Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 182



Only Krnovel

182. NAMA

N.Net Asian Music Awards.

Abbreviation: ‘NAMA’.

The year is now 1999.

The music awards ceremony, which started out with the purpose of introducing various Asian music genres, including K-pop, to the public, has grown rapidly over the years and has become popular globally, beyond Asia.

This year’s host of ‘NAMA’, which boasts a 25-year tradition, is Hong Kong.

And the stage is the Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo Arena, located in the heart of Hong Kong, where Asian artists who will shine in 2024 will all gather in one place.

“Everyone, it’s nice to meet you again this year. I’m actor Geum Bo-seok, the host of the 2024 NAMA.

“Glad to meet you all. I’m actress ‘Sunha Ye’.”

This year marks the fourth time that the handsome actor, Geum Bo-seok, has hosted NAMA.

And the original Hallyu idol, the main vocalist of ‘Pink Rose’, Ye Seon Ha, who rose to stardom with the hit drama ‘Your House’.

As the tall and handsome male and female global Hallyu stars who served as MCs for the 2024 awards ceremony greeted each other alternately in Korean and English, the arena shook with the cheers of the 14,000-strong audience.

“To make today’s awards ceremony shine, artists from various countries, including fans, are here.”

As the gold and jewels start to shine, the camera focuses on the artist’s stone.

Then, the singers’ faces were displayed one after another on a large LED screen.

“First, two girl groups that heated up this year visited NAMA.”

The faces of ‘Mimyeo Girl’ and ‘Sisters’ appeared on the screen during the preliminary introduction.

Both teams have achieved success on domestic music charts and Asian music charts with their respective songs, “Salgeum” and “I Like the Sea.”

While NAMA’s familiar Hyoryeon and Sisters members smiled faintly.

Mimyeo, who was attending this large-scale year-end awards ceremony for the first time, had her cheeks flushed with emotion.

This is because, until early this year, they had been thinking about disbanding and never dreamed that they would be invited to NAMA.

“You can’t leave out boy groups either.”

And this time it’s the male idols’ turn.

Starting with the self-produced beast idol group ‘Monsta Z’.

The faces of several groups that are gaining global popularity flash across the screen.

Waaaaaaaah-!

The cheers that erupt every time their favorite fans appear speak volumes about their fame.

Since the older siblings showed their faces first, it’s the turn of the ‘youngest’ ones to show their faces next.

“We also see three new girl groups that will lead K-pop.”

A rookie from the 4.5 generation girl group that debuted at the same time.

MXM Entertainment’s ‘Breeze’, KG Entertainment’s ‘Seven Days’, and HYPE Entertainment’s ‘Name’.

The three teams that were sitting side by side according to the NAMA seating arrangement, when they saw their faces on the screen, they opened their rabbit eyes and covered their mouths or waved shyly.

The audience cheered once again at the fresh and cute reaction of a rookie.

Next, artists invited from overseas were highlighted.

In Japan, there are the supernova twin sibling band ‘Twilight’ and one girl group and one boy group that received K-pop production.

A famous singer who has recently become popular in Hong Kong also attended.

The lineup introduced like this is all Korean artists, and they are all K-pop idol groups.

It was inevitable because NAMA’s main viewers are the younger generation.

Because what they wanted to see through NAMA was the spectacular performances of their admired K-pop idols.

The reason for inviting Japanese and Hong Kong singers was to ensure that the title ‘Asian Music Awards’ did not become meaningless.

But this year things were subtly different.

There was an artist who made fans anticipate even more than idols.

“This year is even more special than previous years because it features a legendary artist who reached No. 1 on Billboard in his first year of debut.”

The face of the man who dared to be introduced with the title of ‘Legend’ appeared on the electronic screen, beating out countless artists attending NAMA.

The main character who had received the biggest cheer so far was smiling faintly as he looked at the MC who was friendly with him on stage.

For a moment, a smile that couldn’t be hidden crossed MC Ye Seon-ha’s lips as their eyes met.

Following the introduction of the participating artists, the full-fledged awards ceremony began.

Famous Korean male and female actors who are in charge of presenting awards in each category will stand on the podium.

“You look really nice in your dress today.”

“I showed off a little since NAMA gave me the honor of receiving an award. Haha.”

As with any other awards ceremony, the faces of several nominated artists in the respective award categories appear on the screen along with light-hearted comments.

“Congratulations to the Female Rookie of the Year award winner… Breeze!”

Jin Ha-neul and the four members, whose names were called, froze in disbelief before belatedly going up on stage.

“I am truly honored to receive such a valuable award, and I will continue to be a Breeze that brings you even better music in the future.”

Following leader Jin Ha-neul’s comments, Breeze, a multinational group, also shared their thoughts in Japanese, English, and Thai.

