group song' - it has a little bit of RIIZE energy so I wouldn't be surprised if this was an abandoned demo of theirs, but it also feels a little kidz bop? lmao? It's fine basically, not very exciting but not totally unlistenable. My main concern is that its quite a high song especially in the chorus, and the boys seem to struggle to hit the notes. Giving them a song that is out of almost all of their ranges is kind of setting them up to fail especially when they had a week only to learn it. Their poor vocal performance also explains why Heejun was so unconfident in this groups success - SM is is the kpop company known for its vocalists, being able to sing like Ningning or Taeyeon may not be necessary to succeed and debut in other big companies, but in SM vocals are crucial. Again they did only have a week, so at the very least potential is there.

They did a lot of b-roll content of them seeing the sights of Seoul, they did a gangnam style bit (god help me) met with Shindong (...), met RIIZE and TEN of WayV etc etc which was cool i guess - i hope this is a mainstay in the series and not just an introductory element.

Overall the show is not boring by any means, if a little cringey at times, my only concern is that the group that will emerge on the other side will not be up to par? I guess we will see.

[happyzyx]

[ARTICLE] 231018 Lay Zhang Is All-In: K-Pop Superstar and ‘No More Bets’ Actor Is Ready to Take on Hollywood

As an original member of K-pop powerhouse Exo, Lay Zhang enjoys household-name status across wide swaths of Asia. But after conquering the world of boy bands and embarking on a wildly successful solo career, the Chinese actor, singer-songwriter, dancer and fashion icon just wants to collaborate with Joe Wright.

“I loved ‘The Darkest Hour’ and would like to have the opportunity to work with [him],” Zhang tells Variety of the British director. “I like a movie that can dig into the personality and conflict.”

For K-pop talent looking to cross over to Hollywood careers, the field is crowded. Blackpink’s Jennie Kim scored a buzzy role in Sam Levinson’s HBO series “The Idol.” And after signing with CAA in 2021, Aespa became the first K-pop act to perform at the Governors Ball and Outside Lands music festivals. But Zhang is perhaps best poised for the pivot thanks to his starring role in this year’s massive box office hit “No More Bets” (nearly $530 million worldwide). He’s already laid the groundwork: “No More Bets” got a limited release in the U.S. in September, while his solo debut EP, “Lose Control,” hit No. 4 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.

Last month, the 31-year-old pop phenom signed with Range Media, the management company behind Bradley Cooper and Tom Hardy, and embarked on a 13-day trip to the United States, where he took meetings with executives at production company Escape Artists (“The Equalizer”) as well as Sony casting director Ashley Marks.

“I want to be an actor who can bridge between Chinese and American culture,” says the hoodie-wearing Zhang, who prepped for the stateside swing by binge-watching “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” “I hope that the success of ‘No More Bets’ in China is just the beginning of being able to be recognized as an actor in the U.S.”

Zhang, who is fluent in Mandarin, Korean and English, is still figuring out some of the cultural nuances. When asked who his favorite music performers are, he offers up Michael Jackson and Chris Brown before catching himself and checking with his manager. “Can I say that?” Then he settles on a controversy-free dream collaboration.

“The Weeknd would be at the top of the list,” Zhang says. “I really like the way he’s changed pop music, and he’s incredible what he’s able to do onstage.”

After wrapping concerts in August for his Grand Line tour in Shenzhen and Beijing, Zhang is looking to expand into the lucrative U.S. music market, recording with such producers as David Stewart and SoolGotHits (Beyoncé) during his visit.

On the film front, he will be seen starring opposite Jackie Chan in next year’s “A Legend,” the long- awaited sequel to the 2005 martial arts adventure pic “The Myth.” The big-budget production gave him an opportunity to work with one of his career inspirations.

“He does his own stunts,” Zhang says, explaining what’s most impressive about the “Rush Hour” star. As for his other bucket-list team-up, he says with a laugh, “Tom Cruise. He does his own stunts.”

By Tatiana Siegel

[darlaynaaa]

BGYO: Aces of P-pop

Who is BGYO?

BGYO is a five-member P-Pop boy group under ABS-CBN’s Star Magic consisting of Akira, JL, Mikki, Gelo, and Nate. The group’s name is not a shortened version of the Tagalog word "bagyo" which means storm or a tropical cyclone. BGYO is an acronym for "Becoming the Change, Going Further, You and I, Originally Filipino."

During their pre-debut, BGYO is also referred to as SHA Boys or Star Hunt Academy Boys. They trained for more than two years with Korean coaches before debuting on January 30, 2021, with their single "The Light." The members themselves wrote the Filipino lyrics to reflect their experiences in training.

You can watch the official music video of "The Light" below!

BGYO Members Profile

Angelo Troy Rivera, also known as Gelo, is the leader of BGYO. He was born on April 18, 2001. He was competing with his dance team, called A-Team, in the Philippines and other countries before making his debut as an idol.

Akira Morishita is the lead vocalist of BGYO. He was born on April 27, 2001. He is an Indie Filipino Actor in the Philippines and is known for starring in Sundalong Kanin (2014), Alienasyon (2014), All of Me (2015), and ‘Tol (2019). He recently co-starred with Francine Diaz in the teen comedy miniseries Bola-Bola. Also, he has appeared in a few commercials.

John Lloyd Toreliza, also known as JL, is the main vocalist of BGYO. He was born on September 17, 2001. In 2018, he joined "The Clash," a singing competition that aired on national television and had Regine Velasquez-Alcasid as one of the judges. He did not make it to the finals, unfortunately.

Michael Claver Jr., also known as Mikki, is the main rapper of BGYO. He was born on February 13, 2002. He was the last person to audition for Star Hunt Academy to get a scholarship.

Nathaniel Porcalla, also known as Nate, is the main dancer and the youngest of BGYO. He was born on June 06, 2003. He competed in World of Dance Philippines in 2019, but he did not advance to the finals.

Accomplishments of BGYO

BGYO has taken the world by storm since making its debut in 2021. They are renowned for notable vocals, synchronized dance moves, commanding stage presence, and undeniable visuals. With that, the group is regarded as "P-Pop's Breakout Act of 2021" and has earned their so-called "Aces of P-Pop" in just a year.

In the first two years of their career, BGYO released thirteen singles, seven B-sides, nine soundtrack singles, two promotional singles, two remix singles, and eleven music videos. In addition, they have been holding concerts both locally and globally, making them the proud flag bearers of P-pop worldwide. The group was featured by Privé Alliance, an upscale streetwear line that lists Baekhyun, a Korean singer, as its co-creative director. They have also been nominated for and won several awards locally and internationally. The members keep their feet on the ground despite the achievements they have been receiving. They always honor their ACEs, or their fans, for their unending love and support since the beginning. 

BGYO continues to dominate the world, representing P-pop on the scene.

Why did I choose this topic for my blog?

I chose this topic to feature BGYO. What their background is, how they overcame challenges, and who are the persons behind the title, "Aces of P-Pop?" I have been their fan since before their debut. I saw how much effort and time they invested in their preparation for their performances. They almost couldn't debut because of the ABS-CBN shutdown. But thankfully, the management didn’t disappoint them. 

P-pop groups used to be made fun of because people thought they were copying K-pop. This is why many groups have disbanded. Nevertheless, the biggest thanks go to highly trained Filipino talents like SB19, who revived P-pop on the mainstream scene. Upon BGYO's debut, P-pop and other P-pop groups like BINI, Alamat, and VXON get more opportunities to gain international recognition. They prove that P-pop is Filipino pop music rather than a K-pop copycat. Therefore, P-pop—the embarrassing subgenre of OPM or Original Pilipino Music we previously knew—became an instant sensation, the reason why new P-pop groups are constantly making their debut nowadays.

Many people have found reason in BGYO, especially the ACEs. Akira frequently reminds the fans to treat themselves with the same love that they give to their members. Hopefully, with the help of this blog, I can make you understand the journey of BGYO. Remember that you can become whoever you want to be.

Stay updated with BGYO by following their social media accounts! We will be glad to welcome you to our fandom.

Twitter: @bgyo_ph Instagram: @bgyo_ph Tiktok: @officialbgyo Facebook: BGYO PH YouTube: BGYO Official

[kyuairyeo]

happy birthday shindong!!

[kojinnie]

Attack On Titan characters as K-Pop stars I’ve worked with…

Based on my personal and my co-workers’ experience working for k-pop agency for three years. All in good fun!! K-pop stans, don’t come at me, I fear you.

☁ ARMIN In his group, he is amongst the least popular member because he doesn’t stand out in all performance aspects. But the guy has a huge creative vision. Is a better creative director than most of actual creative directors I’ve worked with. Ended up directing a lot of k-pop groups’ concerts.

He’d like to come over and make small talks with the staffs, seemingly very interested with us personally. Asking how long have we worked in the company, where did we go to school, and how’s the industry nowadays from our perspectives. All in all, a very amicable figure. He deserves more love than he gets from his own fandom.

☁ EREN The ace and face of the group that’s oftentimes alienated by his own members. Wasn’t born talented but worked his ass off during trainee years. Now one of the best dancers around. Tries to motivate his members “We gotta work harder!” in unnecessary times and places, resulting in a lot of eyerolls from his members.

In backstage, likes to kill time by trying to fish the staff’s attention, because he doesn’t get along well with the members. Sitting around at staffs’ lounge (although he’s got his own huge ass lounge), poking at staffs doing their job (“Hey, what are you working on?”) or make weird ass noises, or do some questionable things (like chasing bugs?). Would be encouraged if we laugh or giggle to his odd antics.

☁ REINER The gentle giant. Looks intimidating at first for his buff and stoic look. All the new staffs would try to steer clear off him at first. But when we set up things for shooting, he’d unexpectedly help around. If he sees a female staff picking up heavy utilities he’d immediately intervene and help carrying it. Would open the door for you even though he is the artist. Does not talk a lot, but his kind actions replace all words needed. Days after your schedule with him, you may expect fancy chocolates for you and the rest of the team, with note: Thank you for the hard work. Best, Reiner Braun.

☁ ERWIN Master manipulator that is not just handsome, but extremely smart and calculative. Would catch you by surprise the first time you hear his actual voice, because it’s entirely different that the deep voice he dons in front of the camera.

Would ask to go to the airport early so he can bully you for the things you did not do in the waiting lounge. Would later realize that you have close connection with client, and be suspiciously nice to you the next time you work with him again. Invite you to take photo with him and the other members after the concert because he thought he was doing you a favor. Would invite you and your team for a dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town, you’d think of how generous he is. Later your boss tells you that he billed it on the company’s account.

☁ LEVI The all-rounder talented artist who is sick of the k-pop industry. Very quiet and wants to be taken seriously. Loathes the industry’s fan cultures that often infantilize the artists. Would only do aegyo once encouraged by his members. Very polite to the staffs and incredibly professional. Enormously successful in both music and acting. In interviews, does not look at script as he’d like to answer all the questions truthfully, would study the questions a day before. But he will not take shit if he knows he is being mistreated, looking at him uttering his disagreement is one of the scariest things because this man is otherwise so nice and kind.

☁ PORCO Actually a very stiff and conservative guy, does not have even one funny bone in him. Knows that his fans make meme of him and realizes that’s how you make it to trending topic these days. Would text you at 2 AM in the morning and ask to make a funny joke that he can tweet in the morning. You’d pretend not to see the text. The morning you wake up, he’d have unsent the message and tweeted a template joke he found from google search. Does not make it to trending topic.

☁ CONNIE Would take an hour shitting and smoking in the toilet despite tight on schedule. After multiple effort of banging on his door, he’d go out, see everyone packed because it’s already an hour away from a 12-hour flight he’s supposed to take, he’d be like, “HEHE, sorry guys.”

Would be uncharacteristically quite during the ride to the airport that is 30km away because he’s feeling guilty and nervous about missing the flight.

☁ COLT The golden voice who is overtly polite to the staffs. Quite awkward too. Would profusely apologize if he eats snacks and does not have spare ones to share with the staffs. His downside is he can be quite inattentive, takes selfie at odd times and places. One time he takes selfie where he manages to have your butt captured from very unflattering angle in it. Uploads it to Instagram of several millions followers without realizing the error, only beginning to notice once the comment section is filled with “lmao look at the staffs’ butt”, would feel extremely guilty to you and choose to avoid you during the entire overseas trip.

