BANG JUNHYUK STARBRIGHT 2020 ROYAL CALLBACK
KARD - Bomb Bomb (1:05 - 2:00) Rapping to B.M and J.Seph parts Dancing to B.M’s parts
of course he was disappointed at first when trc didn’t offer him a callback. but that small feeling of disappointment didn’t really last for very long when he found out that royal was offering him one. which was funny, as well as surprising, as it was neither his first or second choice when it came to companies. though he did have a royal entertainment flyer stuffed away in his bedroom somewhere. though he was pretty sure it was probably old and out of date by now so that didn’t really matter very much. all that really mattered to him was that at least one company wanted him enough to give him a chance to audition properly in the first place.
and of course he was a little nervous about having to showcase two skills instead of one. it was just the rapping he had to worry about he would no doubt be feeling a lot calmer about the whole situation. but really the excitement was overwhelming the nerves. this could really be it. after a small one minute performance he could really be offered a contract and start on the long road towards debut. and maybe it was foolish to already be thinking so far ahead of himself, but the teenager really couldn’t help it very much. he’d been working for years already just to get this chance, and now it was right there in front of him. all it took was one solid performance to prove that he could do it. and he was nothing but confident that he could pull this off.
from the beginning he thought it might be an amusing idea to try and combine his skills on a skateboard into things. but after thinking about it for a little longer he realized that was an incredibly dumb idea and it was probably better if he didn’t do something like that. he wanted to try and take this seriously. it was his dream and his future on the line and he didn’t want to go and mess it up because he had had decided to not take it 100% seriously. that’s when he started to looking towards rapping and both dancing. while dancing was not something he was completely confident in, he had dabbled about enough with it to feel as though he could copy a choreography with a little bit of practice.
actually finding a song he was comfortable with took more time than he was expecting. it was hard to find a song that had enough rapping for him to showcase while also having a good dance routine to it as well. june could easily imagine that vocalists had a lot easier time with this, but he wasn’t about to give up. while it took a little time scouring the internet and scrolling through his spotify playlists for inspiration he eventually came across something which would be interesting to do. while the just under a minute clip he had managed to secure had a little bit of vocal parts as well, junhyuk wasn’t planning on singing those bits.
then start the practice, starting with learning the rap, just constantly rapping the words over and over again in his bedroom mirror, watching his reflection, trying to get the right facial expressions. then it was the dance, watching the mirrored choreography video over and over again, learning step by step, dancing in time with the video until he was sure the whole one minute dance was drilled right into his head. finally it was a mixture of both the rapping and the dancing. admittedly, it was a little harder than he thought it was going to be trying to put the two of them together, but after a couple of hours of endless practice he was actually managing it. and it wasn’t very long at all until he was feeling confident in himself, ready to go and put on a really great performance that he could be proud of.
the day of the callback the nerves were starting to come back. the slightly twitching fingers, unable to sit still as he rode the bus to the company. and the whole time he had his headphones plugged into his ears, softly rapping the song under his breath, unable to stop himself from moving slightly to the choreography as well. and sure, he was getting some pretty strange looks from the people around him, but junhyuk didn’t care. this was his last chance to get in even a little bit of practice so he was hardly going to let it pass.
just standing there staring up at royal entertainment, junhyuk the butterflies in his stomach, even if he was trying to just swallow them down. he almost couldn’t imagine himself coming here every day and to be able to call himself a trainee. but the teenager knew that he wanted it, he was desperate for it. and that surely had to count for something? he was sure they would be able to see how hungry he was and how willing to do anything he was just to get his chance to even train. he was still young, junhyuk knew that, so there was loads of time to achieve his dream. but starting as young as possible was not going to hurt anybody.
he recognized one of the other royal callbacks as the girl he had met during the speakup event, but the boy he didn’t. though junhyuk was trying not to think about them as he stood there waiting for his turn. getting distracted was not a good idea and he didn’t want to start worrying about how good these other people might be. this was all about him, it was his moment and he just had to keep himself completely focused on the task ahead and pull through in one piece.
when he finally heard his name his heart did a small leap in his chest. this was finally it. so junhyuk found himself standing up just a little bit taller, trying to seem as confident in himself and possible as he held his head up and walked into the room, smiling as he stood in front of the small panel of people and the camera pointed right at him. don’t panic, he knew he could do this, he was talented and he was just about to prove it. don’t think about the fact he was performing in front of the ceo or he was being filmed. this was all just in a days work. it was fine.
