#kim seongjeong

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Episode 0: Getting to Know the Boys Part 2: Team Soul

Hey friends! Continuing my introductory posts about the guys on MNET's Build Up before I can dive into proper recaps, here's the low down on Team Soul -- their background, basic info, and my opinion on their teaser performance (and other performances). (I did Team Allround last time.) Let's go!

Same disclaimers apply -- 1) these are all excellent vocalists and I am just splitting hairs here 2) this is taking forever and screencaps with my video source are tricky, so please forgive my awkward screencaps and occasional typos. Thank you!!

Ma Jaekyung

Jaekyung is 27 and from a group called Romeo, where he was the main vocalist and performed under the name of Kyle. He also appeared on Mixnine, that blighted show that produced a group that never debuted. It was such a fiasco, ugh, and so many trainees went through hell for nothing. Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T. , Jeong Inseong from KNK, and Donghun from A.C.E. all went on that as well, so they all might have gotten friendly then. 

Jaekyung (and the other members of Romeo) also went on Peaktime, a show for idol groups that had already debuted but weren’t super successful, including Vanner (who won!), M.O.N.T, and BDC, so he may have met Taehwan, Bitsaeon (again), and Hong Seongjun. When Romeo was on Peaktime, they performed the SHINee song Juliette, which is a cute choice since that’s the name of their fandom. And then MNET didn’t bother airing that performance. Thanks, MNET! Themnet. 

So, as for his group itself. Romeo was a 7 member group that debuted in May of 2015, when he would have been 18 years old. The group did slightly better in Japan than they did in Korea, but none of their Korean singles charted at all and most of their MVs have fewer than 200,000 views. Their biggest hit appears to be Lovesick. When the guys from Romeo went on Peaktime, they revealed that Romeo had disbanded at some point in the past. 

In Jaekyung’s k-profiles listing, it says he’s” a 4D” kind of guy, so I guess we should watch out for his personality, if MNET will show it. It’s hard to picture a guy in a tan blazer as wacky, but we’ll see!

His teaser song was V25, Passing by Kim Bum Soo. For me, he has a really nasal tone to his singing that isn’t my favorite, and I am not a huge fan of his kind of wobbly vibrato, but like everyone on this show, he’s essentially a very good vocalist, with what seems like a very good sense of pitch. Again, it’s a ballad and my ears sort of turn off, so I’ll keep an open mind. 

Seokhwa

Here is Kang Seokhwa, who is in WEi. He also went on YG Treasure Box, where he would have met CIX’s Seunghwan, and Produce X 101, where he ranked 35th and would have met two of the all rounders on this show, Choi Suhwan and BDC’s Hong Seongjun.

WEi, pronounced something like “we-eye”, is a six member group that debuted in 2020. WEi is almost entirely made up of contestants from Produce 101, Produce X 101, and Under 19, including some who won their seasons. Seokhwa is their main vocal. The WEi song Spray spent some time on my playlists recently, but I don’t know many of their other songs. WEi’s most popular member, Johan, is significantly more popular than the others; he came in first place in Produce X 101. Their videos get around 10-15 million views each, putting them slightly lower in the popularity ranking than CIX and AB6IX, but leagues ahead of IMFACT and Romeo. 

I checked out an MR removed video of Spray and Seokhwa was really stable, so I can see why he’d come on the show. He’s V37, and it’s a ballad and you know me by now so it’s hard for me to give this a chance but he has a sweet voice that sounds best when he’s singing more softly, which can’t be said of everyone on this show. We’ve got a lot of belters here! He strains a bit on the higher notes, and I feel like he closes his throat a bit when he belts, but doesn’t get too nasal, which is good. He’s young yet -- he’s only 23, one of the younger people on the show -- and I hope he keeps working on his voice, because he has a lot of potential. 

Donghun

Donghun will turning 31 at the end of February of this year (2024), and he’s already done his military service.

He is the main vocal of A.C.E., a five member group under Beat Interactive/Swing Entertainment that debuted in 2017 with the song Cactus. Their songs don’t chart in Korea, but they get into the top twenty on the US World Chart, because USA has taste, yo. 

If there’s one song of theirs that I think you’d know it would be Goblin (Favorite Boys). But there’s also Under Cover, which is also a banger. Whoever did the subtitles on their older videos puts the names of the singers in, so you can easily find Donghun in their videos. Some of their older songs have 15-20 million views, but their newest comeback, an English language mid-tempo ballad called Effortless, has less than a million views, maybe because it’s in English? Or because it’s a mid-tempo ballad? I don’t know, if you like Who Do You Love by Monsta X, songs like that, you might like Effortless. Really, their songs are good. I feel like it’s a weird situation where everyone likes A.C.E. but somehow they’re still kind of nugu. I know, that doesn’t make sense. 

Donghun went on Mixnine (he won 8th place and should have debuted), so he probably knows the other Mixnine contestants on this show: Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T., Ma Jaekhyung from Romeo, and Jeong Inseong from KNK. He may also know Park Jeup from when they both went on I Can See Your Voice 4.

He set himself up for a tough time by singing an EXO song for his teaser song (V20, Miracles in December). Literally no one can sing it like they can. Still, he does pretty well. He has an appealing warm vocal color and he really goes for that long held note, holding it with good breath support. I just worry because I can almost feel his throat straining on the higher notes. He hits them, but it’s got to hurt. He also relies on some pretty loud background vocals so it’s harder to tell how much of it is live. Despite that, he’s an excellent idol singer and I’ll always support A.C.E. and him.

Lee Minwook

Minwook is 23 and is in a group called Newkidd. I guess he likes vests? What, oh what, what on earth is up with the styling for these guys? Most of them are dressed like they’re going to a college interview. I don’t get it!  

As far as I know, Minwook hasn’t been on any other survival type shows, making him one of the 15 members of the cast who haven’t (and 4 of those are musical actors). 

Newkidd is a 7 member group under J-FLO Entertainment, an agency that manages only them, and the debuted in 2019. Most of their MVs get a million views or fewer. From what I can tell, their most popular song is Tu Eres, featuring the Spanish refrain “tu eres, tu eres, tu eres bonita” (you are, you are, you are pretty). The comments on the video are mostly in Spanish and show a lot of excitement about hearing Spanish in a Kpop song, and I can’t blame them! Representation! So maybe Newkidd is more popular in Spanish speaking countries and is courting that market. That’s smart -- it’s a huge market! 

In his teaser, Minwook was V09, The Manuel by Eddy Kim, an example of a ballad I actually like -- it has some interesting chord progressions and isn’t sappy at all. I also like his performance. He seems to just be singing live while accompanied by just one guitar, which gives me faith in his vocals. I think his voice might be more “unique” than “soul” but these categories are pretty reductive anyway. He puts a lot of warmth into his lower notes and makes you almost feel like you understand what he’s singing. He doesn’t display his higher register or belt as much here, so I’ll be waiting to see more of what he can do. 

Lim Sanghyun

Sanghyun is listed as a singer-songwriter, and he’s 27. He’s considered a ballad artist specifically, and is signed to MNH entertainment, where he releases mostly digital singles. I know the ballad market in Korea is really big, even if it’s not my favorite, so go for it, Sanghyun! 

His teaser was V14, one of those kinds of ballads I hate so much that it’s hard for me to be fair. He sings in that classic K-ballad style, that kind of gruff whisper-sing, which can go either way for me depending on the song.I don’t think he ever really lets go and belts in his teaser, so I’ll be curious to hear what that would sound like. 

Bain

This is Bain, age 22, and I adore his voice. (His name is pronounced “bane”, if you’re wondering, based on the hangul.) 

Let me talk about him for a moment. 

No, wait. Instead of me talking, you should just listen to this. It’s just a straight forward, earnest cover of Oliva Rodrigo’s Driver’s License, with no winky “ha ha I’m a boy singing this,” no sarcasm. Just a pure performance. His vibrato is so sweet. He exhibits barely a trace of nasality, and when it’s present, it’s for the emotion of the song. The notes he hits in his full chest voice? I can’t believe it. And his mixed register is like, chef’s kiss. I can’t. I just can’t. I’d never heard of him before this show, but I heard this performance and I was good. Even my fella was like, “wow, this guy has technique.” So you’re going to have to accept that I’m a Bain fan and will be cheering for him. 

I had to look into Just B. They’re a 6 member group under Bluedot Entertainment, a subdivision of Kakao that manages only them. They debuted into 2021, and their members were contestants on Under 19, I-land, and a few other survival shows. (Side note: I watched a lot of I-land, but never saw any of Under 19. Starting to think I should add it to the list.) JustB has a few title tracks out at this point and they usually get about 10 millions views each. I listened to a few of them over the last few days (it’s taking me a while to write this recap) and I’ve come to like a few of their songs. Their most recent comeback is called Medusa, and though the lyrics make negative amounts of sense, it’s pretty catchy. I also liked Damage quite a bit. The group doesn’t seem to have set positions, but it seems that Bain and Geonu are more or less the main vocals. 

Jay

Jay Chang, V02, age 22, famous for almost making it into Zerobase1, landing in 10th place. He’s American, with a white-Filipino-Chinese ethnic background, and on Boys Planet, he was extremely popular among the “Global” voters, but not very popular among the Korean voters. He also went on another show called Under 19 at some point, if you watched that -- I didn’t, but maybe I should. In case you didn’t watch Boys Planet, here is his initial audition to Rush Hour,and here is his performance of Exo’s Love Me Right (he was main vocal).

I know that most of my 3 or 4 readers are Jay fans, and that is cool by me. I’ve always thought he has a really really lovely, clean vocal color, he has good stage presence, and I think he’s basically a nice guy, though he sorta gives me fuckboi vibes sometimes. I also think -- and don’t get mad at me, ok? -- I also think that he needs to work on his pitchiness and nasality. That’s true in both the opening notes of his Rush Hour audition, and at points in his Baby Baby teaser song. He was one of the top 3 or 4 vocalists among the Boys Planet boys, but he’s in a different setting now and might just be outsung by the other vocalists here. I hope that you’re ok with that. I’m not saying that he’s a bad singer. Everyone on this show is a very good singer, and Jay is also a very good singer! I’m just looking for a voice that can compete with D.O.’s voice, and my standards are up in the sky. (Hanuel wilo fly fly!)