Starting with the first winner, the presenters who came up on stage called out the names of the winners in each category from the cue sheets they were holding.

The male group award goes to Monsta Z, who recently made a comeback and had both their title song and follow-up song top the charts.

The female group award went to Summer Queen, ‘Sisters’.

‘Myeongsoyeon’ is the best dance performance girl group.

The dance, which was reminiscent of a cat leisurely striding through an ashen city, was said to be impressive.

They expressed their gratitude to the composer and choreographer of ‘Salgeum’.

In addition, awards were presented to various male and female solo and group artists in each category.

And in between.

“Next, there will be a congratulatory performance by Monsta Z.”

The celebratory performance that the audience gathered at the Hong Kong Arena and fans watching NAMA on TV had been waiting for took place.

“Fly to you. My heart flies at 1000 km/h!”

The groups that came on stage presented splendid performances that they had prepared for a long time for today.

From arrangements and costumes to special sets and directing.

A stage prepared by each entertainment company with enormous corporate expenses.

The scale is different compared to that of music shows held every week.

It was natural.

The current performance is not just a celebration, but a gift to global fans and a competition of pride among award ceremony attendees.

After NAMA ends, it will be remembered more for which team’s performance was the most memorable than who won which award.

It’s a battlefield where groups that show great performances become famous overnight, and groups that show poor performances get criticized.

The NAMA stage had another meaning among artists.

After Part 1 ended and there was an intermission, Part 2 began.

The second part opened with a performance by three new teams that announced the revival of 4.5 generation K-pop.

The ‘Name’ of subjectivity.

Girl Crush’s ‘Seven Days’.

Lastly, the fresh and pure ‘Breeze’.

The three special rookie teams that took 1st to 3rd place on the music charts right after their debut, pushing out their strong seniors, are each showing off their charms one by one.

Fans who watched the three teams and three colors on stage were confident that the future of K-pop will be very bright.

Time passed and before we knew it, it was Part 3.

Most of the awards and congratulatory performances took place in Parts 1 and 2.

All that remains is the grand prize award ceremony, the highlight of NAMA, and the final celebratory performance.

Singer of the year.

Song of the year.

Album of the year.

Worldwide Icon of the Year.

The four awards, collectively known as the ‘Of the Year’ series, are considered the ‘Grand Prize’ at NAMA.

As each of them is a large merchant, NAMA has so far been operating by dividing the four awards among several singers.

This is so that other entertainment companies won’t make a fuss.

But, this year.

The NAMA formula, which was considered immutable, has been broken.

“The winner of the Singer of the Year category is…”

“The winning song in the Song of the Year category is…”

“In the Album of the Year category, the winning album is…”

“The winner of the Global Icon of the Year category is…”

Four different lips each shouting out one person’s name.

“Congratulations! ‘Seongjun’!”

“It’s the #1 song on Billboard, ‘Destiny’ sung by Sungjun!”

“This is singer-songwriter Sungjun’s first full-length album, ‘I’!”

“On the other hand, he is a singer also known as ‘D.Voice’. ‘Sungjun’! Congratulations!”

A single artist has won awards in all four categories!

It was an unprecedented sweep of awards in NAMA history, but no one raised any objections or objections.

Because the qualifications of the person called were more than sufficient.

Rather, if the award had gone to another artist, NAMA and the award winners would have been criticized for holding another meaningless sharing ceremony.

Sungjun, who has been on stage as a winner four times, has stepped on stage once again.

But this time, as a performer, not as a winner.

As Sungjun stands in front of the microphone, the lights dim.

At the same time, the commotion in the stadium, which had been heated by the unusual consecutive awards, also died down.

There was one reason.

To enjoy Sungjun’s songs.

Flash-

Instead of the lights dimming, the back screen brightens.

Background painted in deep purple.

Audience members who have seen Sungjun’s performance even once immediately figured out what song the purple color represented and were left speechless.

The purple-painted background was soon the night sky, and the single dot of light that appeared above it was ‘starlight.’

Along with that, Sungjun’s voice echoed throughout the arena.

“I will shine on you brighter than the sun.

I will share my light with you.

From today onwards, I am your star.”

*

The first of the three songs given to Sungjun was, as everyone noticed, ‘Star’.

Starting with the signature song that made Sungjun the artist he is today, the heart-pounding performances that were perfect for the awards ceremony finale continued.

The second performance song that will continue the sparkle of ‘Star’ is the title song of the first full album, ‘Become I’.

As it was the first song released targeting the global market, it received an enthusiastic response from everyone.

“I Become I (I have finally become me)!!!”

A voice louder than Sungjun on stage sings the chorus.

