Chapter 45: I Want to Be Royalty Too

re of their idols on set, so they always make it very clear to idols joining a production that they need to be cautious and respectful. While maintaining politeness is definitely right, not everyone r...As the last of the nine EXO members stood up from their stools, holding up thumbs in their signature gesture for the camera and then bowing together, the signal cut off, ending the live stream.

The entire three-year anniversary live stream was close to two hours long, which was already quite a while. But at this time, many people in front of their computers saw the black screen and couldn't help but smack their lips, feeling a sense of unfinished business in their hearts.

Although the members and Ji-Seung said a lot of interesting private secrets after they went to the back, I still feel like I haven't heard enough.

“‘weareone’ hee hee…” After watching the livestream, Lim Na Yeon also mimicked how XOD ended just now, giving a thumbs up to Yu Ding Yan beside her. Originally, she was imitating the serious expression very well, but right after shouting the slogan, she broke character, showing her front teeth and smiling.

"This time EXO's third anniversary event with a live stream was quite creative, the content was pretty good-looking too, much more interesting than that boy band anniversary event we watched before."

"After performing several acts, it was just full of emotional manipulation and boring."

Yu Dingyan also smiled and gave a thumbs up, then imitated it. The two friends teased each other for a while before remembering the content they had just seen and couldn't help but comment: "I don't know what was said in the middle, but the beginning, Chi Jingyuan's talk about the album production anecdotes, and the last part about xo's debut behind the scenes are really interesting."

"That's right, uh~~~~~, it's amazing that the most popular member of EXO just joined the group right before filming started."

After stretching contentedly, Lim Na-yeon couldn't help but bring up the topic again: “The things we shot before, and the choreography and movements aren't going to be rehearsed, are they And the parts also have to be reassigned Ugh, debuting just two months after joining the company is truly enviable.”

"Being able to directly contact the company for an interview and even get a spot in EXO, his family must be extraordinary. My older sister mentioned something about it before."

Didn't I tell you last time, the behind-the-scenes actor competition before the filming of "The Heirs" ...

Yu Dingyan also nodded in acknowledgement, then suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Zhou Tzuyu who was still sitting cross-legged across from him, staring at her phone and seemingly engrossed in something. He took the initiative to ask, "Ziyuyu, I heard you know Yuan, do you know anything about this"

"Oh, huh"

Chou Tzu-yu was stunned when she heard herself being called out. She looked up at the two people, her expression blankly questioning as if she hadn't understood what they were saying.

"I heard you're not acquainted with yuan. Do you know what his family does"

Yu Dingyan repeated it again, and when he heard the question, Lin Nayeon, Mina, and a few others beside him couldn't help but look curiously over.

It's actually quite impressive to have met and befriended idols during the trainee period, especially if that idol is now a top-tier popular artist in the K-pop scene. While Zhou Tzuyu herself doesn't talk about it much, several of her friends who have met Ji Changwook before occasionally get excited and bring it up in conversations. So, news of Zhou Tzuyu and Ji Changwook knowing each other isn't exactly a secret among many people.

However, most trainees basically think that the relationship between the two people is probably not very good, and they only coincidentally met each other by chance. Those boasts about specially sending tickets are easily seen as mutual bragging and showing off among girls. In reality, there aren't many who truly believe it.

"...I, either, don't know."

Chou Tzu-yu didn't really want to talk about how she knew Ji Jingyuan in front of other people. She pretended not to understand at first just to avoid answering, but when the other person repeated it, she saw that she couldn't escape. She could only shake her head with a somewhat dazed expression and answer in hesitant Korean, word by word.

Those wide, bulging eyes stared blankly ahead. If its head tilted just a little further, it would look almost exactly like a Ducklett.

"Never mind."

Seeing her like this, Yu Dingyan waved his hand and didn't ask any further. He was pulled up by Lin Nayeon and prepared to go have a meal together. She stood there and stretched, saying at the same time: "Just now when I was watching the live broadcast, the comments were constantly scrolling, and they were particularly fast. It seems that many people watched this live broadcast this time, and it is estimated that it will become a hot topic."

"I agree."

