When a K-Pop idol is involved in a
scandal, either one or two things happen.
Their label addresses it immediately
and denies it,
or the label doesn't say anything at all.
It also depends on, like, what is
the scandal about. 'Cause sometimes
- in Korean culture this is not okay
- Yeah.
but for international fans,
they're like, "We're fine with it."
I think a type of scandal that would
make me not want to follow them anymore
would be anything like
like domestic abuse.
Like, very, like,
on the end of the extremes scale.
For cancelable, I would probably say
- drug allegations are a big one.
- Yeah.
Even after the rumor has been,
like, proved false,
they don't come back to the group
and that's frustrating for us to see
- Yeah.
- 'cause we love them so much and want
They work so hard for this.
We want them to continue doing it.
So after Belgium concert,
Fatou's mom actually invited
all the members for dinner.
'Cause she wanted to cook for them.
And so me and my members
went over to my mother's house.
And we were having a good time, eating.
We had a little bit of champagne.
And there was music playing.
Me and my mom started getting,
like, really emotional.
We both started crying because
we missed each other so much.
And then Leia also started crying.
Because I think about my mom.
I'm losing time with my mom too.
She's getting old without me,
and that's made me really sad.
And all of a sudden she said,
"I just want to go home."
Youngheun and Judy were like,
"But her mom just made
all of this amazing food, dessert.
Let's just be here for longer."
And then Leia got a bit upset,
and then she went to the bathroom.
Because I was really sad,
I stayed two hours in the bathroom crying.
And I posted on my Instagram,
and Fatou saw that.
WOW, SO FCKING FUN
I WANT TO GO HOME
If I say it in English, it's sarcastic way
to say that this moment is f-word boring.
Don't touch my family.
That's one thing I won't ever play about.
You disrespect my family,
me and you, we're enemies.
I'm a different type of beast
I'm a different type of beast
Beast, beast
I'm a different type of beast
But it's okay
Good to be alive
I'm a mother effin' rock star
Rock star
Rock, rock, rock with me
Feel, feel, feel
Feel so good to be alive
Feel so good
I'm the baddest B alive
I'm the baddest of the baddest
Bring it back
I'm a mother effin' rock star
Back in Korea,
I did not speak to her at all.
The three members, they are,
like, enjoying together,
but I was, like, separated.
I don't know the name for this
if it's not bullying. Yeah.
There was no form of bullying.
It was a fight without communication.
It's something, to be honest,
hurted me a lot.
I tell this for my mom.
I tell everything for my mom.
My mom was like, "If the company
don't gonna do anything, I will do it."
So, she talked to the fan base,
and the fan base posted.
The fan account on Twitter
posted conversations
between the fan and Leia's mom.
She said, "Leia's being bullied by Fatou."
At first, I was like,
"Well, this is ridiculous."
And then just a few seconds later,
I was, like, really mad
because Leia's mom involved our fans.
She not only ruined our name,
she, like, kind of
m*rder*d our characters.
My mom just tried to protect
her daughter, in my opinion.
Just that.
That's when I was like, "You know what?
You You wanna bring it, like,
to a public space.
I will bring my side public too."
She's out there dragging my image
through the fricking mud.
I'm not gonna let anyone mistreat me.
So I wrote my own statements.
I wrote out the facts.
Everything that happened. And I posted it.
And since then,
it's completely out of control.
When the scandal blew up,
things got uncomfortable and awkward.
And it wasn't easy to talk to each other.
Fatou unni fans call me r*cist.
I'm not r*cist.
That is, like, horrible thing
to say about someone.
I did not open my comments to read them.
I just noticed that fans were saying,
"Stop sending r*cist messages to Fatou."
Then, I was, like, "Okay. So that's
what was happening in those comments.
I see. I will not read those."
It was unfinished business.
We tried talking things out
with each other, but it didn't work.
Because everyone was
so busy pointing fingers,
we couldn't get on the same page.
I know the truth, the people
in this company know the truth.
And that's it. The truth will always be
revealed at the end of the day anyways.
So
This is my first Europe tour
without a label.
