01x07 - Episode 7

[bunniefuu]

THIS IS A STORY

OF ONE MAN'S SCHEME

TO REALIZE HIS VISION

OPERATION: SHOWCASE

I'm Jung Sang-hoon,

CEO of Jungsang Productions.

I've been vocal about the need

for a concert or a showcase

since the beginning of this project.

SHOWCASE

THE ROOKIE SINGER'S DEBUT STAGE

Singers usually do showcases

when they release songs.

Like a press junket for movies.

What if we held a concert in the US?

Hold on.

We can at least think about it.

I can't do that.

That's impossible.

CAN YOU MAKE THE SHOWCASE HAPPEN?

That's the goal.

Nothing's set in stone.

But Jung-seok needs a clear goal

to motivate him

and give him something to aim for.

That's why we need this.

Even the Dynamicduo guys said

that I almost sound like a con man

because I'm so smooth-tongued.

But I think that's how everything begins.

Words sow the seeds of dreams.

THE OPERATION BEGINS

It'd be cool if he did a concert

and you guys showed up.

He'd be singing and playing his guitar

with the spotlight on him,

and you guys could jump onto the stage.

That would be wild.

We just had a brilliant idea

for a concert.

Jung-seok would be under the spotlight

I had been looking for a chance

to say we had to do a concert,

and they were talking about it.

I thought, "This is it."

"This is the moment."

So I brought it up.

A concert would be great.

-Right?

-Why don't we do it?

-It'd be great to hear the songs on stage.

-Why make music if you won't perform it?

-Actually

-Is it already set up?

Well, kind of.

I already booked a venue.

Blue Square.

Blue Square?

THE RITE OF PASSAGE FOR K-POP ARTISTS

BLUE SQUARE

We have it booked.

That's great.

That's insane.

It's a great venue.

-We did a show there last year.

-Yeah, that was Blue Square.

MR. MOON HAS SOMETHING TO SAY

-He's given up at this point.

-It is what it is.

-It's on March 27th.

-What?

-March 27th?

-That's not far from now.

I didn't know either.

March 27th?

That was our only option.

It was already booked

for dates before and after that.

-The days around it were fully booked.

-Why haven't you told the singer?

-It was our only option.

-Really?

TODAY

JANUARY 31S

THE SHOWCASE

MARCH 27TH

I had no idea.

That's a really tight schedule.

You have to finish your songs,

memorize them,

and make other preparations.

-Right.

-I know, it's ridiculous.

But you don't even have

a single song finished.

That's true.

I'm at a loss right now.

It's hard enough to finish my songs.

Can I finish them

and pull off the showcase too?

I mean

As I'm sure you already know,

guest artists are important in a concert.

-Who do you have in mind?

-Dynamicduo.

-Dynamicduo.

-Yes.

You're all we need.

Can you please make time on March 27th?

March 27th?

Are you hiring us on the spot?

No pressure.

I just

I'm feeling good today.

Everything went exactly as I expected.

Blue Square?

-It's on March 27th.

-What?

A showcase

At any rate,

I'll have to do my best.

I'm so worried.

THE ROOKIE SINGER'S SONGWRITING

I kept working on my songs

after the retreat.

I wrote songs

and contemplated several things at once,

like the chord progressions,

melodies, and lyrics,

all at the same time.

SHOWCASE MEETING

It's been a while.

I called a meeting

with Mr. Jung and Mr. Moon

to talk about

the incredibly scary showcase

we've got planned for March 27th.

-So here's the thing.

-How many songs?

That's something

-that we have to decide on.

-Okay.

We also need a title for the show.

We have a lot to discuss.

I thought we could get some advice

from an expert.

You can ask them any questions you have

during the phone call.

This is a person

who's produced several concerts.

CALLING THE CONCERT EXPER

-Hello?

-Yes, hello.

Hey, Sang-hoon.

Hey.

-Is that you?

-Yes.

We're on a first-name basis.

Thank you so much for doing this.

