#produce48

[miyawakitty]

NEKKOYA !! NEKKOYA !! NEKKOYA /ᐠ. ｡.ᐟ\ᵐᵉᵒʷ

[kpop-girlsworld]

Shiroma Miru

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 3, Love Whisper Challenge

Welcome back to the Great Produce48 Rewatch Project, the project that asks, “should I do this?” then answers itself “no!” and then does it anyway! When we left off, we had concluded a brief overview of everyone’s prep for the first Group Battle Challenge Mission Thingy. And now it’s time for the actual performances! What heights will the trainees hit in their singing? What lows will the trainees hit in their arguing? No way to know but to watch! Woot! So let’s go! We're starting off with the two performances of Love Whisper, originally by Gfriend.

It’s performance day. Fans are lined up, excited to see their favorites perform. 

The girls are getting ready…. Ready for some product placement, that is! All I know is that I want those colored contacts lenses and Subway sandwiches that come in those really cute neoprene bags. 

I did some digging (thank you, auto translation in Google Chrome) and apparently these bags were a pretty big hit when they came out in 2018. I wonder if any of the girls still have theirs? I would treasure mine! As the blogger of that link wrote, "Look at the avocado's solemn face! They're so cute they give me a headache."

Anyway, back to the show.

Lee Seungki comes out on stage and is greeted by an auditorium of screaming fans. He explains the rules -- each of two teams will perform the same song, and then the audience will vote for the single trainee amongst all the girls who deserves their vote. And then… it’s showtime! … Kinda. 

As you know if you’ve watched these shows before, what is going to happen is that we’re going to call the groups up on stage, and then we’re going to watch an extended flashback package about their experience getting ready for the performance before we finally get to kind of see the performance itself. I say "kind of" since the MNET edit will be almost completely intolerable.

To introduce the first group (though I get the feeling they didn't actually perform first), Seungki says, “Which girl group comes to your mind when I mention innocent looks and powerful dance moves?” And the whole auditorium is like, “yeoja chingu!” (G-friend). So out come the Love Whisper teams.

The two groups come out and introduce themselves as “Never Give Up” and “Giant Baby”, respectively. Kang Damin from "Giant Baby" -- who you may know as the Kawaii Avengers -- starts in on the smack talk, saying that they’re cuter than the other team. Gravel-voiced Yamada Noe says, in English, “But! My team is powerful!” In the judging room, Dance Bae says that Noe is so funny it makes her happy. Soyou replies, “But her singing skills…”

And we cut back to the flashback (1:38:45 - 1:47:04). 

Just to remind you of who is who in group Never Give Up:

Left to right:

Son Eunchae, 18, future member of Bugaboo, who moved up from C to B and is ranked 85th. She’s the leader and we'll be seeing a lot of her here.

Wang Ke, 17, a Chinese girl who had the red polka dots in Celeb Five, moved down from B to D and is ranked 33rd. She’s the center and is easy to spot since she's the tallest. She will also get a lot of story focus.

Nagano Serika, 17, who auditioned with Mister by Kara, has lived in F class and is ranked 81st.

Yamada Noe, 18, with her gravelly voice, moved from C down to F and is ranked quite high in 9th place. 

Muto Tomu, 23, the chooser of this group, a D class mainstay and ranked 28th. She actually seems to have a lot of personality but we hardly get to know her.

Ichikawa Manami, 18, with the shorter hair, from What's Your Name?, rose from F to C, currently ranked 83rd. She’s currently the main vocal by default, since no one else wanted to do it.

The story so far: Tomu’s team basically cannot sing. Noe cannot make sounds come out of her mouth, and others aren’t much better. Of the group, it seems that Manami is actually the best singer -- she physically can hit the high notes. We were left wondering: Can they sing this song?

We cut to their vocal lesson. It’s going really, really poorly. Soyou is looking like this…

.. then asks them to turn off the music. She says she doesn’t know if she can even help them, that it’s even worse than a middle school talent show, which is true, but even so. Hey, Soyou, what the fuck? Teach them to sing. Get Jeremy in here or something, because it’s not helpful to just insult them. They’re bad singers. Noted. Now help them. 

Eunchae feels bad that as leader she hasn’t done a better job of helping her team, but her team is a bunch of girls who cannot sing. I mean, what can anyone do? 

Poor Manami tries again, and a few notes in, she gives up, shaking her head. “Manami-chan,” Soyou says, more gently. “Why are you the main vocalist?” Manami just shakes her head. Poor kid. I think that it’s kind of obvious how Manami ended up the main vocal, Soyou. Be nice. Soyou asks Wang Ke to try, and she does. Wang Ke sounds pretty awful to me too, but Soyou seems to think Ke is better. 

Manami interviews that she is determined to do her best as main vocal, but Eunchae, who is trying to be a good leader, announces in pigeon Kor-pan-glish, that they need to change who the main vocal is. She asks Manami-san if she’s daijobu (ok), but Manami-san is definitely NOT daijobu. She spent a lot of time memorizing her part -- the song is in Korean, which she does not speak -- and she is gutted that all that time was wasted. Not to mention that she’ll have to learn new lyrics. Eunchae feels awful too. And Wang Ke feels awful too, that she’s not good enough to be main vocal. She’s willing to do it, though, if it will help the group. Everyone feels awful. 

Ke does her best, and then ends up crying in a closet. 

She’s full on sobbing, but the staff just jams a camera in there to investigate, and the poor kid has to summon up enough Korean to explain herself (remember, she’s Chinese, so every part of this has to be 2x as stressful and difficult for her than it would be for anyone else). Everyone’s crying, and Eunchae feels like she let everyone down. The situation is so dire that the other team (the Kawaii Avengers) even comes over to investigate. 

Poor Eunchae is taking it really hard, like she is at fault, but she's only 18 and it's not cool that there's so much pressure on her. I know that when I was 18 I thought I was an adult, but now that I’m a lot older, I realize that you kind of never really become an adult. You just creeping closer and closer to adulthood, like Zeno’s arrow. And 18 is so, so young. I just want to hug all these girls. They really need mental health experts to be available on these shows.

It’s the next day and they’re at a dance lesson with Psychopath. They start the dance, and the first move is to take each other’s hands. Eunchae can feel everyone’s desperation, and she just starts to cry. 

She’s trying to smile and dance but she’s crying, and it’s just awful. She’s talking about how this is her last chance (you’re 18, girl!). They try again, and Wang Ke begins to sob too. We never even see Psychopath’s feedback, just them crying and talking about how desperate they are. 

And now… it’s time for the show. 

A beautiful soul on Youtube named PD48 editing has created videos that allow you to just watch the performances without constant interruptions and instant replays. Bless you, PD48 Editing. Blessings on you and your family and your cow. 

Link to the edited version 

Serika, Eunchae, Motu Tomu, Noe, Manami, Wang Ke

Serika, Motu Tomu, Manami, Eunchae, Wang Ke, Noe

Tomu - subvocal1  Eunchae - subvocal 2 Serika - subvocal 3 Noe - subvocal 4 Manami - subvocal 5 Wang Ke - main vocal

My thoughts: Vocally, they were much better than I had feared they’d be, to the point that I wonder if something is up, like if they prerecorded some vocals or something. Tomu and Eunchae end up singing a lot, as subvocals 1 and 2, and though Tomu is a bit wobbly, they sound ok. Wang Ke managed to hit the notes, though she sounded pretty shaky and rough. 

Dance-wise, I didn’t notice any mistakes. The choreo to this song is so weird that even when it’s done correctly it looks wrong, so I checked it against the original and it was actually right, though they added in a few cute flourishes. I thought that Manami really stood out in the dance parts.