What they said makes sense, this time EXO's third-anniversary live stream still attracted a lot of attention. Besides the fans who have been looking forward to it for a long time, there are also many passersby who watched it. Below the live broadcast preview released by the official account on the 6th before the live broadcast began, countless peers were amazed in just two days.

Actually, it's very common for idol groups on the peninsula to hold anniversary events like this. After all, there are a lot of debuting groups, and fans love watching these kinds of events, which also help retain fans. So, every few days, you might see news about a group celebrating its anniversary after a few years of debut.

However, this kind of activity is basically only followed by fans from their own group. It's all about keeping the doors closed and entertaining themselves within their own circle. Fans from other groups and passersby wouldn't be interested at all. What's more, EXO's live stream was able to garner attention beyond its fan base thanks to their popularity over the past two years and the extremely high heat they've generated in the last two months.

And some of the topics revealed during the broadcast quickly became hot topics for fan discussion after it ended, and even trended on social media for a period in the evening.

"The monthly comeback pattern was yuan's idea He's so young and already has such a big say in the group's comebacks Are you guys this optimistic about him It's really surprising."

"Ahhh, Oppa is truly amazing. To be able to become the producer of his own group in just three years of debuting, and for a team like EXO, that's incredible! Not to mention his popularity, this level of skill and talent places him at the top among third-generation male idols. I don't think any other male idol can compare."

"It's really funny. This pattern has already existed in the American music scene for ages, and it sounds like Ji-won came up with it himself. Besides, Bigbang already hinted at it before them. Just admit to plagiarism if you did it, there's nothing to be ashamed of. As for what comes next, can fans cool down GD actually heard this and almost died laughing."

"The 'stealing fans' thing is coming up again, it's truly speechless. Every time there's a topic about XO, you guys just can't help but jump in... You were told it's a third-generation boy group, how old is your GD this year Over forty What connection do Maylong and the 'stealing group' have anyway They wouldn't be where they are today without Teddy, so bow down to him a few times."

Even though they haven't actually met in person, Alice and the two families have already become sworn enemies. Now, if any topic related to one side appears online, whether good or bad, the other side will be there instantly and start a fight over nothing. This scene has become a common sight in the recent entertainment section of the music industry's discussion forum.

This livestream's main focus, besides the behind-the-scenes info about the album production revealed earlier, was Ji Chang Wook's revelations about his personal experiences at the end.

Especially his experiences joining S and EXO were revealed for the first time, and this firsthand account from him has a very high degree of authenticity. This made fans even more surprised and excited.

and at the same time further proved a guess and nickname about Chi Jingyuan that was circulating for a while before.

“Now no one can deny the title 'royalty', right Joining s two months before debut, judging by the time frame, EXO's debut group was basically set in 2011. 池景源 directly entered the company and debuted immediately, he didn't even have a day as a trainee if you're being strict.”

"The royal family, without a doubt. You hear him speak so lightly about 'contacting s, jyp, and yg for auditions', but hey, is this something an ordinary family could do The normal process for these three companies to recruit trainees is through holding auditions where they select trainees with a ratio of hundreds or even thousands to one. Ji-yeong can just have individual auditions whenever he wants, and he's directly contacted all three major entertainment companies. This isn't something that can be achieved by ordinary connections…."

And that photo, I even looked up the school uniform in it. The blue suit and the emblem on his clothes - it's a very well-known high-end private school. I won't mention the tuition fees or admission standards, but those who can attend are either rich or extremely well-connected. Combined with Li Xiuman's attitude towards him, you think for yourself.

“Some information has already been revealed, and the members have occasionally mentioned it on the show. Didn't everyone already know that Yuan came from a wealthy family Why does it sound like they're just hearing about it now Besides, although debuting through an "airdrop" sounds surprising, it's actually quite common. EXO has more than one member who debuted this way, like Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Their training periods were less than a year, so Yuan's two months isn't that different. Even SJ's Ryeowook, Apink's Jung Eunji, and Girls' Day's Yura debuted this way. Some even trained for shorter periods than Yuan.”

After watching it, what surprised me the most was that they let him join EXO when filming for their debut MV had already started. I have to say that Lee Soo-man and ** were really amazing to make such a decision at that time. We've seen EXO's journey through thick and thin, and I can only say that without Xiumin, EXO definitely wouldn't be at the height they are today.

