Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 42



Only Krnovel

42. Star

Arrived at Ilsan JBS Studio.

It’s been two weeks since I visited, so somehow I feel refreshed.

“Brother, I’m here!”

Jinwoo Oh, who arrived first, greeted us.

While exchanging brief greetings,

“Hey, your skin looks really good today. Did you sleep well?”

He tilts his head after looking at Cha Seong-jun’s face.

It seems that others can tell that I’ve leveled up my appearance.

‘As expected, it was a good thing I brought my glasses.’

To prepare for something like this, it was right to wear glasses before entering the studio.

Even if I covered it up, it was obvious, so if I had shown my bare face, people would have asked if I had gotten botox or something.

“Hey, bro. Your fashion is cool today.”

While I was chatting with Oh Jin-woo, Mark came up to me and said hello.

“Are you well prepared for the competition?”

“Well, it was easy because you chose such good keywords. What about you?”

“I’m pretty confident, too.”

“Wouldn’t that be a great competition?”

Since we were going to face off today, we were appropriately friendly and engaged in a war of nerves.

Meanwhile, I made eye contact with my opponent Zig last time, but-

Bow

They nodded briefly at each other, passed each other, and sat down.

And after chatting for a bit and waiting, the screen soon lit up.

Park Hye-shin appears and announces the start of recording.

“Now we will begin the 2nd round of ‘Who’s the King’ mission, the 1:1 battle! The first order is-!”

Two numbers appearing on the screen.

The curtain rose on the 1:1 battle as the two contestants with their numbers called headed to the stage.

*

The competition proceeded like that.

Everyone presented their own compositions that matched their keywords, and the quality of the songs was quite high.

Among them, the one who stood out the most was, of course, Zeke.

It revealed its true colors because it was a solo battle and not a team battle.

They created a cool summer song with [the sea] as the keyword, and it was so cheerful and hooky that if any girl group had released this song as a title song in the summer, it would have definitely topped the charts.

The previous criticism that it was boring could not help but disappear in front of the hook song that was close to perfection.

In addition, a pretty Japanese female contestant received favorable reviews for her country’s unique Jay-Rock style song.

A handsome singer-songwriter who is hot in the indie scene also stole the hearts of the judges with his emotional songs.

Oh Jin-woo also won with the evaluation that he had developed by presenting a song that was a good mix of experimentalism and popularity.

This is how most of the battles between the main participants took place.

All that remains is the main dish for today’s competition.

“Okay, it’s finally here! I think the competition that many people are paying attention to is the competition between these two.”

[15 vs 49]

As the numbers appear on the screen, everyone’s attention turns to the two people.

“It’s a showdown between number 15, who took the throne in the last competition, and number 49, who came in second place and unfortunately missed out on the spot!”

Cha Sung-jun and Mark stood up at the same time.

As we go up on stage, the judges ask us:

“What are the keywords for the song you two prepared today?”

“It’s [Star].”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of stars the two candidates will sing about.”

“I want to hear it quickly!”

And then the contest began.

The first strike was Mark.

The genre is, as expected, city pop.

“Baby we go ride through the star light~”

Mark created the song based on the motif of a night drive on a ‘starry’ night.

The gentle melody and tune make the listener feel comfortable.

Behind the singing mark, a night view of the city spread out like stars.

It was an LED background that the production team implemented after receiving the concept from the participants in advance.

As the song, which lasted about three minutes, ended, the judges showered them with praise.

“It’s a high-quality driving song that could be released right now. I’m definitely going to go for a drive after I finish recording today.”

“I never really knew why I listened to city pop before. But after listening to No. 15’s song this time, I really understood the charm of city pop. I think my playlist will be filled with city pop for the time being.”

“I think that through this stage, candidate number 15 once again proved how he won first place in the last competition. I really enjoyed listening to him.”

“This is too much for number 49, who is next in line.”

Mark smiles brightly at the unprecedented compliments that poured out to the point of dry mouth.

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Jinwoo Oh muttered worriedly.

“If the first one receives such great praise, the second one’s burden must be no joke… I hope he doesn’t get nervous and ruin the stage…”

But even he did not think that the evaluation was exaggerated or biased.

Mark’s songs were so amazing that anyone could hear them.

Even I, Zeke, hummed a tune when I saw Mark’s stage.

In such an atmosphere,

“Next, contestant number 49, please come up on stage.”

Finally, it was Cha Seong-jun’s turn.

Contrary to Oh Jin-woo’s worries, Cha Seong-jun’s expression was the same as usual.

Cha Sung-jun, holding a guitar, stands in front of a standing microphone.

Cha Seong-jun checking the sound by touching the microphone.

And then he nodded towards the production team,

Pot-

Suddenly the lights went out.

The stage was instantly plunged into darkness.

The judges, who sensed that the performance had begun, all held their breath and silence lingered.

at that time,

♪~ ♬~

A guitar sound began to be heard in the pitch-black curtain.

This is a classic chord often used in pop rock.

“Is this genre rock?”

It was a moment when the godfather of the band world, Choi Kang-san, raised his eyebrows.

Twinkle-

A pin light was inserted into the microphone.

In the center of that small circle of light that appeared through the darkness

“The dark night is endless-”

Cha Seong-jun slowly opened his lips.

“The dark night is a time of endless waiting.

We wander in search of stars.”

I used to pray every night.

“I hope that your and my tomorrow can shine like that starlight.”

A gentle introduction that feels like a monologue.

The session is simply a series of guitar strokes scraped from top to bottom.

Thanks to this, the delicate vocals stand out and the lyrics are clearly engraved in the ears.

“But from one day on, I couldn’t find any stars in the night sky.

“I guess I forgot how to shine and hid behind the clouds.”

But don’t be too sad.

I will be your star.

