#gs:solo

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

[+ 500, -15] Wow! Loren is my favorite soloist in In2ition ! [+ 243,  - 5] IN2 is lucky to have her, aren’t they?! [+ 225,  - 9] I can’t wait to see more of them - fighting!!

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: jung soojung (krystal) CHARACTER NAME: lee loren STAGE NAME: loren CHARACTER AGE: 24 COMPANY: IN2 POSITION: heize soloist TIME WITH COMPANY: 4 years STRENGHTS: if there is one thing loren possesses, it is creativity, and this in abundance. having studied applied music she has the technical knowhow to back up the enthusiasm she has for songwriting. while her early work was largely acoustic in nature, she has since developed a distinctive sound, though she still maintains notes of this original style and occasionally will upload acoustic versions of her songs to her instagram and so forth. while rapping came to her later in her career, she has proved herself proficient enough at this, though it undoubtedly took her a great deal of time to nail down. when it comes to her voice, her range has been criticized for being rather narrow, her tone a bit sharper than the typical pop voice, but its one that she manipulates well to suit her musical stylings. WEAKNESSES: frankly, her stage presence when performing live isn’t to the point that she can rival a well rounded girl group. a solo artist needs to be over the top and larger than life to be able to fill the stage at one of the big arenas or on the music shows, but frankly loren’s personality is far more suited for the small club shows she’d been performing on her own before she was picked up by in2ition. they were the ones who shaped her image and music into what it is now, infusing far more rap into her characteristic soft r&b pop than she was initially comfortable with. shortly after joining the company they sent her to america to cultivate her dance and rapping skills to their standards, something that she found both frustrating, isolating, and ultimately incredibly helpful.

BIOGRAPHY !

- born in incheon but shortly thereafter relocated to california, loren grew up in america, raised there in a largely korean american community admittedly, until she was about thirteen.

- at thirteen the family returned to incheon where she attended a korean high school and entirely too many hours of cram school up on discovering her american curriculum left her far behind her peers in south korea.

- unfortunately for her grades and for the expectations of her parents, she began to take her frustration with the classical piano training she’d been required to sit through and channel it into songwriting.

- soon after followed guitar, and then various applications on the computer to help her make arrangements to fill in the gaps.

- then came a youtube channel, and with it the frustration of her parents, and in the wake of all this came her very, very barely convincing them to allow her to audition to transfer to an arts high school.

-passing the audition solidified her desire to make music, and she began embarking on her study of applied music.

- far more studious now that she wasn’t sitting through the history of medieval europe and other actual bores, she soon began picking up opportunities to perform wherever she could, in coffee shops and book stores and at outdoor marts and the like.

- on one such occasion in hongdae she was scouted by in2ition and offered an audition, which she gladly accepted. she was 19 at the time, having just graduated from her arts high school and moved in to seoul to live with an aunt.

- for one year she trained relentlessly and made progress in her basic skills, but the criticism remained - she hadn’t found a particular sound yet. they wanted her as a soloist, but there wasn’t anything standout enough to make that work yet.

- not wanting to waste the potential to capitalize on artist produced music, they sent her to a tangentially affiliated music school in california, marking her return to the country all these years later at twenty one.

- she remained there, training for a year, before she was brought back to in2ition for good. at the net evaluation she was scheduled to debut.

- she’s been a slow burn on the charts, gradually creeping her way up the rankings, buoyed by recent work with artists from other companies and a stint on show me the money that (in her mind) went on entirely too long. she’s still not comfortable with the rapping, at least (most assuredly) not on a freestyle level, but at best as an accompaniment to her work.

[ghoststories-gifs]

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

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

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: won minji CHARACTER NAME: kwon halla STAGE NAME: MIZ CHARACTER AGE: 22 COMPANY: KWN POSITION: soloist (anda), producer, lyricist TIME WITH COMPANY: n/a (upcoming) STRENGHTS: creatively, halla is ingenious. courtesy of her parents genetics and their encouragement of her passions and pursuits, she has mountain-shaking talent when it comes to the actual creation and production of music. her brain is hardwired with melody and rhyme, and for several years halla has been a respected producer and coveted writer in the khh and r&b scene. as her time in show me the money has displayed, she maintains an exceptional ability to battle on the spot and with prepared time. her vocals are also strong, and her eye for music video and live stage aesthetics is an asset. her natural ease and confidence makes her good for variety in a limited sense, but also a danger. WEAKNESSES: her work and performances are not anywhere near as kitschy as idol work, despite the commercial success that brings. her dedication to her art is manic, and while she can meet deadlines, many of these have been done by a string of all-nighters the week before it’s supposed to be finished that planned out preparation as she “follows the muse,” rather than making a schedule. she’s nontraditional and nonconformist, which, while it was in keeping with her previous crew is not how most prefer to work. her easy tongue and quick mind can unfortunately get her in trouble quickly when there’s a camera in front of her, making variety and other media a potential liability.

