Chapter 18
Winsome - That's it!
A.Crown - What's Up (뭐가)
TeenHeim – UmmUmm
These were the three songs Won Chaeseo presented as candidates.
I was familiar with all of them.
They were either famous hits that appeared frequently in the game or real-life songs by actual idols outside the game.
I didn't need to scramble to look them up.
Besides, lately, I've been raiding streaming sites every chance I get.
You can't become a K-pop singer if you don't know K-pop, so I've been putting in a lot of effort.
Thanks to that, I was able to reach a conclusion quickly.
"The styles are all quite similar," I noted.
"You're right," Won Chaeseo nodded in agreement with my analysis.
All these songs shared a similar vibe, lyrical theme, and flow.
They fell under the genre known as 'Teen Crush'.
This genre, which mixes "high teen" elements with "girl crush" vibes, is the current trend for girl group tracks.
Won Chaeseo put on a refreshing and bright stage for the first mission; this time, she clearly wanted to leave a strong, impactful impression.
Seeing that all the candidates were powerful and intense, there was no other conclusion to draw.
Genre selection is crucial if you want to be memorable.
Honestly, in a competition program like this, slow or calm songs often fail to deliver the same level of impact.
"Shall we decide after listening to them first?" I suggested.
"Sure thing!"
The trainees agreed and turned their attention to the first lyric sheet.
Won Chaeseo played a song from her phone and placed it in the center of the floor where the team members were sitting.
The first song was Winsome's <That's it!>.
It was a bright, cheerful, and confident song.
The lyrics followed a "my way" theme, shouting, "Life is short, just live it! Yeah, that's it!"
It was a track about the ambition to achieve whatever one desires, a sentiment that seemed to fit our current situation well.
The second song was A.Crown's <What's Up>.
While it shared a similar theme with Winsome's track, it felt like it had an "I don't give a damn" attitude attached to the front of "my way."
The lyrics were stronger and more self-centered.
It was essentially a heavily refined and indirect way of saying, "So what, screw you."
Personally, I liked the lyrics of this one the best.
The last was TeenHeim's <UmmUmm>.
The vibe was right in the middle of Winsome and A.Crown.
It was energetic and powerful but not purely sunshine and rainbows.
If Winsome leaned more toward "High Teen" and A.Crown toward "Girl Crush," this was exactly the midpoint.
The lyrics were about snubbing haters: "So? You can say that, but I'm still great, so what are you gonna do?"
We then watched the choreography videos together.
In terms of difficulty, TeenHeim was the highest.
Winsome's song was the "easiest," but "easiest" was a relative term, all three had quite difficult choreography.
"Hmm... what do you think?"
"Has anyone made up their mind?"
"I'm not sure yet..."
Seeing the choreography videos seemed to make the decision even harder.
My teammates were scratching their heads.
I crossed my arms and deliberated, looking back and forth between the lyric sheets and the dance videos.
Finally, I reached a conclusion.
'TeenHeim is definitely the best choice.'
Just as I made my internal decision, the teammate next to me spoke up first.
"I think..."
The trainee, who ranked 18th in the first mission, hesitated before turning a page.
"A.Crown sunbaenims' <What's Up> would be good."
"Oh? Why?"
"The vibe is strong, and the rap is powerful. I think it would be great for leaving a big impression on the judges."
"Aha~"
Well... she had a point.
The problem was that our team lacked a dedicated rapper who could handle that track.
She seemed to have picked it based on her personal taste while overlooking that fact.
"I think... mm! Winsome sunbaenims? I like the hopeful atmosphere," said the 11th-place trainee. As the oldest in the team, her opinion seemed to sway a few others.
After those two spoke, silence fell over the group again.
It felt like it was finally my turn to speak.
I had waited because their opinions differed from mine, but we couldn't let the song selection drag on.
The second mission had just started, but the interim evaluation would be upon us before we knew it.
We were about to become incredibly busy and sleep-deprived.
We needed to pick a song and start practicing immediately.
"Hm?"
At that moment, I felt someone poking my knee.
I looked up to see Won Chaeseo staring at me.
"What about you, Unnie?"
Despite her dry expression, her eyes were somewhat lively.
Was she intentionally giving me an opening to speak?
I was just waiting for the right timing; it wasn't that I couldn't speak.
She must have mistaken my silent contemplation for struggling to find the words.
Thanks to her lead, I presented my opinion smoothly.
"I think the third song, TeenHeim sunbaenims' <UmmUmm>, would be best."