Five cities in two weeks.
Berlin.
You mean they're gonna come up from there?
London.
- I almost fainted earlier.
- I know.
Every city we go to, it's
just gradually getting worse and worse.
And then we get to the third city, Paris.
That's when all hell broke loose.
JESSI'S MOM: Oh my God, two o'clock!
JESSI'S MOM: For someone who needs to
perform tomorrow to be in this cold air
at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m.
Oh, this is crazy.
As we got
to the hotel, we tried to check in,
but this organizer booked this hotel
through a third-party site,
so that person
actually has to be there to check in.
But he wasn't there,
so we couldn't check in.
We need to figure out what to do
since she can't
just stand out here on the street.
We're waiting outside,
three in the morning.
I got my phone. I recorded it, secretly,
just in case, for legal issue purposes.
I'm outside right now, oppa.
There's no room. I don't know what to do.
This is my third city. It's just getting
worse and worse and worse.
The tour organizers
I had been working with,
they were supposed to make sure
the itinerary is right,
that the artist gets some sleep,
has food and she performs.
That's their job.
Because I work hard.
- Right?
- Yes.
- Everyone thinks it's a great show. Yeah.
- Is happy, yeah.
They don't know
what's going on behind doors.
They don't know I'm crying
every day, on the street with
The same problems kept
happening and several other issues arose.
Every day
To be honest,
I don't discriminate or hate people
- JESSI: This is so
- I know.
but seeing my child get so frustrated
Mom, stop.
It's not fair that she can't sleep,
and in a couple hours needs to perform.
What are we supposed to do?
This is Jessi!
- How are the members right now?
- Right now on social media
Fatou's fans and Leia's fans are fighting.
It does seem like Fatou's side,
is getting more support at this moment.
- So more people are blaming Leia?
- Yes, yes.
Since we can't let this go on
like this on social media,
the company should make
a plan to intervene.
Yes, yes.
With other K-Pop groups or girl groups,
the company heavily controls the members.
If the company says, "Don't fight,"
they won't fight.
But,
with a multinational group,
everyone's language, culture and the way
they express themselves is all different.
So it doesn't make sense to try to control
them the way Korean groups are controlled.
However, using fans to fight
personal conflicts is unacceptable.
Also,
Leia's condition is bad right now, right?
Yes, yes.
Hospital?
- Leia
- Treatment.
Her next treatment appointment
is next Tuesday.
Since Leia's mental health
is really bad right now
Yes.
it's important that she doesn't miss
any treatment,
and that she goes to the hospital.
- I understand.
- Okay.
So, in Paris, there were
hiccups and issues, miscommunication.
Luckily, through the help
of Jessi's friend,
that person found a hotel in Paris.
We probably got into bed
around six, seven in the morning.
I remember the sun was up.
I slept, like, three hours.
I was stranded outside in the cold.
I've done this for 18 years,
and this never happened in my life.
When you're that stressed out already
with everyone fighting,
how am I gonna sleep?
Like, I don't have time to sleep.
I have rehearsals,
I have a meet and greet, all this stuff.
I'm just so tired. I'm crying.
I just I couldn't hold my sh*t together.
My performance is in a couple hours.
We told the organizer, "Hey, Jess is not
gonna go through with this Paris show.
Let's postpone it
because she's exhausted, mentally drained,
and she's not really physically capable
of going on with this show,"
which the organizer said,
"Okay." Agreed on it.
I woke up thinking
that there was gonna be no Paris show.
They were supposed to tell my Paris fans
that the show was gonna be delayed,
like, a couple of days after.
But the tour organizers,
they did not tell the venue and the fans
that it was going to be delayed.
So they told me, "If you're not gonna
do it, you tell your fans."
They told me to say whatever I want.
But why do I have to say something?
I'm the artist.
Why me?
I give my fans all my energy.
You saw that.
Jess, I don't know
what to tell you right now,
'cause this is not something
that's supposed to happen.
We thought the show was canceled.
The organizers, they told her,
"If you do want to postpone the show,
let your fans know
that you want to postpone the show."