☁ ZEKE Charming as fuck, the first time you ever feel weak on knees over an idol despite working in the industry for years. Painfully aware that he is handsome, tall and sexy – would intentionally stare at you while you’re doing your work, and immediately throw his gaze away once you become aware. He wants you to gush over him.

When you have your team dinner with him, he’d say that you remind him of certain manager at the company. Turns out he used to date the manager – makes you daydream about him days on end, thinking, “What if…?”. Would look at you directly in the eyes as you brief him his storyboard, and pat your head or poke you with his script bundle occasionally. Makes you live the dream for approximately 12 hours. Would definitely forget you entirely the next week you have schedule again with him.

[dailykoreanpop]

[WhosPICK:VIEW] Idol with the Legendary Fancam: SAN of ATEEZ

“Surprise standing applause to Choi San, HALA HALA!”

From October 19th to October 25th, the global K-pop fandom platform 'Whosfan' ran a poll with the topic, ‘Legend of K-pop! Which idol has the legendary fancam?’.

Global K-pop fans recommended the candidates for the poll via Whosfan’s official social media channel and the nominees included various idols with legendary fancams. The nominees include SAN of ATEEZ, V of BTS, YUNA of ITZY, Jang Wonyoung of IZ*ONE, Chuu of LOONA, JUYEON of THE BOYZ, SOOBIN of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, LISA of BLACKPINK, and more.

After a fierce competition, SAN of ATEEZ placed first on the poll with a high voting rate of 36.06%. Therefore, Whosfan looked into SAN’s legendary fancam of ‘200116 HALA HALA’ and other performances that you must watch.

▶ Surprise standing applause to Choi San, HALA HALA!

Today we would like to introduce SAN, a member of ATEEZ, a group that dominated the world. KQ Entertainment’s 8-member boy group ATEEZ captured the hearts of global fans with their one-and-only music and performance.

SAN, who has outstanding vocal and performance skills, draws huge attention from many fans for his unique facial expressions and stage presence. SAN on the stage, who has a completely different mood from ‘Sanrang’ in daily lives who has so much aegyo and talks in cute tones, has tremendous charms that attract the attention of every audience.

SAN’s legendary fancam that placed 1st on the poll ‘the legendary fancam of K-pop’ is the Meltin’ FanCam of ‘HALA HALA (Hearts Awakened, Live Alive)’ from Mnet MCOUNTDOWN on January 16th, 2020. ATEEZ, who were on the promotion of the 4th Mini Album ‘TREASURE EPILOGUE : Action To Answer’ and the title track ‘Answer,’ received enthusiastic reactions from the fans by presenting a special stage of ‘HALA HALA,’ a B-side track of their 2nd Mini Album ‘TREASURE EP.2 : Zero To One.’

‘HALA HALA’ is famous for ATEEZ’s unique and intense ‘mala flavor’ performance. SAN did not take the killing part. He was not the center of the dance break nor the ending fairy. But he stole everyone’s attention with his unique stage presence. SAN made the special stage of ‘HALA HALA’ even more special with his unique facial expressions and perfect movement control. In addition, the bridge hairstyle of the ‘Answer’ promotion, which has been called the ‘legend’ among the fans so far, has also added charm to the outstanding performance.

After watching this fancam, the fans praised the video by saying, “He is like a devil on stage,” “This is the best fancam ever,” “ATINY is always proud of SAN,” and more. This fancam also garnered attention because it included sincere praise from camera directors who admired SAN’s performance after it ended.

▶ Make sure to watch these fancams if you’re curious about ‘SANTAN’ on stage

‘Santan’ is a nickname of SAN, who seems like a fierce Satan on stage with devilish talents. We recommend SAN’s other legendary fancams for fans who want to enjoy SAN’s eye-catching performance.

191010 ‘WONDERLAND’: A song of pirates who will take ATINYS “to the beginning that the end is waiting.” This ‘mala flavor’ performance even adds magnificent feeling by adding uniform costumes. There is a choreography where SAN steps on the dancer’s back in the middle of the song. It caught the fans’ attention that SAN brushes off the dancer’s back every time he finishes his part.

190131 ‘HALA HALA’: This is a fancam from the actual promotion of ‘HALA HALA.’ The performance is so fierce and it is a good watching point to compare the performance of SAN a year later from the actual promotion. The video recorded about 1.25 million views, which is the highest view count of SAN’s personal fancams.

200903 ‘THANXX’: This fancam really highlights SAN’s unique facial expressions. In this fancam, SAN manages to show cute, lovely, witty, sexy, and powerful sides of him in a short time of 3 minutes and 36 seconds. The scene where he makes a playful shooting gesture before the performance and turns serious as soon as the music starts is a point that we must all focus on.

Meanwhile, Whosfan will run a pop-up ad on the application for a week to celebrate SAN’s winning for the poll. Mobile Whosfan application is available on PlayStore, AppStore, Galaxy Store, etc.

Credit: Hanteo News

[justasparkwritings]

Illicit Affairs: Clandestine Meetings

Pairings: Namjoon x Reader (barely) 

Genre: Angst 

Ratings: PG17

Word Count: 3.5K

Warnings: Manipulation, Abuse of Power, Swearing, Negotiations and Contracts

Summary: Namjoon has to grapple with the decisions he’s made and the lives he’s participated in destroying. 

Listen: illicit affairs by Taylor Swift

         Namjoon slipped into the conference room, sport coat over a hoodie and matching sweats. His hair quaffed back, glasses on, bag slung across his shoulder. He had been dreading this meeting for weeks, months. Every few years their contract with BigHit needed negotiating, and being the leader, the role of representing the best interest of the seven men fell to him. He loathed negotiations, detested the position they put him in, and absolutely despised the imbalance of power in the meetings. BTS had lawyers, but their lawyers still worked for BigHit. A defunct HR department more so than barristers dedicated to protecting their rights as performers, creators and men. This meeting was going to be worse than the others, if the sinking feeling in his gut was any indication. Not only was their contract nearly up, but they had the precarious position of trying to figure out what would happen during Jin’s military service, which would be followed by Yoongi and the 94’s. He knew the contracts would include some clause or addendum regarding the mandatory order, and he could only guess what new rules management would be placing on them.

           The entire Maknae Line was at risk, none of them would step up and lead, but if the plans to postpone service until Jin turned 30 was available, it would give the other members more time to grow out of childish early twenty-somethings into the grown men they had to be. The only bright spot in all of this was the fact that Jin would hopefully be back before the Maknae were truly alone, followed by Yoongi. Namjoon wasn’t comforted by the idea of Jin leading the group, but that was selfishness and pride speaking. Jin would be an excellent leader if given the opportunity.

          Namjoon was similarly dreading the conversation because a plan had to be created to mitigate the damage Jungkook was supposedly doing, and to inhibit him from destroying everything BigHit had accomplished in the last decade. Namjoon, being the keeper of the Golden Maknae, was going to be forced to sign papers that ensured Jungkook’s cooperation while he, Ho-Seok, Yoongi and Jin were gone.

           The grip BigHit had on the seven members could only be compared to Britney Spears conservatorship. She had her conservators, aka her father… and BTS had Bang. 

           Bang Si-hyuk was not a vicious man in nature. He was charismatic, charming, determined. He was not cruel, and he didn’t gain pleasure from watching BTS squirm. He had created BigHit to craft and groom Idols, capitalizing on the ever-booming K-Pop network and exploiting the talents of naïve youth and feeding on the despair of distressed parents. He preyed on the hungry, the poor, the outcasts, and he turned them into fucking billionaires. BTS was Midas, and Bang reaped all the benefits.

          Bang wasn’t the only one manipulating children, robbing them of their futures, their family, their ability to have any semblance of a normal life. Every other music group and K-Pop mastermind was feeding off of the same labors. Despite the hard facts of the BigHit company, and K-Pop culture, Bang had been wonderful to the boys. He was always laughing and joking with them, encouraging them to explore different musical whims or try new sounds. But he also ran a business, and Namjoon would be hard pressed to forget that fact. No matter how much Bang loved them, they were the golden ticket he’d worked his entire life to find.

          Namjoon was let into the conference room, where Bang and the team of BigHit lawyers sat, as well as a few people from marketing. Joon bowed, gave his greetings and sat down.

           “Namjoon, how are you?” Bang asked.

           “Fine, thank you, and you?” Namjoon was always polite, overly so.

           “Good, how’s Y/N?” Bang inquired.

          Namjoon cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the mention of his secret partner. “She’s great.”

          “Good, now, we wanted to speak to you about Jungkook,” Bang said, directing Namjoon’s gaze to the screen mounted on the wall. A slide show of Jungkook’s misgivings began to play. Namjoon cursed silently. This was the meeting they were having.

           “Alright,” Namjoon glanced down from the screen to his bag, where he pulled out and opened his notebook, pen poised at the ready.

           “We’re concerned with his displays of disobedience,” Bang continued.

           “Can you be more specific?” Namjoon asked.

           “The tattoos, the hair colors, the collaborating with less desirable artists, his refusal to participate in V Lives, his general disregard for the rules, and the growing alcoholism,” Bang listed.

           “He’s having growing pains,” Namjoon tried to level with him.

           “He is grown, he has debuted, he has a contract,” Bang said.

           “Jungkook wants to express himself, and he’s trying to find ways to do that,” Namjoon offered. Couldn’t they find a compromise? Not on the drinking, Namjoon would fully admit that was a problem.

           “Ways that are damaging to all of you,” The marketing team said, side eyeing Joon.

           “Respectfully, they are not,” Namjoon said.

           “Jimin is getting tattoos,” Bang retorted.

           “Jimin is his own person,” Namjoon rebuffed.

           “Jimin is influenced by Jungkook.”

          “We’re all influenced by one another, it’s been a decade, we spend every day together, it’s bound to happen.” Namjoon was growing impatient.

          “You were supposed to keep an eye on him, but between you and Jin, you’ve led him astray,” Bang accused.

           “I’m not sure that’s fair,” Namjoon said, breathing heavily through his nose, “Jungkook is making decisions for himself, he can decide what to do with his body. It’s his after all.”

           “The decisions he is making effect all seven of you,” Bang countered.

           “They aren’t effecting us negatively, ARMY loves his tattoos, they spend so much time trying to decipher what they mean. His entire hand is dedicated to BTS and ARMY.”

           “They do not fit the image of this company,”

           “Then why didn’t you fire him? He is always covered, always. We all are,” Namjoon shook his head.

           “Aside from the tattoos, his desire to not participate in group filmings is unacceptable, and there’s still the problem of his drinking.”

           “Have you had this conversation with Jungkook?” Namjoon asked.

           “Yes, but you need to follow through on your obligations, Namjoon,” Bang’s words cut.

           “Yes sir, I will.” Namjoon bowed.

           “Jungkook needs to know his place if he is to make it through your military service. The four of you leaving in succession will destroy everything we’ve built. Jungkook and the Maknae line will be what remains while you are serving and recovering from active duty. If Jungkook doesn’t know what his place is, you will have nothing to return to.” Bang was an absolutist. Nothing was grey, it was clearly defined or could be with a few lines in their next contract.

           “Jungkook is the best of all of us, he can handle it.”

           “He needs to stop collaborating with low charting American artists, and British pop groups formed on reality shows. It’s lowering exposure in western markets and putting a damper on sales of BTS albums. He also needs to stop getting tattoos. A full sleeve is more than enough.”

           “Sir, what will Jungkook do when he’s, thirty?”

           “Depends what his contract says.”

           Namjoon bowed his head.

           “The Maknae line needs to be prepared for when the four of you are gone. They do not have a clear leader; they spend their time giggling and joking around. Who will step up?”

           “Taehyung would be a great leader, so would Jungkook or Jimin. The Maknae work well together, as a subunit they are strong. They are excellent singers and dancers, Jungkook has excelled at creating videos, Jimin’s song writing has improved ten times over as has his leadership, and Taehyung has excellent taste, an impeccable palate as an art director. The three of them are capable of handling themselves, when Jin-hyung and Yoongi-hyung are done with service, the five of them will excel at creating their own work.”