Jung Soomin

Jung Soo-min loves slightly goofy, informal outfits that scream “Hi, I’m American!” Which he is -- born in Chicago. That's about all I know about his background.

Check out his performance, V30, a really sweet cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,” in which he accompanies himself on the guitar. I think it speaks for itself, but I’ll say a few words anyway. I really like his voice -- sweet, light, a little textured. Great agility, and good performance of the emotion/feeling of the words. Just delightful. I’ll forgive your hat. 

Here he is on tiktok talking bout his experience on the show (in English). He says that his attitude toward competition is to just do the best he can, that the competition is really with himself. He seems like a nice guy.

Kim Seongjeong

Seongjeong is a musical actor, and his performance in V16 shows that. It’s not a style of singing that I tend to respond to, but I respect its natural quality and hard-earned technique. Vocally, he wouldn’t at all be out of place on Broadway. Considering his rich timbre and excellent breath support, I’d be interested to hear him sing something more in the pop or r&b style to see what it would sound like. My sleuthing tells me that he’s 25 (born in 1999) and acted in Hadestown and West Side Story. And look at that smile! Totally transforms his face. 

Park Joohee

Joohee is another one of the contestants I just can’t find much info on. His teaser song was V15, Stand by Me by SHINee, and it was perfectly nice. Not mind blowing, but easy to listen to. He has good agility and a nice vocal color, but seems to lack breath support -- either that, or he was just really nervous, which seems likely.  Also, the camera hardly ever shows him, so it was really hard to get a screencap of him.

Ok, that's team Soul! Feel free to go on to the next post, Team Power.

And thanks for your amazing response to my first post -- I was really worried you all would murder me for saying slightly negative things and thus far that hasn't happened, so thanks! You're all peaches. Have a beautiful day.

#bpr recaps build up #mnet build up #build up mnet #park joohee #kim seongjeong #jung soomin #jay #jay chang #boys planet jay #bain #just b #lim sanghyun #lee minwook #A.C.E. #Donghun #WEi #Seokhwa #wei seokhwa #ma jaekhyung

[vantemei]

"what do you think happens when we die?"

jeongguk sits up and looks over at taehyung who lies on the roof next to him, eyes still staring up at the stars. jeongguk looks away for a moment, his brow furrows and he licks his lips once- twice, before he can gather the courage to look back at his friend.

"i don't know tae. what do you think happens?"

jeongguk is hesitant to lie down again, afraid that if he takes his eyes off of taehyung the older boy might fade into the haze of the night. it's an irrational fear but it takes root in his throat and works it's way down until it weighs heavily in his stomach.

"i think we forget everything."

jeongguk remains silent, hoping taehyung can read into the questions unspoken in the air. he can. of course he can. because he's taehyung and no one knows jeongguk better than taehyung.

"i think we forget everything. everyone. i think our souls are like dandelions and when we die; when we take our last breath, all of our memories - our whole lives - scatter in the wind."

there's silence for a few moments and jeongguk closes his eyes. he focuses on the sound of the wind as it rustles the leaves of the large maple tree that grows in his backyard. it's the same tree they used to climb up here so they could watch the stars. the leaves are fiery red with autumn but the ends are starting to yellow and brown, a sure sign of the even colder days ahead. it's already cold enough that jeongguk feels the bite of it through his thin hoodie. taehyung isn't even wearing a hoodie. only his pajama pants and the t-shirt he brought to sleepover in.

it's their last two weeks before school starts again and jeongguk's noticed taehyung's distance over the last few days. not necessarily a distance from jeongguk himself but a distance from life in general. taehyung's eyes no longer light up at the mention of their first year being in high together, jeongguk finally old enough to join taehyung. he seems more quiet. it makes jeongguk feel afraid. afraid that his friend is sad and he doesn't know why.

"i don't want to forget jeonggukie."

"what?" jeongguk shakes himself out of his thoughts and is surprised to see that taehyung is sitting up next to him, looking for all the world he might cry as he looks down at the younger boy.

"i don't want to forget you. never. you're my best friend."

"you're my best friend too taetae!" jeongguk scrambles to sit, hands reaching to join with taehyung's, already stretched towards him, and he winces at the grip of his hyung. it's doesn't hurt but he wasn't ready for it so feel so desperate.

"then do you promise you won't forget me? ever? that no matter what happens you'll always remember that we're best friends?"

"of course hyung! how could i ever forget you?" there's no humor in jeongguk's voice. nothing but baffled sincerity as he clutches taehyung's hand tighter and feels the sinking feeling grow stronger.

taehyung smiles and for the first time all day, it reaches his eyes, and suddenly the fear is gone. jeongguk sees his smile and smiles back, eyes crinkling and laughter tumbling out of his lips to match his hyung's because he knows as long as taehyung is smiling than everything will be ok.

 everything is not ok. taehyung is gone two days later. jeongguk finds out from his parents and they console the crying fourteen year old as long as they can before he locks himself in his room and cries himself to sleep.

taehyung's father had gotten a job offer in america and his parents, not wanting taehyung to have to make such a drastic move in the middle of high school, instead sent him to live with his grandmother back in daegu. taehyung had known about it for a week. jeongguk bites back the betrayal and cries, promises to the picture on his nightstand that he'll never forget his taehyung as long as he lives. the picture is the two of them at the beach, the summer in middle school when taehyung had gone on vacation with jeongguk's family to seongjeong beach. they're both smiling at the camera and taehyung is holding up a peace sign in one hand, completely unaware of the crab jeongguk is about to throw on him moments after the picture is taken. it's one of jeongguk's favorite memories.

the years go by. jeongguk makes it a year and a half into high school before he makes his first friend. a boy by the name of park jimin who is the same age as his taehyung. jeongguk's received no word from taehyung. he checked the mailbox everyday for six months before his family moved to a new neighborhood and their old was demolished and turned into a playground.

jimin is nice. he make jeongguk laugh and they become close friends quickly. jimin isn't taehyung but it's ok because jeongguk still has taehyung. tucked away deeply, hidden inside his heart in a place no else can touch.

when jimin graduates he cries. jeongguk laughs and pats him on the back, congratulating him for all his hardwork and his acceptance to seoul university. jimin promises to text him everyday he'll visit on the breaks. jeongguk send's him off with a smile that isn't aas forced as he thought it would be.

two more years pass and now it's jeongguk's turn to graduate. jimin comes to the ceremony with one of his friends, jung hoseok, in tow. jeongguk and hoseok become fast friends as well and they celebrate with jjangmyeon and cake. they help him pack his bags for university and two months later jeongguk wipes tears from his mother's eyes as she sees him off at the train station.

university is hectic. it's much more work than high school but it's so much more free too. jeongguk can finally pursue art in the way he's always dreamed to. he sticks close to his small circle of friends. jimin and hoseok convince him to join the dance team and he meets yugyeom, another first year who bonds with him about being the youngest in their separate friend groups. he meets namjoon in the philosophy lecture he wishes he never signed up for. the older boy is the TA and the smartest person jeongguk has met in his whole life he thinks.

he meets namjoon's boyfriend yoongi two weeks after he meets namjoon. he showed up at the older boy's dorm room to ask for help on his midterm and walked in on them sucking face on the couch. that was the first time jeongguk ever saw namjoon curse. yoongi took to jeongguk like grouchy old man takes to a cat he finds cute. he looks out for jeongguk and makes sure he's ok, even treats him to lamb skewers once in a while, but if you ask him about it jeongguk is a brat who'll never get a penny out of him.

jeongguk meet's seokjin when he needs a model for his art project. naturally, jeongguk decides to ask around the acting majors and hears about seokjin through the elders instagram. it's nerve wracking to show up at the cafe where he's supposed to meet seokjin but he orders an americano and waits patiently. it doesn't take more than ten minutes for the elder to show up, waving to jeongguk as he quickly hangs up a phone call and orders something that sounds like it has more calories than an entire cake.

"sorry i'm running a little late, my dongsaeng is being a brat because he lost his key to our apartment again and needs mine. i hope you don't mind, i told him he could come by and get it. it's won't even take a minute."

"yeah no,it's no problem."

from there the conversation flows smoothly and the agree on a date later that week for seokjin to come by the art building to model for jeongguk's first sketch.

it's twenty minutes into the conversation that the bell above the cafe door chimes and a burst of cold air brushes against the back of jeongguk's neck. a wave of anticipation floods him and he feels his mouth run dry as seokjin stands to wave at whoever entered the cafe.

"tae! i can't believe you lost your key again, i hope you know if you lose mine i'll kill you," seokjin teased with no malice in his voice.

footsteps approach the table and pause just beside jeongguk. "of course i won't hyung, i just left them at bogum hyung's again when we were working on that math project yesterday,"

his voice is deep. much deeper than it used to be. and his daegu drawl is tucked away beneath a well practiced seoul accent but jeongguk could pick that voice out in an air raid.

his head turns slowly and he's glad because if he thinks if he turned to quick then he would have been blinded by the beauty that radiates from the boy that stands beside him. he's changed so much but at the same time not at all. his eyes are the same brilliant amber and his skin the same sun-kissed honey golden glow of countless summer days spent outside.

his hair is different. instead of the deep natural black its a brilliant fiery red that reminds jeongguk of that night on his rooftop, the leaves of the maple tree brilliant against a backdrop of stars. kim taehyung stands in front of jeongguk every heart fluttering thought and warmth giving memory he expected him to be and more. his amber eyes widen when they land on jeongguk for a split moment and jeongguk feels his heart in his throat, the same way he did so many summers ago. 

"i'm sorry to interrupt your meeting with jinnie hyung. i'm kim taehyung, it's nice to meet you."

there's a stutter in jeongguk's heart, eyes flicking over taehyung one more time to be sure that it's really him but- yep. there's not a single doubt in his being that this is taehyung- his taehyung. so why is he-?

"ah, i know...hyung, i must look very different since then. it's me, jeongguk,"

taehyung's eyebrows draw together and seokjin glances between them for a moment before excusing himself to the bathroom.

"i'm sorry, have we met before?"

it feels like all the air's been punched from his chest and if he wasn't already sitting, jeongguk is sure his knees would have buckled.

