Chapter 279

“Me! Me! I think I know! Elvis Presley!”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s him.”

“As expected, history genius Chiyo-chan!”

Come on, even people who don’t know that shouldn’t exist.

“Right, Elvis Presley. From this point on, every broadcasting station aired this white man found in the rock and roll genre. Becoming a star was instantaneous.”

“If you think about it… it’s kind of manufactured.”

“That’s exactly what I said from the beginning. In the end, stars only appear because the era demands it.”

“I get what you mean.”

“Okay, what if Elvis Presley was black? Talent and everything would have been buried.”

The circumstances of the 1950s.

“Or what if there was no racism back then? There wouldn’t have been a reason to look for a white person in the first place.”

Economic, political, and cultural situations.

“Or let’s say somehow he did become a star. Is there a guarantee that there wasn’t a black rock star with talents greater than Presley?”

“There’s no guarantee!”

But this time, Woo-ah Unni raised her hand.

“But Do-hee, I get that luck is important, but you mentioned composing methods first, right? What’s the relation with that?”

“I’m about to say that. So, have you ever thought about why, even though we’re already halfway through the 2020s, trends only change slightly while Y2K is still a meta?”

“…Well, I’ve never really thought about it.”

Just as you said, in the beginning, it was all about the glamor of the 90s and 00s.

If we talk about images, it’s like tinted sunglasses.

And nowadays, minimalism from the 90s and 00s is currently emerging.

The image here is what’s called geek chic.

It’s angular horn-rimmed glasses and rimless glasses.

“I just thought it was because trends circle back.”

“Exactly. But at a one-dimensional level, while that’s true, after hearing the previous discussion, doesn’t it seem like there’s another reason?”

“Yeah, thinking about it that way, I feel like… there must be some other reason.”

“Then since we’re in the entertainment industry, let’s take entertainers as examples. The topic, why doesn’t the national MC change?”

“…National MC?”

“Oh, of course, it’s the best MC, so there are no flaws, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But why are all the same individuals, even those who aren’t national MCs?”

“Umm…”

“It’s not that they should change. What I mean is, in the past, at around forty, there was a saying about how that was the end of one’s broadcasting career, but nowadays, being in your 40s?”

“That’s the prime time.”

“Yeah, prime time. My mom isn’t kidding either. Seriously… I mean, these days, she keeps using my card for Pilates classes? I told her to go to the dermatologist with Dad, but what kind of procedures does she get… Ugh!!!”

“Huh?”

“Oh, recently, I invested a lot of money in stock options, and I reacted sensitively without realizing it…”

“…I said I’d invest a little following her lead. Wow, I suddenly regret it.”

“No, you did well. You guys should invest money if possible. This is a stock that’s going up. Do-hee is going to lead!”

“Based on your reaction just now, it’s a little scary…”

“Agreed…”

“Hey, Topist is going to Mars, you don’t trust me?”

“Oh, really, this guy’s personality is such that he could lose money in coins or stocks… was it a bad decision to invest?”

Seriously, Kim Seo-yoon, are you a ghost?

How does she know about my past life?

“But Do-hee…”
“Heeya.”

“You don’t believe me either, do you? I’m telling you I’m going to Mars!”

“No… that’s not it.”

“Then.”

“Earlier, you mentioned that in the 1950s, the teenage culture was the main age group leading the culture, right? So maybe the current age group is a big factor too.”

“Oh, right. That’s what we were talking about.”

“Anyway, putting aside that Topist is definitely going to Mars.”

“Just as you said, the population pyramid structure has been completely changed for a long time. Remember when we were in elementary school? They taught us that when the middle age group is thick, it’s called a developed country’s pyramid, right?”

“Wow… Korea is definitely a developed country. I’m so proud!”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s Kimchi. But to call it a developed country shape, the bottom part is completely shattered.”

“It’s more accurate to see it as an inverted pyramid now.”

“So what this means is, the age group leading the culture? It’ll continue to be the M-generation and Z-generation. Isn’t that cool? It’s totally MZ now! This has become reality.”

“Ah-ha?”

“Since generational changes have decreased, are cultural upheavals calm now? So the entertainers we grew up watching are naturally still ingrained as this generation’s entertainers. Of course, this is just my personal opinion.”