Stage presence wise, Noe is super distracting. She is turning the cuteness up to 1000% and honestly, it’s offputting. It comes across as sarcastic.

The rest were all pretty cute, if a bit dead eyed sometimes. Wang Ke does the doe-eyed look straight to camera really well. 

Oh, god, Eunchae is crying in the ending fairy. 

Overall, this really wasn’t bad. The song is so not my favorite so I don’t know if I would ever be into a performance of it, but I think they did exceptionally well given their skill level and the time they had to practice. 

The MNET edit: The judges praise their facial expressions and energy, and we see lots of shots of the other girls backstage looking nervous, implying that they’re doing well. After Wang Ke’s high notes, Jeremy and Soyou exchange glances, and Soyou nods, as if to say, “This is good for them.” Soyou says that they practiced a lot and improved a lot. 

Backstage, the girls are saying thank you to Eunchae, and they’re all crying. They did a good job, overall. 

GROUP 2

Left to right:  Nayoung, Damin, Eunbin, Nako, Sae, Misaki

As a reminder, the members are:

Kim Nayoung, 15, future member of Lightsum who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend, went from C to A, and is now in 63rd place. She’s subvocal 2 and leader.

Kang Damin, 14, the cute future member of Queenz Eye, went from B to A, and is ranked 74th. She’s subvocal 5.

Yoon Eunbin,14, one of the CNC girls, stayed in B, and is ranked 68th. She’s subvocal 1. 

Yabuki Nako, 16, who moved up from F to A, is currently ranked 27th. She’s Main vocal.

Kurihara Sae, 21, who had the great bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, who went from D to F and is now ranked 84th. She’s subvocal 4.

Aramaki Misaki, 17, who auditioned with the blighted Never Ending Ferris Wheel group, has been stationed in F class, and is ranked 61st. She’s subvocal 3. 

As you’ll recall, Nako picked this group to be the Kawaii Avengers, they seem poised to take this one.

We find out that Nayoung has been a fun and sweet leader, constantly telling her teammates that she loves them and that they’re doing a good job.

She helps the Japanese members with their pronunciation and tries to keep all their spirits up. 

In their dance rehearsal with Psychopath, he dings them first for not being ready the second he says standby. Then they have to dance without music and they make a bunch of mistakes. He basically makes them feel like shit, which is his M.O. Honestly, I think this is just because they’re not having any drama at all, so they had to find some stuff for their rehearsal package. The tiny mistakes they’re making are so minimal that it seems stupid to verbally abuse them for them -- not that any amount of mistakes justify verbal abuse.

Fast forward to dress rehearsal and they’re not synchronized enough. So they decide to keep practicing. “Let’s start,” Nayoung says, in Japanese. And they try again. 

Now it's performance time!

PD48’s blessed edit 

Misaki, Nayoung, Damin, Yunbin, Sae, Nako

Top row: Nako, Nayoung, Yunbin

Bottom row: Misaki, Damin, Sae 

My thoughts: Overall, really good, to the standard expected of this song.

Vocally, they were definitely superior to the other team. No one here has a voice that I would delight to listen to, like how I love listening to Yuju, but voices like Yuju’s are rare. Nako does hit those notes cleanly, but I find her vocal color a little shrill. It’s not a deal breaker, though. Vocally, I thought Nayoung had the most pleasant voice to listen to. But it was actually hard to tell their voices apart, so that’s a sign that they were doing something right.

Dance wise, I don’t notice any mistakes. Given that the camera man hardly ever shows their footwork, there’s almost no point in them even learning it. Nobody really stood out for good or bad. They seemed energetic and confident. Man, this choreo gets weirder ever time I see it. Sorry if this is your favorite song or something. 

Stage presence wise, Nako obviously knocks everyone else out of the water.

That's Nako top right, with the braids.

Everyone else was being cute, but Nako just *IS* cute.  I don’t know how anyone can smile that much and still make it look natural. Is there a special smile implant surgery that she underwent? More witchcraft from Nako.

I think Misaki could have brought a little more energy and I think Damin low key gives off “kid in a child beauty pageant” vibes...

but again, none of that is a deal breaker.

Really, they all did pretty well. Thinking more about it, it becomes even more clear to me how much having Yamada Noe hurt the other team for me. I’m sure a lot of people would disagree, so it’s fine if you are one of them, but Noe’s weird fake cuteness was kind of painful to watch and super distracting. I think Team 2 wins merely by not having that. I think they would have won anyway. 

I know all the girls tried their best, and my heart breaks for Eunchae, Wang Ke, and all the girls who try their hardest and still lose. But I think it would be hard to vote for anyone else but Nako.

MNET edit: There’s this cute part where they show Psychopath mouthing along with the lyrics -- kind of funny. Of course everyone goes batshit when Nako hits the high notes. Other than that, it wasn’t that intrusive of an edit, thank god.

When the Kawaii Avengers are done, both teams come up on stage to make their final appeals.

Lee Seungki asks Eunchae about how she almost cried at the end, and she says “Each one of us worked so hard, and I know this might be our last stage, so I got emotional.” Poor Wang Ke starts crying again, and Manami almost starts up as well. 

Backstage, the other teams all tear up as well, and then, and THEN, AND FUCKING THEN, the judges say to each other that they feel bad for the kids. Cheetah says, “They must have been really stressed.” And Soyou is fanning her face to dry her tears.

Where was all this fucking sympathy and empathy when they were rehearsing? Do you think that maybe part of the reason they were stressed is that you guys were YELLING AT THEM ALL THE DAMN TIME? 

Seungki gives them time to appeal to the audience, but we only get to hear what Noe and Nako say.

Noe yells, in halting Korean that I think she reads off a note written: “HELLO PRODUCERS! I ALWAYS HAVE THIS HUSKY VOICE! I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR KIND EVALUATION!!!” 

Nako says, in smooth Korean that she must have carefully memorized, “Hello, I’m Yabuki Nako from HKT48. I know I was nervous, but I had a lot of fun, thanks to the National Producers.” 

Imagine standing there, looking at the audience while they vote, or don’t vote, for you? No thanks.

They go to the Results Zone, which is clearly just a the bathroom area of a women's locker room. The chairs are gym mats placed on top of a bench and there are 197 cameras arranged to catch Nako from 197 angles. 

The producers reveal the votes slowly, of course, and at first it looks like Eunchae’s team might win. 

Motu Tomu gets 52 votes, more than Eunbin’s 42.  Eunchae gets 88 votes, more than Nayoung’s 32.  Yamada Noe got 106 votes, much more than Sae’s 18. Manami gets 38, more than Damin’s 36. Serika’s 22 loses to Misaki’s 30. But even so, Team 1 is winning.  It’s down to just the main vocals: Wang Ke versus Nako. 

And then they reveal the result. Wang Ke gets 28 votes, and…. Nako got 330 votes. 

Three hundred and thirty. 

No one even reacts at first because it’s so much more than anyone else, by a lot. And I, an intellectual living in the year 2024, can tell you that this will turn out to be the most votes of the whole night, by a LOT. No one else even breaks 200! 

Nayoung is tearful, and at first I thought it might be because she got only 32 votes. But it turns out that she is both grateful and sorry -- grateful to Nako that she won the night for them, and sorry that the team needed her to do that. 

She’s crying like a little kid, sniffling and wiping her face, and she just seems exhausted. Jalhaess-eoyo, Nayoung-ah. You kept your team together and helped everyone. You have nothing to be sorry about. I think Nako just really suited this song, and also that her smile has magic powers. 

