Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 25



Only Krnovel

25. Birth

It’s now 2023.

Singers and YouTube have become inseparable.

Ten years ago, in 2013,

After Billboard announced that it would reflect YouTube play counts on its major hot charts, entertainment companies at home and abroad began to rush to operate YouTube.

They brought in experts to figure out the best way to run the Billboard charts.

Most entertainment companies have adopted a ‘multi-channel’ approach, which means that they operate the company’s parent channel while also operating individual artists’ independent channels.

The same goes for MXM Entertainment.

They have separate channels for their artists, ‘Yuna’ and ‘Monstar-Z’, and upload vlogs, concert clips, behind-the-scenes and music video making films, and self-produced content called ‘Jakon’.

On the other hand, MXM Entertainment’s official channel has a simple structure that only shows the two artists’ official music videos.

However, a third category was recently added to the official MXM channel.

[Yuna ’26’ Cover Song Challenge]

As the title suggests, this category contains videos of Yuna’s recently active cover song challenge.

Videos from YouTubers who have collaborated with MXM were uploaded sequentially, with videos from other challenge participants added here and there.

Then one Monday at noon.

A video was uploaded to that category without any notice.

[‘Love Potion’ covered by D.Voice]

Out of the blue, it was not ’26’, but a cover song of the previous album’s title song ‘Love Potion’.

And the artist who covered it is D.Voice.

Recently, she was the hottest YouTuber among Yuna fans.

Because the song he sang, ’26’ by Yuna, caused a sensational stir.

The reason is, of course,

“The song is really good, isn’t it?”

Yuna’s official fan club [Yunapia] has 1 million fan cafe subscribers and a global fandom size of nearly 20 million.

He is rumored to have strong affection and loyalty towards Yuna.

Because of this, they usually looked at other singers’ covers with a critical eye and high standards.

Because I felt it was infinitely inadequate compared to the song of a perfect goddess.

However, DeVoice’s cover moved even the hearts of those fans.

“This new song cover is a huge hit.”

Rather, there were many positive reviews about the Devoice cover song in fan cafes and communities, and thanks to that, it even rose to the top of YouTube, and currently has 3 million views.

Anyway, fans couldn’t help but look forward to the fact that DeVoice would cover another of Yuna’s songs this time.

Cover songs were played all over the world, including in Korea, Japan, and the United States, and one common reaction emerged.

“””This is crazy!”””

To translate,

It meant that ‘the original song, full of the emotions of a girl in love who is in a pink, unrequited love, was perfectly reinterpreted this time with Devoice’s own unique feel.’

There was also the meaning that ‘the cute and refreshing lyrics plus the masculine vocals gave the song a different and mysterious charm from the original song.’

Fans who drank a bowl of the Devois-flavored Love Potion started to set the comments section on fire.

– This cover song is also crazy!! I recognize Yuna unnie as the official cover artist bb

N ㅇㅇㅇㅇ The cover songs I’ve heard so far weren’t covers. This is the real original.

Love potion to make you mine, love potion, love potion~

– Crazy. My heart is racing while I’m eating, so I can’t finish my meal. This is the first time Babsooni has ever felt like this.

N f*ck, I’m a guy too and I’m excited. Is this dangerous?

N Brother… Actually, me too···.

– This song is so good. I’m going to have to ask my crush to sing it.

n It’s not recommended. Then it falls apart. It’s good because it’s a device. If a normal person sang it, it would probably be annoying.

N This should have come out in the spring. If Yuna’s version and the Devoice version had come out at the same time, it would have been possible to recover our country’s shattered birth rate.

n I’m from the 19+ squad. You’re under arrest as a lewd devil. (This is a picture of a guy who caught Podol)

– An acquaintance of mine is affiliated with MXM Entertainment and said that they are releasing a series of cover songs by DeVoice.

N This is so cool! If I request a song, they’ll sing it?! I want to hear Yuna’s debut song!

n Add one more vote for the debut song. I can’t forget the emotions from that time.

n Could you please ask your friend what kind of person Devoice is? Are they a singer? Or a vocal trainer?

