#gs:cel

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

[+ 500, -15] Wow! Jessie is my favorite dancer and vocal in CEL ! [+ 243,  - 5] CEL is lucky to have him, aren’t they?! [+ 225,  - 9] I can’t wait to see more of them - fighting!!

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: lu han CHARACTER NAME: xiao jiexi / jessie xiao STAGE NAME: jessie CHARACTER AGE: 25 COMPANY: CEL POSITION: main dance & vocal for bionic TIME WITH COMPANY: 7 years STRENGHTS: jessie’s major strength has always been his outgoing personality. it’s led to a decent enough variety presence, but more importantly, the title of a stan attractor. ridiculous expression, the ability to make an idiot out of himself on live television (while still managing to look halfway decent in the process) and then promptly laugh about it has endeared him to many. he’s surprisingly quick on the take when it comes to dance, and while he’s not a vocal powerhouse, there’s a pleasant enough tone to his singing. the fact that he’s multilingual is something that cel (sometimes) takes advantage of as well. WEAKNESSES: jessie’s perfectly average at a lot of idol talents, but that’s the extent of it. sure he’s actually pretty good at dancing, but another dancer's better. his vocals are nice, but he’s overpowered by some of the stronger vocalists. he’s an honest to god awful actor, even when he was supposed to be playing up the demure fairy prince persona they gave him during his debut -- he promptly fucked that up and they had to run with it (though it still hasn’t curbed the marketing team or fans that still do it to him). he has a bad habit of taking everything to heart, and while he’s decent at covering it up, it takes its toll and affect the work he puts out. he’s also absolute trash at remembering pre-planned interview questions so they often give him packets of written down words or flashcards if they really need him to say something. staying on task when it comes to interviews is also something of a difficulty, and he’ll often get distracted or trail off mid-answer, especially when he’s stressed or nervous.

BIOGRAPHY !

– jessie was born in new jersey, usa. his father moved his wife there for a job, and that’s where jessie was raised. the environment he grew up in was fairly well off, though his father always handled jessie strictly, constantly pointed out that he wanted jessie to achieve more with his own life.

– he was never the most academically gifted, and the only subjects he really had a knack for picking up in school were languages, grew up bilingual knowing mandarin and english. his parents often spoke mandarin in the house, and he habitually got sent back to beijing to live with his grandmother over the summers in punishment for bad grades (he's a surprisingly good cook due to her lessons when he stayed there). – this was probably due to a combination of reasons. realistically, jessie just had little interest and didn't have a natural propensity toward academia, but a large part of him consistently ranking at the bottom of the class and failed report cards was due to untreated adhd, he wasn't diagnosed until his junior year of high school. – while his father had always been incredibly disappointed in him because of this (and, to be perfectly honest, a little cruel. jessie's been called stupid in more ways than he thought were possible, and he hates being called it, even if it is true), the diagnosis and meds meant that he could potentially push himself into a low tier university and try to haul himself back into what a good son should be and subsequently get a good career (or, that was what his parents told him). jessie opted out of the game plan by chance. he tagged along with a friend who wanted to audition for cel’s american auditions, and while he was there one of the talent scouts urged him to audition as well despite the fact that jessie didn’t think he was talented in much of anything (aside from maybe skateboarding and getting a good deal on pot). – has rejection-sensitive dysphoria which branches from adhd, and he takes the route of people pleaser/chameleon. he hates making his friends angry, and will do almost anything to ensure others' needs are met, even at the expense of his own. can present with atypical depression if one doesn't know this about him, but usually he tries to keep those emotions hidden from others, largely due to him being paranoid he'll lose friends or fans if it's out in the open. he hates the idea that he could be a burden on anyone. – jessie thrives on attention, which is perhaps the main drive in his daredevil-ish personality and the reason he tried to give the whole idol life a go. he'll do nearly anything on a dare. bet him 10,000 won and he'd probably jump out of a second story window. this paired with the fact that he's a bit of an adrenaline junkie means he gets up to terribly ill-planned ideas on the regular. he has little to no impulse control, which only exacerbates the problem. – has self harm scars on his upper thighs from when he was in high school, they're largely faded and hard to pick out unless your know they’re there and manage to get him out of his pants (there aren't really enough to make it incredibly obvious, but if you're close enough it's easy to spot). – he's charismatic, outgoing, and painfully friendly. the type of person who will meet you for the first time and talk to you like a long lost friend. – that being said, he doesn't have the best filter, though his intentions are usually well-meaning. he's not the most clever, or most astute, but he's genuine and largely sincere. – all things considered, he took to the idol life decently enough. but it all kind of fell apart when the three other chinese members in the group broke their contracts to go back to china. jessie has no interest of pursuing a career there, and has never actually lived there past extended stays cel sends him on, or summers spent with his grandmother. if he went anywhere, it’d be back to new jersey. but he’s not secretly rich, so he stays with bionic. even if the chat boards are filled with fans calling him a traitor and telling him to leave, too. even if it fucks with his head and makes him feel isolated. he deals with it by not dealing at all, plasters a smile on his face and tucks his depression deep down in the cavern of his chest. he’s had a whole lot of practice with that growing up, so it seems rote at this point to keep trudging along while people constantly reject him for being him. 

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

[+ 500, -15] Wow! Seho is my favorite soloist in CEL ! [+ 243,  - 5] CEL is lucky to have him, aren’t they?! [+ 225,  - 9] I can’t wait to see more of them - fighting!!