And I hope that Eunchae was ok when her team lost. She was taking the whole thing so hard and she seems like a really nice girl.

And that's it for this recap! When we pick up in the next one, we'll cross the border between Episode 3 and 4 with coverage of Peekaboo! Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you find a warm cinnamon bun left for you by a kindly elf.

[duckydae]

what are your favourite 'created for television' songs? like survival show mission songs, not osts. i feel like i never see people talking about them outside of the context of the show

quickfire 'signal song' ranking

o.o.o - girls planet

here i am - boys planet

just dance - mixnine (the show was a trip but this song is so good)

nekoya - produce 48

nayana - produce

same, same but different - my teenage girl (i didn't watch the show but the theme song was good)

if a theme song ain't here it means i haven't seen it or i hated it

some of my favourites are:

sixteen (twenty-fifteen)

do it again + going crazy

i have a soft-spot for these two and as someone who biased sana from the sixteen days it was great to hear her actually have lines before the twice version came out

produce series one / two (twenty-sixteen / seventeen)

don't matter + pretty girl

i didn't really enjoy most of the produce battle songs, they just felt derivative or each other and they are objectively good songs. these were the only two that really caught my attention, especially 'don't matter' which just had the right kind of bite to it - but i'm always a sucker for a jazz influence. though to be fair i didn't watch series two. also, series one's signal song sucks ass.

produce 48 (twenty-eighteen)

you're in love, aren't you? + rumour

y'all have no idea, but i cried tears of joy when yena came out as centre position as not only was it my preferred finale song but my from the first episode one-pick got centre! also chowon's "madewa~" is truly iconic.

'rumour' was the best of a bad bunch for me.

under nineteen (twenty-eighteen)

shooting star!

i'm really surprised i like 'shooting star' because mbc survival show music ain't really for me but there's just something about this one (probably seunghwan)

queendom one (twenty-nineteen)

destiny + lion

'lion' was the first g-idle song i ever heard (i'd maybe heard 'latata' in passing) so i was blown away by their performance as i'd began watching after the show had aired for aoa but came out of it loving mamamoo + g-idle. *also, oh my girl's cover of lovelyz 'destiny' is still one of my favourite survival show covers.

good girls (twenty-twenty)

witch!

i watched good girls for 'witch'. i'm a sone and it got randomly recommended to me and because i saw hyoyeon, ailee and jamie in the cast (who i didn't actually recognise at first) i figured i'd give it a go.

i implore you all to watch it (if you can get past jamie's nails on a chalkboad aave usage) because it's got a great cast and sleeq's whole arc is brilliant and whilst i think the girls struggle to fully embrace her, making a point to bring attention to queer issues and feminism on mnet of all places is truly applaudable (her reaction to hyoyeon is also me.)

girls planet 999 (twenty-twenty)

snake + u+me=love

until recently i didn't ever think i could love a survival show cast as much as i loved the girls of girls planet.

produce48 was a trip and i barely remember watching it because i watched all twelve eps in one sitting (i know) right after it had wrapped but girls planet...

the signal song's piano version still makes me tear up.

'snake' and 'u+me' are just such incredible songs and whilst i don't mind the other two (i'm still pissed we missed out on luofei, bora, reina and yurina in 'utopia') they just don't have the same bite.

'snake' was everything it needed to be and 'u+me' was everything i never imagined it being.

also shine? team two? tears of joy. (switch shana + myah with yurina + yujin - or don't and team two i would've been very happy with that debut group)

girls planet also has my one of my favourite ballad covers on a survival show, 'missing you' by btob (the other being p48 itnw)

queendom two (twenty-twenty-two)

pose + red sun

i actually really enjoyed all the new songs on queendom two (as much of a trash dumpster it was) these two were just my favourites.

the other songs have sections or parts that i really like ('the girls' + 'ka-boom' bridges) but the two highlighted i loved the whole songs.

*'the girls' also sounds very much like exo's 'can't bring me down' like seriously, if you like one you'll enjoy the other.

and 'red sun' was a repurposed gfriend song so i'm not surprised i liked it.

'pose' was just perfect for loona (coming from someone who is very hit-or-miss with their discography)

the only songs i didn't love were wjsn's, it just wasn't for me and as much as i loved the message of brave girls, their vocals are not for me at all.

boys planet (twenty-twenty-three)

en garde + over me + jelly pop

'en garde' is immaculate. seunghwan vocal redemption, hiroto screentime (kinda), me loosing the idgaf war with gunwook, hui stopped showboating. (though he didn't have to take his ego-bruise out on seunghwan.)

here's my thing with 'over me' i like the song, i do but i'd be lying if i told you jay's vocals weren't doing the heavy lifting. i'm an exo-l, sexy r'n'b songs don't do jack shit for me if your vocals aren't up to scratch because it's nothing i haven't heard before and jay truly makes 'over me' stand out - as much as i love hao.

phanbin stared into my fucking soul during his 'jelly pop' floor entrance with jay and it is one of the hottest shit i've ever seen on a variety show and then to come out and shake his cute little ass? duality people. he was also styled immaculately.

i honestly like all the artist battle and finale songs, these are just my favourites.

(i'll add queendom puzzle when the series wraps)

honourable mentions!

show me - tea party - imidation (2021)

dancing king - exo ft. yoo jaesuk (2016)

[clowndra]

thank you for tagging me @pocima !!

and before anyone asks, yes, i AM ashamed.

i have very few people to tag but @flowerflowerflo and @a-moth-to-the-light y'all should join in if you want!!

[khakilike]

Because this felt familiar.

[scortchedtoast]

Kpop survival shows bring out the worst in humanity, and that's why I will never watch again

[naaicha]

it seems like even post rigging scandal mnet survival show fans still expect the same kind of popularity and success that izone had (though even by produce standards i think izone members were exceptionally lucky).. you already have people talking about which farming group members will get picked up by big companies? it’s so optimistic for a group that hasn’t even debuted yet

[carpkoinobori]

[❣︎] casual — huh yunjin x reader

[𖤐] 0.5/3 [next] [please be aware this is all fiction! none of this is real and idols behavior is not accurately represented.]

song(s): casual - chappel roan | runaway runaway - mars argo | HOT TO GO - chappel roan |

summary: you and your best friend made it to produce 48 together— what led up to the fallout? who is it you’re singing about? what do you do when the stress boils over?

pairing(s): trainee!huh yunjin x trainee!fem!reader

tags: angst, imagined unrequited love, eventual happy ending

wc: 1.1k

cw: implied sexual content, internalized homophobia, period typical homophobia, mentions of dieting.

ex: 135 notes.. thank you all so much!! i didn’t expect anyone to really like it. i hope you enjoy this backstory :-)

also, this is an au, not following real events— y/n and yunjin are 18 and 19 in produce48, yunjin debuts three years later at 22, and y/n at 21.

(not beta read 😭)

you didn’t expect a survival show to be so stressful- now, you were well aware how difficult it’d be, you knew you would have to practice, and sing, and dance, and diet- but, you didn’t expect the constant stress of the possibility of being eliminated every day.

but, you chose this, right? all for her, all for your sun.

“y/n! Come on, let’s practice this final part, yeah? I think I figured out the footwork-“ yunjin mumbled, rambling about something or other. you were distracted by her face, she was soo pretty-

“y/n, are you even listening to me?” she said, grinning. your face turned a pretty shade of red, and you spluttered. “What? No, no! I was totally paying attention, I swear— something about.. footwork?” You guessed, desperately.