           “Namjoon, you seem to think that people want music produced by three vocalists,”

           “Taehyung can rap, so can Jungkook.”

           “What makes you so certain they’ll rise to the occasion?” Bang asked.

           “They have to and they will,” Namjoon said, voice determined.

           “Good, now, your contracts are coming up in a few months, and we need to look at a few details,” Bang motioned for the legal team to join, and they passed Namjoon a copy of their current contract. The marketing team left quietly, bowing and slipping out the door almost unnoticed.

           “Shouldn’t Jin be here? Or the other members?” Namjoon asked, eyes scouring the familiar pages. “I don’t think I should be the lone member in these negotiations.”

           “You’re the leader,” Bang stated.

           “It’s their careers and futures, sir,” Namjoon bowed his head, unwilling to show any disrespect.

           “The decision was made that you were the leader, are you not?”

           “I am but –

           “But nothing, you are the liaison, you will communicate any changes in your contracts to them before they come in to sign them.” Bang said. The lawyers nodded in unison.

           “Are there changes?” Namjoon asked.

           “Yes, we have put a note by all the changes, take a minute to read them.” One of the lawyers said.

           Namjoon glanced at the notes sticking out, how could there be so many changes? His eyes glanced over the first change.

           Heretofore, no member of BTS may publicly or privately engage in romantic relationships with members of the same or opposite sex. Promiscuous or philandering behavior will not be tolerated and could result in expulsion or a financial penalty.

           Any article, Tweet, TikTok or Instagram post about any relationship that a BTS member is engaging in will result in said member paying the fee for scrubbing said incident from the media and any subsequent scandals or fines.

           He read it again.

           “Why this change in relationship status?”

           “It’s not a change, but a clarification,” A lawyer said.

           “A clarification of what? That if anyone is attracted to the same sex, they can’t be with them?” Namjoon raised his eyebrow, unsure who told Bang the Kinsey scale leanings of the seven members.

           “It is to cover all bases,” The lawyers ensured. “To prohibit unfavorable pairings, pregnancies, diseases or most likely, scandals.”

           “How much is this fee?” Namjoon asked, eyes wide.

           “Depends on the member, some ten thousand, others, hundred thousand,” One of the lawyers said.

           “What about me?” He whispered.

           “Your contract continues to state that you are allowed to date as long as it is kept 100% in secret, absolutely private, and should you break up, she signs an NDA stating that she will not speak ill of you, your relationship, BTS or any members in perpetuity. Should she break this agreement, a fine of one million dollars will be paid.” Another lawyer answered.

           Namjoon nodded, the agreement of your relationship had caused a lot of fights, a lot of bickering, a lot of tears. Namjoon had to be certain you were the one in order to get Bang to let him even take you out or call you.

          Namjoon adjusted his glasses before moving to the next note.

           BigHit remains the sole proprietor of all content, music, lyrics, and productions created by BTS. This includes all solo work created on company property, with company studios and materials. All artwork, publishing rights and revenue belongs in perpetuity to BigHit. BTS members have access to their catalogue and revenue through BigHit’s legal team and through written permission from management. All recordings, voice memos, music videos and song samples used in any BTS created content may not be used by any members for solo projects not produced by BigHit.

           Namjoon read the words over and over. He glanced at their old contract, noting the slight changes in the paragraph from their previous agreement.  

           In perpetuity to BigHit.

           Everything they’d ever made, everything they’d ever done, from debut to now, belonged to BigHit. This wasn’t new information, this wasn’t shocking, but in perpetuity, forever and ever and ever… Namjoon couldn’t wrap his head around it.

           “Can I take this home?” Namjoon asked, looking at the team, a cold sweat coating his back.

           “Both copies?” A lawyer asked hesitantly.

           “I need to read through it, to process it, I need a little time, if allowed,” Namjoon cleared his throat.

           “Fine, bring your thoughts to our next meeting. You all must sign this before your current contract is up, and before one of you leaves for Military Service. You have a week,” Bang and his crew stood up, and Namjoon followed suit, bowing before collecting his items.

           As he entered the dorm, he noted the chaotic calm of their living quarters. Though they drifted from their own apartments into the shared space, it was common that in the evenings they would share a meal, watch a movie or play games together. Jungkook was trying to beat Yoongi in some video game, Jin was laughing with Ho-Seok and Taehyung, and Jimin was vocalizing in the kitchen, making what looked like a cup of tea. Namjoon nodded at them waving hello before disappearing into his room.

           He sat at his desk, looking at his blossoming plants, and pulled the papers out, moving from the first few pages to the next tabs.

           He found the corresponding paragraph in their current contract and compared.

           Their current contract stipulated that BTS would be credited as producers only on tracks they produced a minimum of 50% of. The new contract stipulated that they had to produce 75% of the track in order to receive credit.

           The next line stated that lyrical credits only went to artists that wrote 2/3 of the lyrics of every song, rap lines included. The remaining percentage went to the producer.

           Namjoon stared at the page. How would that be possible, with seven members, to receive credit for anything? As he continued reading, he found himself growing angrier and angrier at every page. He knew he’d signed his life away; he knew it years ago. But this? This was tearing his limbs off his body and feeding it to the wolves.  

           He picked up his phone and called you.

           “Hey babe, what’s up?” You asked, chipper disposition finding a way to travel across the globe to Korea.

           “The new contract is, it’s fucking awful,” Namjoon said, dropping his pen and running a hand through his hair.

           “How could it be worse?” You questioned. “It’s like, two hundred pages of absolute bullshit.”

           “The phrase in perpetuity has been used more than once,” He said.

           “No!” You gasped.

           “They added new language about dating and relationships too,” Namjoon told you.

           “With the sub section that you, as leader, have been afforded this one privilege over the others?” You inquired, setting your sleepy-time tea down.

           “You know that’s only in my contract,” He said, a faint smile on his lips.

           “Still, they aren’t changing that?” You hinted at your worry.

           “I’m surprised they haven’t put more stipulations on it: Namjoon can date but only Korean women of a certain age and height,” He laughed darkly.

           “Namjoon can date but cannot spend the night or engage in sexual activity, or any activity that could lead to the creating of a child, including jacking off in a hot tub,” You deadpanned.

           “Namjoon can date, but only if she has no idea who BTS is,” Namjoon chuckled.

           “Hmm, seems like you’re going to an indigenous tribe with no internet,” You suggested.

           “I just want you,” Namjoon whispered.

           “I know, babe,” You said. “tell me more about the contract.”

           “I don’t know what to do, it’s iron clad, they’ve got us where they want us, and they won’t let go,” He sighed heavily, already exhausted and he hadn’t moved past the fifth post-it.

           “They’re trying to get everything they can from you before you guys go serve,” You stated.

           “It just seems so, degrading.”

           “That they want all these things from you?” You asked.

           “That they think they can control us,” Namjoon said.

           “I thought they did,” You replied.

           “I, yeah, yeah they do.” He sighed again, his heart weighing heavy.

           “So, what’s so different about this time?” You asked.

           “They only ever negotiate with me, they never speak to the other guys,”

           “And?” You pressed.

           “And, I have to read this, ask the lawyers questions, and present it to the guys. They’re going to absolutely shit themselves. It literally says that members are required to complete a minimum of six hours of V Live per year, with a bonus given every additional hour completed,”

           “What?” Your gasp was beyond audible.

           “And, if a scandal ever arises, we have to pay to have it wiped from the media.”

           “I mean, okay, that one I can see making a little sense.”

           “Someone must’ve tipped them off to who we’re attracted to, because there’s a new stipulation that you can’t date any one of any sex, period.”

           “Shut up! They can’t do that!”

           “Oh, they did,”

           “Holy fuck, they did… Who told?” You asked.

           “No idea, but they’re going to be so angry,” Namjoon agreed.

           “The discrimination…”

           “The worst part? They own everything,” Namjoon said.

           “Is that different?” You wondered. Namjoon had asked you to read over the contract years ago, when it was up for another negotiation. You’d asked your dad to take another look, his expertise in the industry proving to be useful. He didn’t have anything to say other than he felt bad for BTS, no rights, no representation, no ability to change the situation.

           “In perpetuity, no chance to buy it back, no chance to own anything we’ve ever created, from debut to now.”

           “Oh Joon,” You could hear the despair in his voice, the anguish, the hurt. Everything he’d ever worked for wasn’t his, and he knew it never would be.

           “I feel so, responsible, like everything’s my fault,” Namjoon said dejectedly.

           “Well, are you?” You pushed.

           “It didn’t used to be this way. I mean, it did. They picked me first, they chose me to start this whole thing. They wanted me to help create this band that could be the next big thing. It was all I wanted, to rap, to make music, to help people heal through music, like I did. I had influence on who they put in the group, on why we have seven members instead of five or three… they listened to me, my vision… It was my group; sure, they pulled in Seokjin and gave me a list of people to look at… but BTS was mine. I signed the first contract, I read the terms and conditions, I signed us up for this.”

           “Namjoon, you didn’t know,” Your heart was breaking.

           “I knew better than to sign it all away,” His voice cracked.

           “You were a child, Joon, a child,” You told him.

           “I knew-

           “No, you didn’t, they preyed on you. They used your insecurities, your desolation, your pain, and they fucking groomed you to need them, to be indebted to them. They did this to you.” Namjoon listened as you started crying, your words trying to speak the truth he couldn’t see.

           “But I signed the contract,” Namjoon said. “It was impossible that we’d be anything.”

           “You became everything,” You said.

           “I signed their lives away, our rights, our work… I signed Jungkook,” Namjoon hadn’t realized the tears that had started falling. He let the weight of his statement run through him as the tears, like a winter storm, didn’t cease. “I signed Jungkook’s future away. He has nothing because of me.”

           “Namjoon,”

           “He can’t ever have a wife, he can’t have a family, he’s working himself to an early grave, he has no ability to understand what life is like outside of this, no ties to who he is as a person because he doesn’t know. Jungkook is an amalgamation of the six of us, he isn’t even his own! Nothing is his, and it’s my fucking fault.”

           You listened to Namjoon’s cries, his sobs giving way to the dark thoughts he’d been avoiding for years. You listened to your cries mixing with his, distress flowing between receivers. You listened as he tried to rationalize it, tried to make sense of the damage he’d done. But he couldn’t, and you didn’t have anything to offer.

           “Can you talk to Seokjin or Yoongi?” You whispered, Namjoon’s sobs subsiding.

           “I’m not supposed to,” Namjoon said in between ragged breaths.

           “Fuck supposed to, do you want to talk to them?”

           “Yeah,” He said, sniffling the chunks of snot back into his nasal passages.

           “I think it would be good, healthy for you to share this burden with them. You can’t carry this alone, Namjoon, not anymore,” You encouraged.

           “I know,”

           “Please, talk to them.” You said, voice soft.

           “I will, I will.” Namjoon promised.

           “I love you, Kim Namjoon, endlessly,” You said, the declaration firm and exact as it flowed from your lips. It punctured the air around Namjoon, and he glanced to the singular photo he had framed of you.

           “I love you too, endlessly.” He whispered.

           As he hung up, eyes drifting towards the papers on his desk, he realized the saving grace of clandestine meetings: no one expected you to show their truth.

Next: A Million Little Times

[dojae-huh]

Thanks for the post about Yongzoo. I remember him in the original vocal line and saw the mentions of him sometimes, but never looked further. He seemed nervous, but woah, the vocals! I'm glad to finally hear him sing a whole song. Will check out his OST too.

I've seen videos of Hansol dancing predebut and after debut. He seems good at dancing and I remember he was considered a main dancer. It's not my place to think of the what-ifs, but I believe Yongzoo and Hansol could have been a main vocalist and a main dancer in their respective NCT units or other groups if they were still in SM. We'll never know their personal stories, SM criteria for debut, and there could have been other highly talented trainees that left before we even heard about them but man, the entertainment industry is harsh to everyone, whether they stay or not. Hansol's new company and group struggle a lot. I know there are struggles even for the most successful groups but it's sad to read about idols from smaller companies, even groups with former Produce winners struggle or disband. K-idol industry is a very harsh red ocean.

