HPDBC Chapter 739: Grabbing the Heat
Chapter 739: Grabbing the Heat
Chapter 739: Grabbing the Heat
After things were temporarily settled, it was almost three o'clock when they returned to the EXO dormitory. But what was interesting was that more than half of the members had not yet gone to bed. As soon as Ji Jingyuan came back, he was discovered by Kim Junmyeon and Kim Minseok who were sitting in the living room watching a horror movie.
The two brothers each hugged a pillow tightly, as if they were facing a critical moment. They just squeaked and greeted Chi Jingyuan and then ignored him.
The last few days haven't been very busy, and each member has plenty of energy, and there are usually some special activities in the evening.
However, several members who are local to Seoul have returned home to live in the past few days... According to the news that Ji Jingyuan heard, it is estimated that by next year, SM may no longer force EXO members to live in dormitories. Normally, members who have apartments and places to live locally can go back and live there on their own. They will only be required to live in dormitories during the comeback period or when there are team activities.
This is also a normal phenomenon in the development of a group... It is said that there were few people living in the dormitories of Girls' Generation very early on, and the huge dormitory was only occupied by one or two homeless girls.
For Chi Jingyuan, living in a dormitory and living at home have their own advantages. The latter has better accommodation conditions and more free time, which is especially convenient for dating or falling in love.
But the dormitory is not bad actually. At least it is lively with so many people living together, and it is really interesting most of the time... I woke up early in the morning and saw two people arguing about the order of toilets or last night's snoring. You exposed my shortcomings and I mocked me, which made Chi Jingyuan, who was half asleep, wake up all of a sudden. This kind of fun can never be experienced if you live alone.
After washing up and returning to the room, he found that his two roommates, Oh Sehun and Do Kyungsoo, were not asleep either. They were lying on the bed playing with their mobile phones.
"Why did you come back so late?"
After seeing Chi Jingyuan come in, Wu Shixun glanced at the time on his phone: "Didn't you go on a date with Irene? Does it take so long to get back together?"
"Who told me to get back together?"
Chi Jingyuan glanced at him, changed his clothes, sat down on the bed, and lay down directly, resting his head on his arms and looking at the ceiling above.
So many things happened tonight. He didn't know how long he had been driving back and forth in Seoul. He didn't feel it just now, but now he feels a little tired after just one trip here... But he is still in good spirits, and his mind can't help but recall the scenes of tonight.
"You won't..."
Seeing Ji Jingyuan's expression, Wu Sehun seemed to sense something and blurted out something reflexively, but he stopped halfway, sat up from the bed, and looked at Do Kyungsoo and exchanged glances.
He seemed to see that Chi Jingyuan and Bae Zhuxuan really had problems and broke up this time, but at this time, Wu Sehun did not persuade them to reconcile from all sides as he did before. Instead, he was quiet for a while, then looked over and took the initiative to ask: "Do you want to go out for a midnight snack? And have a drink or something to relax?"
Hearing this, Chi Jingyuan came back to his senses. He certainly understood what this person meant and looked at him with strange eyes: "Oh, you are quite loyal... Why didn't you seem so enthusiastic during the previous breakups?"
"How could those times you were dating before be called dating? You were just playing with her and then dumping her. You were so relaxed and there was no emotional fluctuation at all. I didn't even bother to say anything to you..."
Hearing Chi Jingyuan say this, Wu Sehun curled his lips in disdain, and then said with an expression of understanding: "But you and Irene obviously feel different this time, right, Kyungsu brother."
Do Kyungsoo also nodded and agreed: "Yeah, Jingyuan seems to be in a bad mood."
"Look... do you want to go? When you're in a bad mood, drinking a little alcohol is the best way to get the best results. Now that I mention it, I'm a little hungry..."
"Well……"
Chi Jingyuan puffed out his cheeks and exhaled.
This kid has a really sharp eye... He is indeed a good doctor after enduring illness.
But even though he complained in his heart, Chi Jingyuan still felt the kindness of his teammates, which really helped him.
But after thinking about it, he declined: "Forget it, I have something else to do tomorrow."
If he was in a very upset mood just now, Chi Jingyuan really wanted to find some friends to have a midnight snack and drink some wine together, but now his mood has improved a lot, so there is no need to do that.
And although there may be some problems now, who can predict what will happen in the future?
After hearing what he said, the two roommates did not force it and did not say anything else, as if they were deliberately creating a quiet atmosphere.
