It may have come as a surprise to most people because of the vibe he gave off as well as his very vocalized love of rock music, but Daisuke was an avid lover of girl groups, some of his favorites being ones who executed the cute concept very well. He enjoyed a wide range of concepts, none more than the other, but there was something addictive about a bubblegum pop song that Daisuke’s ears and brain couldn’t resist. One of his all time favorite girl groups would have to be Cloud’s little sister group, Candy. He’d been a fan ever since their debut a year and a few months after his own with Cloud, and he doubted anything about that would be changing any time soon.
His love of Candy had led him to picking to cover one of their songs for the Base Online project - one of his favorite songs from them, What is Love? It was a song that Daisuke found surprisingly deep, especially the chorus. The lyrics weren’t particularly out of this world, but the message and emotion behind it was certainly there. Singing the song with Duri had come about not too long after he made the decision to cover the song, and he was glad that he had someone else to perform it with. Plus, on the bright side, Duri was one of his favorite vocalists in the industry, so it was going to be a fun experience for him no matter what.
He entered the set with his guitar strapped to his back, dressed in his own, comfortable clothing. He was glad that they weren’t being professionally styled for it. Daisuke settled down on one of the chairs and began setting up his guitar, only glancing up when the door opened, signaling someone’s arrival. “Hey, hyung. Glad to see you made it.”
date: may 2022.
word count: 611 words.
summary: mirae feeds her fanbase (wlw).
notes: song.
the cover for the base youtube channel hangs in the back of her mind somewhere through filming and solo prep, but it’s never quite the right time. she’s too busy before bloom releases to fit something relatively inconsequential into her schedule and management doesn’t want to draw any attention away from her debut. she needs to be focused on her performances, and so do the fans, if it’s to be a success.
it’s a few weeks post-promotions and though she’s gearing up for selene’s comeback and spending mornings in kickboxing classes and evenings in action school, there’s a few more gaps in her schedule — terrible ugly things that remind her that there’s more she could be doing. she pulls her base cover over from the pile of work waiting to be done and slots it into those gaps.
the song selection process is rather fast. the song has been one that’s been somewhat regular in her dance warm-up playlists since it had released and shown up as a music recommendation for her. she doesn’t want to do a dance cover again, though, not when she’s planned out a year’s worth for her own youtube, so she pivots to a vocal cover.
song and performance avenue decided, she makes the proper arrangements with the proper people. she sends off her song choice and a basic overview of the set decoration she has in mind. low lights and reflective surfaces with one mic stand in the middle. what she has in mind is something like the stage in a smoky jazz club late in the night. she’d have asked for them to go all out with the set if she wasn’t already aware of the limitations, so she takes what they can compromise on and fits in extra vocal lessons to rehearse the song with her vocal coach. the song is well within her comfortable vocal range and delivery style — making the pronunciation sound natural in a language she doesn’t really speak is the hardest part —, so between lessons and rented out vocal practice rooms at gold star, it only takes a few weeks from beginning to set filming up and when the date actually comes.
when it does, she lingers around the set as the crew finishes setting it up, letting herself settle into the atmosphere so she’s engulfed in it instead of controlled by it when she gets in front of the camera. it’s something she’d learned from one of the senior actors back on heart blackened. one should get to know the set before they’re put on it in front of a camera. she doesn’t know the theory behind it, truthfully, other than it eases any noticeable tension from a strange environment that might not be appropriate, but she sticks to it when she can. if nothing else, there’s a unique energy that leaks off every set and stage she’s ever been on and taking that for granted will only hurt her performance.
a staff member comes over to adjust her jacket and another touches up her eyebrows and then she’s led onto the set. each set might have its own energy, but she’s never set foot on one and not wanted to straighten her spine a little taller. in the rush of her solo debut and selene’s comeback and upcoming acting and modeling work, a cover video on base’s youtube video might get lost in the shuffle, but it’s no less a chance to prove herself.