Which which is not her job to do.
They should've been taking care of that.
She was struggling so much that
she was saying she just couldn't do it.
Where is she supposed
to get any energy from?
Nobody's taking responsibility.
Nobody. Nobody's taking it.
So I have to do it.
I have to go up on stage
and act like nothing's wrong.
Unni, you know me.
I don't perform, and I'm not
the type to go up there and
Give your half-a*s. I know, Jess.
And I-I-I'm
She's a very strong character,
but Jess's mental state, it was not good.
She felt very hurt because she was kind of
put in this position to do this show.
She was just She couldn't.
She had no energy.
Jess.
Seeing my daughter
get so knocked down, I cried a lot.
I'm sorry.
- Let's do the makeup.
- I need to call
- Jessi, do you want to do it there?
- No.
It's fine. Just I'll go there.
Let's just figure it out, unni.
Let's just put on anything
and I just I don't know what to do.
I gotta think of something.
I gotta think of something.
SEONGMIN: I'm hungry.
MINHEE:
Don't you want to eat Dakgangjeong?
WOOBIN: I'm seriously so hungry right now.
Order whatever you want to eat.
I'm going to cook for us
just so I can eat.
When people hear that
K-Pop trainees or idols live in dorms,
they think college dorms. But in reality,
they're actually apartments,
and all the members live together.
Living in a dorm with our members
means that we always have company.
When you're bored, you can always
go to each other and be like, "Hey,
let's go watch a movie,"
or like, "Oh, yeah, let's
let's play a game."
Yes, it's really lively,
and it's always a good time.
Let's eat dinner.
MINHEE: Salad eaters, sit together.
MINHEE: It's good, it's good.
MINHEE: It's been a while since I ate
a home cooked meal like this.
SEONGMIN: Is that really a salad?
MINHEE: If you eat a salad like that,
you're going to gain weight.
MINHEE: It's a compliment, a compliment.
SEONGMIN: It looks so good.
HYEONGJUN:
How is it in the US? Is it nice?
ALLEN: Of course!
TAEYOUNG:
What was that reaction? "Of course!"
I was born in Taipei,
and I moved to Hacienda Heights,
California, at the age of five.
I've always had K-Pop around me,
but I never really fell in love with it
until I started having this crush
on a girl in middle school.
She liked SHINee.
And our middle school choir would host,
like, an annual talent show.
For one of the talent shows,
I covered a song from SHINee.
After doing that on stage,
I had good reactions.
Were you able to win her over?
No actually, but
because of that I really felt like
this might be a path for me.
Becoming a K-Pop idol.
Wow, the watermelon smells amazing.
SEONGMIN: What's famous in LA?
- ALLEN: In LA
- HYEONGJUN: Allen is famous.
ALLEN: The Hollywood sign.
- ALLEN: Also
- WONJIN: There's Disneyland.
- SEONGMIN: Oh, there's a Disneyland?
- ALLEN: Yeah.
TAEYOUNG: Is LA close to the beach?
ALLEN: Yeah, the beach is close.
ALLEN: But, you still need to drive
about 40 minutes, an hour.
ALLEN: There's usually traffic.
SERIM: Isn't there an amusement park
at the beach?
ALLEN: Yes.
TAEYOUNG: Like the one you see in movies?
ALLEN: There's a Ferris wheel
Because how close we were in age,
we did a lot of the activities together.
I joined choir in middle school,
and he joined choir.
And then I joined All Male Hip Hop in
high school and he joined GRaVy Babies.
And they were
a really hip-hop-heavy team as well.
Allen became passionate about dancing.
He was really driven and talented.
How I got to my current company, Starship,
is through a vocal teacher.
She was also teaching
vocal lessons at Starship.
I guess she saw potential in me,
and so she hooked it up
with the artist development employee.
I dropped out of high school too,
and my parents were
completely supportive of that.
SEONGMIN: Should we play a game?
MINHEE: Yeah, the winner gets ice cream.
WOOBIN:
No, loser does the dishes. Let's do it.
