After every contestant sang their hearts out on the stage, they were told to wait with the audience while the results are decided. Some minutes later, the presenter walks to the center of the stage to share the news.
“Thank you all who participated, and I hope the wait wasn’t too cold. Before announcing the winner, I’d like to invite to the stage our top 3 contestants of the day. The three best heard singers were... JUNG YONGHWA, KIM CHUNGHA, and KIM JIBEOM. Please, join me on the stage now.” The short, thin man waits for the three contestants to make their way to the stage before proceeding with announcements. “Thank you for participating and blessing us with such voices! However, only one of you may be crowned the winner.”
He makes a dramatic pause for effect, then reads the name off the card he’s holding. “The favorite Winter Singer is... KIM JIBEOM! Congratulations!” The staff member claps in celebration along with the crowd. “Here are your prizes! Please spend it well!” Jibeom receives a small envelope containing 250 thousand won and a vast assortment of coupons to be used in the mall totaling another 250 thousand won.
Thank you for all who participated, and good luck next time!
After you get off the stage, you’re approached by a tall man wearing dark colors. “I watched your performance attentively.” He looks at you up and down before proceeding. “If you’d like to pursue a career on the matter…” the man reaches for something inside his coat and hands it over to you “, perhaps this could be put into consideration.” Once you look down you can read the words ‘TRC ENTERTAINMENT’. “Contact us if this is of your interest.” With this, he turns around and walks away.
jordan has his hands shoved lazily in his pockets as he hopped down the stairs from the stage, still humming the song he had been singing under his breath. he barely even noticed the darkly dressed man before the guy was standing right in front of him. which did cause jordan to stop rather abruptly before he simply wandered right into the front of the guy. “dude,” the american lad stated in a rather casual tone, despite the fact he had almost tripped over from stopping so suddenly, “you gotta watch where you’re standing. almost walked straight into you.”
but it seemed he had been approached for a reason, nose wrinkling slightly as he was handed some business card. “why you giving me this?” he wondered before he had even looked at it properly, though when he flipped it over and saw the big ‘trc entertainment’ printed across the front, things did start to make a little sense. a little, though, because why the hell would anyone be looking to scout him?
“this some kind of joke?” he went to ask, though it turned out he was talking to absolutely no one, the man was gone almost like he hadn’t been there in the first place. jordan paused, scanning the area in front of him again before glancing back down at the card in his hand. trc wanted to offer him an audition. really?
what on earth were they thinking?
( OOC: Congratulations on being scouted! In case Jinyoung decides to make the call, he’ll be told to schedule his audition for anywhere between the 2nd and the 8th of February. He’ll have two minutes to show a performance in front of a small number of judges, including Tiger JK himself. However, he must showcase at least one skill other than singing during his performance. He’ll also be instructed to leave the room after he’s done. The results of the audition will come on a later date and shared via a personal call. To participate in this, please write a 250+ word solo and have it up by midnight EST at the end of February 11th. Please tag your solos as #rkwinterscout. Good luck! )
〈♫〉WINTER SINGER CONTEST → february 1st, 2020.
↳ performing days gone quiet, by lewis capaldi.
games. video games, specifically. it’s what jeno knows, what he’s good at. so, how could he possibly go wrong with this? he couldn’t. this was going to be a piece of cake. absolutely perfect, super easy, barely an inconvenience... or so he keeps trying to convince himself.
it was a song he knew and was familiar with, and truthfully, it meant a lot to him given it was connected to a game that dictated his life for a brief, absolutely wonderful period of time. it was the first choice that popped into his head the moment that he found out about this winter concert thing. he didn’t have to learn the lyrics, given it’s been stuck in his head countless times. this was supposed to be another opportunity for him to prove to himself that this was something he was capable of. no anxieties, fears, or panic attacks would stand in his way.
but... well... okay, maybe a little anxiety, and he never said he couldn’t be nervous. which... was actually really good, because god, he sure was nervous right now.
the last time that he was on a stage was the mgas, if memory serves correctly, and pathetically enough, he didn’t get very far... at all... okay, he didn’t even make it into the show really, but that was okay and fine and dandy and swell because here he was, right now, redeeming himself and proving to himself that this was just something he loved and enjoyed and, he’s humble, truly, he is, but he’s pretty damn good at it, too. sure, this may be called a contest, but that’s not the way he viewed it. to him, he was just using this as a conduit of sorts. it was something for him to utilize. the stage was a place for him to show everyone a little bit of what he could do. he didn’t care about the judges or the money, he just wanted to sing this song for these people so that they could hear it... and hear him. that’s all. so it was okay.