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: jung jaewon (one) CHARACTER NAME: park seho STAGE NAME: seho CHARACTER AGE: 22 COMPANY: CEL POSITION: dean soloist TIME WITH COMPANY: 6 years

POSITIVE: loyal, honest, straightforward NEGATIVE:: violent, bitter, uncouth STRENGTHS: seho loves music since young, being it the only way he had to deal with the years he spent under his brother’s care. he is diligent and a hard worker, spending nights and days in the studio working on new material. he puts his musical career first and his personal life second, focused and determined. seho knows how to write a song that will chart decently. his voice is also good. he doesn’t reach amazing notes, but he holds a tune well, and his voice is pleasant enough to make him fit his solo career. WEAKNESSES: stage presence. seho does well when shooting videos, though most he does is stand there and look pretty. but his live stages have been less than outstanding, and for a while CEL even didn’t make him promote in music shows, spinning this off as him being artistic. but as much as seho wants to stay away from the idol image, he’s still in an idol company, so it’s something he has to work at. another weakness is his attitude: acting whatever way he wants in interviews and variety shows will only get him so far, but for him it’s hard to pretend to be excited or happy. or laugh at a joke he finds stupid. or to just shut the fuck up and not say the stupid shit he’s thinking.

BIOGRAPHY !

triggers: character death 

born and raised in busan, park seho is the middle child of a middle class family. he has an older brother and a younger one: a family of men. he grew up feeling mediocre, never the best but also never the worst. he grew up well though, until his parents died in a car crash.

that left him to the care of his older brother who was already an adult, a man seho despises. he was fifteen at the time and had to start working part time jobs and god knows what else. his relationship with his older brother was terrible, but he made it through for his little brother, who is twelve.

he didn’t do well in school, making music instead. he played around with the guitar and the keyboard. he started making his own songs and uploading them on songcloud, and then making youtube videos. at this time he left home at least three times, living with friends here and there, and then going back because of his younger brother.

this soft of life made seho a mistrustful man, angry, prone to violence. he doesn’t trust people, has huge walls raised high around him. sad and lonely, he pours his anger and pain in his songs.

until one day he is stopped on his way back from his part-time job in a convenience score by a CEL scout who recognized him from the videos. at first he thinks of not even showing up in the company, but ends up going anyway. he gets signed in two months later.

at first they think of putting him in bionic, but seho can’t really follow them in the dancing department. also, he doesn’t get along well with the boys, can’t really work in a team. seho is not made to be in a group, or to be an idol at all. his behavior just doesn’t fit.

ends up debuting as a solo, intense pr training. he now knows how to work in front of the cameras, to smile her and there. but he has been already in some scandals about being rude, impolite in interviews, acting as if he doesn’t give a shit (newsflash: he doesn’t) in showcases. the type of song he does sells, though, so cel is keeping him around. though the leash around his throat is getting tighter and tighter.

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

[+ 500, -15] Wow! Jiyeon is my favorite soloist in CEL ! [+ 243,  - 5] CEL is lucky to have her, aren’t they?! [+ 225,  - 9] I can’t wait to see more of them - fighting!!

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: im jinah CHARACTER NAME: han jiyeon STAGE NAME: n/a CHARACTER AGE: 25 COMPANY: CEL POSITION: solo (taeyeon) TIME WITH COMPANY: 12 years STRENGTHS: Perhaps even moreso than any outright talent, Jiyeon’s greatest strength lies in her experience, preparation, and ability to lead - her own career or others. Though her previous group has disbanded in dramatic fashion, there is very little that either CEL or her own internal coachings have not readied her for after over a decade of training. Calm, collected, eloquent, and dogged, when it comes to anything from choreography to accepting awards, Jiyeon never falters. Though Jiyeon’s voice should not be discounted, and is a genuine gem: originally scouted for the impressive nature of it as a young teenager, she has a talent that has always left every hard-nosed critic and teacher wanting to bottle and sell it. But while her voice may appeal to the critic, it’s her looks that appeal to the public, and that’s what matters to CEL – that the masses want to break off and take home a piece of her. WEAKNESSES: Her commitment to hard work can hinge on compulsive and unrealistic; her expectations for herself are perpetually too high, and she’s made herself sick on more than one occasion pushing her body too hard. Particularly with the stigma surrounding mental illness and medication in the country, Jiyeon’s careful managing of her OCD and anxiety over the years has grown harder. While in her younger years her anxiety was minimal, the more her obsessive-compulsive disorder demands of her, the worse her anxiety becomes. Though she is earnestly still young, even her age is a weakness in the ever-youthful industry that is KPOP. She has entirely no skill in rapping, and will try to refuse even attempting it on variety shows for the sake of embarrassment. Her variety appearances themselves are moderate but nothing exceptional; high ratings will arise simply from her name attached to any particular show, but she struggles with becoming goofy enough for many audiences.

BIOGRAPHY !

This is how you begin, like a start to a fairytale that should never be told, the ones with knights that never arrive and princesses that sheath their own hair with the tooth of the dragon keeping them.

i. she could claim a birth of immaculate conception because for all that her father is not there, it’s imaginable that jiyeon’s birth came from her mother and something she dreamed up. maybe in that story she would be a girl born from a peony mid-winter, shaking white limbs unfurling like petals - in that tale, jina might have come out fully formed, dressed in  long raven hair, singing a sweet tune to welcome herself into the world. but in this one, the one we have now, she is as raw and young as the rest of the babes that take their first breath screaming.

ii. her mother loves her enough for two, and that’s good, because some nights they survived on love alone - she parceled out pieces of her heart when there was not enough food, serving it out  on a silver platter to her only daughter and wiping her mouth when she done. when jiyeon is old enough she offers her soul in return, breaking it in half and half and half to hand back, and in this way she is also holy. this is the body and the spirit, the bread and the wine.

iii. it’s not as bad as it might seem. their house is full of laughter and love and the magic that comes from one night onlys, but in this home every night is one night for someone, so this is what jiyeon is weaned on. her mother’s business is a success because she knows how to make a home, even if it means sharing her own: so here, the young girl meets honeymooners and old lovers and older souls, and like a ritual they turn to her mother every night, drunk on good food and warmth to say: what a beautiful girl. what a serious child.

and when she plays, they say nothing at all.

