After finishing their speech, EXO turned around and saluted other idols. Even though they were a little disappointed in their hearts, Red Velvet and others quickly smiled brightly and congratulated their seniors for winning the first place. They kept bowing and saluting in the face of EXO, no matter what
Both expression management and etiquette are done very well.
This is something that the SM family has always been praised for.
Yesterday's commercial was shot by Bae Zhuhyun, who was obviously a little uncomfortable because of her height. Now she kept bowing with a smile on her face. When she faced Chi Jingyuan, she deliberately looked away. After taking a look, she took advantage of the opportunity.
When the front camera was blocked, the whites of the eyes under the blond hair were slightly condensed. She glared at him lightly and immediately turned away, and then followed the large group towards the bottom of the stage.
Chi Jingyuan glanced at her walking movements with her upper body motionless and her hips twisting and turning from the corner of his eye, and secretly curled his lips.
Today's bangs are so thick, and the sides of the hair are turned outwards towards the cheeks, which looks as ugly as a pile of weeds. If you don't think about how to please me, Cody is still twisting there, why is it so smelly?
I don’t know which cody in the company made Bae Zhuhyun’s look today, but he could actually make a pretty person look so ordinary. He felt that he needed to avoid being exposed.
At the same time, Chi Jingyuan also noticed that the very strange choreography of the rap part in the red velvet stage today where four people were doing sit-ups on the floor had been changed. Maybe SM also noticed that the choreography here looked strange.
.
When he turned around, the salesman's smile instantly returned to his face. He turned on the headset and started today's encore stage with the members.
After finishing the broadcast of "M! countdown", EXO left Mnet without staying. They went back to the dormitory to remove makeup and change into private clothes. After a brief refreshment, the nine members took two nanny cars and headed towards nearby Cheongdam-dong.
Drive away.
Today, the 26th, is the birthday of the group’s eldest brother, Kim Min-seok. When I looked at the schedule, I found that there were no extra arrangements for tonight. I had been busy for more than 20 days in a row, and now that the singing period is coming to an end, some activities have begun to drop off.
In preparation for the upcoming new album's comeback, several members decided to celebrate together after a few words of discussion.
Originally, we were going to eat at a famous barbecue restaurant nearby, but Jin Junmyeon said that a very good hot pot restaurant had opened nearby. After eating it once, he and his friends felt that the taste was not better than what they had during the Xiaguo event.
No matter how much difference there is, I highly recommend giving it a try.
"Hahaha……"
"Cheongdamdong is normal. This mall has a lot of big names, all of which are relatively high-end brands. I have visited it several times with my friends before."
At this time, there were only the four of them waiting in front of the elevator. They glanced at the elevator that slowly ascended from the second floor to the negative level. Chi Jingyuan also glanced at the surrounding decoration with interest, while listening to Park Chanyeol and Park Chanyeol next to him.
Oh Se-hun’s dialogue, and Do Kyung-soo’s dialogue that interrupted from time to time.
Chi Jingyuan doesn't have any special preferences or dislikes about shopping in shopping malls, but because he is lazy, he rarely goes there.
The young newcomers who once had little money have long been reborn, and now they all look like young hipsters and successful people.
…
Because the comeback method is the same, and the comeback dates are half the same, and the company is not very cooperative in the first place, YG has been paying close attention to the various data and results of EXO, Big Bang's main opponent, since a month ago.
"arrive".
With such a high income at their age, it's no wonder that so many people yearn for the entertainment industry.
They came together in two nanny cars, but due to red lights and traffic jams, they didn't arrive together. The four people in Chi Jingyuan's car arrived nearly ten minutes later than the one in front.
Although he was a little surprised to meet someone he had seen before by such a coincidence in this place, but after all, he was not an acquaintance. Chi Jingyuan returned to normal in an instant, and walked into the elevator with his members. At this time, he seemed to be still
Najing Nan, who had not regained consciousness, glanced at her and pursed her lips very lightly. She didn't care whether the other party saw it or not. Even if she said hello, she stopped paying attention and turned around to press the floor button. However, she found that the 7th floor had already been occupied.
After pressing it, he blinked and understood, and stood still with his back to them.
Yang Hyun Suk took one last look at the SM company logo frozen on the laptop screen, shook his head and smiled.
I just saw the preview of "Spring Day" and found out that it was a ballad, and I suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.
Following Park Chanyeol's reminder, the elevator door opened with a "ding" sound. Chi Jingyuan raised his head and took a casual look inside. Then he naturally opened his legs and was about to walk in. However, as he glanced over, he suddenly saw
When I saw a familiar face in the elevator, I paused for a moment.