once he was actually standing on stage, everything became a little less okay, but not for long. as the music started, he scanned the audience for a familiar face and focused on it.
now that we're bleeding
broken and scarred,
thought we were finished
and yet here we are.
stuck in the same place,
despite what we overcame.
sometimes don't it make you wonder, darling,
when will it come to an end?
this was normal. natural, comfortable, right. and that’s what got him through it.
cause the price we pay,
left a mark that stains,
and i don't think i'll ever be the same.
line after line, verse after verse, jeno was fine.
we might've kept the black at bay,
but all around it still remains.
lord only knows for evermore
what horizons hold for us in store.
looks like there's no way around,
but i know i'll try somehow.
at least it's all gone quiet for now.
actually, he was great. and this was an experience that he needed.
tomorrow don't mean much,
in the waters we wade.
and my secrets are waiting for me,
when i get to my grave.
the lyrics weren’t necessarily something he could relate to in his life, but he just thought about playing, and the company he had...
cause the price we pay,
left a mark that stains,
and i don't think i'll ever be the same.
he doesn’t feel afraid or alone on stage, he feels content. and he isn’t alone, because she’s always there.
we might've kept the black at bay,
but all around it still remains.
god only knows for evermore
what horizons hold for us in store.
looks like there's no way around,
but i know i'll try somehow.
at least it's all gone quiet for now.
always.
we might've kept the black at bay,
but all around it still remains.
god only knows for evermore
what horizons hold for us in store.
looks like there's no way around,
looks like there's no way around,
looks like there's no way around,
but i know i'll try somehow.
at least it's all gone quiet for now.
If it’s for you, I’m not afraid of melting at all. It’s alright.
The fact that Eric felt obligated to join any contest that allowed him to stand on stage and perform was undoubtable. Not that he was so vainly self assured that he believed fully in his own victory -- simply because Eric had gained the idea that he was born to stand on stage. Maybe that was why he hadn’t been signed yet he thought, even though he had already turned a year older: he was too good to be locked away in some company dungeon! In all honesty though, Eric simply enjoyed the rush of adrenaline it gave him being the centre of attention.
Even so, at first he had considered not joining this particular contest. It wasn’t that singing bored him, far from, but a contest where he was limited to a vocal number, where any extra skills didn’t count? Didn’t that sound kind of boring? If you asked Eric, he would take a dancing contest any day. Heck, he had even grown so fond of rapping that he preferred it to its counterpart. Beside, he was still jetlagged as heck from just returning from the other side of the great sea. He was also still getting mentally back after his terrifying tour courtesy of his phobia for flying. Admittedly it hadn’t been as bad on the way home after two very long flights, but it was still there and impossible to completely rid himself of.
Thus he couldn’t say he had put too much thought into what song to perform. It seemed like a pain in the ass to find something that was purely with song and also had a wintry feel to it, although he had for a moment considered The Best Thing I Ever Did or Merry And Happy, being the TOOICE fan he was. But he was trying to get away from his self-imposed image of only being able to do girl group stuff, so a moment of brilliance, he had found a random song that he didn’t before knew instead. Absolutely amazingly done of him. But it was a spur of the moment decision that was hard to take back now that he had practiced the song, and especially now that he was about to go on stage to perform it.
It wasn’t that it was a bad song though, he quite enjoyed it, and it did have one female artist in the original lineup so it counted as a girl group song, right? Right. Plus it was upbeat and youthful, exactly his kind of image. If there was anything Eric rejoiced in, it was milking his cute outer while he still possessed it. God forbid, but one day he was probably going to get all tall and tough and manly instead of the scrawny teenage boy he was, and it was a bit terrifying to think of that. Although the height could do with a bit more he thought. He had already been growing a lot over the past year and was quite proud of that, but he was still pretty small compared to other kids his age.
Before he could get too fidgety or too into his musings, his turn to perform came up, and he immediately jumped up from the floor he was sitting on, only too late realising how cold it had actually been. Oh well. He would get the heat in his body back soon either way. Never let it be said that Eric Sohn didn’t know how to have a party on stage. The music had started without him being on stage, all according to plan, and he spoke into the microphone in fluent English: “once upon a time there was a little snowman.” And with those words he went onto the stage with skipping steps and began his song.