- The lowest card loses?
- Yeah.
I gave up everything
to become a K-Pop idol.
You know, there were hard times, like,
when self-doubt and anxiety overcomes me.
I think that's
when I miss my family the most,
because I want to prove it to them
that, you know,
even if I drop out of high school,
I can make it.
That's what really helped me push through.
SERIM: I really think
I'm not going to get a good card.
- JUNGMO: You didn't look, right?
- Why are you giving me the bottom card?
Personally, I keep myself
to a very high standard,
so I definitely don't want to disappoint.
In this upcoming fan con,
I'm ready to show the world who I am
and what I've been preparing for.
SERIM: Wow, it's Hyeongjun.
How can the cards work like this?
- HYEONGJUN: Hey, Woobin?
- WOOBIN: Yeah?
HYEONGJUN: When you cook, why do you
use so many dishes?
WOOBIN: Thanks for saying that
after enjoying the food.
WONJIN: Wow, that is a lot.
- Let's look at memes.
- Meme.
There's also cats. Cats.
Oh, no.
Leia, turn your chair a bit.
I kind of feel
here don't make my mental health good.
It's not, like, from now.
It was something that slowly creeped in.
I just wake up in the
early morning?
And then I start to cry a lot.
I don't know even why.
I know I'm sick, but here in Korea, like,
depression is not like a sickness.
Especially in the entertainment industry.
I think it's a lot harder here.
You know, I've been here
for two years straight,
without my family.
And, like, I feel I lose my essence.
Like, I feel they suck everything.
There is one minute left!
When my dad found out about the scandal,
he was actually really mad
at what was happening.
So, BLACKSWAN has been doing live stream
on our official YouTube channel
every week.
- Here we go, let's roll.
- Stand by.
Two, three
Be unique!
Hello, everyone! We are BLACKSWAN!
Yeah, hey.
For this live stream,
we requested all the members
explain what was going on
and apologize to the fans.
Here we are, back again.
This
As we are doing our live stream,
I want to very delicately talk about
what was brought up to the community.
Stop yawning.
LEIA: Yes, sir.
Now,
ever since the issues started,
I haven't been able to sleep in peace.
The issue between Fatou and Leia
caused outrage among the fans
and now there is pressure on the company.
To some extent,
this lifestyle can be exhausting
because it's not just your own life.
You have to constantly think
about the fans.
I was not mentally well because I've been
in Korea, away from my family.
That's why smaller arguments
and disagreements
affected me more and felt harsher to me.
Please,
I just wish to see BLACKSWAN
become a world-class group.
Just now,
I gave both Leia and Fatou a mission.
We're in a situation where you have
to watch your every move.
Today in the live [stream], I was
supposed to say [we] don't have bullying.
But I didn't say that.
It is true that there
was conflict between the members.
But I felt really bad that what happened
was being mistaken
as racism or bullying.
If you want to be a local singer,
quit now.
My standard and goals are up here.
It's incredibly high.
For the sake of the fans,
we will do better.
I'm sorry.
We will work harder to understand
each other better.
This was BLACKSWAN. Thank you!
Do you know what my motto is?
Until I reach the top,
the time for me to rest and sleep
is when I'm dead.
- Understood?
- Yes.
That's it. You guys are dismissed.
Thank you very much!
I'm struggling.
My voice is not coming out.
- Can you hear now?
- It's low, so I can't hear.
It's just the background music.
You can hear when you are on the stage.
Okay.
Paris was pretty much the biggest venue
out of the whole Europe tour.
So how am I going to cancel anything?
I
There is no way in hell I'm gonna
do that to my fans.
But I-I can't pretend
like it didn't happen.
It's hard to fake a smile
after all that happened.
I mean, Jess, she's very transparent.
If there's something she needs to say,
she's gonna say it.
I'm not gonna give my fans
a half-assed show. There's no way in hell.
It's all on me.
Merci!
It was the loudest crowd
I've ever been in.
My fans give me this energy.
They just bring me back to life.
- Jessi! Jessi! Jessi!
- They gave me hope.
