TRC/G December Evaluation - Kim Sejeong covering Pristin V’s Get It
The past couple of times they had met up with the TRC higher-ups about their individual evaluations, Sejeong had had some good fortune. She had been improving as far as dancing was concerned and she had actually gotten praised a bit. They were honest with her, that she wouldn’t be up there with the better dancers of the group, but they seemed to appreciate the fact that she was working extra hard on the things that they asked her to. Getting compliments was way better than the harsh words that she received when the project started, so she wanted to make sure to do exactly what they asked from here on out.
Her last time up, she had chosen a song that was done by an artist who was generally known for her great dancing. While she had done an adequate job, the instructor had asked her to try and tone it down a little this month, find something a little less challenging that would allow her to still show off her improved dancing and her singing that had gotten her into TRC in the first place. This actually proved a bit harder than she had thought. First, she found a song that she thought the dance was less difficult, though still challenging, but it wasn’t a great song to show off her vocals. The second song she checked out was a little closer, but it still wasn’t quite right.
It wasn’t until she was a week in before she found the song that just clicked for her. It was a song that she had loved, but it seemed often to have been forgotten by a lot of people. It had a dance that was a bit more her speed and there was great vocal work on it, which she loved, so she knew it was just right.
She went up when it was her turn, ready to show that she had followed their instructions yet again. When the music came on, she turned on her charisma, giving off the tough vibe that the song called for. She strutted forward once the song kicked in more and began singing along, her voice not taking a back seat to the dancing this time, but instead, the two seemed to compliment each other for a more complete performance than she had been giving to the TRC staff before this point.
It really felt to her that she had finally struck a good balance to where she wasn’t struggling with the dance too much, and her singing wasn’t suffering for it. The song continued on and she had even attempted the rap part, though that definitely needed some more work. Overall, once she had finished, she felt like she had done a good job. She had put in a lot of work again, just wanting to keep on their good side by following what they asked, and she hoped it was enough to make them okay with what she’s done.
— TRC/G december evaluations ✰
⤷ solo performance ― only you by miss a brave girls
― skill shown ! dancing and singing
every month comes with new challenges to face -- ones harder than what was given to them the month before. sometimes she wonders if she can still be able to push through everything; to live up to expectations and to emerge better than she had ever been all without giving up a huge part of herself. lately, she’s been entertaining these thoughts far more than what she would like to admit.
but joy knows she can. she will. giving up was never a part of her vocabulary.
she doesn’t know when this would end or if it would even end anytime soon. all that she knew was that she has to start focusing more on herself as she tries to look at different ways to show her skills for her individual performances and as she contributes to a group effort. starting back at one for the previous month had been a relief to her for as much as she was troubled preparing for it. it means she was given the opportunity to start over -- to not let the embarrassment from october be the end all be all of things. she had gone for a song that was more of her calibre but this time, she’s upping the game a little bit. throwing in the hand of a challenge because she knew she can’t wrap herself in security all the time.
she chose this song because the singing wasn’t too difficult that she had to throw an extra limb just to be able to sing it. it was manageable by any means and with how much she’s worked to be able to improve with her singing, she thinks she can handle it. she wouldn’t last things long if she can’t.
with her back turned, she stands in the middle of the makeshift stage. big breaths in and out, she composes herself and puts on the mask she would usually don when performing. before she knew it, her music began playing across the expanse of the room and she starts moving; one leg out and down, moving to position as she starts singing the first line.
no other guy but you
no other guy but you you you you
the performance is in full swing now and because it was a lighthearted and playful song, she’s given the liberty to smile every now and then. the choreography for the song was fun and not at all too difficult for her to master which is why by the time this performance came along, she’s able to dance easily. she’s able to rely on her stability, having learned the skill of dancing and singing at the same time and barely losing her breath. she’s grateful for this because while she already deemed the dance as being not too difficult, it was still fast paced and energetic making it a little bit challenging.