있잖아 널 만난 이후로 달라진
나의 온도가 신기하기만 해
난 너와 눈을 맞출 때 네가 옆에 있다는 게
믿기지가 않아 Can’t it be true
어쩐지 모르게
오늘따라 따스해
겨울이 다가오는데
정말 이건 말도 안 돼
너라는 태양이 얼어붙은
나를 따스하게 녹이는 중
널 위해서라면 녹는 것쯤은
아무것도 아니라 If it is you hey
Without any hesitation he shifted from singing to rapping. If he had got anything out of his MGA disaster, it was the skills to rap at least, being the only one in his final and semi final group who was actually at least decent at it. He had kept wondering what went wrong after that farce. Had he dragged the team down from victory by not being a pro? Had he ruined his own chances at getting signed? It just seemed like a very big uphill road sometimes, but if Eric had one skill it was being ridiculously positive about things. He would get signed. He would make it into Royal. And he would debut as an idol. And this would all happen before his 20th birthday. Finishing his rap, he continued into the chorus.
If 그게 너라면 널 위해서라면
녹는 것쯤은 전혀
두렵지 않아 It’s alright
Oh 나의 손을 꽉 잡아
살짝은 녹아도 돼요
그게 너라면 I’m alright
I’m melting for you baby
Like I am a snowman baby
눈사람 마냥 그 자리에
가만히 서있어
I’m melting for you baby
Like I am a snowman baby
눈사람 마냥 그 자리에
가만히 서있어
As the song continued, he interchanged between song and rap, and although it was hard to change his voice from one to another on such short notices, he thought he did pretty well. The song itself was pretty simple -- no incredibly fast rap, no incredibly high notes -- making it a song fitting quite well to someone like him who was pretty good at both singing and rapping but didn’t particularly excel in either. Before starting the final chorus he whispered into his microphone “I love you,” and made a heart with his hands. And just as soon as it had started, his performance was over again and it was time to return to being the same old Eric Sohn he had always been.
╌° winter singer contestant, kim yoohyeon
performing little mix’ ‘secret love song’ 、
now that she actually stand next in line to perform, yoohyeon regret her decision to sign up for the contest. having only stood on stage once before is not enough experience to calm down a set of strong nerves and combined with a heart that feels out of control, she almost feel sick to her stomach. if it hadn’t been for her fans and viewers on youtube, then yoohyeon would more than likely pass this opportunity without a second thought -- it’s very different, really, to perform publicly rather than recording a video in the safety of your own home.
but yoohyeon adores her followers so when they ask her to perform, that is preciesly what she will do. for them. even if that means that she has to step out of her comfort zone; not because she is whipped, not because they control her, but rather because they give her a challenge. a challenge that she seems unable to refure because they know her, they know her competitive nature. and she knows it too. if she think back on sphere’s busking event, yoohyeon recall that performing on stage was thrilling, freeing. she want to feel that again.
the only difference, and what makes it scarier this time, is that she has to perform by herself. it wasn’t like that the last time, where she brought someone as her faithful support. on this stage however, yoohyeon is all alone. it’s just her, it’s frightening, yet it excites her. it’s finally her turn and she step confidently towards the center of the stage where a microphone stand await her approach, her heart pumping hard and fast against the cage within her chest. breathe, she tell herself-- breathe in, breathe out. you can do this, yoohyeon. she’s ready.
when you hold me on the street
and you kiss me on the dance floor
already in the first four lines, yoohyeon show her capability-- breathy chest voice is what she’s starting with before transitioning into a high head voice, then back. her pronounciation is good, for someone who has taught themselves, perfectly understandable with only a touch of accent because some words are just difficult to pronounce. she doesn’t move very much because the song doesn’t require it, the words and delivery is way more important and yoohyeon wish only to move her audience with her voice. and she does, she knows how to.
yoohyeon knows exactly when to tighten her core and sing with the strength of her gut, and it shows. although she has never received any proper lessons regarding how to sing, there are plenty of videos on youtube to teach her whatever she needs to know. she has spent so much time watching vocal coaches online, she has learnt so many tips and techniques that she has good control of her voice, but most importantly, yooheon sings a lot. she practices a lot. while she was born with a naturally good tone, the vocal cords still needs to be trained.
she execute the difference in dynamics perfectly and after the first verse, yoohyeon has let go of the nervousness that she came with, as much as she possibly could. surely enough. it does have a tight grip around her pounding heart still, but she somehow manages to use that kind of overwhelming feeling of pure excitement to pour true feelings into the song. it is especially easy to deliver the chorus because of this, as it requires a certain force to send the message across. it’s a love song, after all, filled with longing, yearning, ache, passion.
when her performance come to an end, yoohyeon is proud of herself. not only did she execute the song perfectly, in her own opinion, but she did it on her own. alone, without any support. it definitely is something that she had never imagined herself doing and yet, here she is-- with a pounding heart and flushed cheeks, yoohyeon grins due to her own personal accomplishment when she bend down in a bow. it’s out of respect, it’s out of gratitude. and she grins still when she step off of the stage, and leave it empty for the next contestant.