There are so many things that can go wrong. The company can run out of funds, the director/producer can be stupid and has no sense in what the market needs (concepts, songs), members not getting along, members getting into scandals and expelled, bans/pandemics and other obstacles. With all SM's resources, the help of established idols from the same company, and amount of talent in the group, it took NCT a considerable time to gain recognition. The smaller groups make it only if they hit the right time and get lucky.

On the other hand, some trainees who weren't noticed on a surviving show or changed several agencies, can make it big as well.

And lastly, idol life is very short. Shorter than a Western pop-star or a rock-group. Western singers can take a 8 year break and comeback to the loyal fanbase no problem.

[fyexo]

200529 K-Pop Superstar Baekhyun On His Sweet Solo Single "Candy" & Delightful Second Mini Album

A soft humming is heard on the other side of the line while the call stabilizes — of course one of South Korea’s most prominent vocalists would be singing. Baekhyun, who debuted in 2012 as a member of the chart-topping boy group EXO, has just released his second solo album, Delight, and his excitement is palpable through the phone.

Just minutes before this call, he was interacting with fans on a live stream through the app VLive. There, he answered a series of questions while waiting for the album to drop at 6 pm on May 25 (KST). Nicknamed “Genius Idol” for his array of talents, Baekhyun has tried a little bit of everything throughout his career: acting, fashion design (he’s the co-creative director of the brand Privé by BBH), gaming, vlogging, duets, the EXO subunit EXO-CBX, and leading the supergroup SuperM — who was the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 albums chart with a debut release.

His solo career officially started last year with the release of City Lights. The album sold more than half a million copies and became the best-selling physical album of 2019 by a solo artist in Korea. Delight follows the same footsteps: it amassed 732,297 stock pre-orders, sold over six hundred thousand copies on the first day according to Hanteo (a company that shares real-time sales data in South Korea), and topped the iTunes Album Charts in 68 countries so far.  

Sonically, Delight is a breezy, RnB-infused experience that showcases Baekhyun’s prismatic artistry. “I worked really hard on this album, and I was really happy working on it as well,” he tells the Recording Academy. Like “Candy”, the title track, each song has a different flavor. Deep cut “R U Ridin’” has a honey-dripping bassline, for example, while the bright “Poppin’” feels like chewing on sour candies, and the intense “Ghost” lingers with a coffee caramel aftertaste.

To deepen the discussion around his new album, The Recording Academy caught up with Baekhyun and talked about his inspirations, the development of his multifaceted persona, and, of course, his favorite candy.

This interview was edited for clarity, and an interpreter translated all answers from Baekhyun.

How are you feeling lately?

I’ve been really happy. There’s been a lot of excitement and expectation personally around the Delight release, so I’ve been relishing in all of that these days.

What were your inspirations for this album?

I wanted to try the RnB genre more, so that’s what I focused on for this album. In terms of the title itself, within EXO my superpower is “light,” so I wanted to emphasize that as much as possible.

[Writer’s note: EXO debuted under a concept where each member has a superpower, and that appears throughout their branding.]

Just the way the word “delight” sounds is pleasurable. What are some of life's delights to you?

Right now, the top ones would be being on stage and performing. Another thing is that I’ve been taking vocal lessons on the side, and that has been a source of delight to me as well.

What's your favorite song in this album? Are there any lyrics you would like people to pay attention to?

I have to pick the title track, “Candy.” If you listen to the lyrics, there is a part where I list candy flavors and ask “what more do you want?” I think it truly expresses confidence and boldness, that I can become whatever you like, just tell me and I’ll do it. That’s the part I want everyone to pay special attention to.

This ability to become whatever is needed at the moment also shows up in the contrasting sweet and sensuous styles you explore in the album. Can you talk more about that?

As you mentioned, that’s exactly what I was trying to do with the concept of “Candy” and of Delight in general. I wanted to showcase a variety of different sides that I have to myself. In the past, fans would always say that they like both my sweet side and the more sensual, performative side, so I wanted to capture both and present them in a bigger package.

Comparing Delight to your first solo album, City Lights, what are the main differences between them?

With City Lights, because it was my first solo album, I wanted to focus more on the vocals and showcase what I felt like I could present the best. If you listen to it, it’s definitely more vocal-focused. In Delight, I wanted to take a step further and show a different side to fans. I wanted to incorporate more performance, which means a lot of choreography and thinking about the visuals on stage. I also tried to make this album a little brighter and fresher than City Lights, so visually and performance-wise it’s different.

When I think of Baekhyun, the word that comes to mind is "balance". You have an impressive talent to blend light and dark, highs and lows, laughter and tears in your performances. Are you aware of this fluency in yourself?

Since I was younger, I always heard that I’m pretty honest with my emotions. People see the bright and happy sides of me, but they see the other sides as well. Because my personality is one that is honest about how I feel, I want to showcase my true self to people. I think that’s why people say that about me as well, of showing the balance between many sides of things. That’s what I want to do because it’s who I am, and also what I want to showcase as an artist.

You have been an idol for almost a decade. What has been your biggest lesson so far?

Going back to my previous answer, I realized that if you’re honest with yourself and you’re truthful in the way you act, talk, and interact with everyone, then people will know. People will know that you’re being genuine, and over the years I learned to be honest with how I feel when I connect with my fans. As time passes, I think they have been able to recognize that and connect with me on a more genuine level too. That’s the biggest thing I learned.

And what is the achievement you're most proud of?

My debut with EXO. Even though my training period was short when compared to other members, just to be able to work together, come together as a group, and debut together, it’s definitely my proudest achievement to date. And that’s what launched me to be where I am right now.

You were always known for your powerful singing, but during all these years you have developed yourself and are currently recognized as a multi-talented artist and skillful dancer as well. Can you tell us more about that process?

My vocals have always been my main strength, so it’s something I continuously work on and want to improve on. In terms of dancing, I have a friend named Kasper who is a dancer/choreographer, and he teaches me all the trendy dances, gives me advice on how I should do this or that, so that’s a practical way that I have improved my skills. In general, because I have a lot of energy, I felt like just my vocals weren’t enough for the amount of energy that I can showcase, so I always wanted to channel that through dancing, which is a different outlet.

Did Kasper create the choreography for “Candy”? And did you have any input on it?

Yes. Because we’re friends, when he would show me the choreography, I would say “what about we do it this way?” and then we bounced ideas off each other, especially when it came to the formations of the dance overall.

In the current world situation, it's hard to expect things or make plans for this year, but what is one thing you are looking forward to in 2020?

It’s hard to make plans for the rest of the year, but I’m hoping that things get better so I can finally meet my fans in person. That’s the one thing I’m looking forward to the most. Because of the current situation, we had to shift things to digital, but I’m also excited to meet my fans via different platforms as well.

Have the members of EXO listened to your album? What was their reaction?

When they listened, they said that it matches the seasons right now, as we’re going into summer. All of them commented on how it was a new style for me as a solo artist, like showing another side of Baekhyun, another vibe. They also noticed that I put a lot of effort into it, they’re really supportive.

If you could describe yourself as a candy flavor, what would that be?

Strawberry. Because its flavor encapsulates both sweet and sour, and that’s precisely what I want to do — show different sides. With this concept in Delight, you can see a more relaxed, confident side, but you can also see a very sweet and doting side of my character.

To sum it all up, what is your favorite candy flavor?

Green grape! In Korea they sell bags of green grape hard candy, those are my favorites.

Source: Tássia Assis @ GRAMMYs

[dailyexo]

[NEWS] Baekhyun - 200530 Grammy: “K-Pop Superstar Baekhyun On His Sweet Solo Single "Candy" & Delightful Second Mini Album”

"The multi-talented artist from EXO and SuperM talks about the inspirations and goals behind 'Delight': "I wanted to showcase a variety of different sides that I have to myself"

A soft humming is heard on the other side of the line while the call stabilizes — of course one of South Korea’s most prominent vocalists would be singing. Baekhyun, who debuted in 2012 as a member of the chart-topping boy group EXO, has just released his second solo album, Delight, and his excitement is palpable through the phone.

Just minutes before this call, he was interacting with fans on a live stream through the app VLive. There, he answered a series of questions while waiting for the album to drop at 6 pm on May 25 (KST). Nicknamed “Genius Idol” for his array of talents, Baekhyun has tried a little bit of everything throughout his career: acting, fashion design (he’s the co-creative director of the brand Privé by BBH), gaming, vlogging, duets, the EXO subunit EXO-CBX, and leading the supergroup SuperM — who was the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 albums chart with a debut release.

His solo career officially started last year with the release of City Lights. The album sold more than half a million copies and became the best-selling physical album of 2019 by a solo artist in Korea. Delight follows the same footsteps: it amassed 732,297 stock pre-orders, sold over six hundred thousand copies on the first day according to Hanteo (a company that shares real-time sales data in South Korea), and topped the iTunes Album Charts in 68 countries so far.

Sonically, Delight is a breezy, RnB-infused experience that showcases Baekhyun’s prismatic artistry. “I worked really hard on this album, and I was really happy working on it as well,” he tells the Recording Academy. Like “Candy”, the title track, each song has a different flavor. Deep cut “R U Ridin’” has a honey-dripping bassline, for example, while the bright “Poppin’” feels like chewing on sour candies, and the intense “Ghost” lingers with a coffee caramel aftertaste.

To deepen the discussion around his new album, The Recording Academy caught up with Baekhyun and talked about his inspirations, the development of his multifaceted persona, and, of course, his favorite candy.

This interview was edited for clarity, and an interpreter translated all answers from Baekhyun.

How are you feeling lately?

I’ve been really happy. There’s been a lot of excitement and expectation personally around the Delight release, so I’ve been relishing in all of that these days.

What were your inspirations for this album?

I wanted to try the RnB genre more, so that’s what I focused on for this album. In terms of the title itself, within EXO my superpower is “light,” so I wanted to emphasize that as much as possible.

[Writer’s note: EXO debuted under a concept where each member has a superpower, and that appears throughout their branding.]

Just the way the word “delight” sounds is pleasurable. What are some of life's delights to you?

Right now, the top ones would be being on stage and performing. Another thing is that I’ve been taking vocal lessons on the side, and that has been a source of delight to me as well.

What's your favorite song in this album? Are there any lyrics you would like people to pay attention to?

I have to pick the title track, “Candy.” If you listen to the lyrics, there is a part where I list candy flavors and ask “what more do you want?” I think it truly expresses confidence and boldness, that I can become whatever you like, just tell me and I’ll do it. That’s the part I want everyone to pay special attention to.

This ability to become whatever is needed at the moment also shows up in the contrasting sweet and sensuous styles you explore in the album. Can you talk more about that?

As you mentioned, that’s exactly what I was trying to do with the concept of “Candy” and of Delight in general. I wanted to showcase a variety of different sides that I have to myself. In the past, fans would always say that they like both my sweet side and the more sensual, performative side, so I wanted to capture both and present them in a bigger package.

Comparing Delight to your first solo album, City Lights, what are the main differences between them?

With City Lights, because it was my first solo album, I wanted to focus more on the vocals and showcase what I felt like I could present the best. If you listen to it, it’s definitely more vocal-focused. In Delight, I wanted to take a step further and show a different side to fans. I wanted to incorporate more performance, which means a lot of choreography and thinking about the visuals on stage. I also tried to make this album a little brighter and fresher than City Lights, so visually and performance-wise it’s different.

When I think of Baekhyun, the word that comes to mind is "balance". You have an impressive talent to blend light and dark, highs and lows, laughter and tears in your performances. Are you aware of this fluency in yourself?

Since I was younger, I always heard that I’m pretty honest with my emotions. People see the bright and happy sides of me, but they see the other sides as well. Because my personality is one that is honest about how I feel, I want to showcase my true self to people. I think that’s why people say that about me as well, of showing the balance between many sides of things. That’s what I want to do because it’s who I am, and also what I want to showcase as an artist.

You have been an idol for almost a decade. What has been your biggest lesson so far?

Going back to my previous answer, I realized that if you’re honest with yourself and you’re truthful in the way you act, talk, and interact with everyone, then people will know. People will know that you’re being genuine, and over the years I learned to be honest with how I feel when I connect with my fans. As time passes, I think they have been able to recognize that and connect with me on a more genuine level too. That’s the biggest thing I learned.

And what is the achievement you're most proud of?

