❀ stage | edelweiss

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ park taekhoon ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ lee eunji『ꜱᴏʀᴀ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kwak eunjae ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kozuki rie ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ karina ivanova ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @❀ jeon minji ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ hong sunghoon『ᴋɪɴɢ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ Aiko bowed briefly to Minjun as soon as he finished then picked up her mic, staring at each of the trainees with blank gaze. She made sure to have expectations for only some of the evaluations she had paneled for. For someone tenured, it took a lot to impress her and she was frank down to the small details. Today was no different, she wondered who would crack even the smallest smile from her today. 'Interesting group,’ she thought before clearing and glancing at her notes, "Right, let's begin." Her voice was calm and kept at her low register.

"Jean Minji ssi," she began with a bit of disappointment. "I'll start by saying I'm no expert with singing but I know that it is nerve-wracking to be the first, especially for evaluations. It was quite evident that your confidence faded and you along with it." Aiko paused for a moment, choosing her next few words carefully. "Now, I don't know what it is but it feels like there was a lack of preparation somewhere in between. It seemed like you started early and it showed, on your face, almost immediately when you realized your mistake.. and the dwindled from there. I will give you props for sticking it through to the end but you cannot let that happen again. Even if you miss the beat, listen to yourself and act as if nothing happened. Many things can happen on stage but you learn how to finesse your way out of it without losing your confidence. As my fellow judges here have said this isn't your best performance so I expect improvement on your next one. Thank you."

She took a sip of water before moving on to the next performer. "Kozuki Rie-san," she said with a small smile, clearly impressed at her performance. "Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say that was excellent. You showed off your skills well, incorporating three languages in your rap. That's not an easy task but you made it look easy." Aiko gave her a subtle nod of approval before continuing, "With that said, I hope your head doesn't get big with all the praises given. There's still room to improve but overall I'd say you did quite well today. Thank you."

"First, I'd like to say thank you for sharing your story with us and behind the piece, Hong Sunghoon-ssi." she began, not missing a beat too soon. "As it is personal, the emotions did come through in your dance and the message you wanted to convey. If I had to nitpick, I suppose polishing up the routine would be one. It felt messy in some parts making it hard to judge the moves well. The piece was lovely but I think there was more you could do. Nothing too extreme but not too small either but something to give more impact, leave something memorable. As I've said, I hope the praises don't get to your head. Good work today, thank you."

“Sho Hikaru-kun,” Aiko began, tapping her fingers on the table while looking at the young man. She took a deep breath before proceeding to speak. “No one likes a show-off. Your turns were sloppy, a better technique could have been done to improve it. Other than that, good work. You seem to have connected with the song and conveyed its message well. Keep it up but be humble about it.” She cleared once more and looked over to his sister. “The same can’t be said for your sister, Sho Hikari-chan.” Her eyes squinted momentarily before she continued. “It’s clear that you’ve overworked your voice. If I’ve learned anything, rest is just as important as rehearsing. There’s nothing wrong with putting in the extra work but you have to listen to your body and pause to rest. Another point I’d like to make is why you picked that song if you didn’t connect to it. Wouldn’t it have been better to pick a song you connect with regardless if it suits your voice? Only then would you be challenged to work harder with the song and you’d be confident since you know it already. There’s still room to improve and I hope you work on it. Thank you.”

“Karina Ivanova,” She tilted her head to the side shortly after she mentioned the young girl’s name. “It’s a good piece and you did quite well, your confidence exuded— all that praise to say, not for an evaluation, dear. As impressive as it was and trust me, I do compliment your moves. You could have toned down the iness factor just a small notch.” Aiko glanced at the people sitting next to her and continued to speak, “Seeing as the panel of judges is composed of people you may eventually work with in the future, an impression was made but not necessarily for the right reasons. I am mainly echoing the points made by my colleagues as I agree with them. Albeit, you still did a great job, thank you.”

“I commend you Lee Eunji-ssi, the shift from modeling to becoming a trainee is not an easy feat, especially with how far your fellow trainees have learned already. I admire your courage to perform this routine today, thank you for your efforts.” She said with another small smile. “Like the others have mentioned, ‘rusty,’ ‘lacking,’ ‘you slipped’ — I’d also have to say you were ‘marking.’ It’s a term used for when you’re doing the routine but not fully giving it your all. You’re hitting certain points which is great but it was probably the nerves and slip that made you go into auto-pilot mode. You’ll get the hang of it and become more confident with more practice and focus. Keep it up, thank you.”