I just called to ask a few questions.

I have a rookie singer here with me.

-A complete newbie.

-A rookie singer? Goodness.

Hello, ma'am.

Wow, your voice.

I love it.

GUMMY (PARK JI-YEON)

I like his voice.

I've been told

that I sound like Jung-seok.

I'm afraid this performance

might not be perfect.

But we aim for perfection.

Ji-yeon is someone

who can perform three-hour concerts

-all by herself.

-True.

We could learn a lot from her.

We're actually supposed to

put on a showcase soon,

but we weren't sure how to go about it,

so we wanted to get some advice.

-From me?

-Yes.

First of all,

it's a showcase, right?

-Not a concert.

-Right.

It's a place to give people a sneak peek,

so you should get them intrigued.

Rather than performing a lot of songs,

you should do three songs at most.

Do you guys not talk about

this kind of stuff at home?

He's never mentioned the showcase.

Really?

There's only one thing

our rookie singer here says to me at home.

-Which is?

-"Could you listen to my song?"

"Can you spare me a minute?"

But you're so busy.

I know. He's always like,

"Hey, are you busy?

Can I borrow your ears for a bit?"

"Can I borrow your ears?"

-That's a good title for a song.

-Right?

-"Can I Borrow Your Ears?"

-"Can I Borrow Your Ears?"

-Write that down.

-That should be the title of the showcase.

Wait, that's genius.

-We have our title.

-"Can I Borrow Your Ears?"

Thank you, Ji-yeon!

-I like it.

-It's great.

The advice we got from Gummy

was amazingly helpful.

We got a title. Tell them what it is.

All right. "Can You Lend an Ear?"

"Can You Lend"

-"Can I Borrow You?"

-"Can You Have a Listen?"

"Can I Borrow Your Ears?"

SHOWCASE TITLE CONFIRMED:

"CAN I BORROW YOUR EARS?"

I've never discussed the showcase

with Gummy before.

So this was unexpected,

but we got some really great insight,

and it was incredibly helpful.

What I have to do now

is pick the songs to perform

and record them.

I've actually finished

-"Jung-seok in Medium."

-What?

I haven't finished recording it.

-Just the arrangement.

-But the arrangement is done.

And the lyrics too.

-I just have to record it now.

-Okay.

"Jung-seok in Medium"

is almost complete.

"JUNG-SEOK IN MEDIUM"

99% COMPLETE

As for "Champagne,"

I'm contemplating

the exact instrumentation

and what kind of melodies I'll add.

It's in progress.

"CHAMPAGNE"

90% COMPLETE

As for "Friend,"

the arrangement is almost there,

but I'm debating

whether I should keep the original style

or change it up a bit.

"FRIEND"

80% COMPLETE

What I'm worried about

is the song with Dynamicduo.

I'd say that one is a bit

all over the place.

It's the one song

I'm having the most trouble with.

COLLAB SONG WITH DYNAMICDUO

??% COMPLETE

There's so much to do.

AND FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS

The rap song?

I'm still working on the lyrics.

WRITING RAP IS THE HARDES

It's not going well.

I'm very worried about this song.

But I wrote something that resembles rap.

I wrote down some thoughts

I had since I was young,

but the Dynamicduo guys might not like it.

I am a bit nervous.

The weather is something else today.

Is this the entrance?

It's like he's hiding out in this place.

-Goodness.

-Hey.

-Welcome.

-What's good?

Is this your studio?

Yes, it is. You can put these on.

-It doesn't look like a studio, does it?

-It's so nice.

It's like you rented out a studio.

That's exactly what it is.

I love it.

You haven't eaten, have you?

I'm going to order some pork feet.

What do you think?

That sounds amazing.

Remember the beat I sent you

with the guitar chords?

I'm curious to hear

how it developed from there.

THE "DYNAMIC TRIO"

WAS FORMED DURING THE RETREA

An actor who wants to live like music

and musicians

who want to live movie-like lives.