Moreover, Choi Seung-hyun actually regards this junior group as a competitor, but when he heard the word "far lower", he suddenly became interested and wanted to know how low it was.
"It's possible..."
"How many floors is it on?"
At Yang Hyun Suk's signal, a middle office manager began to report: "The most intuitive thing is sales. This is EXO's official comeback after ten months and nearly a year. According to market logic and the expectations of their fans,
To this extent, the purchasing power that has been held back for so long should have a very obvious explosion in sales.”
This hotpot restaurant, which is translated as Shangguo, is located on the upper floor of a shopping mall in Cheongdam-dong. Four people stood there wearing hats and waiting for the elevator.
However, Park Chanyeol didn't tolerate him, and directly spoke back: "Why are you urging us? We can go slower, do you want to watch?"
She had felt this from just now, especially when she got on the elevator, her daughter held her hand a little harder. After that, she looked a little unnatural and absent-minded, obviously having something on her mind.
In YG's president's office, Yang Hyun Suk opened his laptop in surprise after hearing the assistant's report, then clicked on the page and played it. When he heard that the trailer was obviously not a dance song but a lyrical melody, a slight smile appeared on his face.
Strange smile.
Sachiko laughed. When she looked at her daughter, the wrinkles on her face showed tenderness: "I mean the boy who walked into the elevator first, the one in the white hat, you should have a private conversation with him.
Let’s get to know each other, not the kind of people who know celebrities.”
At 12 noon on March 29, SM also released the trailer video of "X"'s title song "Spring Day" on its official account.
…
Because she knew that she had recently been selected for a survival talent show organized by the company for her debut, and the day before yesterday was her birthday, Mingjing Nan’s mother also came to Seoul to visit her daughter this time, and helped her have a warm birthday the day before yesterday.
, and because she was going back to Neon tomorrow, I asked my daughter to take some time out of her busy practice today to take her to buy some clothes, and at the same time have a meal to say goodbye.
Only those working in the industry know how terrible the prejudice of the masses is.
Kim Jun Myeon has almost lost his acceptance speech this week, and Lee Soo Man has been thanked so many times this month. Even fans are tired of hearing those few words repeated over and over again. In the past few days,
His acceptance speech will basically end within ten seconds at the speed of light.
After hesitating for a few seconds and thinking about it many times, a still fresh memory came to mind. His feet lightly touched the floor under the dining table. Naijingnan pursed his lips and nodded: "He helped me accidentally before.
busy."
Mentioning this, the scene of being rejected seemed to appear in front of me again. Najing Nan could not help but slightly curled his lips, looking at his mother with a little complaint and a coquettish tone: "And it was just a coincidence at that time. I guess it would have been a long time ago."
Just forgot about it.”
"That's not what I asked..."
In fact, with the popularity of "Call Me Baby" and EXO's current momentum, it is very likely that they can continue to win more songs, or they can get better data by participating in "The Show" a few times.
, but to be honest, for them, the significance of being a person is really not much anymore. Now it is just a kind of proof of one's own achievements and status.
To be honest, this time the results have been great because of the return of "E". There has been a significant rebound in various data, popularity and popularity. It seems that EXO, which had previously had members quit the group one after another, has come out of the gloom, but at the same time, it is actually also
The energy that the members had gritted their teeth and persevered in before their comeback was relieved a lot.
The waiter guided me into the private room of the hot pot restaurant. As soon as I entered the door, I heard Bian Baoxian complaining loudly.
"After SM opened the pre-sale channels for their second single album "X" a week ago, although the pre-sales have increased compared to "E", the extent is not as high as expected and is lower than our enthusiasm for them.
The expected increase made.”
"Brother, just order some. You're the one paying the bill anyway. You're the protagonist today." The air conditioner was turned on a bit. Chi Jingyuan took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair. He took the menu but didn't read it, smiling.
He waved and joked.
"Do you know the boy just now?"
Excluding this time, EXO has released three mini-albums and one regular album since their debut. Because the regular 1 and mini-3 have reached the million-selling level twice in a row, even the debut album "MAMA" and the winter special "Ten"
"February Miracle" has been somewhat delayed, but on average it is still a very high number.
With Chi Jingyuan's timely support, the venue for the evening dinner was finally decided here.
Najing Nan put the knife and fork down, nodded without denying the introduction to her mother.
I have met her more than once, the JYP female trainee named Mina.