BIOGRAPHY !

her childhood is brightly coloured canvases and cigar smoke in the air. her mother wears silk robes and makes herself a butterfly, her father dances through the kitchen and makes himself into her breeze. they are the artists whose medium is never just one thing: they turn life into experimental work

her bedroom has paint on the walls, birds drawn in marker and hymns on the door. halla is the product of love, truth, beauty, freedom, the daughter of neo-bohemia. she is told to live as she creates – freely

it helps that she’s made like art, with her plush lips and the drastic curve of her body. mathematicians get hard trying to figure out the angle of waist to hip and mouth to neck, and they still never quite find the answer

like her parents before her and their parents before them, she’s a muse and artist both, and the fall she takes with ease into a crowd and career is a lot more like a jump. 

in this day and age, they’re the revolutionaries and the rebels: the boys with tattoos and too much to say, brash in their mouth and on their skin. they’re famous and she’s beautiful and they make a good match, them with their creative minds and her with her artistic heart. sure she fucks them sometimes, but business and pleasure have never mixed so well.

she’s a goddamn innovation, the way she moves, talks, thinks. at first it’s everything behind the camera and between the glass and microphone, writing the lyrics and ensuring they come out the right way. and shit, she’s good; fuck, she’s a genius. with her body she works wonders but with her mind she works miracles.

the fame means nothing, the money is something but not nearly everything. halla only wants to live as she always has, with the capability of doing anything she likes at any time. some call that hedonism – she names it freedom. but when the boys in the snapbacks and inked fingers tell her it’s her time, she doesn’t protest. she’s always been made to make art, and now is her time

the crowd that knows her isn’t the mainstream, but it is unified and full of respect. she’s got men that sell out stadiums around her and the shit they make together has no compromise

she signs on to the show because the boys rile her up, because it sounds like fun, because she likes recognition, and her face-name-reputation starts ebbing towards the front lines

and she keeps on like she always has; borne of music and independence. how misplaced a thing, how large a liability, in a world like this.

[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 !

[+ 200, -12] Woah, Kwon Jaewon does great work as a ceo, soloist, producer for KWN ! [+ 113,  - 2] We’re lucky to have him, aren’t we?!

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: kwon jiyong (gdragon) NAME: kwon jaewon AGE: 26 POSITION: producer, ex-member of boygroup vip TIME WITH COMPANY: 13 years (trainee for 5 years, debuted at 18) STRENGTHS:

one of jaewon biggest strengths when it comes to his profession is his creativity. if there are two ways he can go on about something, jaewon is most likely to create a third one. he doesn’t like to do what has been done, and doesn’t stop at challenges - he actually loves being challenged, having to create something new, to try to be a trendsetter. he has his eyes in much bigger prizes and when he writes a song for a group it’s never thinking that this could be a good b-side, but with his eyes on a big hit. inventive, jaewon is always listening to new music, researching new material, keeping himself updated.as irresponsible as he can be and is, once he sets his mind in something he won’t give up. if muse comes to him late at night, people will find him in the workroom at 3am working on a new project and he won’t stop until he found perfection. jaewon is not one to settle for mediocrity, and even if the songs he wrote for CEL weren’t the ones he wanted to be doing, he still put his best on it. and now that he has more freedom on his own label, jaewon is finally being able to put all his potential in his own songs.  writing and producing are the only things he knows he is good at (that and charming people) so he will do his best until he is happy with what he is creating.

