Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 107



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Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter Episode 107

107. Central Park

A nickname that was starting to fade away after debuting as ‘Seongjun’.

‘D.Voice’

In the United States, not even in Korea, the man holding the placard with that nickname on it had a familiar face when he looked again.

A white man with a reddish beard and mischievous eyes.

The first man to see through Seongjun’s identity as ‘D.Voice’, and a named user active in Sound Sky.

As a master of the synth-pop genre, he took second place in the final of ‘Who’s the King’.

“mark!”

It turned out to be Mark, a New Yorker.

Seongjun and Mark have been frequently exchanging messages through messenger since the program ended.

And Mark, who regretted not being able to appear on ‘Knowing Uncle’ where the ‘Who’s the King’ TOP 5 members appeared last time, left a message telling them to contact him if they ever visit New York.

As the destination of ‘Begin One More’ was decided to be New York, and the fact and the arrival schedule were announced, this surprise welcome came about, and that was the whole story of the [WELCOME to NYC D.Voice] placard incident.

“D.Voice, it’s been a while. Bro.”

“What? You came out to greet me without saying anything.”

“What? It’s a surprise. Welcome to New York.”

Seongjun and Mark greet each other warmly with a fist bump.

Seongjun meets a local New Yorker by chance at the airport.

And the scene where he talks to the other person in fluent English, telling them to go away, was a scene that the VJ in charge absolutely had to capture on camera.

On the first day of my arrival, I was so happy that I thought I had found a useful intro video.

Seongjun, who was talking to a white man, pointed at someone with his finger.

As I naturally turned the camera to follow the tip of my finger, I caught sight of Ryu Young-seok, who was passing through the immigration gate from behind.

“Oh, ‘MR. Ryu’ is here too.”

Mark recognizes Ryu Young-seok, who was a judge, and waves.

“Huh? Mark, participant?”

Then Ryu Young-seok also recognized Mark, took off his sunglasses, and blinked in surprise.

“No, how did you get here? How? How come here?”

When Ryu Young-seok approached them with a smile and asked in halting Konglish, Mark and Sung-jun explained the whole story.

“You two have been keeping in touch. Good.”

A happy smile appeared on Ryu Young-seok’s face as the musical exchange between the two different musicians continued even after the program ended.

Latte had a hard time making friends across countries and languages, but it made me realize that times have changed.

“Okay, do your best in filming. If you need someone to cheer you on while you’re busking, let me know. I’ll go with my friends and cheer you on.”

“Thank you. It definitely feels good to have a local friend.”

“Let’s have a light meal later when you have time. I’ll buy it. If you want, I can guide you. Of course, Mr. Ryu and your friends will come too.”

“Good. I’ll have to suggest that. Anyway, thank you for coming out to greet me today. I’ll be in touch.”

After saying goodbye, Seongjun rejoined the group.

As he returns, questions pour in from the production crew and cast.

“Who are you? Are you someone I know? Oh, you participated in Who’s the King?”

“But how are you so good at English? You’re almost a native speaker? What? You taught yourself? Is that possible?”

“Can the interpreter take a break? Sungjun can take charge of the comments while we’re busking. That’s perfect.”

“Somehow this shoot, from the start, has a good feeling.”

The expectations of the ‘Begin One More’ team are rising.

*

A common misconception is that New York is not the capital of the United States.

Washington, D.C. is the capital.

But why do people think of New York as closer to the capital?

That may be because New York is the world’s most famous metropolis and the center of global economy, culture, and fashion.

At the same time, New York is also called a mecca for artists.

Music, architecture, film, design, modern art, etc.

A leader in the arts, this city combines splendid, sophisticated modern buildings with stately, majestic Gothic buildings, creating an overwhelming and awe-inspiring beauty.

Musically, the city that changed the history of ‘rock music’ is New York.

Alternative rock, the current trend in rock music, was born under the influence of New York musicians.

On the one hand, New York is also considered a mecca for contemporary indie musicians.

The film ‘Begin One More’ features a male protagonist who is a star record producer and a female protagonist who is an unknown indie singer-songwriter.

The busking variety show starring Sungjun and the movie of the same name are also set in New York.

In addition, New York is also the birthplace of many outstanding jazz musicians, and there are many famous songs with New York as their theme.

The adjectives ‘music’ and ‘New York’ are so naturally inseparable.

And thanks to this city’s character, many New Yorkers enjoy music in their everyday lives.

One of them is the busking culture that can be seen frequently in every alley and park.

Busking is possible anywhere in New York City.

Accordingly, the production team requested cooperation from a total of five busking spots through preliminary inspection.

Central Park.

Washington Square Park.

Small Irish pub.

Times Square street.

Finally, the New York subway.

Among them, the first place that Sungjun and his group headed to was Central Park.

A park in the heart of Manhattan, it was the most visited park in the entire United States.

“Huh? Look over there!”

Hyoryeon, who was walking down the street, points somewhere.

People sitting and relaxing on a park bench with a wide expanse of green grass.

Right next to him, an old gentleman with a saxophone in his mouth is showing off his mature skills.

“They’re busking there too. I think it’s jazz.”

Then, as I turned my gaze to Hong Gwang-woo’s words, a performance by a jazz trio consisting of drums, violin, and contrabass came into view.

And then, at that moment, an audience member who was watching the busking was caught on camera requesting an impromptu jam and swapping places with the drummer.