“Park Taekhoon ssi..” Aiko pursed her lips, unsure what to say as she wasn’t much of a fan of his performance. “Well I’m no expert in rap and I agree that Leo has already mentioned improvement points. I regret to say this and maybe it’s the language barrier for us both but I didn’t understand the words. Like Ace had said, it would be good to practice articulation. As for your crowd engagement, as fun as that is, it’s not required for an evaluation. I understand that you wanted to hype them up but that’s not what we’re evaluating you for. You can work on the fanfare for the showcase but not for the evaluation. Thank you.”

Aiko heaved a sigh as it was the final trainee, she rolled her neck briefly before speaking into the mic one last time. “Kwak Eunjae-ssi, I found myself bobbing my head to the track, it was quite catchy. Your fluency is clear and concise. You’ve been doing your homework and it shows. I don’t have much more to say other than keep it up, I look forward to your next evaluation.”

“That’s all.”

With that last note, she nodded at the CEOs to let them have the floor.

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ sho hikaru『ᴀᴏɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ park taekhoon ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kwak eunjae ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ And moving on to Sho Hikaru-san. I have to say, your performance is the best performance today among your peers. Congratulations. But don’t let it get into your head and make you think that you are better than them. In this case, you just prepared it better and made a deeper impression with your dance moves. As simple as that. Although, I have to say that your movements were flawless and it was very pleasing to watch. Keep up the good work.

//shifts my attention towards the obviously more built trainee, mentally comparing myself to him but quickly pulls my focus back to the task at hand.//

Next is Park Taekhoon-ssi. I think Leo hyung already delivers what you need to fix and I couldn’t say much since, again, I’m not a rapper. But I enjoyed your performance, though at some part your pronunciation was a bit unclear to me. Please practice more on the articulation of the words. Good job though, keep working hard.

Lastly we have Kwak Eunjae-ssi. //hums as I read my note for a while then look back to the stage to the said trainee// another rap performance. And I have to say, you did a slightly better job than Taekhoon-ssi. You seem very comfortable and your pronunciation is clear. Next time, make use of the stage. If you want to move around, as long as you can stay focused on your rap performance then do it. The stage is yours after all. But overall, good flow, good articulation and pronunciation. Good job.


Alright, I think that’s all from me. Once again, thank you for your hard work preparing your evaluation performance. If you didn’t do well today, don’t let it drag you down. If you did great today, don’t get too satisfied with it. Keep practicing hard, maybe next time you stand on the stage, is the moment where it becomes your debut stage. Have a good rest after this. You deserve it.

//leans back to my seat, a big grin on my face after I said the closing words, letting the last judge to take the spotlight//

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@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ lee eunji『ꜱᴏʀᴀ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ karina ivanova ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ hong sunghoon『ᴋɪɴɢ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ Okay, moving on. Next we have Miss Karina Iva...nova? Okaaay, your performance was... not...quite what I expected, to be honest. Daring dance moves to match the song. I like your boldness in tackling it but at the same time, I can see that you were kind of... uh pushing it too much? Like the hmm... vibe you were trying to convey felt like it was being forced out? Maybe the next time you try to do some y dance, try to make it look more natural? let your appeal flow naturally through your gaze and more fluid body movement. But so far, good job. You did well.

//turns to look at another red haired trainee, her pose really showed that she was a model from the way she stand//
Lastly for the girls, we have Lee Eunji-ssi. I want to appreciate you first for doing this dance. Shifting from a model to a trainee must be quite an adjustment for you. Good job for being able to do it quite well, although there are certain areas that you are still lacking. I hope you’re fine after that little slip though? Your movement is still somehow rigids. Maybe because you’re just starting to dance again, but I didn’t see the flexibility yet. Keep on practicing and I’m sure you can do better next time.

//shift my attention towards the male trainees and to the short one//

Onto the male trainees we go. Let's start off with Hong Sunghoon-ssi. For this case, I have to agree with Jade-ssi. Your dance was very good, you conveyed the message of the song very accurately through the movement. I just hope that there’s more… wow factor to it. It was a good performance, above average, if I may add but that’s it. I wish you could do something more to make it an epic performance from you. Hopefully next time I see you dance, you can deliver it better. Overall, good job.

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ sho hikari『ᴀʀɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kozuki rie ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minji ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ //waits until Jiho finished up his turn before leaning forward to the mic, smiling at the trainees//

First of all, let me start with good job everyone. Of course not everyone is satisfied with how they performed today but don't let it drag you down. Practice makes perfect, so don't stop striving to be the best.
//looks down on my note and see the all way too familiar name, looks up to the said person with a reassuring smile on my face//

First of all, Jeon Minji. I have to agree with Jade-ssi and Leo-ssi. This was not your best performance. We know how talented you are and even us who already debuted are not immune to committing any mistakes on the stage. We are just ordinary human after all. But what we can't do, is to let it affect the whole performance, which sadly, you did. It maybe the nervousness or any other factors that we don't know, but I hope you learn from this evaluation and the next time we see you on the stage again, you are able to show us much better performance. Keep up the good work.

