#rkstreetperformance

[rkjongin]

— SOLO N°. 01.

＊. EVENT STREET PERFORMANCE / THIS. POINTS +2 SINGING. 628 WORDS.

the streets are relatively quiet, especially considering that this is a weekend. perhaps it’s a bit too early for the pedestrians, but that provides ample rooms for preparation. the stage, as always, somehow haphazard—they are only putting the carpet to set an invisible barrier between themselves and the soon-to-be-hopefully-there audience. there’s nothing much to expect except for the pleasure derived from entertaining those passersby who might stop to watch them. his friends are the ones on duty, considering that he’s only there to substitute junsu, who cannot make it today due to some family business. his arrival is considerably late, but his tardiness somehow doesn’t make him have to wait for that long. today, his task is to deliver four to five songs only, but as always, he prepares six of the ones given from their list just in case something happens.

he meets some familiar faces, already standing nearby with their cameras and phones ready. some avid fans of the band’s, although jongin has half the thoughts that they might be a tad disappointed since junsu has quite a number of follower count. he’s not deterred, though, since he’s not there to perform permanently. after greeting the friend—yoonho—who invited him to the performance on top of junsu’s request to replace his shift, he gives the customary nod when he’s introduced to those accompanying yoonho as the guitarist as well as the one seated on the cajon. he’s watched their performances before, so their playing styles aren’t entirely new for him. adjusting the stool given behind the standing microphone stand, he looks around, wondering if they will gain more members amidst the audience. the morning is growing late, and even when they’re staying cool from the building’s shadows, the afternoon sun is inevitably growing warmer. good thing he’s only wearing a loose thin t-shirt on top of his ripped skinny jeans.

he makes himself comfortable on the stool, before annoyingly knocking on the microphone to test if it’s on. after ensuring it is, he lets yoonho to introduce the band, with him as the replacement for junsu as today’s vocalist. giving the gathering crowd a smile, he’s certain that there are some known faces amidst the sea, now. those who know him from both the social circles as well as exodus’ performances. as they start playing the instruments, he leans towards the microphone as he waits for his entrance. at the beginning of this set, they chose the more familiar—albeit old—song from arctic monkeys. it’s one of his favourites, one that he knows suits the colour of his voice rather well. the cajon creates the ambiance, followed by the first melodic guitar plucks, followed by the second. his entry is almost somber as he holds onto the microphone with both hands, the nuanced lyrics fitting to the way he carries the atmosphere. closing his eyes from time to time to immerse himself in the song’s meanings, there’s no specific difficult tugs to his intonation. this is a comfort zone for his vocal range, to say the least.

the melodies carried on, the choruses passing them by as he notices the presence of more people, but his focus is to seduce, his accent bleeding into the singing that it’s almost intentional to mimic the original singer. his hitched edges, however, craft his own signature as another chorus rolls in, the point where he sings, ❛ crawling back to you, ❜ is when he targets a specific person in the audience to look at, his gaze bringing the mood of the songs, conveying the lyrics’ meanings as the harmony of his voice with the instruments merge. finishing the song, the band gains the applause, causing him to smile wider at the end of the song before transitioning to the second.

[rkongwu]

the farmers market had reached that time of evening where all was warm and cozy, the conversation among the shoppers as they filled their bellies with sweet treats beneath the fluorescent lights buzzing in the air. this was probably his favorite time of the evening as the intimacy seemed to increase in such a convivial atmosphere. it naturally put him in a good mood and when he was in a good mood it was always written all over his face. it made him want to connect with others and for him his favorite way to do that was through music.

his mother and father stood cooking at the stall to customers who sat round on the provided stools and his sisters cashed new customers out while also cleaned up any mess. being here with his whole family only served to contribute to the warmth he felt and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relaxation overcome him. his fingers plucked absently at his guitar, his tall frame perched upon a stool near the front of their rented out space by the walkway and before he knew it, the song began to piece itself together on the guitar.

a few ears perked up at the familiar tune and a few phones came up as well. his family’s place was more than well known for impromptu songs and some customers often stuck around for requests or just to listen. there wasn’t a lot of space for them to dance but a guitar and some soul filled the area perfectly and brought smiles to not only their customers but the other shop owners around them. his mother had already started smiling.

