When I Opened My Eyes I Was a Superstar - Chapter 51
# 51
One-Time Glory (1)
***
Hit Entertainment signed a contract with Nakamoto and accelerated KK’s advancement into Japan.
KK had been continuously promoting in Korea since his debut until the end of October. A new domestic album was planned for early next year.
In the meantime, the plan was to officially enter Japan, establish a presence, and hold awards ceremonies.
The fandom in Korea had been secured to some extent, and interest in KK continued as of November due to the aftermath of the ‘Rendezvous Project’ advertisement.
In order to keep the fans’ enthusiasm from subsiding, the fan-marketing team continuously produced and uploaded content related to KK on the Internet.
KK members and staff landed at Tokyo Haneda Airport and headed straight to Tokyo Dome City Hall.
Today was my first official solo schedule in Japan, but because there was a local festival the day before, I couldn’t come to Japan in advance.
The excitement of coming to Tokyo and the tension about the stage were momentary, but all the members fell asleep as if dead in the car heading to City Hall.
KK held a showcase and handshake event to coincide with the release date of ‘Sorry but I Love You (Japan. ver)’.
At the showcase, the members were scheduled to perform ‘Sorry but I Love You (Japan. ver)’, which was rewritten and recorded in Japanese, for the first time. There was also a Japanese version of ‘You’ included in the single album.
In addition, as an additional stage, a Korean stage of ‘Very Sorry’, a song well known to Japanese fans, was also prepared, although it has not yet been released in Japan.
After the showcase, it was a handshake event. It was a handshake event that lasted from part 1 to part 3.
It was an event where KK members held hands and shook hands with 1,000 fans who had purchased the album in advance and were given the winning ticket through a lottery.
It was almost the same as a fan signing event in Korea, but it required a lot of stamina as it required standing and shaking hands with all the fans.
“Everyone, come to your senses and wake up! Arrived.”
Director Oh Baek-ho, who was sitting in the passenger seat, shouted to the members in the back seat.
“Ugh?!”
Ahn Hyeong-seo, who was rubbing his unopened eyes, looked at the scenery outside the window and cried out.
KK was already well-known to Japanese K-POP fans.
On the way into the waiting room behind the City Hall stage, not only Ahn Hyeong-seo but also other members opened their mouths as they saw the waiting line visible from afar.
The members had performed at the Osaka Dome last time, but since it was a performance with other singers at that time, there were many fans of other singers.
It was surprising that so many Japanese fans came just to see them.
“It’s really… a lot.”
Do Ra-hee, who was riding in the same car as Do-wook said, explained.
“The momentum is really good. It is said that a lot of goods are being sold on site. Very good.”
It’s not for nothing that the term ‘earning yen’ exists. Popularity in Japan immediately resulted in profits.
Not only was the sale of CDs and DVDs, which were twice as expensive as in Korea, smooth, but the profits from goods were also enormous. The profits would be shared with Nakamoto, a distributor in Japan, but even so, it was still a profitable business.
Oh Baek-ho asked.
“By the way, did you memorize all the lyrics?”
“Why do you have to worry about professionals like us?”
“Hyungseo, not you, Yoongi.”
Jeong Yoon-gi, who had just woken up, grabbed his bangs. Ahn Hyeong-seo and Do-wook had most of the parts, but in terms of the length of the lyrics, rapper Jeong Yoon-gi had far more parts. There were almost no repeated sections.
Jung Yoon-ki, who does not know hiragana, wrote the rap translated into Japanese in Korean and memorized it over and over again, as if reciting a magic spell.
“Well… even on the recording day, I wrote it on my palm and recorded it…”
“Ahn Hyeong-seo won’t be quiet.”
As Ahn Hyeong-seo started to sneer, Jeong Yoon-gi rolled up the A4 paper he had fallen asleep in and hit Ahn Hyeong-seo on the back of the head. It was a piece of paper with lyrics written on it that I carried on the plane.
