Debut or Die

Episode 205

‘I believe that each of you will be able to do well enough.’

At first glance, it sounds like a good statement that conveys trust and trust, but if you heard this from a superior, it means one of two things.

‘You do it on your own’ or ‘If you don’t do well, it’s your fault’.

And this guy, the head of the management office, is making remarks that contain both of these meanings without even realizing it.

‘If Testa didn’t achieve global results in this activity, he gave the head of the headquarters a reason to rush in.’

It’s obvious. The general manager would say something like, ‘I have to do as I say in order for the global market to work’.

‘Naturally, Testa’s right to speak is weaker than now.’

Right now, the initiative has only grown this far, but that situation was tantamount to landmines in this small X company with no answers.

However, it is also problematic to leave out that Testa does not have the confidence to make a global hit with this album.

That’s because the head of the headquarters can use it as a reason to intervene.

In a word, it was a quandary.

‘I was played by this bastard general manager.’

I’m pissed at what to expect from a paratrooper.

“Of course, we are working hard to achieve good results, but we can’t guarantee that we will hit it every time… … .”

“yes? No, you just have to do what you’ve been doing. Do not worry!”

It means that the head of the department was only concerned with his right to speak, and of course he arbitrarily judged that Testa would continue its usual upward trend.

I didn’t even consider that ‘just do what you’re used to’ would be a burden to the singer.

Not knowing what it’s like to suffer on the front line is really like a parachute.

“… … Um yes.”

Liu Cheng-wu finally shut his mouth.

I realized that if I said I couldn’t do it seriously here, the group would look ridiculous.

‘Damn it.’

It means that the arrangement and choreography have already been left out for this single to be light and popular. Because I was thinking of digesting the domestic recognition I gained through reality shows.

‘I made the chorus point choreography easy to follow.’

With a few weeks left until the comeback, I came here and changed my direction.

I will see the inferno again when I debut.

“… … .”

Is there any hole to escape?

I quickly shook my head.

‘Testa is also slowly getting out of the rookie, so how can I rub it well… .’

At that time, Kim Rae-bin raised his hand and threw a fastball.

“But this single was organized with a focus on popularity in Korea, so I didn’t aim for a global hit.”

“… … !”

‘hey.’

I thought about covering my mouth for a moment, but realized it when I saw the confused face of the chief.

‘Rather, this way might be more effective.’

Kim Rae-bin had an expression full of pure doubts without any intention.

Liu Qingyu met my eyes and nodded slightly.

“… … .”

ok let’s see

“If it does well in Korea, of course there will be a good response abroad.”

“Not necessarily. The gap between KPOP’s domestic hits and global hits has steadily deepened over the past few years, creating various cases… … .”

Kim Rae-bin diligently explained songs that were hits in Korea but did not receive much response in the global market, as well as opposite cases.

And he ended his speech with a proud face that he had done all the explanation.

“That’s why this global hit is even more unpredictable!”

“… … .”

The chief seemed a little overwhelmed by the harmless bombardment of background knowledge.

However, perhaps he knew that Raebin Kim did not intend to talk back, instead of feeling offended, he began to flutter in a shaky manner.

“Since we still have a few weeks left until our comeback, why not try changing the route? Now that the head of the headquarters is a solitary general… . You all know that, right?”

That’s it. Found a pod.

I put on my handcuffs.

“Then, you are saying that we need to reorganize our group activities right now according to the manager’s words.”

“… … !”

It’s not that our performance is bad, and you can say something hateful about the parachute.

“Of course, I know that it was for our sake, and I feel that I should work hard… .”

Still, put a layer of cushioning material on it.

“I’m a bit worried because the general manager will say that this isn’t artist-centered in the eyes of the general manager since it’s going in the opposite direction from our intention in the first place.”

“… … .”

It means that there is a conflict between the order of ‘Let’s respect the artist’s intention’ and ‘Whatever the artist planned, change it to focus on global performance’.

