182 – Peony: A New Beginning (2)
Compared to idols of past generations.
4Th generation idols tended to clearly reveal the image, concept, and identity pursued by the group in their group name.
The reason was during the A&R process.
Now that the category of Kpop has expanded to the world.
This is because collaboration with overseas composers has become possible not only for large entertainment companies but also for small and medium-sized entertainment companies.
And this meant an opportunity to experience a variety of songs.
In other words, regardless of the size of the entertainment company, if the planner and A&R team have the skills, they can obtain a song according to the concept conceived during the planning stage.
So now, beyond obtaining songs, it has become important to decide on a concept and a group name accordingly.
And the producer of Top East.
Jung So-hyun had already planned the concept of Top East’s next-generation girl group when she casted Woo-ah and Do-hee six years ago.
A double concept that goes beyond the double title.
What makes money is the girl crush concept.
The girlish concept is what makes it so popular.
You can do both.
From their debut, they showed conflicting concepts through double titles.
But of course there was a risk.
Investment increases with double titles.
And an image that will appeal to the public who are confused by the concept of revenge.
That’s why we needed members with personality and star quality who could convince the public even if they came up with conflicting double titles and concepts.
We also needed a catchphrase and a group name, sentences and words that would make sense, ‘That double concept is a characteristic of that group.’
While containing the independent and strong image that women long for.
It also includes beauty, kindness, and kindness that everyone can like, regardless of gender or age.
Even before Jung So-hyun’s debut group was confirmed, she had been considering such a group name.
We had monthly meetings with the music planning team and content production team.
Then an idea emerged.
─Team leader, how about an anagram?
* * *
After the CEO left the conference room, before the full explanation began.
Team leader Sohyeon calmly opened the introduction by turning on the beam projector.
“Guys, what do you want the concept to be?”
And all kinds of opinions emerged.
Innocent, girl crush, cutie, chic, refreshing.
“s*xy!”
Even Seoyoon’s s*xiness.
“Phew.”
On the subject of small breasts.
“…….”
“Sister, sister, hold back.”
“It is a sword that endures…”
“Yes, Seoyoon.”
“Team leader, sometime I’m really going to mess with that guy.”
“Okay, okay.”
Huh?
“Anyway, cutie, innocence, girl crush, Seoyoon is s*xy… Big.”
“Team leader.”
“Great, well, anyway, like the opinions just expressed, the concept you want will be different and diverse for each of you.”
The team leader pointed to the PPT displayed on the screen.
“And the concept all comes from girl crush or girlish. You’re either pretty or cool.”
Table of active 3rd and 4th generation girl groups organized according to concept.
“Then should you also choose one like those groups?”
And with a clicking sound, a word came to mind.
“No, the concept you need to create is a unique icon that cannot be limited by any boundaries between girlish and girl crush.”
A word that consists of 4 letters.
“Debonair…? Devonair?”
We reflexively read those words out loud over and over again.
An exclamation and a mysterious groan came out together.
“Is this by any chance our group name?”
The team leader nodded.
“Okay. Does anyone know what this word means?”
Of course, the members tilted their heads in confusion.
Because it was a word I didn’t know that would give me a perfect score on TOEIC or TOEFL.
‘I think I’ve seen it somewhere…’
Not a vocabulary book…
Did you read it in the newspaper when you were studying local English?
What was that? I think I saw it in an article about a male actor.
Man? Oh, that’s right.
“Ah! Um, tailcoat? I think it’s a word used in that sense.”
Director Sohyeon nodded with a small smile.
“It’s a word that isn’t often used even in English-speaking countries. How do you know?”
“I thought I saw it in an English newspaper while studying.”
“Yes, that’s right. It feels similar to a tailcoat. First of all, let me give you a side explanation: This word is an old-fashioned word that would be strange for Koreans to know. It was a word that almost disappeared in the Middle Ages.”
This is the screen that Director Jeong So-hyun clicked on.
“That’s even better. In the future, people will think of you when they see this word.”
There were numerous meanings written on the screen.
“Wow, you really mean well?”
“So there’s something cool about it.”
“Do you think it’s me?”
“What can I say, I’m better than Chiyo.”
English-[Good pedigree, good appearance, good character, sophisticated charm, dignified atmosphere, politeness, friendly, polite]
French-[Urban, indifferent, good air]
In English as well as French.
“Team Sohyun… Oh, you’re the director now.”
Oh, that’s right.
You are no longer the team leader.
“Naeun, it’s okay. Call me whatever you want.”