(they are too busy listening).

iv. it’s starts as much a duty as anything else: changing the sheets, putting new flowers on the table, bringing breakfast in bed to the new lovers with a late checkout – and then performance. her delicate frame on the bench in the morning and at night, fingers fluttering across black and white keys like they never learned how not to fly. her voice comes with it.

like so many other things, jiyeon’s mother had been the first one to teach it to her, cupping her tiny hands beneath hers as she held her child in her lap and played melodies. jiyeon loves it, and so she sacrifices. like every great queen, she bows her head and picks up the weight of a kingdom so that her kin can have more; lessons on tuesdays and thursdays, a shining black thing sitting in the living room by next christmas.

she loves it, it’s true; jiyeon does it for herself. but she also do it for her. because even while she is young, young lady is only a term of convenience.  she was always a lady first, young only by circumstance.

v. everything happens at once. that’s the way it is with genuine surprises, the swing of one act to the next, the gate of destiny’s door vaulting open and knocking over objects in the room with its sudden wind. he’s only another customer when he comes in the door, albeit he is fixed with a soju-eyed stare and half a suit (no more, no less) that could buy and sell the roof and walls around them. a funny man, unsure of where he is before he sleeps and unhappy with the location when he awakes – he grumbles into his coffee and wears his sunglasses inside, rubbing his temples as he makes phone calls at the breakfast table.

she plays for him, like any other day.

he breaks his glasses when she start to sing. they fall right off his nose, and jiyeon stops to pick them up. she says sorry as your fingers smudge the lenses.

he only smiles.

then makes another phone call.

vi. he’s a mouthful, that’s what han jiyeon learns. he’s got a too-important job at a too-big place with too-famous people, and shae can barely get her jaw around it all. but she does, because she has always been a sensible girl, and she’s got strong bones, teeth, stomach. he brings her into the center of the room with a hand on your shoulder, ready to exchange her for her weight in gold in front of a room of god-men hidden behind their desks.

they place her on the scales, pull of the veil and open her mouth -

        and rejoice when she tips the whole thing over.

v. but they deal in the glory, she is still left to the grit and gore. in the first year, she is younger than most of the lot, and they look for a reason to hate her. they whisper about favouritism - they see the man with the half-suit and broken glasses smile at the girl with ivory-etched features and take her high head and upright chin as a sign that she hasn’t been forced to work to the marrow with them.

when that is over, she grows too beautiful for her own good. it is not her fault; none of it is. but if jiyeon were to live this life over again luckier, she would do well not to be so lovely. perhaps then he never would have seen her. men come for the girl in packs, their tails hidden up their jackets and their fangs tucked away as they try to paw at her. no one tells her beware of men, no one hands out a red cape to get through the woods unharmed, and so this is a lesson she learns the hard way, heart-first. he is the king of the country and he reaches down to pluck jiyeon from the crowd like he is a god. she thinks he might be. at the same time, they start to call her royalty, and with this man pressing to her back, she think she might just be a princess. she is ready for it, but too young for him.

everything breaks apart at the same time.

vi. it takes almost half jiyeon’s life to finally have one.

she hides her mind away and swallows her pain in the name of perfection. it makes her ache from the inside out, and she is starting to twitch.

some men mistake her beauty as consumability, and they try to lick the salt off her neck without permission.

there is more of jiyeon in this building than anyone else: she has left more behind, shed more skin and sweat, turned these rooms into walls that spit out her dna. it’s a decade of uncertainty, hard work that feels like a snake eating its own tail.

she is still young when she makes the cut for the group of the generation, the collaboration of luck and talent that brings her to the forefront of a nation, but it doesn’t feel like it.

it’s a chemical madness, what arises, though like all things chemical the brewing takes time. a year of the average, and then the spectacular bursts across the sky: beautiful multicolour fireworks: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

it’s all flash, flash, flash, cameras rolling, people screaming. the charts are topped and then toppled over. the critics are harsh and the crowds are adoring. they’re legends, these girls. they remake the music scene, but by the law of the world it remakes them also. and after years, after a meteoric rise, it comes to pass that jiyeon is the star that’s meant to post itself the highest in the night sky.

her time comes.

vii. it’s the best fucking thing she’ll ever do.

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS !

[+ 200, -12] Woah, Kang Nayoung is my favorite leader and vocal in CEL ! [+ 113,  - 2] Macaroon is lucky to have them, aren’t they?!

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: kim ahyoung (yura) CHARACTER NAME: kang nayoung STAGE NAME: - CHARACTER AGE: august 24, 1994 COMPANY: CEL ent POSITION: lead vocalist TIME WITH COMPANY: four years POSITIVE: motivated, well spoken, affectionate NEGATIVE: calculated, picky, selfish STRENGTHS:  nayoung’s voice is her biggest strength. a natural talent, even when she was untrained she was pleasant to hear. but years of schooling only polished her talent even more. she has a good vocal range and can sing different styles of music with ease. she is disciplined, so even knowing that she is already really good is not enough to stop her from training and polishing her vocals. nayoung has her mind set in being recognized in macaron for her voice, and to bring attention to her group. focused, as much as she may think of a solo career later in her life, or of a solo debut while in macaron, she keeps these ambitions to herself. macaron is her focus now and she will work hard as hell to make them popular and successful. one of her biggest fears is her plastic surgeries being found out and the scandal of it being enough to burying her group.   she is a dedicated girl. she trains hard, even on the fields where she doesn’t excel at. and having debuted won’t stop her from keep on trying to improve (even though sometimes she feels like she is fighting a lost battle). she makes up for her lack of dancing skills with a good stage presence. nayoung knows what angles are her best, in what way to look at the camera while singing her parts. WEAKNESSES: if nayoung was asked what is her biggest weakness, she’d laugh because it’s just so obvious it already became a joke among her fans. nayoung can’t dance, at all. she tries hard, and trains and she’d kill anyone who tells her she can’t dance for lack of training, but she simply can’t. her body is stiff, clumsy, and even when she got the whole choreo her body still doesn’t move right. she is trying, however, to turn this into some sort of “charm”, something endearing for the fans. but truth be told, it pisses her off. for a perfectionist like her, seeing herself on camera, body stiff, all moves that look so fluid on some of her group mates looking all kinds of wrong on her makes her want to cry in frustration. another thing she knows she has to work on is her variety talents. nayoung is simply not funny and her humor is much more on the dry side than anything else, which doesn’t really fit macaron’s image. and when she does try to be funny for the camera, it never works. she’s insecure in front of the camera when she’s not on stage, and in the times she was invited or casted in variety shows, she faded on the background or ended up being called “uninterested”, which ended up resulting in some nasty comments about her.