Indeed, one of the smartest and most correct decisions Lee Soo Man has made in recent years was to add Yuan to EXO at the last minute as the twelfth member.

There's been a lot of discussion surrounding Ji Changwook's royal family background. Both diners and passersby are buzzing with excitement about the topic, and many "evidence-hunters" have taken to online forums, analyzing past EXO program dialogue and details like Ji Changwook's clothing from years ago to uncover the truth about his actual family background. This has attracted a lot of attention and onlookers.

The peninsula itself is a nation that harbors both hatred and reverence for wealth. After some revelations about Ji Jingyuan's affairs came to light, not only did his overall reputation remain unaffected, but it even subtly rose in stature. This inadvertently led fans to feel a sense of pride associated with him.

And actually, “royal family” isn't necessarily a derogatory term in the minds of many. On the contrary, it's an adjective that many other idol fans envy because it signifies having a background and abundant resources.

In the fans' perception, having a background means being protected from bullying and unspoken rules that can't be brought to light. That's why every fan base secretly wishes their idol were also a member of royalty.

Only those who have a lot of resources, to the extent that they occupy or even steal the schedules and resources of other members in a group, but whose popularity never goes up, will have "royalty" become a derogatory term used for ridicule.

Someone like Ji Jingyuan is so popular within the team, they haven't even had time to be envious.

However, what was unexpected was that after the live broadcast, Lee Soo-man's reputation among fans unexpectedly rose considerably. Many people online expressed admiration for his decision to have Park Ji-ung join EXO.

I wonder what expression he'll have after he arrives.

…………

"Today's final result, first of all is the source sales score: "Kasuga" 4082 against "onlyyou" 5000."

"Album sales score, EXO 1000 against ISSA 9."

Rating scores, "Chunhua" exo763 for "onlyyou" issa980.

"Social media score, exo1000 against issa575."

"Live score exo1000 against issa640."

"After adding the live **S votes, the final score was 8745 to 7251. Today's winner is EXO, with "Spring Day", Caramella!"

As the MC of , Kim Gihwan loudly announced, and under a ribbon, handed the trophy to Kim Jun Mien, the winner for this episode of has been decided.

Members like Park Chan-yeol and Kim Jong-dae hurriedly made some goofy gestures to celebrate the win amidst fans' cheers. Meanwhile, Ji-sung just stood there clapping with a smile on his face, but inside he was more composed.

After all, it's something I already thought of.

Although this comeback was very successful, with the main song's audio source data being phenomenal. Because of Suzy Bae's presence, the group's national popularity is also higher, and all aspects of the data are very good.

However, their sales were a huge disadvantage, making it difficult for them to compete with EXO on music shows, especially when EXO's title track "Spring Day" didn't flop and was only slightly weaker than theirs.

The scoring rules for 《！》 are simple. Scores are divided into different categories, and the top performer in each category receives full marks. The remaining candidates then receive scores based on the percentage of the top scorer's performance they achieved.

The sound source full score is 5000, the strongest player, Issa, got a full score, but "Harukaze" also got over 4000 and wasn't much weaker.

...but the sales figures were particularly striking, with EXO scoring a perfect 1000 while ISSA only managed a meager 9.

The contrast between sales of over half a million and sales of just over five thousand is really too glaring.

Such a stark contrast in the data is truly disheartening. Even fans feel demoralized.

To be honest, it's better to just give a zero score directly. That way, uninformed viewers will think you haven't released a physical album, and that could save some face.

While the members of EXO over there are happily celebrating, Pool Jungwon glanced at them from afar. Although the four members of I-Ssa also squeezed out smiles and applauded to celebrate, he felt that their smiles were a little stiff, and they weren't actually happy inside.

Knowing that this comeback would coincide with EXO's return, both I-SA and JYP had already anticipated that the heat from this release might be overshadowed significantly. It is estimated they will also be heavily suppressed throughout music shows.

However, because the title track's audio source unexpectedly became a hit, the extremely high evaluations and popularity naturally gave their members some other expectations. They were hoping to use excellent audio data to achieve several number-one rankings as proof of this comeback's success.

But today was actually the best chance, because the sales of 《!》 only reached a full score of 1000, which didn't allow EXO to fully utilize their greatest advantage.