“Ah, but now you’re the director, so I should call you director. So, director, that word has a lot of meanings, right?”
Director Sohyeon pointed at the screen with a pointer with a proud smile.
“Are there many good intentions?”
“Yes. However, although the meaning is mostly good, there is something contradictory about it. In French, it is an expression that is urbane and indifferent. In English, it is said to be polite and friendly.”
Director Sohyun nodded and tried to scroll through the screen.
“Yes, that’s the reason.”
And I raised my hand.
“I think I understand.”
Good pedigree, good appearance, good character, refined charm, dignified atmosphere, politeness, friendly, polite, urbane, nonchalant.
Adjectives that all describe one image.
“It’s an adjective that meant medieval gentlemen, right?”
It could be inferred that all the meanings were derived from an aristocratic gentleman.
And the PPT screen that went over was, as expected, full of images of a gentleman in a suit.
“Yes, as Dohee said, Debonair is a word originally associated with an aristocratic gentleman.”
“Hey, how do you know that I’m a gentleman?”
“You?”
“Are you a gentleman?”
“I’m not sure…?”
“That’s right, Dohee.”
…I wonder where there is a gentleman like me.
I’ve probably sworn less than 10 times in this life.
“It’s not me who’s wrong. It’s your biased perspective…!”
Naeun ignored my unfair gaze and just raised her hand.
“But director, isn’t gentleman generally a word you don’t use with women?”
“Yes, Naeun has good focus. To put it briefly, there are very few cases where Debonair is used on women. There are women who are charming and kind and gentleman-like.”
“Then we too…”
“But, it is still true that debonair is an adjective that gives a masculine image. Because a woman cannot be a gentleman.”
“Did you hear? You’re not a gentleman.”
“Well, like that…”
I am hopeless.
“No… I, I am a gentleman…”
“What do you say?”
“However, it is even better as an adjective referring to men. The group name itself will portray your androgynous girl crush aspects.”
“So we have a girl crush concept?”
“No. As I said before, your concept is a unique image that cannot be limited to girl crush or girlish.”
Director Sohyun just flipped through the PPT screen.
“Before I tell you the true meaning of your group name. First, shall we listen to the title of your first girl crush?”
And then the demo version of the first title was played.
* * *
Woah, my sister smiled brightly.
Naeun unni and that Chiyo unni too.
There were a few tears in the eyes of those sisters.
“Is this really our song?”
“Wow, awesome. Director, who composed this?”
“It’s so good…”
In particular, does it really feel like Woo-ah is making her debut after 6 years of being a trainee?
I felt like my emotions were getting stronger.
“Yes, it’s our song. The choreography hasn’t been released yet. How do you like it?”
Because I felt like I was going to shed tears at any moment.
I just looked at each other and laughed for a while.
From noble mtl dot com
“I really like the song so much, I’m really happy right now.”
“I like elegance, I like it too.”
But the sound of loud hand clapping is heard.
“But guys, don’t cry just yet. You should listen to the second title as well.”
The sisters answered boldly and nodded.
Once again the PPT screen has been skipped over.
“Before listening to the second title.”
There was a new sentence written on the screen with a be verb added to the group name.
“This will be your catchphrase from now on.”
“This?”
“Why?”
Jung So-hyun, looking at the confused members, smiled meaningfully and seemed to be very much anticipating our reaction.
“Do you know it’s an anagram?”
“Anagram?”
An example appears on the screen.
“Yes, like in this example, rearranging the letters of a word or sentence and changing it into a word or sentence with a different meaning is called an anagram. In other words, one sentence has two meanings.”
And then the sentence appeared again.
Our catchprize.
“Debonair is, What is Debonair? What is the meaning of Debonair? Good pedigree, good appearance, good character, refined charm, dignified atmosphere, politeness, friendly, polite, urbane, nonchalant. “Can we define you with a word that means gentleman?”
The director was speechless for a moment.
“You said earlier that Debonair has another meaning, right?”
We nodded vigorously as if responding to him.
“Then what is another answer to the question Debonair Is?”
At the same time, the spellings of the sentences identified as catchprizes began to be rearranged one by one.
[Debonair Is]
[Born ideaIs]
Debonair is Born ideaIs.
Debonair is the ideal type of person to be born with.
“Girl Crush’s Debonair.”
“Girlish’s Born ideals.”
“This will be your concept.”
Heh thats pretty neat. I wonder if the author works with the idol or music industry because he/she seems to know a lot behind the operations.