"First there is a separate shot of each person, and then all the members stand in a row here and look at the sun in the sky."
"Right here, remember this location."
"This shot is very simple. It doesn't matter if you smile, purse your lips, or have no expression on your face. But remember, you don't need to have an exaggerated expression. Don't look at the camera, look at the sky, or look at the sun. Do you understand?"
PD glanced around at the EXO members who were standing in front of him, rubbing their hands to breathe. He waved his right hand and told him the key point of the photoshoot.
"Gui, I got it."
Nine people quickly responded.
At this time, they were on the east coast of Gangwon Province, including EXO. Early in the morning, when it was still dark, dozens of staff gave the cold beach a fiery working atmosphere. They brought their own lights.
The dark beach was illuminated brightly, and various shooting equipment had already been set up and was being inspected.
Yesterday, the recording work of "Let It Be" was officially completed and post-processing started. EXO then started shooting the MV.
Because it is a winter song and there is no choreography, the design of the MV is relatively simple. All the previous shots can be shot live or on set in Seoul. Only the last shot needs to be shot live in Gangwon Province and the sunrise is shot.
picture.
After finishing my work last night, I didn’t sleep much after returning to the dormitory. After squinting for a while, everyone got up and followed the staff who had already prepared to drive from Seoul to Gangwon Province. They started to hurry up as soon as they arrived.
Makeup and set up equipment.
Chi Jingyuan was still very sleepy at first. As soon as he got to the beach and the cold wind blew, he suddenly woke up. The sea breeze in the early morning stung his cheeks a little raw. He was wrapped in a coat and kept rubbing his hands.
To keep warm, thanks to the assistant who handed everyone a cup of hot drink, it was somewhat relieved.
"..." He noticed that Wu Sehun and Park Chanyeol next to him didn't feel cold either. They were each holding their mobile phones and posing for selfies, which they were probably planning to upload to their SNS in two days.
Walking a few steps forward and standing on the beach, Chi Jingyuan saw this strange yet somewhat familiar place, and couldn't help but think of the time when twelve of them filmed EXO's first group show "EXO's Showtime" here.
It seemed that I really had a lot of fun playing in the water at this beach.
I remember that at the end of the group show, the twelve members were watching the sunrise on the beach. Everyone shouted a blessing. What did he say at that time?
Chi Jingyuan had forgotten a little, but looking at the calm but dark sea in front of him, he suddenly had a lot of feelings.
Speaking of which, the final scene of the MV was shot here, which was his suggestion to the company.
Even though he came here, he also took out his mobile phone and found a place with good lighting to take two selfies. The last time he updated his Instagram was a certified photo he posted when he received the MMA Awards trophy, expressing his gratitude to his fans and organizers.
Thank you, it is a very business update. The last one was a long time ago.
"The time is almost up, go check your makeup and change clothes, Bari, Bari!"
After taking a few pictures, the PD over there shouted twice with a loudspeaker, and the members quickly ran over.
Everything was ready, and the shooting went smoothly after sunrise. After taking the last shot, I thanked the staff, got in the nanny car, and started back to Seoul.
Seeing the empty nanny car, Chi Jingyuan felt a little uncomfortable for a while.
Originally, during EXO team activities, teams K and M would each ride in a separate car. However, after team M withdrew three people in a row, this habit was no longer necessary. Now it’s just a matter of which one of the two nanny cars you want to get into.
Which car should I get on? There were only four of them in the car now, which was in sharp contrast to the crowded situation when they were in the car before.
Originally, Chi Jingyuan was going to rush to the set directly, but just now Li Chenghuan said that he would go back for a small meeting first.
"According to our current progress, the return time of this winter single has been officially determined."
After returning to the company's practice room, Lee Seung-hwan also knew that the members would have things to do later and did not let it slip. He stood directly in the middle, clapped his hands and began to explain: "The official comeback time is set for next month, which is December 4.
day."
"We will perform a special stage of "Let It Be" at MAMA on December 3, and then officially release the sound source and MV on the 4th. As long as the stage performance is impressive, we can directly use the influence of MAMA to
It serves as the best publicity.”
"On the stage where "Let It Be" will be performed directly at MAMA?" Several members were a little surprised when they heard it, and Jin Junmyeon couldn't help but ask again.
The company had already negotiated with the MAMA organizers at the end of October. At that time, EXO had already confirmed that they would attend this year's MAMA awards ceremony, and the specific songs for the stage performance had also been determined, except for Kai's solo dance, which was used as a transition.