//shifts my attention towards the red haired girl, chuckling at how her fierce nature was in total contras with Minji who is next to her//
Alright, next up is Kozuki Rie-san. You're truly set the stage on fire with your fire flame flavor. I'm not a rapper but I have to say, your flow is good and so is your pronunciation for English, though I had a moment when I couldn't hear exactly what you were saying when you speak Korean. A little more practice on it would help. Boasting your languages ability is a plus. Good job. I expect better from you next time.

//looks at another Japanese girl in the line up, glancing at my note to make sure I get the name right between the siblings//
Next we have eehhh Sho Hikari-san... right? Oh yeah right right, sorry I don't want to accidentally mix your name with your brother's. Alright. Since the two of them //gestured to Jade and Jiho// already delivering their concern about your sore throat and reminded you to take a cough syrup after this, I would like to remind you, and everyone in this matter, that keeping yourself healthy is also part of your job as a singer or idol in general. Sure we don't know when will we get sick but I think you can feel the symptom like the night before, or in this case, if you have something important like this evaluation, for example, you should get enough rest and drink plenty of water to make sure your throat is in good condition. That is your responsibility. I hope you won't forget about that. After this evaluation, I hope you go back to the trainee dorm immediately to get some rest. And you didn't look like you were comfortable playing the guitar and it affect your performance even more. I know this is the chance for you all to show us your skills but if you still unsure, I suggest you better play safe.

@❀ sho hikari『ᴀʀɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ park taekhoon ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kwak eunjae ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ ( HIKARI )
hello there. mm. well, I must say it's a good performances. are you having a sore throat though ? ah no wonder. I don't know what else I can say because to judge someone sick is pretty unfair to me, maybe for the next evaluation, I hope you're getting better and perform well. I have no comments to be honest. it's just an okay stages to me. I wish you good luck too.

( EUNJAE )
woah another rapper. genuinely I think it was great performances, the pronunciations are pretty good also. I also like the way you use the stages and props too. but somehow i feel like something is missing out. if you want to be a good rapper, you must know and have your own identity. like I told rie-sshi earlier. you need to inject your own value into that song. I think, it's a good performance but you just need to improve some moves and your breathing techniques as well. I think that's all I get from this stage. thanks. and good luck eunjae sshi.

( TAEKHOON )
oh hello taekhoon sshi. you must be nervous. (/chuckles as he fixed his papers) well, first of all, I think it's mm. an okay stages. why am I saying that because if you take a look back at this stage, I feels like your nervousness are shown. I know everyone can be nervous, but you need to calm down and take a little breath, yeah?oh wait, is it because of me ? (/pointed at himself and chuckles ) should I quit being a judge today. (/jokes him and clears his throat ) alright secondly, I think your pronunciation also got a bit here and there, but I admitted it was a good stage, you need to be careful with your words, yeah? you also forgot the lyrics don't you? mmm. I understand the struggles, honestly. I was like that too, back then when I was young. hmm. it's fine. you can do better after this. I believe in you, good luck yeah? oh, I also hope one day we can share some stage with each other, after you debut of course.

@❀ sho hikaru『ᴀᴏɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ lee eunji『ꜱᴏʀᴀ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ karina ivanova ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ HIKARU (AOI) )
oh konnichiwa aoi-san. that was impressive performances so far. I don't really think there's any mistakes that I can find. (/chuckles) and i do think you have a very good range in your dances though. I love the way you move throughout the songs. so far, this is the best that I watch for now, but don't be too happy with my praise bc I think you can still do more. anyways, best of luck, hikaru-sshi.

( KARINA )
karina-sshi. that was great performances, but mm how do I start this. got me nervous myself since it was pretty brave performances. (/jokes with a small chortles) okay, firstly your whole stages are good but why i can't seem to find your magic in it, I mean just because the song title is nasty, you really have to be one. no, you don't have to act like one. you can just simply dance and be yourself there, I think you overdo it a little and I hope you can find something to enhance your own value to the song. it was great stages, I won't deny it, but still you need to be careful. people's eyes are not the same, they view things differently. so good luck yeah? thanks for you hard work, karina-sshi.

( SORA )
are you okay? I saw you slipped when you danced earlier. (/takes a deep breathe) okay. I can't say much about the dances but I think you did well, even tho you can do and improvise the moves even more you know. what else, the dances moves are pretty simple too, so I hope to see it's getting advanced later on if you ever performed again. good luck yeah.