WEAKNESSES:

jaewon biggest weakness when it comes to this field is his lack of responsibility. he enjoys having fun - parties, going out, getting drunk, doing drugs, and everything that he considers dull just gets on the way of his creativity or so he believes. jaewon hates having a tight schedule that he has to follow, dislikes deeply having someone ordering him around, which was even worse when he was an idol. now, as the ceo of his own label,, he has more freedom but it’s still a job and his immaturity gets on the way. he has deadlines, meetings, artists to sign and so on, appointments that he is never on time for.  and jaewon knows sometimes he gets away with those things because of his status, but that is not going to last forever. it has been more than once when he arrived at the company hours after he was supposed to, sunglasses to cover his hangover.

now as the ceo jaewon finds himself in a whole new place, even with some associates. he also tends to abuse his position of power - not only because he is a producer, but also a senior in the industry, the ex-member of an important and famous group. he likes to be an ass just because he can be one, to treat people poorly when he is not in the mood, to hit on trainees because he mostly knows they can’t say no to him. jaewon is someone hard to deal with, his obsessions with his status and his narcissism won’t go without consequences for so long.

BIOGRAPHY !

TRIGGERS: drug use - son of small shop owner and a housewife, jaewon had 2 older sisters. they were never rich, his father’s store barely made ends meet most of the time but they made it. his family was always good to him and he grew up in a healthy, loving environment.  - jaewon started getting interested in music at a young age, being influenced by american r&b and hip hop. boy had really little care for school and he started meddling with underground rappers and writing his own lyrics.  - his older sister enrolled him in rapping classes, paying them all by herself. jaewon always had the support of his family in following his dream of becoming an artist. - that very same sister was the one who took him to CEL ent audition in 2003, and at the age of 13 years old kwon jaewon was scouted by the company - training was probably way harder than jaewon ever thought it’d be. his short lived fame around the underground scene made him think of himself as much better than he really was, or that his outstanding audition would at least give him a free pass inside the company. that never happened, though, and a huge part of his teenage years were spent inside the training room, learning how to dance, sing, rap and behave properly. some of these trainings had more results than others, though. - and that was when his dreams of becoming a rapper were shattered. it didn’t matter how hard jaewon tried he always came second to his peers on that matter, though he made it up with charisma and stage presence. it took him a while but his pride had to give in at some point, and he decided to focus on other aspects of idol life - like dancing. - he never really stopped writing his own songs and producing music when he could. cel ent head took interest in his songs, and jaewon started having music writing and producing classes too. that was where he really had a place to shine. - charismatic and eloquent, jaewon had a lot of friends as a trainee. but he was also manipulative, driven, would do anything to achieve his goal of debuting. sort of a bully with the weaker and newer trainees. - after six years of training jaewon debuted under the alias KJ, rapper of group v.i.p. - jaewon caught very little attention when the group debuted, which made him extremely pissed. he didn’t get that much screentime in their debut music video and most fans were flocking to the visuals. he was often last place in popularity polls, but that lack of interest from the fans only lasted until their manager started getting him spots on variety shows.  - his charismatic 4d boyish personality grabbed the attention and the love of the public. jaewon started to be invited for other shows, and his fanbase started to grow faster than expected. on mega’s comeback, he was the center. - as likable as jaewon would look on the screen, his bandmates would probably never agree with that, not after a while. at first they got along well, jaewon charmed his way with them but as he started to become popular, jaewon grew narcissistic, obsessed with his newfound popularity and image. he hated the duties and responsibilities that came with the life of an idol but loved the fame and everything that came with it. “hard to live with” would be the way that most of his group mates would describe him as. though, sure, he did make a few friends, but jaewon is too fickle for them to still be in contact. - as years went by, jaewon grew careless. his lack of responsibility and compromise put him into situations that made his manager have to bend herself backwards to cover his ass. a flirt, he had his share of affairs with girl idols on the downlow, and had extreme luck of not being caught (or, as his manager would say, of her being damn good at her job) - he also had a drug problem that almost got him in a major scandal, that got covered just in time. until this day no one knows that the six months jaewon vanished from promotions with the excuse of “taking care of health problems” were actually spent in a rehab in canada. -  and then, after five years, v.i.p disbanded in 2014. on the articles they said it was a mutual agreement, but everyone knew there was much more to it. none of the members could stand each other anymore. - jaewon never mourned over it though, he had been done with the group for years, and just didn’t leave because the mega CEO had promised him a solo career in case he stayed. his first solo album was released under cel, but as soon as his contract was over he left the company and set up his own independent level - much smaller, but also much more to jaewon’s liking. - his second album coup d’etat was already much different than his first one, heartbreaker, which was still under CEL. jaewon’s sound is much more more experimental, much less pop-ish. his popularity with v.i.p kept him afloat, and his label, KWN, has been growing well, with two more artists sign up. the atmosphere of label is laid back, a company for artists rather than for idols, focusing on the music. - though, ofc, jaewon is to obsessed with fame to let go of the media. he’s still making show appearances here and there. - personality wise jaewon is extroverted and charismatic, charming his way with an easy smile that is as fake as anything he feels. he’s funny in a dry way, sarcastic, but loyal as fuck to the people he likes, though those are very few. likes to have an intimidating image with the trainees, even more so with the male trainees. kind of a hardass with them. he is, however, still hard to deal with when you get too intimate. fickle, complicated, narcissistic to the core, his main concern is himself and he doesn’t see the problem in that.