“But that really seems to be right.”

“Really? Thank goodness. But going back, is this structure only happening in South Korea? No, it’s not. Most countries leading in culture are heading in this direction.”

Seo-yoon Unni nodded as she looked at Na-eun Unni’s screen researching age structures in other countries.

“So now, what would we say is the reason why Y2K is the hot trend of the 2020s?”

“Students, present your answers!”

“Yes, Seo-yoon Unni!”

“The current generation is nostalgic about the past.”

“Exactly! Nostalgic about the past, that’s something most people do. And yes, Woo-ah Unni!”

“Moreover, that past was a globally radiant cultural upheaval period?”

“Wow, Woo-ah Unni! You’re the best! Perfect answer!”

“Hehe.”

“Wow, our Woo-ah Unni even smiles beautifully~”

“Hehe.”

“Hey, wait! I got it right too!”

“True! Why have you both been exchanging answers since the last time!?”

“No kidding! Did you make some pact that day? Did you even kiss? What the heck! I’m seriously getting so annoyed, argh!”

Seo-yoon Unni and Chiyo Unni showed a hurt reaction to my very different response.

“They said they made a deal to smile and cherish each other.”

Na-eun Unni calmly said this while grabbing another piece of fruit.

“Okay, let’s wrap this up now, everyone.”

“No, what I’m saying is, doesn’t it mean you teamed up or something? Like, ‘you like me the best’ and all that! I’m the only one left out! Argh!”

“I’ll… I’ll burst out next time too! I’ll have a fight with Do-hee!”

The students hadn’t finished their lesson yet.

“Okay~ So!”

I barely calmed them down and continued the lesson.

“So what I want to say is that in the end, the essence isn’t Y2K, but creating songs that resonate with that generation is what truly matters.”

“Yeah.”

“Now, for the question. What key points does the image of a uniformed girl target?”

“That’s obviously refreshing and pure.”

“Right. But the feelings of the people receiving it are different from before. Second question, does the generation leading Y2K tend to be older or younger than today’s idols?”

“Probably similar or older.”
“I probably have a lot, right?”

“Exactly. It used to be pretty unni or pretty noona, but now it’s pretty dongsaengs instead.”

“Oh, I see?”

“That’s right. So wouldn’t they prefer and adore the younger ones?”

“They would adore them.”

“Yeah, so essentially, the direction has changed.”

“Oh~”

“Now, it’s natural for those in their late teens and early twenties to have the title of ‘baby,’ and there’s more talk about tolerating immature remarks since they are young. There’s a lot more evaluation on whether they deserve love rather than just admiration.”

“Sure seems like our youngest is quite smart…? It’s unexpectedly enlightening…”

“So from this, we can understand why Lee Do-hee gets hate? Correct answer! She’s young and doesn’t seem like a younger sibling but is outstanding! Wow~!”

“Just a typical wild card, huh?”

“Seriously, considering what people say these days, it’s a bit much.”

“No, you look good, Do-hee.”

“Well, this is just my personality, so what can I do?”

“Anyway, our 4th generation is fortunately still young enough, so we can still receive that idol-like admiration.”

“Okay.”

“So, perfect girliness shouldn’t be necessary. In reality, it’s not that effective in increasing the fandom’s purchasing demographic. Besides, I’m not really into that either.”

Meanwhile, Seo-yoon Unni looked over the outline of the paper and said,

“So, is the first song’s concept intense? Like boy groups?”

“Yeah, what I’ve explained so far is actually why the director decided on the debonaire concept.”

So the director is someone with a good sense.

“Oh… now I completely understand.”

“But there’s a condition. It’s just the concept, and it can’t be loud like boy groups’ songs.”

“Right, to appeal to the public, it has to be easy listening.”

“Yeah, of course, it could be a stereotype, but generally, as you age, there’s a tendency to reject loud things. So… we need to consider that more. I think that’s why even boy groups mix in easy listening nowadays?”

In the middle of this, Woo-ah Unni asked,

“Do-hee, then we have Sweet Demon, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“That one’s upbeat, but it’s easy listening, right? Is that the vibe you’re going for?”

