The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 1881

< The Honorable Position - Episode 188 >

[‘2033 Grammy Awards Nominations Announced,’ and the Worst Controversy]

It seems January of 2033 won’t end peacefully either.

A fierce storm has erupted with the announcement of the Grammy Award nominations in January.

[Why is ‘HALO’s’ Name Missing from the Grammy Awards?]

[Racial Discrimination Controversy Resurfaces]

[Interview with a 2032 Grammy Awards Judge]

The Grammys are America’s oldest and most prestigious popular music awards, honoring the most successful music of the year through voting. Works released in the United States from October of the previous year to August 31 of the current year are eligible for consideration, and logically, there was someone who should have been there this time.

HALO’s 9th album was released in October of the previous year, including albums up to the 13th.

It was an album that lined up songs on the Billboard charts, from the title track to the B-sides.

It was expected that Halo would have received even higher scores if he had released a physical album, and even without that, the title track of the 13th album, ‘Until Dawn Comes,’ eventually secured the number one spot on Billboard.

Moreover, his music has influenced many singers.

The fact that such an artist is not even nominated for a Grammy Award is bound to raise eyebrows in many ways. Especially since Halo always occupies a spot in the media, the media outlets themselves jumped on the issue.

The situation wasn’t good.

Not for Halo, but for the Grammy judges.

One Grammy judge stated in an interview that they did not receive good scores in the physical album category. They vehemently denied racial discrimination, saying that only the first edition LP [long play record] albums of Halo were counted.

However, an interview with a judge from last year’s Grammy Awards ceremony was rediscovered.

The judge, who claimed to be an ardent fan of Halo at the time, confessed that Halo could not be nominated because he did not reveal his identity, even though he received high scores. The public understood the Grammys’ dilemma at the time, wondering if they should put a ‘?’ instead of a face photo for the nominee.

But what about now?

More than before, the album is good, and this time the identity is revealed, but not even nominating him, let alone awarding him, is something no one can understand.

The controversy that the White Grammys had harbored has erupted like an active volcano.

[If Not Him, Who Can Receive the Award?]

[Isn’t it Obvious Seeing That Frau’s Last Day Wasn’t Nominated Either?]

└ That came out in the summer, so it might not have been included in the tally.

[Last Year, They Said They Couldn’t Give It Because the Identity Wasn’t Revealed. What’s It This Time?]

Before the Korean media, which was fueling racial discrimination, exploded, foreign media exploded first.

[Are They Just Old-fashioned and Can’t Acknowledge a 17-Year-Old Kid?]

[Would They Have Treated Him Like This If He Were White?]

It was not long after Halo’s last concert ended, when talk of Halo’s album was starting to surface, and when people were expecting Halo’s new album.

No one could simply accept the Grammy Award nominations as they were.

Even if they weren’t a fan of Halo, not even nominating him was quite transparent.

#FakeGrammys, #WhiteGrammys, #GrammysWithoutTheMainCharacter, etc.

Words satirizing him circulated the world, and even the singers who were nominated found it hard to be happy.

Moreover, it’s not like there aren’t any Halo fans among the nominees.

A rapper who was nominated for a Grammy and stated that he was inspired by Halo’s music was extremely angry and called for a boycott.

A pop singer who was always nominated for Billboard also posted ‘Why?’ on social media, as if unable to understand this time.

[I Can’t Understand It At All. Not 태양 [Tae-yang, meaning ‘sun’ in Korean] of all people.]

Whether it’s Billboard scores or influence.

And, people who know a little about the Grammys knew that Halo’s music was exactly to the Grammys’ taste.

The slightly old-fashioned Grammys couldn’t possibly dislike Halo’s music, which seemed to have brought back ‘that old Britpop’ as it was. In fact, it was the Grammy judges who were fawning over Halo’s appearance.

“It’s quite noisy these days.”

BB, who came into Halo’s room after a long time, brought up the story of the world as usual. Everyone is curious about the boy’s current state of mind, but there was a boy in front of them who couldn’t meet anyone.

In fact, BB was also curious about what the boy thought about the current situation. For now, the expression on his face was bright.

BB thought that the boy might not know about the current situation.

The boy, whom he had come to know from interviews so far, was not the type to hide anything, and he was quite indifferent for his age.

“Well, it’s not surprising.”

He does know. When BB looked at him as if he was surprised, Halo shrugged.

“How can I not know when it’s so noisy these days.”

“I guess so?”

Even acquaintances suddenly contact him.

He didn’t even mention that person from the Grammys, but the nuance was subtly concerned.

Halo thought they were worried about nothing.

“Aren’t you disappointed?”

BB asked honestly.

Even though the Grammys are controversial, they are one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies for singers. Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange to be disappointed. Or even angry.

“What’s so special about the Grammys?”