"it's.. it's me...hyung?"

something about the way he says it, about the look on his face, makes taehyung's eyes go thin and his eyebrows turn up in an expression halfway between sorrow and regret.

"i'm sorry, did we...did we know each other? before 2010?"

2010? that's the year taehyung left. why is he asking that?

it takes a moment for jeongguk to gather his answer, to reclaim the breath that was stolen from him.

"that was the year you moved. because your parents got a job in america. you... did you really forget me?"

taehyung looks pained and jeongguk almost wishes he could take back what he said but at the same time the desire to know burns in him, a seven year old flame lit with love smothered in bitterness. bitterness at being left behind and, apparently, forgotten.

"i... i forgot everything actually. everyone." taehyung swallows and his eyes flicker across the room, over jeongguk's head, everywhere but jeongguk himself. "i was in an accident, when i was fifteen. the day i moved from seoul to daegu i was in a car accident and i lost all of my memories. all of them....i'm.. i'm sorry i don't remember you jeongguk-ssi, but... maybe we could be friends-”

"all right kids, i'm back! did you miss me?" seokjin's sudden reappearance makes both of them jump but relief is clear on taehyung’s face and he visibly shifts towards the elder, one hand sliding into the pocket of his long brown coat and the other reaching for seokjin, clenching tight around the keys seokjin slips into his palm.

"i'll see you at home hyung," taehyung's shoulders are tense as he turns to leave and jeongguk almost wants to call out to him, to hope desperately against all sense that maybe if taehyung sees him again, just once, he'll remember.

taehyung looks over his shoulder, eyes sliding over jeongguk's frame with the same guilty, sorrowful look, and the hope is dashed."it was nice to meet you again, jeongguk-ssi."

and then he's turning away, leaving the cafe much faster then he came in and with a much heavier set to his shoulders. seokjin says a few more things, asks about a specific time for them to meet and what kind of outfit or color palette jeongguk would prefer, but jeongguk can't really focus. mind to far gone, completely out the door with the beautiful boy who had kept it out of his own reach for seven years and had broken it in a mere second.

it's all he can do to politely wave goodbye when seokjin checks his phone and makes a small excuse about needing to buy dinner before leaving the cafe in almost as much a rush as taehyung, no doubt to comfort said man who had his tragic past dragged up by- to him- a mere stranger. he spends the afternoon in a daze, muscle memory guiding him to his dorm room where he brushes past his roommate and lies on his bed, eyes running over the picture he has set as his home screen. it's a picture of him and taehyung. it's the picture of them at seongjeong beach, wide smiles on both of their faces and the sun setting in the background.

he remembers the day taehyung left. the empty feeling that had consumed him when his mother had sat him down and told him that taehyung's parents had gotten a job offer in america they just couldn't refuse, and because of it taehyung had been sent to live with his grandmother. jeongguk thought of what taehyung had said on the rooftop that night, so many years ago.

"then do you promise you won't forget me? ever? that no matter what happens you'll always remember that we're best friends?"

"hyung... i kept my promise. i never forgot you, so...why did you forget me?"

for the first time in six years, jeongguk cries himself to sleep. 

#no editing we die like men #listen im rewriting a one shot into a story cause why not #listen to hyung #this is gonna be angsty if you couldn't already tell #angst #amnesia #im a sucker for memory loss au's i guess #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #jeon jeongguk #kim seokjin #university student #university au #college au #childhood friends au #taekook #taekook au #taekook fanfic #taekook fanfiction #taekook drabble #taekook childhood au

[hyunjeonglim]

VR exhibition, Curated by A-L, hosted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Korea. Dec.15.2020- Mar.15.2021

▫️ KIM Hongjoo 김홍주, RohwaJeong 로와정, Mioon 뮌, Mira PARK 박미라, Ah-Bin SHIM 심아빈, WANG Seongjeong 왕선정, LEE Dongwook 이동욱, Hyunjeong Lim 임현정, Yeongdoo Jung 정연두, Jaiyoung CHO 조재영, Kichang CHOI 최기창, Eunhyea CHOI 최은혜, Buhm HONG 홍범  

[nikiforovpaper-blog]

Proyecto; dominó.

Sinopsis: 

El efecto dominó es un conjunto de sucesos que están ligados entre sí, es decir, un paso en falso o un accidente puede desatar un resultado correlativo bastante negativo o positivo.

Shim HyunSeong es dueño de una empresa que somete a la humanidad, Kim DongHyun es un universitario que busca debutar como un pianista profesional, No Minwoo es un híbrido que jamás ha experimentado la vida, Lee Jeongmin es un bailarín que hace lo posible por mantener su irreparable relación, Jo Kwangmin es un licántropo abandonado por la sociedad, Jo Youngmin es un estudiante ejemplar que está dispuesto a pasar sobre los demás con tal de conseguir lo que desea, ¿Qué tienen en común estos seis chicos? Las decisiones que uno tome afecta a los otros y viceversa por lo que, en un momento desesperado, tendrán que cuestionarse sobre si deben actuar con moralidad o bajo la ley del egoísmo.

Lo que inicia como un amor dulce (Dongwoo) termina siendo tóxico (Seongjeong) e incluso trágico.

#dongwoo #fanfic #seonjeong #youngkwang #boyfriend #fantasía

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Ep 1, Part 2

Hello! When we left off in my Build Up Recap adventure, we had just finished the first part of episode 1. In this post, we'll get through more of episode 1, and we'll learn why this man is making this face!

Let's do it!

A reminder on the color coding: blue is soul, orange is allround, green is unique, and purple is power.

We just saw Seongjeong the leaping lizard do his amazing intro.

Then of course it’s time for everyone to talk about who looks like who, as seems to happen at the beginning of every variety show like this, and as usual I don’t see most of them.

They say that Choi Suhwan looks like Onestar, and for this one, I guess maybe. (You may remember Onestar from his time as a vocal trainer on various Produce seasons.)

No one talks about how Hyukjin looks like Lee Yedam from Boys Planet/Onepact. (Or is it just me?) 

Yedam, left, and Hyukjin, right.

Everyone says that Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T. looks exactly like Code Kunst. He doesn’t really, except that both of them have ears that stick out. Everyone seems to be talking about that, so he introduces himself as someone who wants to be as famous as Code Kunst. 

Just then (at least in the edit), V36 starts to play -- it’s Rose Blossom by H1-Key, as performed by Bitsaeon. (I’d have to assume that the song played first, then he introduced himself by name afterward…?) 

Seunghun from CIX starts dancing along as his new friend Hwanhee tries to place the song.

Everyone seems to like the performance, including me! He sounds great, and Sunghun from CIX interviews that their voices would harmonize well. Jay says, “aju nice!” when it’s done -- I wonder if he recognized it as Bitseon, since they probably know each other.  

Bitseon gets 21 votes, and says he’ll prove himself to those who didn’t pick him. 

Seongjeong the leaping musical actor says to his neighbor Joohee that there are a lot of idols here. That leads into a montage of performances from idol singers, all of whom are wondering, will anyone like my voice? (At least, the caption says they are.)  

Seokhwa from WEi, V37

Hwanhee from Up10tion, V38  (Tomboy)

Geonu from Just B, V10

Donghun from ACE, V20 (Miracles in December)

Donghun interviews that he’s here as a main vocal, and he’s expecting to see many other main vocalists. 

Every time I see Donghun in this episode, between his loosened tie and ill-fitting blazer and tired demeanor, all I can see is a beat cop in a police procedural who's ready to interrogate a subject.

Is it just me?

So, in honor of that, I'm going to call him "Detective Donghun" to remember him. As with all my nicknames, they're done to help us remember who is who and they're laced with love.

Kim Seoyhung says that he can’t sing stylish trendy songs, like the way idols sing. Yoon Inhwan interviews that all the idols sound the same, which is I think is unfair. Hwanhee, in particular, doesn’t sound like the others at all. Inhwan is mostly worried that their voices wouldn’t mix well, and I could say something like “I wonder if anyone’s voice would mix with yours, after you drank that gallon of milk before you sang?” But that would be mean. I try not to be mean, you guys. 

All the idol main vocalists get relatively low scores.

Hwanhee gets 14, Seokhwa gets 15, Donghun gets 18, and Geonu gets 11. I wonder if Hwanhee’s low vote tally is as much to do with his sort of sharp vocal color? I love the way it comes through in Up10tion songs but I could imagine people worrying about his harmonizing. Or maybe they didn’t think he showed enough in his teaser, since he sang a pop song and had backup vocals. 

Meanwhile, Seunghun from CIX is super nervous. 

It seems like he and Hwanhee have struck up a bit of a friendship. Hwanhee asks him if he often gets nervous, and Seunghun is like, I really, really do. Even at the pre-tape meeting, he was shaking. Hwanhee is like, there’s nothing to be nervous about -- you already recorded your teaser, so you can relax, right? (“Plus, we don’t have to dance!” -- Hwanhee, probably) But Seunghun is just a bag of anxiety wearing a brown jacket. 

When the voice says V1 will play, he reacts so strongly that it must be obvious that he is V1. As I said in my intro posts, I don’t think he was super successful in this performance, so I can understand why he’d be nervous. Like, you know you screwed up, and now everyone else is going to know, too. Aww, poor guy. When the song finishes playing, everyone applauds, but few had voted for him -- only 7. At the reveal of this low number, a bunch of the guys cover their mouth in shock.

Park Jeup, he of the powerful pussy bow, said he didn’t understand the low result -- in his opinion, this is a voice that would match with anyone’s. But Hong Seongjun from BDC, he of the white jacket with the mandarin collar, said it was “lacking.” Jay interviews that he didn’t vote for it or even really listen because it was in the ballad style, which wouldn’t match with his style.

Seunghun says, “I haven’t shown 20% of my voice. I will be the vocalist that could match anyone’s voice.” Everyone applauds. Fighting! Taehwan from Vanner says to Bitseon, “It’s a voice that could match with anything,” and Bitseon agrees. That’s sweet. 

Kindly hyung Hwanhee reaches out to touch Seunghun’s shoulder. “Do you feel better now that it’s over?” Seunghun says, “I feel better, but it’s a bummer.” He says he knew that the competition would be tough, but he’s still ashamed of the result. I think he might be fighting back tears. Oh no! Poor guy. I think we’ve all been there -- it’s too late to fix it so you just have to ride it out.