"Aigo, we're all split!"
"What's your reason?"
I had plenty.
I began my explanation as logically as possible, making sure not to offend the fans of the original artists of the other two songs, a necessary precaution to avoid a social media backlash.
"First... The other two songs are great, but I think A.Crown sunbaenims' track might be a bit much for our first team battle." I replayed just the rap part of that song. "There are some very difficult parts for a team without a main rapper, and the rap takes up a huge portion of the song."
It was a powerful rap segment by A.Crown's main rapper right before the second chorus.
Since we had only listened to the first verses to get the vibe, the others hadn't heard this part yet.
The trainees tilted their heads or let their jaws drop, realizing how hard it would be.
Even Won Chaeseo, who could rap a little, shook her head.
"And as for Winsome sunbaenims..." This time, I pulled up the choreography video and slid the playback bar to the latter half. The team's eyes naturally followed the screen. A powerful dance break was playing right after the chorus. "They have a lot of members. They dance with the maximum power that a large group can provide." I paused the video. "If the five of us do this dance, won't it lack power? The stage might look empty."
[Image comparing a large dance group formation versus a small dance group formation to illustrate stage presence]
I was certain it would look empty.
This choreography only delivers an impact when a large group moves in perfect synchronization.
It was designed for many members to perform slightly different movements that merge into "one."
Our team had half the members of Winsome.
It's a famous song; if five people perform a ten-person dance, viewers will inevitably feel like something is missing.
Half the "parts" required to look like a single entity are gone.
No matter how hard we dance, the completeness will seem lower.
We could rearrange the dance break, but we didn't have the time.
"That's why I think TeenHeim sunbaenims' <UmmUmm> is the most suitable selection for us."
The bottom line: in a survival show, you shouldn't give people a reason to compare you unfavorably to the original artist.
"They have the same number of members as us... and above all, the mood of the song shifts dramatically but naturally, so I think we can show more diverse sides of ourselves."
To be honest, I didn't pick TeenHeim because of the song's inherent strengths.
I picked it because it carried the least risk.
Aside from Won Chaeseo, our team didn't have anyone exceptionally skilled.
It was better to create a stage that makes people say "That's good!" rather than trying to make them say "Wow!" at raw skill.
We needed a stage the judges and viewers could simply enjoy.
"Oho, hearing it that way..."
"Mm-hmm~"
My teammates nodded silently and turned to the TeenHeim lyric sheet.
They were sold.
"I like it," the one with the most important vote agreed readily. Since the selection right belonged to Won Chaeseo, her approval meant game over.
Actually, I suspected Won Chaeseo had felt the same way all along.
I noticed her fiddling only with the TeenHeim lyrics earlier.
She probably wanted it most but brought the other two to gauge our opinions.
That explained why she hadn't reacted to the other two and was only now showing a positive response.
"I think it's good too."
"Da-na has a point!"
Starting with the leader, positive reactions poured in.
The teammates who had picked the other two songs also readily followed my lead.
They didn't seem "convinced" so much as they simply weren't determined to push their own choices.
"Okay. Then our team mission song will be TeenHeim sunbaenims' <UmmUmm>."
"Yay~!"
"Applause!"
The team cheered at Won Chaeseo's most confident voice yet.
I smiled and clapped along.
Won Chaeseo then went to the production team to report our choice.
The staff had instructed us to report immediately to avoid duplicate song choices between teams.
Seeing her light footsteps on the way back, it seemed no other team had picked it yet.
After a quick part distribution, we dove straight into practice.
The distribution was peaceful because the number of members matched the original song, and the parts were fairly equal.
We were able to immerse ourselves in practice without any major friction.
Since we all knew the song, we didn't need time to learn the melody or lyrics.
We practiced individually on our parts and occasionally asked each other for advice.
Occasionally, we sang through the whole thing together.
Dancing wasn't a major hurdle either.
It was such a famous song that the team members knew most of the moves.
I was no exception.
This song belonged to a real-life idol group, one very famous both domestically and internationally.
I knew the point choreography of the chorus by heart because of the viral dance challenges.
I don't know if that's why, but even the mini-game felt easy.
Choreography practice seemed like it would be smooth sailing.
Of course, some details we remembered differed slightly, and parts outside the chorus were a bit confusing, but we could fix those quickly through group practice.
The problem wasn't that.
No, it wasn't really a "problem," but there was an unexpected development...
"Since everyone knows this part, shall we try to sync it up centered around Dana Unnie?"
I was the 'Center'... for that part.
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