the song was one of his favorites and it could be felt in the soft delicateness that he sang with, the familiarity of the words able to be played with as he had sang it many times in the past. his voice was obviously much deeper than the original register and so it added a calming warmth as opposed to the cute freshness the original songstress had created. the pleasing guitar riffs and slight drumming on the guitar had the heads of the guests bobbing. the stylistic curling at the end of his words lifted his voice into the higher end of his mid-timbre register but he kept it light and easy. he wasn’t trying to show off.

he just wanted to put a smile on everyone’s faces.

it unknowingly brought a smile to his own features as he saw the pleased eyes turned his way, the way he settled into the song tapping his foot against the bottom of his stool. his own head bobbed as well, leading the bobbing heads of the customers and those who had stopped on their way, his smile reaching his eyes. the more eyes he had on him, the more his voice reached. the spirit in his voice bright and cozy as if beneath the sun at a park on a warm summer day. he brought those around him into the song as they knew the lyrics, encouraging them with inviting eye contact and smiles, hands starting to clap along to the melody he had created at his fingertips.

the song felt as if it was over before it had even begun and there was a lingering feeling in the air that was shared by him and those who had stuck around as the song faded out. there was still the intimacy in the air that felt even warmer under the yellow lights and he simply couldn’t just end it like that if not for them but for himself. his hand that had slowed on the guitar started up again, his voice carrying up again with a soft laughter that interrupted the applause that had been about to start for another round of the chorus… or maybe two.. or three.

[chaewonrk]

tomorrow comes today.

      word count: 505. +2 singing points. rk street performance.                  chaewon park has uploaded a new video!

what was the best way to set up her camera? chaewon probably should have asked someone to come along with her to get the shots she’d need for her video later, but she didn’t like asking for help, not when she could figure out how to do it by herself with just a little more effort. 

besides, she was already renting her microphone shit for the day. that was enough external help, even if it was something she was paying for. she had a phone stand and a decent space around her and her guitar that she could set her phone up at the edge of for a song or two for her video.

chaewon’s setlist consisted of some bibi, some baek yerin, some luxe, and some and*roma, and then the few of taylor swift songs that she knew how to play better than the back of her hand. she ended up recording the luxe and and*roma songs that she performed for her video. every night earned her the most looks from passersby. at least chaewon knew which song to stick in the title of her video. performing by herself, guitar slung around her shoulder, her own sweet voice ringing in her ears, felt a little bit on the strange side. she’d been doing a lot of thinking lately, ever since the samsung speakup event, about what she wanted to do with her life. she could go to university - a little late, but still, better late than never. but ... at the same time, maybe it was time that she tried following her dreams of fame for real. it always lurked at the back of her thoughts, but thanks to her experiences over the last couple of weeks, her childhood dreams had been pushed to the forefront of her mind all over again.

her street performance just confirmed what chaewon already knew. despite being a staunchly solitary person, and hating random group assignments a lot of the time, being alone didn’t suit her. she had something with 6tunes, but that was slipped through her fingers as fast as she’d found it. she had something when she was a kid too, ensemble work in musicals and the choir in high school. now she had nothing. she always thought that she’d be best as a solo artist. it seemed that she was wrong.

so lost in her own head, and so focused on the final notes of her song, chaewon hardly noticed the person filming her. they looked like a tourist, a big backpack weighing them down as they held out their phone. chaewon noticed them just in time to give them a direct smile as she finished her song. 

“thank you.”

the tourist nodded in response and scurried off. all of chaewon’s introspection snapped away in an instant as she realised something.

“hey! hey, excuse me!” she called, rising onto her tip toes and waving her arms above her head. being short really had way more cons than pros. “could you send me that footage?”

[xiaoxrk]

first street performance

The male feels his own hands shaking as he looks at the crowd while having his bass in his hands. He really shouldn’t be nervous, he’s been in an idol group for years, why’s he so nervous just because he’s doing something different? Maybe it’s that that is making him nervous? The fact that he’s doing something completely new, he has played bass for so many years, but if he remembers right, he’s never played for such a big crowd.

How is there even such a big crowd? Why has so many people chosen to watch them? What’s so exciting about PHOAN? Of course Xiao is happy about the big crowd, he wants his band to be successful, however this is their first time performing, nobody should know of them, right?

