Chapter Thirty-Seven: Stealing

tists were truly shocked, their eyes wide open and mouths slightly agape in a "wo" shape. This wasn't part of their usual act, either, because the director had already cut to f(x) now.First release on...When the flowers are in full bloom.

"Just wait for me there."

"Wait for me there."

The sound of music faded in and out of the ears of several girls. Although they were all watching, they weren't huddled together around a phone like usual, except for Taeko Hirai who was probably taking a bath. There were six people in the living room at this moment, but they were each on their own phones watching "Spring Days" v

Lim Na-yeon and Son Chae-young used one, Song Min-gyeong and Park Ji-hyeon used one, Kim Doyeon and Nako each held their own phones, listening with earphones.

The seating arrangement was also quite interesting. The couples were seated in the middle of the sofa, while the singles sat on either side at the edges. For a moment, it felt somewhat divided.

However, the atmosphere wasn't bad, there wasn't any awkwardness.

The final high harmonies still seemed to echo in my ears,

"How did you feel" Im Na-yeon broke the somewhat quiet atmosphere after watching it first, speaking up without using headphones.

"It's alright." Sun Caiying chewed on the orange in her mouth, her expression somewhat casual: "The visuals are pretty cool, but it doesn't really feel like my style. Although the melody is good, it's still too lyrical... But yuan's rap is really impressive, I noticed that during 'dope'. He feels like he can compete with those hip-hop singers."

Isn't he pretty handsome

Lin Na-yeon stared at Son Sa-yeong with wide eyes, as if she had heard some outrageous absurdity. Sun Sa-yeong kept blinking rapidly. Her smooth forehead was creased with a furrow. She corrected him with dissatisfaction: "I think this V shot is super cool! The picture is very beautiful, the costumes are also very good looking, and Ji Kyeong-won sitting by the train window in a turtleneck sweater looks so empty...

Recalling the memory vividly, Lin Na-yeon lay half on the sofa, dramatically clutching her chest and rubbing it with exaggerated force. Her grin was wide and exaggerated.

"Yeah, the visuals are really cool, but I think the song is what truly makes it great." Song Min-young took off her headphones and nodded in agreement.

"It really does sound nice… snowflakes falling, drifting away one by one… I miss you, I miss you…"

A few people in the middle were discussing heatedly, humming a tune every now and then. Kim Do-hyun and Nami who sat on both sides of the sofa remained mostly silent. After listening to their discussion for a while, Nami pursed her lips and put her earphones back on, dragging the progress bar all the way back to the beginning.

The v of 《春日》 really impressed her. It captured the characters as very cool and handsome, while also conveying a sense of growth, melancholy, and youthful longing that she deeply resonated with. Especially the final scene where everyone walks across the wasteland bathed in sunlight, that aerial shot with the music's accompaniment almost made her cry.

Besides the visuals and the emotions conveyed, she also loved the lyrics, especially the last two lines:

When the flowers are in full bloom.

"Just wait for me there."

"Wait for me there."

It's very romantic and beautiful.

It kind of hit a nerve with her.

…………

On the screen appeared the iconic logo of 'exo' and "s'. After watching the v of 'Spring Day', Kim Ji-sung fell into a brief silence, his thoughts rippling with some agitation.

Objectively speaking, he thought the video was pretty good. It wasn't that the few handsome guys were particularly attractive, but he truly felt the growth and confusion of youth from the visuals, camera language, and lyrical melody. And when it came to the emotional release at the end, he did feel touched.

But that's about it, the photography is decent, but I didn't think it was anything special.

Jin Zhicheng thought of something and immediately became interested, scrolling the webpage down to the comments section. At this time, in the comment section below the video, fans had already begun showering praise and giving critiques, while also fiercely debating with black fans.

"The music is really beautiful, the melody is very nice and touching. It's much better than I expected, I can only say that s choosing a ballad as the lead song for is really thoughtful and confident."

"Disappointed, a very ordinary song. The v-shot is just making do, but I feel like the screen switching in the middle is too much and too chaotic. I can only say it's not as good as expected."

"It's bad enough that they're blind, but now they're also deaf. How pitiful."

Seeing the expected comments, Kim Ji-seong scoffed disdainfully, feeling that idol groups and their fans were indeed of this caliber. Afterward, he casually typed a few words, leaving a comment: "It's average, quite ordinary. You won't want to listen to it again after one time."

This is actually his true thoughts at the moment, although it might carry some innate displeasure and prejudice towards boy bands.

It was getting late, so he browsed the forum for a while and then turned off his computer to go to bed.

The next day, as Kim Ji-seong was commuting on the subway, he habitually took out his earphones and connected them to his phone. This was a habit of his; he liked to listen to music on his way to work to wake himself up after getting out of bed.