A light-colored hooded jacket and jeans, a very ordinary outfit that looked very comfortable on him. He wore a white baseball cap on his head. When they just looked at each other, Nai Minami saw the center of the hat.
The pattern printed on it was that of Squirtle, a member of "Pokémon" that she was very familiar with, and the black hair that had been dyed back to its original color was exposed from the brim of the hat, and the neck could be clearly seen under the not-so-long hair.
The meeting on this occasion was so sudden that she was not expecting it. The happiness and cheerful thoughts she had felt when shopping with her mother just now suddenly became a little complicated.
After staring for a while, as if he was worried about being sensed by Chi Jingyuan, Mingjingnan withdrew his gaze again, pretending to be nonchalant and looking at the lines on the floor of the elevator.
Idol groups, especially male idol groups, rarely release ballads. Even if they do release most of them, their results will be very average, and it is difficult to create too much splash.
The middle-aged woman who looked like her mother was obviously very well-educated. When she saw three tall people and a shorter boy when the elevator door opened, she took the initiative to pull Mina and stand two steps back to make room.
.
Because in the hearts of many people in the peninsula, there is an instinctive prejudice against idol groups. They subconsciously do not think that idols can sing ballads well. This kind of songs should be performed by those true singers, and idols should sing, dance and express well.
The stage is OK.
"The momentum of their comeback is so good. If the next few singles can achieve this kind of results, they really can't stop it. They actually released a ballad and the title song right after that... SM is so confident?
"
He somewhat disliked Chi Jingyuan. Although the sales data was posted on several lists, he would not take the initiative to check it.
"The decoration here is really luxurious. I haven't been here often before."
"Call Me Baby" and "Roar" both tied for second place with 17 crowns, second only to "Gangnam Style" which topped 19
"Although it won a lot of No. 1 hits and seems to have good momentum, in fact, according to the analysis of the marketing department, EXO's return this time is actually not as good as it appears."
So now it is rare to see a boy group releasing ballads. In the entire peninsular music industry, people listen to any song they release. Whether it is Kpop, hip-hop or even lyrical music, there is only one boy group that has a good reputation, and that is Big Bang.
After finishing singing, Chi Jingyuan and the others put all their energy and work focus on their second comeback, the single album "X", which is coming in April.
In addition to playing songs, other data are also very gratifying. In terms of sales, although the initial pre-sales were not satisfactory, sales have bucked the trend for two consecutive weeks after the official return, even though it may be due to the lack of single albums.
It has reached the height of one million in the past two years, but it is still a terrifying number that other groups cannot touch.
But it is also normal. Chi Jingyuan has been a little more relaxed these days. After all, he has been working hard to prepare the album for so long, and because he has been suppressed by the outside world for so long, he always needs to relax.
After all, so much time has passed.
After ruthlessly defeating the junior group Red Velvet twice again, and winning two one-on-one spots on "Music Bank" and "Music Center" on the 27th and 28th, there is no graduation mechanism, even if you win three consecutive times, EXO
This concludes the song competition for "Call Me Baby".
I saw only two women in the elevator at this time, both carrying bags. They looked about the same height. One was younger and the other was older. The younger one was carrying a few shopping bags. It looked like she had just been shopping here. From their looks,
They have similar temperaments and look like a mother and daughter holding hands together.
However, with the popularity of EXO, especially after last year's concert tour, each member received a very generous settlement from the company, plus their personal assets and endorsement income. Today's EXO members are in most industries on the peninsula.
They are already considered a high-income group. Many people privately buy a lot of brand-name clothes and watches, and some are even ready to buy luxury cars and properties directly. They can easily afford some high-consumption meals and entertainment.
commitment.
"Show Champion", "M! Countdown", and "Inkigayo" all graduated three consecutive times.
In fact, he was still a little worried. Whether it was true or not, or whether it was the company's injection and operation, everyone could see the momentum of "Call Me Baby" this month. On the surface, the results completely exceeded their company's previous results.
Expected.
However, she did not carefully explore the cause and effect, but asked naturally and curiously: "Then he helped you, did you formally thank him?"
Maybe it's because the location and brand are relatively high-end, and the consumption is a bit expensive, or maybe it's the wrong time, but there aren't many people here, and the surrounding area looks a little deserted.
"Really……"
Even when Chi Kyung-yuan was filming "Reply 1997" for the first time, if other members wanted to send a support vehicle to support, they had to come to the team to raise funds.