In addition, they will perform "dope", "black pearl" and the title song "Addiction" from this year's second mini-album.
For this stage performance, they have spent a lot of time practicing since the beginning of the month. They have recently been rehearsing the 9-person version of the dance. Unexpectedly, they will suddenly change a song as the time approaches.
But this is a good decision. The company didn’t pay much attention to the winter music this time, and it’s estimated that the song only lasts about a week. Although the reputation and credibility of the MAMA awards ceremony are not very strong, compared to the actual performance of the awards
It pays more attention to stage performances. Every year, both the discussion of gimmicks and the number of viewers are very impressive. Being able to perform "Let It Be" at this year's MAMA can be regarded as a blessing.
As long as the stage effect can make people's eyes brighten, its publicity effect is difficult to compare with singing programs.
"Well, I haven't decided on the winter single plan before, so I didn't think about it so much. But now that I have decided to return to the company with a winter single, I will definitely have to make new plans. After seeing that the preparation progress of our comeback can be completed before MAMA is held
, the company communicated with the organizer about the song change, and the organizer was very willing to hit it off. After all, it is our XO song’s premiere, and it can also have a good publicity effect for MAMA.”
"The teachers of the company are planning the specific stage performance and effect display, and we can start practicing in a few days."
Seeing several members nodding and understanding what he meant, Li Chenghuan also smiled with satisfaction, and then warned: "We will fly neon tonight, and we will hurry up and shoot the final MV after returning from Tokyo.
There is not much time left for post-production.”
Several people looked at each other and responded together:
"Arathor..."
…………
On the morning of November 21, Ji Kyung-won, who had just finished his three-day Neon Tokyo tour, landed at Incheon International Airport with EXO members and the company's team. He was carrying a shoulder bag and pushing a trolley suitcase to follow the team.
At the end, surrounded by assistants, he walked step by step towards the outside of the airport.
This Tokyo concert was held at the Yoyogi National Arena. The number of viewers counted over the three days was slightly higher than that of the Fukuoka concert in Shanghai. A total of 42,000 people bought tickets to watch the concert.
EXO, who have never debuted in Neon and have only held two showcases, can hold a concert with thousands of people in Neon and hold it for three consecutive days, which also shows their popularity in Neon.
In terms of popularity and market potential, the enthusiasm of fans here is no less than that of local fans on the peninsula, and some of the most loyal fans are even more enthusiastic and generous.
In Chi Jingyuan's own opinion, fans of Peninsula, Xia Guo and Neon each have their own characteristics. The latter two are more affectionate in chasing stars, but in general, as long as they are fans of XO, they are the idols in their hearts.
All are the best.
The process this time is very different from that of Fukuoka Station. At the same time, Chi Jingyuan is still asked to serve as the translator for the members. This approach has become a hot topic among local fans in Neon and has even been a hot search, because
His proficiency in language also gained him a lot of favor.
The three days went very smoothly without any unexpected incidents. After the trip ended, they got on a plane and returned to the peninsula early the next morning.
At this time, there were a lot of reporters around them who seemed to be watching them. As soon as they saw EXO coming out of the security check, they immediately targeted them. From the beginning to the end, they found that only 9 EXO people came back. After counting, they immediately became excited, picked up the camera and started to shoot quickly.
Photograph.
As SM said in previous announcements, after the neon tour ended in November, member lay began to focus on activities in the summer and will no longer participate in EXO's group schedule.
After the concert last night, Lay took the initiative to invite all the members to have a meal together, which was considered as a formal farewell in front of the XO members.
Because it was his breakup meal, no matter whether they were dissatisfied with him or unhappy with him, everyone temporarily put aside their grudges and went together to save face, and also restrained some negative emotions, at least on the surface.
Everything is passable.
Although the overall atmosphere of the meal was not very good, it was obvious that Lay himself had a lot of emotions. He took the initiative to drink a lot of wine without being persuaded by anyone. While talking, he often recalled his trainee days and some things that happened in the two years after his debut.
matter.
Many things were nothing special at the time and were just ordinary, but when they were suddenly mentioned in words after such a long time, the scenes from the past flashed before their eyes, which really aroused many people's feelings.
The relationship between Chi Jingyuan and Lay has always been neither far nor close. They are not as good as Luhan. Generally speaking, they can only be regarded as relatively familiar colleagues. But even so, he was affected by the atmosphere and drank a lot, which can be regarded as
Saying goodbye to the last member of the Xia Kingdom line.