He usually just picked a random song and started playing it randomly, but today he hesitated when he clicked play. He paused for a second then acted nonchalant and lightly clicked on "Spring Day" which he had downloaded yesterday.

I miss you.

Once I said it out loud, I missed you even more.

The prelude and verses, which were strangely familiar and pleasant to the ear after just one listen, echoed in his head. He sat in his seat, his body swaying slightly with the moving subway, listening with his eyes closed.

Pleasing yet harsh, excellent yet ordinary.

Jin Zhicheng suddenly didn't know why, the feeling in his ears and the thoughts in his heart inexplicably began to contradict each other. For a moment, he couldn't tell which one was the most real feeling.

Soon after one song finished playing, the music automatically switched to the next song.

Just hearing a few seconds of Jin Zhicheng, he couldn't help but frown.

This girl group song he had downloaded before and really liked listening to now seemed oddly noisy.

After a moment's hesitation, Jin Zhicheng took out his phone from his pocket, found the name "Spring Day" and clicked play. Just as he was about to put the phone back, he paused for a second, took it back, and switched the playback mode to single loop.

The subway started and stopped, and in a short while, it arrived at his stop.

He walked all the way to the company gate. When he took his earphones out of his ears, he suddenly froze.

Originally, he unconsciously played the same song on repeat the whole way. It was a song that once you've heard it, you wouldn't want to hear it again. He didn't skip any other songs in between.

He smacked his lips, remembering the faces of those EXO guys, and once again reaffirmed his own idea:

That's just ordinary.

…………

After S company released EXO's second single album 《X》 and the title song V at 0:00 on April 1st, the long-awaited EXO-L and curious onlookers flooded in. As a result, both songs from 《X》, "Spring Day" and "Golden Nation", immediately topped the first and second places on all major music streaming websites upon release, pushing down ISSA's dominating title song "onlyyou" which had ruled the real-time chart for two days.

Meanwhile, reviews of "" on the website, particularly of the lead song "Spring Day", are also increasing.

It is possible that because it's a lyrical song, many passersby, black fans, and even some of her own fans don't like the style of "Spring Day." Those who like it and those who don't have had very heated discussions and arguments on many forums. At the same time, Ali's fans are also working hard to control the comments, promote, and recommend the song.

"That sounds good!"

"Before knowing it was a lyrical piece, I was actually quite unhappy. But after watching the v, I was completely moved. The v for "Spring Day" is really well done, especially the last scene, I don't know why I just burst into tears."

"The musical style is amazing, the prelude gave me goosebumps, and the harmony at the end combined with the visuals really elevated the emotions. It's a very touching v."

Although it's not a pop song, I'm a little disappointed. But at least this comeback features the full group's makeup look, and I hope for good results.

As someone who has followed EXO since their debut and is a long-time fan in the music industry, let me share my honest thoughts: I'm not exaggerating when I say that the impact of this album's title track, 《x》, is definitely among EXO's top 3 hits of all time. It surpasses last year's 《Addiction》 and even outshines last month's popular 《callbaby》 in my opinion. It has the potential to elevate EXO to new heights, just like their breakthrough song 《Growl》.

The main strength of "" lies in its innovative campus style one-shot filming and stage presentation, as well as the superior makeup and styling of all members online, coupled with highly addictive melody and choreography. It is a very perfect male group pop song, but to be honest, it still hasn't broken free from its shackles. Its main charm is still expressed through surface and appearance. Of course, "" successfully achieved charisma to the extreme.

This time's "Spring Day" is different. Now I can confidently say that the music video for "Spring Day" is truly art, and the lyrics are also very touching. The entire song, from the arrangement to the lyrics, production, and music video quality, is exceptionally high. It's a truly excellent ballad that allows you to feel the impact and emotional resonance. It's a song you'll want to listen to again and again, no matter your circumstances or the season.

I checked the lyricist, it's still the busy yuan, right It really leaves me speechless. From "Roar" to "Spring Day," from pop to ballad, such a huge leap and transformation but still done so perfectly. I can only describe him using a lyric he wrote himself: amazing!

"Baby-faced fairy Kim Jin-woo Best rapper Kim Jun-myeon Glorious main vocalist Kim Jong-dae Human face-ace Park Chan-yeol Genius idol Baekhyun Saintly main vocalist D.O. Peninsula dance king Kim Jong-in Korean fairy Wu Se-hun Diamond maknae Park Chanyeol Nine-member splendor set off again, exoweareone! Exo fighting!"

"Very disappointed…"

"Fans are really something else. Just an average lyric song gets blown up by you guys like it's some divine masterpiece, I just have to laugh."