“Well… actually, the term easy listening is often used too casually, but originally, easy listening is characterized by extremely peaceful and simple ambiance. So I’m not sure if calling Sweet Demon easy listening fits…”

Let’s see.

“Anyway, it’s different from Sweet Demon. I have a melody I’ve sketched out, and you’ll know when you hear it. To begin with, Sweet Demon was lacking in concept.”

I started playing the basic file with the main melody roughly recorded on my laptop.

Of course, I continued talking.

“Ah, and I think Sweet Demon feels closer to easy listening because the main melody is a simple note, making it easy to sing along. This has the feels of relatively recent 2nd generation music that uses a single note repeating a lot, which is quite addictive.”

“I think I kinda understand what you’re saying.”

But do I really have the qualities of a teacher?

Everyone seems to get the gist of what I’m saying.

Maybe I am good at explaining things in an understandable way.

“But Do-hee.”

Just as I was about to pull out the sample, Na-eun Unni poked me.
“Eh?”

Na-eun Unni opened her calendar app.

“I think we should decide what we’re going to do for this year’s awards ceremony before we start on the album work.”

“Ah… the awards ceremony?”

The MWMA (Mwave Music Awards) hosted by LE.

Given our not-so-great relationship with them,

The director left the decision about attending the MWMA to us.

Meaning we technically don’t have to go.

“Yeah, we need to prepare for the end-of-year stage, too.”

“But how’s the rookie award situation going? Does anyone know?”

By September, there should be clear indicators.

“Wait a sec.”

Seo-yoon Unni quickly searched and then showed the prediction chart.

Usually, girl groups can win two awards at the MWMA:

Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.

For Song of the Year, we were pretty much neck-and-neck with Hana Unni’s group.

Actually, Ailee’s “Backya” had a slight edge since it had been accumulating listeners since last November.

Of course, it could change based on the judging criteria, but we weren’t optimistic.

Mwave is unlikely to give us favorable judging.

So, it seemed like Song of the Year would likely go to Ailee.

However, Artist of the Year tallies up the results from all albums released this year,

And we had a slight edge there.

Thanks to Sweet Demon and New Vibes doing exceptionally well.

Until recently, there was a decent global response for Destroy Six before some annoying incidents happened over there.

But, depending on the judging criteria, there’s still a chance we might not win that one too.

Rookie awards are generally given to two groups, but this time they said it would be separated by gender,

So it feels like it’s leaning towards Ye-eun Unni’s group.

“Seo-yoon and Do-hee, you two decide. Seven is your group, after all.”

So if we end up attending, it would mean simply preparing for trouble and getting to perform for free.

Even if we win an award, it wouldn’t mean much.

“I don’t know… I’m okay either way. Do-hee, you pick.”

Still, my opinion was pretty much set from the beginning.

“Really? Then let’s just go. Who cares if we don’t win an award?”

We could just win at the Watermelon Music Awards instead.

If they provide the awards as they usually do, the grand prize would be guaranteed.

“How often do you get to perform in front of thousands of people, right?”

“Oh… attention seeker.”

“What are you talking about? I mean let’s go, enjoy the stage a bit… and cheer for Sara Unni’s group, okay?”

I felt a rush of excitement.

I thought my special stage at the Watermelon Music Awards would be especially fun.

Oh right, I almost forgot to mention this.

“And I’ve decided to do a special solo stage at the Watermelon Music Awards, you know?”

“Huh? Really?”

“I’ve got that lined up, and I need to work on that song separately, so I’m busy. Of course, I’ve got some ideas and a rough outline ready…”

“No, are you serious?”

“Of course I am.”

“Do-hee, how many projects are you juggling at once? What about the song work…”

“Seriously, you’re doing whatever you want, huh… ”

“Anyway, that’s how it is. Now we’ve got to decide on the year-end stage concept and the performance details.”

She flashed a bright smile.

“I guess this is something the Unnies and the staff need to sort out. Please! Hehe!”

I hope the Unnies think positively about it, too.

It’s great because we’re quickly gaining real-life experience.

I’ll be busy with this and that… but?

Still, Do-hee, I can do it!

Let’s go, everyone! Aja, aja!

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