But today I still haven't beaten it.

Tomorrow's Music Bank is even less likely. The nickname "Sales Bank" isn't given for nothing, this show's sales ratio is incredibly high. xo girl groups often appear with a higher sales score than competitors who are also vying for first place, they simply can't beat EXO in this regard.

But now, as the sound source of "Spring Day" is growing in popularity at an astonishing rate, there's even less hope for anything later on.

After more than a year of careful preparation, their comeback is finally here. However, with the digital release being successful, there's a possibility they won't even be able to perform on any music shows. They really don't know what to say about this situation.

I can only say that the time chosen for this return was not very suitable.

Or, it was originally a good fit, but when EXO also chose this time to make a comeback, it became unsuitable.

Ji-yeong turned and thanked the other idols, standing with them as the five Red Velvet members smiled and watched. Looking at Kim Yeorin who was jumping up and down excitedly, seeming to have just won the Ryder Cup, he found it amusing and nodded before starting the encore stage.

This week EXO and I-SA started their promotions, and Lay's Bebe naturally dropped out of the candidate lineup.

They did not beat their opponent, ftd, on last week's Inkigayo, resulting in only six members returning this time around.

But for them, this is already a very good result.

As expected, EXO won another trophy on the 10th and 11th days of music shows thanks to their strong album sales and fan votes. Although their chart performance has been steadily rising, the growth has slowed down. "Only You" still holds the first place on both daily and weekly charts.

This situation didn't see a noticeable change until after the broadcast of this week's episode of "Lee Hee-ri's Sketchbook" at night on November 11th.

…………

At twelve o'clock in the morning, Yin Shigui switched the TV channel to KBS2TV, ready to watch "Lee Hee-rae's Sketchbook" which was about to air.

He is a loyal viewer of this program, having watched it almost every week since the previous year. Even if something unexpected comes up and he misses an episode, he will catch it on replay or online later.

Although Yin Shigui is not yet thirty years old, he is not very interested in intense pop dance music. Instead, he prefers passionate and heartwarming ballads that are easy to be moved by. He doesn't follow boy bands or girl groups either; he only likes solo artists and niche singers with outstanding singing skills.

What he liked best about the show was its excellent sound effects and the frequent appearance of high-quality stages.

Occasionally, when he sees a great live performance, he will go on YouTube to repeatedly watch clips of the stage and download the sound source while also recommending it to his friends. He can be considered a very loyal fan.

My interest today isn't very high because I saw the preview earlier and knew that the guest on this episode is EXO, a very popular boy group in the past two years.

Yin Shigui doesn't pay attention to K-pop idols, but he still frequently hears their names, especially one named Ji Chang Wook. Every time he goes shopping with his girlfriend at the nearby mall, he sees several large promotional banners hanging inside. Many counters also have his standing advertisements, including clothing brands, food brands, and even any LG store you can imagine. It's really impossible not to know him.

I just know them, but they're not really interesting, and I've never listened to their music.

After finding out that EXO was the guest today, Yoon Shi-kye originally wasn't interested in watching. He just habitually turned on the TV and switched channels at the scheduled time. After thinking about it for a while, he decided to give it a try and see what the level of this famous boy group was all about.

After the commercials, the program officially began. Yoo Hee-yeol casually said a few words, explained today's guest EXO, and then started the first stage of the day, "Growl".

Of course Yin Shigui has heard this song. Back in 2013, it was playing everywhere on the streets and alleys. He also admitted that the melody is indeed catchy and well-liked. At the time, he didn't pay much attention to it, but when he saw it now, he realized it. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be an EXO song.

I heard this group's singing and dancing live is pretty solid

Originally, The Untamed was also played by Chi Chengyuan

After patiently watching the rest of the interview, Yin Shigui felt a spark of interest in his heart. He thought this boy band was actually quite interesting.

After a brief chat segment, the next stage began. Yoon Shi-kye sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, watching the nine EXO members sitting quietly on high stools on the stage.

After a moment of brewing, the sounds of the piano and bass intertwined, and then the prelude to "Spring Day" suddenly rang out.

As the melody reached his ears, Yin Shigui froze. His legs, which had been swaying idly, suddenly stopped as if struck by electricity.

Peninsula Asteroid

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