her favourite part of the whole song would probably be the pre-chorus as it builds up the focal part of the song. it’s also the part where she gets to showcase a little bit of her vocal colour as she thinks it shares the same level of difficulty as that with the chorus. she skips into position with one leg, hands dramatically on her throat as she sings this part. feet quickly tapping the floor before jumping right into the chorus.
i’m different from other girls, i don’t want a typical love
i don’t care if i like you more,
i only need you
you’re different from other guys, now accept me
you’ll be my baby baby baby you
no other guy but you
she’s relieved to say that so far, nothing seems to be going awfully wrong. she’s able to hit her notes, she’s singing stably, and she’s having fun. all the work of this whole month seems to be going steadily well but she’s worried her current judgement is too far off from what the coaches would have to say. it’s just going to be even more of an embarrassment and quite a huge dose of failure to believe that she’s doing well when it turns out, she’s already crashed and burned.
this is the train of thought that had her pulling herself in for this performance. it is evidently more challenging than the previous month’s song in the sense that it has a high note they’re probably expecting her to hit. yet joy has learned from previous mistakes and took their words to heart. which is why for this performance, instead of pushing herself to work on the high note, she’s just going to sing over it. it helps that the high note fell on the word ‘baby’ and that while the original singer was hitting it, the chorus plays on at the same time. after the word ‘없어’, she’s going to jump right into singing the chorus again.
when she approaches this part of the performance, she carries on as to what she has practiced. it still took a couple of days before she was able to master singing the bridge and she’s glad to have been able to pass through it without any difficulties. in just a few seconds, she’s wrapping up the song. ending the performance with her body turned to the side and her face facing her panel and the camera, a smile tugging the corners of her lips.
just like that, all of december’s hard earned effort draws to a close. the moment she leaves the room, she’s left going through this seemingly never-ending cycle of worrying about what they have to say. in a few weeks time, they’d be back with a mixture of kind and harsh words as she and all the other girls are left quietly to listen. who knew what other surprises they have in store for them by then. at this point, she can only hope for good things.
she hadn't regressed. in fact, she seemed to finally met their expectations. now she would have to show them that she would be fine singing - rapping - and dancing at the same time. and given the chance, she would rap before anything. it was even hinted at, she had been given full permission to rap. it would've been daring to take the chance and sing. but it also would've been stupid.
and she knew what she wanted to do right away. honestly, she had been torn between two choices. the second one had been more of an after thought, she thought it would be a little more tamer. but her first choice called out to her right away. to the point where she had found herself already learning the dance. it was fun, it was hype, a little bit sexy but also full of confidence.
she could do this.
and then evaluation day came and she believed she was prepared. it helped that it would only be yumi and the camera recording. she didn't have to watch her ceo's face watch her go all out.
she had her back turned as the music started to play, it was a small intro and she waited it out, turning around slowly as the beat changed.
My hips are pang-pang-pang (very tight)
Boys ask Time time time
My lips are nyam-nyam-nyam (so tasty)
Where I go dang-dang-dang (I’m so proud)
When I get on stage cha-cha-cha (great)
Run run bang-bang-bang (as like flying)
Disco pang-pang-pang
Hello Bitches
she did her best to match the hype of the song, going right into the rap she started to dance. the reason she had chosen this song was because of performance ability, it made her want to perform and that's something she wanted show. how much she was taken this serious.
Where am I? Shopping, spree in Tokyo
Wake up in my private jet Every morning Tortilla
Liftin’ cards in Macau, I’m the best
Stop blowing up my phone
Eh won’t you hit me up on Kakao
Diamonds in my grill, Someone’s gonna stop me? who?
Skin tone 22 carats gold, I got in Dubai
My boys won’t hesitate to run up on your boys
My boys won’t hesitate to run up on your boys
the first few lyrics had been more of a chant and now she could finally rap like she wanted. there were a few moves but it had been mainly her simply rapping after that small dance break. there were still 'moves' but she had been allowed to free style more in these parts. the video didn't show the whole dance so she had to fill the gaps herself.