From the official comeback on March 1st to the 28th, starting from the second Saturday of "Music Bank", EXO won all the trophies of all mainstream singing programs except "The Show".
"So according to our analysis, we will carry out BigBang's promotion, warm-up and comeback according to the original plan. EXO will not have a big impact on us. Even if everything goes well, their popularity and attention will still be in some way.
To a certain extent, it has been transferred to us, which has served as a stepping stone.”
There seemed to be some disdain and some surprise.
Seeing her daughter's tone and expression when she spoke, as well as her eyes that clearly contained some memories, the mother looked at her child and said something in agreement, but she felt a little clearer in her heart.
"I've ordered some dishes. You guys can see what you want and order some." As tonight's protagonist, Kim Min-seok, dressed very handsomely, Chi Jingyuan felt that he didn't even take off his makeup. He greeted him with a childlike smile.
Several people quickly took their seats, then picked up the menus and handed them over.
…………
"Actually, I prefer Sichuan food from Xia Kingdom to hot pot. Do you remember the spicy hotpot that Jingyuan brought back last time? That one was really delicious."
It’s not just him, but many YG employees who are responsible for this are like this.
Except for Chi Jingyuan, the other members did not show any abnormality at all. After entering the elevator, they were still chatting casually. However, when the topic of 'female votes' was brought up, Park Chanyeol suddenly realized that there was an outsider next to him. Halfway through, he
It stopped suddenly, and several other people also understood in their hearts and all closed their mouths tacitly. For a while, there was only a dull silence in the elevator, and the only sound of the elevator's engine could be heard as it continued to rise.
"Didn't I say it before? On the seventh floor, there are all kinds of eating places on the entire floor."
Feeling that something was wrong in the atmosphere, the mother had been keeping her daughter's appearance in her eyes from just now until now. At this time, she gently wiped her mouth and asked proactively.
The lighting of the elevator was somewhat obscured by the figure standing upright in front of her. The remaining shadow covered Mingnan's head, making her face look a little blurry at this time. After the elevator started to rise, she couldn't help but look up at the people nearby.
Chi Jingyuan and several other EXO members were so close together. After scanning back and forth several times, they finally settled on the back of the person in front of them.
However, Chi Jingyuan didn't think so much. He stood there quietly waiting for the elevator to go up. Fortunately, there were no other guests in the middle, so he didn't stop. It didn't take long for the elevator door to reopen on the seventh floor. He put on his baseball cap.
He pulled the brim of his hat down a little, and after lightly sniffing the faint fragrance coming from behind him, he followed the members out of the elevator without stopping. At the same time, there was a soft sound of footsteps behind him.
"I just looked at the sign and it seems that there is also a large food court on the first floor. It looks pretty good..."
"However, one month after the release of the single album "E", it still has not exceeded one million sales and is still far from it. It is far lower than their average level. This reflects the lack of followers due to the departure of members and the
With the decline in public perception, I think EXO's decline is actually quite obvious."
This kind of prejudice is prevalent among most ordinary passers-by. This also leads to the fact that even if an idol group releases a ballad, no passers-by will actively listen except their fans. The stage effect of ballads is weaker than that of mainstream dance music.
, no one on the sound source can listen to it, so it will be completely ignored.
"SM has invested a lot of resources for their return this time. Through channels and connections, we can clearly see that there are traces of human operation in many aspects, including publicity, rankings, broadcasts, clicks, etc. They have achieved
The actual gains are not as much as shown.”
On the other side, Minami Nai and her mother Sachiko Nai were sitting opposite each other in a Western restaurant, eating. However, she seemed to have something on her mind. Although she tried her best to act natural, she would still get distracted from time to time.
And the results of this return are indeed somewhat unexpected.
"Axi..."
The 650,000 for "E" pales in comparison.
In terms of music sources, after the astonishing explosion of being ranked first on all charts on the first day, the stamina did not disappoint. Although it quickly fell from the first position, the two songs of "E" are still at the top even after a month.
Wandering around the inner ring of the list.
Yang Hyun-suk was sitting on the boss's chair wearing a baseball cap, holding a steel lighter in his hand and tapping it gently on the table, making a muffled sound while thinking about the staff's report.
There are a total of seventeen singers, tying the record for the second most by a male artist in the history of EXO in 2013 with "Roar".
"...Yes, I don't know if it's official or not."
"Well... as of yesterday, G-list data shows that the sales of EXO's first single album "E" are... 654,421 copies, which is far lower than last year's second mini-album "overdose", and also far lower than their average level.
.”
"Lyric?"
