Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 108



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Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter Episode 108

108. New York, Fantastic, Successful

Mission name: ‘Induce a chorus!!’

If the target was Koreans, a ‘nation of singing’ recognized worldwide, it wouldn’t have been a difficult mission.

Even if you ask them not to sing, it is a characteristic of the Korean people to get excited and sing along when they hear a song they know.

But what about New Yorkers?

The answer is ‘I don’t know.’

There are many reasons for this, but if I had to pick the biggest one, it would be the ‘language barrier’.

All of the songs assigned to this first busking are Korean songs.

When the language is different, it is not easy to sing along even if you feel excited.

Given the program’s goal of ‘communicating through songs in an unfamiliar language in an unfamiliar place,’ this was an unavoidable decision.

But the production team of ‘Begin One More’ are not stupid either.

No, rather, all the talented people who studied hard during their school years have become PDs.

Furthermore, ‘Begin One More’ is, frankly speaking, an entertainment show that relies on so-called nationalism.

We need to prove that Korean music is popular even in the United States, the birthplace of pop music.

That way the ratings will go up!

So it was natural to prepare a device that would elicit a response from the audience.

And the device consisted of four alphabets.

K-POP.

As everyone expected, it’s K-pop.

A K-pop craze spread around the world, starting with a horse-dancing singer.

In the midst of the winds of the era known as the Korean Wave, prepared K-pop stars spread their charms all over the world.

As a result of that seed sprouting,

Before we knew it, something absurd had happened: people all over the world were crazy about K-pop, singing and dancing along.

“The only thing I want infinitely is the power of high culture.”

The wish of Mr. Kim Gu has come true.

Thanks to this, it is now possible to frequently find songs by K-pop singers on the Billboard charts, which were previously considered an impregnable fortress and did not even consider Asian music.

And that’s not all? It even takes first place!

And most people have probably heard the songs that made it to the top of the Billboard charts at least once.

Since K-pop is characterized by easy and addictive repetition of refrains, anyone can hum the melody without difficulty.

It is a song optimized for response.

The ‘Begin One More’ team took advantage of this.

So, the first three songs are representative songs of the participating singers, but the latter half of the busking featured famous K-pop songs.

The first song among them is by the top female singer in South Korea.

It was Yuna’s song.

200 million views on YouTube music video.

A mega hit song that reached number 10 on Billboard.

“Love Potion, Love Potion, Love Potion that will make you mine~”

As the familiar K-pop melody began to flow, reactions began to appear as expected.

“Nor Naegeru Make Love Potion~”

Following the awkward Korean pronunciation, people started humming the keyword of the chorus, ‘love potion’, everywhere.

We see fluttering gestures as we recall the key choreography from Yuna’s music video, and we wonder who the ‘Begin One More’ team is.

It was a positive sign.

He continued his momentum and ran through the second song.

A top-notch idol who reached number one on Billboard,

An English song released by the boy band that turned the small-scale HYPE Entertainment into one of the top four entertainment companies overnight, targeting the global market.

“We don’t need Permission to sing~”

The atmosphere became even more heated as the three vocal line members showed off their perfect harmony.

The number of people filming busking with their cell phone cameras has increased significantly.

People walking along the path around the fountain also stopped for a moment to listen to the sweet music and the crowd gathered, and asked.

“Who are they?”

“I haven’t introduced them yet, but they are singers from Korea.”

“Wow, they’re pretty great musicians, huh?”

Those who were satisfied with busking began inviting their friends around them one by one.

The voices of those who newly joined were added.

Thanks to that, I can now hear the voice quite clearly.

But it was still not enough to call it a ‘group cheer’.

The system also did not recognize the audience’s humming as ‘singing along’.

It’s lethal.

Finally, it was time to pull out the secret weapon.

After finishing the fifth song, Sungjun finally picked up the microphone and introduced himself.

“Hello everyone. We are the ‘Begin One More’ team from Korea. Yes, that’s right, our team name is the same as the movie title you all know. New York style.”

The audience listens attentively to the fluent English speaking commentary.

Then, as Sungjun introduced the ‘Begin One More’ team members one by one, applause broke out along with the team members’ greetings.

“I’m happy to be busking in front of such a wonderful audience in New York, the city of art. Now, I’d like to share my last song with you today. If there are people who know this song, I think it would be a happier performance if you could sing along.”

Seongjun subtly elicits a response.

And soon the last song began to play.

Ryu Young-seok gently taps the keyboard keys, and Hyo-ryeon lets out a ‘woo woo’ scat sound.

It was a fairly familiar prelude.

The audience, sensing the hint, raised their eyebrows and tilted their heads as if to confirm whether the song was what they expected.

And soon their mouths opened wide.

“Now we’re in New York

(We are in New York now)

There’s nothing we can’t do

(There’s nothing we can’t do)

Hear if for New York, Oh, New York, Oh, New York!

(Let’s shout together, New York, oh New York, oh New York!)”

This is because one of the three greatest songs that comes to mind when thinking of ‘New York’ was heard.

New York’s anthem drew more people.

Before we knew it, the audience that had formed a circle around the fountain began to sing a familiar chorus.

“New York~”

Seongjun’s lips lifted at her confident reaction, unlike before when she had been shy.

‘Everything went according to plan.’

And the plan goes back a day.

Last night, after unpacking at my hotel, I was talking to Mark on the phone.

– D.Voice. Busking tomorrow might not be easy.

Mark immediately called out to me.

“Why? In New York?”