He still thought it was just a fortune cookie that Americans share among themselves.

“That’s an expression I’ve heard often.”

A country with emotions towards America.

It is an expression often used in Europe, especially in the UK.

Like this, the boy, who is known as a Korean, sometimes uses British expressions. Like….

Like the ‘another Halo’ that the boy tells about.

A middle-class family from England.

A rocker who ran away from home and reached the top of the world.

And isn’t that an expression that goes well with the personality shown in that story?

The boy in front of him and the ‘another Halo’ in the story were clearly different people. Except for the fact that they were singers, it was hard to find any common ground. However, BB sometimes felt that it was hard to distinguish between the boy and ‘another Halo.’

Not just immersed in a virtual character….

BB couldn’t find a special expression and closed his mouth.

“How was ‘he’?”

BB started the interview again without warning.

The boy accepted it familiarly.

“‘He’ probably received a lot of awards too.”

“‘He’ wasn’t very close to the Grammys either.”

“Huh?”

“In his 20s, they sometimes nominated him because they were conscious of him, and only at the end did they finally announce the award news.”

‘The end’? BB stopped his busy hands.

It was a word that would be the end of a story that he wanted to last forever.

BB wanted to ask when that end was, but he swallowed his desire because he hadn’t heard the middle story yet.

“Actually, he didn’t receive awards often, even besides the Grammys.”

BB tilted his head.

The ‘Halo’ that the boy described was no different from an icon of an era.

Of course, there are some singers who are strangely unlucky with awards.

But still, how can he not receive them?

He seemed to be thinking of something and was lost in thought.

But suddenly, he smiled.

He remembered one interesting episode.

#

It was when he had consecutive successes with his 5th album, *Like a Heroin*, and his 6th album, *Dancing in the Rain*.

When even people who couldn’t acknowledge ‘Halo’ and ‘Halo’s music’ eventually came to acknowledge ‘Halo,’ he announced the award news at the BRIT Awards, a British popular music awards ceremony.

It was a newly established award, so it didn’t have much influence, but it seemed like they wanted to expand their influence with the name ‘Halo.’

And at the time, the CEO, who had a severe conflict with the ‘youth,’ was ecstatic about the award news. A human with a strong desire for success did not hesitate at all. It seems that he didn’t even consider the conflict with the youth at the time.

Perhaps he believed that the youth would not cross the line.

However, the youth was more dissatisfied than he thought, and he was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. He was also smart enough to know what the CEO hated, and he didn’t hesitate to do it, even if it meant cutting himself down.

There was only one thing the youth wanted.

Just to do my music.

However, the CEO kept considering popularity and tried to ruin his album, so the youth wanted to ruin the CEO’s plans.

At first, he showed a docile attitude to ease the CEO’s vigilance.

He put on makeup well, wore a classic suit, and slicked back his hair neatly. As he went out, the camera flashes towards him did not stop.

It seemed like today was really a day for him.

More than the singer whose name was called at the awards ceremony, the youth’s clapping was exposed to the camera more often. The youth was captured on camera for everything he did.

The CEO was strange at his quiet appearance today, but he thought it was an awards ceremony, so he thought he could wash up and change clothes by the time the Best Album award came.

The CEO’s legs started to tremble.

As the main awards ceremony approached, the youth did not return to his seat.

The camera, which had been looking for the youth’s seat every time, kept looking for an empty seat.

An awards ceremony staff carefully looked for the youth.

The tension was at its highest when they called out the nominees for Best Album.

The photos of the nominees were posted on the electronic display, and when they turned the camera to take a picture of the current nominee’s expression, an empty seat appeared.

“!”

As it was about to become a broadcasting accident, the camera hurriedly turned to a singer who was close to the youth. Surprisingly, it was his ex-girlfriend, who was known to have broken up with him.

“The winner of the Best Album is-.”

The MC’s pupils shook as he looked at the empty seat, but he read the cue card properly like a skilled MC [master of ceremonies, or host].

“Congratulations, Halo.”

People applauded, but the youth’s seat was still empty, and nearby singers looked around to find the winner.

“H-Halo?”

The camera couldn’t find the main character, the MC couldn’t find him, and no one could find him.

Then, the MC saw a figure walking in from the side of the stage and was delighted.

“Ah, there he is. Congratulations, H-.”

The MC’s expression slowly stiffened.

His pupils trembled up and down, and he couldn’t continue speaking.

The CEO, who was relieved by Halo’s appearance and sat back in his seat, felt uneasy. He wondered if he would do something. The MC’s face was very strange.

And finally, one foot suddenly comes out from the side of the curtain.

Barefoot.

The cameraman zoomed in on the appearance of the main character and tried to capture the whole shot.

However.