N They are all wrong. The correct answer is the goblin who stole the old man’s song pouch.

N Traditional fairy tale seatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kids these days don’t know the old man with the hunchbackㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The increase in comments and views exceeds that of the previous ’26’.

It has already reached 200,000 views in just one hour.

It was obvious to anyone that this song would also make it to Ingeupdong.

That wasn’t all.

– Congratulations on reaching 300,000 subscribers on DeVoice!

N Already? Is the speed real? It’s so fast

DeVoice’s main channel also enjoyed a boost.

The subscriber growth graph, which had been stagnant over the weekend, took a steep upward curve again after the release of this cover song.

Moreover, the cover song video of ’26’ has already surpassed 1 million views.

It was an unprecedented feat for a non-celebrity YouTuber who had only been on the channel for less than two weeks to achieve this feat. It was probably so great that quick-witted cyber-issue tellers would soon be making videos of it.

However, the person who actually accomplished this great feat had his head full of thoughts that had nothing to do with it all day long…

The idea is,

‘Where is your studio? When is the next song to be recorded?’

Recalling the phone call I had with Yuna around 4pm yesterday.

In response to a sudden question, I told them that my studio is located in Yeokchon-dong and that I record the day before to match the schedule of uploading cover songs every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

‘Let me check your schedule. Um… tomorrow won’t work… Oh, Tuesday will work. Is 8 o’clock okay? Not in the morning, but in the evening.’

I immediately scheduled a visit for two days later.

And then quickly end the call.

A day passed by in such a daze…

After a similarly hectic Monday morning, I finally came to my senses after lunch.

At this time.

Tiring-♪

The messenger rings.

– Hey, you didn’t open your eyes and faint because you were so happy, did you, Mr. Devoice?

This is Seol Hye-yoon.

An hour ago, a cover song of ‘Love Potion’ was uploaded during a meal.

When she asked what happened, I told her about the Yuna cover song project with MXM Entertainment.

The reaction was, of course, surprising.

Cha Seong-jun answered, recalling Seol Hye-yoon pounding her arm with her fist in surprise.

– I’m just a little out of it.

– That makes sense. You became a YouTuber with 300,000 subscribers overnight. Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real, right?

– To be honest, no, not at all.

– It’ll be different once you start getting ads and earning money. The requirement for applying to be a YouTube partner is at least 3 videos, so it’ll be really soon. I heard the next cover song is going to be uploaded tomorrow. Then you’ll have 3 videos.

Originally, there was a requirement of 500 subscribers or more, and an additional 3,000 hours of valid viewing time, but this was omitted.

Because I was already satisfied last night.

– And the next cover song is on Thursday too? Wow… Isn’t the schedule too tight?

– I do regret it a little, but since I already received the deposit… I have to grit my teeth and do it so that I don’t spit it out again.

– But do it while taking care of your health. No matter how good money is, a healthy body is the greatest asset.

– Sir… You’re a Confucian girl, no, a Confucianist.

– Huh? You just started calling me a nagging person?

It was the time when Cha Seong-jun was typing the character ‘ㅋ’ endlessly.

“Okay, lunch is over, so everyone come to your senses. Don’t just sit around and do nothing because it’s Monday. If you have anything to report, come and report.”

“yes.”

At the team leader’s words, the team members rise one by one.

Cha Seong-jun also sat up straight.

As Seol Hye-yoon and the team leader said, it was impossible to stay absent-minded forever.

‘Let’s go wash our faces and come back refreshed.’

So, I got up to go to the bathroom.

Brrrrrr-

The cell phone on the desk vibrates.

It was a call from an unknown number.

Since it started with ‘010’, I thought it wasn’t a 070 internet phone or loan phone, so I answered the phone without thinking much about it.

“hello.”

That phone call,

– Hello, this is the Flexnet ‘Who’s the King’ team. Are you Cha Seong-jun?

Little did he know that this phone call would change his life forever.

*

At that time, Washington, D.C.

1:00 p.m. Monday, Korean time.

It’s midnight Monday local time in Washington.