[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: ARTIST PROFILE SERIES !

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

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: kim jongin CHARACTER NAME: cho noah STAGE NAME: ghoul CHARACTER AGE: 24 COMPANY: n/a > future, KWN POSITION: giriboy TIME WITH COMPANY: n/a POSITIVE:  speculative, thoughtful, empathic, earnest NEGATIVE:  fixated, uncertain, abrasive, obsessive STRENGTHS: His lyricism, rap and production skills are his strongest assets. Truthfully he’s still raw, but that rawness translates to a rough passion that gives him a bit of an edge on some of the over polished or typical performers. He brings a lot of new and offbeat things to the table in terms of style and preference, which can be both appealing and alienating to his audiences, depending on their conceptions and preconceived notions. With darker adn more delicate stylings and a bent toward lyricism, story telling, and emotional conviction, he doesn’t suit the “gangster rap” niche that much of Korean rap (Dok2, etc) attempt to occupy, instead using his creative writing and literature background to marry allegory, metaphor, simile, and description into his work in ways that may seem more poetic than “rap god.”

WEAKNESSES: First and foremost he is new at what he does, and this shows. He hasn’t had as much time on stage or as much practice at composition. His production skills are self taught and it shows - he makes clumsy decisions and isn’t always as refined as he should be. He tends to keep his beats and melodies simple, because that’s what he’s comfortable working with. Many of the ideas he has he does not yet have the tools or skill to realize, so he relies heavily on being able to compensate with lyrical prowess and smooth flow of delivery. In terms of the idol life, he does not sing particularly nor does he dance, and while he is currently on a variety show and paving his path towards success, his charm mostly lies in the fact that he, also, is rough around the edges, just like his music, and as a result tends to be half charming and half again as awkward on camera.

BIOGRAPHY !

noah’s life begins in a small, seaside town on the coast of south korea. his hair is as thick as the satoori that weighs down his tongue, and the tan on his skin is not preferable by seoul standards, but for a scrap of a boy darting over dunes and up the sides of mountains, it suits well.

his mother and father raise him, in an idyllic picture of childhood freedom, running wild with his older sister through fields and flowers, picking up whatever sports he can find the appropriate equipment for down at the town’s school. he’s physically inclined from the start, lean muscle and quick and nimble movements.

his mother reads him stories of faraway places, poems where rhyme and rhythm elevate the language he loves into an artform. as soon as he can read he does so voraciously, though he does so outside as often as not, a picture of sunburned cheeks and wild hair.

as he gets older, his relationship with his father strains and shifts. the man has always been stoic ans tense. he can’t remember a single hug or fond word, though his mother insists that the man loves him, loves his sister, his family. years of lack of evidence to this, however, make it hard for an angry teen to believe in truly. he rebels against him in small ways, snide words and youthful resentment.

his sister goes to school abroad for college - columbia, and the family is thrilled. she’s wickedly intelligent, and as in all things, it seems expected that noah will follow in her stead. even adjusting to a foreign land must be a shade easier than the terrifying trial of the korean entrance exam, over which all his peers panic and fret. its not like he has any better ideas, anyway. he ends up accepted to stanford, and his parents overflow with excitement. when he gets there and begins to study literature and creative writing? they’re not quite so thrilled. his mother loves his passion for literature but worries over his future. his father dismisses it once with a gruffly stated “frivolous.” over the pixelated skype call, and then disappears from future conversations all together. noah begins to pick up rapping at this point. a fresh faced 20 (having pursued his service immediately out of high school) he learns the rhythms and lyricism of it easily enough, has a knack for the writing aspect. he’s no hypeman or diss track afficionado, but he pours his soul into the jazz rap stylings he and his friends begin to fit together. he graduates in three years with a masters in creative writing and a bachelors in literature, returns home to find korea an unforgiving job market, something that doesn’t entirely surprise him but certainly discourages. at twenty three, directionless and uncertain, he decides to start putting out his own music. rapping, writing, performing at whatever clubs will take him. when his mother dies just after the lunar new year, he falls into a depression that drags him down into alcoholism along side, struggling to make sense of the fragility of life, the ultimate cruelty of it all. she’d been so young. the next mixtape he puts out hits a higher level of success than he’s ever experienced before. the raw and rough around the edges ache of it, the suffering and strength laid bare draw attention, and praise. at twenty four he’s accepted to participate on SMTM, gradually finding himself attaining higher and higher levels of notoriety thanks to the exposure, something that sets him slightly at odds with the world around him, uncertainty and also excitement for the future lacing into his veins for the first time in years.