Stage side. People’s eyes widened at the human coming out of the curtain, and someone raised their hand to their face.

“!”

Bare feet and bare legs.

The youth, who was not naked but wearing only a bathrobe, smiled brightly and waved his hand. His hair was not dry and was still wet, and his handsome appearance was revealed.

Every time the youth waved his hand, the bathrobe tied with a string shook.

It was not tied tightly, so it was precarious when it would come undone.

“Thank you so much.”

The youth, who was the only one calm in that place, hugged the frozen MC, took the award, and bowed.

When his chest was revealed, people screamed and covered their eyes.

However, the gaps in their fingers were open.

“This crazy bastard.”

The youth looked at the CEO, who was hardened while looking at him, and smiled brightly. It was clear that he was swearing from the shape of his mouth, even though he couldn’t hear what he was saying. With a refreshing feeling, the youth moved flamboyantly again like a conductor, and the murmuring grew louder as the gown opened.

Calmly, the youth grabbed the microphone and poured out his award speech.

It’s thanks to the many people who loved me.

He was talking in a soft voice, which was the usual appearance of an awards ceremony.

Except for the youth’s outfit.

“I dedicate this honor to you, and I’d like to say one last word. Cherish and love yourself. We are all beautiful.”

The youth spread his arms wide.

A confident declaration and a dignified posture.

It was really an all-time atmosphere.

The MC, who couldn’t say anything as if he was shocked, the awards ceremony organizers with pale faces, the high-ranking officials who got up and left, and the stars who couldn’t do anything and covered their faces with their fingers.

The cameraman gave up and zoomed in on the face of the youth’s ex-lover.

That’s how the first BRIT Awards ended shockingly.

No matter how much the CEO freaked out, it was already done and could not be undone. In such chaos, the youth chuckled and enjoyed the after-party.

It goes without saying that the broadcasting station and the awards ceremony boycotted the youth.

But ironically, the youth did not remain buried.

His popularity continued, and it seemed to have increased instead.

The companies that seemed like they would ask for a penalty for breach of contract continued their advertisements, and more offers came in.

In particular, there were constant requests for pictorials from women’s magazines. On tabloids, the youth’s body and the expression of his ex-lover, who seemed to be still hot, were circulating.

The broadcasting station, which had boycotted him, quietly canceled the boycott, and the BRIT Awards made the whole world know its name and expanded its influence as it wanted. And seeing that they awarded the youth the Best Album again at the 2nd awards ceremony as if nothing had happened, it seems that there were no complaints.

And one more thing.

A new trend of wearing bathrobes was created.

They walked around with a new tag called ‘Love yourself,’ and there were people who were arrested for walking around wearing only real bathrobes, just like ‘Halo’ did.

They argued that ‘Halo’ was no different from them, but many people admitted that only ‘Halo’ could walk around wearing only a bathrobe. If it was shocking when ‘Halo’ did it, others were just dirty.

The media gave the youth a new nickname.

Taking the name of a beautiful god in a myth who loves music and the sun.

‘Apollo.’

#

Clearly, Halo was not very close to the ‘honorable position.’

It was also because of the awards ceremony accident, and there were many people who hated the youth. Playboy, an icon of controversy, a never-quiet personality, and they also hated the cult-like fandom. It is certain that the youth had a total collection of rocker images at the time.

Besides, Halo was not very obsessed with awards.

He has no desire to be recognized by the ‘honorable ones,’ and he prefers to hang out and play with people rather than clapping boringly at awards ceremonies.

“Mr. Noh Hae-il. No, Mr. Halo.”

So this situation was a bit unexpected.

The staff of the Daon Awards, who came to him, came out in a low posture.

“We have a lot to give to Mr. Halo.”

How noisy it was last year because it was an awards ceremony without a main character.

It was fortunate that Noh Hae-il did not appear at other awards ceremonies.

But they didn’t want a picture of Halo not coming out this time either.

Moreover, the awards they prepared were not just one or two.

So they begged him to come, even if he didn’t do anything.

“Please, can’t you please come?”

If you have a busy schedule, we will take care of it.

There are no schedules other than album production.

“We will 맞춰 [match] everything to your liking. We will prepare everything you want, whether it’s a lift, stage equipment, effects, or sets. So please just attend….”

Halo wanted to be mean to these people who were acting so humble, but on the other hand, he thought about it.

I have no intention of rebelling against the CEO here.

There is no reason to suddenly declare retirement like I was going to do at the Grammys.

“Awards….”

So, unless something special happens, the awards ceremony will proceed normally without any accidents.

Halo, who had never been to such a place, pondered.

And the result is this.

“Wow! It’s Halo! Take a picture!”

“He came this time. What’s going on.”

“I heard Daon went to him every day and begged him.”

“Well, there’s no way they can’t give him an award this time.