When I Opened My Eyes I Was a Superstar - Chapter 105

# 105

A song sung alone (1)

The person who passed by Do-wook was producer Eom Woo-seok.

Producer Eom Woo-seok became KVS’s signature entertainment producer through the entertainment program <48 Hours Camping>, which started about a year ago.

’48 Hours Camping’ was a program in which five cast members went camping across the country for 48 hours.

The basic format was similar to previous entertainment and culture programs, but it diversified into episodes that took place while going camping and games that were played while going camping, and it gained popularity among the public within a few months of its launch.

Aside from one MC, who is known as the national MC, the fact that they brought in unknown singers and comedians who had not made a big name for themselves and showed their unselfish side played a big role in bringing out fresh fun.

The cast of ’48 Hours Camping’ made viewers think they were ‘amazing’ by putting their bodies on the line, going into a frozen valley in the middle of winter and sleeping outside in a sleeping bag.

In addition, the sight of a penalty being decided by drawing lots and eating gimbap filled with wasabi was as simple as it was primitive.

It was to the point where a separate ‘48 Hour Camping’ penalty game was created. Whether in college or at a drinking party, there were many people who followed the games and punishments from ‘48 Hours Camping.’

The scenes unfolding against the backdrop of familiar travel destinations were both familiar and comical, and ’48 Hours Camping’ was responsible for KVS’s Sunday entertainment, drawing viewers of all ages to the TV.

It was ’48 Hours of Camping’, which had high viewership ratings every day and currently maintains a viewership rating of 28-30%.

‘Is the viewership rating currently up to 30%?…’

Do-wook thought as he watched Producer Eom Woo-seok walking away while answering the phone.

When I searched on my phone, I found that the highest viewership rating reached 31% last month.

But if there was something going up, there was also something going down.

As the year passed, opinions were growing that ’48 Hours Camping’ needed changes due to declining viewership ratings.

‘At this point, a new attempt will be necessary.’

The ’48 Hours of Camping’ broadcast writers were struggling to come up with new games and recruit better locations every day.

We also tried to break away from the always-repeated format of ‘open camping site – camping (games and penalties) – cook your own meal’.

However, these ideas had limitations as they could not completely deviate from the basic framework.

Producer Eom Woo-seok, who was gathering opinions, came to the idea that a new character should be created for ’48 Hours Camping.’

At that time, the entertainment director also called Producer Eom Woo-seok and suggested that it be a good idea to add a new character. However, even though the conditions for the ‘new character’ thought by the entertainment director and producer Eom Woo-seok were different, they were very different.

The average age of the cast of ‘48 Hours Camping’ is 42 years old.

There was a national MC in his early 50s, two comedians in their 40s, and two former singers in their late 30s.

The director of the entertainment department said that although he had done a good job of recruiting people with no particular reputation other than Kang Cheon-ho, the national MC, and they had become famous entertainers, it would now be better to bring in other famous people besides Kang Cheon-ho.

The person the entertainment director was considering was a former KVS comedian. Currently, he is a person who shows off his wit by appearing on various KVS entertainment shows.

However, PD Eom Woo-seok had different thoughts.

Of course, if comedian Cho Gap-seong, recommended by the entertainment director, were to come in, he would quickly adapt to ’48 Hours Camping’ and, like other programs, would be able to inject some vitality into the program with his witty remarks.

Considering that the main viewers of ’48 Hours Camping’ were in their 30s and 40s rather than those in their 20s and 30s, Jo Gap-seong, a comedian liked by people of that age group, would have been a very safe choice.

However, PD Eom Woo-seok thought that the route was too safe. A path that is too safe can easily become boring.

Producer Eom Woo-seok thinks that the reason why the fun of ’48 Hours Camping’ is fading these days is because the cast no longer jumps in as recklessly as they did in the beginning.

Rather than being conceited as the cast gained popularity, they were already older and seemed to be feeling their physical limitations as the program became a long-running contest.

In addition, because the cast members became familiar with the format of ’48 Hours Camping’ before the viewers, they showed similar reactions to the previous ones that suited their characters, which also gave viewers the feeling that similar situations were repeating themselves.

Therefore, producer Eom Woo-seok thought that ‘young blood’ was needed rather than famous people.

He is full-blooded and, like the cast members in their early days, shows a fearless side and is also physically strong. A person who will build new relationships not only with the character but also with the existing cast.

‘Who was added as a new person… Yes, that rapper-turned-entertainer…’ As

Dowook opened the door to the waiting room and entered, the members had already woken up and were getting their makeup corrected.

Before we knew it, pre-recording time was approaching.

“Do-wook, I’m going to do your hair after Ji-hoon is done! “Just wait a moment~!”

“yes.”

Responding to Cody’s words, Dowook sat on the sofa behind the mirror. I continued thinking as I looked at Seok Ji-hoon absentmindedly getting his makeup done.

Producer Eom Woo-seok, after negotiating with the entertainment director, chose a person in his early 30s who was making a name for himself as a rapper-turned-entertainer as the new cast member.

Dowook didn’t know that process, but he knew that a rapper-turned-entertainer had joined the cast.

‘That person was quite popular, but when he was newly introduced…’

Do-wook shook his head.