My debut with EXO. Even though my training period was short when compared to other members, just to be able to work together, come together as a group, and debut together, it’s definitely my proudest achievement to date. And that’s what launched me to be where I am right now.

You were always known for your powerful singing, but during all these years you have developed yourself and are currently recognized as a multi-talented artist and skillful dancer as well. Can you tell us more about that process?

My vocals have always been my main strength, so it’s something I continuously work on and want to improve on. In terms of dancing, I have a friend named Kasper who is a dancer/choreographer, and he teaches me all the trendy dances, gives me advice on how I should do this or that, so that’s a practical way that I have improved my skills. In general, because I have a lot of energy, I felt like just my vocals weren’t enough for the amount of energy that I can showcase, so I always wanted to channel that through dancing, which is a different outlet.

Did Kasper create the choreography for “Candy”? And did you have any input on it?

Yes. Because we’re friends, when he would show me the choreography, I would say “what about we do it this way?” and then we bounced ideas off each other, especially when it came to the formations of the dance overall.

In the current world situation, it's hard to expect things or make plans for this year, but what is one thing you are looking forward to in 2020?

It’s hard to make plans for the rest of the year, but I’m hoping that things get better so I can finally meet my fans in person. That’s the one thing I’m looking forward to the most. Because of the current situation, we had to shift things to digital, but I’m also excited to meet my fans via different platforms as well.

Have the members of EXO listened to your album? What was their reaction?

When they listened, they said that it matches the seasons right now, as we’re going into summer. All of them commented on how it was a new style for me as a solo artist, like showing another side of Baekhyun, another vibe. They also noticed that I put a lot of effort into it, they’re really supportive.

If you could describe yourself as a candy flavor, what would that be?

Strawberry. Because its flavor encapsulates both sweet and sour, and that’s precisely what I want to do — show different sides. With this concept in Delight, you can see a more relaxed, confident side, but you can also see a very sweet and doting side of my character.

To sum it all up, what is your favorite candy flavor?

Green grape! In Korea they sell bags of green grape hard candy, those are my favorites."

Credit: Grammy.

[lonelypond]

Protect All Idols, Ch. 2

NicoMaki, NozoEli, Love Live, 2.3K, 2/2

Solutions are decided on.

Next Steps

Nozomi couldn't not stare. Eli, in her sharpest tailored suit, the light blue collar of her shirt accenting her eye color, brought out all Nozomi's interupting urges. But this wasn't high school. Young women's health and reputations were endangered and Eli was in full on protect mode. Nozomi wondered what she'd be like with their own children.

"So you will be messengering a copy of this agreement to Yazawa-san immediately, correct?" Eli's stern look matched her professional tone.

"Of course, Ayase-san."

"She will be handling the details of arranging the volunteer shifts so please assist her with the same courtesy and competence you have shown me."

"It will be our pleasure, Ayase-san."

"Thank you. We look forward to working with you in the future." "We would be grateful for the opportunity." The video conference was wrapping up. Nozomi sat up. She saw a slight shift in Eli's posture and giggled silently. Eli was bracing for what would happen next.

"Please give my thanks to your board of directors and staff, Adachi-san."

"I hope we can meet when you are next in Tokyo."

"I will certainly be in touch to schedule that. I appreciate your personal effort to help us resolve this."

After a few more formalities, Eli closed her laptop, and turned her chair to face Nozomi, eyebrow quirked, "So..."

Nozomi raised her own eyebrow, "So..."

"I bet I can guess what you're thinking." "Really..." Nozomi slid into Eli's lap, "Have you named our children yet?" "What?" A startled Eli nearly jumped. Unfazed, Nozomi had one armed wrapped around her shoulders, and undid Eli's tie with her other hand.

"You're just so cute when you're in hyper protective parent mode."

Eli blushed. "We're still in college." Undone buttons, "Then it's good that there's things we don't need to worry about."

Eli would be missing that evening's discussion session.

###

Aki couldn’t decide on a lipstick color.

“Nico-chan said natural was cuter.” Kawano Aki announced.

Harada Mai sneered. “Unless you want a contract as a makeup influencer.”

“Some makeup companies are pushing the natural look.” Ryuen Shizu glanced up from her phone.

Mai leaned over Aki, picking through the makeup. “You went undercut and blonde so skip cutesy and go with vivid red. I like this one.” She handed Aki a lip paint. “Uncensored.”

“Oh you can’t beat Fenty...but Uncuffed will go better at an elementary school.” Shizu glared at Mai, “We’re going out to bring lunches to school children, not clubbing.”

“Whatever.” Mai flopped on her bed, “I say if you’ve got an image, push it. I’m tired of daylight events.”

Aki frowned. No one was saying out loud what the discussion was really about, which was their current schedule of events doing community service, concerts for seniors, tech help for orphans, school lunches to help boost Aki’s popularity.

“So stay here.” Aki snapped, “No one’s ripping into you for having feelings.’

Shizu snorted but when Aki turned to her, she smiled benevolently and shrugged.

“Look, I have rehearsals with the Bokeh Blossoms right after every one of these; it’s exhausting." Mai frowned, "Nico doesn’t go.”

“I don’t mind.” Shizu spoke up.

“You’re too nice.” Mai threw a pillow at the ceiling.

“Nice is always a good look.” Shizu countered.

“Amateurs.” Mai let the pillow fall on her face.

Aki frowned, confronting the array of lip color choices before her. She grabbed a dusty pink GlossBomb and confidently applied it.

Mai sat up, “Compromise. Smart. I like the way it glitters.”

“FU$$Y”

“$uits you.” Shizu giggled; Aki stuck out her tongue. Mai grinned thinking, this conversation would probably make it to the final broadcast edit. It was cute.

###

Tsubasa leaned forward, fingers splayed out over the table as she TwigTimed Anju and Erena. “Nico and Muse have been really clever, setting up this whole Idol House gig. It’s time to get involved.”

“So you want us to set up a mini A-Rise house?” Erena spoke slowly.

“No, too much like copying. We just fix their PR problem for them.”

“How?”

“Find a couple of other girls, maybe 3 actually, so they’re not a trio once we add Kawano-san. We want to avoid direct comparisons.”

“That might be cute.” Anju giggled, “an A-Rise Jr.”

“She’s not a strong singer or rapper.” Erena pointed out.

“No, but she’s a talented dancer. And she’s very vocal.”

“Isn’t that the problem?” Erena countered.

Tsubasa shook her head, “Nico and Muse are idealists. This happened because they leave too many things to chance. We give her the best PR training in the business. She’s sharp and wants to be noticed.” Tsubasa thought about Kawano-san moving from Nico to Maki once she figured out Maki was the better catch. “And she’s got an instinct for glamor.”

“Sounds like a fun project. It’d be fun to costume a different group. There’s looks I’ve wanted to try that won’t work for us.” Anju was already sketching.

“A couple of our back up dancers from the last video caught my eye.” Erena admitted.

“Which just leaves one more girl to find.” Tsubasa smiled, “We can do our management company a favor and take a trick from K-pop and find a Chinese Idol wannabe looking for a group. Raise our profile in that market.”

“Ooohh, I like that.” Anju added a mandarin style hat to her design.

“Very solid strategizing.” Erena nodded.

“As always. I’ll call the management team, Erena, you reach out to the dancers, and Anju…”

Anju glanced up from her sketch.

“Galaxy level cute.”

Anju winked and tapped her nose with the pencil. “Of course.”

###

“B-HOLD!!!!!!!” Nico was shouting and stomping. A pillow that had fallen to the floor got kicked across the room. Maki, an amused gleam in her eye, was curled up like a cat on Nico’s bed in Nico’s former room at the Yazawa apartment, watching Nico rant and storm.

“Tsubasa wants revenge.”

Maki raspberries, “What? For all the flowers.”

“Hey, that was before Nico met you. And Tsubasa tried to steal you. And then you wrote a WHOLE album for her. And now she’s not happy stealing Nico’s girl, she’s gotta steal Nico’s ideas too…”

Nico rushed by, Maki reached out an arm, and pulled Nico in, dragging the grump into a hug, “She never stole me, Nico-chan.”

“An entire album.”

“Nico-chan.”

Nico sighed, “I know. You needed music.” Nico flopped back on the bed, “I’m sorry I didn’t pay enough attention. I just wanted to keep you out of messes.” Nico punched the mattress, “And now we’re in the middle of messy.”

Maki rolled over Nico’s arm, curling up next to Nico, “ “s my fault. I should have talked to you. And I should have stayed out of Idol House. But when Kawano said that…”

Nico heard a growl coming from her fiancee. She pulled Maki closer, dropping her head to rest on Maki’s hair, smelling the soothing coconut lavender shampoo, “Nobody’s stealing Nico either. Ever.”

“I know.” Maki moved even closer, “I love you, Nico-chan." A pause, "It’s so weird being back here.”

Nico glanced around the room. Cocoro had taken it over, kept the pink color scheme, and put up even more posters of Nico than Nico ever had. Maki shouldn’t mind that. “What’s so weird about it?”

Maki muttered something into Nico’s shoulder.

“What was that?” Nico’s fingers slid through the softness of Maki’s hair. Was that a shiver? Nico suddenly felt more alert.

“Your mom’s in the next room. And we’re…”

“Currently very child friendly.” Nico chuckled, “Except for the language Nico is going to use about Tsubasa.” Nico wondered if Maki was blushing. Or thinking about all the times in this room they’d ALMOST...Nico needed to stop that train of thought. Now that they’d...well, Nico had a lot more trouble focusing, especially when Maki was so near and felt so warm...and suddenly Maki’s eyes were...and so luminous and…

###

Tsubasa Kira spoke right to the cameras, winking, seizing the room, flopping down on the couch next to a glammed up Harada Mai and throwing an arm around her, “We would have stolen you from Nico to, but the Bokeh Blossoms will have a really nice set up here while they record their next album.”

Mai bounced, torn between giving Super idol Kira Tsubasa her full attention and following Kira-san’s example and working the cameras. She finally just deciding on grabbing Tsubasa’s arm and squealing, “And Nico has set up meetings with the best makeup and fashion brands. It’s so cool. We’re getting total makeovers.”

“Nico understands better than anyone the value of GOOD publicity…”

The Nishikino media room exploded as Nico flew off the couch, Maki reaching out to pull her back before she attacked this week’s episode of Idol House, filmed two weeks ago, this conversation happening after Nico moved out.

“She didn’t say anything negative, Nico-chan, it’s a compliment.”

“It’s the tone...Tsubasa has it in for me.”

“Tsubasa has been very helpful, Nico.” Umi stated calmly from where she was wedged between Honoka and Kotori.

“Yeah, they set up a whole group to put Aki-san in the middle of.” Honoka added.

"And that press conference," Kotori swooned again, she'd been texting Nico about A-Rise's new look for a week. Nico A-Rise tolerance was currently non existent but Umi had mentioned to Nico the improvement in Kotori's mood so Nico just sent back (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑ when Kotori sketched new A-RIse inspired ideas.

“Which got them impressive amounts of positive mentions. Trending topic for 3 days.” Hanayo glanced up from her phone, “Idol House is trending now.”

“Nico Ni needs to trend.”

“Just wait’ll you move in with the” Rin made a huge sweep with her arms, almost knocking Hanayo’s phone out of her hand, “hottie heiress you stole from her tower. Everyone’ll go wild.” Rin stuck her tongue out at Maki.

“Well, Nico did do that.” Nico’s smug look made Maki pause her throwing a pillow at Rin action to smash Nico with it, “Hey, what was that for?”

“I proposed to you.”

“But only because Nico…”

Maki didn’t want to hear whatever Nico’s brag was going to be and just leaned in, kissing the Super Idol silent. Umi paled. Kotori giggled as Honoka cheered. Rin rolled away and Hanayo quietly put her phone down after capturing the image for Nico’s TWIG feed.

A quiet chuckle pulled everyone not kissing’s attention away from the screen and to their non Muse guest, Ryuen Shizu. “Are you always this...insane when you get together?

“Yes,” Umi’s tone carried the weight of years.

“You need to be here when Nozomi’s here, that’s the real crazy.” Rin flipped over, hanging off the couch upside down to watch Shizu packing boxes onscreen, “Hey, you’re in two places.”

