Chapter 28 Chapter 28
On the official website, fans' discovery sparked a wave of discussion. While it's only one of Bigbang's three tracks, and "Fool" isn't considered a major hit, the trainee's signature song still leaves room for the public's imagination.
With Project A currently airing, the topic quickly grew—"Lia Kim - 'Fool'" immediately topped the trending search list. YG's public relations department also took notice.
An emergency meeting was held the day after the program aired. "Should we intervene?" someone asked during the roundtable discussion. "So far, the overall reviews are quite positive. We're inclined to guide the situation and let it continue to develop," another person replied.
"What did the planning team say?" "They have no objection. They think it will be good for the attention on the program, and they suggest issuing some press releases, but the content should blur out the individual trainees and focus on the whole." "Blur out the individuals?" The supervisor frowned.
"Hmm. I'm worried the popularity gap between the trainees will be too big." "...Okay. Then we'll do both the press release and the commentary guide together. The theme will be 'YG trainees' creative abilities.' Remember to check in with the artist team." "Yes."
... Four days after the show aired, in the early morning, the Project A official website updated the results of the second round of audience voting: 1. Lia Kim 2.
Park Bom 3. CL Lee 4. Eunjing Kim 5. Sandara Park
6. Minzy Kong 7. Bona Park 8. Chaneun Lee
Fans who stayed up all night waiting for the rankings excitedly commented: "Lia is ridiculously stable, she's really firmly in first place." "Over 30,000 votes short? What kind of popularity gap is this..."
"Bo Eun-unnie is here!! The dorm scenes are so adorable, what a four-dimensional genius!" "Eun-jung seems to be declining with each episode..." "She's not talented enough, isn't she? With all the clever ideas, she can't do without talent."
Then, the production team announced the songs that the two captains had submitted as volunteers before the end of the second round of voting. [Lia]: "Last Greetings" [Bo Eun]: "Fool" Instantly, the comment section exploded.
"??? My baby didn't choose "Fool"?" "I'm beginning to wonder if she's trying to avoid GD..." "What are you avoiding? Both songs are by GD, the one above..."
"Don't bring in relationships, I just want to try different styles." "I... I really want to see GD lead Lia's group..." "Bo Eun and GD have collaborated a lot, they've even feted each other before."
"That's true... YG really loves to support their juniors..." "Don't be jealous, the trainees themselves must have the talent to support them." ... On the same day,
YG official channel simultaneously released the MV of Dong Young-bae's solo song "Only Look at Me". For a time, the hot search terms were full of YG artists, including the previous "Project
The songs that appeared in the program "Project A" have suddenly jumped up in the music rankings - # "Only Look at Me" # Lia Kim "Fool" # Project A # YG trainees' creative ability...
Soon, it was the day for the third episode. The atmosphere in the practice room was tense. Lia and Baoen stood before the camera and, according to the program's rules, took turns selecting team members. Lia, with the most votes, had the first choice.
She looked around and asked, "If your first choice is "The Last Goodbye", can you raise your hand?" Several hands were raised, including Minzhi and Chaneun.
Lia nodded and quickly made her choice: "For the first round, I choose Minji." Bao En didn't hesitate for a second: "Then I choose Cai Lin." "For the second round, I choose... Chan Eun." "I choose Dara~"
"Then I'll choose Eunjung." "I'll do it - Bona." In the end, the team formation results are as follows: Lia team: Lia, Minji, Chaneun, Eunjung Boeun team: Boeun, Chaerin, Park Sandara, Bona
After the teams were formed, the two groups went to their respective practice rooms. Minzhi and the other two sat on the floor, staring at Lia eagerly.
"Last Goodbye" is a track with a distinct rhythm and strong drum beats. Lia chose this song with the intention of focusing her performance on the choreography.
Although she is very familiar with the arrangement of "Fool", there is actually not much room for adaptation. If she wants to work on the harmony part, it will not be much different from what she showed to the audience in the second episode.
If this were her solo performance, she would have started choreographing the dance right now, but since this was a team competition, the opinions of the members were equally important.
This time, she prioritized everyone's first choice, so everyone should have their own plans. Lia pondered for a moment and then asked softly, "Everyone, when you chose this song, did you have any plans for the stage?"
Chan-eun and Eun-jung looked at each other and said honestly, "We don't have too many plans, we just think this song suits us better." "I... I was planning to dance." Min-ji hesitated and spoke softly. Lia's eyes lit up.
"That's great! I want to do a dance performance too." She paused. "Actually, except for Minzhi, none of us have ever performed dance on stage. If we can present it this time, it will be very fresh for the audience."
Chan-eun listened carefully and nodded in agreement. "If everyone agrees, I'd like to hand over the choreography to Min-ji. You're the best dancer in our group." Lia looked at Min-ji and made a gesture of request.
Minzhi was somewhat flattered. She was the youngest, and while she was quite capable, she had never been pushed into a leadership position. "Yes... I'll do my best!" She nodded earnestly, her eyes sparkling.