“it’s fine, just, come here- I’ll teach you,” she smiled, and it took all you had to not just fall right there.

after one particularly harsh judge had humiliated yunjin, she slammed the door of the room you shared with about two other contestants. they weren’t there, at the moment.

yunjin angrily began to rummage through her things, and you sat up. “jen? What’s wrong? I mean, I know what the judge said was mean but- you know that’s not true, right?” you began, getting up and starting to walk over to her before she whipped her head around, glaring at you.

“It IS fucking true, y/n, just because they always let you fuck up ‘cause the fans love you doesn’t mean you’re suddenly qualified to give advice-” she spat, standing up from her spot on the floor, her fists clenched as she jabbed her finger into your chest harshly. “You probably think you’re so much better than me, don’t you? I bet-” you cut her off, cupping her face in your hands. “jen- jen, I don’t think that, and you do not get to talk to me like that just because you’re mad,” you began, words steady and stern, and when you watched your best friends eyes glaze over, a bit, felt her gaze flicker down to your lips, felt your face flush and felt her lean in—

well, it was all you could do to tug her closer, kissing her, tasting the stupid citrus lip balm she’s used for years, that you’ve thought about every single day of your waking life—

and if someone asked, was it all worth it? the pain, the exhaustion, the work, just for this?

“well,” you’d reply, “oranges were always my favorite fruit.”

you cupped her face with one hand, threading your fingers in her hair with the other, pushing her onto your bed, and it was all teeth, you biting her lip, you moving your hands down, her speaking incoherently.

“please,” she’d breathe out, the words just whispers on the wind. and you’d always been the one under her mercy, begging her to love you- and now here she was, begging for you to touch her. you’d always dreamed of touching the sun. you’d always think of Icarus, in these moments. your wings were yet to melt from the heat and warmth, though, so you figured it was fine.

and, well, the fall would hurt, but it was all you could do, to fall into eachother, again, and again.

waking up was always worse. your dorm mates still weren’t back, they had a penchant to pass out in the practice room. you kinda thanked them, for that.

sometimes you’d wake up in the middle of the night, just so you could see her sleeping. just so you could see her before she would leave in the morning.

yeah, you lived together, but come 8 in the morning, she’d be gone. except for the first time. except for before you fell asleep.

“..y/n?” she asked quietly, voice barely above a whisper.

“mhm?” you hummed, half asleep in your bed.

“this didn’t mean anything, right? im not mad at you, im sorry. i was just stressed, and frustrated- and- we can still be friends, right? it won’t change?” she whispered, and it was the only time you’ve ever seen her this nervous around you. the first time she had really been vulnerable since you both got on this stupid show.

what changed? was it the having to compete against each other? yeah. it was probably that.

“yeah,” you mumbled, feeling your chest constrict, your heart fracture, tears stinging your eyes, and you were so glad she couldn’t see your face. “yeah, jen- it’s casual. we’re still best friends,” you reassured, giving a smile that didn’t reach your eyes. why were you smiling, anyway? she couldn’t see you. she’s never seen you. “okay, y/n. good night. i love you,” she mumbled, turning to the wall.

“goodnight, jen. i love you,” you whispered, turning your back to her, and staring at the empty bed across the room. wasn’t it poetic that she was in your bed, and you’d never be in hers? you laughed inwardly, no humor in it. you were so, so bitter.

this stupid game kept up, you kept giving in to it, and you kept losing- atleast it gave you writing material, right?

“y/n,” your dorm mate- chaewon, you think? “you should stop,” she murmured. you stared at her through tired eyes. “stop what?” you said, playing dumb. “you know. I think- I think it’s.. it’s not good for you,” she mumbled, uncomfortable. “I appreciate it, but I’m fine,” you assured, giving a well-practiced smile. “Thanks for caring,” you nodded, slipping out of the chair you’ve been sitting in for an hour and a half— instead of sleeping, you’d either be with your “best friend”, or writing about her- god, you were such a lovesick fool. Crumpled paper took up the majority of your desk, and you left it all splayed out, in front of Chaewon, slipping away to go practice till you dropped. The trainee life, you’d think.

“you said/ we’re not together/so now when we kiss/ I have anger issues,”

chaewon stared at the paper, vaguely. she couldn’t read english, obviously, and was half tempted to put it in a translator, but she just turned around, leaving the room as well to go practice.

“and I try to be the chill girl/that holds her tongue and gives you space/i try to be the chill girl/but honestly/im not,”

and then she got eliminated. and you broke down. and you lived in that practice room. and your roommates would stare at you in pity, and you hated it, you hated being something pitiable.

you hated loving your best friend. your fall hurt like hell, your stupid wax wings broke. you didn’t fall into her, no— you fell into the sea, cold, salty, rough— you hated the cold. but maybe you’d get used to it.

hundreds of texts unsent:

“jen, I love you,” [delete]

“jen, I miss you,” [delete]

“jen, did you love me? do you miss me?” [delete]

“I’m so sorry,” [sent]

“are you okay?” [sent]

“will it be okay?” [delete]

“will you catch me?” [delete]

“why won’t you talk to me?” [sent]

[reply] “I need some space,”

[reply] “I can’t take the reminder,”

“okay, I’m sorry. I love you,” [sent]

[you can not reply to this conversation. message unable to send]

and nearly 7000 miles away, there is a girl crying in New York City. because she loves her best friend. and her best friend said she didn’t mean it.

and nearly 7000 miles back, there is a girl crying in Seoul, because she loves her best friend. and her best friend (will) not love her back.

hi! backstory to good luck babe. i hope you all enjoy this, I wasn’t expecting so many notes on the last post… thank you all for reading! please feel free to send anons or reqs or just tell me about your day.. hope your day is great! :3

[jinnyism]

hi all !! this pearl ( i also write eunseok / e.o over @eocentric ) and this is my second muse jinny, of nymth fame !!

name　　choi jinkyung　　　　stagename　　jinny　　　birth date & age　　18.12.99 ( 25 yo )　　　　company　　ninety9 creative　　　　position & group　　pink of nymth ( debuted aug 2020 )

writing this all on mobile.. so if i have to come back and edit this later.. she’s a #phoneartist

country girl i love youuu /ref choi jinkyung is from a small town in boseong ( south-east of s. korea ). her parents are gardeners who own a local flower shop, and they didn’t have much money growing up. jinny grew up idolizing idols. loved the glitter, the glamour, the wealth. material girl!

as a kid, she would copy the way idols acted and dressed sometimes ( but obviously could only do like,, diy versions since she couldn’t really go out and buy everything herself when she had no money ), and so she grew up with very little friends and was bullied for most of her formative school years.

she also ran a semi-popular ( anonymous ) ig account for middle school until early high school though where she posted like outfit inspiration n aesthetic photos n stuff like that ? like #,### followers. she closed it once she became a trainee though.

ninety9 creative came to her closest city to recruit new trainees around 2015/2016, and she passed. only a few months later, she was cast in produce 101. unfortunately, mnet edited her and made her look like a meme. think dahyun on sixteen. or kim choyeon in produce48. she made it through a few episodes, because even then she knew how to stand out, but she was eliminated before any of the teams were formed. there are a few memes of 16yo jinny still out there.

when the show aired, she realized how everyone saw her as a weird girl and had a reality check. she wanted to be recognized for talent by the time of her debut, so she kicked her own ass into gear. alexa, play “i will show you” by ailee.

her hard work paid off a few years later when she was revealed as the first member of selene ( now nymth ) which was great, but only a few months in, her middle school tormenters came back and started to drag her name through the mud, calling her the bully. her name was cleared eventually, but between the fact that there were allegations to begin with to the produce 101 memes to her personality ( and well yes ! she does have personality ) — well, some people just decided to never ever like her no matter what ! this was terrible for someone like jinny who craves positive attention like a plant needs sunlight.

