Entertainment Life With A Camera

Chapter 199

How’s the Survival?

JPN ‘Kiseki’ says “The origin of K-pop is in Japan in the 1960s.” AWY Ian responds “Prove it with music.” The controversy over their statements

AWY, appearing on ‘Caden Hurt Show’… Enthralls the world with witty interview and powerful performance

AWY ‘Caden Hurt Show’ appearance dominates the global charts in 100 countries

‘Caden Hurt Show’ was a popular talk show in the US as well, so it received immediate reactions from everywhere.

Along with the album released this year, the songs from the previous albums also climbed up the overseas music charts and made a comeback.

-Isn’t it ridiculous? If they were right, Japanese idols should have been on top of K-pop long ago.

-But who is Kiseki?

-The answer is awesome, reallyㅋㅋㅋ But it’s not baseless, it’s actually true, which makes it more awesomeㅋㅋㅋ

-Look at AWY’s copyright list ㅆ swag

Not only in Korea, but also overseas, the response was hot. On major overseas community sites, there were posts and comments related to AWY, and the overseas AWY fans were busy making materials such as promotional posts and stage interpretations by translating them diligently.

-I expected a werewolf concept, but the stage was different from what I expected? I feel a solemn atmosphere.

└Maybe it’s because of the building behind?

└Do you want to see this? It’s a comeback show stage, and this might suit your taste better.

-After watching the interview, I thought, let’s see how good they are, but the music and performance exceeded my expectations, so, where do I join the fan club?

-My 4 minutes disappeared in an instant.

-But what’s that thing behind that looks like a gate?

└Hi! I’m a French AWY fan! This is related to the painful history of Korea.

The stage of ‘Caden Hurt Show’ received a lot of attention because they had put a lot of effort into it. In addition, the Independence Gate in the background also attracted attention, and it unintentionally became a Korea-Japan issue.

AWY ‘Caden Hurt Show’ performs on a meaningful stage with the Independence Gate on the Liberation Day… They informed the Korean history

JPN media, “AWY, Ian’s statement is regrettable but agreeable… It’s a fact that JPN contents have already been surpassed by the Korean Wave”

-What do you expect us to do when you express regretㅋ

-Do they care about the Korean Wave? Who are they collaborating with?

-But how’s the reaction in Japan?

└Japanese AWY fans are fighting with the right-wingers?

-Kiseki, good luck with your US debut^^7 I hope you achieve your dream of topping the Billboard^^

└What? Are you a fan of Japan?

└└It’s sarcasm, you idiot. Learn to read the context. There are so many illiterates.

AWY, the actual party, felt good and nervous about the explosive reaction.

“We didn’t intend to do this.”

“It wasn’t in the script we received in advance.”

They just looked for an anniversary that coincided with the timing, and they didn’t mean to put so much meaning into it. Who would have thought that a topic related to Japan would come up in a live interview.

[The big picture came out.]

‘It must be a forced big picture.’

Ian, the actual party, didn’t like this kind of attention, but Jin seemed to like this situation.

As the words piled up, the fabrication became more and more severe, and the atmosphere was overheating.

‘This makes me nervous about the next one.’

There were a lot of words about AWY everywhere. The community praised AWY and Ian for saying the right thing, and they were angry at Japan for trying to stick a spoon in the already done K-pop. They even didn’t hesitate to make hateful remarks about Japan and Kiseki.

The nationalistic YouTubers cleverly edited the videos of AWY and Kiseki, and uploaded videos as if they had given a cultural blow to the arrogant Japanese.

‘Well, it’s good to be more famous with this.’

Ian comforted himself. This kind of issue was necessary to make their name known.

“Wow, hey Ian, look at this.”

Kim Hyun, who was browsing SNS, tapped Ian’s shoulder. On Kim Hyun’s phone screen, there was a blue check mark on the celebrity’s tweet.

*SteveE. @Steve_Evermore

I watched ‘Caden Hurt Show’ today and I was very impressed. The talented young artists from Korea, I personally like their ‘Dawn’. @Alwayswithyou_BHL Contact me when you come to the US, I’d love to talk to you about music.

The pop legend that Ian mentioned, Steve Evermore, posted a message on his personal SNS. And it was a thoughtful message that even tagged AWY’s official SNS account.

“What does Steve say?”

Ian translated Steve Evermore’s message with a blank face. The members’ faces brightened up.

Steve Evermore, SE, the pop star who was worthy of the word legend, was a singer who left a big mark on the history of pop. He was still actively working and every album and song he released climbed to the top, breaking his own record.

“Wow…”

“Awesome.”

The members stared at each other blankly and then burst into small laughter.

It was amazing that Steve Evermore mentioned them, but he even wanted to talk to them about music, which was no different from a love call to work on a song together.

“Sniff… Sniff…”

Everyone was silently tapping each other and making strange laughter. The members of Fever, who were about to enter their practice room, stopped for a moment at the entrance of the emergency exit.

“Hello, hyungs.”

“Uh, heh… Yeah, hi… Huh…”

They had become immune to Awy’s weird behavior. The Fever members greeted Awy briefly as they passed by and entered their practice room.

Through the transparent door of the practice room, they saw that the Awy members were not just laughing softly, but bursting into laughter while looking at each other.

“They must have something good going on.”

Lee Hayan, who had a short training period and was not yet used to Awy’s weird behavior, watched the situation in the lounge with a blank expression.