BIOGRAPHY !

kang nayoung is the older child of two,, daughter of an important businessman, owner of one of korea’s biggest cosmetics industries and a famous international supermodel, way past her prime. girl has had everything she needed and deserved since very young. spoiled rotten.

however, nayoung never let that get to her head. she is mature, intelligent, always passed all of her subjects with flying colors. member of the debate team, nayoung is well spoken, and for a long time her parents were sure she would end up following a career as a lawyer or politician. but girl had other dreams: she wanted to be a singer.

since young nayoung knew she had a talent for it. her parents had put her on piano classes, but the teacher ended up asking them to give her singing classes. she had a natural talent and all she needed was just some polishing.

nayoung started having singing classes every day. at first, she wanted to be a solo singer, but as she grew older, she started having the dream of becoming an idol.

and that wasn’t such a far-fetched dream. she had the talent but nayoung had one problem: she didn’t have the face.

when she was 13 nayoung tried for the first time getting into CEL entertainment, only to be refused with a simple statement: you don’t have the face we are looking for.

which was probably an understatement. as good as her genes were supposed to be, nayoung was never a pretty girl. her jaw was too square, her head too big, her nose too large. she was chubby and clumsy. she tried getting into CEL two times more only to be refused with the same excuse.

when she was sixteen she moved to the usa with her parents since her father decided to spread his business. there, nayoung started to slowly do some plastic surgery procedures.

when she was eighteen, nayoung decided to go back to korea and live with her grandparents. she didn’t like the states, didn’t make many friends. by the time she arrived at the airport, her grandmother barely recognized her - her face was completely changed.

basically the only thing she didn’t change on her face is her lips.

in that same year, 2012, nayoung tried one more time to get into CEL. this time, she was accepted.

nayoung mother kept nagging her about maybe trying to join another company. CEL was already well known, and a lot of the rumors about the company were already around. her parents were worried about the tight schedules and the hard trainee life her daughter was about to face. but for nayoung, CEL was the right company. they were the ones with the most popular groups and the one that she was sure to have a successful debut. also, she was a big fan of royalty.

from a very young age nayoung found out the power that beauty has in this world. she knows that her talent was never enough to get her anywhere, it doesn’t matter how outstanding she was. this alone changed her, making her cold and calculated. nayoung thinks before saying anything, she looks cold and distant most of the time.

obsessed with her image, nayoung is extremely careful with her looks. goes to sleep early, is always on diets and all that.

even before she became a trainee she destroyed every evidence of her past self. she still lives in fear of some old classmate she doesn’t know of still have pictures of her in middle school though.

she was a trainee not for long, only three years. because she already had a lot of vocal training, that was the part she had less to train. she had a hard time with dancing practice, though, their dance coach always joking around that nayoung was born with two left feet.

it was actually because of her lack of dancing skills that nayoung wasn’t put in melodee. she trained with the girls for a while, but when their concept started to be centered around their sharp dancing, nayoung started to struggle to follow along. when she couldn’t even properly follow the choreography for their debut song, nayoung was cut from the final line up.

that, of course, pissed her off royally. nayoung is a hard worker, and she had always believed that working hard would be enough and she was just not used to get what she wants. she struggled for awhile, skipped some practices, almost thought of quitting CEL. but then, she came back.

in the end, nayoung ended up debuting with the group macaron, just one year after she was kicked out of melodee.

macaron’s choreographies are actually really better for her, and nayoung feels more at ease in her new group, less pressured. her only problem now is: their image. macaron has a bright, colorful, fun image that nayoung simply finds it hard to follow. her calculated, polite personality just doesn’t fit that well.

at first she tried hard to fake that sort of energetic vibe, to be bright and happy and funny in their broadcasts, but that didn’t work that well. now she is still trying to find her place in the group. in a group of nine girls, it’s easy to be left in the background.

she knows, though, that her vocals give her an edge. she was hoping her visuals would too, but in a group with as many beautiful girls as macaron standing out for being pretty is not that easy.

is still terrified that anyone will ever find out about her past face and her plastic surgeries. so far all she has gotten is the usual plastic surgery comments that all CEL groups get.

personality wise, nayoung is driven. she sets a goal and follows it with focus, no one can stand in her way. organized, almost obsessive with order. she likes things her way, and that can be extremely annoying. skeptical, critical, independent, determined. a lot of people like to joke around that she doesn’t have a sense of humor, which is not necessarily true. she does have one, though it is extremely dry. when with friends she can be extremely affectionate, though. if she likes you she almost acts like a guard dog - she will keep you safe and protect you from any harm. has a leader like personality, and is extremely loyal to macaron. will do whatever it takes to make them successful.

as long as love goes, nayoung never had a boyfriend. she blames it on her tight schedule and training life, but the truth is starting to come out: the fact that she likes girls is starting to get harder and harder to ignore.

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

[+ 500, -15] Wow! Jay is my favorite dancer and vocal in CEL ! [+ 243,  - 5] Bionic is lucky to have him, aren’t they?! [+ 225,  - 9] I can’t wait to see more of them !