@❀ kozuki rie ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minji ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ hong sunghoon『ᴋɪɴɢ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ ( MINJI )
jiho watched the performance by his sister attentively before he sighed deeply. there's a little frown on his face at the performance. clearly he's disappointed with what she just showed them. it's such an average performance when he knows she can do much better. since it's his turn to give his comment, jiho maintained his serious face and no traces of smile at all. clearing his throat as he speaks into the mic, "hello minji-sshi. firstly, I appreciate your choice of songs. yeah your voice is nice and soothing to hear but from what I see, people might forgot what you performed since it's too mediocre. there's not much I can say, it just a little bit disappointing to me since it's such an average performance but make sure to do better next time. good luck." he finishes his commentary and leans back on his chair, fixing his papers, not even looking at the camera or his sister.

( REI )
hello rei-sshi. as a rapper — your pronunciation was quite good, even there is here and there, just need to improvise it a bit and the japanese lines are pretty creative as the adds on though. you can definitely grow more, I wish you the best of luck.

( SUNGHOON )
mm. hello sunghoon-sshi. well, firstly I do like the whole props ideas and the way you conveyed the songs and lyrics which is pretty matched. it's just I think you might overdo it a little but I guess it's pretty much fine as it's still a good performance though. maybe just a little bit of technics of your breath that you need to take care of so you won't sounds tired in the stages. but good luck yeah

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ sho hikaru『ᴀᴏɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @❀ hong sunghoon『ᴋɪɴɢ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ .
*looks at my notes silently for a moment, then brings the mic to my lips again*
Sunghoon-ssi.
I had to go backstage after your performance, to get my make-up retouched. One would say it's an overreaction, but your performance was truly... art to me. I can't talk about the technique, but the story you told, with you movements, with your expression that was so schooled the whole time. It's not an easy track at all. It's very heavy, and you did it justice. Subjectively, my favourite performance of tonight. As a person who lived in the US for some years, this number is deeply ingrained in my memory, something that we made sure to keep and remind friends, friends we didn't want to lose. Your performance was one step short of epic. Thank you for choosing to bring the light - literally too with the LED lights - into this. And for taking the effort to learn sign language. You were so detailed, it's admirable. I'm sorry you were in this bad place before, but I cannot stress how glad I am that we get to see you well and on stage, performing for us. Thank you.

And lastly, Hikaru-ssi. I seem to have no notes, I'm sure Aiko-seonsaengnim and my other fellow judges will be able to give you the feedback you deserve. Nicely done.

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ kwak eunjae ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kozuki rie ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ karina ivanova ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ Then, i have Karina *squints at notes* Ivanova, Kwak Eunjae and Kozuki Rie, on the same level in my notes.

Karina-ssi... hm...Well, it was definitely good, I will let Aiko-seonsaengnim talk more on this topic, as this was your own choreography if I'm not mistaken, but it was definitely more energetic and more entertaining. Very... eye-catching for sure. In my notes it says you are 20, maybe this choreo was a bit too mmm... frivolous for your young age? Maybe a bit too scandalous? That is only my subjective opinion, and it still stands that you did very well with the job.

Eunjae-ssi, again I am not the best one to comment on your performance, but I do think you did very well, I enjoyed your wordplay a lot, again I hope you wrote it yourself.
I think you are more nervous than you should be and you don't give yourself the credit you deserve - so you better do that. You were good. I felt like you wanted to move so much, so you a lot of untapped energy. Overall, good job.

And Rie-ssi - wow! Now this was wordplay! And in three languages at that! I was quite impressed. You showed confidence and great command of English, I can't comment on your rap skills, but I will say your pronunciation was great, and you sounded like you knew the language well, you were comfortable. Good grammar.
*laughs a little, then gives a thumbs up*

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ park taekhoon ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @❀ jeon minji ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ .
Next up, it's Park Taekhoon, and i really couldn't judge your rap skills, when we have Leo-sunbaenim present, but as for your lyrics writing, which is something that is a strength of mine, it was a bit lacking, I felt a lot of repetitions. Unless that was the idea of your track. I also hope you wrote that yourself, because this is an integral part of rapping and hip-hop - being self-produced as much as possible. If not, it would be very disappointing.
I would like to comment on your stage presence though, as it was very prominent. Maybe you tried to use it as a crutch, a prop, to support you, maybe you were unsure in your skills and paid so much attention to the crowd, but in the end this may be your trap, as you saw today. Don't let the crowds sway you like that, if you want to be successful.