"Wandering back and forth in the daily rankings on GuaBo, it's impossible to climb up. EXO, with such a large fanbase, can't even beat I-SA. The sound source results prove everything."

"That's right, once you've heard a song, you won't want to listen to it again. The v-shoot is quite good-looking, but unfortunately, the song is just average. Boy bands should stick to dancing songs, don't always try to take the jobs of genuine vocalists. Can you even sing"

Don't just focus on commenting, sisters! Don't forget to stream and vote for "Spring Day" to get it to the top of the daily charts. Let's not let that lake-themed girl group push us down!

The released audio and video at zero hour, after several hours of fermentation, some fans and passersby's opinions on the title track are also emerging. The evaluation of "Spring Day" is also somewhat mixed, with those who like it very much, praising it to the heavens, while those who are indifferent or feel average after listening once will also support it due to the idol filter.

...There are actually quite a few people who don't like it, and the reasons are mostly the same. Aside from those who simply dislike the song because they find it unpleasant to listen to, the biggest problem is that boy bands singing ballads have an inherent disadvantage. Many people won't even click on it just by looking at the genre and the singer's name.

The last comment truly reflects the situation of "Spring Day" from its release to now.

Although the promotion and review aspects were well done, with a large number of fans working hard, both sound sources of 《x》's two songs had a good explosion, topping the real-time charts. However, on the daily chart side, there has been no further progress. The title song "Spring Day" fluctuated between second and fifth place since its release, which was quite unstable, while the first place on the daily chart remained occupied by 《oulyyou》.

Actually, being able to achieve such a high ranking is already a result of EXO's high popularity, large fan base and their dedicated efforts in charting. If it were any other second-tier male group, using a ballad as the title track would likely not even get them into the top 50; being able to enter the top 50 would already be considered good results for a group with a considerable fanbase.

However, this is only the sound source of the first day. Excellent lyrical songs generally have a strong aftertaste. How exactly it will be depends on whether the later "Spring Day" can ferment its reputation and be heard by more people.

They are actually very concerned about the results of the first day, and being able to get into the top 10 is already very satisfying for them. Being in the top five on the daily chart is also great.

Excluding most ordinary boy groups besides Big Bang, if they achieved this first-day sound source result, their company wouldn't know how happy they would be. Fans could even directly hang up big banners to celebrate.

For EXO, who made a comeback last month and are still enjoying immense popularity, it was a bit disappointing that their title track during the first two days of their comeback was overshadowed on the music charts by "Only You," the main song from ISSA, a group with a significantly smaller fanbase.

I just hope that in the next few days, more passersby will hear this song and spread word of mouth. Let's see if the sound source of "Spring Day" can pick up some momentum and maybe even climb the charts again.

Let's try to change the minds of some casual listeners who have preconceived notions about boy bands.

At 10 am, a web drama investment launch event for "My Neighbor Is EXO" was held. Although many members didn't actually appear in the drama, all of EXO attended. However, the protagonists of the event were still Park Chan-yeol and the four male leads, along with the female lead, Wen Jia-ying. Other members, including Ji-yeong, seemed to be there as supporting roles.

He didn't know what the other members thought, probably some envy towards the few who had transformed into actors and taken on leading roles. However, Park Kyung-won himself seemed happy and carefree, smiling broadly and clapping along as everyone else answered the reporters' questions.

Since the only member whose popularity was comparable to Park Chanyeol's, Han, left the group, EXO's popularity distribution became somewhat subtle. To alleviate the situation where Park Chanyeol was the only one shining brightly, ** also began intentionally and actively promoting new members with high popularity.

The most obvious examples are Park Chan-wook, B.A.P's Yongguk and EXO's D.O..

Park Chan-wook's recent personal schedule has increased significantly. Besides taking on the lead role in this web drama, he also starred in his first film, "The Longevity Guild," recently. His company clearly seems to be pushing him towards an acting career, and he has also taken on several individual variety shows. His momentum is very noticeable.

Do Kyung-soo is also being pushed by the company in the acting area. After successfully starring in his first television drama last year, he quickly starred in the plot film "Cart" and sang the OST.

While Bian Cheng's relationship exposure last year caused many fans to angrily abandon him, leading to a significant drop in his popularity that nearly landed him at the bottom, with time passing and after last month's successful "e" project, his popularity has surprisingly sprung back to life. The company has also begun to pour more resources into him.

Actually, Ji-won can understand. Bin Heon is naturally handsome. Although his eyes are small when he's not wearing makeup, his makeup has high plasticity. He can digest many different styles well. Moreover, his personality is quite lively, making him a member who is easier to gain fans in the group.