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: kim taehyung (v) NAME: no jaesung STAGE NAME: jay AGE: 21 POSITION: main dancer and vocal of bionic (BI3) TIME WITH COMPANY: 6 years STRENGTHS: 

dance:  — it’s the reason he was ever accepted into cel, put into bionic, labeled one of the main dancers of the group. dance has been a part of his life ever since he can remember, and now it’s just a natural part of him. he picks up choreography relatively fast, then practices hours on end to make it look like his own. admittedly, this sometimes distracts, makes the group look unsynchronized when he hits moves too strongly, but he can’t help himself when he gets lost in the music so easily and his body just follows suit. 

stage presence:  — intertwined with his strength in dancing, jaesung easily draws eyes when performing. he’s always had a noticeable presence, possibly because he never did know when to stop talking (read: bragging about himself), but his smugness just renders him that much more captivating when he gets on stage or when the camera focuses on him. he knows how to control his facial expressions, how to switch from his off-stage personality into whatever on-stage concept has been given to him in an instant, how to draw attention to his every strong yet fluid movement.

WEAKNESSES: 

singing:  — jaesung’s primary role has always been dance, but of course to be an idol he needs some vocal presence as well. they tried to have him rap at first, but he was... well, not great. then they tried to have him sing and, well, he wasn’t so great at that either -- but, his singing was at least better than his rapping, so they settled on that. he has a deep and soulful vocal tone, but unfortunately he doesn’t know how to utilize it very well. he has a few, specific ranges in which he can sing and sound decent, but even then he doesn’t really know how to manipulate his voice to reach those ranges. overall, he lacks vocal technique and it’s only worsened when he also has to dance at the same time. 

image-keeping:  — although he’s done relatively fine so far in keeping his image (after all, he has to when cel rides them all on being picture perfect with just the right quirks to gather fans), it hasn’t been particularly easy for jaesung, and it’s almost as if he’s a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode into a scandal. he’s impulsive and outspoken, which is why despite him having decent variety show skills, cel has more often than not turned down requests for jaesung to appear on varieties. he’s already said and done a few small things that have gotten him into small ‘scandals’ online on fan boards that have branded him disrespectful, such as making exaggerated funny faces behind the winners on a music show. so, while such things never cost him or bionic much in terms of popularity, cel would rather not take the chance.

BIOGRAPHY !

act one. the child 

scene one: the sun sets behind the rolling hills of green tea fields in boseong, south korea and a baby cries in his mothers arms for the first time. a father is no where to be found, but the mother smiles anyway and names him jaesung. 

 — jaesung is raised by his mom, his grandma, his grandpa, and the entire town. everyone knows no jaesung, the little boy with a boxy grin, energy for days, and sun-kissed skin from playing outside all day.

 — he spends more time racing his friends down the hill to get to the convenience store and picking green tea leaves alongside his grandpa who tells him stories of his (fabricated) wild adventures than he does trying to get an education.

 — he’s just not meant to leave the small town, not meant for bigger things in bigger cities, his mom figures whenever his grades always come back below average. she scolds him and nags, but young jaesung loves the rural town, the lack of streets, the insects, the rolling green hills, and he hates studying, hates the idea of university. so she accepts his fate, though she wishes for more.

scene two: the family of four sit around their brand new television on the night of music! festival’s end of the year show. the resolution, though still not the best, is much clearer than before and jaesung, now ten years old, sits far too close to the screen, starry eyed and grin wide. his mother tells him to move back, but instead he just stands and tries to dance along with the idols on screen. he manages to copy a few of their moves, albeit sloppily, and adrenaline pumps through his veins. he bows to his audience of three and he’s never felt so much excitement in his bones when they clap and cheer. 

 —  jaesung falls in love with dance very quickly. he watches music! festival religiously and tries to teach himself all the choreography. he performs in front of his mom and grandparents often and they humor him. 

 — jaesung is twelve when self-teaching choreography from television no longer satisfies him. he wants to learn more than what he see’s on screen, he wants to dance to all the songs he loves and not just the ones companies decide idols should promote. this is the first time rural boseong can’t provide him with what he wants, so he asks, begs, cries until his mom lets him enroll in a hip-hop dance class all the way out in gwangju.

  — he takes the bus right after school every thursday with his grandma. the bus ride is long at over an hour, but nothing can dull the light in his eyes when he gets into class and absorbs his teacher’s every word, every movement. 

  — jaesung doesn’t just fall in love with dance while he’s in gwangju, he also falls in love with the city. it’s not seoul, but still it’s bustling and loud and energetic and everything boseong is not and he fits right in.

  — jaesung is thirteen when he realizes he has a dream. 

act two. the trainee

scene one: the third rejection comes in the form of a pre-rehearsed apology he’s already heard two times before, stating: he’s just not what they’re looking for at the time, but please feel free to audition again next time. jaesung is fourteen, almost fifteen, and he’s auditioned to several companies over the course of the past year now. he’s denied from all of them and he spends the bus ride back home thinking of what he can do better next time. 

  — jaesung is stubborn. his mom tells him to give up, tells him that his grandma’s health is starting to dwindle and can no longer keep going on these long trips to gwangju with him anymore for one hip-hop class or for auditions with failed results. but he doesn’t give up, he just starts going on his own.

scene two: the little light on the camera turns red and jaesung smiles, introduces himself, then waits for the music to play. music plays and jaesung loses himself in it when he dances. his moves are sharp, his energy is tangible, his face is attractive, and the cel judges see potential in the tan teen with a heavy accent. later, they ask him to sign a contract and he doesn’t have to be asked twice.

  — his mom, however, needs to be asked several times. seoul is too far, success isn’t guaranteed, hell even just debuting isn’t guaranteed. but she breaks soon enough because jaesung is persistent and convincing, so he moves out to seoul at the age of fifteen.

  — trainee life is hard, exhausting. he has to learn how to sing, has to prepare a song and a dance every month to avoid getting axed, has to share a dorm with way too many other trainees. it’s stressful, but jaesung powers through because dance is still his one true passion and performing in front of large audiences is still his dream. he makes friends with other trainees, explores seoul in the very few, short moments of free time he has, and every time he see’s his company sunbaes perform on stage he remembers why he’s there in the first place.