"The three of us can help with the choreography and assist Minji, okay?" Lia turned to consult the other two. "Sure," Chaneun and Eunjung nodded. In the practice room, skill reigns supreme. They both tacitly understood that.
Everyone was extremely cooperative, tasks were quickly assigned, and everyone immediately began choreographing. Meanwhile, the Baoen group had a completely different atmosphere. They chose the song "Fool."
The song's greatest strength lies in its emotional progression and multi-part harmony. "How about we jump right into the chorus?" Chae-rin suggested. "Okay, but I think we should keep the intro too," Bo-na added. "That line is actually quite catchy."
Park Sandara looked through the lyrics and nodded: "Then we will use two parts in the first part, and start with three parts after the chorus." "Then who will sing the main melody?" Cailin asked the key question.
Everyone looked at each other. For a moment, the air fell silent. The four people who had chosen this song all had vocal ambitions. Though outwardly calm, they secretly wished to be the lead vocalist.
"How about... we each prepare first, then wait for Senior to come and let him decide?" This is the fairest way. If the team votes, there will inevitably be selfish motives involved. "Okay—" Everyone nodded in agreement.
…A week later, the day of the instructor's instruction arrived as scheduled. Lia's group practiced as usual. During the intermission, Eunjung stood in front of the mirror to find her position, Minji held a notebook to check the rhythm, and Lia and Chaneun sat in the corner, their expressions slightly stagnant.
The training was too intense, and everyone ate very little to keep their weight down. While dancing, they could rely on adrenaline to keep them going, but the moment they stopped, the drain on their energy was palpable. It was like their entire bodies had been hollowed out.
The two of them stared at the floor in a daze when the door suddenly opened. A pair of light grey sneakers stepped lightly in. Quan Zhilong stood at the door, smiling and greeting, "Hello everyone, are you on break?"
Lia stood up subconsciously, her body reacting before her mind. The others also stood up and lined up in a row, somewhat stiffly. "Hello, seniors—"
Quan Zhilong walked closer and swept his eyes over several people: "So... everyone chose the song "Last Goodbye" as their first choice?" "Yeah--" several people said in unison.
Thanks to Lia, they all got their first choice. "Wow, we're so in sync!" Kwon Ji-yong said cheerfully, raising his hand and smiling. The children's nervousness eased slightly.
Eunjung gently stroked the seam of his pants, feeling a little uneasy. She didn't know why, but even though this was their second meeting, she still felt a sense of indifference towards her senior.
Although he acted very friendly, there was a natural sense of distance. "Well, let's just start the performance?" Quan Zhilong had already walked to the sound station and put his finger on the switch. "Let's take a look first, so we can see if there are any areas for improvement."
Lia nodded and gave the others a look. They spread out, forming a predetermined formation. A sudden hush fell. The music started—the drums pounded, the movements synchronized, every beat bearing the marks of training.
Minzhi is the visual centerpiece. Although she tried to distribute the weight evenly during the choreography, many moves look best performed by her, most effectively standing in the center. In the face of absolute strength, even the greatest ambitions must yield. This is what teamwork is all about.
Lia and Chaneun also danced well. Lia had a good sense of dance and her movements were smooth. Although her strength was a little lacking, her slender limbs gave her a unique and beautiful line.
Chan-eun's fundamentals are solid, and his movements are clean, but he lacks a certain personal touch, making him stand out from the crowd. The only problem is Eun-jung. Her practice time is too short, and even keeping up with the pace is a struggle, let alone achieving the required level of execution.
In the first two episodes, she had deftly avoided exposing her dancing weaknesses. But in this otherwise balanced group, her gap was clearly magnified. Quan Zhilong watched quietly, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Eunjung...you know what the problem is, right?" he asked bluntly. "Yes..." Eunjung lowered her head and replied in a low voice.
"Hmm..." Quan Zhilong said solemnly, "There's still a week before the stage. We need to make a plan for not being able to catch up within a week." "Is Lia the captain?" He raised his eyes and looked at Lia. "Yes, I am."
"The captain should not only oversee the practice progress, but also be one step ahead of the members," said Kwon Ji-yong. "There's no major problem with the current choreography, but what if it doesn't produce the expected results?"
Lia's face darkened slightly as she nodded. She hadn't considered it that far ahead. In her focus on individual members, she'd neglected the group's overall performance.
"I understand. We'll discuss and adjust it. Thank you, senior," she replied seriously. Quan Zhilong nodded and offered suggestions on some details in the choreography.
His advice was concise and clear, yet it pinpointed the problem and offered practical solutions. Everyone turned their attention to him again. Bigbang's choreography is generally simple, and when people think of "dancing," Yongbae is often the first person they think of.
But after really understanding him, I realized that Kwon Ji-yong’s dancing skills are not bad at all, it’s just that he is good at so many things that no one deliberately emphasizes this point.
His advice was spot-on and took into account the differences in their abilities. Even though trainees receive years of training from professional instructors, such guidance is still invaluable.
To become such an artist, talent, experience, and hard work are all essential. Lia listened quietly, lost in thought.
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