Shizu glanced at Nico, but Nico was still making out with Maki, so then she turned to Honoka as the only other person she’d really ever talked to, “Is she serious?”

“Rin? Seriously silly.”

“You betcha.” Rin did an ab crunch, pillow poised to launch and knocked Maki out of her embrace with Nico. “Ha! Gotcha.”

Maki took the pillow and without breaking eye contact with Nico, tossed it back toward Rin, actually hitting Hanayo, who squealed and dropped her phone. This launched Rin at Maki, pulling the taller girl into a wrestling hold

“Nico?” Shizu asked quietly, now that Nico was laughing at Maki, not kissing her.

“Huh?” Nico took a minute to get acclimated back to the watch party, “Oh, Shizu-chan? What’s wrong?”

Shizu scooted closer, almost whispering, “Is the tour going to be like this?”

Nico shook her head, “No. Nico is a total pro. You and Maki will record and livestream, Nico will rehearse with the dancers, and you’ll open each show. There’s a lot of travel time.”

“And halfway through, Kayo-chin and I will visit and there will be fireworks and pillow fights every night.”

Maki had Rin in a chokehold, “Not if I don’t reserve you a hotel room.”

“Nico.” Rin whined, “You won’t let her leave us out. Kayo-chin’s your biggest fan.”

“No, she’s not. Take that back.” Maki growled.

“Rin.” Hanayo turned away from both screens, “Don’t make Maki mad.”

“Don’t care. She can’t keep me away.”

Umi was now standing over Maki, a steady hand on her shoulder, “Let Rin go.”

Kotori was whispering something distracting in Honoka’s ear or Nico thought there surely would have been a third in the WrestleMania portion of the evening.

With a grumble, Maki released Rin and flumped next to Nico.

“I pressed pause. Do you want me to start up again?” Hanayo asked.

“Nico’s tired.” Nico exaggerated a yawn. Maki got a hopeful gleam.

Kotori stood up, sliding her arm through Umi’s, “Let’s go back to Honoka’s, Umi-chan. I want a snack.”

“C’mon, Kayo-chin, we can walk with them and finish it at our place.” Rin pulled Hanayo off the couch.

“All right.” Hanayo agreed reluctantly, looking back at the screen.

“See you soon, Maki.” Rin waved cheerfully.

“Sure.” Maki was back to staring at Nico.

Shizu waited for someone to say something, but then realized no one was going to pay attention to her. She stood.

“I’m going to go up to my room. Thank you for your hospitality, Nishikino-san.”

“Maki.” Maki waved in a random direction.

Nico had a hand sliding around Maki’s shoulder to get tangled in her hair, “Remember, we have a breakfast meeting.”

“Of course. Good night.”

“Good night.”

The kiss started before the door closed, and in one of the pauses, Nico whispered, “You’re going to miss them.”

Maki shook her head, curls bouncing as she drew Nico back on the couch, “Not for a month.”

Nico laughed. Being an Idol House producer had more perqs than being an Idol House resident, hands on time with Maki being the best.

Maki pulled away, blushing, “What’s funny, Nico-chan?”

“How everything works out.”

“As long as I’m right here, with you, I don’t care.”

Nico, as much as her head was full of future plans and successes and pitfalls, let herself get lost in the intimacy of having Maki so near and was surprised to find herself in full agreement, “Me neither.”

“Good.” And then somehow, Maki’s lips made the gentlest touch against Nico’s, an invitation igniting an inferno.

A/N: Thanksgiving here. Having a quiet day building a Christmas playlist to write to. Drop a song or favorite holiday trope in the comments, please and thank you.

[blog-oddeyecircle]

Kpop head cannons for the Bucci gang

Bruno’s gang would be called Golden Boys because they are the ultimate golden K-pop boy group. They would debut under Mamamoo’s song Destiny because its lyrics are about getting back together because, in the end, they are all destined to be together. Trish would be an artist under the same company and would occasionally do collabs with the group.

 Giorno would be the Maknae (the youngest member), the face of the group, centre, main vocalist and main dancer. He is the full package idol as he is the face of the group for many songs, photoshoots and promotions. He is often in demand for dramas, adverts and variety shows.

 He would have a pretty versatile voice and he would often receive a lot of lines in any song. He would also be one of the best dancers where he will often be in the centre of the dancers. His talent would even rival some older and veteran idols. People cannot believe that he is the youngest and his talent never fails to amaze other people. 

He is the definition of the perfect idol and there are rumours of him going solo. He likes to take part in shows like Queendom a comeback battle show where he and his group compete with other groups in a survival show to pit against each other. 

As for sasaengs (obsessive fans), most of them are young teen girls who say that he belongs to them, he simply ignores them and shows no interest in them. In fan signs, he is the most charismatic and the way he speaks to his fans draws them in.

 Bruno would the leader, main vocalist, lead dancer and the visual. He is the leader of the group; he often speaks in most music award shows, and he leads the group to make sure that every comeback is successful. He is described as a vocal king and he is one of the best dancers but in some dances. 

He is a veteran idol and he often rivals Giorno in vocals. He is in demand for adverts, variety shows, he is often in demand for dramas for older audiences. People find him to be an excellent example of a leader. He likes to take part in survival debut shows like Produce 101 as a vocal and dancing trainer to help the trainees participating.

 He is known for being one of the kindest trainers in the show, since he seems to genuinely want the trainees to succeed, many trainees look up to him as a senior and they want to try to please him.

 As for sasaengs, his are older women that are different from the young teen girls who even take it as far as to show up at his property, he had to call the police on several on them and he tells his fans to never act like those sasaengs he called the police on. During fan signs, he knows how anxious they are, so he tries to make them feel less anxious by smiling warmly at them.  

  Abbacchio would be the main vocalist and the sub rapper. His low voice is often charming to fans as he likes to sing covers of classic k-pop songs and he’s starting to pick up rapping. He is learning how to rap from Narancia and Mista. He is the worst dancer in the group as he is the tallest member in the group and he’s quite awkward. 

He is often in the back and doing the least dancing in the group when they perform. He is also a veteran idol and he is used to the harsh treatment on how idols are treated by their companies. He is in a lot of demand for Korean fantasy dramas that involve a vampire in it of course. 

He likes to talk part in shows like Produce 101 with Bruno as a trainer to teach the trainees a thing or two to toughen them up, he can come off as harsh and very critical to the trainees. He is just trying to teach them that they need to be tough, otherwise their company will just eat them up.

 Some people dislike him because he comes off as unfriendly and stuck up because of how he responded to sasaengs, he had to be forced to beat one up to stop them from stalking him. During fan signs, he can come off as unfriendly because of his experience of sasaengs, but he loves his fans and he smiles when they tell him that he’s their favourite member.

 Mista would be the lead rapper, sub vocalist and main dancer. He is one of the second-best rapper in the group, he rarely sings during the songs since he tends to have weak vocals and he’s trying to improve his vocals by practising singing with Giorno or Bruno.

 He is one of the best dancers as he seems to have lots of energy and stage presence when performing. He is often in demand for food variety shows since people appreciate an idol that can appreciate their food compared to most idols. 

His goofy smile is infectious during concerts and fans can’t help but smile along with him. His general laid-back personality makes him an idol that doesn’t care about what other people think about him or how dirty-minded he is. 

He is an idol that often appreciates his food often and his favourite type of game variety shows are where he gets to eat food. He also likes to take part in games shows since he finds them fun. 

With sasaengs, he would even be flattered that he has fans that love him but after a few creepy fan comments and mail, he decided that he didn’t like all of the attention. He decided to deal with it by not being too bothered with it and just moving on. During fan signs, he is pretty friendly with his fans and he likes to take lots of pictures with them.

· Narancia would be the main rapper, sub vocalist and lead dancer. He is the number one rapper in the group, he receives the most rap lines in the songs, he has the weakest vocals in the group and people rarely hear him sing. 

He is trying his best to practise singing with Fugo, Bruno or Giorno. He is one of the best dancers in the group as he is very energetic and shows brilliant stage presence in concert because of his adorable smile that makes him look alive. 

He is in a lot of demand for adverts because a lot of producers find him energetic and he can really make a simple advert memorable. He also stars in dramas as the full of energy character most of the time. He likes to take part in fun variety shows that let him have fun and take part in games. People wonder if he is the maknae since he seems so childish and energetic.

His most fond memory in a game show where he had to play a game of bonking another member’s head with a toy hammer. With sasaengs, he appreciated the love and attention he received but after a while he hated it. 

He had to get Bruno to help him deal with them by calling the police on him after several of them showed up at his property.  During fan signs, he is often the most ongoing and happiest to see his fans. He is even willing to give them a hug if they asked him to.

 Fugo would be the sub rapper and main vocalist. He gets plenty of lines during calm and balled based songs since his voice is described as the gentlest out of the group. He is trying to learn to rap from Mista and Narancia.

 He is also one of the worst dancers next to Abbacchio because he tends to be very awkward in his steps and is terrible at energetic dancing. He is usually in the back next to Abbacchio. He is one of the most unpopular members due to his explosive anger and people often criticise his anger. 

They often tell him to just simply hold back his anger like the urge to pee as they are often poorly educated on anger issues like Fugo. His anger is often exploited by Drama director who wants to hire him as the angry character that explodes with anger every few seconds giving him the stereotype that he just randomly gets angry. 

He hates variety shows as one time, Narancia bonked him on the head with a toy hammer and he didn’t like that at all. However, his fans know that he has a gentle soul as they could see that he doesn’t just randomly get angry.

 He rarely has any sasaengs as they don’t want to deal with his anger, but he had to deal with one sasaeng that send him a letter saying that they were crazy for him. He ended up throwing the letter away and moving to a new place. During fan signs, he is very shy with his fans and he understands how anxious they are so he tries to reassure them that they don’t need to be shy with a gentle smile.

[wanna-one-imagine]

PSA: on hating Wanna One

If you hate, dislike, or harbor any negative feeling whatsoever regarding Wanna One, I strongly encourage you to read this post. 

The way we learn is not through affirming our mentalities and ideas, but instead by questioning and listening to other opinions. 

As someone who is strongly multi-fandom, I’m going to keep this as unbiased as possible here. The group doesn’t have much time left, so I’d say give this a go. It won’t take long to read.

(@ wannables: please rt so we can spread the word! this is honestly the best time to be a multifandom wannable because we have so many interactions rn!! and if you’re a wannable that hates other groups, you better read this too)

Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of interactions between Wanna One and other (especially male) idol groups. 

So, a lot of us Wannables have become increasingly multi-fandom (more than we were already: nobody begins their run with kpop with a survival show) - but, alas, we have found that a LOT of people from international k-pop fandoms, for some unknown reason, hate Wanna One with a burning passion. 

For the relatively small international fandom, the amount of international hate towards Wanna One is overwhelming and hard to deal with.

So, without further ado, let me clear up some of the misconceptions you may have about the group!

Wanna One is friends with or looks up to the GROUPS YOU STAN.

tl;dr they friendly. Wannables know this, so a lot of us are multifandom - after all, not many people got into kpop BECAUSE of Produce 101. A lot of us have been around for a while and stan other groups.