so she wilted a little. it got to her. it didn’t help that ninety9 didn’t put her in any of selene’s subunits or that selene just. stopped getting promotions. part of her felt like it was her fault.. and then she started getting booked for couple of variety episodes, where she tried her best to promote her group. the producers and the audience loved her, and so they kept calling her back. it also introduced her to new fans, and then with selene’s long hiatuses she started to realize that people saw her less as an idol and more as an entertainer. which meant they didn’t care about her idol scandals … but they also. didn’t care about her being an idol. which sucked !

in terms of her image, there is a definite distinction between jinny at debut, and jinny now. a lot of that is accredited to her undeserved hate train @ debut, but a lot of it is also just due to — growing up and maturing. once bitten, twice shy; she’s a lot more careful with it now: not too over the top, a little cold, but always present. she’s not particularly outstanding in any one thing, but she’s known for being an all-rounder, and her absence is definitely felt even though she might not be the most eye-catching member on stage.

variety comes really naturally to her though, and that’s really where she really shines. she’s good enough to carry other members if she sees them struggling. she’s really good at idol impressions from all her years of copying them as a youngster. if they’ve debuted pre-2015 she’s especially good, but she’s always studying current rookies as well. also just really has a good sense of comedic timing, and is known for being sharp. she’s also known for being confident and thinking highly of herself. antis still hate her for this, while there are also fans who admire the hell out of her for this.

there’s definitely a running bit where she plays annoyed when other members tease her ( think svt’s seungkwan ). her satoori Jumps Out when she’s annoyed.

her image isn’t — fake, but it’s definitely different from what she’s like off screen. it’s lowkey like she saves her energy to act charming for fans.

at her heart though, her dream has always been to be an idol. a singer, and not just a variety star. i think that she genuinely does care for nymth & her fellow members, which is why she re-signed with the group (even with her lack of nymth-related promotions). despite all her bluster, she cares! she’s just a diva too.

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 3, Grade Reassignments Concluded

Welcome back, National Producer-nim, and Happy New Year! 

This crazy Produce48 Rewatch project is just flying by! In episode 1, we saw the girls enter the studio and begin their auditions. In episode 2, we saw the end of the auditions and the dorm move-in, as well as the video evaluations for their final grade reassignment, which we covered in the previous post. Now, in episode 3, we’ll finish the grade reassignments, see the huge performance of Nekkoya, and see the beginning of the first Challenge Mission! Of course, in this post, we’ll only see as much as I can cover with only 30 screenshots, which is up to the end of grade reassignments. Feel free to watch along: https://kshow123.tv/show/produce-48/episode-3.html

We start off with a short clip of YGK+ model Ahn Ye Won on the phone with her mom. The 17-year old would-be idol can’t help but cry. In her journal, she has written “I started crying as soon as I called my mom. I told her it’s hard. I wanted to go home.” 

This kicks off a montage of trainees expressing their doubts and fears. Future Kep1er member Kim Dayeon voice overs, “It’s a lot harder than I expected.” Previously voice-less Goto Moe says, “I felt like I lack a lot.” Show-punching-bag Shin Suyhun says she feels like she’s the only one falling behind, which is definitely not true. Friendly Choi Yena says she’s mad at herself. Kato Yuuka journals, “I feel like I’m facing a wall.” As we see Honda Hitomi’s cute face, we hear from Yu Min Young, the mint-colored-polka-dot auditioner, who wonders, “Is this all I got?” They’re all so tired, emotionally and physically. 

But peppy music kicks in and the montage gets more cheerful, as girl after girl says something like “I want to debut!” and “I’m going to keep trying!” 

After the title/credits, we get right back to where we left off at the end of episode 2 -- with the Great Grade Reshuffling. 

As a reminder,

Jeremy* is giving the news to the A class

Psychopath giving the news to the B class

Cheetah giving the news to the C class

Mary J Lee giving the news to the D class 

Dance Bae giving the news to the F class 

*That’s what I call Lee Hongki

We don’t see much of Mary J Lee, but she seems really great. These are her grade-delivering heels!

Also, a lot of the Japanese girls aren’t present because they’re off doing something else for their AKB48 jobs. 

So the plan for the Great Grade Reshuffling is to have the girls from the lower grades move to their new grades first. This means that the A-class will find out their fates last. Jeremy tells them that if a lot of new girls arrive in the A classroom, there is an even higher chance that they’ll move down.

Side note: It's interesting that Jeremy was chosen to deliver the news to the A-class girls. He wasn't their vocal teacher -- Soyou was -- so he would have been comparatively unfamiliar. It might just have been that Soyou was unavailable, but I could convince myself that they chose Jeremy because Soyou is too nice to mess with their heads the way that Jeremy does. (Clearly Jeremy is just acting on orders from production, of course.)

We've already seen a few people's grades, but let's see a few more, and then when we're done I'll tell you everyone's grades and the new makeups of each group.

First up is a trainee moving from D down to F. It turns out to be YGK+ model Choi Yeon Soo, who completely forgot the words during her video evaluation. We saw her being sweet to Sailor Mercury earlier on, drawing a little picture to encourage the 14-year-old to get some sleep. She seems like a really nice girl, even if she might be a nepo baby. It’s a bummer that she has to move down to F class, but at least she’ll get to join her equally nice label mate Ahn Ye Won, who has failed to move up from F. 

Yewon laughs at Yeonsoo a little, but I don’t think it’s mean-spirited. From what we see of both girls, they seem really nice. 

Next we see a trainee moving down to F from  -- it’s Jang Gyuri from fromis_9, as discussed earlier. The girls are really really chincha chincha shocked. 

There’s Huh Yujin, future Le Sserafim, wearing yellow, second in a column of two. 

Next, there’s a trainee moving from D to B. And it’s Miru-chan, as we talked about earlier. The Japanese girls already in class D are surprised to see her, because she charming and they consider her a good dancer. But the judges think her singing is unstable and her dancing is “heavy,” like she’s getting twice as much gravity as anyone else. It’s just because she’s sad! Aww, Miru-chan! 

Next, we’ll see a girl moving to C from F. Of course, Chiba Erii would love to move up to C -- she’s not confident about her singing but she is confident with her dancing. But as we know, she’s staying in F. Dance Bae says, of Erii and her dancing, “Every time I see her, it’s so sad.”

She really does have an arresting face, though. 

So who is moving up from F to C? Well, as previously mentioned, it’s Goto Moe, the one with laryngitis on audition day. 

She says she thinks the trainers are giving her a C for "chance." Aww, this is sweet. She’s still a pretty terrible singer but hey, she’s getting better. Ganbatteyo, Moe-chan! 

Who moved to C from D? 

It’s Very Pretty Girl Kim Minju, who has also proven herself to be a Very Hardworking Girl. Dance Bae says, of Minju’s audition, “She’s not very good, but she doesn’t deserve to stay in D.” That’s Dance Bae for you! It’s accurate -- Minju’s singing was sometimes on key, but sometimes a few tones off, and though she seems to have done the whole dance, she still doesn’t exactly own the floor. Still, it’s great improvement. Minju, fighting! 

She voice overs something kind of sad: “I was told that I’m ambiguous. I’m not very good at singing or dancing or even acting. Then it said C next to my name for my final grade. I thought I was always ambiguous. I was disappointed.” I get what she’s saying. She’s so pretty that the entertainment industry is looking for an excuse to put her on screen, but she doesn’t really stand out with any particular skill. Aww. At least she seems fairly self-aware. 