My hips are pang-pang-pang (very tight)
Boys ask Time time time
My lips are nyam-nyam-nyam (so tasty)
Where I go dang-dang-dang (I’m so proud)
When I get on stage cha-cha-cha (great)
Run run bang-bang-bang (as like flying)
Disco pang-pang-pang
Hello Bitches
everything about it had been smooth and she never once broke eye contact with the camera. this evaluation performance would allow her to fully showcase her confidence. sure, she had to show them the improvements on her dancing. and it hard work did show but rapping was what she was most comfortable in.
there wasn't anything that could stop her confidence when rapping.
Yellow gold ain’t it glow like a yellow phone
Couldn’t see me with a selfie from my telephone
Got hella dough Hello Kitty getting hella old
Want me to love them long time
And I tell em NO
Sake to soju Nagasaki to Seoul you
Can find me in Shanghai
You know what them shots of Baijiu do
Got these Asian girls dancing on the couches
Yeah they know me
And they singing every word
Like they was at the karaoke huh
and she knew she could very well have the trc 'swag' with this song. each move was sharp, her voice was clear and had an impact. and knowing english allowed her to smoothly transition from one language to the other. a smirk stayed on her face, often being paired some of the most aggressive looks she could muster.
it would've been fun to perform this with a group of people but she let her charisma fill up the room. there wasn't anything that could bring her down right now and it showed with every move made and lyric spoken.
and the dance was intense, each move had to have power.
Lights out killing it some more
Bad bitches get down on the floor
Lights out killing it some more
Bad bitches get down on the floor
Lights out killing it some more
Bad bitches get down on the floor
Lights out killing it some more
Bad bitches get down on the floor
and then it came to the bridge and she would be able to show a little of her singing, it wasn't anything too hard. but this had been the hardest part, the moves for it were a little..well nothing she had performed for her ceo and the coaches ever. at least it didn't show in her face.
in fact she cranked the sexiness up on her face, just for this part. for awkward she could've felt, she was still a grown woman and she would own it.
One Two Three Bitches
she pulled herself up and did the countdown before she let herself go back into the dance that went with the chorus. in the video she just stood but yubin didn't want to end it that way. and nothing would be easier than going back into the dance.
finally it ended it with her last look at the camera and she held it until she knew the camera finished recording. right after she bowed to yumi and did a small wave as the other left.
sohee was beyond sick and tired of the dancing critiques. she wasn’t a natural dancer by any means but she wasn’t terrible either. give her some time and she would work wonders on a dance number. she doesn’t know why they were pushing for everyone to be so great in dance. she herself had put more than enough focus into it. she’s never done so much in her life. after this evaluations she couldn’t focus on it any longer. she didn’t feel like herself if she did.
this was her last ditch effort to show that she really was as good enough a dancer as she needed to be. she wanted to prove that she did do much better since the first time she stepped inside trc’s halls. even if they didn’t want to accept it, she knew it to be true. she was never so great at dancing until she became a trainee. before she could dance at parties sure but she couldn’t call herself a dancer. she wasn’t in league with the top dancers of the industry but she felt like she was above average at the very least.
two months of bad evaluations left her frustrated. she wanted to rewind it back to when she was praised for her efforts. she hadn’t done anything different since the first month - in fact, she’s started to work even harder since then - so why are they drilling her so hard? she had nothing but questions. their evaluations were nothing specific. just “your dancing is bad” okay fine but what aspect of her dancing was? it couldn’t be her stage presence! sohee was the queen of facials and she spends time in the mirror doing expressions to key points in choreography for that purpose. was it her timing? her footwork? her motions? her ability to look clean? was it looking out of sync with the rest of the girls? the lack of specifics were driving her insane and only left her to perfecting every aspect of her performance instead. that was her only choice.
this was her last month doing a performance so heavily dance oriented on top of group dance performances they’d have to complete. she tended to practise hard on the choreographies anyways because she knew she was lacking in that category compared to the best of the group so she tried to make up for it in any which way she could. she didn’t need more dance heavy performances on top of it.