However, soon the rapper-turned-entertainer had to withdraw from ’48 Hours Camping’ due to social controversy.

As a result, the program atmosphere of ’48 Hours Camping’ suffered an even more stagnant situation than before.

‘Even so, Producer Eom Woo-seok handles it well afterward.’

Do-wook thought about the programs that Producer Um Woo-seok did later.

Producer Eom Woo-seok, who produced ’48 Hours Camping’ until season 2, has since made a name for himself by successfully producing various programs in various formats.

When I sat down and analyzed it, I realized that all of those programs had certain rules.

When forming the cast, the old generation and the new generation were combined at least once.

‘Right. In almost all programs after ’48 Hours Camping,’ there was a significant age gap between cast members.’

In one program, a major actor in his 60s and an actor in his late 20s were used. It was a selection of cast that differentiated it from other entertainment shows.

Through this, we were able to create many new relationships and scenes compared to existing programs while simultaneously targeting various age groups.

‘If you listen to how you mentioned young blood during the phone call earlier… I wonder if you actually wanted someone younger than that person for ’48 Hours Camping’.’

As a result, Do-wook’s analysis was accurately reading PD Eom Woo-seok’s mind.

“brother. Are you sleeping with your eyes open?”

“uh? uh!”

Seok Ji-hoon, who had finished preparing, approached Do-wook and asked. Dowook finally came out of his thoughts and answered.

Seok Ji-hoon laughed at Do-wook’s uncharacteristically dumb appearance. Do-wook, who got ridiculed by his youngest, scratched the back of his head.

“I’m done. “My sister is calling me.”

At Seok Ji-hoon’s words, it was only then that Do-wook saw the coordinator behind him. Cody was waiting for Do-wook to sit down while plugging the dryer into the outlet.

***

Some time later, the KK members, who were waiting to perform on stage in the waiting room of a local event hosted by the broadcasting station, heard about the initial release of their 3rd full-length album through Manager Oh Baek-ho.

The initial sales record for KK’s 3rd full-length album was 200,000 copies. It was truly an incredible record.

“Is it true?”

“and. The fans are amazing….”

The members were dumbfounded when they heard the news of the initial sales of 200,000 copies.

The fan cafe had an almost festive atmosphere.

KK’s fans have been working hard to surpass the Initial Chodong record of Sabang Shinhwa since pre-orders were made before the 3rd full-length album was released.

Just as Dowook’s goal became the grand prize, KK’s fans were now also running toward the grand prize.

The award was for the singer, but what the singer needed to receive the award was the power of the fans. Also, when receiving an award, the fans were as happy as the singer.

Fans thought that album sales were really important for KK, who is not from a large entertainment company, to receive the grand prize.

There really wasn’t much to worry about when it came to music rankings. Already recognized for its popularity, each of KK’s albums has received good music rankings.

In addition, this time it recorded much better results than the previous music rankings. It was a good case to use the expression ‘breaking through the roof’ of the chart.

Due to expectations for KK, the song entered the charts right away as soon as it was released, and in fact, thanks to the good song, it continued to stay in first place.

After a week, he lost first place to a famous ballad singer for about a day, but quickly regained first place.

Therefore, fans focused on increasing album sales. We were holding events with each other and each person was purchasing multiple albums.

Since the size of the fandom itself has nearly doubled since the last album, sales volume was enormous.

In addition, the first 200,000 copies sold were Chinese fans. The unit of album sales has changed due to the influx of Chinese fans through some activities in China and a marketing strategy that utilizes Chinese social media.

It was also a continent. The number of albums purchased by Chinese fans was enormous.

“This time, L Duty Free Shop contacted me to ask for a proper advertising contract.”

“Oh……”

“Wow!”

Ahn Hyeong-seo and Kim Won cheered at Director Oh Baek-ho’s words.

There was no other reason why KK members had been waiting for the L Duty Free Shop advertisement. If they advertised L Duty Free Shop properly, their faces would be displayed on the front of Incheon Airport.

KK members have been looking forward to seeing their photos hanging on the huge airport wall.

KK’s popularity was now a fact that no one could deny.

Of course, Man to Man’s comeback was scheduled for a month later, but it didn’t bother me as much as before. KK clearly had the upper hand in man-to-man combat.

‘Since the reputation of Sabang Shinhwa is collapsing… the next one will be KK.’

The internal discord within Sabang Shinhwa was gradually coming to the surface. Even those who initially denied the fact were turning around due to the discord that was revealed.

The perfect performance that Sabang Shinhwa had shown was gradually falling apart due to lack of practice.

Due to such a situation, advertisers did not consider Sabang Shinhwa as their top priority like before.

‘The next steps will be to capture Seo Kang-joon and Seo Joong-won’s Ara Entertainment, but what

Do-wook is currently thinking about is raising the individual awareness of the KK members.

By doing so, we wanted KK to become a group that makes its name known in more diverse fields.

Director Oh Baek-ho, who was delivering various news to the members and checking the news coming in on his cell phone, stared at the screen for a moment and asked.

“Oh Do-wook, you….”

“Yes?”

Dowook, who was reading handwritten letters from fans, responded.

“When did you meet this person?”

Director Oh Baek-ho held out his cell phone screen toward Do-wook.