Next to Minju in the shot above is Nakanishi Chiyori, who wore the pink fluffy skirt in What's Your Name?. Looks like she’s not thrilled with moving up only one spot. Hey, take your wins, Chiyori!! Some people in F stayed there -- it could always be worse. 

Next, someone is moving from C to B -- let’s see who it be! As mentioned in a previous recap, it’s Son Eunchae, future Bugaboo, who got so much story focus. She seems pretty happy, though -- not annoyed that she didn’t get into A class.

But who *did* make it into A class, stealing spots from the current A-class girls? Even though the spots aren’t limited?

First, it’s Kim Shihyun, future member of Everglow, who literally comes running in to the A-classroom. She’s obviously delighted to be there. 

We see a clip of her evaluation video, and obviously, she does great. 

Next is Ah Yujin, who also moved up from B. 

Also moving up from B is little Kang Damin (label mate of flat tummied Hwang Soyeon) and  future Rocket Punch Juri.

I hate that the staff told the A girls that if more girls moved up from lower ranks that they were more likely to move down, because as the lower ranked girls enter the room, no one seems happy to see them. Kind of a rotten welcome. Of course, that must be editing, too. I bet Soyeon was happy to see Damin. 

Moving up from C are Ko Yujin (“Hyuna lookalike”) and Honda Hitomi, as I mentioned earlier. We see a clip of Hitomi’s previous practice that we’ve never seen -- Soyou saying that Hitomi has one of the weakest vocals among all the Japanese girls. The judges were all shocked at how much she had improved. Wow, that’s great! I love that. (Kim Nayoung, future Lightsum, also joins, but we don’t see her come in.)

The A-classroom is starting to fill up. Jeremy, piling on the pressure, tells the girls that they should know that there was also a girl who moved up from F class all the way to A, but that she’s in Japan right now due to a scheduling conflict. 

We get a cute scene of Jeremy telling Yabuki Nako that she moved all the way up to A, via video chat. She screams and jumps up and down. It’s adorable. Her dream came true!

The new members of A-class: Kim Shihyun, Kang Damin, Ah Yujin, Juri, Kim Nayoung, Ko Yujin, and Honda Hitomi 

Now that the new members of A class are there, the current members of A get their new grades. They aren’t supposed to react or spill the beans, so as to maintain the suspense (that I already ruined). 

Who is this formerly A-class person walking through the door of B-class?

The Starship girls -- including original-face-Wonyoung -- are shocked that it’s…. Yuehua's Choi Yena. 

She looks so different without her cheerfulness and without her ponytail. It must have been weird for her to experience the happiness of her Yuehua labelmate joining A class, only for her to almost immediately leave it behind.

Now, who’s this coming into Class C? MNET drags it out, of course, but it’s… Kwon Eunbi.

She sits down behind Kim Cho Yeon (fire eyes girl) and Kim Doah (future Fanatics/GP999), who have also both moved down from A class with her, and quietly begins to cry. None of them really has the strength to comfort the other at this point. 

Kim Su Yun, future Rocket Punch and current labelmate of Eunbi’s, covers her face to hide her tears. Suyun probably didn’t come on this show genuinely hoping to make the top 12 -- she’s here for exposure, mostly, and the experience -- but she knows that 22-year-old Eunbi really NEEDS this. 

Eunbi tearfully explains that she feels bad because as an unnie, she always tells her younger labelmates that they can do this -- and she feels like she broke her promise. 

Back in A class, Jeremy announces that the trainee who is moving down to F should go now. Someone stands up, and no one looks that surprised, just sad. They saw her recording her evaluation video and knew that something like this was possible, even likely. A pixelated blur moves down the hall and makes its way to F class. Who could it be? The F class girls are shocked to see that it’s Jo Yuri, one of the Chewing Gum auditioners (she was in the lemon yellow). 

We see a clip of her evaluation video, in which she completely froze. Poor kid. She’s only 16. When I was 16, I had a fight with my mom the night before the SATs and I couldn’t sleep all night, like not at all, not even for 10 minutes. I was just seething with rage and I couldn’t make it stop. I had to go take the SATs on no sleep at all and I just stared at it, like, what is this? What is 2+2 again? If my whole future had rested on that exact test, my whole future would have turned out quite different than it did.

Thankfully, I had another chance, and thankfully, Jo Yuri will have another chance too, when she does some of the upcoming missions. So it’ll be ok, Yuri. 

Now that Yuri and the other “failures” have been kicked out of the room, Jeremy tells the 14 remaining A-class girls that they will be the center of the big performance of Nekkoya. 

And here is the final arrangement of trainees:

New group A: 

Before, there were 15 members of group A.  After, there were 14 members of group A.  Obviously, no one moved up, but 9 members moved down.  8 new members joined.

Left to right, top row then bottom row:

Kang Da Min, the li’l baby in pale yellow at the audition with her flat tummied teammate, Soyeon, future member of Queenz Eye, moved up from B

Ko Yu Jin, very pretty “Hyuna lookalike” who did Lip and Hip, moved up from C

Kim Na Young, future Lightsum, did I Don't Like Your Girlfriend, moved up from C

Kim Si Hyeon, future Everglow, had been on PD101 season 1, moved up from B

Na Go Eun, future Purple Kiss, was in A all along

Sakura was in A all along

An Yu Jin, future IVE, moved up from B 

Yabuki Nako, who moved up from F to A like an absolute monster! 

Lee Ga Eun, the Pledis giraffe and former member of After School, in A all along 

Lee Chaeyeon, future soloist and famous older sister, in A all along 

Lee Ha Eun, the “mini-Chungha” little 13 year old, in A all along 

Juri, beautiful future Rocket Punch Juri, assumed her rightful throne, moving up from B

Honda Hitomi , auditioned with Mister by Kara, moved up from C

Hwang So Yeon “little Sunmi” with the flat tummy, was in A all along 

New group B:

Before, there were 25 members of group B.  After, there were 20 members of group B.  17 members left. Of them, 4 members moved up, and 13 members moved down.  12 new members joined. 3 came down from A, and the other 9 came up from lower grades. 

Left to right, top row then bottom row:

Kim Dayeon, future Kep1er, was in B all along

Kim So Hee, future Rocket Punch, moved up from C

Kim Chae Won, future Le Sserafim, was in B all along

Kim Hyuna, husky voiced Hyuna, was in B all along

Nakano Ikumi, who is known for her dancing, moved up from D

Jurina was in B all along

Motomura Aoi, sweet-faced Aoi, moved up from D

Park Minji, future Secret Number, was in B all along

Bae Eun Yeong, mint Chewing Gum member, moved up from C

Son Eun Chae, future Bugaboo, got a lot of story focus, moved up from C

Yu Min Young, who did the Celeb Five song wearing mint polka dots and who Psychopath told her she had no charisma, moved down from A

Yoon Eun Bin from CNC school, who may have a crush on Psychopath, was in B all along

Jang Won Young, the Giant Baby herself, future IVE, was in B all along

Cho Kahyeon, the non-IVE Starship trainee, was in B all along

Cho Ah Yeong was in B all along. She’s from FNC and auditioned with Cherry Bullet’s Haeyoon

Choi Yena, future soloist, who auditioned with the two future Everglow members in the first audition, moved down from A

Kato Yuuka moved up from C. She wore the furry orange collar in Funny People.

Kojima Mako moved up from C. She was in Playing With Fire with Juri.