  — two years into his trainee period, he gets placed into bionic’s tentative lineup. things get harder because now he has to try that much harder to not mess up, to keep his spot, and he never sees his bed for longer than a few hours. he’s always been energetic, but even this lack of sleep takes a toll on jaesung. he almost injures himself far too often and his voice is often strained from practicing too much, but it’s all worth it in the end when bionic’s lineup is officially decided and jaesung is included. 

act three. the idol

scene one: the camera focuses on jaesung and the director calls cue. jaesung lipsyncs his line with a heavy glare at the lens and a smirk threatening to pull at the corner of his lips. the director calls cut and says it’s perfect, except... they re-record until it’s all perfect, and bionic finishes their debut music video after long hours into the night.

 — their debut is lackluster. people criticize them and netizen comments are harsh. this, along with many other complications, takes a toll on several members, jaesung included. but unlike the others, he pushes through and stays with bionic. 

 — with the group units idea tossed out the window and a hit song that takes south korea by storm, bionic quickly rises from their disappointing debut. 

 — still, with fans that stalk his every move, with the company dictating his every decision, with back to back schedules and little time for rest in between, jaesung begins to realize that idol life isn’t entirely what he expected. but at least for the three minutes he’s on stage and hears fans scream and yell his name in unison, he’s happy. at least then, he remembers why he’s doing this in the first place. at least then, he can turn the switch and go directly into performance mode. it’s then when he feels the same excitement in his bones that he felt when his small family of three cheered him on in their tiny little living room. 

PROMPTS !

Detail the most significant moment (positive) of their career so far.

jaesung vivdly remembers decembers in boseong. he remembers the chill in the air, the green tea brewing on the stove, the music! festival show yearly awards playing on tv. he remembers sitting too close to the screen, watching intently as idol groups that he loved to dance to won awards, then dancing along to their special stages. 

he remembers wanting to be on that stage, remembers his grandma saying she wants to see him on that stage some time, remembers promising to thank her first if he ever won something on that stage.  

that stage. 

that stage has always been a dream, and even as he sits just feet away from it now on the idol-designated couches off to the side, he can’t believe this is reality. he’s dressed in all black and keeping a poker face when the nominees for music! festival’s hot new debut award are announced and bionic is among them. he doesn’t expect much, recalls the critical comments he obsessively read when they debuted -- but still, he’s nervous and it shows in the never ending shake of his leg. 

when one of the announcers fakes a drumroll as the other opens the card, jaesung almost wants to laugh and roll his eyes. at least one announcer does it every year and he thinks the joke has outrun its course, but before he can react to anything, the big screen camera switches over to them and the announcer says, “bionic! congratulations!” 

everything happens fast after that, his members help him stand up, they walk onto the stage -- that stage -- and their leader speaks more coherently than jaesung can even think. he’s grinning behind his other members, staring at the trophy in their leader’s hand, and god, now he thinks everything he’s done up to this second has been worth it. their moment on stage seems to pass by in a blink of an eye because before he knows it, the end-your-speech music begins to play and jaesung panics because he remembers his promise. the other members are already bowing and starting to shuffle him offstage, but before they get too far he steps back to the mic and hastily adds,   

“ah, wait, thank you grandma!”

Tell us about what your idols goals are after their time as idols runs out- after all, one can’t bear up under that pressure forever.

jaesung doesn’t have a plan for the future. 

he’s never been the type to plan ahead of time, and even back when he was a trainee, he never planned for what to do if becoming an idol failed. it was never an option, really, for him to fail. not in his mind, anyway. 

so his approach to post-idol life is much the same. he doesn’t know what he wants to do, hasn’t considered his options yet because he has enough to stress about in his daily life as it is. he knows his time as an idol can’t last forever, but sometimes he wishes it would. sometimes he pretends that it will, even, so that he doesn’t have to think about what comes after. 

all he knows is that he loves the stage. he loves to perform -- not just dance, anymore, but perform. he likes the fanchants, likes to hold the mic towards a sea of fans and hear them sing his lines in chorus, likes when the lights hit him and all he can hear is the loud thud of his heartbeat mingling with the screams from the crowd.

his goal, his pipe-dream is to keep that forever.  

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

[+ 500, -15] Wow! Kwon Nari is my favorite soloist in CEL ! [+ 243,  - 5] CEL is lucky to have her, aren’t they?! [+ 225,  - 9] I can’t wait to see more of them !

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: Jung Sooyeon (Jessica) NAME: Kwon Nari AGE: 27 POSITION: soloist (sounds like taeyeon) TIME WITH COMPANY: 14 years STRENGTHS:  

As no stranger to the entertainment world, Nari does really well in interviews and on shows for the most part and her performances are always polished. She’s very professional and has shown a lot of flexibility with what’s asked of her when appearing on other shows or working with other artists.

WEAKNESSES:  

While very professional she can come off as a bit cold and her answers in interviews sometimes sound rehearsed and fake. She considers herself a veteran and sometimes expects to be treated as such which has led to some misunderstandings. She does not open up easily and it’s made it difficult for her to connect with newer fans.

BIOGRAPHY !

Nari never really had big dreams. Live life happily, find a good job, meet a decent man, get married, have kids, grow old. Her life goals were pretty simple, she didn’t ask for a lot. She was satisfied with her family’s quiet life in the suburbs of San Francisco. As happy as she was with it, her parents wanted to be closer to their family in Korea and honestly, while she sometimes missed the place she was also curious to see what was different about living there. Culture shock was the first thing that overwhelmed her, and though she was familiar with the language she was hardly familiar with the mannerisms. Adjusting to life there was a bit difficult at first, but Nari learned quickly.