AND "LIKE MOVIES, LIKE MUSIC" CAME TO BE

THEY SOON MADE A GROUP CHA

CHO JUNG-SEOK INVITED CHOIZA AND GAEKO

He sent us a lot of recordings

of him playing guitar.

He did several variations.

He asked us which version we liked,

so we listened to each one

and decided which one would work best.

You only sent us

some guitar loops the other time.

Right, so I'm going to play

what I have so far for you guys.

I think this will sound good

with some drums and other instruments.

Maybe if some of our producers

-Hey, there it is.

-Yes.

We've never heard this version.

-This is the first time.

-Is it?

-Really?

-Yes.

-We've never heard a version with a beat.

-Right.

I think this is enough

for us to get to work on our end.

But we have to know

what you're going to sing

-before the rap comes in.

-Right.

Whether you'll do

a singing rap or whatever.

Do you have anything for us to check out?

Do I?

Well, I wrote some lyrics.

I knew he'd have something.

No, I don't have anything prepared.

I'll just show you some lyrics.

FIRST LOOK AT JUNG-SEOK'S LYRICS

I was worried

they'd burst into laughter and say,

"That's not how you write rap."

"This is how you do it."

I was a little scared

about how they'd react.

Imagine how nervous I must have been.

The last part is unfinished.

Are you going to

start spitting bars like crazy?

- "Yeah!"

-Let us know if you are.

Give us time to brace ourselves.

-No, don't worry.

-Are you starting with a "Uh"?

No. Where is it?

Would you rather read it

or listen to me read it?

-Read it to us.

-What would you prefer?

Try and read it with a little emotion.

All right, so imagine I'm rapping.

"Even before I learned to speak,

music laid down a path for me."

"Danced like a pro

in my sixth-grade talent show."

"My bookshelf was full of music,

not textbooks."

"Wandering down memory lane."

"Music pierces my soul

like a b*llet train."

"At the corner of my teenage days,

trying to figure out my ways."

"Holding my guitar pick,

I'm Jimi Hendrix."

"When the rhythm takes over,

it makes me shake my butt."

-You can't use "shake my butt."

-I knew it.

It was going so well.

-No, but

-It was going so well

until "shake my butt."

Even if we had 100 albums,

you wouldn't ever hear

that phrase in our music.

It's a tricky phrase

to weave into a rap song.

We were even more taken aback

because it was going so well

until he came in with "shake my butt."

That was really shocking.

I had to stop you right there.

It was something

that had to be said right now.

-It was great until then.

-Really?

I was impressed

with how good your rhymes were.

Were you listening to the music

when you wrote it?

I wrote it without the music.

We have to work on the song form now.

This is the beginning then.

-Yes.

-You have good material here.

The story you want to tell

is pretty clear.

Like the textbook part.

"Music, not textbooks."

Exactly. I really liked the contrast

that you used in your lyrics.

When it comes to rap,

when a line like that is ex*cuted

with a perfect rhyme,

it brings satisfaction to the listeners.

Same with good punchlines.

Rhythm and rhyme are like devices

that help deliver the lyrics.

I wish I could rap right now.

Let's hear it.

Give it a go.

SHOULD I TRY RAPPING?

I never thought I would end up rapping.

I could never pull that off.

Things have taken an unexpected turn,

but what's done is done,

so I'll just try my best.

RAP PRACTICE OFFICIALLY BEGINS

My hands full of music, not textbooks

No schoolwork

BECOMING A RAPPER ISN'T SO EASY

Fill the void in my heart

Fitting perfectly like it's Tetris

How do rappers do this?

Okay, let's do this.

From when

My hands full of music, no textbook

No schoolwork

Tapes and CDs got my heart hooked

Sitting by the bookshelf is my guitar

When I strum, I'm flying sky high

AND SOON

DYNAMICDUO SENDS HIM THE CHORUS

GAEKO: HERE'S A DEMO OF THE CHORUS!