Kang Daniel: Friends with Woozi (SEVENTEEN), Suga (BTS), Zico, Xiumin (EXO), Chanyeol (EXO), Mark (NCT) and many more - let’s be real Kang Daniel can be friends with whoever he wants, role model is Kai (EXO), TWICE Fanboy

Ha Sungwoon: Friends for years with Jimin (BTS), Taemin (SHINee), Kai (EXO) and also many more

Park Jihoon: Is literally in love with V (BTS), has said multiple times he looks up to V and pursued K-Pop because of him, in a gaming group with Jin (BTS), Eunkwang (BtoB), Youngjae (B.A.P), Ken (VIXX) - seen eating out together

Lee Daehwi: BFFs with Somi (Produce 101, JYP Sixteen - the show that formed Twice), remixed Got7 Hard Carry for produce 101 audition, Heize fangirls over him, friends with Bang Chan (Stray Kids), TWICE Fanboy

Ong Seongwoo: Friends with Mark (NCT), Kwangjin (N.Flying), Mina (gugudan), Namjoo (APink), role model is Kai (EXO), worked with Heize

Hwang Minhyun: caught fanboying over Red Velvet on insta, got acknowledged by NELL

Lai Guanlin: friends with Sehun (EXO), is in love with Wooseok (Pentagon), fanboyed over him in front of HyunA herself

Bae Jinyoung: EXO Fanboy, Sehun Fanboy

Park Woojin: Zico Fanboy, knows Zico irl now

Yoon Jisung: probably has friends but he won’t tell us, acknowledged by NELL

Kim Jaehwan: Embarrassed himself in front of Zico

Why do international fans hate Wanna One?

tl;dr Essentially, Wanna One is really popular in Korea - and not internationally - so the international fans hate them, pretty much because they’re successful. Large biased, sh*t reporting media sites like Allkpop and Netizenbuzz recognize this, and spew out bad articles on them with wrong translations and incorrect info because it gets them attention

Produce 101 season 2, the group that formed Wanna One, was hugely popular in Korea, not so much internationally. A large part of this may be because international fans couldn’t vote in the show

After produce 101 finished airing, it was obvious Wanna One would be popular in Korea. However, a lot of international fans didn’t know about this

So, when Wanna One debuted, their popularity was obviously very high. They began playing with the best, with groups that had been around for years

This resulted in the Wanna One members being called ungrateful, achieving fame “too fast”, even though it’s just a different means of getting there. 

All of these boys weren’t just lucky. They worked extremely hard in their own way to get to this point, and they are aware that the group isn’t permanent. They know that it’s not going to all be smooth sailing from here - they’ve written songs on the impermanence of this feeling (see: hourglass, forever+1, always, I promise you, hell they have an album called “nothing without you”)

Sungwoon, Minhyun - both in “unsuccessful” groups for years before (Hotshot, Nu’est), had to strip off their “idol” image and perform as “trainees”

Daniel, Jisung - trainees for years under an unknown entertainment label (MMO) that likely wouldn’t have debuted them but instead used them for backup dancers (Daniel was actually going to leave to live in Canada - pd101 was his last resort, Jisung would have had to go to the military)

Jihoon, Jinyoung - have you ever heard of maroo or c9 entertainment? Likely would have debuted into a no name group

Daehwi, Woojin - Daehwi has already gotten so much hate from the start of the show even though he’s already 16, yet remained positive. Woojin rose from the 70s rank up until 6 through hard work alone.

Guanlin - moved from Taiwan by himself at 16 without knowing Korean to pursue his dream, is always showing thanks to fans, trying to speak in both English and Taiwanese as well

Jaehwan - won an entire TV show but nobody paid attention to him. Busked on the streets.

Seongwoo - nobody can deny that he is always thinks of the fans. writes his own freaking poetry for us

All of them always express their thanks to the fans, and even the man of the year, Kang Daniel, is commonly reported by outside sources (producers, tv show directors, other idols, etc) as simple - friendly and humble. Even though he’s always tired and in the public’s eye, he is one of the most active members on fancafe, even tries to respond to foreign fans in English

Haven’t they been involved with a lot of controversies?

tl;dr They’ve all been refuted. This is an unusual situation that happens when a group is popular, and the international fandom isn’t big enough to fight it. 

Sites like Allkpop and Netizenbuzz just add fuel to the fire, releasing articles on untrue information, and then not releasing articles quickly or at all on clarifications

Also YMC/Swing sucks and doesn’t protect the boys (literally and figuratively) or the fandom. Instead of explaining situations or taking legal actions, they will either use the boys as a shield for their own mistakes, or force the boys to apologize for things they didn’t do.

Wannables in their natural habitat are fighting YMC (and now Swing entertainment) for something or the other. Right now the big deal is that Swing has banned fansites from taking pictures and Wannables are irate af lemme tell u

They’re not talented.

untrue

produce 101 was a show that if a mistake was made (all live btw), mnet would repeat the same clip 11 times with different angles and reactions

and wanna one is who we are left with. so make what you want of that

(lots of live performances to go around also)

I just don’t like their music.

Not a reason to hate a group.

Their music is pretty much generic K-pop. If you like K-pop, chances are you’ll like their music

Also, for their recent comeback they’ve worked with really incredible artists (Zico, Heize, NELL, Dynamic Duo). Try one of those

If you like kHipHop/kR&B

Kangaroo (prod. Zico)

Hourglass (prod. Heize)

11 (prod. Dynamic Duo)

If you like ballads/sad sh*t

Forever+1 (prod. NELL)

Always

I Promise You (confession version)

Beautiful

I wanna have (this is the GOAT)

If you like k-pop

Energetic (prod. Hui of Pentagon)

Light

Boomerang (okay we don’t really talk about this one tho)

Wannables are a toxic fandom.

This is something that gets thrown around a LOT. But in reality, most wannables are very multi-fandom. I will repeat it for a third time: nobody starts liking K-Pop because of a survival show, especially internationally. A lot of us are fans of other groups, so it sucks when our other home fandoms reject us.

The international Wannable community is extremely small (case in point: the company reducing the concert venue sizes by thousands in the US due to tickets not selling). This means our influence is also very small. It’s very unlikely that you have experienced such toxicity from a true Wannable.

On the topic of akgaes: look we don’t like them either, but even though the show was based on voting for your fave, most Wannables aren’t hating on the groupmates and literal friends of their biases. You could help us get rid of this image by promoting ot11!

KWannables are commonly seen supporting other groups, because they are very well aware of the fact that Wanna One is friends with/looks up to/likes other kpop groups.

They don’t want the group to disband. Of course, there’s a part of every Wannable that dreads that day. But, most of us understand that there’s more waiting for them, and we’ll continue to support in the future!

There’s more to say. But life and Wanna One’s run are both too short to spend hating a group of sweet, talented boys. There’s so much toxicity in K-pop. Imagine how your bias would feel if they knew you were attacking their friends or people that look up to them. 

Let’s spread positivity, not all this hate.

[rovalent]

‘After keeping all plans of their first comeback aside, Royal has finally decided to move things along. Luxe’s performances on the Samsung New Year Special brought them a lot of attention and most certainly gave them a lot of buzz. Positive or negative, every new comment under their performance videos only made them rise on the pages of famous websites and search engines. Using this to their advantage wouldn’t be too hard.

Their first comeback also means their first release as a 5-member group. Im Nayoung’s official stage name was officially confirmed to be ‘Zoe’ through an official statement by a Royal representative only a week ago. Together with the other 4 original members, the group will make their comeback with their mini-album ‘Fantasy’ on February 24th. This means there are a lot of things to get done and the girls should put their all into it.

The practice schedule will be completely focused on the final preparations for the album. Dance practice will start right away and be the biggest focus for the members. If they don’t have anything more important to do then they should probably be learning the choreography which will be thoroughly taught by Yoo Jaekyung and her fellow dancers. The songs that were given three months to learn should all be recorded on February 8th. Members will go into the studio in order of age to record their parts. When they aren’t recording, members are expected to be practicing.

As a solo schedule, Cheri will take part of the recording for ‘My Love From Another Star’ from February 2nd. She will be expected on set for 9 hours (7 to 4pm) to get her makeup and wardrobe done in the morning. Filming for her day scene will last from 10am to 3pm. After filming for the scene concludes, she will get cleaned up, return her costumes, and return to her idol schedules. The script for this scene will be mailed to her one week prior to filming. She will also get one hour of rehearsal with the lead actor before official filming starts.

To match with their concept, members will have to change their hairstyles according to the company’s orders. Those whose current hairstyle doesn’t match the one seen below will go together to the same salon on February 10th to get their hair done for their comeback.

Cheri - Long, straight, black (reference)

Yena - Long, wavy, blonde (reference)

Ella - Long, straight, black (reference)

Xayah - Long, straight, brown (reference)

Zoe - Long, wavy, black (reference)

On February 13th, a photo shoot will occur in a small set in the Gangnam district for both the photobook that’ll come along with the CD as well as the photocards. There will be two different sessions: one for the pure side of the album and another following their sexy concept. The photocards will follow the same pattern (use this photocard as an example and a darker version of it for its counterpart). When they aren’t being photographed, members are allowed to practice in a spot of the set that doesn’t get in the way of the staff or in the changing room. They won’t be explicitly told to do so and they should also avoid getting sweaty or ruining their makeup.

Finally, the music video for their title song will be filmed on February 15th and February 16th. A full film crew is provided by Royal, including camera staff, wardrobe and makeup/hair staff, lighting staff, catering crew, and a director. You may, at any time, ask for guidance from any of these members of the production. On the 15th, the first section of the where they pose in white (0:00-0:16) and dance scenes in the white outfits (as seen in 0:56 and 2:33) will be recorded. On the 16th, scenes with the light background (as seen in 0:19 and 0:28) and the brick wall (as seen in 1:42 and 3:17) will be recorded.

As the first variety appearance with the full group, Luxe will record an episode of Weekly Idol on February 18th. This will follow the events from TWICE’s part in Episode 228 which can be seen here. All mentions of debut should be changed to it being their first comeback, and any quotes and the performance of ‘Like Ooh-Ahh’ should be changed to ‘Confused’. Any other changes should be made accordingly (such as their personal introductions and showcased talents) to fit in with Luxe members. Luxe’s appearance will only be enough for half an episode, and the other half will be filmed by a different group. It should be also taken into account that the MCs will be the current ones: Lee Manseok, Shin Beomsu, and Ryu Seojun as the IC equivalents of Nam Changhie, Jo Seho, and Hwang Kwanghee. This episode will air on a Wednesday, February 27th.

On the very same day of the recording, February 18th, the first teaser will be released for their comeback on Luxe’s official social media.

As a special surprise to the fans and a tease on itself, all 5 members will come together to hold a Vlive in their dorm on February 19th. They are instructed not to spoil anything regarding their new album and help Zoe get used to how it works. Apart from that, the members are free to interact with the viewers however they’d like as long as they keep up with their image.

No matter how busy their month will be, nothing will beat February 24th. Luxe will have their debut stage on the same date as their album release on Inkigayo. They’ll get there a 6:30am as usual, but instead of staying until late for a live performance, they’ll pre-record it at 9:00am instead of having a rehearsal. The members will then prepare themselves for their showcase which will start at 6PM, the same time as the album release. Fans present will get to watch the MV for the first time in the audience, followed by a live performance of ‘Confused’. The MC this time will be the well-known Lee Jonghyuk. During the showcase, Luxe will also perform their debut song ‘I Feel Good’, ‘Luv Me’ and ‘Under The Street Lights’. The time in-between will involve the members explaining their title track and album as well as their concept, a profile introduction of each member, and then the showcase will end with a second performance of ‘Confused’.

The following is the music show promotion schedule for Luxe’s ‘Confused’ activities:

2/24, 3/03, 3/10: SBS Inkigayo

2/25, 3/04: Arirang Simply K-pop

2/26, 3/05, 3/12: MTV The Show

2/27, 3/06, 3/13: MBC Show Champion

2/28, 3/07, 3/14: Mnet M!Countdown

3/01, 3/08, 3/15: KBS Music Bank

3/02, 3/09, 3/16: MBC Music Core

On February 28th, Luxe will record their dance relay for ‘Confused’ to be uploaded on the same day during their time waiting for M!Countdown (you can use this to see how it works).

Music show promotions will last for a total of three weeks this time. Programs will begin pre-recording early in the morning and groups are expected to stay at the broadcasting station until the live broadcast takes place later in the day. Although music shows in real life follow varied recording schedules, for IC writing purposes, the schedule for every music show will follow this consistent pattern (except for February 24th):

06:20AM: at broadcasting station: basic first rehearsal on stage; no makeup, casual clothes.

06:45AM: head to salon: get makeup and hair done.

07:45AM: return to broadcasting station: eat breakfast, nap in dressing room/space.

09:00AM: dress rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

09:20AM: return to dressing room/space: rest, eat, nap.

11:00AM: final camera rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

11:15AM: greet senior artist groups at their respective dressing room/spaces, accompanied by a manager. you may not sleep during this time, up until the live broadcast.

07:00PM: live broadcast; when not performing, must stay in dressing room/space until the ending stage of the show.

08:00PM: line up in waiting room area to formally greet producers, director, and senior staff.

09:00PM: meeting time with fans who attended the recordings.

10:00PM: return to dressing rooms to clean up, change back into casual clothes.