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

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

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: lee jieun / iu NAME: do remi AGE: 25 COMPANY: KWN POSITION: soloist (sounds like iu) TIME WITH COMPANY: 2 years STRENGTHS: Remi has, above all else, experience. After debuting young with a now defunct company, she’s been in the industry for what feels like a lifetime and has clawed her way to the top. She’s fielded countless criticisms, dropped impressive hits, taken up some small acting roles, and so on. Her highest and greatest natural strength is her voice, for which she is predominantly known. She’s skilled with the guitar and the piano as well, and does some of her own composing, lyric writing, and producing- something she has been able to do with the freedom given to her by her new company. WEAKNESSES: Her greatest weakness is probably her reputation, at this point. Tainted by a past dating scandal, an unsuccessful attempt to rebrand her image, speaking out against the “lolita” box she was put in by her former agency, and long running attitude controversies often manufactured but occasionally not. Climbing out of this hole is something that has proven miserable. Her mentality is something she struggles with, and she is currently on hiatus (though preparing a new album recently) as a result. She stubbornly continues updating her SNS despite the continuously rude comments her updates receive, as if in some masochistic attempt to keep herself aware of what she must still overcome.

BIOGRAPHY !

i. her parents are normal, inconsequential people. they own a restaurant, and remi grows up with the smell of smoke in her hair, delivering napkins and chopsticks to tables the moment she can walk.

ii. her first words might as well be “may i take your order?” - it would certainly be one of the first full sentences she can recall saying. she probably mumbles it in her sleep to this day.

iii. she learns to love the buzz of the restaurant, the funny dishes her father is always trying to create, claiming “fusion is the future” any time someone criticized a bizarre pairing. it must be working, however, because customers keep coming to the little hole in the wall.

iv. she can hear the sound of the restaurant from her room at home, an apartment perched above the restaurant. her bedroom is over the kitchen, and the lull of her father shouting orders puts her to sleep when her mother lays her down for a nap.

v. she starts to sing along with the performers on the radio and her father loves it, calls her his little songbird, strokes her hair as her mother scolds him - “you’ll get her dirty!”

vi. her mother is tired, and it shows in the lines of her face, wearied expressions that deepen as the days pass. her father’s positivity is so bright it shines, but he can’t see past it to notice his wife’s difficulties, so remi takes this burden onto her own shoulders.

vii. she sings her mother’s favorite songs to cheer her up at work, and soon, she starts to notice people in the restaurant talk a little quieter when she sings, pass her a few won, some coins, and praise her for it. she likes the feeling, likes the contribution she makes, likes the lightness and softness in her mother’s face when she hits a note just right, bends it pretty and ringing.

viii. its a surprise, when one day, at 13 years old, a man hands her a business card instead of a few won. her mother is sure its a scam - who would want to scout their daughter, just from hearing her sing in the corner of an old restaurant? surely not. her father’s unflinching optimism wins out however - of course they’d want her, their remi, their darling songbird.

ix. it seems like the best moment of her life, when they accept her. she debuts at a scant 15 as a solo artist, but the songs they have her making are hardly her favorite. they dress her up and slather her in makeup, bill her as the nations little sister but make her sing about “oppas” that she loves, put her in childish outfits and have her sing about how she isn’t a little girl anymore and this and that. it makes her uncomfortable, but what can she do about it, really?

x. on her release of a song called ‘good day’ things start looking up. she starts charting, hits higher and looks better. of course, this is due to the rampant body image issues debuting as a chubby cheeked teen will give a girl. she’s slim now, but it fluctuates and she spends more time worrying about it than is healthy. she gets on shows and starts to panic, slowly gets better at variety.