She was something of an anomaly to her classmates, head in the clouds it seemed and only dreaming of simple things. She didn’t see the point in trying to get into a top school, didn’t see the value of studying and getting good grades. She wasn’t a bad student, but she wasn’t a passionate student either. To her, it was enough if she passed and beyond those basic goals she wanted in life, she was particularly picky about her future career.

Her life probably would have stayed that simple if it weren’t for the fact that she had gotten scouted by CEL. She was hesitant at first, only 13 and not sure if this was something that she wanted. She wasn’t blind to what the life of an idol meant. She knew it was going to be busy and more importantly, any dreams of a quiet simple life could be kissed goodbye if she went through with this.

But it was tempting. There was a part of her that wanted to experience it, even with all the downsides and maybe a part of her wanted to break away from this simple life she thought was the only possibility. Nothing had prepared her for the trainee life, and to be quite honest she wasn’t sure if that was even possible. While busy, it wasn’t terrible and she managed to balance both her school schedule and her training schedule. Admittedly, she was too shy to tell most of her friends that that’s what kept her busy after their classes.

It wasn’t that she lacked confidence, well maybe she did a little, but she didn’t expect how competitive things could get at CEL. She was one of many trainees, and with new ones coming in and others being let go of, it always worried her if she’d still be able to come back tomorrow. Even after some years had passed, she still questioned whether she was getting anywhere. Good enough to stay, but not enough to debut. Just when she thought that maybe it was no use, maybe she should sign up with another company or just forget the idea altogether was when she got the news.

She never actually thought it could happen, but here she was chosen to debut in CEL’s newest girl group. Despite having gotten the news, she was still far too shy to tell any of her friends outside of her trainee life about it. Was she even allowed to? She didn’t want to risk it. It wasn’t very difficult to avoid talking about it, at least. With high school done and her position in the group official, she moved into the dorms along with her other group mates. With how busy her schedule was, it was difficult to stay in touch with her friends from before and it didn’t take very long for her circle to just consist of her group mates and those who were in the company.

Even with her debut looming ahead, that didn’t mean the training stopped. It was one thing to just practice vocals and dance, it was another to learn songs and choreography. It meant long nights learning her lines and longer nights learning the steps to their songs. As if that wasn’t enough, then came the harsh realization that even with all the practice and training she was still missing something for her debut to be complete; she didn’t have the ‘look’. She didn’t bother to fight it when the company told her what to do, her debut was so close and if she didn’t do this she was probably jeopardizing her chance. Yet it made practice that much more difficult, there was only so much time to get the procedures done and even though she should ideally be resting in between she spent her time in the studio instead. There at least was comfort in knowing that she wasn’t alone. Some had accepted that this is just another thing that was expected of them, and some welcomed it with open arms. While she was still a bit hesitant at first, the deed had already been done, but even Nari couldn’t deny the fact that she looked better after.

For all the years spent in trainee limbo, and the sleepless nights practicing, it all seemed worth it when her debut finally came. It was nerve wracking, of course, and there was always room for improvement but they pulled it off. There was far more to it than just simply practicing the songs and recording the albums. Now it was official and soon started the seemingly endless promotions to make sure that everyone knew who Royalty was. Stage performances, interviews, photoshoots, CFs, MCing, variety shows, they did everything for an extra bit of publicity. The sleepless nights practicing were essentially just that, practice for the now sleepless nights going from one schedule to the next.

However, while the first couple years were spent promoting equally as a group, it was quickly starting to become apparent that some members were promoted more by the company than others. Nari was fortunate enough to be one of them. She was one of a handful of members who had unwittingly become the face of the group. It was an extra schedule for her, on top of the group one, and practice. She often came back to the dorms, tired and exhausted, and sometimes only met with glares when she would complain how busy her day was when other members had no other activities. She tried to make up for it by being more quiet during their group activities, but people were becoming far too familiar with her face and it often left other members fading into the background still.

For all of that though, they were at least mildly popular. Some knew them, but not enough to prevent Nari from going out with her members for a casual outing. It was only a matter of time until they had their breakthrough hit, and with that came soaring popularity. The sudden shift almost felt like it was an overnight sensation. All it took was the right song and where they once were able to do something as simple as get a cup of coffee quickly became a trial as their number of fans grew. Overwhelming seemed like an understatement and if there was ever a time when Nari had regretted her decision of becoming a trainee all those years ago, it was now.

Searching themselves on the internet was a natural thing all the members did. They were always curious as to what people said about them, but now that more were noticing them the less they searched themselves. It wasn’t that there wasn’t anything to see, but that there was now too much, and sometimes it was too harsh. Too fake, terrible dancer, mediocre vocals, too much makeup, fake personality. While their number of fans grew, so did their anti-fans.

Despite their growing popularity, the amount of work members got was still disproportionate and of course that didn’t go unnoticed by anti-fans. Any appearance she made on a show always seemed to follow with questions from viewers of ‘why always her?’ If she knew the answer …Still, she tried her best to take things in stride, but as her schedule remained packed it was only natural that she was starting to drift from her members. It wasn’t intentional, and when she looks back on it, she wished she had noticed it was happening from the start.

Group activities were starting to become awkward. Yes, they were all in the same company and they all practiced together still, but sometimes practice for Nari was cut short because she had another schedule to get to. If she showed up for recording, she would often only be able to stick around for her part and then immediately leave, having something else scheduled. Group promotions were even worse. They at least had to appear like everything was fine, and while they seemed to be able to do that, when they returned to their dorm it was clear that some were becoming unhappy with their current setup.

The public for the most part seemed blind to the division within the group. They still reigned as a popular group, winning awards at the year-end shows, as was expected of them, but with more groups debuting and with their releases starting to become few and far between, many questioned how much longer it would go on. The divide only grew worse as the members started moving out of the dorms, even Nari followed suit, only feeling lonely when she could come back and only a handful of members were left behind. They didn’t even live together anymore, and they only got together as needed, to practice or record songs.