Chi Jingyuan, lying on the bed, felt sleepy. He took a last look at the glaring ceiling light, reached out to turn it off, closed his eyes and prepared to go to sleep.
I wonder if Pei Zhuxuan and Zhou Ziyu, who have disturbed him these past few nights, have fallen asleep...
…………
The next day, Chi Jingyuan got up very early, went directly to the company to organize yesterday's songs, and then rushed to the recording studio to record a demo himself.
Although some parts are not yet completed, at least the melody and lyrics are there, and you can already hear the quality of the song.
Because the message was sent in advance, after recording the demo and having lunch, Ji Jingyuan went straight to Lee Soo Man to listen to it for him. Kenzie happened to be there too, and she was also very interested in Ji Jingyuan's new song, so she joined them to appreciate it.
"We once loved each other, and we met."
"It has become an unforgettable memory."
The melody, which had just been released less than 24 hours ago, was played from the speakers along with Chi Jingyuan's voice, and several people listened attentively.
"Very good, the whole thing is very complete, the beginning and chorus are very catchy, especially the melody is really great, you can sing along after listening to it once, and it is a rare style in Kpop... But isn't the arrangement a little too simple?"
After listening to it twice in a row, Kenzie couldn't help but nod and praise Lee Soo Man before he said anything. It seemed that she liked Ji Jingyuan's demo very much. While commenting, she asked questions:
"Noona, this is just a preliminary version, the arrangement is not yet complete."
"Yeah, I think so... I think it would be more appropriate to use more keyboards and percussion instruments. You can consider it when the time comes..." As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and reminded him, "Also, Jingyuan, have you checked for repetitions? I feel like one of the chorus lines sounds a little familiar."
"I checked it last night. The melody of one sentence is somewhat similar, but the rhythm is different if you compare it. Only a few syllables are similar and it is not repetitive. And this is the only sentence that sounds similar. The other differences are very obvious and have little impact."
Chi Jingyuan said seriously that even if there is no subjective plagiarism, there will often be some very similar songs due to similar inspiration, so the first thing to do after a song is created is of course to check whether there is duplication and plagiarism.
"That's fine." Kenzie nodded and gave Chi Jingyuan a thumbs up with a smile: "Remember to let me listen to the finished product of this song after it is finished..."
Lee Soo Man didn't say much. After chatting for a few words, the two left the music room. After saying goodbye to Kenzie, Ji Jingyuan followed Lee Soo Man to his office. After pouring water for him, the two started chatting.
"Teacher, what do you think of this song?
"I think it's pretty good. It would be good to be the title song of your solo album..."
Lee Soo Man hesitated for a moment and adjusted his glasses. He first gave a positive evaluation, but then changed the subject: "But I think the difference in quality is not that obvious compared to the songs the company prepared for you before and some songs collected from outside."
As he said this, he laughed again: "Of course, I've said it before, Jingyuan, you will be able to produce your solo this time. If you decide on the title song, the company will of course support you..."
"..."
Chi Jingyuan looked at Lee Soo-man, who was laughing so hard that his eyes were invisible, and blinked.
He could hear that Lee Soo Man was actually somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that his solo album had been delayed without any progress. This also represented the attitude of SM company. As the top member of EXO with the highest popularity gap, his first solo was one of the most important projects of the company in the second half of the year, or even the whole year. This was related to SM's planning and adjustments for the personal development of EXO members.
As a result, there has been no progress since the solo project was launched at the beginning of the year. In fact, the company is a little anxious and has urged him several times. If it weren't for the fact that he is Chi Jingyuan, the song would have been planned by the company's producer long ago if it were someone else.
...But it seemed that Lee Soo Man just complained briefly and was still very satisfied with Ji Jingyuan.
Ji Jingyuan understood the urging and complaints from Lee Soo-man and the company, but he did not agree with his brother's evaluation of the song.
The company did provide him with a lot of song resources, which was almost open to him to choose from, and there were also many high-quality songs that were at the level of hit songs, but after listening to them, there was no song that caught his eye, that he felt was to his liking and would definitely become a hit.
Kenzie nodded immediately after listening to this new song, and Chi Jingyuan also felt that it was rare to find such a catchy melody and a song with a good combination of style and lyrics. However, as for Lee Soo Man, he felt that it was just okay and not much different from those in the company's song library.
Ji Jingyuan now feels that Lee Soo Man's ability to appreciate songs seems to have some problems in the past two years. Not to mention that his evaluation of "Cheer Up" last year made Twice popular this year, and he was not particularly optimistic about "Love Scenario", which songs of NCT, the junior group that debuted this year, can be selected by humans?