xi. a bit later and she’s cemented herself in this niche she never asked for, has hordes of uncle fans screaming her name, but its weird. she doesn’t want this image- she tries to counter it on the varieties she goes on, to show she’s kind of a tomboy, a little shy, a lot goofy.

xii. there are controversies, there always are. those scandals follow her from one company to another. the album she produces herself is met with scandal again.

xiii. at twenty one, on the edge of twenty two, a dating scandal destroys her relationship and for a little while, her career. she lays low, comes back, prays her voice will help her hang on. for awhile it works.

xiv. when her newest album in 2015 tries to tackle the frustrations she’s had with the industry, with her image in it, with the way she was pushed into a box. instead, she earns a new moniker of “sly fox,” and things go misinterpreted, and it all comes back on her again, resentment and criticism. she reads it all compulsively. she goes on hiatus. each time she posts a picture on sns, there are those who tear her down- write articles just to speculate about her mental health, her happiness, her brazenness. she’s on the down turn and falling apart fast, even if her OST work keeps selling, even if acting deals keep being offered (though she turns them down, not ready to expose herself to another realm of critique).

PROMPTS !

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

there is a familiarity in the quiet ,suspended state of anxiousness that precedes something special. something important. she feels it before the lights come up, when the stage is bathed in darkness, when the crowd is hidden behind a lightless veil, when the weight of the microphone in her hands is a solitary comfort. she feels it in the deep of the night, when she unlocks the studio room at ALT that has been dubbed hers, flicks on the light in the booth to let the dim illumination light her way.

those moments are her favorites. she lives for the feeling of the precipice, that single, still, silent second before the jump, before the adrenaline, before the roar and thunder. the calm before the storm.

sitting in the quiet alt waiting room that day, years ago now, had felt like that. a suspended moment, frozen in time. remi had been poised in the crossroads. her childhood had been stolen by fame and by the warping of her image, the commoditization of a girl she hardly recognized in the mirror. when the company tanked, there had been a chance to walk away. maybe she should have. maybe if she had known what was yet to come, had known what the world would make of her, how they would twist her words and warp her actions and hunt her down, she would have broken that silence, would have stood up and walked away.

but maybe not.

maybe she would have stayed right where she was, until they called her back to the ceo’s office. until they offered her the contract and, for a second time, she signed herself away.she doesn’t regret it- signing on with ALT. even if she is hated, ridiculed, mocked, misunderstood, at least now its for music she has had a hand in making. at least now it is for choices she has made.

the autonomy of that is enough, for a girl who has been so controlled for so long. it has to be. after all, what else does she have left?

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.

remi tries to consider what will come next. what she will be when all this is over. when antifans no longer care, when the weight of her name doesn’t carry, when the public has forgotten her. sometimes she wonders if she’s already peaked. if her future will never shine as brightly as her past. but even then, even if she dulls and fades, at least now it is at her own behest. at least now she can say and think and act as she pleases (and perhaps she overindulges in this, perhaps she is smitten with the novelty of it, a new way to numb and dull and mask overactive senses).

when she thinks about the far future, there is only a blank. she saves money. she invests in properties. she knows when her contracts will end. she follows advice carefully, tries to carve out a niche here or there, to cultivate new talents. but the idea of being anything beyond this, anything other than do remi, former nation’s little sister, current sly fox sliding off the rails? its hard. she can’t imagine it. she can’t picture a world without van windows and a crush of people, a world without diets or check ins or photoshoots.

remi doesn’t know anymore. she doesn’t know who she is without this, without the image that has been made for her, without the narrative the public constructs around her actions. she doesn’t know who she is without the brand of idol stamped firmly across her forehead like a warning. when she can’t even contemplate the present, when she fears the past so much, how can she consider a future?

maybe she just isn’t meant to have one.

[genesiskrps-blog]

KIWI MUSIC NEWS: IDOL PROFILE SERIES !

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

PROFILE !

FACECLAIM: min hyorin NAME: kim aeri AGE: 25 POSITION: soloist (sounds like lim kim) TIME WITH COMPANY: 2 years STRENGTHS: 

Aeri has always been musically inclined. This isn’t to say that she’s comprised of raw talent or genius intuition, but she grew up in an environment where access to music, to instruments and composition techniques was made available to her. She has the ability to create her own songs, to pen her own lyrics, to start with an idea and build it into her own song. Separated from talent completely, Aeri has always had a knack for understanding how to market herself. Not in the grander sense where she can appeal herself to the majority of the general public, but more so on a micro level. When she was still playing around Hongdae and considered to be indie (as in: relatively unknown) she could often manage to get her name tacked onto set lists at popular bars, and eventually got herself signed to ALT., presumably due to how she was presenting herself at the time.