the lights operator shifts something to have them lower down on her as mirae centers herself behind the microphone and waits for the first note of the backing track to come in.
what: base online cover opportunity, covering monica’s "before you walk out of my life” inspo
where: base set
when: may 20, 2022
it takes joohyun weeks from the moment she decides she wants to, for her to ask her manager if she can do the cover for base.
a part of her is convinced they won’t let her. it’s a fear that has crawled its way under her skin and settled there, developed after so long being denied the one thing that she fully wants to do. joohyun is not the complaining type. she’s the type to accept what is being asked of her and try her best to adjust the circumstances so that they are less miserable than they have to be. but her manager is aware of her unsatisfaction, of how much the refusal to let joohyun just sing dims her spirit, bit by bit.
so joohyun isn’t expecting the company to let her, much less to allow her to pick the song and decide everything down to the outfit she’s going to wear, but she’s granted all of those. her manager only lets her know that her decisions are expected to get past management before they are green lit but that, otherwise, she’s free to do as she pleases.
joohyun gets stuck picking which song to sing. the few times she has showcased her vocals, she always stuck to more traditional ballads, feeling like that was what people wanted from her. in andromeda’s song she never really got to show off either — there were other people to share the spotlight with, and grand vocal moments weren’t always a good choice for a group with varying levels of vocal skill.
but she wants to surprise the fans and whoever else watches her video. so picking one of her favourite songs, one she never thought about singing as a cover, feels like the right choice.
she enlists her vocal coach to help her practice and the older woman is relentless in the way she grills into her, pausing every other second to correct her posture, to tell her to breathe better, to criticise her coordination and intonation. all types of nitpicking that have been fundamental for joohyun’s improvement in the past couple of years.
on the day of the filming, she arrives to the set and there’s only her and the minimal staff. joohyun makes a point of greeting everybody, carrying in cold drinks and distributing them around. it’s a habit of hers, one she takes everywhere she goes, from music shows to drama sets. it’s good to give out small kindness but she also finds that the hours of work are considerably more pleasant if she starts them off with the right foot.
“you’re singing before you walk out of my life, right?” the director drops by just as she’s getting her hair and make up done, and joohyun confirms it with a nod of her head. “alright, we’ll be ready for you in ten, if you’d like to rehearse first.”
joohyun does, so she warms up as she changes into the black dress she grabbed off of her own closet, and then as her manager does the kindness of lacing up her boots for her.
arriving back at the set there’s only one mic stand in the middle of it, the lightning already setting the mood. joohyun didn’t want a band, not for this. for once, she wanted to be the full center of attention, no one else to share the spotlight with her, even if it was just to play an instrument. she felt she deserved this, deserved this chance of having all the focus on her.
“thank you so much for preparing all of this for me,” she says as she stands behind the mic, a smile on her face. “let’s work hard today!”
❝ the blinding spotlight, in your heart and mine, a brilliant moment that will forever bloom
solo related to famedbaseonline1.3
date: sometime in march 2022
song choice: panorama
word count: 581
notes:
this was a song minhee loved so so much, it was bright and bubbly, full of colour and meaning. it wasn’t a genre that polaris would ever really dive in. they had brighter concepts, songs mainly, but nothing quite like this. maybe boy with luv and their future release of dynamite could come close to this vibe.
maybe it was because minhee was a lover of obnoxious bubble pop but could you blame him? it matched his personality a bit too well if he could be honest and he didn’t mind. the cover version had been re-arranged every so slightly, a bit lower pitched to be easier for him to sing and not have to strain his voice. despite his position as a lead vocalist, it really did take him a while to understand that he needed to take care of his voice, to actually use technique and not push himself, strain his voice. maybe all the negative articles and videos about his voice cracks and strains, filled with negative comments really got to him, but he would never admit it out loud. why would he?
