Chapter 553 Girl Group
December 2008, 12, rehearsal scene of LeTV New Year’s Eve Gala.
In this era when television stations still occupy a mainstream position, the New Year's Eve parties held by online video companies always make people feel a bit inappropriate and imitative.
Especially for LeTV, this is the first time.
Let alone first-tier celebrities, LeTV couldn’t even invite a few second-tier celebrities with bigger names. However, it did get quite a few internet celebrities discovered by major websites.
Although these internet celebrities each have their own unique skills, they always give people the feeling that their methods are unconventional and not presentable.
It is for this reason that LeTV pays special attention to Korean pop groups. Firstly, after two and a half years of training, LeTV has gathered a large number of Korean pop fans; secondly, in terms of professional quality, Korean idol groups also have certain advantages.
Of course, the gimmick of selling meat is also indispensable.
As a result, the chattering and jargon-filled language gradually dominated the rehearsal scene, and even the Korean translator who was invited to the event started to act in an arrogant manner.
This made LeTV's staff somewhat uncomfortable, but there was nothing they could do since they were the ones who were expected to take the lead in the New Year's Eve Gala.
But on this morning, two staff members, one tall and one fat, were distributing high-temperature disinfected towels to each room. Suddenly, they heard a uniform but strangely accented Mandarin coming from the SM lounge:
"Hello, please give me your guidance!"
"Very good, do it again."
"Hello, please give me your guidance!"
"do it again."
"Hello, please..."
The two staff members looked curiously and found that it was Han Geng, the Chinese member of SJ, who was leading all the SM members to practice greeting in Chinese.
There were also four other women who were patrolling the team, picking out faults from some of the men from time to time.
"Is that Tian Shang Zhi Xi who sang "Chinese"?"
The fat man turned around and muttered quietly, "After all, he has been on the Spring Festival Gala. He is better than others...well, he knows more about adapting to local customs than other Korean stars."
The tall guy nodded silently, and his favorable impression of SM increased a lot.
As a result, they delivered towels to SM, but when they went to the next company, they found that artists from two other Korean entertainment companies had also started learning Mandarin.
Moreover, the girl groups of these two companies are dressed cooler than each other, to the extent that they even show off their bear parts when bowing and saying hello.
The two staff members were confused and thought it was a new rule issued by the director team that required these Koreans to greet the audience in Mandarin when they went on stage.
After handing out the towels, I listened and found out that the famous director Xu Kun would be present at the rehearsal today.
This is not surprising. As the man who officially introduced Korean idol groups to the country and pushed them onto the Spring Festival Gala stage, Director Xu is extremely famous in the Korean entertainment industry. Countless idol artists dream of becoming the pioneer of a popular second-generation girl group like Chun Shang Jixi.
After he created a box office legend this year, Koreans have become even more eager to visit him.
In the hierarchical Korean entertainment industry, film directors are always at the top, not to mention someone like Xu Kun whose box office is enough to crush the entire Korean director industry.
However, after half an hour of intensive language training, the various groups under SM consciously separated themselves, except for Han Geng who chose to be alone and was not very sociable.
The members of SJ were not surprised by this. As SJ started to prosper in Korea and China, the constraints Han Geng faced as a foreigner became increasingly prominent.
In addition, the Chinese entertainment industry has been booming recently, with even a local movie that has grossed over $100 million. Naturally, Han Geng's desire to return to China for development has grown.
But precisely because of his identity, SJ boy band's revenue in China is second only to Chun Sang Ji-hee. How could SM company give up this goose that lays golden eggs?
As time went on, the conflict between Han Geng and the company became public, and he also developed a rift with the other members of SJ. Some members, instigated by their agents, accused Han Geng of being too selfish, only thinking about himself and completely disregarding the interests of the group.
Girls' Generation's Hwang Mi-young [Tiffany] saw this and whispered to Jessica [Jessica] next to her, "Do you think Han Geng will shout for help from Director Seo when he sees him?"
Jessica rolled her eyes: "There are billion people in China. I'm afraid his relationship with Director Xu may not be comparable to the relationship between the company and Director Xu."
Seeing that Huang Miying was about to refute, Zheng Xiuyan said first: "You should pay more attention to yourself. I heard that the next generation of girl group is already being selected."
Huang Meiying fell silent.
The Girls' Generation in this time and space has also experienced two Black Sea incidents, but their situation is even more embarrassing than that in the original time and space.
Because the original Sky Ji-hee has completely forgotten about the world, SM Entertainment naturally gave a lot of support to Girls' Generation in order to avoid continuous failures.