Lastly of this tier in my notes is Jeon Minji, hello hello, now your voice tone is very pleasant, it's just sweet enough to not be too sugarcoated. And you have this breathiness to the way you sing, which is a great effect when you know how to control it well, so you better be careful with that and make sure you master it well, as tonight it slipped a few times.
You had chosen a great song, but I feel you were quite a bit in your head. You made a mistake at the beginning, but instead of recovering from it, you dug yourself in deeper. These things will happen in live stages, so you must be able to bounce back and recuperate. Your one tiny mistake today became an avalanche that just dragged on more and more. At the end you looked like you were going to burst into tears. Not to mention how risky it is be first - it can be a gift and a curse, so I guess you should take note and never go first ever again, if your nerves can't take it. Or practice a lot, be the best and then go first, so everyone else will judged by your standard. It's tricky.

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ sho hikari『ᴀʀɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ lee eunji『ꜱᴏʀᴀ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ .
*takes the handheld mic, prepared on the table for the occasion and clears my voice away from it*
Ah. So ladies first then, I guess. Right, well, I will start, as I have made some notes, and will go from the worst to best in my opinion.
First of all, thank you all for your effort today, but I won't hurry to congratulate you just yet, before all the judgements are passed.
To start - Sho Hikari - where do I even start? Your voice was strained and raspy, and I don't think this was natural raspiness like Minhee-unnie has for example, so you should really take care of your voice better if you want to be an idol at all. There are cough drops you can take to smooth your nodes, or they /will/ get inflamed, and that's just irresponsible on your part.
Furthermore, what was that presentation? "I don't resonate with the song, but I confirm..." are you writing a corporate email? An idol must be real, there is enough fakeness in this world. If you really don't resonate - pick another song. Because of your choice - your singing was emotionless, it didn't have feelings at all, it was flat, I wrote "one-note" because this describes it enough. I am quite disappointed.

Then, Lee Eunji, hello. I believe you used to be a model and you have decided now to be an idol trainee, you must realize it's quite a big shift. I couldn't speak too much on your dancing or choreography, as this is more in the realm of Aiko-seonsaengnim of course, or Ace-ssi our resident idol dance expert, but I would say it looked like maybe you are still a little... rusty? Maybe you need more rehearsal, the song is very demanding and very dynamic, and requires a lot of energy, which... was not something I saw, you felt kind of unsure on your feet to me.
But I will strongly emphasize one thing - your face. You need to control your face much better - you are a dancer and you express with your body, but your face is still there, don't forget it. You looked... focused and a bit like you weren't all here, like you were thinking of what will you cook tonight. I saw only snippets of some face action, but it needed to be throughout the whole song, idols are always looked at from every angle, at any moment, you have to control your face.
Overall it wasn't bad, yes, it was average, but in this industry, the competition is so harsh that average simply doesn't cut it - anything below excellent is simply a let-down.

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ sho hikaru『ᴀᴏɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ sho hikari『ᴀʀɪ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ park taekhoon ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ lee eunji『ꜱᴏʀᴀ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kwak eunjae ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kozuki rie ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ karina ivanova ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @❀ jeon minji ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ hong sunghoon『ᴋɪɴɢ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ eum nakil『ᴠɪᴄ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ Let's give a round of applause to our very talented trainees
now, lets move on to the next part. Our dear judges will start giving their evaluation feedback after watching the trainees performance. To all the trainees, please line up on the stage.


now, whoever from the judges panel who is ready to give the evaluation feedback, the stage is yours.

[Points given to Eunjae]

[TRAINEE POST CLOSED]

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ [ rap performance (until 1:43): https://youtu.be/Q3lGE2t_-Ss?si=sseBx2oIdvvFIpnJ ]
[ rolled 5 : good performance ]

eunjae feeling nervous was an understatement. this was his first evaluation as a trainee, and his trainers had urged him to do a rap performance. coming into the industry as a dancer and then suddenly becoming a rapper was nerve-wracking, especially when he felt more comfortable with his dance skills than he did with his rap despite all the positive feedback he received.

once it was his turn, eunjae let out a long breath and made his way onto the stage, nervousness engulfing his body. as he stood in the middle of the stage, he bowed to the judges trying to hide his nervousness behind a smile. "hello, my name is kwak eunjae. today I will doing a rap performance called 'weapon.' please enjoy my performance." he bowed again before he got into his starting position. once the music started, he focused hard on performing the song to his greatest ability. he moved around the stage, his hands moving almost instinctively to the flow he rapped. before he knew it, the song was ended with his final "weapon" and he was doing a sort of ending pose. he was quick to bow to the judges again, nervousness growing after performing, worried about the feedback he may receive. "thank you for watching my performance."