Things in the dormitory have been sorted out. This time, Lay did not go back to the peninsula with the group. Instead, he went back to Xia Kingdom with the flight that took the same time as them. I heard that the establishment of his personal studio was very smooth, and he has not yet
I received a lot of cases during the official event. I will be recording a variety show right after I return this time.
Speaking of which, the three members of XO who returned are doing better than the other. Whether it is advertising endorsements, variety shows, or TV series, they have accepted a lot of roles, especially Luhan, who was the first to return. He was originally the captain and main member of Team M.
, EXO’s popular TOP line, the most famous in terms of popularity and popularity.
After he returned, he immediately became a top star as soon as the short-term turmoil passed. Various big-name resources were received, which directly affected the living space of Wu Sike, who had been enjoying a very comfortable life since he came back because he was the first to eat crabs.
The backlog is exhausted.
Chi Jingyuan was also a little dissatisfied with the three members who had quit the team, but they were still on the same team anyway. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he still conveyed the words he once said to Luhan to the others in his heart.
The two of them can only say that they have dreams in life, and each of them is wonderful.
As EXO walked out of the airport and got into the nanny car, it didn’t take long for comments such as:
"Lay has officially returned to China, and there are only nine EXO members left."
News headlines such as "All Xia members have withdrawn, where will XO go in the future?"
Then I will follow up with a bunch of my own analysis. From the recent events and various data that EXO has encountered, it shows that this once popular boy group is now in a rapid decline. It is no longer the new generation boy group that dominated the world before.
momentum, other three-generation boy groups have a tendency to catch up.
Finally, a boy group is mentioned for promotion and comparison, such as Infinite, B1A4, or GOT7.
The gesture of stepping on one and holding one is very obvious.
I don’t know how much money the other boy groups’ management companies have invested in marketing. From the beginning of the month until now, there has been no interruption on the Internet. It’s as if EXO will be disbanded soon. No wonder before.
Those fans rushed to the entrance of the set and hunkered down. After all, these marketing news seemed quite convincing.
Anyway, there are not many media or marketing accounts that are optimistic about the nine-member EXO's continued glory. They are here to step on one or two of them and praise other groups at the same time. Needless to say the real purpose.
Recently, there has been a lot of strife between Ari and the fans of these boy groups online, and SM has not responded at all. I don’t know whether it is because they are too lazy to respond or because it is unnecessary. The members of XO started to feel quite angry when they saw it.
For example, several people like Park Chanyeol have posted on Instagram to mock these marketing accounts, but now they have seen them more and have gotten used to them.
However, today when EXO returned to the peninsula from Neon, SM also officially announced to the outside world that EXO will return next month with the winter single "Been Through" and will present the awards at MAMA on December 3
A special stage will be performed at the ceremony, and the sound source and MV will be released on the 4th.
At the same time, it is also noted that the winter single "Let It Be" was arranged and written by EXO member Yuan. It is a pop ballad that combines a soulful piano melody, drums and other sounds full of rock sensibility.
There has been no sound since the members left the group one after another. Surrounded by various speculations and rumors, EXO, which has been silent for a long time, finally has news of its return. As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted widespread attention from fans and countless passers-by.
"The best news I've seen in this period, I finally got the news about the return of the Obamas. I've been waiting so anxiously..."
"Is this another song written by Yuan? The title of "Let It Be" is also very catchy. It feels like the members are expressing their opinions and feelings about XO's live performance. I'm really looking forward to it."
"But last December was the winter special, which was a mini-album! How come this year it only has singles, and there is no physical album? It's obviously a downgrade of resources. What happened to EXO in the second half of the year seems to have a real impact.
It’s so big that there’s no winter college anymore, alas…”
"As Aili, I'm really disappointed that I can't buy a special to support the Obamas, but we will definitely work hard to get on the list!"
Fans are very happy about the news of EXO's winter comeback. The return naturally proves that the previous rumors of disbandment on the Internet are pure nonsense. However, there are also many fans who are very dissatisfied with SM's return and only release digital singles. They think
This is irrefutable evidence that EXO’s resources have been siphoned off by the company.
As for the fans of Heizi and other boy groups, they were naturally ridiculed: "How long has it been since then to hold a winter special? You don't have any brains?"