the worst part is just watching. waiting. before it’s his turn, woong can hardly focus on the other performers though his anxiety. they’re all so much better than him that it makes him wonder why he ever did this in the first place; there’s kids half his age who want to make a career out of their voices ten times more than he does. woong already has his plan: he’s going to finish his undergrad, apply for law school, and be junior partner at some law firm by the time he’s thirty. this singing detour was never supposed to happen at all. the things he does for friendship.
he’s about halfway to losing his mind when he realized who else is here. he hadn’t told him he was doing this, too embarrassed by what might inevitably an epic flop, so it shocks him to find out that yeonjun is participating in this contest as well. woong follows him with his eyes, fixated on a familiar face as he watches his performance. a smile crosses his face at the other boy’s excitable introduction. yeah, that’s the choi yeonjun he knows. he hopes he’s a better singer than he is ddr player.
yeonjun proves his talent easily, and despite the pride woong feels in his friend and the fact that he knows him, the anxiety finds its home in his stomach again. he was right, as he often is, about this: there are much more talented people than himself participating in this event. yeonjun is just one of many, and he alone is a formidable contender. woong finds it in the goodness of his heart to clap and celebrate the finale of his friend’s song, but he wonders just how warm of a reception he’ll get if he has to follow that.
it’s another several people before the name jeon woong is finally called up to the microphone, and he does his thing. he doesn’t stick around afterwards to see how any others do. he completed his obligation as required by the sign up he had put his name on, there’s no reason for him to stick around and embarrass himself and feel any worse any longer. he scurries out as quick as he can, the next song playing behind him feeling like a mocking good bye.
winter singer contest
status: watching the other performances before and after his!
performing always made him feel more excited than he should be, though he thinks today he’s left with a little more adrenaline than usual. he wants to say it’s because it’s been a while since he last performed for something, but wow did he not mind it at all. in fact, he kinda wanted to do something like this again. of course, if someone gave him the opportunity to do so.
one of his favorite things about performance events like this is that he could perform and see others do just the same. it’s ironic, coming from a person who’s not too fond of survival talent shows (excluding the mgas, specifically season 4), but he always found the audience’s perspective as enjoyable as the performer’s. oftentimes, he thinks it’s a relief that he’s not an idol or else a fan would call him out on his jaw being dropped and him being a little too excited over a performance. but he couldn’t help it! even if there was a performance that wasn’t exactly the best, he still found himself enjoying it somehow.
though he is proud of his song choice, watching the other performances did make him think of “what if” situations. “what if i had performed a song in english and showed off how cool and fluent i was? that would’ve definitely given a good impression, too. maybe a better one than for scenery.” nonetheless, he still enjoys the performances, making a mental note to search up these songs on his way home.
he’s glad he can recognize some of the performers here, some being from the tv and others he knew in person. perhaps he was a little obvious with his bias with his cheers when he saw beomgyu, yibo, and younghyun. but he doesn’t go too wild on the supportive shouts that it doesn’t disrupt their entire performance. so he doesn’t have to worry about them being embarrassed and telling him to straight-up be quiet.
as soon as all the performances come to an end, yeonjun waits patiently for the results. he doesn’t expect anything for himself obviously. he may be proud of what he’s done today, but he wouldn’t say he’s winner material.
The season may be cold, but nothing warms a heart more than a heartfelt song. This Winter, the citizens of Seoul who believe to have a voice warm enough to unfreeze any frozen heart are invited to take a part in the Winter Singer Contest to be held on February 1st. While the theme appears to be as clear as ice—Winter—that can be explored freely by the contestants. If you’d prefer to sign a powerful ballad that’d bring the audience to tears, then perfect! If you’d prefer something more upbeat to keep the hearts pumping, then even better!
If you’re interested in taking part in the contest, sign-ups will be made on the Times Square Mall on January 18th and 19th. The event will take place in that same location for any passerby to stop and watch. Solo performances will be the only type allowed, which means no group performances, under no exceptions. Dancing is optional and won’t give anyone extra points. Contestants will only be judged for their vocal capabilities. Performances won’t be broadcasted live, but they will be recorded and uploaded later on to youtube. The one who wins will receive prize money.
( Trainees and idols aren’t allowed to take part in the competition )
In order to receive +3 SINGING POINTS, please write a 300+ words solo about your muse’s performance on the Winter Singer Contest. For +2 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, write a 250+ words solo or a four-post thread about your muse watching the contest performances. Those performing may also collect rewards for the second requirement. Please tag all related posts with #rkwintersinger and have them up at midnight EST at the end of January 29th. Threads may be continued after the deadline, but no new posts should be made after it.