Fortunately, Chi Jingyuan has enough say in his solo album.
"After the whole song is perfected, I will show it to the teacher... But if nothing unexpected happens, this should be the title song."
Chi Jingyuan first said it tactfully, and then seriously explained his thoughts.
"Well, let's make it like this. Now that the title song has been confirmed, Jingyuan, you can officially start planning your solo project... As for the songs to be included, have you already considered it?"
He nodded. He had actually thought about this many times. He counted on his fingers and said, "We are not going to use two main songs this time. In addition to the main song "Love Scenario", "Music Box" will be added. If "Love Scenario" was not included, I would have used this song as the main song... "Butterfly Effect" will also be added. I like this song very much."
"'Save me' and 'I'm fine' are twin songs that complement each other. If they are included, they can echo each other from beginning to end, and the interpretation of the concept of youth in this album can be more complete."
"Then there are a few songs that have been released before, including "You=I" from the first tour, "Answer" from the third tour, and "Rooftop" from last year's Song Festival. However, the audio source of "Rooftop" has already been released, so if you want to include it, it's better to make a remix version..."
Chi Jingyuan detailed his thoughts, but as he spoke, he frowned: "In addition to these songs, there are actually some other candidates... But the number of songs is a bit too many. For a mini album, six or seven songs will be enough..."
The original plan for his solo was to release a mini album, but perhaps because it was his first solo, Chi Jingyuan was a little excited and wanted to express and show a lot, and it just so happened that he had enough song resources, so it seemed that the number of included songs exceeded the limit.
"This is not really important. No matter how many songs there are on the album, as long as the quality and style of the songs are guaranteed, it's fine."
Upon hearing this, Lee Soo Man smiled and waved his hand to indicate that it didn't matter:
"With your popularity, Jingyuan, you don't even need to test the waters with a mini album. It doesn't matter if you just release a regular album... Besides, the resources the company has provided for your solo this time are enough for other people to release two regular albums."
As the first solo member of EXO, Lee Soo Man, SM company, and even Ji Kyung Won himself all had a clear idea about this album. They all had the confidence that it would be a success no matter what, even if he released an entire album of children's songs.
EXO has the highest popularity among all the idols, and they are currently the most popular idol in the music industry because of this confidence.
However, with a huge number of fans as a foundation, no matter how popular it is, if the quality of the album songs does not meet the requirements and expectations, it will greatly damage Chi Jingyuan's personal reputation, which will be detrimental to his second solo album and even the subsequent solos of other members. Therefore, both Chi Jingyuan and the company attach great importance to controlling the quality of the album.
"Please think about the songs included in the album, or we can discuss it together in a meeting..." Lee Soo Man first set the tone, and then talked about other things in the plan: "This time your solo will have a very specific and complete plan. In addition to the most important physical album, there will also be supporting concept promotions, including preheating, suspense, gimmicks and so on. We will prepare."
"There will also be comeback live broadcasts, personal debut showcases, fan events, filming your personal variety shows, and even personal concerts on the agenda."
"Now that the title song has been chosen, if we are going to release the album at the end of this year, we will have to start preparing next month... Jingyuan, you must be prepared and take it seriously."
The resources SM invested in Ji Kyung-won's solo this time are indeed very thoughtful. They are much more than what Girls' Generation's leader Kim Taeyeon invested in her first solo last year. Basically, all the resources needed for a Kpop idol's solo are involved.
Although he was looking forward to his personal album, Chi Jingyuan still felt a little overwhelmed when he heard about so many activities.
"I'll try my best." That was all he could say.
"only……"
But as he spoke, Chi Jingyuan seemed to remember something and looked embarrassed again: "It's just that I will join the crew at the end of August, and I will be filming from September to the end of the year. In the meantime, there will be a group concert. At the end of September, I will go to the fashion week to cooperate with various GUCCI promotions. There will also be an advertising song in October, and then various schedules at the end of the year..."
"I feel like there isn't enough time." He felt a bit of a headache when he talked about his scheduled schedule for the next few months. If he added a solo album to the schedule, Chi Jingyuan felt that even if he split himself into two people, he might not be able to handle so many things.
Everything else is fine, whether it's the commercials or the concerts, but the filming of "Goblin" is the most time-consuming... But he chose to take this drama himself, so he can't blame anyone else.