It was a sight that vividly conveyed the free spirit of New York.

While we were enjoying the sights and sounds, we arrived at our destination.

In front of Bethesda Fountain, located in the heart of Central Park.

It is a famous spot that anyone who visits Central Park must visit at least once.

A cool stream of water gushes out from the angel statue located in the center of the fountain.

The large circular fountain is surrounded by park visitors and families out on an outing.

The area in front of the fountain was bustling with people, to the point that many couples taking wedding photos caught my eye.

This is where I had my first busking.

“Please wait while we set up the equipment.”

While the production crew was setting up the instruments and filming equipment, the four cast members, including Sung-jun, briefly moved down to the terrace across from the fountain.

Here, busking is really everywhere you go.

At that moment, inside the terrace, three black people with soulful voices were performing an a cappella busking show using only one cello, and their skills were top-notch.

“···We can do well, right?”

Hyoryeon glanced at him and carefully opened her mouth.

It seems like he’s a little intimidated by busking in his hometown.

Even if you are the main vocalist of the best girl group in Korea and have been on countless overseas tours, the tension that comes with busking overseas is different.

And on top of that, that black soul is just so amazing.

Thanks to that, the other members’ faces also showed a slightly nervous look.

Except for Sungjun, who is the youngest member to debut in the music industry and is fearless.

“How about we prepare an acapella too? It would be fun.”

Sungjun, who has a strong mentality as a passive ability thanks to [Myeonggyeong Jisu], said that he was happy.

Ryu Young-seok asked while watching that extraordinary behavior.

“Seongjun, aren’t you nervous?”

“Uh… yes. That’s right. I’m more excited than nervous.”

“Are you excited?”

“Yes. I think it’ll be fun. I’m also curious to see if our song will be popular in America.”

Ryu Young-seok looked dumbfounded for a moment at Seong-jun’s answer.

Then, he soon let out a laugh and said, “Huh-hung.”

“You’re really going to be… great. I’ve felt it all along, but your guts, oh my.”

“It could be because I’m just a puppy, senior.”

“But thanks to the confident youngest member, I feel empowered. All we have to do is busk like we practiced. What is there to be afraid of with these members? We are the busking Avengers. Hyo-ryun and Gwang-woo are the same, too.”

Hyoryeon and Hong Gwangwoo also nod their heads at Haram’s words.

“The shooting settings are all set! Just come and set up your instruments!”

At that moment, the staff called the cast.

On the faces of everyone heading towards the fountain, there was no trace of the tension that had been there just a moment ago.

When the group sitting on the chairs finished checking the instruments and sound, everyone’s eyes were turned towards them.

Of course, since they are filming with cameras attached and their equipment is also very fancy, you can’t help but wonder what they are doing.

Amidst the pouring gazes of curiosity

‘Then… shall we begin?’

The team’s leader and maestro, Ryu Young-seok, made eye contact with the four and nodded his head to signal.

And without any introductions to the strangers, the long-awaited first song that would open the door to this busking trip began.

Hyoryeon, Hong Gwangwoo, and Seongjun.

A song by Hyoryeon, the oldest of the three vocal lines.

Sisters’ ‘Touch your Body’ acoustic ver.

“Touch your body. body~”

As Hyo-ryun’s husky voice was added to Ryu Young-seok’s keyboard, Haram’s percussion, and Sung-jun’s guitar accompaniment, the onlookers began to react enthusiastically.

Although they didn’t crowd around the group or anything, they were keeping a firm eye on them from their seats.

At that point, the first start was off to a smooth start.

When the song ended, applause erupted.

The next person to receive the mic was Hong Gwang-woo.

The song he will sing is, of course, ‘Close Your Eyes’, the representative number from the musical ‘The Laughing Clown’.

Of course, this time it is an acoustic arrangement version.

“Now close your eyes~ Just look at the truth with your heart~”

Hong Kwang-woo’s vocals, which were reduced in volume according to the acoustic arrangement but maintained their deep pronunciation, resonated around the circular fountain.

As the black-haired Asians carrying cameras showed off their skills one after another, the interest in the game intensified.

People began to slowly gather around the busking stage.

“Hey. Do you know who those guys are? Singers?”

“I don’t know, but judging by the cameras, maybe they’re Asian singers? Or maybe YouTubers?”

“Anyway, the song is fantastic. I like it.”

The audience, one by one, began to show curiosity about the group’s skills.

The atmosphere was much better than I expected.

And at this time, the closing relief pitcher appeared.

Sungjun is the third in the order of debut order.

Seongjun, who changed the capo on his guitar neck, taps the microphone to check if there are any problems with the sound.

at that time,

Tiring-

A system message appeared before my eyes.

[A special mission has arrived.]

‘Then that’s right.’

It wasn’t surprising.

‘Busking = Special mission occurrence’ has long been a formula.

‘There are 5 official busking events planned···.’

If missions keep coming up, you can get a pretty hefty reward this time.

It was a good decision to appear on ‘Begin One More’.

I checked the conditions of this mission, whetting my appetite.

Well, I thought that it would be a classic way of paying out differential compensation based on how many viewers they secured, as has been the case up until now, and I looked into the message.

But that wasn’t the case.

[Encourage the audience to sing along during this busking.]

An interesting and challenging mission has appeared after a long time.

This sounds fun, doesn’t it?