I JUST WANNA LOVE YOU LIKE IN THAT MOVIE

YOU AND I, TWO LOVERS IN I

WE LIVE ON

THOUGH THERE'S NO SCREENPLAY

MY LIFE IS LIKE A MOVIE

JUNG-SEOK: THAT'S AMAZING GUYS

I'LL TRY MY BEST! DYNAMICDUO ROCKS!!!

A WEEK LATER, DYNAMICDUO'S STUDIO

I'm not sure if we can

get the recording done today.

-It'd be a miracle to get the rap done.

-Let's just try a few things.

I have no idea how it's going.

I haven't heard him rap yet.

He hasn't expressed any concerns either.

He might pull it off with some practice.

-He has a knack for music.

-He does.

If he does pull it off,

it'll sound awesome.

Don't you think so?

Anyone there?

THE HIP-HOP WARRIOR ENTERS

WITH BERRY THE PRODUCER

-Yo, man.

-How have you been?

-How have you been?

-Good to see you.

We have very high expectations.

-Come on.

-I'm excited to see you in action.

Me?

The song sounds so different now.

-Did you sing the chorus, Gaeko?

-I did.

It was out of this world.

-I don't know about that.

-He's a good singer.

When he sang "Like the music,"

he reminded me of Naul.

How's the rap part going?

We were kind of worried.

Half-worried, half-excited.

We'll see once I try it.

Are you ready to spit some bars?

I'm not trying to pressure you,

but we have high hopes

that you'll pull it off easily

since you're talented.

If the lyrics don't work for you,

adjust them to your style as you go.

You can always do that.

Do I even have a style?

ASKING THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION

-You're underselling yourself.

-No, I'm serious.

Isn't this your first time

rapping professionally?

It's the first time ever.

Not just professionally.

Do you know what I did?

I was practicing alone and went,

"Hold on."

"I have to do this at the showcase.

That means"

And I practiced my moves

in front of the mirror.

You get it.

When we first started off,

we were new to all these moves too.

It all felt really awkward

at a certain point.

We pulled out so many drawers.

We didn't know what to do.

That's the most basic move.

The drawer pull.

It always gets awkward

when you're set on doing a certain move.

I can imagine.

Should we get started?

-Sounds good.

-Let's do it.

Isn't it always nerve-racking

to step into the booth?

He's probably freaking out.

Let's start from the singing part.

-I'll give you two bars.

-Got it.

RECORDING BEGINS

FOR THE SINGING PAR

Like the music flows through the air

Like the lyrics engraved in my soul

I want to be a track

on your memory playlist

My life is like music

-That was amazing.

-He's good.

That sounded great.

-Thank goodness.

-Let's keep it like this.

It's good as it is right now,

so let's just get a lot of takes in.

Okay.

I have a lot of experience

singing on stage,

so I'm a bit more comfortable with it.

I guess I'm just more used to that.

No need to worry about his singing.

Like the music flows through the air

Like the lyrics engraved in my soul

The first line sounded great.

Can you mark that take?

GETS IT DOWN IN 2 TAKES

Like the lyrics engraved in my soul

Can you mark this one too?

"Like the lyrics engraved in my soul."

I have nothing bad to say

about his singing.

TIME TO SPIT SOME BARS

This is absolutely terrifying.

HUMBLED POSTURE

LIPS GETTING DRY

I've never done this in my life.

His first time ever.

But he has a strong foundation.

He has a knack for it.

-I'll play it back for you.

-Okay.

Music's been my playground

As long as I remember

I sang and danced to all music in my ears

Can't forget my sixth-grade talent show

My first dance

Friends giving me thumbs-up

My hands full of music, not textbooks

No schoolwork

Tapes and CDs got my heart hooked

Sitting by the bookshelf is my guitar

Strum it and I'm flying sky high

To be completely honest,

my initial thought was,

"We're screwed."

That's all I was thinking.

It was so obvious

that he had never rapped in his life.

It was a bit shocking.

I never thought it'd sound that awkward.