the dancer shakes himself off from the thoughts, all his attention going to his manager who is pretty much ready to give him the green light for the cameras to start recording. from then on, he isn’t sure how many takes they would take, but minhee was excited never the less. he gets the thumbs up and soon the cameras start rolling, the music plays and he is in the zone.
shoot! take a panorama
he sings into the microphone the opening line and its a short build up from there. it was rare for him to film anything alone, but there was no need for anyone else this time. his own members were probably busy as well, so it was fine. he go to enjoy this to the fullest.
wondering if it's a dream
don't let it stop
close your eyes and feel this moment
he builds up steadily to the chorus, enjoys it, does part of the point dance, makes sure to not strain too much because this song was re-arranged just for him, right? so it should be easy, someone of his caliber shouldn’t struggle with such a song, despite some parts being challenging. he is sat down, was told that the set wasn’t prepared for dancing but minhee thinks he wouldn’t be able to actually do both the song and the dance any justice if he had to do both alone. afterall, this was a group that had quite a few members and he was definitely going to struggle. so he can do this, sat down in the middle of a pretty set, ruby red microphone in his hand.
take me to your dream, take on me
i don't want to even miss a single small breath
there were a few key points to the choreography in minhee’s opinion, however, the take on me part has to be iconic. so he definitely does it justice with a little head shake. hand gestures every now and again when he thinks are good to relay the original choreography. he feels like the song builds up so quickly towards its climax of the bridge, something they had talked about before hand. he should focus on the high note, should pour his all in it. it’s not strained, hardwork and proper technique help a lot, minhee can tell and he can’t help but smile as much as he can when he is done, diving straight back into the chorus.
in the moment i'll rise up
and show everything
remember it forever, promise
don't let me down, down, down
something that definitely resonates with him, something he wishes he could tell the rest of the polaris boys without sounding like a total sap.
only then cover by @fmddowoon & @saebyulfmd / reference.
it’s a little bit awkward -- at least, at first. the song is ... more romantic than he’d like to be singing with anyone other than -- well, with anyone other than jaein. it’s a little too romantic, a little too sad, a little too realistic, because dowoon believes that there will be a day, one day, when maybe one day he’ll be too tired to keep up with all of the timezones ultraviolet are jetting through, when maybe one day he’ll fall, past falling in love, fall into a nothingness, fall into the money he’s made and fall into it alone -- and only then, only then, can he see himself letting her go.
-- but she isn’t here. dowoon is perched on the edge of a stool, buttcheeks holding on for dear life, supported by one foot flat on the ground and the other cocked up on the bar between the legs. he’s smiling over his handheld microphone at equinox’s saebyul, cheeks bashfully tinted pink as he does his best to remember everything he’s learned over the last... how many months? how many years? how long has he been acting again?
the rest of the crew -- production staff milling about on the other side of the cameras, musicians warming up in swells in the background, just outside of his peripheral vision -- settle into place, waiting for their cues with an ease that dowoon still hasn’t managed to capture. he’s the type that benefits from rigorous rehearsal. he’s never done a single thing naturally in his life. they’re all counted in with a rudimentary five, six, seven, eight, and he and saebyul are singing: the result of nights of solo practice, and too little practice for his liking with the woman sitting across from him.
the runthrough is easy, right up until the end, when dowoon stumbles over his words. the realisation of what he’s done hits him, and a wave of grimaces pass over the production crew on the other side of the lens -- one after the other, kicked off by his own scrunched up nose. take five, shouts the director.