But in this time and space, Tian Shang Zhixi became very popular. The song "Chinese Language" became popular in China and South Korea, and has become a benchmark for the second generation of Korean girl groups.
Under such circumstances, SM's support for Girls' Generation was naturally discounted, putting more pressure on the nine girls.
Over the past six months, everyone has basically been forcing themselves to smile. Only Huang Miying, who grew up in the United States, and Kim Hyoyeon, who has a carefree personality, are better off.
Speaking of Kim Hyoyeon, she also came close to Lin Yuner and whispered in her ear: "Do you think Director Xu still remembers us?"
"Hard to say."
Lin Yoona was in a low mood. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was fooled by her predecessors, because since then, she and Kim Hyoyeon have never met Director Xu again.
Now, the Wonder Girls and KARA next door are eager to replicate the old path of Chun Sang Ji Hee. On the contrary, their younger generations in SM are afraid to even wear revealing clothes because of the existence of Chun Sang Ji Hee.
Seeing Lin Yuner's look, Jin Xiaoyuan was eager to try again: "How about we go directly to Director Xu for help? Even if he can't remember us, he should remember what happened that night."
"Is this...appropriate?"
"Or else?"
Kim Hyo-yeon's voice suddenly got louder: "I can't let someone take advantage of me for nothing, can I?!"
"Shh, keep your voice down!"
Lin Yoona quickly pushed Kim Hyoyeon and signaled her not to get too excited.
Kim Hyo-yeon calmed down and lowered her voice again, "You also know what happens to the eliminated girl groups. Our situation is already very dangerous now. If we don't actively think of a solution..."
She didn't finish her words, but Lin Yoona already understood the meaning of her words.
The Korean entertainment industry learned many things from Japan, and most of them are still at the follower stage. The only thing that is better than the Japanese is the pillow business.
Back then, Tian Shang Zhixi became a victim of the company's external communication and friendship, but they were lucky to meet the famous director Xu Kun. Otherwise, it is likely that they would either completely quit the circle or sink into the pillow business and be unable to extricate themselves.
Lin Yuner naturally didn't want to fall into this situation, but if she asked Director Xu Kun for help directly...
If it happens naturally, everything will be fine. As long as Xu Kun is willing to say hello to the company, the situation of Girls' Generation will be improved to a certain extent.
But what if it fails?
Will the seniors of Tian Shang Zhixi sit back and watch this kind of "overstepping the authority"? How will the company view this kind of attempt to use external forces to put pressure on the company in turn?
Seeing that Lin Yuner didn't say anything for a long time, Kim Hyoyeon turned her head away angrily and said, "Forget it, I can do it myself. Anyway, I speak Chinese the best!"
Kim Hyoyeon came to China to study Chinese. Although her grades were not very good, she was still a good example among the short ones.
Lin Yoona was hesitant to speak after hearing this. She wanted to share the responsibility with Kim Hyoyeon, but was afraid of the backlash after failure. In the end, she couldn't even say a complete sentence.
At this time, the team leader Kim Taeyeon noticed that the two looked very unhappy, so she quietly came over and said to Kim Hyoyeon and Lin Yuna: "What's going on? Are you in trouble?"
Lin Yuner was feeling ashamed of her cowardice, and couldn't help but vent her anger on the tiny captain: "It has nothing to do with you, and you can't solve it anyway!"
Faced with her bad attitude, Kim Taeyeon flinched for a moment, but soon regained her composure and said to Lin Yuner: "We are a team. I firmly believe that we can face everything together! As long as we support each other and keep going, we can definitely..."
"Isn't this what Director XI said?!"
Lin Yuna interrupted her: "Anyway, some people have already won the single song award. Even if Girls' Generation disbands, they still have the opportunity to debut as a solo artist. Of course, they can just keep repeating these nice words in a condescending manner!"
Halfway through her speech, Kim Hyoyeon turned around and wanted to interrupt her, but was stopped by Kim Taeyeon.
After Lin Yuner finished speaking, Jin Taeyeon bit her lower lip and said word by word: "Maybe you don't believe it, but I really hope that we can face it together and keep going together."
Lin Yuner heard this and subconsciously said, "Okay, now there is an opportunity..."
"Yoona!"
Kim Hyoyeon hurriedly stopped them, but Kim Taeyeon, who has always been a nitpicker, directly separated the two of them with her body and pulled Lin Yoona to signal her to continue speaking.
…………
At the same time, in the DSP company lounge next door.
"Ai Mo, what a great trend~!"