Jessi! Jessi! Jessi! Jessi!
Thank you guys so much.
I haven't slept at all today.
All right, I'm going to
just get straight into it.
I've been stranded outside, last night,
till 6:00 in the morning.
- It's okay.
- You know what though?
I'm going to
I'm gonna try my best for you, okay?
Okay, we're going on
to the next song, okay?
Yeah!
- Thank you!
- Paris, you people are demanding.
Don't post that. Only you can have it.
You're gonna meet snakes
here and there, right?
And I came out P Nation
thinking everything was gonna be
all great and beautiful.
That's not the reality.
So come with me and fly away
Away away away away
There's never gonna be a perfect life.
But if my fans are happy, then I'm happy
because I know I gave them 100%.
Whether it was a performance,
whether it was just me being there
and just talking with them.
As in a human being, not just an artist.
That was everything to me,
and I think that is what made me realize
that I can do anything.
That's why I'm that nuna
Because we haven't had many opportunities
to show people who we are till now,
I'm nervous and haven't been able to sleep
and I really want to hurry up
and show the world who we are.
Because I followed MONSTA X,
I learned about CRAVITY.
And because they're from the same company,
they do have some similarities,
but CRAVITY is also different
from MONSTA X
because they have a cute, lovable vibe,
and that drew me to them.
What is it
about CRAVITY that you love so much?
Their faces.
Koo Jungmo is so handsome.
It's their faces for me too.
Ahn Seongmin is so cute.
He looks like a rabbit.
We've waited so long for this fan meeting
and I can't wait to see CRAVITY
perform on stage.
CRAVITY, I love you!
- Should we put this up, Woobin?
- I think it makes me look too big.
Yeah, true.
I'm getting nervous.
Why are there so many people?
We have five minutes. Five minutes.
Can you get me a mic?
Let's go!
One, two, three!
Don't cry, don't cry.
You're already crying?
- Don't cry, don't cry.
- Cry out there. Cry out there.
- We have one minute. One minute.
- JUNGMO: One minute!
WONJIN: I'm so nervous,
I feel like I'm gonna throw up.
REMEMBER OUR TIMES TOGETHER
AHN SEONGMIN
Ten seconds remaining. Ten seconds.
MINHEE: Let's go!
Ayy, easy smilin'
From ear to ear
Let the sun shine, yeah
Oh, can't stop smilin'
Groove it to the beat
Let your worries blow away, yeah
Keep it tight
In the booth makin' moves
Every night
Fight for tomorrow
Lovers gonna love it
Can't stop for you
Let's party, celebrate forever
Never stop
We don't play, them haters
Take them all away
Ooh, yeah
- MINHEE: We need to change, right?
- STAFF: Yes, please get changed.
DEOKJOON [Manager]:
One minute! One minute!
- STAFF: Is your mic working?
- Yes.
Time's up, the answer
You trying to work your brain out
I'll show
The feeling of the fans
clapping for us was so thrilling
that it literally made me teary.
I was really overcome
by emotions when I saw our fans.
I'm just so thankful
for everyone who has ever helped me
get to where I am right now.
And, yeah, I think our company
received it, like, really well as well.
There are so many K-Pop groups
that are trying to make it.
What do you think
makes CRAVITY extra special?
For me,
everything they've been working on so far
needs to be better
and they need to perfect their basic
skills and practice.
I think that's what they need to do.
I don't think they're "extra special" yet.
That's how I feel.
STARSHIP STAFF: Can you try answering
the question a little differently?
STARSHIP STAFF: Explain why CRAVITY has
the potential to be successful.
I I honestly don't think they're
that special yet.
- I'm just saying what I really believe.
- STARSHIP STAFF: Okay then, how about
STARSHIP STAFF: Well, I think
it's important to say something positive,
and one important thing
to talk about is how much CRAVITY suffered
and now that COVID is over,
the time has come
for them to be successful.
Yeah, you should just talk about that.
Can't you ask Siwon this question instead?
What was that?
- That's not it?
- It's here.
After the live [stream],
it did not get better.
