Chapter 144
From that point on, I continuously appealed to CEO Hong about the schedule direction needed for the members.
The most important thing was to instill the image that Yeon Juhong took ‘great photos.’
I told her that it was crucial to show that she could stand out in print advertisements.
It was essential to establish a ‘celebrity’ image through her activities in photoshoots.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
Could you arrange as many photoshoots as possible for Juhong’s individual activities?
At first, CEO Hong was puzzled.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
Why?
I’ll try, but… Juhong isn’t the most recognized member of the team.
Why don’t you do it instead?
Or push Bo-ra.
She have good looks too.
I’ll do it if needed, but Juhong is the best fit.
Why? Because it’s a field she’s interested in and excels at.
Ryu Bo-ra and I… we were more comfortable wearing whatever we were told to wear.
Creating trends was Juhong’s specialty.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
If there’s a fashion event, please push Juhong for it.
However, not as an individual but in groups of 2-3 members.
She needs to blend in naturally, like leaving an impression with her presence.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
I understand what you mean.
It would be good to have a meeting with the marketing team.
Yes. If you arrange it, I will present the vision.
This was the era when idols were just starting to become luxury brand ambassadors.
Thus, it was even more important.
Even just before I returned, most luxury brands were hiring idols.
We need to jump in while it’s still a blue ocean.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
Trust me.
I assure you Juhong will do the best.
I sensed it from watching Yeon Juhong’s content.
She wasn’t just a top celebrity image in her past life for no reason.
First of all, her face was incredibly striking.
If Ryu Bo-ra was a classic beauty that worked in any era,
Yeon Juhong was exactly the type of beauty strongly desired in this era.
“You need to establish the broad framework of your image now.”
“!”
Yeon Juhong looked slightly surprised but seemed to understand quickly.
“We need to brand our group Cheong cheong, so we’re starting by branding each individual. Right? And since I’m the most proactive in beauty and fashion content, we’re starting with my image.”
I liked that she understood well.
“Exactly.”
“I’ll create a portfolio! I’m confident I can do it well!”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Can I make portfolios for the other members too?!”
“Of course, that would be great. Work on it together with the members.”
“Yes!”
Yeon Juhong seemed already excited to do what she loved.
When contacting brands, I planned to reach out to the ones that used Juhong in her past life.
Brands that succeeded once can succeed again.
What’s the biggest advantage of girl idols?
Although the ‘core’ might be weaker compared to boy idols,
their ‘mass appeal’ was much stronger.
Initially, female models had a much stronger presence in fashion and beauty.
“Everyone.”
“Yes?”
I called Yeon Juhong and the other members.
This was something the members had to be involved in too.
I explained my thoughts to the members in as much detail as possible.
The strategies we would use to take the next ‘step’ forward.
At first, the members were puzzled, but eventually, they all understood.
—
“I understand what you mean. You want to create each of our ‘roles’ and ‘images,’ and ultimately build the group’s image.”
“Yes. But we’ll adjust so that no one stands out too much. Everyone will shine while maintaining the group’s overall image.”
“I think it’s a good idea. I agree.”
They all agreed to develop their individual strengths.
They realized that if ‘I’ do well, the ‘group’ will also do well.
“From now on, you’ll use Stargram very actively.”
We needed to turn those who weren’t serious about selfies into selfie experts.
In my past life, SNS also played an important role.
But until now, we primarily used Chirpy for SNS.
We focused more on ‘communication’ rather than ‘photos.’
But now it was time to utilize ‘photos.’
It was time to build our image.
But… not personal SNS yet.
Since it hadn’t been long since our debut, having an impression that individual SNS activities were too prominent could be risky.
We needed to upload many photos on the group SNS, fairly among everyone.
“From today, we need to take photos and videos as naturally as breathing. But we’ll upload them only after a discussion.”
To the extent that it didn’t feel like image consumption.
We need to have ‘different’ individuality within the ‘same’ concept.
That’s how we contribute to the team’s personality.
So what should I do?
What part of my individuality could contribute to the team?
***
★
Oh, Cheongcheong is on <1 Minute Random Play> today.
└?? Is it just Sol, not the whole group?!
└└Yeah, she seems to be on because Dear My Diva hit big recently.
Huh, it’s rare for an idol to appear alone there, isn’t it?
└No, Cha Yul was on recently.
└└But… Cha Yul… has too strong an image as a vocal powerhouse to be considered just an idol.