“They must have. Look at their reaction. It’s crazy.”

“I wondered why they were like that at first. Especially Ian hyung. He was a bit different from what I imagined, you know?”

“Ah…”

Ian, he was also a member of Awi. Lim No-eul, who had been a fan of Awi and Ian before becoming a trainee, was the only fan who had seen the Awi members ruin their image in real time while playing with each other.

“…Let’s practice.”

***

They had the buzz to enter the US market right away, but it was not easy to produce songs or albums.

Awy had stopped their activities at the beginning of the year, so their Japanese album release, US debut schedule, and tour schedule were all postponed to next year.

Lee Byung-hun, the CEO of BHL Entertainment, browsed the internet reaction of Awy while waiting for someone at the promised place.

“Such a pity, such a waste.”

Lee Byung-hun was disappointed.

But he had no regrets about the team’s activity suspension, because Jo Tae-woong’s health was the priority. When a hasty plan was made, there were bound to be variables.

“Oh, CEO. You were here already.”

As he was thinking, the door opened and someone came in and sat down. Lee Byung-hun hardened his expression.

“You’re late, PD?”

“CEO, you can’t hide your jokes on your face.”

“Is, is that so?”

Lee Byung-hun coughed. The other person was Lee Jong-soo PD, who had aired Park Jin-hyuk’s ‘cheating’ on the broadcast. He was a PD from JBTC who had succeeded in another music variety show and was gaining a reputation in the broadcasting station.

He had been maintaining a good relationship with BHL Entertainment even after Awy’s reality show, planning Fever’s debut reality show and so on.

“First of all, I’m really sorry. I have something to show you, CEO.”

“Hey, you’re not that late. We’ve seen each other more than once or twice… Why are you suddenly being so formal?”

Lee Jong-soo PD took out a thick pile of paper from his bag and handed it to Lee Byunghun. It was a proposal for a new program.

“Awi, those kids. They don’t have any overseas schedules this year, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

No wonder he sounded so excited when he asked for a meal. Lee Byunghun smiled.

‘There won’t be any need for me to pay the bill today.’

He had originally suggested a meal to thank him for taking care of Fever’s reality show and to chat casually.

Lee Jong-soo PD watched Lee Byung-hun scan the proposal with a nervous expression.

“Those Awy kids. I have to beg them to come out now, right? Wow, their popularity is amazing…”

“…”

“They were different from the start, those kids. I really didn’t expect them to do so well, you know?”

Lee Jong-soo PD praised Awy excessively and fawned over him.

He knew well that he had to put aside his personal friendship and focus on business. Awy’s price was too high to be swayed by friendship. Awy was so popular that they didn’t have to go out for variety shows or anything like that. That’s why they were the number one celebrities that the broadcasting stations wanted to get.

‘I have to get Awy.’

Awy was a brand itself. That meant that the profits from advertising would be huge. And Awy members had musical depth that was different from others, so they could make good content and ratings without relying on Awy’s popularity.

“PD, if you’re a pro, we’ll also consider it positively… As expected, it’s a music variety show from PD, right?”

The honorific at the end of the sentence, Lee Byung-hun’s way of saying that he would put friendship aside and focus on business. Lee Jong-soo PD swallowed his saliva.

“Yes, I plan to maximize Awy members’ musical strengths.”

“This. How is the schedule?”

Lee Byung-hun closed the proposal and tapped it with his finger. Lee Jong-soo PD delivered a decisive blow.

“The director promised me the weekend prime time slot if Awy’s appearance is confirmed. Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m., of course, it’s negotiable. If CEO decides, I’ll actively reflect it.”

“That’s good.”

The PD’s proposal was quite tempting. A program that suggested going back to their pre-debut days and busking. There was also a random communication time with fans, and a growth story that showed how they worked hard as trainees and became global singers.

The scheduling time was also a privilege that the agency could decide, and more importantly, there was a structure that highlighted each member’s individuality.

‘Wait, this is a good opportunity, isn’t it?’

Lee Byung-hun sipped his water and pursed his lips.

“Can we also add a survival element?”

“Really?”

“I have an idea that I thought of before… This PD will like it too.”

PD Lee Jong-su’s face brightened up in an instant. His tone changed from formal to casual, and his counter-proposal was as good as an acceptance.

“Of course, why not?”

“Good. PD, have you seen the YANG Entertainment survival show?”

“Yes.”

Why is he bringing up the survival show all of a sudden? PD Lee Jong-su nodded his head nervously.

“How about a composing survival?”

As soon as he heard that, PD Lee Jong-su choked on his water and spilled it on his pants. Lee Byung-hun didn’t like survival shows very much because of the malicious editing that Kim Hyun had experienced.

“A survival show? But you don’t like survival shows, boss.”

“It’s just a name, PD. I know you’ll take good care of each kid.”

“Of course. I hate things like evil editing.”

“Right, and we have a lot of talented kids. Joo-hyuk, Jin-hyuk, Ju-young, these three are the main composers, you know? Don’t you think it’ll make a good picture?”

“Even if it’s just a name, it’s still a competition, right? Don’t we need a prize?”

PD Lee Jong-su, who loved music, was quite excited by the idea of having three different and diverse styles of music from the composers. The other four members could either focus on the lyrics or join the composing teams. That would be nice too.

Lee Byung-hun gave him the final nail.

“A prize? Nothing much. Just the title of the next album. That’ll make the kids go crazy, won’t it?”