Actually, thinking about it carefully, it's not easy either. They've always been a bit troubled and dissatisfied with Chi Jingyuan's overwhelming popularity, but because of his special status, it's not easy to control the situation. All they can do is try their best to improve the other members to balance out the group. It's quite a lot of effort.

Just as discussions about "Spring Day" were heating up online and the web drama launch conference was about to take place, another explosive news broke out in the music industry.

YG company officially announced on the official SNS account of its return plan for its boy group BIGBANG.

Against a dark backdrop shrouded in smoke, the characters of BIGBANG appear at the top of the poster. Below them, five dates are arranged vertically.

This is BIGBANG's first comeback in two years and ten months as a full group. Given their popularity and fanbase on the peninsula, the news immediately caused a huge stir and buzz upon its release, diverting attention away from discussions of EXO's return among fans.

"Wow wow wow wow wow finally finally!!!!!!!! ah really wow wow wow wow!"

"Come out, come out! What's so exciting about May 1st kkkk I can't wait at all!"

"Big Bang is back!"

Their fans VIPs are going crazy in the comments section of their official account, expressing their excitement. God knows how excited they are to finally see their idol's comeback after waiting for so long. Big Bang also has a great reputation for sound sources and musical quality, which makes many passersby equally expectant.

And just as many people were surprised, wondering what the row of dates meant, it seemed that YG's official account was also worried that fans wouldn't understand. They immediately posted another blog post explaining BIGBANG's comeback model. Just like EXO, they will be returning in four months, releasing a sound source and V on the 1st of each month with a single album. This will continue for four months, with a compilation of the four singles becoming a regular third album in the fifth month.

However, EXO is 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 months, while Big Bang is 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

This explanation immediately caused an uproar because the identical return mode made a large number of EXO fans angry and dissatisfied, flooding YG's official accounts. They immediately clashed with BIGBANG's fans.

The issue of slow updates in new chapters has finally been resolved on apps that support source switching. Download huanyuanapp (source switching app) here and check for the latest chapters of this book on multiple websites.

"Steal"

First and foremost, it is Ali's questioning of YG and Big Bang's plagiarism and imitation of EXO's comeback concept.

After all, this monthly release model is quite rare. Normally, you wouldn't see one every few years, let alone two top groups in the same year returning with identical comeback styles, and even having their comeback periods overlap for half the time.

“Seeing those people claiming it's a copycat situation, I can't help but laugh. During Bigbang's year-end performance last year, GD already said, 'This year we have big plans, we'll be coming back with a new album, a new tour, and great music and stage for everyone.' He clearly hinted that this comeback was planned way back then. Saying it's plagiarism is like saying EXO copied us.”

“Steal”

"Don't you have any insight This kind of pattern has already been used in the US, it wasn't created by EXO. It's just that the announcement came a few days earlier. Do you really think it belongs to you exclusively"

"Steal"

"Just an ordinary passerby, EXO was only really popular around 2013-2014. After members started leaving last year, they've already flopped. In terms of fame and level, they're clearly not on the same level as Big Bang. The comeback style doesn't matter that much, it mainly comes down to the people and the music."

"Steal"

"Damn it, you **ing bastard! I'll rip you to shreds, you little **s. Do you even know how to respect your elders"

“Understand this, the male idol group’s comeback this time is focused on emotional lyrics. They look like they're going to flop hard. Their daily chart ranking is being crushed by female groups and can't get any higher. The real-time chart isn't stable either, and their sales and popularity have dropped significantly compared to March. They can only come here to piggyback on our popularity.”

"Saying that, this kind of music only our BIGBANG can sing for people to listen. A pure idol group chooses a ballad as their main song, not having a bit of self-awareness."

"That's right, who made my house yuan Oppa write the song"

"They've fallen from grace, they're practically a joke now. Feel sorry for them."

I announce that from now on, bigbang will be renamed Stealing Group!

"No way, I thought Big Bang had disbanded when I saw this news. A group that hasn't come back in almost three years, they're really spoiling their fans! Alice is truly envious! (laughing) But they must be busy with something else, right After all, it's company culture."

"I think he's speeding. Didn't there just be news about Jiang Dacheng getting a new car the other day"

"Indeed, after two years away, the group is still full, which is really disappointing. It's not as good as Planet Group, whose sub-unit disbanded after only two years of debut! (winking) Speaking of XO, how many members are there now"

I heard that now XO's fans count the number of people in their videos first every time they watch them

"That's right, it's not as good as looking up today's legal news every morning first thing before you even have your breakfast, just in case a familiar name pops up. (Smiling)"

“…………”

Peninsula Asteroid

First released by the繁體小說網being ostracized now.After skimming through online comments and fan reactions, Ji Jingyuan returned to the company in a gloomy mood. He directly took the elevator upstairs and walked into the conferen...