it wasn’t until around december 13th or 14th that she really got over her sickness. her grandmother had given her many soups and even came over to drop a humidifier that did wonders. she felt better but she wasn’t fully healed until a day or two later. which gave her very limited time to fully practise her performances. though it was at least ten full days to practise at tip top shape, she felt pressured to catch up after her week long handicap.
the first few days following her sickness she was wary about overworking herself. after the last bit of phlegm exited her system, she went full force. she stayed late, she sang at home and at training. anything to make up for lost time. she kept hydrated (the watchful eyes of all the trc girls let her know that she couldn’t slack off on her health just yet).
at the end of the day, the sickness wasn’t that detrimental to her performances. though the month she usually has to prepare is nice, it isn’t technically necessary if she’s training every single day and night. especially when it’s with 7 other girls who made sure she didn’t fall too far behind with group performances anyways.
with rollercoaster it was a bit fun to learn. it was a popular solo song that had a lot more emphasis in dancing that you would see in most solo artists. it was also upbeat and fun. the choreography was fresh and because it kept her moving, it made sohee feel like she was even healthier after she bounced back and was able to get through the choreography without feeling too winded.
to show that she truly bounced back, she wore tights and a cropped shirt for her solo performance to show off how healthy she looked — and to match the fresh summer-feel of the song. this song was really easy to perform with facials. the amount of motions in the song made it detrimental to hit them timely and cleanly. the switch up in speed in the choreography was fun to play with too: it’ll be fast motions for half an eight count and then slowing it down for the remainder. or switching it up at the end of the count.
she felt like it was a good showcase of a balance between her vocal ability and what her dancing ability now is at. she may not specialise in dancing like the other girls but she wasn’t a bad dancer. not enough to be hounded about it. she just wish hayoon would see it so she would drop it. or, at the very least, give her a constructive critique.
DECEMBER EVALUATIONS — SOLO PERFORMANCE: don’t say no, chichi’s sui.
skill(s) showcased ... dancing & singing !!
vanessa tells herself not to take the good praise to heart. because there’s been so much awful things said to her, one sweet thing can’t take it away; doesn’t promise there isn’t going to be more negativity being shoved at her. so she takes it in stride and utilizes it; tells herself to find something a bit more difficult. tired limbs be damned, there’s so much to be done this month and she’s nothing if not tenacious and determined.
she starts sifting through a lot of boa’s music before ultimately settling on a member of chichi’s solo stuff. she likes nara’s stuff a lot, but she moves to do sui’s don’t say no instead. she likes the song, the vocals-- the dance isn’t super hard, but it has a bit more difficult moves than the previous one she did. it’s a different change, and she knows she’s going to struggle with at least a good portion of it.
struggle is good; struggling makes her work harder. she can do that. she wants to do that. she shoves as much practice as she can inbetween everything else-- she needs to showcase her improvement, needs to showcase that she’s not going to falter under nice words. she wonders if hayoon’s expecting her to do that; wonders if she’s already prepping what she’s going to throw at her the next month.
the day of evaluations, she’s scratched at with nerves. she swallows and gathers up every bit of confidence she has; she’s done fine, mediocre-- this far, and she needs to do better. better than ever; in the full vocal, the dance, the group performances, and the solo. she needs it now, more than ever.
success is something you get addicted to, and god, vanessa wants it so badly.
vanessa wills her voice to come out as soothing as sui’s does in the original song. snaps her fingers and extenders her arms in something a bit seductive, a bit flirtatious. her voice raising with the pitch of the song. she keeps her voice as rich as can be to match the original singer-- delicate smile curved on her face as she lets her body move along to the beat. arms raised up high, quick movements before settling into something softer. her feet move in slow, quick motions before quickening as the beat increases.
don’t say no oh oh
i’m so sad, you know you too
please come back, am I bad?
baby don’t say no, i’ll always believe
that I was everything for you
oh oh oh oh don’t say no
her lips are quirked as she sways along with the music, drops to the ground when it calls for it. swings her legs and her arms as the tempo of the song continues; she sings with all her might, showcases her dancing and hopes there’s at least a little bit of improvement. that there’s no actual dissatisfaction.