Seongjun’s question contained the doubt as to why busking could fail in this city of freedom and music.

– Of course, NYC is a city of busking. We are all ready to accept music with an open mind.

“Then isn’t it easy? Like ‘easy victory’ you know?”

Mark chuckled as he brought up an old meme from the ‘Who’s the King’ days.

– But on the other hand, New Yorkers have heard just as many buskers. That is-

Seongjun noticed quickly.

“Are you saying that you have high eyes to see and ears to hear?”

– That’s right, bro.

That was correct.

– And you’re saying we’re all going to sing Korean songs tomorrow? No matter how popular K-pop is, it’s hard to appeal to all New Yorkers.

That’s right.

K-pop consumption is skewed towards a certain age group.

Teens and 20s are the main group, and 30s are the sub group.

People in their 40s and 50s have relatively little interest in K-pop.

But tomorrow’s busking will be on a weekday in the early afternoon.

During this time, teenagers are likely to be at school, while those in their 20s and 30s are likely to be at work.

So, even if you bring out K-pop, I can’t guarantee that you’ll get the full effect you expect.

– But that doesn’t mean there’s no way out…

At that time, Mark gave off a subtle nuance.

As if he had a solution to this situation.

“Instead of just spinning around, give me a hint.”

– Hmm… Well… With my mouth? You know, bro? America is a thoroughgoing capitalist country-

“I’ll listen to the hint and if it’s okay, I’ll do you a favor. What do you think?”

– I remembered what you said, bro.

Mark laughs at Seongjun’s quick decision.

Then he quickly corrected his voice and delivered the solution.

– New Yorkers can’t stop singing about ‘New York’. They have pride in living in the best city in the world.

Mark added, “That’s it for the hint,” and hung up the phone with the words, “Keep your promise.”

I immediately relayed Mark’s words to Ryu Young-seok and Byun Sang-woon PD.

“So you’re saying we should sing a song with ‘New York’ in it?”

“Yes, I think it would be a good idea to change one of the last encore songs.”

Sang-Woon Byun, who was worried, called the cast and producers together.

And after a short discussion, Sungjun’s proposal was accepted.

“Then I guess I should start practicing right away?”

“I know you’re all tired, but let’s just set aside about three hours. Oh, and the staff can rest. We’ll go and come back on our own.”

“Hey, what’s wrong? ‘Begin One More’ is a community of destiny. I think it’s better because it seems like a good picture will come out.”

In busking, ensemble performance and practice are vital.

So, I chose a place to stay near the studio so that I could practice whenever I wanted.

Afterwards, the group visited the studio,

That’s how we ended up choosing ‘New York State of mind’, the pop song that comes to mind first when you think of New York, and also known in Korea as ‘a pop song that takes you to America when you listen to it’.

Back from the flashback, in front of the fountain again.

“New York~”

The choir continues, but the volume is a bit disappointing.

It feels like it still falls a bit short of the ‘group singing’ standard of the system.

This was the last chorus, and I was worried that if I made a mistake I might experience my first failure.

“Oh, New York~!!!”

Someone shouted the chorus in a booming voice.

The powerful voice spurred the decibels around it.

Those who were assimilated into the shout gradually raised their voices and excitement.

With pride in their city, New York, being the best.

“Hear if for New York, Oh, New York, Oh, New York!”

It was the culmination of a cheer that resonated through the heart of Central Park.

[The special mission was successful.]

[You have obtained Activity Enhancement Ticket X5.]

*

“Thank you for your hard work!”

braided-

The ‘Begin One More’ team, who successfully completed their first busking, gathered at a pub.

“I think I got off to a good start. The response was also pretty good.”

“That’s right. The arrangement of the two K-pop songs and ‘New York State of Mind’ in the latter half was definitely a stroke of genius. It was Sungjun’s idea, right, the last one?”

“That’s right. Thanks to that, I even saw a cheering crowd that I hadn’t expected. I guess you have some kind of foresight.”

People celebrating today’s busking by clinking beer glasses.

“Anyway, I guess I can do busking tomorrow like this. Oh, no. I think it would be better to start with a pop song, hook it up, and then play a Korean song.”

“There are still many busking opportunities, so let’s try various things. Rather, let’s make sure that the problem that happened today, when the amp broke down and the show was temporarily delayed, doesn’t happen again-”

I also carefully look into the areas of improvement that I discovered through my first busking stage.

Meanwhile, Seongjun, the main contributor to today’s busking success, was lost in other thoughts.

The last, last moment.

It was a thought about the loud man who helped the mission succeed.

I tried to say hello, but when I turned around after finishing the song, he suddenly disappeared.

‘Who could it be, that precious person?’

Whoever it was, it was a benefactor.

Thanks to that, I was able to avoid missing out on the 5 activity enhancement tickets.

Thanks, mysterious New Yorker.

“Seongjun, what are you doing if you don’t drink alone?”

As I was expressing my gratitude to the empty space, Ryu Young-seok at the next table gestured.

Anyone who looks at him can tell that he is drunk.

Next to him is Hyo-ryeon, whose face is as drunk as Haram’s, whose hair is also red.

And Hong Gwang-woo, despite his manly appearance, is seen leaning against the desk with his forehead pressed against a glass of beer.

“I’m going.”

Seongjun crossed the table holding a glass of beer.

That night, the fun time for the ‘Begin One More’ team continued a little longer.

New York, Fantastic, Successful

That was four days before the identity of the man with the loud voice in Central Park was revealed.