After that, we jump straight to V07.

If you’re just reading the recaps and didn’t necessarily listen to all the teasers, be sure to check this one out. Just try to picture someone who’d be singing it. 

The guys all react the moment it begins to play. 

Inhwan likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure. 

Seunghun likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure. 

Ma Jaekyung (former Romeo) says, “oh, what a nice voice.” Bitsaeon (M.O.N.T.) says, “Wow, this is truly unique.” The vote tally immediately begins to climb. Basically, everyone loves it, even Dahee. Kim Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, says that this person has a monster talent.  Jay says, “He was the one I wanted to work with the most out of all 40 people.” Sunyoul from Up10tion is like, just tell us who it is already!! 

Park Jeup (former IMFACT), with his puissant pussy bow, leans over the red-suited Hyukjin (100%/Fave1) to point out Neon, wearing green. They think it’s him singing. 

Side note: Google translate swears up and down that Park Jeup’s name is “Taxidermy”. Taxidermy is apparently 박제술, andJeup’s name is  박제업. So the first two syllables are the same. That’s unfortunate! 

So, who could it be? Who could be the owner of this interesting voice that won 27 votes, taking over first place…? They expected someone with that voice to be kind of old, but it’s youthful, soft-voiced (when speaking) Kang Hayoon. 

LTR: Lim Jun-hyuk, Woong, Sunyoul (in pink), Kang Hayoon in beige and light blue

He introduces himself with an anacrotic poem with the syllables of his name. “I’ll appeal strongly/ dear god, for me to debut/ please allow me.” Everyone says, “cyooo!” 

Up next is V33, sung by Neon (the one wearing green). It’s Rush Hour. Did he get permission from Jay to sing this? And did he get permission to do what he does next, which is get out of his chair and say things like “make some fucking noise!” making it really clear that he’s the one singing...? It seems at least against the spirit of the rules, if not actually against the letter, but no one is stopping him, so he’s just going to do that.  

A bunch of them get up to dance, including Woong and Sunyoul, both of whom seem ready to have fun here. I enjoy a joiner. 

Choi Haram, in his houndstooth gray and white blazer thing, interviews, “I’m a big introvert, He looked so cool. I was jealous.” I’ll call him introverted Haram. 

Neon introduces himself as an R&B/Soul singer-songwriter. He says he ran around to give them all energy. The running around thing was maybe a mistake, because a few of them say, “oh no, I was too busy dancing to vote!” He only gets 13 votes.  Donghun from ACE would have voted for him, and I think Seokhwa would have too. Neon interviews, “Considering those who forgot to vote out of surprise, I guess I did ok.” 

We find out that Woong from AB6IX has forgotten to vote more than once -- including during Pixar character Jo Hwanji’s audition with Swing My Baby. We see a bit of Woong’s pre-show taping interview, where he is wearing a denim jacket on top of another denim jacket on top of a hoodie. Do they not heat these studios at all or what?

He says, “It’s really hard to be the son of MNET. Right now, I’m the son of Rhymer from Brand New Music.” (AB6IX is under Brand New Music, and Rhymer is the founder.)  “But I’m open to anything. I love you, boss MNET!” 

So, how did Woong do with his singing? Let’s find out! 

He’s V11. The on screen caption says “Unique and captivating voice,” and as you know if you read my episode 0 guides, I like his singing, though I’m not quite sure how trained he is. It just sounds good. Bitsaeon points out that V11 (Woong) does well with the rhythm, and that’s true, he definitely does. As Woong dances along to his own singing, everyone is voting for him. Lee Gwangseok says, “That was outstanding.” And getting a bit of Woong’s personality along with the voice definitely makes the performance… well… sing.

Even though everyone seemed to enjoy the performance, Woong only gets 14 votes, but he stays cheerful. Woong says, “the result is different form the response. I’m still happy with the result. I’ll seize my chance and become the son of MNET. Fighting!” 

Woong center, in blue. In the foreground you can see the back of Hyukin’s head, Park Jeup’s head, and Kim Minseo’s head. In the suit to the left of Hyukjin, that’s Yoon Inhwan, then I think that’s Jo Hwanji the Pixar character, and Lim Junhyeok in white. Behind Woong is Sunyoul from Up10tion in Pink, Kang Hayoon in the cravat, Wumuti in the hat, and Lee Gwangseok/Kwangseok in the leather jacket. 

Fighting! Also here is a picture of Inseok from KNK for my readers who love him. Also, why does Yeo One clap that way? That’s a weird way to clap. LTR: Yeo One, Inseok, and Ma Jaekyoung from Romeo.

Most of the guys laugh and clap for Woong’s enthusiasm, but Hong Seungjun is a bit more serious. 

His group, BDC, was also from Brand New Music, but basically disbanded in August of 2023. BDC even went on Peak Time to try to stir up some interest first, but the group was eliminated in the first round. Basically, Seungjun has had a tough road and it makes sense that he might be a little, I don’t know... maybe "bitter" is too harsh a word, but I think you know what I mean. Like, he’s been through it. And it must be extra galling that AB6IX is doing comparatively well, being from the same agency and all that. 

Seungjun voiceovers, “I thought it was odd. They’re still performing and doing pretty well. I’m wondering, what are they doing here? Especially Yeo One-sunbaenim from Pentagon.”

As if in response, Yeo One interviews, “I’ve been in this filed for a long time. I got 10 seconds, max 20 seconds in each song. I always had the third to sing for 10 years that can never be quenched. I’m here because I want to sing. I’m here to sing. I want people to watch me singing. That’s all I want.”

Then V40 plays -- it’s Yeo One. People seem to be enjoying it, and the vote tally creeps up. They like his expressiveness, which I can understand. Bitsaeon from MONT says, “I want to listen to that before I go to bed.” Personally, I put on a Jenny Nicholson video. Is that weird? Probably. Anyway, Yeo One gets 22 votes, which is pretty good. “I’m happy that people listened to me singing,” he interviews. Ok, Yeo One, we get it, sweetie. 

Little Kang Hayoon is still in first place, and Seunghun from CIX is in last. Dahee asks Hayoon if he thinks he’ll stay in first place, and Hayoon is like, “Didn’t even cross my mind.” 

But now it’s time for… V19. Will Hayoon be deposed? A rough, sweet, textured voice fills the studio. Everyone interviews things like “How can anyone even sing that well?” “It was such a deep voice. I was so surprised by it.” The vote tally is over the top -- it’s 32, leaving Hayoon in the dust. “It kind of poked my heart,” Hayoon says, of falling to second place. And whose voice is it? It’s Lee Gwangseok, the guy in the leather jacket. 

It seems unfair to everyone that such a tall, good looking guy (his normal job is to be a model!) with no training at all can just sing like that.Well, that’s how it be, sometimes, I guess! Sunyoul from Up10tion interviews, “The world is messed up!” and laughs. 

“I never majored in singing or learned it before,” Gwangseok says. I just was hoping I’d get more than 5 votes. I’m grateful they liked my voice. As someone who dreamed of becoming a singer, I’m glad.” 

No one wants to follow that, but Jeup feels like it’s going to be him. We hear from a few of the contestants, including Hwanhee from Up10tion, that the “guy in red” (Hyukjin) and “the guy in the ribbon” (Jeup) are ones to watch. Sunyoul says that Jeup is a “monstrous vocalist”, that he’s so good that it’s like he’s cheating.

We get to hear some of V34, ie, Jeup. It is some serious technique on display. Everyone seems to respect what they heard, saying that it deserves a standing ovation and stuff like that. But the vote tally doesn’t quite reflect that. He gets only 28 votes, putting him in second place. Some of them find if very strange, including Jay and Hwang Inhyuk. 

Geonu from Just B and Sunyoul from Up10tion both interview that they’re hesitant to team up with someone so good. “Because he’s so good, I want to work with him,” Sunyoul says, laughing, “but at the same time, because he’s so good, I don’t want to work with him.”

And that’s all we see of the Voice Check! Again, if you want to hear what I think of all 40 performances, be sure to check out my “episode zero” write ups for each grouping of voices. 

Unique  Power Allround Soul

Here’s the ranking, with the number of votes received, a brief phrase to hopefully help you remember them (what they were wearing, what they sang, their group, etc) and what category they were in (Unique, Power, Soul, Allround.) If their name is in italics, we didn’t see much of them so far, not even as reaction shots or interviews. Some of my notes to jog your memory may refer to my other write ups. 

1. Lee Gwangseok               32        leather jacket                     U 2. Park Jeup                        28         pussy bow                          P 3. Kang Hayoon         27         cravat cutie                        U 4. Lim Sanghyun         25         purple cardigan                 S Kim Seongjeong         25         leaping lizard                     S      Taewoo                     25         black shirt                          U     Jung Soomin         25         Chicago                              S 8. Sunyoul                     24         Up10tion                            U 9. Kwon Euibin         24         beige cardigan                  U 10. Jay Chang                     23         Boys Planet                      S 11. Jeong Inseong         22          from KNK                          A        Hwang Inhyuk         22         light red sweater             A        Yeo One                     22         Pentagon                           A 14. Hong Sungwon           21         Desperado                       U    Bitsaeon                     21          M.O.N.T                             A 16. Kim Seohyung         18          light blue shirt                   U       Donghun                     18          A.C.E. (Detective)            S      Jo Hwan-ji                       18         uniform/Pixar                    P 19. Ji Yeon-woo           17         suspenders                       A 20. Seokhwa                     15          WEi                                  S 21. Choi Haram         14          introverted Haram     P      Jeon Woong         14          AB6IX                              U      Lee Hwanhee         14         Boys Planet/UP10tion       U 24. Jeong Yunseo         13         red and black leather        A Wumuti                     13         Boys Planet                      U      Park Joohee         13           white jacket                     S      Yoon Inhwan         13           drank all that milk           P       Hong Seongjun         13           white jacket / BDC         A       Neon                     13          green sweater                  U       Kim Minseo         13          Rolling in the Deep         P 31. Taehwan                     12          Vanner                       A                       Ma Jaekyung         12           Romeo                           S              33. Lee Minwook         11           Newkidd/ vest lover        S Geonu                     11           Just B /pink hair              A Choi Suhwan         11            Energetic                       A 36. Hyukjin                     10           red suit                         P 37. Bain                       9            orange-red hair            S 38. Seunghun                       7            anxious from CIX         A Lim Junhyuk           7            former Day 6                P 40. Jang Intae                       5            Missing You                 A

I can’t understand how on earth Kim Minseo was rated so low. I also think that Lee Minwook and Bain were much lower than they should have been. The fact that Yoon Inhwan ranked as high as he did is surprising to me -- for me, it was one of the worst performances of the teasers. I guess the guys and I have different taste in singers. 