KARA's Nicole Jung was holding the information sent by the company and marveling at it, which listed all of Xu Kun's achievements since his debut, as well as his life journey from an extra to the Venice Film Festival Best Actor, from leading a TV drama crew to becoming a billion-dollar box office director.
Many of them are just hearsay and repetition from others, and coupled with the problem of translation, they are even more incredible to read.
Goo Hara, who was trying to adjust the shoulder straps to make her bear area less exposed, couldn't help but lean over and ask curiously, "You've read it several times, right? What exactly is written on it?"
"Look at this one."
Zheng Nicole immediately pointed to a paragraph of text on the document and said excitedly, "It says that Director Xu Kun was ordered to form the China Youth Directors Association. From now on, all young directors in China will be under his management. Everyone's future is in his hands, so he has almost unlimited film resources."
"real or fake?"
Gu Hara couldn't believe it: "I remember he seemed to be less than 30 years old?"
"of course it's true!"
Nicole Zheng pointed to another paragraph and said, "There's also this one. It says that he made two talent show singers the protagonists of a movie last year, and it also grossed about 88 billion won at the box office!"
Goo Hara couldn't help but widen her eyes when she heard this. Although 88 billion won was only about one-seventh of the 2008 Korean box office champion, this number seemed particularly incredible when combined with the number of singers from a talent show.
She now finally understood why the company had suddenly arranged for everyone to cram their Chinese and changed all the rehearsal costumes.
In addition to the low-cut dress, she was even given a pair of fishnet stockings.
At this time, another member Han Seung-yeon also came over and said jokingly, "I heard that this big director is very lecherous. It was because of his bed that our predecessors like Cheon Sang Ji-hee achieved their current success. Hara, you are the face of our KRAR. You must not be outdone by those guys from Girls' Generation and Wonder Girls."
Goo Hara smiled awkwardly and subconsciously adjusted her shoulder straps, but Zheng Nicole reached out and pulled them down again. She laughed and said, "This is a great opportunity. The information says that he is very generous to women, and he is completely different from those stingy guys on the Peninsula."
As they were talking, the leader of DSP suddenly walked in and shouted excitedly: "The latest news is that Director Xu Kun is here with the director of China Television for inspection - listen carefully, no one is allowed to make mistakes during today's rehearsal!"
After a pause, the leader continued, "China's Spring Festival Gala is currently being rehearsed. If... you may have a chance to become the next Tian Shang Zhi Xi!"
I don’t know if it was due to the translation, or if the LeTV staff had never heard of CNTV, so they directly imagined it as CCTV, which resulted in a misunderstanding among the Korean team leaders.
All DSP artists were excited when they heard this. Although the second group to perform on the Spring Festival Gala would certainly not have the same influence as the first one, as long as they could perform on the Spring Festival Gala, it meant that the vast Chinese market was open to them.
At that time, the company will pay more attention to you, and large domestic companies will be more willing to have you as their spokesperson - in short, there are huge benefits!
While the others were gearing up for the action, Jung Nicole and Han Seung-yeon half-seriously discussed how to disconnect Goo Hara's shoulder straps at the right moment.
…………
JYP Lounge.
The JYP leader had a very serious expression. He looked at the miniskirts in front of him and finally waved his hand helplessly and said, "Change back to your original clothes."
Wonder Girls is different from the other two girl groups. Their core target is not in Asia but in the United States, so their style is much bolder and more open than other groups.
Originally, in order to welcome Xu Kun's arrival, JYP made a bolder adjustment. The miniskirt was not covered with safety pants, but a thong with sequins.
Originally the team leader wanted to make a splash with this bold and avant-garde approach, but who knew that the director of a Chinese TV station would also come.
As we all know, Chinese television stations are relatively conservative, not to mention the national television stations.
It's difficult to have your cake and eat it too. In order to give its artists the opportunity to perform on the Spring Festival Gala and catch up with Ji Hee's footsteps, JYP had to reluctantly give up the plan to seduce Director Xu.
Of course, if you only give up openly, you must still strive for the opportunity if there is one in secret.
After the Wonder Girls changed back into their original costumes, the leader clapped his hands and said, "Okay, everyone, cheer up and get ready to perform on stage."
Because the three families came out one after another according to their seniority, when Wonder Girls came into the corridor, Girls' Generation and KRAR also came out at about the same time.
A dozen young girls wearing crystal high heels and showing their long white legs stopped at the same time when they met each other. Dozens of eyes were looking at each other. The corridor seemed to suddenly become several degrees colder, and then it seemed to be hot all of a sudden.
(End of this chapter)
