Chapter 156: Truly Difficult

Jingyuan, your Chinese is really great! Before... Tzuyu told me and I didn't quite believe it, but now that I've heard you speak, I know your spoken Chinese is really good. You sound totally like a na...Kim Taeyeon's singing voice is already considered very good among girl groups. She has been supporting Girls' Generation's sound and live performances for many years, along with several other main vocalists, in a situation where it was obvious that someone was lagging behind. Her hard work and dedication are truly commendable.

However, as a producer, Chik Kyeng-won was able to point out several issues after listening to Kim Taeyeon's recordings for so long. Her breath control wasn't good and she often lacked presence, which had always been her biggest weakness. Before becoming Kim Taeyeon's producer, Chik Kyeng-won could easily tell this by listening to live performances.

Of course, the flaw of insufficient breath control is also compared to those實力派的 singers and recognized lead vocalists. Within the group and in the idol world, Kim Taeyeon's level is still clearly a notch higher.

There are also some other issues, like the high notes being a bit unstable, but these are minor. The most important thing is that he feels this sister doesn't seem to know what's wrong. Maybe she's sung too hard over the years, strained her voice too much or something. Overall, he feels her vocal cords aren't in good shape and sometimes singing seems quite difficult for her.

This wasn't much of a problem during recording, as post-production audio editing could fix any issues. However, during live performances, it starts to sound noticeably worse.

However, making this album is just part of Ji Jingyuan's job as the main producer. Once it comes to live performances, that's no longer his concern, so he isn't really involved in those aspects.

But after hearing that Taeyeon's voice and vocal tone had some problems, he still took the time to say something, reminding her to pay attention to her rest and control her singing technique.

As the person involved, Kim Tae-yeon could obviously feel it too. After thanking him, she also discussed the issue with Ji Kyung-won, but in the end, they couldn't come to a definite conclusion. They could only guess that it was probably due to her singing style and fatigue, which put a lot of strain on her vocal cords.

So you see, if you sing fewer songs and just lip-sync in a pretty outfit, you'll be relaxed and won't make any mistakes. The stage effect will also be at a good level, and the audience will enjoy it too.

It's so good to win!

Why are you straining your voice It's tiring and prone to mistakes. One slip-up, like missing a note or going out of tune, will disappoint your fans and get you mocked by countless haters and rival fans who'll clip those moments and create "stage accident compilation" videos for online viewing and ridicule.

It's such a waste of effort.

It's a pity that some people just can't understand.

I don't know if it was the company's arrangement or my own bias.

Although Taeyeon encountered some issues, her vocal skills are still impressive overall. Especially strong in emotional expression and infectiousness, she excels at singing melancholic pop songs. The featured artist role for Ji-sung also presented no difficulties; he seamlessly blends into the track without overshadowing Taeyeon. After initial adjustments, the recording process progressed smoothly, entering the mixing stage by late August.

And EXO also flew to Tokyo, Japan in the early hours of the 30th to participate in the 'a-nation' Summer Festival concert held by Avex that night.

This was a performance organized by Neon Ai Hui, featuring their in-house artists and collaborators. It was similar to an ** Town family concert format. XO wasn't the main act; as they hadn't officially debuted in Japan yet, they were still considered juniors, not the most popular group.

Of course, even so, their popularity and the live reaction of the audience still amazed many viewers, even high-level executives.

As the concert ended, they returned to Seoul with other company members the next day, and in August, they officially announced their disbandment.

……

"Today's temperature is really a bit low, wearing short sleeves outside you can clearly feel the cold."

On the evening of September 1st, in EXO's dormitory in Gangnam District, Baekhyun returned to the living room sofa after getting a jacket from his room. Rubbing his arms, he recalled how cold he had been during the day's activities while wearing a short sleeve and how he had ended up borrowing a coat from an assistant. He couldn't help but sigh about it.

As the scorching summer heat of July and August fades, with September approaching and autumn settling in, Seoul has experienced a noticeable drop in temperature. Particularly in recent days, the cooling has been quite drastic. Just a couple of days ago, it was still unbearably hot, and people were going out in short sleeves. However, these past two days have brought a distinct chill to the air.

Besides those like Bian Chengxian who are slow to react and still feel like they're living in summer, or those who prioritize beauty and insist on showing it off, most people on the streets of Seoul have already put on long sleeves or coats.

"The temperature dropped two days ago. Don't you check the weather forecast" Kim Giseok glanced at him.

"Don't look!"

Bian Bianhyun flicked his bangs and replied with a cool air, acting like he didn't remember what happened.

"You deserve to be shivering today, you better go out in short sleeves again tomorrow…" As a fellow classmate of the same year, Park Chan-hyeok didn't hold back and shot him a jab. Xiao Bian naturally wasn't weak either, and the two of them started bickering back and forth.