After the reveal of the rankings, we hear from a few of the guys about how they felt. We hear from Lim Junhyuk and Seunghun about how they feel about being ranked so low, but we don't hear from Intae, despite him coming in last. Ah, MNET. I didn't even have time to miss you.

Dahee announces the next mission: The “Prefour” mission. Bain says, in English, “What’s that?” (He’s sitting next to Jay and using it as an opportunity to practice his English.) It’s where they make groups of four and perform one of these songs.

And you’re sitting there saying to yourself “TOMBOY AGAIN?!” but no, it’s a different Tomboy.

The songs are:

Breath by Park Hyo Shin

Something Like That by Park Hwayobi

Beautiful by Crush 

Delcalcomanie by Mamamoo

다시 사랑한다 말할까 (Shall I Love You Again?) by Kim Dong Ryul

Ditto by New Jeans

Don't Go, Don't Go by Brown Eyes

If You by Big Bang

Tomboy by Hyukoh, a huge hit from 2017

Every Moment of You by Sung Sikyung

It’s is a good reminder that for Koreans living in Korea, kpop is just part of their musical sphere of influence, along with ballads, trot, and other genres. Often enough on Korean top 40s you’ll see very popular ballads, mixed in with the kpop. I think some Western listeners also like some ballads, but I think most of us aren't as interested in them, so we can easily forget how important they are in Korea.

To be clear, I differentiate between a song that is slow and an actual k-ballad. I just don't like 99% of k-ballads. The arrangements are usually straightforward and they’re played on vibraphones with cheesy percussion. Also, the style of singing is just not my favorite. and are always delivered in the most overwrought singing style ever, with way too much vibrato. It can border on operettic but a lot more nasal. I am not saying, for example, that the singing in the original of “Shall I Love You Again?” linked above is bad. I just saying that it’s really not to my taste. But meanwhile, if you watch the clip, the audience is so into it. They’re like, in tears. So who am I to say that it's bad?  This is a genre of music that just isn't for me. I will have to do my best going through this show.

Anyway, everyone’s a bit intimidated by the songs, many of which seme to be well respected classics. Detective Donghun from A.C.E. wonders out loud who would be able to sing Ditto because it has so much English in it. That must be a real issue for idols these days. Ditto is at least 50%, maybe 60%, English.

Speaking of English, my love Bain is speaking it still. When the guys find out that they get to pick the songs they want to do based on the ranking they got in the first round,  Bain says, in English: “I wanna go home!”.

Dahee explains that though the song is a group challenge, they’ll be evaluated individually. A “top tier” contestant will be chosen from each group and will get a benefit. The lower ranked trainees are spurred to promise to try even harder. 

We see a super brief clip of the guys running in all directions to choose the song they want -- I’m assuming we’ll see more of this later -- before we jump to… some time later.

And we'll pick up there in the next post, when we'll actually cover some of the performances! Thanks for your patience and I'll see you soon.

XOXO BPR Noona

#build up #mnet build up #bpr recaps build up #up10tion #a.c.e. #m.o.n.t. #vanner

[boysplanetrecaps]

The BUILD UP BRAPPIES, 2x2 Rivalry edition

Time to take a brief break from my MNET Build Up Recap Project to hand out some BRAPPY Awards for Excellence in the Field of Excellence! In this post, I'll be giving out BRAPPIES based on how everyone did in the 2x2 Rival Mission. Let's go!

Favorite Performance Overall:

I have to give it to River, of course. I was thinking, “Which of these do I most want to just rewatch right now?” and that’s the one. You can fairly point out that I also like the song, and that’s true. But there you go.

Honorable mentions: Sherlock, Dangerously

Favorite Performance of a Song I Don’t Like:

I’ll give this one to Moon. The song itself is whatever, but I liked Joohee and Euibin’s performance.

Honorable mention: Still Love You by Hyukjin and Inseong

Performance Helped Most By Song Choice:

I have to give this one to My Sea. The song is so incredibly emotional that it’s hard to deny, even if the performance had been a little weak. I’m not saying the performance WAS weak, but having a song like this is nothing but a boon.

Honorable mentions: End of a Day, To My Youth 

Performance Hindered Most By Song Choice:

Woong and Seokhwa’s performance. No question. Blackpink can make almost any song seem good, but I’m not sure even they can save Kick It, much less two nervous idols alone on a stage with critical judges. 

Honorable mention: Sungwon and Taehwan doing Play. 

Teammate Most Screwed Over By a Teammate:

What? What's this? There's a tie?? This is unprecedented!

The awards go to Kwon Euibin AND Kim Seongjeong.

In the case of Kwon Euibin, not only did Joohee get most of the lines in the song, he got most of the attention on the show in general. We didn’t hear a single word of feedback about how good/bad Euibin did. Then, the duo got a comparatively low score primarily because Joohee couldn’t keep it together. And yet, the damn judges saved Joohee! Someone get that fire extinguisher and keep it handy. Grrrr. 

Kim Seongjeong went through basically the same thing. His teammate Gwangseok was the problem in their performance, and yet, the judges saved Gwangseok.

Team Most Screwed Over By The Team Itself:

This award goes to Seokhwa and Woong. I think both of them would have been better off working with someone else.

I keep thinking, what if Yeo One had been obsessed with working with Seokhwa for some reason, instead of Lim Junhyeok? And then what if Woong had ended up with Junhyeok, who was his old hyung from his JYP days? I really ended up enjoying Yeo One and Junhyeok’s performance, but if Woong and Junhyeok had sung that same song together I think it would have been even better, as Woong is no question a better vocalist than Yeo One.  And Yeo One and Seokhwa could have sung a sweet, light song together; perhaps they could have done Been Through by EXO. There, I fixed it. You’re welcome. 

Biggest Discovery:

Kwon Euibin. I just loved his performance, and I never noticed him that much before.

Biggest Glow Up from Previous Round:

Kwon Euibin again. Round one, he looked like an actual robot. Round two, he looked like a slightly thicc dude. Huge improvement. 

Biggest Dimming Down from Previous Round:

Geonu, sweetie, darling, honey pie. You were a nominee for best sweater in the first round and then there's... this??? What. Is. This. Sweater.??

Biggest Coat-tail Rider:

Geonu again. I believe strongly that his team won primarily because of Soomin’s performance, not Geonu’s. 

Honorable mention: Kim Seongjeong, who *wanted* to ride on Gwangseok's coattails very badly.

Best Sweater:

This is it. This is the best sweater from this round. There wasn't a lot of competition, but this one would have won anyway.

Team That Seemed To Have the Most Fun:

Taehwan and Sungwon, Play. 'Nuff said.

Team That Cried The Most:

Donghyun and Sunyoul, I assume. We didn’t see them actively crying in the montage, but I get the feeling they were crying a lot in private. 

Song That Made Me Cry the Most:

End of a Day, but that’s kind of a special case.

Honorable mentions: My Sea, To My Youth 

Most Random Judging Moment:

The judges hating Hwanhee and Hwanji. No question. Did Hwanhee like, park in VCG’s parking spot? Did he take the last cherry danish? WHAT. HAPPENED. HERE.??

Most Spot on Judging Comment:

When VCG pointed out to Seokhwa and Woong that lowering the key to adapt a female song for males to sing it would also mean lowering the intensity and interest of the song, it was such an interesting lightbulb moment. I think there's some real truth to that.

Best Dahee moment:

Dahee had a lot of great moments, but the best was when she came up to Jeup and Suhwan after their performance of Sherlock and murmured that she enjoyed it more than the original version.

Honorable mentions: When she danced to Hmm Cheat, When she told someone she thought they were cool even though they lost

Judge Who Pissed Me Off The Least:

I was going to give an award to the judge who pissed me off the most, but I found that I couldn't make up my mind on that. All I knew is that it wasn't Wendy. So, I decided to give her this award instead. She’s also Wen-fucking-dy and I love her voice. Reveluv for life.

Ok, that's it for this round of Brappies! Is there an award I got wrong? An award you'd give out? Let me know!

I'll see you in the next post, when we gear up for the 3x3 Death Match. I don't know what it is about that name that makes me anxious. Must be all those threes.

See you soon!

#mnet build up #bpr recaps build up #build up #build up mnet #red velvet #red velvet wendy #park jeup #lee hwanhee #up10tion #one pact #jay chang

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Episode 2: Shall I..? and Ditto

Hello and welcome back to my current obsession, my MNET Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, we wrapped up episode 1. In this one, we’re starting episode 2. Let’s do it!

We kick things off with Dahee saying that Wendy had to leave because of her schedule, so for the rest of the performances today, only five judges will be judging. 

The first song to be performed will be…

Shall I Love You Again? (다시 사랑한다 말할까), originally by Kim Dong-ryul 

Shall I Love You Again? Also is known by the English translation “Shall we begin again,” which is a bit more palatable, I think. As far as I can tell, it came out in 2008. 

Per MNET’s translations of its captions, it’s “a song where the unique sensitivity of the original song and the digestion of profound and heavy bass are the key.” Um. Okay, sure. What’s interesting is that is exactly what google translate makes of the caption as well, suggesting that the translations are being generated via google translate.

Kim Dong-ryul, the original singer, is also the original singer of the song Drunken Truth, which I know as the song that Chen sang when he went on King of Masked Singer. So there’s that connection for me. Kim Dong-ryul apparently writes/composes/arranges all his own songs, so good for him! 

Vocal Coach Guy is a bit concerned about the song choice. “Isn’t this a bit retro?” he asks. “It needs to be clean to sound cool. It might not sound right to vocalists these days.” I mean, isn’t that a critique that could be made of most of these songs? IDK.

The guys come up from backstage, holding hands. 