[points given to Aoi, Ari, Karina, Sora and Taekhoon]

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ [performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYeCrKm8Oqk]

Until the last moment before he get on the stage, Taekhoon keep repeating and going over the lyrics in his head. It didn't help to ease his nerve as he stood on the stage, eyes looking at one of his role model, Alpha's Leo who is one of the judges for the evaluation. He couldn't afford to mess it up, not in front of him. He introduced himself before the music started, taking a spot sitting on the stage as he started to rap, Taekhoon tried to engaged the audience as much as he could but that proven to be a miss as he suddenly forgot one line, luckily the next part came out without any hitch, but he knew, he didn't score a perfect performance for that one slip. Giving another bow once he finished with his performance, while gritting his teeth Taek went backstage, feeling angry with himself for the below average performance.

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ [dance performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVcTOY8BCkk ]

This is it. Finally her turn arrived and Eunji was pretty nervous. After all, it's still fairly new for her to start dancing again after the disbandment of her previous group and she switched to be a model instead. She just hope that all the training sessions was enough to at least make it up for the year she stopped dancing. After introducing herself, she went ahead with the dance routine she had memorized, although it must've been her bad day as she lost a little footing, slipping a little. It wasn't a big slip but for a trained eyes, it sure does ruin the flow of the dance albeit just a little. Once she was done, slightly panting, she gave a bow to the judges and the audience alike. "Thank you everyone, I hope you enjoy my performance."

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ .
Tinashe - Nasty (1:02 onwards)
[ https://youtu.be/M6tMHzLOO3A?si=JsNaE77dGDRvQOOr ]

The nerves were set upon her when she stepped up onto the stage, lights shining onto her and with her blonde hair, it was almost as if she sparkled, she was the main character in the moment, comic book pages flipped to her and her story she was about to showcase to the judges and the audiences. Having practiced day in and day out for it up to the last minute, she still wasn't that satisfied as there were some parts she had to wing it- no other choreography she came up with could perfectly match the piece of routine she created before - on hindsight, maybe she should have started from the beginning of the song and not in the middle. Whatever. A bow to introduce herself, bright and firm voice resonating through the hall as she spoke into the mic, she closed her eyes, bringing up her stage persona when the music starts blaring, conjuring the magic within her body and limbs.

Forward to the front of the stage with a freestyle portion, hand movements and hip sways accenting each part of "Nasty", following up with her piece, a wide grin on her face as she fully enjoyed herself, eyes trained upon the audience, lyrics perfectly matching what she wanted to convey - "if you keep up with me, i'll keep on coming back." It was smooth as she took charge with how well she used the stage and her expressions, arm waves, finger points, wrist twirls and snaps, hitting every beat she discovered in the song. And of course, with the song reaching the , she had to be nasty, allowing the appeal to flow through her as she came through with twerks, hands feeling up herself, a smirk, a tongue out, enticing every single person present to watch her, finishing up with floorwork on her knees, back up, throwing a punch with twirl then locking back into the front, palms open and closed as the music faded out, doing whatever she knew to fill up the faded beats before the stage turned dark, then back on again signifying the end of her turn.

"Thank you judges and audience, I hope you enjoyed my performance!"

[points are given to King]

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ .
[performance video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvx4sOW-GT8]
[ dice roll: 5 - good performance]
[TW: song mentioned self harm, death]


When it's finally time for the boys performance, Sunghoon had already changed into white button-up shirt along with matching white pants, although lacking the shoes, he had made sure to tape his feet with gauze to at least give a little protection. He had been trained so hard for this performance, channeling his inner feeling back when he was little into it. King was lucky enough when he found out about this song and decided to use it as the BGM for his evaluation.

Making his way to the stage, he could barely register the audience as his sole focus was on the judges, who clearly, won’t be lenient towards anyone who performs today. He took a bow and went to introduce himself and explain a bit of the song choice since well… It was rather alarming at first.

“Good morning, good day everyone. My name is Hong Sunghoon. For today’s evaluation, I’d be performing a dance performance. I use a song from Logic, called ‘1-800-273-8255’. The reason why I chose this song was because of a personal experience for me as a kid. When you feel all alone in the world, and you hit the rock bottom of your life, it was more than often for people to choose the shortcut for their problem solving, when in truth, that choice was never an answer to end your problem. The song title itself was a S**cide hotline service. I want to raise awareness about the danger of self-harm and another form of self-hate. that you are never alone. Even when things seem hard, if you keep holding on and have someone to listen to you, you’ll see the world from different angles. And how beautiful life could truly be.”

He smiled albeit his vision was blurred by tears. No, he shouldn’t cry, at least not right now. He could use that emotion later though. Sunghoon glanced back to the stage where the staff helped to set several sets for him to perform. It was a selfish request but Sunghoon was glad they all were willing to help.

“I hope you enjoy the performance.”