“hello,” he greeted politely, smiling as he bowed just under ninety degrees before straightening up again, the smile still on his face, “my name is bang junhyuk and thank you very much for this opportunity.” and he couldn’t mean those words any more, he was thankful he was even getting the smallest of chances to show his stuff. he could have very well never have gotten a callback in the first place. and even if today didn’t work out for him, he still wanted to leave feeling happy that he had put in his best effort and couldn’t have done anything different.
but now there was no more talking, nothing else he could say. all he could do was do his short performance and hope that it at least impressed someone and showed he had some potential to be great one day.
as soon as the music started he was in character, expression changing to something far more charismatic like a switch had just been flipped in his head. all the nerves just gone as he went right into the first rap like he had practised over and over again.
i see u eyeing on me 원한다면 come get a taste 신호를 보내 눈빛에 써있네 you thirsty all thirsty for this
너의 움직임에 더 홀려가게 she whine it drippin like faucet 적셔가 열정의 땀에 이 곡이 마쳐도 no pares y dame woah
the choreography was sharp but junhyuk was trying to show a charismatic and powerful rapper side to him as well. he wanted to act as though he had been doing this for years, that rapping and dancing just came naturally to him. he was extra careful not to put a foot wrong, keeping the timing in the back of his mind as he moved and flowed with the beat of the song. and next came a short vocal bit, but he didn’t actually sing along, not really willing to prove how little singing ability he had. instead, he had just left the female vocals out of it. but even so he still found himself mouthing them a little under his breath, almost as if he was keeping himself in time as he moved towards the next part of the song.
you make me 맨정신 못 차리게 어지러워 어질러 내 맘을 왜
more vocals for a second, to june allowed himself to focus on his dancing, keeping it sharp and powerful, just like the original. this was a strong song, upbeat and something you wanted to get up and jump around to. and he did have to hope he was successfully managing to show that and the panel of judges weren’t just sitting there getting bored of watching him already. but if they weren’t impressed yet, he was sure now the chorus was coming up they might change their mind. it was almost impossible not to at least bop your head in time with the music.
at least, it was for him.
나와 함께 새하얗게 Make it burn make it burn 매일 밤밤
then came the strong beat of the chorus and junhyuk didn’t hesitate to go right into the strong dancing. and just the sound of his feet hitting the floor as he moved was quite satisfying to hear, unable to keep the grin off his face as he performed. this really was what he loved doing, being able to stand there and entertain and inspire other people. june simply couldn’t imagine what his life would be like without music, without the capability to rap and to dance and really do what he loved. no doubt that would be a sad and lonely life indeed and not one he wanted to live. which was why he was so desperate to do well in this, if only to prove that he could stand up to people much older than him and prove that age wasn’t everything.
오늘 밤 내일 밤 매일 밤밤
wildin’ all day wildin’ all night wildin’ all day 난 매일 밤밤 wildin’ all day wildin’ all night wildin’ all day 난 매일 밤밤
as he got through the last little bit of the lyrics and the chorus finally came to a close, junhyuk tried to finish as powerfully as possible. his foot hit the floor on the last beat and he straightened up, holding his hands in front of him as he held the last position for a moment, sweat starting to shine on his brow and chest heaving with the amount of energy he had just wasted in the fifty-five seconds he had been performing. and he felt the burn from his limbs, but the boy was still smiling all the day. he was proud of himself and what he had just done, proud that he had gotten through it solidly and was pretty sure he didn’t put a foot wrong the whole time.
eventually he did relax as he stood there, taking just a short moment to get his breathing under control so he could comfortably speak again before bowing forward. “thank you so much again for this opportunity, i loved it! i hope you enjoyed watching as well,” he grinned right at the camera after he was done speaking, almost having forgotten that it was sat there recording him the whole time. but he didn't mind having that performance in an archive somewhere for years to come. he was proud of it and what he had just accomplished.
but, for now, all he could really do was smile one last time, bow just a little more before turning and finally leaving the room for the next person. next simply came the waiting game to find out if it was going to be bad news or good news. and while junhyuk was desperately hoping for the latter of the two he knew that if worst came to worst and he left this building at the end of the day without achieving his dream, he could still be happy that he had tried and done his best. and, as his father would say, that was all that really mattered in the first place.