But even if there's drama, we still have
to practice and move forward
because we have to get better.
So you just gotta suck it up and practice.
Leia now is not easy to work with,
nor does she want to be in the group.
And being in this tense atmosphere,
it's just unfortunate
because if we don't put out comeback,
which is putting out new music,
our existing fans right now could be like,
"You know what?
They're not putting anything out,
so we can just go to this other group
because they're always putting music out."
BLACKSWAN has only two albums
that's been released so far
since their debut.
And I don't think it's a good thing for us
because, for rookie idols who's
not that popular yet, it's a bad thing.
I do not wish to have
any more personal relationships with her.
Business-wise, if I have to, I'll have to.
You know, just put your feelings aside.
It's whatever it is.
At least professional.
She is not worth losing my dream, like
She is not worth that much.
My dream is always first place.
BLACKSWAN, for me, is first.
And I will not just let that go
just because she's in the group.
She's not worth that much. Yeah.
I feel they're going to hate me.
But to be honest,
I don't care anymore, really.
Like, you know the movie, Get Out?
I wanna get out.
I I just think
here is not for me anymore.
But I cannot go out like,
"Oh, bye. I'm leaving BLACKSWAN."
It's not like that.
Because I have a contract, and, like,
I signed that with my hands.
The thing about the contract
is a really sensitive matter.
Since she's saying she's having
mental health issues,
I feel like the company should
do something about the contract.
Because it's hard for us too.
It's hard to work with someone who
doesn't want to be a part of the team.
Yeah.
YOUNGHEUN: What time is it now?
- FATOU: Mr. Yoon?
- Hello!
Come here!
All of you,
come closer.
So these are your BLACKSWAN older sisters.
Yes.
On this side is Sriya and Gabriela.
Since you girls are debuted singers,
and they are trainees,
help them and teach them what to do
and what not to do.
At first when we were producing BLACKSWAN,
we were planning on recruiting
members from five different countries.
That is something the members know too.
And so I would say that BLACKSWAN
is currently 50% complete.
Last year, we announced
that we are gonna have a global audition,
and, like,
about 4,000 people applied for it.
Today, we have a very exciting
announcement for all of you.
Yes. So today
we are beginning a worldwide search
to find a new member of BLACKSWAN.
To get information on how
to audition, please look on our website.
This has been BLACKSWAN!
Thank you, and good luck!
And we finally picked two candidates.
These two have been
in Korea since December.
And to become familiar with
the Korean culture,
they've been taking Korean classes
every morning for four hours.
Now they're more comfortable
in Korean, but still have more to go.
- Please introduce yourselves.
- Yes, yes.
- One, two, three.
- Hello!
We look forward to working with you!
It's nice to meet you!
I am Gabi. I'm 19 years old.
I'll work very hard.
I look forward to working with you.
Hello! I'm Sriya Lenka. I'm 18 years old.
I'm from India.
I'll be sure to work my hardest.
I look forward to working with you.
Thank you!
Most importantly,
the reason we picked Gabi and Sriya
is because of their nationality.
Brazil is one of
the biggest consumers of K-Pop,
and India,
it's one of the largest countries
that has the most population in the world.
K-Pop is slowly growing in that market.
So if BLACKSWAN could
become very popular in those areas,
that means we have a lot of fans.
That Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Gabi and Sriya's been training
in Korea for a couple of months.
Our plan is to select whoever shows
that they're mentally and physically ready
to become a K-Pop idol.
It could be none of them, it could be
one of them or it could be both of them.
For the original
BLACKSWAN members, I told them
that this is going to be
a very fierce competition.
Because to me,
it doesn't matter if they're
the original members or not.
They shouldn't be comfortable
in their positions.
Because
if they can't even survive competition
within the team,
there is no way they can be a number
one global team.
Even if it's bad
I want more
I want everything that's you
And because of that, there is going to
be fierce competition.
Almost a bloody one.
You've traveled so far,
but much hardship awaits you.
I hope you'll work hard
and let's try to survive.
Come on! Close, clo-close
I-I need ya, close
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