Takeuchi Miyu, the talented singer/song-arranger who sang in that fabulous orange bulls-eye dress in her audition, moved down from A

Han Cho Won, future member of Lightsum, moved up from D

New group C:

Before, there were 22 members of group C.  After, there were still 22 members of group C.  18 members left. Of them, 9 moved up, and 9 moved down.  18 new members joined, 9 from higher levels and 9 from lower.   It's all very symmetrical.

A lot of these names are probably familiar by now, so I’ll only review those who we haven’t talked about a ton. 

Left to right, top row then bottom row:

Kwon Eunbi - moves down from A

Goto Moe - moves up from F

Kim Dahye - from Banana Culture, moves down from A

Kim Doah - future Fanatics/GP999, moves down from A

Kim Minseo - was in C all along, yellow polka dots in Celeb Five

Kim Minju - a Very Pretty Girl, moves up from D

Kim Suyun - future Rocket Punch/Queendom Puzzle, stays in C

Kim Choyeon - fire eyes girl, future Bugaboo, moves down from A

Naiki Kokoro - was in Funny People, moves up from D

Nakanishi Chiyori - was in What’s Your Name?, moves up from D

Matsuoka Natsumi - distinctive face, was in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, moves up from D

Murase Sae - was in Funny People, moves up from D

AleXa - moves down from B

Wang Yi Ren - future Everglow, Chinese, moves down from B

Imada Mina - tall, no bangs, was in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, moves up from D

Lee Seunghyeon - aka H1-Key Riina, moves down from B

Lee Yu Jeong - future Lightsum, was in C all along

Lee Chae Jeong - future Alice, was in C all along

Ichikawa Manami - shorter hair, was in What’s Your Name?, moves up from F

Cho Yeongin - auditioned with Shower, moved down from B

Choi So Eun - auditioned with Question Mark, moved down from B

Tanaka Miku - auditioned with the Banana Song, moved up from F. 

New group D:

Before, there were 15 members of group D.  After, there were 16 members of group D.  12 members left. Of them, 8 moved up, and 4 moved down.  13 new members joined. Of them, 9 came from a higher grade and 4 came from F. 

Left to right, top row then bottom row:

Kim Yu Bin from CNC school, who auditioned with Team, moved down from B 

Mogi Shinobu, the living meme girl from What's Your Name?, moved up from F

Muto Tomu, who auditioned with Juri with Playing with Fire, stayed in D

Miyazaki Miho, the multi-lingual queen who auditioned with What's Your Name?, stayed in D

Park Seoyoung, the blonde former YG trainee who sat in the Number One Chair, moved down from C

Park Chanju, who auditioned with Roller Coaster, moved down from C

Park Haeyoon, my new Cherry Bullet bias, moved down from A 

Shiroma Miru, our Miru-chan from Queendom Puzzle, moved down from B

Shitao Miu, who wore the hat on her waistband during her audition to Mister, stays in D

Asai Yuka, who auditioned with Knock Knock, moved up from F

Asai Nanami, aka Sailor Venus, moved up from F

Wang Ke, the Chinese girl who wore red polka dots in Celeb Five, moved down from B

Yoon Hae Sol who auditioned with Question Mark, moved down from B

Lee Si An, former Idol School contestant and grape Chewing Gum girl, moved down from C

Iwatate Saho, who auditioned with Dancing Hero, moved down from B

Kurihara Sae, who had the great bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, moved up from F

New group F:

Before, there were 19 members of group F, but 2 of them dropped out, so 17 members stayed.  After, there were 22 members of group F.  9 girls moved up.  14 girls joined F from higher grades. 🙁

Left to right, top row then bottom row:

Kang Hye Won “Purity is all she has” - started in F, stayed there

Nagano Serika, who auditioned to Mister by Kara - started in F, stayed there

Murakawa Bibian, the little baby doll from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, - started in F, stayed there

Park Ji Eun, future ex-Purple Kiss, fell from C

Park Jinny, the former YG trainee/ future Secret Number member, fell from C

Sato Minami, aka Sailor Mars, owner of Lemon-chan, fell from D

Shinozaki Ayana from What's Your Name?- started in F, stayed there

Shin Su Hyun, the one who auditioned by herself to Playing with Fire, fell from D

Aramaki Misaki, one of the girls from Never Ending Ferris Wheel, started in F, stayed there

YG KPLUS model Ahn Ye Won, started in F, stayed there

Yamada Noe, gravelly voiced girl who probably shouldn’t have been put in C in the first place, fell from there

AKB48 Oda Erina, who was apparently known for her singing, fell from C 

Won Seoyeon, who I thought did a great audition with Heroine in her blue plaid dress, fell from C 

Jang Gyu Ri, from Idol School / Fromis_9, the pink Chewing Gum, fell from B

Little Cho Sa Rang, who we saw sweetly singing Tomorrow from Annie, fell from B

Jo Yu Ri from Idol School, the lemon Chewing Gum, fell from A 

YG KPLUS model Choi Yeon Soo, fell from D

Tsukiashi Amane who applied her name tag up really high in Never Ending Ferris Wheel, started in F, stayed there

Chiba Erii, aka Sailor Mercury, started in F, stayed there

Hasegawa Rena, Noe's partner in the audition, fell from D

Heo Yunjin, future Le Sserafim, fell all the way from C to F. 

CNC School’s Hong Ye Ji, who auditioned with Dayeon and the other CNC girls, fell from B 

At some point around episode 3, Tsukiashi Amane withdrew from the competition, so this is our chance to say goodbye to her and see how she’s doing now.

After she left the competition, she went back to HKT48 and performed with them until 2020, when she graduated, saying she wanted to leave the J-pop sphere. However, in 2022 she debuted in a J-pop group called Fruits Zipper. Per their website:

FRUITS ZIPPER is a 7-member idol group consisting of Tsukiashi Amane, Matsumoto Karen, Manaka Mana, Sakurai Yui, Hayase Noel, Nakagawa Luna, and Chinzei Suzuka. 

​The group was formed from participants in ASOBISYSTEM’s idol project KAWAII LAB. The group’s name combines FRUITS, meaning ‘to bear fruit,’ and ZIP, meaning ‘to give energy.’ The group’s concept is ‘from Harajuku to the world,’ and the group will transmit what they call ‘NEW KAWAII’ from Harajuku, an area known for fashion and individuality, to the world.

​From collaborating with renowned creators to selling out monthly concerts, the girls have already made a name for themselves at numerous large-scale events despite having only just debuted. 

​Even before FRUITS ZIPPER made its debut, the girls attracted plenty of attention with their stunning visuals. With their cute image and incredibly powerful stage performances, the group has already captured the hearts of fans around the world.

They’re doing a thing and honestly, I’m here for it. That’s Amane in red in the middle.  

This is either their most popular MV or an ad for Beanie Babies. I’m not 100% sure. I’m not adding it to my playlist, I guess I’ll say. 

Her tiktok is pretty active, as is her insta. Looks like she’s dabbling in gravure a bit, and also doing some modeling for magazines and brands. Get that money, girl!

Ganbatte and Happy trails, Amane-chan! 

And that's it for this post! I'll see you in the next one, when I provide a bit of analysis on the overall grade changes. We're getting close to the first challenge mission. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great New Year!