Oh, Sol isn’t the only one on <1 Minute Random Play> today; there are two more idols appearing with her.
└That makes sense, lol.
It’s a pop song special today.
└..? This feels like it could be a mess.
It’s basically a top idol special.
(Photo)
The main vocalists from groups that appeared on Top Idol are appearing.
└Oh, Sugar Dream, MaxBurning, Steel Blue… understandable combination.
└└Top Idol is getting huge overseas now, and MaxBurning is carrying them.
└└└True, Top Idol’s overseas response is amazing these days.
How Rare It Is to Have a Special Episode Featuring Girl Group Main Vocalists… Give Us More
Oh, so the reason for the pop song special is because Top Idol is blowing up overseas. I thought it was such a random special.
Am I the only one nervous..? I don’t think I’ve ever heard Yunlup sing a pop song.
Ah, what if her English pronunciation gets exposed and she gets criticized.. Why does she keep standing out when she could just stay in the middle?
Why I’m Anxious About Today’s <1 Minute Random Play>
Today’s a pop song special.
Sugar Dream’s main vocalist Tish: From the U.S.
MaxBurning’s main vocalist Rina: Studied in the U.S. for 3 years.
Steel Blue’s Yoon Cheong: Has never been outside Korea.
A great silence party is already reserved.
? Why do Koreans have to have perfect English pronunciation? They just need to sing well;
└ Pronunciation aside.. I doubt they even know any songs;
└└ Are you some great listener? Is there anyone in Korea who doesn’t know at least one pop song?
└└└ Well, the songs are played randomly, so it’s natural to be curious. If she doesn’t know them, it would be embarrassing, right?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
You’d think Steel Blue doesn’t have any songs with English lyrics.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Yunbl can handle the basics.
Yoon Cheong said she can speak four languages on Steel Blue’s reality show. Stop pretending you know nothing.
Sorry, but if she wasn’t confident, she wouldn’t have come out. You’re worrying for nothing.
If she’s such a pop expert, she would have sung a cover video at least once. Isn’t it because she wasn’t confident that she didn’t?
Blue Duck anxiously and expectantly waited for the YouTube video upload while watching the real-time SNS reactions.
<1 Minute Random Play> wasn’t just a place for K-POP fans, but over 70% of the attendees were casual music lovers.
Idols often appeared as a group, but they rarely received very positive reactions.
Why?
Because on <1 Minute Random Play>, songs were played literally ‘randomly.’
If they knew the song being played, they could press the ‘play’ button and sing it.
If they didn’t know the song, they had to press the ‘skip’ button and move to the next song.
Of course, most of the songs played were very famous, so there weren’t many opportunities to press the skip button.
However, occasionally, if a very difficult song came up, even if they seemed to know it, they might press the ‘skip’ button.
If they did it too obviously, they would get criticized.
…No, most of the time, they got heavily criticized.
By the way, has our Cheong ever sung a pop song…?
Blue Duck couldn’t remember despite trying hard, which made them a bit anxious.
As they waited with growing unease, the long-awaited <1 Minute Random Play> was uploaded.
[Tish: Hello~ I’m Tish, the sweet main vocalist of Sugar Dream!]
[Rina: Hello. I’m Rina, the fiery main vocalist of MaxBurning.]
They all introduced themselves with personality.
What would Cheong say?
[Yoon Cheong: Hello! I’m Yoon Cheong, the tweeting main vocalist of Steel Blue.]
!!!!!
Expressing herself as a rookie main vocalist like this…! This…!
Blue Duck quietly adjusted their posture.
Our girl is putting in so much effort, how could I just lie down and watch this? I need to watch this with reverence.
Subtitle: If you think you know the song, press the ‘play’ button.
Subtitle: The mic light will turn on for the person who presses the ‘play’ button first.
Subtitle: Then, sing the song!
Since there were three people today, it was in a competitive format.
This was really a minefield.
Steel Blue was the youngest here.
Also, an incredibly young member.
There could be criticism about taking opportunities from their seniors-
[Tish: Cheong, come to the center. The center.]
[Rina: Right. If we don’t know the song, Cheong said she’d save us.]
!
No way… or is it?
When did she become so friendly with the seniors?
Don’t become close with everyone except me…!
I want to see it too… girl group friendships….
Subtitle: Now, it begins.
Subtitle: The <1 Minute Random Play> that will go down in history.
Legendary?
Blue Duck listened attentively with a slightly excited heart.
And that reverence turned into happiness over the next 20 minutes.