WEAKNESSES: 

Aeri is selfish, and this branches into her music as well. Above everything, she wants to create music that she, herself, likes. While this may have been completely fine when she was an underground artist playing part-time in cafes, she’s on a different playing field now, but still resolutely remains stubborn. Perhaps if she tried to appeal to the public just a little more, changed up the sound of her music, she might garner herself more attention. As is, however, she’s labeled as unique and has something of a niche, loyal following. While it isn’t of the utmost importance due to her being both a soloist, as well as being under ALT., Aeri has little to no dance skills, and she also has little to no interested in attempting to develop them, either. She also doesn’t tend to work well under time-crunches, and often scraps work halfway through when due to pressure. This can be seen in her discography at ALT where she was able to rework a lot of the material she had already written to turn them into two albums, one at the beginning of 2015, and one at the end nearing 2016. Throughout the entire year of 2016 though she’s yet to release an album due to her slow progression and insistence that she wants to be a part of the process. This isn’t exactly optimal for the fast-paced environment on the Korean music scene, however, and there’s always a worry that her fans might move on.

BIOGRAPHY !

*Aeri was born to a world that was turned into her playground. Her father was a professor at KNUA, and taught composition and performance. Her youth ran to the backtrack of classical music that spun through the living room, fingers brushing against the keys to the piano that sat in the study. Her mother was an academic as well, though she buried herself in art history. The (often repeated) story of how they met is something benign, involved a cafe at the university they went to and an old piano in the corner of the shop.

*She was an only child, deliberately planned and expected, with intentions to give her as many opportunities that they could offer.

*Everything was always eclectic, bright. They wanted her to think, and they wanted Aeri to invite creativity upon herself.  She has memories of puzzles, elaborately drawn children’s books, and screeching her way through the rooms of their apartment with a recorder. Something that probably made her parent’s ears bleed, but she always received praise for her efforts.

*It was perhaps due to the way she way raised that Aeri grew to become self-centered, selfish. While she doesn’t necessarily think she deserves attention, or think she’s the best, she likes to be in the spotlight. She likes to be another person’s focus.

*Whenever Aeri found interest in an instrument growing up, the ability to play or learn was usually made available. This isn’t to say that she’s mastered a plethora of instruments (for instance, she gave up on the saxophone after about fifteen minutes), but she did continually receive lessons and time to learn a few instruments, namely the cello and piano. The cello was traded out for the guitar, however, when she was in high school, and she hasn’t really gone back to it since.

*Aeri was often described by her peers as someone who constantly had her head in the clouds. Daydreaming about something seemingly more interesting that her math lesson. She’s built up dreams and avenues in her own head of what she wants, but she doesn’t generally share these with others. Of course, disengaging from things that she simply doesn’t like isn’t the smartest thing to do, but she’s found that if you’re growing up with a pretty face, you’re given far more slack than others.

*After coming to this realization, Aeri has used her looks to help in whatever it is that she’s doing if she thinks it will benefit her. She’s been called airheaded, lucky for getting a pretty face, and that’s partly true. Mostly though, she’s just manipulative, and her looks are simply a tool that’s made available to her, and so why shouldn’t she use it to her advantage?

*Aeri got into singing and songwriting at the beginning of high school. Luckily (or not so luckily, considering her father was on good terms with a number of staff on the school), it was a well-regarded arts focused high school. It allowed her the chance to hone in on her skills, and eventually gave her the jumping off point to pursue music.

*Her parents were always concerned that the path that she chose for herself wasn’t entirely the best option, but they had always fostered creativity in her and were also able to support her throughout her endeavors. However, her father did insist on her going to university, and due to the fact that her father was a professor at KNUA she ended up being admitted and going to school without amassing a considerable debt, which was helpful, considering after college she threw herself into the ‘starving artist’ sort of lifestyle.

*After she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music and composition, Aeri started to piece together her own songs and albums, experimented around until she found a style that was distinctively her. She started playing on the streets of Hongdae, trying to promote her own music and make connections, taking opportunities to play at cafes or bars whenever a chance came. After a few years of doing this, she got noticed by a talent scout at ALT. that signed her on and into the company.