Nari, on the other hand, was starting to see a growth in popularity. Even if some were starting to become unfamiliar with Royalty, they knew Nari. All those years of endorsements, appearing on variety shows and hosting had given her a lot of exposure and some fans wondered if she’d ever get a chance at a solo. She wasn’t fond of the idea. Her vocals had improved greatly from when she had first debuted, but the prospect of standing on that stage alone terrified her. At least with her members, even with their relationship not being the greatest now, she could count on them to make sure they always looked their best. They all wanted the group to succeed, even if individually they weren’t. There were days she admittedly forgot parts of the choreography, but a member always helped cover her mistakes. Some days maybe she was feeling sick and was a little off key, but someone was always there to support her and make sure she still sounded her best. If she were to perform a solo, there was nothing like that. Promoting a song by herself was different than a solo act in their concerts. She was used to that. It was often only one song, one performance, but if she had a solo debut? It was all on her.

But that’s exactly what she got.

There was no excitement when the company told her. This wasn’t like when she first debuted and she felt like all her hard work had finally paid off. This was the same, but this was something she didn’t ask for. But when did this company ever give you something you wanted? All the years of extra schedules were paying off in a way she never thought it would. Normally idols might be excited for a solo debut since it was an opportunity to shine and really show off their talents. Nari had spent most of her career already doing that, and performing with her group was a welcome break for her. Then came the announcement that they were doing away with Royalty. It wasn’t released to the public yet, because they still had one more comeback planned, but the timing? It was a little too uncanny.

Try it out, they said, and though terrified, she did. She never said no to this company, not if she wanted to keep her position. Her fears were realized when she first started practicing for it. All mistakes were her own, and they were magnified by the lack of other members to make up for it. If she sang off key, it ruined the entire song. If she missed words, the awkward silent moments were a terrible reminder that she did. This was even more pronounced as Royalty was also practicing for a comeback and the difference between practicing in a group and practicing alone was made evident.

The Royalty comeback came first, and they promoted it fully, but even with the public not fully knowing, it was starting to become evident that Royalty’s time may be coming to an end. Promotions went horrible for Nari. She no longer felt the connection she once had with her group members. Interviews were stiff, any variety show appearances they made together no longer had the chemistry it used to, even their wins on music shows seemed to mean nothing. They were thankful, of course, that people still showed them the love they did, but they were quickly starting to become overshadowed by some of the newer groups. Nari came to the realization that maybe salvaging the group wasn’t possible anymore. It was difficult to when her members had no intention to, or at least, if they were they certainly did not want her to be a part of it. They rarely spoke in their dressing rooms, and after they were done with their schedule they all left for their respective homes.

Her patience had run thin. She accepted the solo debut.

Royalty’s disbanded was finally announced publicly and once that had time to settle in, Nari’s solo debut was officially announced. Some members were supportive, some not, she expected that, but that wasn’t what frustrated her. Yes, maybe the work was disproportionately divided, and yes, maybe some members did end up getting more screen time than others, but it was the lack of trying that frustrated her. Perhaps she was at fault too for never seeing this coming, but she felt betrayed that they didn’t even want to try and fix anything.

At least her solo was met with positive responses. It was a good move on the company’s part. While her members would eventually leave the company, or pursue other careers, Nari would stay. She no longer belonged with any of them. It was just her. But that was fine, she didn’t need them to succeed, and she’ll prove it.

PROMPTS !

Detail the greatest hardship they have faced thus far, relating to the theme of the site (idol life, entertainment industry, etc).

She always thought herself a pretty girl. Maybe not drop dead gorgeous, or particularly exceptional by any means, but pretty enough. She was comfortable enough with her looks, so suddenly being told that it wasn’t going to do was crushing. Was she actually too ugly to debut? Would people criticize the way she looked that much? It made her second guess the reflection in the mirror.

The more she dwelled on it, the more unsettled she became. She tried fixing her makeup, changing her skin routine, something, anything that would ‘improve’ her looks. The company had other ideas, of course, and she was reluctant to try them. She didn’t need that, right? Yet, no matter what she did it wasn’t enough and she relented, letting the company do what they want.

She hated it. She was miserable. The recovery period was the worst, and she honestly didn’t see any improvements, at least not right away. Maybe she saw some small ones, like her eyes looked much brighter, and maybe her face looked a bit smaller, but the pain she had to go through for it just seemed excessive. Even if all she wanted to do was stay at the dorm and rest, there was very little time for her to. She had practice, so all she could do was take some painkillers, hope that would be enough to get her through the day.

Even once the bandages had come off, she barely even recognized herself. That was the most difficult part. Getting used to a reflection that was her own and yet didn’t completely feel like it. She had to do her makeup differently, change up her skin routine a little, and still, it didn’t seem like enough. She got a lot of compliments, she looked so much better, apparently, but then if she looked better now how bad was she before? She had never really given it much thought because no one had ever pointed it out like the company did. She thought it was enough to be able to sing well and dance well, and at least be somewhat pretty. But apparently not.

Detail the most significant moment (positive) of their career so far.

It’s at the year-end awards, and she just won for Best Solo. Sure, there were a lot of people who said that she only won because she was popular, not talented, but didn’t that count for something. People knew her, were familiar with her, and apparently liked her enough to vote for her. Maybe she really didn’t sing as well as the other nominees, but didn’t this at least sort of mean that she was connecting with the audience enough for it to mean something?

It wasn’t just that though. This was for her, and her alone. Royalty may have won the Best Female Group, but this, this was all her. She gave her speech, thanking the usual people, her parents, her company, her staff and finally, her members. She meant it from the bottom of her heart. Maybe they didn’t feel the same, but as she stood there thanking them, she truly meant it. Unintentionally, they pushed her to pursue this and ultimately it seems to have paid off. There was still a long way to go though. She was still known as Nari from Royalty, and she just wanted to be known as Nari