After a good while of lively banter, they somehow drifted into talking about their schedule for the day. Park Chan-yeol gave a sly smile as he looked at Park Ji-sung who was comfortably nestled on the far end of the sofa, happily engrossed in his game console. “Ji-sung ah,” he said teasingly, “during the shoot break today, wasn’t that model trying to get your phone number”

"Huh"

When Ji-yeong heard his own name, he was taken aback. He raised his head, took off his earphones, and looked over. After Park Chan-hyeok repeated it once more, he lazily leaned back and nodded at the same time: "Yeah, bro, you saw it too"

This morning they filmed the advertisement for IVYclub's winter school uniform this year. It's a pity that the female artist partnered with him wasn't IU, but instead a new model. It made Ji Chang Wook seem a bit bored in the shoot.

This female model seems to be a big fan of EXO. She was very enthusiastic during the photoshoot, and during a break when no one was around, she even took the initiative to approach Ji-sung to exchange phone numbers. Unexpectedly, Park Chan-yeol, who had been observing them the whole time, saw this.

Speaking of which, EXO became the IVYclub advertisement spokesperson in their second year of debut. It has been almost three years now. They shoot two sets of school uniform advertisements for spring and summer, as well as autumn and winter every year, and each year they partner with a different female artist.

From Kim Yoo-jung, to Seo Ye-ji, then to IU, and this time, this new model.

It can be said that EXO is like a cast iron band, with its female partners constantly changing.

However, this should be the last collaboration between EXO and this school uniform brand they've been endorsing. By next year when they've been debuted for four years, they wouldn't be as suitable to take on these kinds of school uniform advertisement endorsements anymore.

For idol groups on the peninsula, it is generally newcomers who have just debuted and received resources from the company due to their potential. They are the ones who can land advertisements for school uniforms.

They are already at the top and wouldn't stoop to compete with newcomers for resources.

"Have you heard" As soon as a few gossipy men heard this, their eyes lit up and they all turned to look.

"None." Ji Jingyuan first glanced at the managers, assistants waiting around, and the Vlive staff preparing for the live broadcast later, then shook his head in response.

Today is September 1st, the official launch day of Vlive APP. In a while, EXO will be starting their live broadcast project "Three-Day Journey".

After the last meeting, the company also felt that this kind of live broadcast would be more natural and closer to fans after discussion, so they changed the first broadcast location from the practice room directly to the dormitory, and will return to the practice room tomorrow.

Of course, such a formal work like a team live broadcast couldn't be completed by them alone. The company's team, as well as the staff from Vlive who came over to coordinate, had already arrived at EXO's dormitory to start preparing and communicating. This would probably be almost finished soon.

"What do you think Don't you find me unattractive"

"...It's pretty good-looking, but..." Chi Jingyuan said, gesturing with his mouth towards the side. He didn't finish his sentence.

But he wasn't really interested, and his performance seemed a bit too forced.

Several members, following his gaze, immediately understood. Park Chan-wook stopped asking further questions and seamlessly shifted the conversation to another topic.

These more gossipy and private conversations, which are usually fine to have in front of managers and assistants, don't really matter after all these years in the industry because everyone knows each other well. However, it's still not appropriate to discuss them with the Vlive staff members.

After a while, the agent, Lee Seung-hwan, came over after talking to someone on the other end. He clapped his hands to interrupt their chatter and got down to business: "Everything is almost ready over there. Have you all tidied up your own rooms During the live stream later, please be careful not to reveal anything inappropriate or private."

"Ready!" several people chorused.

"We've already discussed the specific process and the main style of the live stream. However, the chat section is still up to you to improvise. Remember to avoid discussing sensitive topics."

"Have you all already started using Vlive Your personal accounts have already been registered for you, and soon you can use your phones to see the audience's comments."

"Got it."

Ji Jingyuan followed the members' response with a sound, but in his heart, he couldn't help but complain.

This APP currently mainly serves as a platform for celebrity live streams and pre-recorded celebrity video content, and it is rumored that paid content will also be launched in the future.

Among the celebrity livestreams, there are two types: scheduled livestreams and surprise livestreams. The former is similar to those return showcases, concerts, TV drama movie variety show production conferences, etc.

The latter's surprise live stream is one with no announcement, not even a hint, it just suddenly starts. It tests an individual's popularity and fan loyalty.

In all live streams, besides leaving comments and sending real-time reviews to interact with idols, fans and viewers can also express their support by clicking the heart on the screen. Generally speaking, the higher the number of hearts, the more people watching, and the higher the popularity of the livestream.

But speaking of it, it's actually quite good. When he started using it, Jiyuan found something was wrong. This Vlive is really the most difficult star chasing app he has ever used. The UI design and function classification feel problematic, and more importantly, it often freezes up when used. The user experience is even worse than their own EXO fan club app EXO-L.

Is this app really Naver's ambitious project

"OK, it's almost time, you guys better get ready."

After Lee Seung-hwan had finished explaining, he hesitated for two seconds and still felt uneasy. He turned back and shouted at them again:

"Chanyeol and Baekhyun, all of you guys are so careless, make sure to double-check everything before we go live."

"

Well, everyone's going.

"

Later there will be

(The End)n MC, Yoo Jae-Suk, walked step by step to the middle of the stage."Haven't you been waiting for a long time!""ye~~""The 2015 Infinite Challenge Song Festival, the Lingdong Expressway Song Festival, is...