I started having doubts

about whether he could pull it off.

You keep using this raspy voice.

It'll sound much better without it.

It makes you sound like an old man.

-Try not to do that. Just be yourself.

-Okay.

Just use your usual voice

that you use when you talk

-or when you're acting.

-Okay.

Let's get some different takes.

Music's been my playground

Yeah

Music's been my playground

As long as I remember

I sang and danced to all music in my ears

Can't forget my sixth-grade talent show

My first dance, ready to go

My friends giving thumbs-up

My hands full of music, not textbooks

He sounds more confident,

but he still sounds like an old man.

He sounds like

JUNG-SEOK STILL SOUNDS AWKWARD

I was trying to sound a certain way

without realizing it.

I'm an amateur.

And it showed.

He must have had this idea

of what he should sound like.

He kept making this sound.

We had to get rid of that

as soon as possible.

How could we make you comfortable?

Which works better for you?

-For me?

-Yes.

Honestly,

I'm just uncomfortable in general.

He just needs

some more emotions on top of this.

He's getting hot.

-Can I step out for a bit?

-Sure.

-He looks beat.

-He's worn out.

It couldn't have been easy

to keep that hat on the whole time.

THE LONG RECORDING SESSION IS OVER

You definitely need more practice.

And then, if there are parts

that you're uncomfortable with,

we'll have to change some parts.

-Or just rewrite it.

-Exactly.

THUS ENDED THE FIRST RECORDING SESSION

We have to decide

if we should power through

and make a rapper out of him.

You can't fix someone's tone overnight.

I don't know if we have

enough time for that.

We could try something else.

Let's take these lyrics,

get rid of the unnecessary parts,

and make them closer to singing.

Let's keep our options open.

Let's do that.

CHOIZA: HOW'S THE RAPPING GOING?

JUNG-SEOK: I DON'T KNOW.

IT HASN'T IMPROVED MUCH.

GAEKO: HERE'S A SINGING RAP VERSION!

JUNG-SEOK:

I THINK I'M MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ONE

I'LL PRACTICE WITH THIS ONE

ONE WEEK LATER

Yo, man.

Yo. Yeah.

Look at that drip.

THE ROOKIE SEEMS EXCITED

Come on, I'm a rapper.

The Dynamicduo guys

heard me rap in their studio,

and it must have been

unsatisfactory.

We kept thinking,

"Is this the best we'll get out of him?"

We kept having doubts.

It was the first real struggle he faced.

I was worried that this song

might bring this whole project to a halt.

Guys, I love the new version.

-It's easier, right?

-Much easier.

I practiced yesterday

HE PRACTICED THE SINGING RAP VERSION

and I sounded much better.

Let's take a listen

and see how well you did.

I haven't made that much progress.

You're good.

"LIKE MOVIES, LIKE MUSIC"

BY CHO JUNG-SEOK

MUSIC BY CHO JUNG-SEOK AND GAEKO

LYRICS BY GAEKO, CHOIZA, AND CHO JUNG-SEOK

Music's been my playground

As long as I remember

I sang and danced to all music in my ears

Song books instead of textbooks

Cassettes and CDs fill the bookshelf

IT'S A WHOLE NEW VERSE!

Music's been my playground

As long as I remember

Music's been my playground

As long as I remember

My hands full of music, not textbooks

Song books instead of textbooks

Nice.

Cassettes and CDs fill the bookshelf

Perfect.

-We're good now.

-I got chills.

-I feel like we got it.

-Really?

SINGING RAP TO THE RESCUE

I felt much more at ease.

We could tell that he was in his element.

He sounded good.

We got one problem out of the way.

It's presentable enough

for a showcase now.

I've joined Dynamicduo

to become "Dynamic Trio."

I'm one of them now.

I think it'll be fun.

As long as I do my part.

THE SONGS ARE FINISHED

THE ONLY THING LEFT NOW

IS THE FINAL STEP OF HIS DEBU

ONLY 2 WEEKS REMAIN

UNTIL D-DAY

THE SHOWCASE REHEARSALS BEGIN

-Hello.