“sorry,” dowoon sighs. he reaches for the water he has tucked away just off screen, avoiding the furrowed brow of his manager adjacent to it. he takes a sip and he sighs again, longly and deeply, and he turns back to saebyul. “you sound really sweet though. this is gonna come out great if i can just,” he taps the side of his head, “get my head in the fucking game.”
summary: hyojung films a cover of han yeseul’s “you’re different”
word count: 451 words
ooc note: n/a
despite being selene’s lead vocalist, hyojung hasn’t had too many opportunities outside of the group to showcase her vocals. not even a single ost which seemed to be the basic go-to for any vocalist in an idol group. while she didn’t have any complaints personally, she was always aware that her fans craved more from her. it’s not like she was an untalented vocalist or anything—she got put in charge of selene’s choruses sometimes—but she never found that it was her forte either. there were so many better vocalists than her, and so she just stood by the sidelines when it came to vocal opportunities.
thus when gold star comes to her and asks her to choose a song for a cover, she’s rather confused. are they sure they didn’t mean to approach their main vocalist instead? the confusion on her face must be read because they quickly follow with an explanation: youtube’s algorithm has been showing her stage videos and clips after the success of the red sleeve. this meant that people were being drawn to her stage persona and wanted to see more of it.
figures. it’s always for the extra exposure.
/
the song she chooses is an older song that she remembers from a sitcom she used to enjoy. sure, she was only 10 when it aired, but she remembers sitting in front of the tv and laughing, thinking about how much her mother would have enjoyed the show as well.
she’s only given a few weeks to practice it, but it’s alright. hyojung’s been singing this song for years. she’s sung snippets of it before as a rookie, and she’s also sung it once for a monthly evaluation back when she was a trainee. however, this would be the first time she showcases it for a bunch of people to see.
when they asked her about what kind of styling they wanted for the background, she was blank on ideas so she just told them to set it up whatever way they wanted. she’s not surprised to walk onto the set to find a bunch of white, pink and red flowers and lights to light up the studio. her outfit is in a similar color scheme though it’s quite simple.
hyojung thinks it fits. it’s romantic and light and simple and everything that she’s been packaged to be anyway. this will be the cherry on top of it all. she thinks they were probably happy with her song choice because it matches what the public thinks of her anyway.
settling in, the producers are looking at her, waiting for her okay sign. when she’s all ready, she gives them a nod and then begins to sing.
Eunyoung is an old lady here who says, "things in my time were so good," and then it's about a drama that came out in 2016. I'm using Soyou's I Miss You performance in Begin Again as a guide, but that's it. I admit that, in my head, Goblin had aired in like, 2012, but I was mistaken.
Eunyoung has been singing soundtracks for dramas for a very long time, and because she had quite a bit of time in her hands since always, she has watched quite a few of them when she was at home waiting for the time to pass. There are many good dramas around these days, and she is biased towards the ones her members worked on, but she has to admit that her heart will always belong to older stories.
It's weird to even think of them as old stories, but when she thinks about dramas like That Winter, the Wind Blows, or Coffee Prince and remembers that they are easily nearing ten and fifteen years respectively, Eunyoung thinks that she has reached that point where kids in high school will call her taste outdated.
The song that she picks to sing for the Base Online project is by no means from an old drama, even though it feels like it has been a very long time since she last watched Guardian: The Lonely and Great God. There isn't a person she that didn't know about this one when it was being released, and although she liked the story, the soundtrack was the one thing that kept Eunyoung hooked.
Music never failed to do that to her, and while she has a very disappointing career in the eyes of many, including herself, she can shrug it off how special music is. Bringing out different emotions and enhancing the experience with the sounds of instruments and someone's voice will always be amazing to her.
Covering I Miss You is a no-brainer, in her opinion. It is the theme of one of her favorite couples. It's heartbreaking and soft and just on her alley. She practices singing that song more times than she did with some of Calypso's comebacks.
She wants to be involved with the process of shooting and recording everything. Eunyoung gives them the idea of using the lights to mimic the color of the sun when it's down on the horizon, and behind her, there is nothing but some sheer sheets hanging from the ceiling almost ethereally. Eunyoung's purpose with this isn't to add more to the sexy persona that Calypso so often sells. She wants simple and soft. Minimalistic even. A different image from usual. With the news that Dimensions doesn't plan to give them anything else besides their first concert, Eunyoung wants to show something new that people can keep in their minds for a little while.