Hosted by world-renowned rapper and DJ, Swaggy Dogg, the midnight radio show is hosting a special guest.

“Sleepless night owls. What’s up. Welcome to the Midnight Radio Show. Listen up, because I have a super crazy guest tonight. Let me introduce you to America’s top producer and King of Soundsky, aka ‘George King’, George Brown in the House!”

“Hey. What’s up America. It’s George.”

As Swaggydog, with his black sunglasses and dreadlocks, introduces today’s special guest with a swagger that lives up to his rap name, a blond middle-aged man sitting in the guest seat gives a quick greeting to the listeners.

George Brown.

His main occupation was a producer known in the United States, the birthplace of pop music, and as a hobby he was a Sound Sky named user named ‘George King’.

Swaggydog asked, flashing his gold-tinted grillz.

“Before we begin, do you know why Bro was called here?”

“It must be because of the topic of today’s show. K-pop.”

“That’s right man. That’s why I called in the expert. I heard that Bro is a big fan of a K-pop artist.”

“Yuna. She’s my favorite.”

“Man, she’s the best.”

The two people who had been bumping fists started broadcasting in earnest.

The first corner is a debate about today’s main topic: K-pop.

“So, bro, tell me why K-pop is doing well in the American market.”

“I think that…”

Swaggydog and George share their views from the perspectives of an artist and a producer, respectively, on the factors that lead to K-pop’s global success, its future prospects, and various other issues and controversies.

So, after a heated debate like that.

“This corner is Q&A time with the owls.”

A time for listeners to ask guest George questions and have him answer them.

In addition to the popularity of Swaggydog, the station, National Unite Radio, also had one of the highest viewership ratings among American public broadcasters, so many listeners sent in questions in real time.

“Let’s start with the first question. Hi, I’m a SoundSky user living in LA. George King, I’m curious to know who the new artist you’ve been paying the most attention to on SoundSky recently is. Oh, that’s an interesting question. Now, answer me, George King.”

“The most notable newcomer… um… well…”

Several names come to George’s mind when asked the question.

Artists who each have their own unique personality.

‘Among them, he was the friend who had the most impact…’

···Suddenly, one thought occurred to me.

A friend of mine who wrote a song that made me want to drink beer.

‘I was impressed by how he portrayed a rainy night with just three instruments.’

The next song that came up was also good.

In particular, despite the short period of time, the clear sonic growth stood out.

How should I put it… Yeah, it’s like the cheetah cub learned how to run after walking.

I was excited and hopeful that the next song would be even more developed.

It seems like I haven’t been uploading much lately, maybe because I’ve been busy.

George answered after gathering his thoughts.

“D.Voice. You seem to be a beginner, but you show talent.”

I was about to add that although he is still unknown, he will soon become a famous person within Sound Sky once he starts to really focus on composing.

“If it’s D.Voice, is it the D.Voice I know?”

“You know him? How? Have you seen Soundsky? Even if you did, he’s still unknown.”

George asked, looking puzzled.

Then, Swaggidok looks at him strangely and asks him again.

“There’s no way you don’t know Super Rookie! He’s the hottest cover song artist on YouTube right now. The song he covered by Yuna is a hit.”

“What? He released a cover song of Yuna?”

“Yeah. Two songs already. You’re late with the news, bro. It seems like you’re not a real fan of Yuna.”

George was a die-hard fan who never missed any content related to Yuna, but…

I was enjoying camping with my son this past week, but I had to rush back to catch up on my radio schedule, so I didn’t have time to check.

Because my wife threatened that she wouldn’t let me stay still if I kept my phone with me while we were camping.

That aside. What? D.Voice is not a composer but a cover song artist? That’s the first time I’ve heard of it!

“Okay. Then let’s all the owls listen together for George. Is that okay?”

At Swegidog’s nod, he quickly finds the video outside the radio booth and plays it.

Soon, a YouTube cover song that wasn’t even an official song began to flow out through George’s headset and through radio channels across the United States.

It was the beginning of the advancement into the US market that occurred without even the knowledge of Devoice and Cha Sung-jun.

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