I will shine brighter than the sun.

I will share my light with you.

From today onwards, I am your star.”

The first verse ended like that.

It was a pretty good song.

Of course, because it was a song that I received help from [Composition Lv.11].

But someone,

‘Well, it’s good, but… isn’t it a little boring?’

I tilted my head because the first half of the song was a bit lacking in impact for a competition song.

That was the moment.

Tick-tick-tick-tick-

In the interlude leading up to the second verse, the sound of drum hi-hats began to be heard.

Next,

Boom- Boom- Boom- Boom-

The bass sets the mood

Jiing- Jiing-

The electric guitar enriched the sound.

And as verse 2 begins,

“When I look up at the night sky blankly-!”

Cha Sung-jun, who switched to a powerful voice tone, threw away his glasses.

Then, the bare face that had been hidden until then was captured in its entirety on camera.

“Huh?!”

The judges were surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere and performance.

But they had one more wow point.

Visual number 49 with glasses off!

‘What the heck, he was this handsome?!’

Judges Choi Ha-na and Mirae let out a small gasp at the sight of Cha Seong-jun’s beautiful appearance, who had finally been released and even upgraded.

The same goes for the female contestants in the waiting room whose eyes were wide open.

“That star was comfort. That star was hope.

I hated it when I couldn’t reach you even when I stretched out my hand.

Still, we hope.

“A sky full of stars.”

As Cha Seong-jun continued singing with his lips attached to the microphone,

In time with the lyrics, tiny stars begin to appear one by one on the dark LED background.

So when we finally reached the second verse chorus,

“On a night like today when the stars are hidden,

Will you be my star?

Shine on me brighter than the moon.

Share your light with me.

From today onwards, you are my star.”

The background was filled with stars.

“Wow···.”

The judges were left speechless at the overwhelming spectacle that created an ecstatic atmosphere.

At some point, my heart started pounding.

It was a thrilling pop rock experience.

Cha Seong-jun runs across the bridge.

“I am your star. You are my star.

We shine brightly.”

Without even realizing that the cardigan was slipping down.

Just in a state of ignorance.

In a song that is heading towards the end,

Choi Ha-na and Mirae held each other’s hands tightly as if praying.

Choi Kang-san closed his eyes,

Ryu Young-seok had eagle eyes.

The last third verse finally arrived.

“I will be your star.

I will shine brighter than the sun.

“I will share my light with you.”

The stars that were scattered and shining against the LED background gathered together.

Center stage, around Cha Sung-jun.

So when the song ended.

There were no stars anywhere.

Instead,

“From today onwards, I am your star.”

There stood a being that was brighter than the stars.

*

*

*

Even though the song is clearly over, the stage is quiet.

“······.”

As if it were taboo.

Not a single person made even a small sound.

However, only Cha Seong-jun’s heavy breathing can be heard through the microphone.

The brief silence was broken by applause.

Clap, clap, clap

Judge Choi Kang-san stood up and applauded.

Only then did the judges come to their senses and begin to applaud, one by one.

Clap clap clap clap clap

The contestants and production crew who were watching in the waiting room also applauded as if they were entranced.

The one who eventually opened the door to judging was also Choi Kang-san.

“The song you played was pop rock, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As Choi Kang-san takes the microphone, tension flows around him.

Because the genre is rock, it was inevitable that attention would be focused on the judging comments of Choi Kang-san, a living legend in the Korean band scene.

Cha Seong-jun was also waiting for the judges’ comments, gulping.

Shhh-

Choi Kang-san’s lips, buried in his beard, slowly draw a curve.

And then a short, punchy remark.

“Good. You did it right.”

From that one word, the atmosphere of the recording studio changed.

As soon as senior Choi Kang-san put down the microphone, the junior judges also began to give their comments as if they had been waiting for it.

“I think it was a stroke of genius to start off the song with just the guitar. As it goes on, the sessions and vocals build up and then explode at the last highlight… Wow… I fell in love with it even though I’m a guy.”

“I was struck by the use of LED lights. I thought I was watching the ending song of a concert.”

“Actually, the topic itself was ordinary, right? It was similar to the last time I ‘Walk’. But maybe it was because of No. 49’s unique appeal? My heart was strangely pounding. It’s still pounding.”

“Oh, you weren’t saying that after seeing number 49’s face, were you? Earlier, I saw two people who had honey dripping from their eyes. Anyway, I was also impressed by the performance where they took off their glasses. It seemed like they were expressing their will to say, ‘Now I will become a star! I will change!’ Is that right?”

Cha Sung-jun clenched his fists at the pouring praise.

Build-up of the session and vocals.

A performance of taking off glasses.

Creating an ecstatic scene using LED lighting.

Because everything the judges mentioned was exactly what he intended.

It was rewarding to study and strategize while watching the most talked-about stages from similar competition programs.

Among them, what I was particularly concerned about was the glasses performance.

To be honest, I hesitated whether to do it or not until right before I started singing.

Because I knew that once I took my glasses off, there was no going back.

But the moment I put the first verse into my mouth, my mind was made up.

‘Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to do···!’

Because there, on stage, was the me I had always dreamed of, singing.

That was when.

“I have a question, too.”

Ryu Young-seok raised the microphone.

From some point on, Ryu Young-seok has always been the last one to ask questions during Cha Seong-jun’s evaluations.

“I couldn’t hear the title because you suddenly started singing after the blackout. So, what’s the title of this song?”

In fact, the judges have the contestants’ lyrics.

Of course I knew the song title.

So, there is one reason why I specifically ask for the song title.

Didn’t you say it through a song a little while ago?

I’m tired of just looking at the stars in the dark night sky.

Now I’m going to become a star myself.

therefore-

“The title of this song is-”

Yes, shine brightly.

“It’s a ‘star.’”

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