Filmed as usual on one of MNET’s glorious Idaho russets. 

The judges are surprised to see Yeo One. “Pentagon?!” Baekho says. Hey, buddy. You are the LAST one to be surprised if a reasonably well established idol shows up on a reality survival show. 

Yeo One appears to be their spokesman, and they give a cute introduction as “Barista.” 

Kim Seohyung , Kim Seongjeong

Yeo One, Yoon In Hwan

Yes, I would like a cup of coffee. Unless it is between the hours of midnight at 5am, I probably want a cup of coffee. Thank you. You have my vote. 

Solar repeats, “Ba-ree-sta?” as if she doesn’t know what it means. Girl, didn’t you watch Coffee Prince? 

Yeo One explains that since they’re baritones and stars, they’re baristas! Ok, I give you that. You win, Yeo One. You win. 

Kim Seohyung the musical actor says he wants to make the stage shine with his warm voice. In my initial write up of him, I said that he has that classical “musical actor” voice that I don’t tend to like much. I said that I thought he belonged in the power category, not the unique category. We barely saw him on episode 1, but for some reason I get the sense that he’s a funny guy with an interesting personality. 

Kim Seongjeong again says that he has vocal, physical, and musical skills, then does a spin on one foot. He’s also a musical actor, and you may remember him as our adorable leaping lizard from episode 1. I said that his singing style isn’t the kind that I tend to respond to, but I respect its rich timbre and his excellent breath support. Plus, the leaping! We love the leaping. 

Yeo One says, “I’m Yeo One from Pentagon, and I’ll touch your heart with a warm tone like a vanilla latte.” Interesting that he says he’s in Pentagon still -- nice to have that confirmed. In my intro recaps, I said that Yeo One has a light, charming vocal color and a lovable vibe. He’s not a powerhouse vocalist, but he’s nice to listen to.

Yoon Inhwan shows a few exaggerated facial expressions and says, “From sad to happy, I’m a ballad singer who can pull off any genre.” Yoon Inhwan’s teaser performance was easily my least favorite. I really don’t care for his thick vocal color, but he has a powerful voice and a good sense of pitch. Learning that he specifically classifies himself as a ballad singer helps explain my personal dislike of his singing style. I’m sorry if anyone out there really likes the way he sings -- I’m not saying it’s objectively bad, I’m just saying that subjectively, I don’t like it much. But he seems to also be a funny, interesting guy. 

Vocal Coach Guy notes that all four have similar vocal ranges, then asks if they have a strategy to be chosen top tier. That cues the flashback…

Kim Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, chooses the song first; he was in fourth place and had an early pick. Next was Yeo One, who actually only got one vote fewer than Jay Chang and finished in 11th place. Soon after, Kim Seohyung joined, and then 24th place Yoon Inhwan joined. This was the third song to fill up, after Ditto and Tomboy, making it a pretty popular choice. 

Seongjeong chose the song because it suits his vocal range, but we find out that Yeo One chose it because he really wanted to work with Seongjeong. 

I think Seongjeong is really flattered -- I mean, Yeo One is pretty darn famous, so it’s always a good feeling. 

Turns out that Kim Seohyung, who Seongjeong and Yeo One call “The one with the coat,” is also a big fan of Seongjeong’s voice, and wants to work with him too. We learn that Kim Seohyung is a “newbie musical actor who debuted 0 years ago.” 

Seohyung doing some musical acting.

And once Inhwan joins, it’s a team full of good feelings!

We see a pretty short montage of them rehearsing and all promising to win this one. 

And then we dive in to the performance!

Here’s the version without all the reactions. 

My thoughts:

Will the great dog please grant me the patience to listen to all these ballads. I really, really hate this song. Sorry if it’s your thing, it’s just really not mine. Ok, let me try to talk about their performances. 

Overall, they were very good. Their voices were all fairly similar, so they blended pretty well. Also, it’s nice to hear some baritones in an industry that’s obsessed with high notes. 

Three of them are musical actors and they really sound like musical actors to me. Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, has the fullest, richest voice and it is in fact quite nice to listen to. Seohyung sounds similar, but not quite as rich and full. I can see the appeal of the way they sing, even if it’s not necessarily what I want to listen to most of the time. 

Seohyung, left, and Seongjeong, right. 

Yeo One was obviously trying really hard, and his voice was a lot fuller than I would have thought it could be. It was a little sharp, not in pitch but in quality, but it made a nice contrast to the others. His throat sounded a little tight, like he was straining, and he seemed to run out of breath on longer notes and at the end of lines. His comparative lack of training stood out, unfortunately. I’d love to see him just work with a vocal coach more, because his natural tone is very pretty. 

Inhwan was a lot better than he was in the teaser, without as much of that closed throat sound that he’d had initially. I still wasn’t wild about his performance, unfortunately. 

You guys, I’m so sorry, I just can’t say much more about this because I just hate this song so much that I can’t listen to it again. Forgive me. 

The MNET edit, as usual, emphasizes how great they are. There were some unhappy reactions from Eunkwang when Yeo One was singing, but that’s about it. 

Solar looked like she was going to cry at one point.

“I just hate ballads so much.” -- Solar, maybe

When they’re done, the judges and the boys back stage all applaud politely. They enjoyed the performance, but weren’t necessarily blown away by it. I don’t think that’s totally the singers’ fault.

When they’re done, the first thing the Vocal Coach Guy (VCG) says is that this is a difficult song to sing, and was made to be sung by one person, not four. Isn’t that true of a lot of songs, though? A ton of songs sung by groups are pretty personal. 

VCG goes on to say that Seongjeong sang it like a musical and did everything right.

Then Dahee asks Eunkwang what he thought of Yeo One, given that they’re from the same agency (Cube) and Eunkwang is Yeo One’s sunbae. There’s a bit of a pause, and then Eunkwang says, “I think you need to practice a little harder. I thought you should dig into the song in more detail.”

If you look closely, you can actually *see* Yeo One’s broken heart. 

The editors play clips and we hear the same notes that ended a bit too soon and didn’t have quite enough support. Yep, that’s what I noticed too. 

Hey, Eunkwang. You know that Cube doesn’t really help its artists in any way. Why don’t you help out your hoobae and offer more specific advice? I hope they meet later on and talk about it because Yeo One won’t get more trained just by wanting it more. That’s not how training works. 

After that, Eunkwang continues his “piss off BPR-Noona” shtick by saying that he liked Inhwan best. What in the…?

Solar praises Seohyung the most. She says that she got a bit emotional listening to the performance, maybe because of their desperation, she’s not sure. They say thank you. 

It’s time to vote for top tier. The judges seem to be torn between Seongjeong and Inhwan. I’m in crazy land.

The votes come in, and it’s…

… a tie.

Baekho and Solar vote for Inhwan, VCG and Eunkwang vote for Seongjeong, and Jaehwan unexpectedly votes for Yeo One. I bet he had some kind things to say about him, too, but the editors wanted to make it look like Yeo One was terrible and only showed Eunkwang criticizing him.

Backstage, Lim Jun Hyeok (former Day6) and Choi Ha Ram from team Breath joke that because the song is by Kim Dongryul, the score would be tied. The joke is that the name Dong Ryul sounds like the Korean word for “tied” as in tied score.

Dahee asks for a revote to break the tie, and the revote is really interesting.

Baekho and Solar both change their votes from Inhwan to Seongjeong.

VCG and Eunkwang hold steady with Seongjeong. 

And Jaehwan, ever the maverick, votes for Inhwan this time. 

So the top tier was chosen -- it’s our leaping lizard Seongjeong! I’m glad -- I’ve come to like his voice, even if it’s not what I normally gravitate to. But it’s got to kind of hurt for the other guys.

Eunkwang tells Seongjeong that he’s heard that Seongjeong doesn’t have much training, which surprises me a lot. Eunkwang says that Seongjeong can continue to develop his skills on this show. Hey Eunkwang, can Yeo One develop his skills? Or do you hate Pentagon for being younger and slightly more popular these days than you are? Is that the problem, Eunkwang? I’m sorry, team, but I’ve never liked this guy much and the more I see of him, the more I feel sure of it. I’m sorry if you’re a big fan of his. Maybe I’m misjudging him. But I can only judge what I see. 

Dahee asks Seongjeong how it feels to take top tier. He says he’s a little embarrassed because he needs to work harder. VCG tells him not to be so sad -- he won! I like VCG, you guys, even if I am physically unable to learn his name.

Almost immediately we dive into our next performance, and it’s…

Ditto

When the song is announced, the boys backstage begin singing the opening “hoo-hooo” like a wolf howl.

“Wooo-hoooo…”   LTR: Gwangsuk, Joohee, Inhyuk, all from team Tomboy

The judges wonder how it can this cover even be done? I guess they mean that it’s tricky because it was originally performed by young girls, but for me, I see a different difficulty. 

To me, Ditto is a weird choice for this competition because it’s not really a song -- it’s more like the idea of a song. It’s like the imprint of a song on a couch cushion after a song sat there for a while. It’s like a faint ring in the tub after a song took a bath there. It’s like the heat in a pile of blankets after a song slept there. It’s almost a song, but not quite. It’s the La Croix of songs. 

I’m not saying I dislike it. I mean, I like La Croix. It’s just that I don’t hear much in the way of chords. It’s kind of just a melody and a drum beat. So I’m not really sure how it could be rearranged. 

But of course, I understand the draw of picking it. It’s mostly in English, which would make it more appropriate for idol singers used to singing in English, and anyone like Jay or Soomin who is actually American. It also was a monster hit. A MONSTER hit. For me, the best song by New Jeans is obviously Attention but I don’t run the world, and everyone else likes Ditto, so, so be it. 

And everyone also loves Hype Boy, including VCG, who apparently was filmed at some point doing a dance cover of that song.  Cute. 

The Ditto team takes the stage, and they are full of MZ looks, apparently.

I had to look up what MZ meant, and apparently it is a combination of the two terms “Millennials” and “Generation Z” and is used in Korea as a generally broad term for younger people. It might also suggest young people who are on-trend…? More information requested. 

They all introduce themselves. Wumuti does his little Wumuti dance. You know, this one? 

..but more subdued.

“Chonin.. Wumuti-ti-ti-ti-ti…” 

VCG is like he’s still doing this? It’s a little cringey, actually. 