“Come on Xiao! I support you no matter what!” a voice in Chinese says, and Xiao awakes. These are… fans from FLOWER^CROWN? The idol group he was in? People chose to support him even if he isn’t in the band anymore? That means so much, so people really cared for him and not only his members?

Xiao sends a smile and a wink to the female and she screams loudly, Xiao together with his band laughs a little, and then they agree to begin playing.

Xiao lets his hands run over his bass, and his mouth close to the microphone, he sings loudly and proudly, so make both his band, his fans and himself proud, he wants this to be successful, he wants them to grow big.

[rksryujin-archive]

𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓎 𝒾 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝑜𝑜𝓁 | solo

fool by winner (ryujin sings mino’s parts)

even though she feels like her singing ability has reached a pretty decent level for her personal standard, ryujin is still a little bit insecure when it comes to singing in front of a big mass of people. so when one of her favorite teachers suggested that some of the seniors in her year do a street performance and that one of the people appointed to the vocal part of it was ryujin, she was inclined to refuse.

ryujin isn’t the sort of person to get scared, certainly not at something simple as this but uncertainty has its own creative ways to sneak up on an individual when they least expect it.

she and three of her classmates are situated in the center of a small circle made up of spectators whose expressions vary from curiosity to a kind of eagerness that ryujin is thankful for. there was another team that performed before them, a dance group and so the energy surrounding everyone is so palpable you could cut it with a knife. the murmurs and buzz around them subsides considerably when the speakers release the beginning of the song they’re supposed to perform. the crowd is quiet now, expectant, which is a huge help ryujin thinks, because the mood is supposed to be sullen, mellow, sad, and the silence helps a lot with that.

내 눈앞에서 사라져 독하고 모진 말들도 서슴없이 내질렀던 내 모습은 누가 봐도 I was a fool 이제 와 미안해봤자 달라지는 건 없잖아 I know 

ryujin is the one to start the song. she’s positioned in front of her mic, standing up, a hand holding onto the stand while the other is placed atop the upper part. the words flow out of her mouth in low registers and she’s trying her best to emulate the feelings she’s singing about even though she doesn’t understand them at all. she’s never been in love and most certainly has never broken up with anyone, let alone break up with them and regret it later so she hopes the crowd doesn’t pick up on it.

her part ends and until the rap bit ryujin spends her time people watching, analyzing some faces, catching the eyes of her mother and little brother in the crowd and sneaking in a quick smile before she gives the façade up altogether and sticks her tongue out at joon, because what else is a big sister supposed to do, right?

they finish the song afterwards, she and her teammates and as they bow down to thank the crowd for all the applause they’ve received, ryujin mirroring people’s energy with a wide smile on her face, she can’t help but be relieved that everything turned out better than she expected. 

[rkbgyu]

                     ✥ DARE VLOG PT V: STARRY NIGHT ✥

Choi Beomgyu and some guys from his class have a long-standing tradition. That tradition is random daring. Whoever is dared has to do it, no matter what. It was something that kept them all on their toes. The dare was recorded and added to their collection of dare videos. He was sure that one day said videos would come back to haunt him.

Now, however, he was having too much fun doing these random dares. Today just happened to be his day to be dared and he had been dared to sing in the middle of the street with no preparation or planning. The challenge was set, and Beomgyu accepted.

His friend had his phone ready to record. Once he had been given the signal, Beomgyu grinned brightly. He cleared his throat before he played the song. The music began and Beomgyu started singing.

My hands were cold but now it’s already spring Dreamy breezes blow here and there Different from usual, I like this feeling Maybe tomorrow will be a different day

The shadow of the darkness remaining in the deep night The moon is shining Drawing out a light

As much as I removed you from my body The water in the tub becomes the lingering feelings and overflows This space filling up with my sighs

The teenager was getting some looks but he didn’t care. He was having fun. He continued singing.

When late night comes When I’m all alone

Starry night, it’s a starry night You blow over to me All those nights we shared Makes me drunk Starry night Ya ya ya Starry night Ya ya ya Starry night

Winter passes and flowers bloom The scent of the warm air wraps around me Nothing changed, each day is the same But still, I wait for tomorrow

There was a crowd gathering around the high schooler now which only made him want to show off more. What was wrong with having fun when you’ve been randomly dared to do something?