11:00PM: arrive back at dorms.

You will gain +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +3 DEBUT POINTS and +2 ACHIEVEMENTS for completing the written requirements explained on the idol tier page. As this is a song promotion month, one of your chosen achievements must be relevant to the above schedule and all required content should be written about activities listed on the above schedule for the month of February. Posting about March activities will not account for February points (more information for their March promotions will come on their March schedule). There is a capped maximum of five solos, sets of starters and/or partnered threads you may write to collect this month’s points.

To clarify, the only form that needs to be submitted at the end of the month is a verification form for your debut points and achievements. Any SP points earned can be collected as soon as you finish the requirement for them. At the end of the month, as you did with your previous evaluation forms, you will submit the following form to the Points Verification blog:

IDOL’S NAME - ROYAL ENT - FEBRUARY SCHEDULE (for the March 6 verification form)

PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]

POINTS: +00 SP [ distribute these however you like ]

TOTAL POINTS EARNED: +00 SP +00 DBT

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #1 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #2 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

**** For participating in a total of 20 music show performances during this promotion period, Luxe will earn 20 EXP for their overall group experience. Their appearance on Weekly Idol will give 1 EXP, their VLive 1 EXP, and the dance relay another 1 EXP. Cheri’s solo schedule gives 1 EXP making it a total of 24 EXP.

* Rookie and trainee characters are allowed to attend pre-recordings and fan meetings to interact with idol muses if they choose to do so. Just be realistic about the scheduling; trainees who skip too many lessons to support idol muses will be noticed by their company staff!

[kiloplot]

Onlyoneof time leap download

It represents the start of what we do and how this can evolve into our future works. It brings us back to emotional melody lines that we missed from 1 st generation K-pop tracks.Īs mentioned before, we feel that our debut EP is a very honest work as an initiation of our career. 'time-leap' is also one of our favourite tracks from dot point jump Vol. We thought those chill tracks of the 1 st generation K-pop groups were worth revisiting, but with a touch of modern sound from recent K-pop and other pop tracks. 'savanna' reminds us of the mid to late '90s when H.O.T and Deux other 1 st generation K-pop Idols gave this sense of chill vibes and trendy atmosphere through some of their tracks. 1 is our very first work with Jaden so we tried to focus more on what our impression of K-pop that we adored and grew up with. Tell us about your debut EP dot point jump Vol. Our most recent collaboration with the producer GRAY from AOMG was an eye-opening experience for us in that sense, and hopefully, this can be a gateway to more collaboration opportunities with non-idol musicians and producers in Korea. Thus, we aspire to interact with them through our albums and singles that we release. We sincerely hope this global support from K-pop fans can also be a great opportunity to shed light on many great non-idol musicians in Korea who deserves global recognition. We think the insane competition in the K-pop scene is a very good opportunity for us. In light of the competition in the K-pop scene with new groups debuting fairly often, how different is OnlyOneOf from other rookie groups? We do this very casually and of course, we are seeing some progress on what we have achieved from this process and hopefully, we can release some of these tracks in the near future. Yoojung orchestrates and puts everything together by collecting choreography inputs from Junji and Mill. After finding a common ground in their ideas, they share their sketches with Love and Rie, who will brainstorm top lines and potential melodies to add to the tracks. For example, Nine and KB are ones who produce tracks and beats for our tracks. All seven of us have different characters and we have learned how we can maximize the synergies amongst us. We have a long history behind us since our trainee period. We always go back to our name by reflecting our original intention to all our works and try to differentiate ourselves step by step as we move forward.ĭescribe the dynamic between the members. We want to provide a unique value proposition to our fans, through our music and interactions with them that can never be otherwise satisfied. OnlyOneOf represent our aspiration to be a one of a kind artist within the K-pop Idol spectrum. With their artistic voices shining through as one through their self-produced and choreographed songs, it is no surprise that the rookie group earned their title as one of Billboard's Top 5 New K-pop acts to watch in 2020.īandwagon caught up with OnlyOneOf, who shared with us their journey from their days as trainees, idol inspirations, member chemistry, and music. The group consists of Nine (vocalist, beatmaker, maknae), Mill (rapper), Rie (vocalist, dancer), JunJi (vocalist, dancer), Love (leader, main vocalist), YooJung (dancer) and KB (rapper, producer). 1 last May.īoasting a dynamic mix of talents, OnlyOneOf desire to be different. The band made their debut with their first EP dot point jump Vol.1, dropped their latest release, Produced by, Pt. OnlyOneOf's debut in 2019, with their R&B inspired tracks 'time leap' and 'savanna', put a refreshing spin on K-pop and defined the band as a new force to be reckoned with. Upon closer listening, one would then realise that their music makes them truly only one of their kind.īacked by creative director Jaden Jeong, the mastermind behind the LOONA universe, OnlyOneOf is the first boyband created by 8D Creative (RSVP). From afar, OnlyOneOf resemble the perfect equation of a seven-member K-pop group. Between the night sky and the soft glow of street lights, seven lanky silhouettes stand shoulder to shoulder on an abandoned bridge.

[underratedgroups]

VAV Profile

Debut date: 31 October 2015 Number of members: 7 (originally), 7 (currently) Agency: A Team Entertainment Fandom name: Vampz

Members:

세인트반 – St. Van

Name: 이금혁 (Lee Geumhyuk) Position: Leader, Main Vocalist Birthday: 22 December 1991 Nationality: Korean

Facts about St. Van:

He has three tattoos - two on his right arm and one on the left. 

St. Van is left handed.

He lived in China for 13 years and speaks Chinese. The other members of the group sometimes act like he is Chinese and speaks good Korean.

He drinks a lot of water, to the point where Baron calls him ‘hippopotamus.’ 

St. Van loves watching reality and variety shows, his favorites being ‘2 Days & 1 Night’ and ‘Infinite Challenge.’

He often falls asleep while watching TV.

He likes cars a lot, and would like to try racing in Formula 1 one day.

St. Van gets a little camera shy if there are a lot of cameras filming at once.

바론 - Baron

Name: 최충협 (Choi Chunghyeop) Position: Main Dancer, Vocalist Birthday: 19 April 1992 Nationality: Korean

Facts about Baron:

Before debuting as a singer, Baron was in a dance group.

Baron is the ‘mom’ of VAV.

He is good at imitating voices.

Although he is happy with how he looks, a member who he would want to switch bodies with would be St. Van because St. Van has very broad shoulders.

He would like to be a director or a photographer, as he likes filming people.

He is friends with actor Kim Min Suk.

Baron can speak English.

He is St. Van’s roommate.

One day, Baron would like to found a music school.

에이스 - ACE

Name: 장우영 (Jang Wooyoung) Position: Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer Birthday: 28 August 1992 Nationality: Korean

Facts about ACE:

He is the smallest member.

According to his roommate Ziu, ACE talks in his sleep, but not like most people. He usually yells out “Are you guys ready?” His members confirmed this, saying that they can sometimes hear it through the walls of their dorm. 

Both he and the other members agree that he has the best body in VAV.

He really likes to exercise, and his ideal type is someone who would be up for exercising with him.

ACE has made several song covers of both K-Pop and Western songs that have been posted on the official A Team YouTube channel.

에이노 - Ayno

Name: 노윤호 (No Yoonho) Position: Rapper, Visual Birthday: 1 May 1996 Nationality: Korean

Facts about Ayno:

Ayno was a child star and acted in several commercials. He was also a model.

Ayno was previously a trainee at Starship Entertainment, where he trained for 6 years. He also spent some time under Happy Face Entertainment.

He was originally supposed to debut in the boy group Boyfriend but was deemed too young to debut.

Before debuting in VAV, Ayno was a contestant on No.Mercy - the survival show that resulted in the formation of the popular boy group Monsta X. He was eliminated in episode 9 (out of a total of 10 episodes).

When Ayno was in No.Mercy, he decided to focus more on the show than on his studies, as he considered debuting to be more important than high school.

He is one of the three members most recently added to the group, as he joined VAV in early 2017 along with Ziu and Lou, shortly before the group had their comeback with Venus (Dance With Me).

Ayno is the cutest member according to the group.

One day, Ayno wants to produce and train an idol group.

He is close with SF9′s Dawon.

제이콥 - Jacob

Name: 張鵬 (Zhang Peng) Position: Main Rapper Birthday: 7 September 1996 Nationality: Chinese

Facts about Jacob:

Jacob is currently the only foreign member of VAV.

He loves to eat, to the point where he will sometimes get up in the middle of the night to eat ramen.

His special talent is break dancing.

He can do an impression of Donald Duck.

Jacob is the most attractive member according to St. Van, because he looks very good in pictures.

Ayno’s nickname for him is ‘Cob.’

He is the most childish member according to former member Gyeoul because he won’t share his snacks. However, Gyeoul says this also makes him the cutest member, as he still respects his hyungs a lot.

로우 - Lou

Name: 김호성 (Kim Hosung) Position: Rapper Birthday: 21 September 1996 Nationality: Korean

Facts about Lou:

Lou is the tallest member of VAV.

He is one of the three members most recently added to the group, as he joined VAV in early 2017 along with Ayno and Ziu, shortly before the group had their comeback with Venus (Dance With Me).

He can speak English.

According to Ayno and Baron, Lou is the most attractive member.

He really likes listening to OSTs and watching dramas.  

Lou would like to become an actor as well as being a singer, as he majors in acting.

지우 - Ziu

Name: 박희준 (Park Heejun) Position: Vocalist, Maknae Birthday: 16 June 1997 Nationality: Korean

He is one of the three members most recently added to the group, as he joined VAV in early 2017 along with Lou and Ayno, shortly before the group had their comeback with Venus (Dance With Me).

Ziu likes to kiss his hyungs’ cheeks, despite them protesting it.

He is the most attractive member of the group according to ACE because he has the feeling of a real man and a good jaw.

He also considers himself to be the most attractive member because ‘his mom says so.’

Ziu tends to raid the refrigerator at 5-6am. He will then forget about eating, even when the members ask him about it.

He and Buffy from the group MADTOWN are friends.

Past members

샤오 - Xiao

Name: 陳驍 (Chen Xiao) Position: Lead Dancer, Rapper, Visual Birthday: 27 August 1989 Nationality: Chinese

Facts about Xiao:

Before debuting with VAV, Xiao was a former member of the groups MIX and 8090. He was also Top 10 on an audition program.

Xiao’s favorite gifts from fans are snacks.

He is not completely fluent in Korean.

He is famous in China (especially in Shanghai) to the point that when he went there with VAV, all the fans crowded almost exclusively around him.

Xiao is still making music, primarily in Chinese. His music videos can be found on the official A Team YouTube channel.

Note: It is not completely confirmed whether or not Xiao has permanently left the group, but on 26 June 2016 A Team Entertainment announced that he would go on hiatus due to his grandfather’s health. Xiao is still signed under A Team Entertainment and is currently promoting as a solo artist.

제한 - Zehan

Name: 이성민 (Lee Sungmin) Position: Vocalist, Rapper Birthday: 29 March 1994 Nationality: Korean

Facts about Zehan:

Zehan was the first member to be added to the group after debut, but as he had trained with the VAV members, both he and the members expressed that the addition of him felt very natural. 

He is very playful, talkative and has a lot of energy, to the point where he sometimes makes his members tired.

He has claustrophobia, and had a hard time during the filming VAV’s Brotherhood MV where he had to stand inside a fogged-up glass capsule.

Zehan loves dogs, and once a fan gave him a plushie of a dog that looks like his dog. He keeps the plushie on his bed.

Zehan left VAV on 6 December 2016 to pursue an acting career.

겨울 - Gyeoul

Name: 김정언 (Kim Jungeon) Position: Lead Vocalist Birthday: 22 November 1995 Nationality: Korean

Facts about Gyeoul:

His hobby is to compose music, and has expressed his fondness for producing.

He loves acting cute, but doesn’t like being called cute.

Gyeoul buys at least 30 pieces of clothing every month.

Gyeoul officially left the group on 25 January 2017 to become a producer.

Although he has expressed that he will continue to support VAV, he has no intention of working as a producer for the group.

List last updated 7 November 2017. If you know of any VAV information missing on this list or if we got some facts wrong, please let us know and we will fix it.