⯁ ROYAL MAY EVALUATION: LIVE SINGING !
MAY 31ST, 2019: TEST OF LIVE STABILITY WON PERFORMING KARA’S MAMMA MIA
how long has he waited to perform this? to have an opportunity to really let this song shine? he performed a kara song on the mgas, honoured his favourite group in his first real challenge as a confirmed contestant, his second episode on air, but it’s never enough. he could perform every kara song in existence and it won’t be enough. the minute this evaluation is presented to him, it’s the first song that pops into his mind and it’s the only one he thinks about for the rest of the month, the only one he considers an option.
admittedly, the extra tough gym sessions almost drive him crazy. his body aches all over, legs weak and arms hanging loosely by his sides once they’re finally released for the night to head back home. it’s not that won isn’t used to dancing all day — he is, and in all sorts of weather conditions, too — but instead that he isn’t used to building stamina so intensely. he isn’t used to the gym in general, choosing rather to do yoga for flexibility when he can. he knows that somewhere down the line, he’ll have to get used to it, a fit and at least toned idol a popular trend these days, but won hopes by the time his chances to be more public as a trainee ( or idol ), there won’t be so much pressure.
once he sinks his teeth into the actual preparations and practice for mamma mia, he’s reminded that the issue isn’t so much singing whilst dancing, but singing so high. he’s not a stranger to either high notes or stability, but together is a slightly different story. on the mgas, when he’d needed to hit a particularly high note he knew he’d need his whole chest to nail, he’d slowed down the dance, come to a stop completely to focus on it, but the whole point of this challenge is that he can’t ( or shouldn’t ) do that. he’s supposed to show that he can sing a whole song from start to finish and dance the entire time without sounding like a deflating balloon with voice pitches and loss of breath. he knows he can do it — with the appropriate practice, of course — but it’s a little discouraging at the beginning of the month when his voice cracks on the seungyeon’s high note at the end of the bridge when he isn’t even dancing at the same time but still heavy breathed from the rest of the song. still, he doesn’t let it put him off. he already knows the dance, he already knows the lyrics, so he has plenty of time to work on seamlessly tying them together, bringing them to harmony.
when the performance day rolls around, he feels pretty comfortable and confident in himself. letting it go to his head will only end in disaster but it’s hard not to a little when he’d not messed up in his run-throughs over the past week. it’d be about time ( and typical of his luck ) for him to screw up when everyone’s watching, but he tries to distract himself.
personally, he thinks it’s a little odd to make them do this alone when it’s rare for any idol have to perform start to finish alone covering an entire song ( especially one not written for a soloist ), but he doesn’t question it. any excuse to perform kara, he’ll take.
getting into position, he waits for the music to start before he shuts off his thoughts and focuses entirely on his performance. his expression is fierce at first, but soon softens as he reaches the first verse, the intense intro choreography nailed. for the most part, he follows the member singing. he’d had to make adjustments when he first learnt the song years ago to make it flow neatly for just one person, so he keeps them now, makes it harder on himself to stay stable so that if he does, it’s that much more impressive.
hey play that music 오늘은 내가 가는데로 밤 향기에 이 분위기에 취할 수 있게 yeah
누구보다 나를 더 생각해 여왕처럼 나를 더 모실래 여기에선 하나같이 로마의 법을 따라따라 cherish me cherish me cherish me 멈추지 마
and for the most part, he does at full energy. the chorus is so much easier as even though they’re technically singing, the group coming together, won can get away with projecting his voice a little. it errs on the edge of shouting until the last words of each line, as he too sings, but it works because the song is so high impact. at least, he thinks it does and had always thought so watching his own recordings for mistakes.
his only complaint is that once the chorus is done, it feels like the song is going too quickly because each verse between them is so short.
hit the lights let’s go 모두의 party party party 맘마미아 오늘 이 밤의 밤의 밤의 시작이야 맘마미아 이렇게 불을 밝혀 줘
라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 시작해 it’s time to be ok
his english pronunciation is slightly off but he doesn’t think that’s something they’re really looking for here. he might not be saying quite the right syllables but whatever he’s saying, it’s loud and clear and that’s what’s important. his movements are sharp when they need to be, not too big but not too subtle. he tries his best to emulate the energy and vibe of the original, even if his voice is deeper. he hits as high as he can that fits with the overall key, stays in tune and pitch throughout. he’d spent most of his time practising working out when the best times are to take breaths, knowing that this song was not intended for one person to sing in its entirety. by now, it’s second nature.
it’s so amazing 내가 돋보일 수 있는 걸로 조명아래 까만 실루엣 더 빛이 나게 yeah
누구보다 나를 더 생각해 여왕처럼 나를 더 모실래 여기에선 하나같이 로마의 법을 따라따라 cherish me cherish me cherish me 멈추지 마
suddenly, it’s the chorus again and he’s not tired but he can feel his breathing starting to waver. he knows he starts to become exhausted of singing the nearer he gets to the bridge, but thankfully, he’s saved by a long dance break between the second chorus and said bridge verse. it’s intense but it gives him time to even back out his breathing, get a few in before he has to start singing without a significant gap again.
hit the lights let’s go 모두의 party party party 맘마미아 오늘 이 밤의 밤의 밤의 시작이야 맘마미아 이렇게 불을 밝혀 줘
라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 시작해 it’s time to be ok
not to mention the more stationary choreography— having to, for the most part, only move his arms for the time being means he can really hit seungyeon’s high note, really go for it when it matters. ( and no one can complain, because that’s how the original had been choreographed to allow the original performers to hit those notes, too. he understands the point of the challenge but if they get a break to show off, why can’t he have one, too? )
누구도 예상 못해 숨겨진 내 모습에 놀래켜 줄 널 사로잡을 뜨거운 이 밤 burn it up
without hesitation, he jumps back into the chorus, adrenaline pushing him through the remainder of the song, outro included, until the music stops and his heart pounds against his chest. he’s not quite lc9 level, but he’s proud of how he’d handled the performance; proud of managing to get all the way through without his voice cracking or stuttering over a syllable or dance move. perhaps the chorus wasn’t always the prettiest to listen to, his voice carrying a little as a shout, but given the nature of his material, of the whole group coming together to sing each line, he doesn’t think it’d matter if he, too, had a whole group beside him. maybe they’ll mind, maybe they won’t, but won doesn’t care either way. he’d loved performing kara, loved getting to honour perhaps one of his favourite songs of all time and nothing was going to bring him down.
( except maybe next month’s evaluation; time will tell. )
hit the lights let’s go 모두의 party party party 맘마미아 오늘 이 밤의 밤의 밤의 시작이야 맘마미아 이렇게 불을 밝혀 줘
라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 라빠빠리 라빠빠리 롬 시작해 it’s time to be ok