At the end of the day, I’m here Day by day Drawing you out

Do you want me to leave? No! I’m still here I’m just covered by the dark night sky So you can’t see me

When late night comes When I’m all alone

Starry night, it’s a starry night You blow over to me All those nights we shared Makes me drunk Starry night Ya ya ya Starry night Ya ya ya Starry night

By now Beomgyu was dancing around and interacting with the crowd (and the camera). He would often smile and grin at the camera. The ending was approaching and Beomgyu was going to end with a big finish.

Starry starry night, a night without you I feel so empty

The picture of us is fading But I’m denying this reality Even when I close my eyes, I can still see you, why? Leave me alone I’m breaking down

Starry night, it’s a starry night You blow over to me All those nights we shared Makes me drunk Starry night Ya ya ya Starry night Ya ya ya Starry night

Beomgyu ended on a high and burst into a fit of laughter. He ran to the camera and did hearts with his fingers before his friend ended the recording. The group continued on with their Saturday plans. Beomgyu already had his next dare in mind.

[rkyohan-blog]

* fly high [ solo ]

-- 🟊 busking!  [ butterflies - queen naija ] 

it’s been a long time since yohan has performed anything live. it’s been years, honestly -- and even when he did have an audience, it was when he was rapping. his singing hasn’t taken the spotlight since he was in high school, but that was mostly by choice. when singing, especially acoustically, it’s a lot harder to feign confidence when you’re not meandering around a stage with a hood pulled over your eyes, spitting some kind of self-aggrandizing bullshit too close to the microphone while cycling through 3 or 4 different hand gestures. 

yohan thinks of rapping now as finding ways to put forth the illusion of being bigger, like someone’s projecting a giant hologram of himself on a screen in front of him. he’s watched rappers manage to have presence and power without seeming to fake anything, though -- he’s always been in awe of the people who can be themselves onstage and still command attention. there were times when he enjoyed being in the audience of underground rap shows more than actually performing, for this reason. 

but he’s not in a dingy club. there’s no stage, no microphone. he’s not surrounded by the party-goers and soundcloud rappers like he used to be, either. here, tonight, it’s just him, a fold-able stool, a guitar. 

that’s not to say that he’s alone here, though. there are strangers everywhere, blurry faces strolling past, walking fast if they’re headed somewhere or slow if they’re some of the people wandering through hongdae just to see the other buskers. just down the street, there’s a circle of people cheering on a dance group. yohan can’t hear it super well, but he thinks he hears the notes of exo’s love shot rising up from within the crowd.

as he presses his lips together and sets down his stool, he tries to hype himself up. just get through one song and you’ll feel better, but even his internal monologue sounds hollow. he already thinks he can feel a few sets of eyes on him, curious looks as he scootches his bum back onto the seat and lifts his guitar. they’re expecting something from him. but what? an entertaining performance? a beautiful voice? something memorable, something unique? 

he wants to warn them. sorry in advance, y’all. 

he swallows again, thickly this time, and his fingers take up the positions of the song that yohan has been idly practising out of boredom for the past few months.

I don't wanna fall so fast But I'm open They always say that good things never last And I know 'cause I've been broken

it’s an easy english song -- probably a safe choice for now. though there’s a bit of a drop within the first minute of the song, it remains gentle. the lyrics are soft, with a fairly simple, straight-forward meaning to them -- basically, it’s not really anything like the music yohan usually listens to. he came across it by chance when he accidentally selected it on spotify instead of travis scott’s butterfly effect and laziness led him to listen to the whole song instead of changing it. he was surprised at how much it made him... feel. 

I'm tryin' to protect my heart But you're making it so hard And I guess it's safe to say You take my pain away

he sings it in a lower octave than the original’s singer, queen naija, did. there was some adjusting to do to make the key fit his range, but the natural husk to his voice suits the raspiness of the original. he continues the simple finger-strumming from the intro of the song, letting his eyes close and only opening them once in a while to stare at nothing in the distance. he tries to loosen his arms a little, to let the song take him away, and as he moves into the pre-chorus and prepares to play the full chord progression that he’s arranged for this part of the song, he finds that it’s working.

And I just wanna hold you all night long Whenever I'm around you, nothing's wrong I'm hoping that you'll always be around You got me on a high, I don't wanna come down

his voice weaves through the notes sweetly, incorporating just a tiny bit of the melisma and vibrato techniques that he’s tried to pick up over the years. he holds back just a little, stopping himself from trying to go too overboard out of fear of making himself sound unstable, or going offkey. his voice, previously a little breathly, grows louder for the chorus.