Lee Soo Man smiled and added, "There is also XO's winter special..."
"Ah~"
Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but curse, but his voice was so small that it was barely audible.
"Let's start preparing first. We don't have to release the solo this year. Everything else still depends on the specific progress of the album. We can't rush it..."
Li Xiuman thought about it and did not set a fixed time: "If the progress is slow, it can be postponed to the beginning of next year..."
As he said that, he patted Chi Jingyuan's shoulder with a smile and said, "If you are too busy, I will instruct the company not to give you any extra schedules. Jingyuan, you still have to take care of your health. If you have any health problems again, your brother will make trouble for me."
…………
After chatting with Lee Soo Man and agreeing on some things about the solo album, Ji Kyung-won returned to EXO's practice room. Yoo Jae-suk would be coming over in a while, and they were going to practice the "Dancing Kine" dance together. The official recording would begin in two days.
EXO can also see that Yoo Jae Suk is really serious about this collaboration, and no matter how busy he is, he will come over every two days for rehearsal and filming. He also seems to practice on his own in private, and his mastery of the choreography for this song improves every time.
Although the dance in "Dancing Kine" was deliberately made simple, it is still a very good performance for a person born in the 70s.
When Chi Jingyuan came back, most of the members had already arrived. They were chatting and playing with their phones while they still had some time. After saying hello, he walked to the side and found a seat to sit down. Looking at Wu Sehun who was browsing his phone not far away, he asked, "What are you looking at? Is there any important news today?"
"Isn't the Olympics the hottest news recently?"
Wu Se-hun glanced at him and said matter-of-factly, "Today there was an archery qualifying competition. The men's team Gu Bohanxi and the women's team Zhang Huizhenxi both easily made it to the 1/8 finals. They have already been trending on the search list, and the comments are saying that they have already secured the gold medal."
2016 is the year of the Olympics. This year's Olympics was officially opened in Rio de Janeiro a few days ago on August 8th. The enthusiasm for the Olympics on the peninsula is still very strong, especially the first few events including archery have always been the traditional strengths of the peninsula, and the public is very concerned about them. In the past few days, as long as there are competitions, they are basically hot searches.
This also resulted in a lot of attention and popularity being diverted away from the entertainment and music circles. In order to avoid this period, many companies specifically delayed the return of their artists until the end of the Olympics.
However, Chi Jingyuan is not very interested in the Olympics and has not paid much attention to it in recent days except for a few key events.
"Besides the Olympics? No other news?"
He sat there, took out his cell phone and asked.
"Besides this...YG's new girl group debuted yesterday." Wu Sehun shrugged.
"Of course, it's YG indeed, competing so aggressively with the Olympics for popularity."
Chi Jingyuan laughed and asked casually while opening the webpage: "I watched the showcase for a few minutes yesterday. It was totally boring... Is the song out? How is the performance?"
"It's pretty good, you can see for yourself..."
"Oh, it's really good..."
Before Wu Sehun finished speaking, Ji Jingyuan had already logged into the music website. He was quite surprised to see that the first place on the daily charts of several major music websites was all written with the name "WHISTLE"-Blackpink.
He looked at six or seven mainstream music charts, including real-time and daily charts, and the number one name was all the same: this song, firmly pushing all other songs below... This could be said to have swept the charts out of nowhere.
Even though there has been no music releases recently due to the Olympics and the overall market is declining, it is still extremely difficult to do this. How many girl groups have been around for so long and have never taken the top spot on the daily charts?
Not to mention that this is a new girl group that debuted just one day ago.
“Is this song so good?”
After looking at the list for a while, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but ask in surprise... Of course, he wouldn't think about how much fan base a new girl group has or how strong their personal charm is. His first reaction was that the quality of the songs was too high.
Or is it that YG's marketing strategy of rehashing leftovers from a few years ago and whetting people's appetite every once in a while is so effective?
"It's OK, it sounds nice."
Chi Jingyuan became interested and plugged in his headphones to listen.
I had just opened the music player when my phone vibrated and I suddenly received a text message.
He clicked on it and saw that it was another message from Lin Nayeon, and it was still a thank-you message. He didn't know if it was because Chi Jingyuan didn't reply yesterday, so she thought he didn't see it, and actually changed a few words and the order of the message he sent yesterday and sent it again.
Chi Jingyuan was somewhat speechless about this behavior. He stared at the sender's name note for a few seconds, then tapped the screen to reply:
"Didn't you thank me yesterday?"
(End of this chapter)