vanessa doesn’t want to be kicked. doesn’t want to be left out of the project with just a wave of a hand and not good enough, needs more work. she’ll be damned if she’s worked this hard for a year and a half to let it all fade past her. if she counts brief time as a trainee prior to trc, its been two going on three; she knows there are people that have been waiting longer than that-- but god she’s been working her ass off for this opportunity granted. she wants to showcase she’s at least worthy of a possible position.
ooh don’t say no, no yeah whoo
baby don’t say no, i’ll always believe
that I was everything for you
oh oh oh oh don’t say no
she’s going to push herself the hardest she’s ever pushed. for today, for the upcoming jeju performance. she’s going to push for all the missed time as an idol, for all the time she’s given. she’s going to push and push and push.
there’s a lot to be considered this evaluation. there’s a lot of work, a lot of things to be done. there’s a lot of things to think about, to adjust around; jinsoul’s leaving, sana’s coming-- the feedback, the performances, the lingering in the air, the cliff-hanger hayoon had left them on. there’s so much to think about and it’s overwhelming at times.
vanessa chews on her lower lip idly, studying yubin across the room as she fixes the strings on her shoes. tongue poking against the inside of her cheek, she shifts uncomfortably-- before shaking her head and letting out a small sigh as she pushes herself to her feet. a concerned expression is tugging at her features, but she tries to keep herself neutral. she knows yubin has been fretting extra hard over sohee since her sickness, to the point where she had extracted her from practice for a brief moment. it was a sweet gesture, but vanessa’s wondering if yubin’s been focusing on her own well-being instead of everyone elses. as the oldest, she’s always been around, bouncing from person to person and giving advice as one of the longer trainees. she’s been working above and beyond, and vanessa just wants to extend some of that to the other as well.
“hey, unnie.” vanessa calls, a small smile on her face. crouching down by the other, she tilts her head to the side. “how are you-- handling everything? with sana, jinsoul...sohee being sick. i know some of the other girls are taking it pretty badly but-- how are you doing?”
the options are endless and that really should delight her but instead, it stresses her out. having an array of songs and performances to choose from just ultimately makes it so hard to decide what she wants to do. suddenly, it seems as if she wants to do a million things all at once simply because her indecisive mind just couldn’t narrow down her choices.
they want her to sing even more and finding the perfect song should have been easy enough. although joy finds that lately, nothing ever comes as easily as she had hoped it would and it sucks that this aspect of life would carry over to something as simple as song choosing. still, she perseveres, and with all the rightful and well needed help.
“somi-yah, what do you think?” she asks the younger with a tentative smile splayed across her lips. “should i sing and dance like what i did last month? or should i just focus on singing, and just singing?” it’s the first battle to cross; deciding on what she should do. she’s not opposed to doing either, which makes it difficult for her to decide by herself. she’d be fine with just singing because that would mean highlighting her progress in terms of her vocals but dancing and singing at the same time would showcase her stability. she can’t choose which one fairs better than the other.
for a moment, she pushes these thoughts aside to comment on something. her attention span as erratic as ever. “you know what, i’m really sad we’re not doing the full performance together.” she frowns, having looked forward to their practices together as an integral part of what they do.
it’s a few days into the month and sohee is fucking sick. her voice is mostly scratchy and she can barely speak above a whisper. the girls had been catching on with how she’s worn her face mask every day and just progressively got worse as time went on. still, she refuses to take a sick day. this month seemed like the worst month to get sick -- especially when they added another girl who had just got boarded onto the company.
sohee wasn’t a mean person but she was getting real tired of last minute competition.
the stress was wearing her body down easily. on top of that, she was in a group with vanessa (awkward) and they had harmonising high notes (lovely) at certain points of the song. so not only does she have to practise with ness, but she can’t even do that because she’s too sick to. in her stubbornness, sohee refuses to admit defeat.
“i’ll try my best today,” she tells vanessa with the best of her ability. she’s quiet but the face mask muffles her farther. you have to listen closely to hear sohee’s words. her voice is hoarse. “it’s getting harder to sing lately.”