Woong announces himself as MNET’s would-be son, continuing his narrative. They’ll adopt you someday, Woong!  

Seokhoon says, “I’ll land in your hearts like a bolt of lightening.” 

Soomin says he’s a a singer-songwriter who looks like a goldendoodle. 

We see a flashback of the voice check and learn that throughout, Soomin was laid back, languid, almost asleep. Was he jet lagged? 

Our sweet Sunyoul from Up10tion interviews, “There was a guy with a beanie that seems to have a free soul. A real MZ from the United States. People like him tend to be really good singers.” I don’t know, Sunyoul. I’ve met a lot of American free spirits in beanies and with guitars who definitely are not good singers. Spend enough time at youth hostels and you will meet one million of them.

We see that Soomin introduced himself in English: “Hey guys, I’m a singer songwriter, 19 years old, from Chicago Illinois, Jung Soomin, nice to meet you.”

I love the look on their faces in the background. 

We’ve seen him use Korean pretty well, so why introduce himself in English? It feels like a weird power play. But maybe he said it twice, once in each language, for all we know. Regardless, it is a revelation to learn he’s 19 -- I got the sense he was quite young but I don’t know if I would have guessed quite that young. 

Since Soomin tied for fourth place, he was the first to choose Ditto. Seokhwa, Woong, and Wumuti all chose it when all other options were open, and this song was one of the first to fill up. 

We see them all introducing themselves so I’ll mention all their ages. Woong is 26 and Wumuti and Seokhwa are both 24, making the latter two chingus and making Soomin the maknae of this team and one of the two youngest on the whole show. He doesn’t seem to understand what the maknae role entails…. More on that later. 

After Woong and Seokhwa say that they’re in idol groups, Soomin says, “oh, you’re all idols?” And Woong says, “well, Seokhwa and I are idols.” Wumuti says, “I’m a half-idol,” then laughs with sad eyes.  

We cut back to a pre-production meeting, when a staff member asks Wumuti, “Are you working as an idol?” His reply is awful. He says, “ I’m filming challenge dances and whatnot…” Oh noooo. He goes on, “I need to debut. I’m always so close to debut, but it slips away. This time…. The first thought I had was, ‘what if it doesn’t work out?’ “

His eyes are shining with tears as he repeats, “I really want to debut.” 

We cut back to footage from episode one and see him make a beeline for Ditto. This was the song he really, really wanted. Wumuti is smart enough to know that to catch people’s attention, it’s best to cover songs that they already like. 

The team decides to tackle part distribution. (There’s a clip of this on Youtube with subtitles). Both Wumuti and Soomin want the opening part, the “hoo hoo” part. In an interview, Soomin says that Wumuti isn’t his competition, and kind of rolls his eyes a little when Wumuti sings. They both sing, and the other two guys vote for Soomin to take the part. Seokhwa kindly checks in with Wumuti to make sure he’s ok, and Wumuti says he is, but he interviews that he’s screwed. 

We go straight to the performance. 

Here’s the full version WITH reactions. 

Here’s the full version WITHOUT reactions. 

My thoughts: 

Overall, really nice. It’s nice to hear some more pop-style vocals after all the overwrought ballads. 

Soomin does have a really nice voice even if I’m not totally sure about his personality. It’s light and sweet, and manages to be pretty clean while still having some texture. But on the higher notes, when he’s not in his falsetto range, he sounds kind of strained and nasal. He definitely needs to work on that upper mix. It’ll be a real breakthrough for him.

Woong’s voice is rougher, almost husky, yet still smooth, like raw silk. I actually really like it, even if it’s not the official way that singers “should” sing. I like his pop-style take on the chorus vocals. 

Seokhwa has a bit of a rough time here. On the “I got nothing to lose…” he sounds really nasal and strained, like he’s having a hard time making the higher notes even come out. He’s pitchy, too. However, on the lower notes, he sounds much better, and gosh isn’t he cute? Also, his adlib “woah!” right before the end sounded really great. I hope he learns a little more about how to open up his palette to really hit those high notes.

Wumuti sings the best I’ve ever heard him sing. He matches Woong’s vocal color somehow, but brings in more warmth and performance. His little vocal gestures don’t come across as annoying or studied, and I have a low-tolerance for that kind of thing. 

Their harmonies sound amazing, too. 

Side note: 

What is with the whales in the background? Does this song take place underwater? 

In the MNET edit, we see that everyone listening is having a great time. The judges smile at Soomin’s intro, but think that Woong is going too fast. I didn’t really notice that, but I don’t know the song super well.  Eunkwang makes a face at Seokhwa’s weak high notes, but Jaehwan is into all of it.

Backstage, the guys call the music dreamy. Someone says that Wumuti looks like cotton candy. 

Jeong Inseong from KNK dances at his teammate Hwanhee.

“I thought I told you that I Do. Not. Dance.” - Hwanhee, probably 

When they’re done, Eunkwang says, “Difficult,” and Jaehwan says, “Is it too difficult?”

Choi Haram says it’s different to hear this song sung by four men, and Kim Minseo says it’s refreshing. 

Ok, for this part, the good feed I found at ok.ru punked out for a bit so I had to switch to https://wwv.dramacool.vip/build-up-vocal-boy-group-survivor-2024-episode-2-english-sub/ which does not have English subtitles despite what the title says. So it was me and my google-translate-camera again, and I did my best.  

The judging isn’t 100% flattering. 

VCG says something like, “It’s really important for a song to match the singers. And these two guys, Seokhwa and Woong, they’re better than the performance they just gave. You two chose the wrong song!” 

We see a clip of them performing again and the captions tell us that Woong’s voice is husky (true) and Seokhwa’s voice is delicate (true). “It’s a pity that the song selection doesn’t match the tone,” the caption concludes. 

Solar disagrees completely, though. She says she notices that Seokhwa and Woong were doing a little bit of choreography on stage, almost as if they couldn’t help themselves, and she liked it and found it a refreshing change. Yes, they have different vocal tones, but that’s the point of a singing group, that each person brings their own tone. She has a high opinion of their talent. 

Jaehwan says that Soomin has a languid charm. Everyone praises him, and he says thank you, sunbaenim! For some reason, it was wrong for him to do that, because everyone laughs. 

Backstage, Hwanhee jokes with Inseong that he (Hwanhee) could also sing languidly.

He demonstrates, but Inseong points out that all he’s doing differently is making his face look sleepy, and his voice sounds the same.

They all laugh. It really looks like this team is getting along great. I’m looking forward to them, even though I think they’re singing some sort of awful ballad. 

Back at the judging table, Jaehwan goes on to say that he likes how Wumuti kind of did his own thing during the performance. Yes, they were on a team, but Wumuti used it as a chance to do a solo performance -- after all, it’s a competition. 

I’m liking Jaehwan more and more. I feel like he’s been on so many of these competition shows as a contestant that he’s just going to do whatever the fuck he wants now that he’s a judge. He’s just like, “wheee! What’cha’gon’do’bout’it?” 

It’s time for the judges to vote. Eunkwang seems to find it very hard to pick a winner.

And here’s the results…

Baekho, VCG, and Eunkwang all vote for Wumuti. Solar and Jaehwan vote for Seokhwa from WEi. I’m kind of surprised that Seokhwa got that many votes -- I thought his was the weakest performance overall, in terms of technique. 

So Wumuti won! He can’t believe it. Aww! He stands there in shock, and it’s pretty cute. 

VCG says his vocals were very stable, and watching him made him happy. It was a good song choice. 

Dahee asks him how he feels. He answers, “I’m always in good spirits, but practicing for this performance, I thought a lot about how to make it better. I was really worried. So for the next performance, I will study the music and my voice and be more focused. Thank you.” 

The team takes a bow, and as they begin to leave, Jaehwan shouts, “Fighting, fighting!” Seokhwa smiles and makes a sort of “fighting!” gesture in return. 

They walk off stage arm in arm, all congratulating Wumuti, including Soomin.  

So, before we go to the next performance, I just want to talk a little bit more about Soomin and a possible villain edit. The thing is, the kid is American, and in the US we have different social norms. He seems to be pretty fluent in Korean, but seems to prefer English, so my guess is he might speak Korean at home with his parents, but I’d assume he speaks English nearly all the rest of the time. So he’d be learning Korean social norms a bit, but living in American social norms. Add in the fact that he is really talented and likely has been praised a fair bit, and the fact that he’s only 19 and mixing with established idols, this has to be a lot for his brain to process. 

Shows like this aren’t kind to people who come from different social norms. Just look at how the Chinese trainees are treated in MNET edits. Americans also often get misunderstood. Look at what happened to Yunjin on Produce48. I haven’t gotten to those episodes in my Produce48 Rewatch Project yet, but I remember vividly how she acted in a way that seemed perfectly normal to my American eyes but was misunderstood by the Korean public. 

Soomin probably thinks a bit of trash talking is fine and all in good fun. Or maybe he really is so full of himself that he thinks it’s appropriate to trash talk Wumuti, who seems in some way pathetic to him. Maybe. But I hope Soomin doesn’t get too bad of a villain edit, because he is so young, and managing the dizzying highs and horrible lows of being on a show like this would be hard for an adult, and doubly hard for a teenager in a group of 30 year olds. 

I guess we’ll see how this shapes up for him. I hope he figures it out, because he probably has a lot going on in his head right now and he needs to figure out how to get along with everyone if this is going to work out for him. 

And that's all I can fit in this post! I'll see you in the next one, when we tackle Tomboy (not THAT Tomboy).

And if you're enjoying the recaps, please feel free to tell a friend, or share on social media. I know that there are people out there who would like recaps like these if they could find them, so help us get connected. :)

See you soon,

xoxo BPR Noona

#bpr recaps build up #mnet build up #build up mnet #wumuti #ab6ix #wei #pentagon #yeo one

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up, Episode 7 Part 2 I guess: Team Lastplace versus Team Ballad

Ok, my loves! Welcome back for another recap of MNET’s Build Up! We’re jetting through the series at this point -- only three episodes after this! Is Nakka still stuck in your head? Because I woke up singing it. Anyway, in the previous post we transitioned from episode 6 to episode 7 and saw a ninth place team go up against a first place team. In this one, we’ll wrap up our third mission with our final 3x3 Death Match: Team Lastplace against Team Ballad. Let’s do this!