But after hearing this data, the voices in the office became strangely quiet.
"Didn't we set off together? Why are we so slow?"
Najing Nan obviously recognized Ji Jingyuan and the EXO member who were not wearing masks in an instant. First, she stared at his face in shock for a second with her pupils constricted. After their eyes met, she flinched and quickly scanned.
He passed by the other three XO people next to him, then withdrew his gaze and lowered his head unnaturally, clearly feeling that his heartbeat began to accelerate.
"..."
However, EXO’s performance in the winter specials and winter singles in 2013 and 2014 were pretty good, coupled with its outstanding vocal ability and its lead singer being active in many TV series OSTs, it can barely be considered a half.
I was actually worried about my daughter being a trainee on the peninsula alone, so after Minami came to JYP at the beginning of the year, her mother often visited her from time to time to care about her training and life.
Feeling her daughter's intimacy and somewhat unhappy mood, her mother laughed happily. At the same time, she recalled that when she entered the elevator just now, Chi Jingyuan paused vaguely when she saw Mingjing Nan inside, but she didn't
Instead of saying what he observed, he nodded and agreed:
The sales volume dropped slightly, the sound source has been stable, the popularity of the album has increased significantly, and the number of YouTube MV views has increased. This time, through the first single album "E", EXO can be said to have fully rejuvenated.
She paused for a few seconds, then gave a brief introduction, but did not reveal the details of what happened in the club that night. Although she was very close to her mother and could confide most of her innermost thoughts, it would be very troublesome to speak out like this.
There are still some things that Ming Jingnan doesn't want her family to know about that will worry her family.
"Music Bank" and "Inkigayo" took the initiative to end their singing competitions after each won their fourth championship.
Cheongdam-dong is one of the famous wealthy areas in Seoul. It is home to many international luxury and fashion brands and department stores. The decoration of the shopping malls is also unique. Of course, the prices are far beyond the reach of ordinary incomes.
"Let's take the certification photo first..."
"We know each other..."
"Well, he is a member of the most popular boy band in the peninsula. He is very famous here."
And all the pauses were because he had seen the long-haired young girl wearing a black dress standing directly opposite Chi Jingyuan.
Just when Yang Hyun Suk nodded slightly and the atmosphere in the room relaxed, Cui Shengxuan, who was sitting next to him, listened for a long time and suddenly asked curiously: "The sales volume is far below the average? So what is their sales volume now?
?”
"I'm interested in bringing you a girl next time..."
Because the last big bang group comeback was "ALIVE" in 2012. That album, which achieved excellent results in all aspects, only sold 260,000 copies in the end.
After the birthday party, there was actually still time to spare, but after a short discussion, the members rejected Park Chanyeol's idea of singing on the grounds that "nine people are too many" and "all men are too boring."
A few years ago, among the EXO members who had just debuted, except for Ji Kyung Won, Kim Jun Mian, and Tao, who were from very good families, most of the other members had average consumption levels and family conditions.
I just choose some ordinary barbecue restaurants, Korean food and other places, and privately I don’t have too high price requirements for clothing and fashion taste.
Compared with shopping, he is more interested in food, games, and even animation.
The nanny car drove to the underground parking lot. Chi Jingyuan and others thanked the assistant driver and walked out.
"Thanks, brother."
"Remember, it's indeed okay...but now you say it's useless?"
Because there are a lot of people, if they all wear masks, it will be very conspicuous than not wearing them. Therefore, when doing group activities, they usually wear their own hats, baseball caps, knitted hats, etc., keep their heads down and be low-key. If they don’t meet
Those super die-hard fans who can recognize who EXO is by just looking at their necks can still play some hidden role.
As for whether it can go further, it still depends on the response of the subsequent single albums to see if it can have a greater promotion effect.
Cui Sheng blinked and chewed the word 'far lower' in his heart, and suddenly felt a little awkward.
As the backbone of YG, although Big Bang has a great reputation and has been playing since the second generation until now, whether it is sound source, popularity or even income, all the results are extremely good, but sales, which is very important for a boy group, have always been
These are their biggest shortcomings.
It can’t be said that it’s not good, after all, two hundred thousand is already very impressive for a men’s team, and it is a number that can only be achieved by first-tier or even top teams, but compared to their other data, it is obviously lagging behind.
After a strange silence for a while, Yang Hyun Suk knocked on the table again to attract the attention of the surrounding people. He finally set the tone with a high-pitched voice:
"In this case, the plan remains unchanged. We will officially announce Big Bang's return on April 1st."