“I heard Japanese fans are very strict on stage.”
Seok Ji-hoon, who was sitting in the back, muttered as if he wanted Jeong Yoon-gi to hear.
Jeong Yoon-gi, who could not hit Seok Ji-hoon because he was out of reach, soon unfolded the paper and began to memorize the lyrics again.
‘After today’s schedule, the schedule continues to Yokohama and Osaka. I guess I’ll have to get the first button right….’
Do-wook composed himself as he looked at the long line outside the window.
Contrary to some concerns, KK’s first showcase in Japan was a success.
They captured the hearts of Japanese fans with a perfect stage that included both song and performance.
Yusung Electronics’ Apollo advertisement ‘Rendezvous Project’ was also broadcast in Japan, so to Japanese fans, Dowook was already a star beyond KK.
Do-wook’s appearance, which has only likes and dislikes regardless of gender or nationality, also played a big role.
Every time Dowook came to the front of the stage, even the quiet Japanese fans became very agitated.
When Do-wook finished the stage and expressed his feelings in the Japanese comment he had prepared, there were fans who were in tears.
“ありがとうございます。 (Thank you.)”
Even the simplest greeting gave Dowook a different response. The members gave their comments while giving a thumbs up, and when the atmosphere seemed to have calmed down a bit, they immediately pushed Dowook to the center of the stage.
As if it was a prank, the members even pushed Dowook’s back without any incident.
In the end, Do-wook ended up shouting the last moment. I was fortunate that I had prepared quite a bit of Japanese in advance.
“Japan is the best in Japan. It is good in Japan. It is good in Japan.みにしてください。(I’m really happy to come to Japan! Everyone! I’ll come see you again, so please look forward to the next performance. )”
As Do-wook spoke while waving his hands widely, Japanese fans also waved their hands and cheered passionately.
After completing one mission called the showcase, the members changed their clothes and immediately prepared for the handshake event.
The handshake event was held with 400 people in the first part, 300 people in the second part, and 300 people in the third part. It was divided into three parts, with a gap of about 30 minutes in between.
Even though they said they would take a break for 30 minutes, it was not normal to have to keep smiling, shaking hands, and responding to fans.
Although most fans tried to speak Korean at least briefly, there were also fans who often poured out Japanese. The added effort of trying to understand Japanese, which I could not understand, made it even more difficult mentally.
“My hands… feel like they’re going numb.”
“I’m in the mouth!”
Kim Won also quickly added to Jeong Yoon-gi’s words.
“My legs are dying too.”
While the brothers were making noises, including Ahn Hyeong-seo, Seok Ji-hoon and Park Tae-hyung were busy drinking drinks given by the staff and stuffing snacks into their mouths.
Dowook also drank bottled water in a plastic bottle. It was up until the first part that I enthusiastically approached the handshake event, feeling like I needed to drink some cool water to survive .
By the end of Part 2, everyone was exhausted.
Director Oh Baek-ho looked at the KK members spread out in the waiting room for a moment with sad eyes and said.
“I feel like you are having a hard time, so I have some good news for you.”
While the members were shaking hands until their hands fell apart at the handshake event, Director Oh Baek-ho received a call from a Korean company.
The members’ gaze gathered as one. I was even more curious because I had no idea what the ‘good news’ was.
“Originally, I was going to tell you when I went back to the dorm after my schedule was over.”
“What is it! “Please tell me quickly!”
Hyungseo Ahn urged. Everyone unanimously supported Ahn Hyeong-seo’s urging.
Director Oh Baek-ho smiled while looking at the members. It was a laugh that only came out when he was in a very good mood.
“They say you were nominated for the Rookie Award at this year’s SVS Music Awards.”
“wow!”
“Is it true?”
The members who were lying down suddenly stood up.
SVS Broadcasting Station’s ‘Music Awards’ was the first music awards ceremony held that year. Because ‘Songs of Life’ was the most popular among music programs, it was also the most prestigious awards ceremony among the three public broadcasters.