So, Dahee calls the guys up on stage and people are excited to see a big ballad show down.

The first team introduces themselves as “My Mr. Gwangseok”, which is a reference to the fact that the song they’re singing comes from the soundtrack to a drama called My Mister. 

You can tell that Gwangseok sort of wants to die. 

In the previous round, Lim Junhyeok and Yeo One performed My Sea and came in last place; new recruit Lee Gwangseok performed A Letter with Kim Seongjeong, and lost. Seongjeong was eliminated, unfortunately. 

LTR: Junhyeok, Gwangseok, Yeo One

The second team introduces themselves as Soul-Pow in reference to the fact that Inhwan was in the Power category and the other two were in Soul. 

LTR: Jaekyung, Inhwan, Donghun

In the previous round, Yoon Inhwan and Ma Jaekyung performed Take Me Back In Time and came in 3rd place; new recruit Donghun performed End of a Day with Sunyoul, and lost. 

The judges ask about song selection, triggering a flashback to the day that the surviving duos were able to recruit a third member from the ten sole survivors. 

We see that Donghun, sitting in the DMV, is hoping for Jeup’s team to choose him so he can avoid singing another mournful ballad -- while meanwhile the balladeers are talking about how much they really want him on their team. UH OH.

Donghun is like, well, I’m flattered, but also, I’m miserable.

They meet in an apparently unheated room with a… chalk board? Is that a chalk board? That can’t be a chalkboard. It has to be some sort of marker board or smart screen or something.

The other two keep suggesting old-fashioned ballad after old-fashioned ballad and Donghun is like, hey, here’s an idea: what if we sang something happy? The other two want to do what they’re good at. They discuss for quite a while (or at least, it’s edited to look like quite a while, but their cups don’t change position much so I don’t think THAT much time passes) and eventually Donghun gives in and says, ok, a ballad… And Jaekyung suggests doing an idol-ballad, which is at least kind of a compromise.  

Donghun suggests The Truth Untold by BTS. It is apparently inspired by an Italian folk tale, but it could also just be read as the anxiety that comes from showing your real self to a new love and fearing that they’ll reject you. 

Sample lyrics:

You know that I can’t show you me, Give you me I can’t show you my weakness So I’m putting on a mask to go see you But I still want you

A flower that resembles you Blossomed in this garden of loneliness I wanted to give it to you as I take off this stupid mask

But I know this can’t go on forever I must hide Because I’m ugly

It’s emotional, but not miserably sad. It’s a song of pining for someone, not mourning the death of a relationship.

The other two actually really love the suggestion and they begin practicing immediately. Either that or it’s a different day and Inhyuk is wearing the same s w e a t e r. 

This will come as a shock, but they really want to win! What? I know!!! It's wild.

The performance begins. 

Full version without reactions.

My thoughts:  

Overall, very nice. I admit, I’m not a BTS stan -- I like them a lot and enjoy a lot of their songs, but I’m not obsessed and I didn’t know this song well. Still, I’d heard it a few times and like it well enough. I think that, if anything, this version was more enjoyable than the original.

It’s weird to hear this song sung by someone like Inhyuk. But it mostly works, even if I think that his facial expressions are a bit much. 

He should add this to his busking repertoire -- I bet he’d get more tips! I think this is the most I’ve enjoyed an Inhyuk performance on the show. He toned down some of his more ballad-y mannerisms and for me it worked much better. 

Jaekyung, if anything, sings with *more* ballad-y mannerisms, and I still find his vocal tone a little nasal, but boy can he harmonize. 

I think Donghun has my favorite voice among the three. It’s smoothest and prettiest among the three with the least nasality. 

But all three have great power and breath control, and their voices work really well together. 

In the MNET edit, there’s nothing but love. Lots of shots of the judges sort of shaking their head in surprised approval. 

Solar has goosebumps! Either that or she is genuinely cold in the studio! Might be both! No way to know! 

When they’re done, several judges do the Korean throat-clearing-of-approval thing.  

Backstage, the maknae look genuinely touched.

It seems that most people are especially impressed with Donghun. 

The judges say…

Jaehwan immediately praises Donghun, saying, “Singing each note so preciously maximized the story arc of the song.” Baekho, Jaehwan and VCG agree that Donghun is just sort of charming and likable on stage when he sings. 

Jaehwan has some criticism for Inhwan, who took some jazzy liberties with the rhythm in the second verse. Jaehwan wanted him to keep to the original rhythm. 

Wendy wished there’d been harmony in the beginning too since she liked the harmony so much in the end when it showed up. 

VCG says that when they took turns singing, the ones who weren’t singing looked distracted or disengaged, and it negatively impacted the performance.

That’s a good point, and backstage, Lee Minwook is like, that’s good advice for all of us. 

And with that, judging for the first team is over and the second team -- the last team to perform and also the last placed team -- comes up to perform. 

Immediately, the judges talk to Gwangseok about his unique but untrained voice, triggering a flashback to his experience on the show so far. He placed first in Voice check in, then he was a low-tier member for failing to control his voice, and then was saved despite being the reason his team lost. Then he was left for last when surviving duos recruited their third member. 

He was so glad to see Junhyeok and Yeo One when they went all the way to the DMV to get him and tell him that he was actually their first choice. 

I love how he’s so tall that the camera man can’t even get the top of his head in frame.

They’re not lying -- they did sincerely did want him. Junhyeok mixes some metaphors to explain, “If we can tame the wild horse, he’ll be a good weapon.” 

They meet up in a conference room to drink iced drinks -- drink warm drinks to take care of your throats, you dumb dumbs! -- and strategize.

Junyheok is back in a sweatshirt, which is such a power move. He’s like, yes, this was on the floor when I woke up. This is me. Yes. 

They ask Gwangseok what he wants to sing, and he basically says that he’s so worried about harmonizing with a team that he doesn’t even know what song to sing.

s w e a t e r 

Junhyeok is sympathetic and encouraging. He tells him, “If you present refined wildness, I think it’s a success. I’ll be able to help you.” 

They decide to go with a song called An Ordinary Day by Jung Seunghwan from the My Mister soundtrack.

The song itself is a basic k-ballad about trying to muddle on in the wake of a breakup. Sample lyrics: 

Drip drip, I’m trying to stop my falling tears As I pretend nothing is wrong I say hello to you And I start my day like that again I’m alright, Telling myself it’ll pass As I cover up the past As it builds up, I get used to it Days I can’t turn back easily I forgot about the beginning And I kept getting farther away That’s why I couldn’t tell you So another ordinary day passes

True to his promise, Junhyeok teaches Gwangseok how to sing, with really specific feedback. 

Aww, how cute is this --? Junhyeok playing the piano like a chorus teacher while they practice together. 

And it seems to really work. At the guys’ final check in, the staff say that Gwangseok has changed how he sings. As a teacher myself, I love seeing a student who is hungry to learn finally get the instruction he’s been wanting to get. 

Back to performance night. Everyone is excited to see them perform.

The performance begins.

Full version without reactions.

My thoughts:

I don’t think this was ever going to be a performance I really enjoy, since as you know full well by now, I don’t love most k-ballads. But I still appreciate their voices.

Gwangseok sounds a lot softer, but manages to keep pitch on those deeper, softer notes, which is a credit to Junhyeok’s teaching. I think this is my favorite performance of his so far. 

Yeo One does that thing that drives me nuts where his eyes are completely closed for about 95% of the performance -- WHAT IS THAT? -- and he still needs to work on his breath control, but he seems a little better at holding a note for the right length of time.

Junhyeok’s voice still has that slightly shrieky tone to it sometimes, but here it didn’t bother me. I actually think this combination of voices works really well, because Junhyeok’s voice is like the spritz of lemon juice you put on some fried calamari, you know? It brightens things up. 

Their harmonies work well, too. You can hear all of them, which is a credit again to Junhyeok. 

In the MNET edit, of course, everyone goes nuts for Gwangseok per usual. We even have to have an instant replay of his first few notes. 

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that sometimes, just sometimes, the judges exaggerate their facial expressions in order to maximize their screen time. Maybe. If anyone does this, it’s Solar, because she is always displaying the most over-the-top reactions to things. 

But just in general everyone loves it, and when they’re done there’s applause and throat-clearing-of-approval. Backstage, the rival team is worried, and the guys in the green room think that Donghun’s team is at risk.

The judges say….

Eunkwang says that for him, it was the best performance of the night. He praises Junhyeok’s efforts in helping the other two sing better and arranging the song. Yeo One isn’t dragging his notes as much, Eunkwang says, which is something I noticed as well. 

There’s also a lot of praise for Gwangseok’s voice general and for his improved singing technique. He started and ended the song with a sweet tone. 

Solar says that Gwangseok “built up” the most among all the contestants. She’s impressed with his improved restraint. 

Then VCG says, “That’s all for the compliments. Let’s talk about the problems. The song suits Gwangseok the most, so when the other people sing, even though they’re very good, it sounds awkward. When Gwanseok led the song and the other two added harmony, nothing could’ve been better. It’s a team of three people that can’t easily make harmony. You have good individual parts but don’t blend well as a team.” Ouch. That’s exactly what they didn’t want to hear. 

Backstage, the guys are starting to think that this team will win. How on earth could Donghun get eliminated, though? So, who will the judges vote for?

The votes are revealed. 

Blue is Donghun’s team, and red is Gwangseok’s team. And… Gwangseok’s team takes it, 4-3. 

It’s the revolution of the underdogs. 

Gwanseok thanks his teammates for helping him so much.

Donghun says he’s disappointed, of course, but he seems pretty much ok. He thanks the judges for their kind words over the course of the show, and thanks his team. He really does seem to be in a better place emotionally than he was at the beginning of the show.

Both teams walk off stage arm in arm, and backstage, the guys are hugging each other and congratulating each other for their hard work.  

Then Dahee says something that judges seem not to know: that they’ll be rescuing five of the eliminated people!

The judges say they were hoping for something like this. I assumed they’d be saving one, but nope, they’re saving five! This is great!

Ok, we’ll pick up with that in the next post. Thanks for being a friend! See you soon. 

XOXO

BPR Unnie

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