The chant was so loud that their voices were fully recorded on TV.

In an instant, two songs passed by, and it was time for the final song.

There was only one song that came to everyone’s mind as the song that would mark the end of today’s performance.

“Destiny!!!”

A familiar intro flowed out as if in response to a shout.

It was the song that topped the world music charts.

Seongjun holds the microphone with both hands, closes his eyes, and sings the verse.

The audience’s hearts began to flutter as the appealing vocalist sang ‘Fate’.

The melody passes the bridge and reaches the chorus.

“We were meant to be love (We were meant to be in love from the beginning).”

As Sungjun opened his eyes halfway and spat out,

“Yeah, it’s Destiny (Yeah, it’s destiny).”

From somewhere a clear yet solid female voice answered.

It wasn’t the original featured Ariel Grande’s voice, but it was so familiar.

As the audience, with their ears perked up, looked at the back screen, the owner of the voice was soon revealed there.

“It’s Yuna!!!”

“Is that true?!!!”

Cheers and cheers filled the arena as South Korea’s top female singer appeared on a lift from under the stage with a bright smile.

Yuna, who walks the stage with a thump and stands next to Sungjun, lets out a high note with a different charm from Ariel’s.

Sungjun adds the chords he practiced to Yuna’s voice.

As the two people’s harmony resonated throughout the venue, Sungjun’s inspiration flashed.

‘Yeah, that’s the feeling…!’

Now, surrounded by a large audience, I am raising my voice.

A thrilling joy and elation that can only be felt on stage, something that cannot be felt from any other achievement, envelops your whole body.

Once you get a taste of this, you can’t stop listening to music.

Even if all my current talents were to be scattered and disappear…

‘I will continue to make music.’

The topic to be covered in the bet song with Bobby has been narrowed down perfectly.

At the same time, a notification sound rang in my ears.

Tiring-

[Energy has been accumulated.]

*

The next day.

『’Legend’ Sungjun, sweeping 4 awards at 2024 NAMA!』

『2024 NAMA protagonist = Sungjun』

『Breeze, Best New Female Artist, Monsta Z, Best Male Group, Sungjun, Featuring Yuna! MXM Dominates 2024 NAMA』

With the 2024 NAMA articles dominating the entertainment section.

As expected, the artist whose name was mentioned the most was Sungjun, who created the myth of winning four crowns.

Some have raised suspicions that this polarization phenomenon may have been caused by MXM Entertainment bribing NAMA or providing illegal entertainment.

『NAMA, ‘Fair and transparent selection’, open counting results』

As if they had anticipated such a reaction in advance, NAMA cleared up the results of each award category and dispelled the suspicions.

In addition to his record of awards, the response to his congratulatory performance was also enthusiastic.

– Isn’t this the first time that a solo singer, not an idol, has graced the NAMA finale stage?

N I see. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.

– When you sing ‘Star’, the direction is something I never get tired of watching every time

n It’s really exciting when the stars increase one by one and then finally fill up with light.

n It wasn’t a concert, but I heard the chorus at NAMA and my heart swelled with pride.

– Yuna’s featuring was also killer

n Since the two top singers were a duet, their live performance and force were no joke

n After listening to Sungjun’s live, I can’t even remember what other idols’ performances were like

ㄴ I’m also watching the uploaded YouTube clips on repeat right now. But I guess it’s not just me. The views are crazy.

The performances armed with the utmost glamor, which many idol groups had prepared with great effort, were said to have been buried by Sungjun’s overwhelming live performance.

In the end, it was Sungjun who took all the spotlight at NAMA.

Meanwhile, Sungjun, who returned from Hong Kong, headed to a studio instead of a straight home.

It is to give form to the inspiration gained through the NAMA stage.

As soon as you sit down on the chair, activate ‘Listening’.

The platinum staff and sinker bells create a melody in an instant.

The rest was simple.

All I had to do was transfer those things I saw into a composition program.

That’s the end.

It took only 2 hours to complete, including vocal recording and self-mixing/mastering.

“The song title has not been decided.”

An English word that contains the will and determination to continue making music without giving in no matter what happens.

After entering the song title, I went to the arena where the bet would be made.

“It’s been a while, Sound Sky.”

Exactly one year ago at this time.

It all started when I uploaded a practice song to prove that ‘Bangsinki’ really works.

And now, a year has passed.

He had become a singer-songwriter who was incomparable to the one he was back then.

An indescribable feeling passed through Seongjun for a moment.

Afterwards, instead of the existing ‘D.Voice’ account, he created a new account called ‘Player D’, the nickname he had promised to Bobby.

And the promised time.

Player B – Game Over

Player D – Continue

Two songs were uploaded to SoundSky by two users who look alike.