“okay. “They said they contacted the company in advance saying that the candidates will be revealed on the Internet starting tomorrow.”
Dowook’s eyes darkened.
As it is, KK will not be nominated for the Rookie of the Year award.
However, with KK’s current performance and popularity, it was natural for him to be nominated for the Rookie of the Year Award.
However, there was a group called Man to Man that made it difficult to think for sure about receiving the Rookie of the Year award.
Although KK had the upper hand in terms of popularity and sound recording performance, their album sales performance was slightly lower than Man to Man. Ara Entertainment’s singers have been strong in album sales for generations. Because of this, the Man to Man fandom was paying a lot of attention to album sales.
In addition, Man to Man was currently in the process of releasing a surprise repackage album while KK was promoting in Japan. Because of this, sales volume increased slightly.
‘After the Rookie Award nominees are announced, our fans will buy more albums, but the same goes for Man to Man’s fans…’
It was a difference that even Dowook couldn’t tell what would happen.
Since KK had better results in everything except sales volume, the power of the agency was too different to be sure that KK would receive it.
“And I was also nominated for the K-POP STAR Award and the Performance Award.”
“Triple Crown Baby~!”
“If you have to get it all, it’s the Triple Crown. So, cheer up and come to Part 3!”
The members checked the time at Oh Baek-ho’s shout. It was already time for the third part of the handshake event to begin.
***
A whirlwind three-day itinerary in Japan, from Tokyo to Yokohama and Osaka, has come to an end.
All schedules ended at 5 PM. KK and the staff had a simple dinner at a ramen restaurant in downtown Dotonbori, Osaka. Even though she had removed her makeup and was dressed comfortably, there were people at the ramen restaurant who recognized K.K. and gave her autograph.
The flight back to Korea was tomorrow morning. It was finally free time until night time.
A hotel in Osaka. Now, on his second visit, he was tempted to go outside Osaka again, but Jeong Yoon-gi did not even take a step out of his bed at the hotel.
The same was true for other members. Food and shopping were also on the back burner. I was just rolling around in bed, weighed down by fatigue that I hadn’t been able to properly relieve for three days.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
This time, Do-wook ended up sharing the same hotel room as Jeong Yoon-gi. When Jeong Yoon-gi, covered in a blanket, made a sound of pain, Do-wook became worried and asked.
“Oh, it’s okay.”
“Aren’t you feeling sick?”
Not only was he tired, but Jung Yoon-ki continued to be twice as nervous as the other members due to problems with the Japanese lyrics. As the tension eased, my body seemed to feel chilled.
“You’ll be fine after resting today. There are no schedules until tomorrow. “What are you watching when you’re not resting?”
Jeong Yoon-gi got out of bed and came to Do-wook, drinking warm water. Dowook was browsing the SVS ‘Music Awards’ website using the laptop he had brought with him.
With the announcement of this year’s award candidates, online voting was in full swing.
As expected, when the candidates were revealed, the atmosphere in each fandom began to heat up. The most talked about Internet voting.
There is no separate voting for the Performance Award, but the Rookie Award reflects 5% of the internet votes and the K-POP STAR Award reflects 90% of the votes to determine the winner.
“uh? what’s this.”
Jeong Yoon-gi, who was drinking water, came closer to the laptop screen.
Among the three teams nominated for the Rookie of the Year Award, KK’s voter turnout was 16%. Although it is still early in the voting period, it was the lowest voter turnout among the three teams. Not only were they being pushed out by Man to Man, but they were also being pushed out by idol groups with relatively weak fandoms.
The same was true for voting for the K-POP STAR Award. KK’s voter turnout was quite low.
“We…were we this unpopular?”
Jeong Yoongi asked a little blankly. Dowook shook his head.
‘There is something wrong.’
Dowook quickly scanned the community sites. And it was not difficult to see the reason for the voter turnout. They were fans of Monster.