A look of bewilderment flashed across the manager’s face.

Doesn’t it make sense to you?

You won at best, but if you think that the head of the headquarters will change his mind and get caught, you will be stressed out.

“That’s right~ It seems that there is a direction we originally wanted to promote! It might seem that way.”

“Since we don’t have big ambitions in the US yet, we want to continue preparing for a comeback by working hard in Korea first.”

Support fire pours in.

We will continue preparing as we were doing, so it means that you who have done it should take care of it.

Of course, the chief’s complexion deteriorates.

“Well, then I will support you in the future… … .”

You say you don’t want to say anything regretful while withdrawing the embarrassing words.

‘Hmm, if I push it more than this, this bastard might say that he’s hurting his feelings.’

The arrow of the head of department should be directed at the head of the headquarters, not at the testa.

Still, there are a lot of good things if you push it to the corner like this.

‘It’s not easy to rip off.’

Then like this… Oh right.

‘… I decided to proceed after receiving the consent of the team members.’

I made eye contact with the other members, nodded, and signaled roughly.

‘Let’s just do as he says, the bomb will explode if we do something wrong.’

‘Yes, yes~’

‘I’ll work hard either way… !’

‘I’m hungry!’

It seems that a strange signal intervened at the end, but I ignored it.

In any case, no one shakes his head or opposes the death toll. I replied slowly to the chief in a serious tone.

“hmm… Then how about doing this?”

“What… ?”

“We increased the scale of the project before the comeback because the company saw that reality shows were doing well and invested heavily.”

Invest more capital

“Then the context seems natural, but how about it from the manager’s point of view?”

It was a strategy to fill the void by pouring money as much as possible because there was not enough time.

‘Because he’s a parachute, he’ll be able to raise funds from the head office.’

As expected, the chief was pleased.

“It looks fine to me.”

done.

In the picture, Testa didn’t ask for more money, so even if it ended with an average hit, there would be less gossip.

Now, after pouring in a huge amount of capital, I arranged, choreographed and MV in 4 weeks… Let’s fix it.

‘X feet.’

I suddenly became a forced marcher.

* * *

That day, we put off our recording schedule and shut ourselves in the conference room.

“Global hit… .”

“Mmm.”

Surprisingly, Bae Se-jin was the first to speak.

“… How about doing it in English?”

That was a pretty reasonable statement.

However, looking at the global ecology of KPOP, it was a premature proposal.

“Using English is aiming for popularity in the English-speaking world… First of all, wouldn’t that work if the public knew us?”

“ah.”

Yes. First of all, it was a strategy to be used only when the fan base was clear.

If it wasn’t right, it could have been labeled negatively, such as ‘the United States is too conscious’.

So what can be done to solidify those who have been brought in by American memes into a fan base?

“I think it would be good to look at the concepts that existing KPOP overseas fans liked.”

“Oh, that’s for sure~”

Liu Cheng-wu muttered, and Se-jin raised a hand.

“The choreography is cool, the beat is good~ Don’t you like that the music video was chosen well?”

“Wouldn’t Korea like that cool thing too… ?”

“Um, yes. But what should I say, dance songs with a lot of emphasis on beats in Korea… Aren’t there a lot of people who don’t listen to male idol songs?”

That’s right.

So, out of the two debut title songs, we pushed ‘Magic Boy’ more, which is easy to listen to without being too loud.

‘That one definitely ranked higher on the music charts than ‘Hi-five’ and had a long run.’

In the same context, a song like ‘Arrow’, which is extremely conceptual and intense, had a slightly weaker ranking than the previous title song.

Even though it was a period of activity when he reached a career high and entered the top tier, so much so that the influx of fandom was visible.

Still, it’s as Big Sejin said.

‘It’s a waste of the swollen popularity in Korea, but if you need an overseas response, this is the right way.’

Of course, even if you have decided on a direction, it is not easy to change everything overnight.

“The choreography and stuff like that can all be modified, so there’s no big problem… Sejin-ah, are you okay?”