Another bow was given towards the judges before he made his way up the stairs, laying down on the floor at the corner of the room as the song started. The blanket he pulled on his legs flipped them to the side as he sat up, leaning against the wall, a melancholy expression on his face. Hands moving fluidly, legs sweeping while he gets up, making his way down the stairs then abruptly sitting down when the lyrics said “I don’t wanna be alive.” Eyes following his hands movements.

Act one is done, and still with an apathetic face expression, he moves towards the bed, another set that had been prepared by the staff. He rolled, getting up then flopping back down to the bed, hands moving to his neck as if he was choking himself. Hoon rolled out of the bed to sit on a bench, walking there with staggering steps. He tried to express his discontent to the world just like how the song lyrics hit closer to home more than he wanted to admit.

I never had a home, ain't nobody callin' my phone
Where you been? Where you at? What's on your mind?
They say every life precious but nobody care about mine

Sunghoon felt that. He was, too, abandoned. So this song was perfect for him to show a few snippets of his life. Not wanting to ruin his concentration, he swiftly moved to the full body mirror, pulling the side of his mouth up, mimicking how Joker from the DC universe, smiling through the pain. The mirror itself represents the inner battle he had, never easy to do but it was something necessary to do. Hoon wanted to have a double dancer to help him with the performance but thinking it was a bad idea, he resisted the idea and opted to just dance against the full body mirror, pretending he was shoving his reflection that represent the bad thoughts in mind, he finally walked away from the mirror to the other set.

I know where you been, where you are, where you goin' (yeah, yeah)
I know you're the reason I believe in life
What's the day without a little night?
I'm just tryna shed a little light
It can be hard
It can be so hard
But you gotta live right now
You got everything to give right now

He stood there in the middle, adding some sign words that he learned prior to the evaluation, hoping that he didn’t mess it up. Keeping his eyes forwards towards the judges (and the audience alike behind them, he knew they were there) and when all the lightings on the stage were on, his movement changed, from the restrained one to one that looked more free. As if all those long inner battles have finally gone and he’s seeing life in the new light. Gone were all those negative thoughts replaced by the freedom after tackling the hardship.

I finally wanna be alive.

The resolution was portrayed by his movements, larger and bigger movements compared to the previous choreography as he went through each set, with their own meaning. As the song nearing its ending, Sunghoon walked through each previous set, like someone who looked back on his life, on the hardship he had been through as the stairs were his last destination. There he had been preparing a large sign with words “YOU ARE NEVER ALONE AND YOU WILL NEVER BE” a lone tear dropped down on his cheek as he read that, it was the words that he often repeated in his mind, like a mantra, to toughen himself during the time when he felt all alone. It was the words that gave him strength and he hoped, he too, can be a strength for others. One of the reasons why he wanted to be an idol.

As the song ends, he takes a lighter and lights up one candle on the table, a symbol of a new hope.

Taking a few moments before standing up, he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, rushing back down to the center of the stage and bowing again.

“Thank you for watching my performance and I hope you enjoy it! It’s been Hong Sunghoon! Your favorite short King hehe.”

[not tagging Ace for obvious reason lol ]

[points given to Rie and Minji]

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ [video performance: https://youtu.be/hUD6mZ6nflw?si=dG00QO5S6NI1LoV1 ]
[Rolled 5 - good performance]

Once it was her time to perform, Rie clasped her hands tightly in a little prayer just before her legs took her up to the stage. It was blinding, the stage lights, but also if anything went well, she would stand on the stage and make her debut. The thought alone was enough to fuel her determination to do well in this evaluation. Giving a bow to the judges, she stared at them as she introduced herself. "Good morning, everyone! My name is Kozuki Rie. This time, I will showcase my rap skills. I write the lyrics myself. It's called Saoko. I hope you enjoy it."

As the beat started, Rie who previously asked for a prop which is a chair, sat down on it, bobbing her head lightly and moving her right hand to the bead, counting it so she wouldn't make any mistake. Once she got the right beat, Rie leaned back and started rapping.

"Rie got that fire flame flavor
When the spice kicks you'll taste a game changer."

At least the long five years of continuously studying English paid off for her, she tried so hard to fix her pronunciation and articulation to get a good grip on it. Although Rie couldn't say the same with her Korean. Despite not having any major difficulties, she was still not sure her level was enough to be on par with the native speaker as she sometimes still misused words or pronounced some words wrong. So instead of making the whole song in English or Korean, she mixed her own mother language, Japanese into the song. As it's getting nearer to the highlight of the song, Rie stood up, walking closer to the edge of the stage, as if she performing for the real audience and not in just in evaluation.