*She’s still given creative control within ALT. over her music, and she’s still just as passionate about its creation, though Aeri still hasn’t entirely gotten used to being in the entertainment industry, even if she’s been there for two years. She loved it at first, loved the fact that ALT. knew people who could get her onto variety shows where she could promote her music, loved that the added exposure gave her more fans, that extra funding meant she had nicer sound production and music videos. She loved the attention too, but eventually after the novelty wore off she realized that not everything about being signed was a perk. There can be moments where fans are invasive, where privacy is stolen, and where you need to hide away aspects of yourself if you don’t want nameless ID’s trashing who you actually are online. It’s a tradeoff she’s made, though she can’t really bring herself to regret it. This was what she wanted, after all.

*However, at least for the moment, Aeri is not considered to be all that well known. She has fans, and considering that she makes her own music, the company isn’t losing money on her, but she’s not under nearly as microscopic scrutiny that some idols are.

*She’s been struggling slightly through the creation of her third album. This is largely due to bouts of self-doubt, writers block, creativity slumps, as well as some amount of personal issues. She does have some songs created for it that are set to be included, though she’s still working on completing it.

PROMPTS !

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

The most significant moment of Aeri’s career thus far was when she completed her first album under ALT. While she had been making music herself over the years, this was the first time that it had professionally been put together, looked at by professionals, and re-worked until she was finally satisfied with it. It represents the first chapter of her professional venture into music, into trying to shape her lifelong pursuit of music into something tangible. It represents that she’s managed to do this on her own, to not only just pursue music, but music that’s meaningful to her. Aeri had spent stretches of time where it seemed like she was going nowhere with music, where her parents and friends suggested that maybe, instead of trying to making music for the public, she should turn her interests elsewhere. Working behind the scenes, or trying to implement it into a career in some other way.

It could have been a stupid decision, to keep chasing after this goal, but the fact that she managed to get out an album under a company signifies that it wasn’t a complete waste. Sure, she might not be a household name, might not be the most popular singer at the moment, but people enjoy her music, bought her album. Whether or not she’ll gain legitimate stardom under ALT is still up in the air. Perhaps she’ll continue to be a name among the indie scene, won’t really come up in decision for award, stay off of the general public’s radar. She wants more, she wants to achieve as much as possible, why just go halfway in when you’ve already got your foot in the door? But even if that doesn’t happen, even if she’s just given this small bubble of support and fame, at least she’s managed to work her way into achieving that, which was more than the numerous other singers she had met and befriended on Hongdae’s streets have done.

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.

Aeri’s career path is slightly different from the idols that dance their way through music shows. Her career is still dependant on her looks, her fans, but the expiration date on an indie singer is a little bit different than that of an idol. She knows she wants to continuously stay involved in music, because it’s always been what she’s most passionate about, has always felt fulfilled in her pursuit of it. She’s not entirely sure if she wants to continue to strive for more stardom past a certain point, though. Life within the entertainment industry is stressful, and Aeri is experiencing this currently, and with this in mind she does eventually plan to detangle herself from the web of companies, producers, and backdoor deals. She’s not entirely sure if she wants to turn back to self-producing music as a hobby and try to find a career behind the scenes in music, if at all possible. She’s thought briefly about potentially becoming a lyricist, but many of the thoughts about her future goals she doesn’t bring out to examine in full detail. She wants to continue on the path she’s on right now, wants to see how much she accomplishes, and if those accomplishment will open up doors she has yet to consider for the future.

All she knows for sure is that she wants music to remain in her life in some facet, even if she’s not the one actively performing the music that she’s creating herself. She hopes to have at least built up a decent amount of money to live off of where she doesn’t necessarily have to throw herself into another career in order to sustain herself, and so, while she has not seriously looked into it as of yet, she’s been considering making some financial investments. An ideal future for her would be one where she doesn’t have to worry about anything monetarily-related and can just focus on her hobbies, or whatever whim strikes her fancy at that moment, so she can just pack up and leave or do without sitting and wondering if it will be okay with managers or executives, if she’ll be able to afford it, if she’ll be in a time crunch if she wants to. Aeri’s has always prioritized her own needs and desires, and so it’s fitting enough that one of her future goals is to have the ability to do so without having obstacles barring her path.

[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