"XO is really pitiful. In the first half of the year, they were still just shy of reaching the top. Asia's most popular boy band, by the end of the year, the company didn't even release a mini album, so they had to make do with a digital single to fool them.
Fans, I almost died laughing when I saw you kkkk, Ellie are so happy! I’m envious!”
"Digital single... kkkkk, this kind of cost-free return shows that the company has low expectations for them, otherwise it wouldn't be so perfunctory. In the past six months, SM should only have a bad group like Red Velvet who just debuted.
Will they make a comeback in the form of a digital single? Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you lose money because you don’t have any money. I didn’t expect EXO to fall to this point. Which of the two groups will disband first?”
"Probably red velvet. Even if XO is more popular than before, the number of fans is still here. Not many boy groups in the peninsula can catch up with them. The Parrot Group is still untouchable. I guess they will still be like this when they come back next year.
It should be disbanded.”
"Who will be disbanded first? EXO said I don't know, just let nature take its coursekkkkkk."
Seeing these black fans acting like a carnival after seeing it was just a digital single, Chi Jingyuan was helpless and found it funny. This time, the title of the winter song "Let It Be" was played by these black fans, and they didn't
I know how I contacted red velvet.
It’s true that he can scold red velvet for any bad thing.
As for the downgrade of resources that fans have questioned, it is not necessary. Although the plan submitted by Chi Jingyuan is still being discussed by the company, whether it will be adopted or not, it is obvious that the company will definitely invest the most resources in EXO's return.
But in other respects, the Airees were right. This winter single was too late, but the company didn't take it too seriously. Moreover, this was something that Chi Jingyuan and the company had already fought for. If it were to go according to SM's original plan
It was decided to be released in the form of a 'game promotion song', that would be the real thing to fool people.
In fact, it is mainly because Chi Jingyuan likes the song "Let It Be" very much, and the lyrics also have special meaning to him. Otherwise, he would not be too lazy to fight for anything with the company. After all, next year's comeback will be the real thing.
The point is, and time is already so tight now.
But now that they have done it, they must do their best within the framework, and this time the company also gave them the opportunity to perform this song on a special stage at MAMA. Overall, it is not too perfunctory.
.
…………
"Have you chosen the song for your winter single? "Let It Be", I feel like I heard you say this word before. Does this name have any special meaning?"
Chi Jingyuan, who was working overtime on the crew of "Misborn" in the evening, saw a message sent to him by Bae Zhuhyun an hour ago. He happened to have no time for his scene just now, so he saw this message when he was taking a break after filming.
.
Since relaxing by the river at the beginning of the month, the negative emotions hidden in Pei Zhuxuan's heart have subsided a lot, and he has returned to normal.
Although I don’t send messages to Chi Jingyuan as frequently as before my debut, I still take the initiative to chat with him every now and then when I get my phone at night.
It can be seen that Bae Zhuhyun is still holding a breath in her heart because of her professionalism and self-esteem.
"There may be a little bit of meaning to it. You'll know the details once you hear it."
After taking two sips of the coffee Cui Zhichang prepared for him, Chi Jingyuan sat there and replied quickly.
"Have you just finished filming? Is the crew very cold? (Curious)"
Pei Zhuxuan looked really relaxed. She came back less than thirty seconds after Chi Jingyuan went back. From a glance, it was obvious that she had been playing with her mobile phone.
Red Velvet has also entered a semi-hidden state last month after appearing on several variety shows but with no success. The entire group has no schedule activities. The singing competition for "Be Natural" has also ended with zero one. Now they
Every day I am either practicing dancing in the practice room or picking my feet in the dormitory, preparing for the year-end stages of several TV stations, and waiting for news about my next comeback.
Chi Jingyuan held a cup of coffee in one hand and tapped on the screen with the other: "I haven't finished filming yet, so I'm just taking a short break. It might be one or two o'clock tonight, and I have to go shoot the MV after I finish. I guess I'm going to have a lot of work today..."
It’s not cold but it’s cold. The heating on the set was turned on very well, and it was even a little warm.”
"It was really hard (poor)... According to the company's announcement, your winter single this time is your own composition, Jingyuanxi?"
Seeing this question, Chi Jingyuan hesitated for a few seconds, swallowed the coffee in his mouth and laughed:
"The music is yes, but the lyrics...no."
Bae Zhuhyun responded instantly: "You didn't write it? Who was it? The company's announcement said it was all done by you."
"The company also thought that I completed it alone, but in fact some of the words were not. I heard them from others."