[astroyongie]

Okay so like I need to confirm smth yeah

I recently see a lot of TikTok’s from AleXa this former solo kpop idol who was also on produce48. AND I CANT HELP BUT I FEEL LIKE SHE IS EXACTLY HONGJOONGS TYPE?? Like can’t be just me who thinks that right-

I don't even know who she is so I can't tell you if she is or not ;---;

[wave-to-jenny]

The World Is My Oyster

Literary Journalism By Jenny Park

As a citizen of South Korea, Korean Pop music has always played an enormously influential role in my upbringing. It was the 26th of May in the year 2023 when I had been compelled by my sense of admiration. As the season of change comes to a close and the humidity of summer slowly rises, I found “change” within myself when I came across a documentary video of the, back then, one-year-old KPop girl group called LE SSERAFIM under the company Source Music. Originally, all that I had known back then was that they were a six-member group turned 5 and that three of their oldest members had come from a KPop survival show called Produce48 — a brutal reality competition show wherein numerous trainees from Japanese girl group AKB48 and others from a variety of companies are sent to compete in singing, dancing, and rapping to showcase their skills and last until the end of the show through the votes of the judges as well as the viewers — but what had caught my eye was the title of the YouTube documentary; The World Is My Oyster.

A total of 4 videos, 20 minutes each, and the gut-wrenching reality behind the adversities of these girls working like dogs to achieve their lifelong dreams. That was what I had understood right then and there. The documentary itself reveals the triumphs and hardships the girls had to go through to prepare to meet the world as LE SSERAFIM.

Episode 01. The beginning. Just like staring at an empty canvas, the beginning, the start, and the forefront is always the most difficult. When the group first came together, the girls had all been contacted by HYBE Labels underscoring a similar statement of “I want you to join the team.” With fluttering feelings of both nervousness and excitement, each of the girls — Sakura, Kim Chaewon, and Huh Yunjin — return from where they once were to become a member of a team of possible strangers. “It’s a bit of a pressure to be carrying the name Miyawaki Sakura,” “I want to show a side of me that’s new and better than when I was in IZ*ONE,” “It felt strange. Other companies have contacted me but I was just going to go back to school. I thought that I had nothing left to do with KPop.” Once again, starting the training process with singing, dancing, media training, and language training, their lives were flipped upside down when one of the trainees — Haruka — was announced to be eliminated from the team. The brutal truth is that even though you have trained together, ate together, and spent nearly 24/7 together, in the end, you may end up in entirely different directions. The cold reality here is that reasons as simple as not fitting the aesthetic or vision of the team can get you removed. As the remaining three were left in a dark place, not knowing when they would debut or if they would even get to debut together, a bright light from the Netherlands has given them hope. Nakamura Kazuha, a girl who had been lost, found a new sense of interest in none other than KPop. A simple dream, yet so far away. From learning an entirely new language, being far away from family and from what you were used to, and doing a 180 from ballet to hip hop, waacking, and more. Not even three days later, the final member Hong Eunchae, born in 2006, entered the room.

Episode 02. The narrative of LE SSERAFIM. With the diverse backgrounds of each of the members — Sakura who has been an idol for over 10 years, coming back with her third debut, Chaewon who is reclaiming her identity and showing the world a new version of herself, Yunjin who had initially given up on her dream to simply live her life as a normal girl in New York, Kazuha who wanted to find a new passion within herself, and Eunchae who had been waiting for what felt like years to achieve the dream she has had since she was a little girl — the story they are trying to tell is towards the people talking about the past, they say that they do not need the past because “We are stepping into the future fearlessly. We won’t let the past hold us back.” To tell the audience that this is who they are, this is their story, and this is what they have been through. From going to work at 9:30 in the morning, having one-on-one lessons, meeting with the rest of the team to dance for up to at least seven hours a day, to going home at dawn. That vicious cycle of being in the South Korean media industry had just gotten even more difficult. With everyone’s eyes on you and all that you give to satisfy them, all you get in return is “you’re a bad singer,” which only further instills the insecurity and fear of entering the recording booth and wanting fewer and fewer parts in a song that tells your story. However, even when the girls’ debut becomes delayed, practices get tougher, and even when one’s health deteriorates, they have each other. Five girls who had been strangers not long ago, become a true team — a family — as they spend every second, minute, and hour of their days with one another and another piece of data enters the memory card.

Episode 03. The process of transformation. From wanting to show a new side of themselves and the overbearing thoughts of “If I had just lived a normal life and did not become a trainee, then would I have been freer? Was it right to give that life up?,” to the thoughts of wanting to do more, to experience and experiment further, to create pieces that are their very own right from their fingertips to the pen and papers laying on the mattress of the bed as the guitar lays taught on Huh Yunjin’s hands as a means of consolation and fascination. Every one of those girls has led what they had considered normal lives, and yet here they were doubting themselves and finding ways to overcome that intimidation and fear of being the most experienced and having shown the world who they once were, of being different, of choosing an entirely new path, and even that of being the youngest and constantly pushing yourself to catch up to the rest. Yet, each one of them shows that their hard work paved through until the end.

Episode 04. I am Fearless. The birth of LE SSERAFIM to the rest of the world finally arrived on the 2nd of May 2022. Fearless, is a befitting song title for the group who truly showed that they were brave throughout their pre-debut journey. Likewise, the name LE SSERAFIM is an anagram for the words I’M FEARLESS, marking the beginning of their success as a group that has now become akin to family. But before the group had been fully exposed to the idol industry, I could feel the buzz of their excitement through the screen of my phone as their album preparations had finished, their schedules were filled with different variety shows and live singing programs for idols, and their debut showcase was merely weeks away. However, when times get easy, it also gets rough. Since their debut was not far from approaching, they had to get stricter with each step, each stretch of the arm, facial expressions, their appearances, and their conditions. Fixing what they were lacking with the limited time they had was not an easy feat. As each one of them came together and polished endlessly at what they were given, the girl group became the talk of the town as news got out that they were debuting. Numerous articles in the South Korean media stating “HYBE’s First Girl Group Debut Countdown,” “First Reveal of LE SSERAFIM’s Visuals,” and “FEARLESS Showcase with Over 100,000 Concurrent Visitors” appeared as the group set their foot on stage for the first time as a team. Their team name plastered all around the big stage as they prepared to show their faces and their skills to those who had been eagerly waiting. Just as the LED stage cover slid up, the roar of the fans’ cheers filled the stadium to the brim with passion and enthusiasm as the members were slowly revealed to the world. The sea of white lights and banners printed with the team logo had spread chills all over me even just as a simple audience of this documentary and it was right there where I told myself that they belonged on the stage, they should not be separated from performing because that is what makes them feel alive. “I’m an idol because it makes me happy,” “My driving force is being on stage,” “I don’t have any regrets,” “We worked so hard and I want to show them that.”

The journey of LE SSERAFIM from their beginnings to their debut as a cohesive group is a testament to their unwavering determination and passion for their craft. Through the challenges of training, self-doubt, and the pressures of the industry, they have emerged as a courageous and united team. Their story is one of resilience, friendship, and the pursuit of their dreams. As they step into the spotlight, they carry with them the message that they are not bound by their pasts, but instead, they are boldly embracing the future. LE SSERAFIM’s debut marks not only the beginning of their music careers but also the start of a new chapter filled with endless possibilities and achievements because they are FEARLESS.

[jihyoruri]

waitt bcs didn't u post some little teaser for like a produce48!yn x yunjin thing where yunjin got jealous over how good yn is and they broke up??

bcs i could have sworn i saw that from u but I've been scrolling for like an hour and I can't find itt 😭😭 maybe I'm just insane amd I saw that somewhere else entirely

LOL yeah that's me but it wasn't a teaser it was a draft sometimes I like posting my draft works that I probably won't finish

[viasdreams]

sakura not liking boys is so real

ik we all saw the produce48 finale…👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

[khakilike]

AleXa: HyunA is so cool!

HyunA in the background: I'm not cool.