-Let me take that.

ARTIST CHO ARRIVES

-Hello.

-Mr. Jung.

-Hello.

-This is the bandmaster.

BANDMASTER/GUITARIST: PARK SHIN-WON

-Shin-won is Shin-hye's brother.

-Right.

-Park Shin-hye, the actress.

-Really?

We don't look alike.

No, I totally see the resemblance.

1ST KEYBOARD: CHON YONG-JUN

2ND KEYBOARD: KIM CHANG-HYUN

BASS: KIM EUN-SE

DRUMS: KIM JIN-HUN

Who's Shin-hye's brother?

That's him. The bandmaster.

I'm good friends with Shin-hye.

THEY WORKED ON THE FILM

MY ANNOYING BROTHER

Yes, she told me to do extra well today.

-How's your voice?

-I'm not exactly in tip-top shape,

but I'll try my best.

-I have to get used to singing on stage.

-Of course.

I keep losing sleep.

I've been dealing with insomnia.

THE INSOMNIA PERSISTS

-You must be stressed out.

-Yes.

Who would have thought?

He used to fall asleep so quickly.

Whenever I think about the showcase,

I keep forgetting the lyrics to my songs.

-It happens. You're stressed out.

-Yes, so I can't even rest my voice.

Imagine losing sleep on top of that.

It feels a bit weird

ALTHOUGH HE'S UNDER THE WEATHER

to be rehearsing my own songs.

This is so weird.

HE IS SOMEWHAT EXCITED

-I feel that way too.

-I mean, look at this.

All these people are here

to play your songs.

-Sang-hoon.

-Yeah.

-You came a long way.

-I know.

Okay.

-Let's do this.

-Let's do it.

I can feel my heart beating.

I know. Mine's about to burst.

SINGING HIS OWN SONGS

WITH A LIVE BAND FOR THE FIRST TIME

You and I, loving for you tonight

Flying high

AFTER REHEARSING THE FIRST SONG

I think I should come in on "tonight."

THE ROOKIE'S FEEDBACK ENSUES

So you want the playback to overlap?

Tonight

And I'll stay on beat.

Yeah, that'll work.

We'll do the key change right there.

Time may pass us by

And our paths may reach a crossroad

SPEAKS WITH HIS EYES

-Is this good?

-Yes, like this.

They pass by us

So fast

JUNG-SEOK DOES HIS BES

EVEN THOUGH HE'S FEELING UNWELL

Singing my own songs with a band

was really fun,

but at the same time,

I kept thinking about ways

to improve my performance

for the showcase to be successful.

The first day of rehearsal

was a rollercoaster of emotions.

REHEARSAL #2

D-13

REHEARSAL #3

D-11

REHEARSAL #4

D-7

THE 100-DAY JOURNEY IS ALMOST OVER

Do you think I can pull it off?

In just 100 days?

FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY IN THE STUDIO

I haven't written a song.

HE WORKED FIERCELY FOR 100 DAYS

This last bit just doesn't work.

This is so frustrating.

I'm so worried.

FROM THE BRUTAL MONTHLY EVALUATION

TO THE FRIENDS WHO HELPED OU

IN EVERY WAY THEY COULD

AND NOW

My 100-day journey

has come to an end.

That really sank in.

D-2 UNTIL THE SHOWCASE

FINAL REHEARSAL

Shall we begin?

Okay.

I got drawn into it like The Matrix

Grab my guitar and I'm Jimi Hendrix

It filled the void in my heart

Like it's Tetris

Dreamin' on a mattress

And please

Let's take it

Slow

The showcase is right around the corner.

It's in two days.

I want to do well.

I want this show to be

as perfect as it can be.

I just want to perform my songs well

in front of everyone.

That's about it.

My passion for music has led me

to make an album of my own.

Please join me in the journey

of realizing my dream

of becoming a singer-songwriter.