And I love it, I love it (these butterflies) Yeah I love it, I love it (I'm on a high) Yeah, I love it, I love it And I just wanna love on you (ooh)

obviously, he can’t overlap with his own voice live. he’s adjusted this part to suit his performance, skipping the second i love it, i love it line in favour of leaving a few strums of the chords there before coming back with i’m on a high and continuing on. instead of going back to the plucking, he switches to softly playing chords throughout the next verse, surprising himself with how emotional his voice manages to sound.

Ever since you crossed my path Everything is different You always know just how to make me laugh You got me all up in my feelings And as much as I love the feeling I hate it, it gets me frustrated Wanna say just how I feel But don't know how you would take it Why do you do what you do to me? Got me doing things that I don't do usually

whenever he sings this song, he can’t help but feel a little bit of an ache in his chest. it’s been a long-ass time since yohan has experienced butterflies, since he’s gotten to fall in love. he doesn’t want to look back on it, especially now that he can barely remember what it really felt like; it’s all been tainted by feelings of guilt and a sense of loss. it’s only when listening to songs like this, singing in such plain, yet effective words about new love and the unknown and the anxiety that comes with those things that he can almost feel it again, like the ghosts of butterflies  start to flit around his stomach again.

a minute later, he’s finishing the song with a final, gentle downward strum that rings out. he hears a smattering of applause and looks up with wide eyes, having genuinely forgotten about the possibility of people watching him toward the last bit of the song. 

he smiles with both his lips and his eyes, warmth in his stomach as he stands up and bows to the small crowd one, two, three times. 

“thank you,” he says in korean, feeling just a tiny bit proud of himself. this wouldn’t look like much of a risk to people on the outside, but he feels like he’s just vaulted over one of the biggest hurdles in front of him. 

though he feels like all he wants to do is lay on the ground and bask in his relief, he quickly packs up his guitar and picks up the stool, beginning his trek back to his apartment with the slight smile still on his face.

[rkkyul]

052919 HOOK & CROOK ACADEMY STREET PERFORMANCE ( LOOK ) x ( LOCATION ) X ( PERFORMANCE ) .

kyulkyung quickly figured out how things worked at the academy, and thankfully so. 

as a dance instructor, not only was she responsible for preparing her students for their showcases but also their monthly trips down to hongdae. boyoung loved showing off her students and what better way to do so than to throw them into the wild that was hongdae. this wasn’t her first hongdae performance with hook & crook, but it definitely was the first time she had been asked to sing.

the singing department was short a singer for a performance so boyoung was quick to offer kyulkyung. you’re not half bad, and junyoung would owe you a favor. at this point, the woman couldn’t count how many favors the man owed her - this was not the first time he pulled her over to the singing side of the academy when he was short a voice or needed an extra hand. however, this was the first time he needed such a public favor.

but how could she say no?

the student who was her partner for the day seemed anxious and kyulkyung sadly couldn’t say she was feeling much different. she had training in singing yea, but not a lot. the woman could carry a tune and she had been told she had a pretty stable voice; this by no means helped her confidence, however. 

“hello everyone!’ kyulkyung took it upon herself to get the awkward part over with, introducing the pair to the tiny audience and passersby who met her eye. a smile easily lifted itself on to her lips, taking a few calming breaths as she held the mic a bit closer to her lips. “i’m kyulkyung and i’m a dance instructor at a dancing/singing academy not too far from here. i’m here to help out this talented singing student - we hope you like what we’ve pulled together.

the student accompanying her began strumming the strings of her guitar gently, kyulkyung’s voice melting into the chords and filling the air around them. the two rarely spoke prior to this, but they had gotten together to practice a few times. their voices went together surprisingly well, - the soft hum of kyulkyung’s voice a nice addition to the student’s more powerful one. the performance was rather short, but it left the woman with a warm feeling brewing in her chest.

sometimes she wishes she was a singer or that she was at least a tad bit better at it. what it must feel like to have a voice beautiful enough to knock someone off their feet? the woman was envious of the talented student despite being a dancer, and somehow she found herself yearning for a few lessons herself.