"Too hot to cool off, nah nah nah
Too hot to cool off, nah nah nah
Too hot to cool off, nah nah nah
X marks the spot for the girls 21"

She slowly backed away as the song slowly came to an end, a little breathless but she was having fun, that's for sure, although there's no mistake that still a lot of things that Rie has to improved. She just hope that next time, she able to show them more of her.

"When they see you they go 'chotto'
When they see me they go 'motto'
When they see you they go 'chotto'
When they see me they go"

As the music played the end note, Rie used it to make a big bow toward the judges and the audience alike, keeping the pose for a little while before going back to sit down until the music stopped completely. As it died down, Rie jumped back to her feet and gave another bow.

"This has been Kozuki Rie! Thank you very much!"

[post deleted by owner]

@α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ @--- ceo bloom ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ʸᵉᵒʳᵉᵘᵐ [video performance: https://youtu.be/RRX87Tc4WJo?si=MtXn8B9JksPoznq-
rolled 4 - average performance]


It was so nerve-racking for her to go first. Not to mention the list of the panel judges just added more unnecessary nervousness to her. Minji definitely had to do her best, she couldn't let her brothers down, especially not when even both of the CEOs were there as well. With a little shaky legs, she made her way towards the center of the stage, giving a deep bow to the judges. She then lifts the microphone, smiling as she introduces herself.

"Hello, good morning. My name is Jeon Minji. For this evaluation, I will go for the vocal evaluation with a song called 'Friday' "

Taking a deep breath, she slowly starts to sing. Although maybe it was because of her nervousness, Minji started a beat earlier than she was supposed to. It threw her off for the first few lines of the song and she knew she was screwed, even though right now she couldn't see her brothers' faces, Minji just knew that her oldest brother is looking at her with disappointment. Gripping the mic tighter, she tried to at least make no more mistakes until the performance ended, delivering some of the high notes well but she knew she could do better, although it was quite hard to bounce back to perfection after making such mistake. Once she was done, Minji gave another bow towards the judges and left the stage, tears brimming in her eyes, feeling mad at herself.

@α lee kiyong @α jeon jiho『ʟᴇᴏ』 @❀ tanaka aiko ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ @❀ park taekhoon ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ park san ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ lee eunji『ꜱᴏʀᴀ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kim hana ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ karina ivanova ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ kaede misaki ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ jeon minjun『ᴀᴄᴇ』ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ @❀ jeon minji ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ hong sunghoon『ᴋɪɴɢ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @❀ eum nakil『ᴠɪᴄ』ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿᵉᵉ @♀ seo jiyoung『ᴊᴀᴅᴇ』 @♀ park minhee @--- ceo rose ᵇᵃᵉᵏ ᵉᵘⁿʰᵒ /Stands on the center of the stage, waiting until the attention focused on her; smiling at everyone in the audience seats and to the judges/

Good evening everyone..

Finally, the day that we have all been waiting for. The trainee evaluation day. As you all know, we have debuted two major groups and several soloists under our label and this time, with this evaluation, we are looking and planning to debuted two more groups. One male group and one female group. In order to do that we want to see who and which of you is developing their skills well and working towards your goal. So we will be holding a round of evaluations for all trainees at hand. So here are the "rules", please pay attention:

1. Each of the trainees will be performing the top skill you have. And please, before starting, state your name and the skill you wish to showcase.
2. We will start from the female trainees solo performances first, followed by their group performance then will move on to the male trainees and their group performance.

Along with that, we have competent judges that will help you by giving their input to your performance. The first judge we have Alpha's Leo. In the middle, the prettiest gemstone of Venus, Jade. Next to her, our one and only male soloist, Ace. Also joining the panel, our talented choreographer, Tanaka Aiko-san. And of course, me and CEO Baek Eunho will be joining the panel too.

Without any further ado, our trainee evaluation is officially started!






[OOC NOTE!!!
- you may now roll for your performance in the dice roll room. Please "act out" your performance according to the result you get from the roll
- Even though in IC male trainees will perform later but by all means please post as you wish, no need to follow the order
- THIS IS OBLIGATORY FOR TRAINEES. As it will be counted as activity check. Failing to post until the deadline of the event, you'll get one strike.
- All the judges will be given "salary" points once they give their feedback to the trainees performances.
- For the trainees, 20 points will be given after they completed their performance [+video link of the skill you choose. For example, the trainee girls posted a performance post along with Dalla Dalla video, preferably from a live stage/ music show. Not MV]. If we see you are active in backstage too, additional points will be given.
- Team mentors are encouraged to interact with the trainees in the backstage room, like giving them support or anything like that.
- If you have any questions, feel free to tag me or CEO Rose in the OOC room.
- Those who are not participating, may posts in the audience area. Think of it like watching a music show or a concert. ]


Good luck!

[post deleted by owner]