“… of course.”

Bae Se-jin steadfastly replied to Ryu Cheng-wu.

Ryu Cheng-wu continued talking with a slightly apologetic face.

“okay. Well, so I think I can gradually revise the rest in a cooler direction… I am worried that the arrangement will be difficult.”

At those words, everyone looked at Kim Rae-bin.

“… … ?”

Kim Rae-bin looked at the surroundings with a puzzled expression, then opened his mouth with a realization.

“Once the concept is decided, I will come up with some arrangement plans to suit the mood! Please give me four days!”

It was an exciting statement.

“Will it be okay… ? It won’t be too hard… ?”

“Still, this title has a good melodic top note that can be combined in various ways, so it’s quite exciting to be able to try something new!”

“… … .”

Kim Rae-bin… He seems rather excited about being able to try something he couldn’t do because he couldn’t fit into the popular box office formula.

‘Yes, I’m glad that anyone is happy.’

I opened my mouth.

“Okay, Ravin. Then, let’s talk about the concept quickly so that our Rabin can start working quickly.”

“okay.”

“Joe is good!”

“Do you have anything on your mind? It’s an idea bank again~”

Originally, we planned to release a season song that was moderately refreshing and well-rounded without a fixed image.

It means that we need to change this to a concept that has a scale that would make a great ‘music video’… … .

At the same time, it should suit the tastes of the English-speaking world so that the head of the headquarters does not want to say anything.

It’s greedy, so I hope you don’t give up on domestic popularity and take care of it a lot.

It’s a digital single, so I don’t sell albums, so the music charts are important.

‘… … hmm.’

Nice choreography, strong beats, good for fans to consume?

‘… ah.’

I opened my mouth.

“We will use this opportunity to expand our world view.”

“Our worldview? Like what?”

“Come.”

After a while, after intense brainstorming, the amendment was passed unanimously, even the arrangement.

‘Instead, in the most comfortable way to listen!’

And then three turbulent weeks passed.

* * *

Testa’s fans knew that this comeback was a single.

This is because the news of the comeback was quickly spread to the media in line with the encore concert. It was part of maintaining the topic.

And with the words added to each article, the fans even guessed the mood of the song.

[Comeback release with Testa Cherry Blossoms]

[Testa comeback warm-up UP… Do you want to challenge spring carol?]

[Kookmin Stock Testa returns as men with refreshing spring sensibility]

It was a press release that the agency’s staff worked hard to set the tone after confirming the testa activity plan.

Thanks to this, fans all expected a public-friendly easy-listening song similar to the title of the last repackage album, ‘Picnic’.

Of course, it wasn’t just the fans.

-I updated the music charts with Picnic, so it looks

like it’s safely covered -Haha. It’s a pity that Testa’s color looks like Magic Boy’s way ㅠ -Something

like Berami really came out, but I feel like I’m pushing and cooling off because I keep doing easy songs

-It’s not long since I’ve been away for a while, but I’m already choreographed It was a little weak to lower the difficulty level haha Even so, it must be because the fans like it. As much

as the reality program was a box office hit, Testa’s comeback received almost as much attention as it did during their debut, and thanks to that, many people had their stomachs full.

-It’s a song that hasn’t even been released yet, so I’m already fucking ㅋㅋㅋ I feel sorry for how dangerous it

is

. I’m going to come back with a full regular, but I’m a fan of it. It’s a pity, I’m a fan. It’s

a

pity .

I was able to pass the reaction by being moderately intrusive and moderately laughing.

Because, given the current momentum, there was no way this comeback would fail… !

At the same time, on the other hand, I thought that it would be nice if this stage was fun and flashy enough to make him shut up, but basically everyone trusted Testa.

‘I’ve never been ruined!’

And on the day of the release of Testa’s comeback teaser.

Fans get to see a staggering 30-second video they never expected.

‘Woe Wilderness??’

The concept that Testa chose was… It was steampunk shipbuilding.