A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 220

X Machina’s debut was a success.

Just as success had been predicted.

Not only did they enter the Billboard 200 chart, but they also set a record, reaching 89th place on the Hot 100 chart.

It’s an open secret that the members of X Machina visited Dohyun and burst into tears of joy.

Emboldened by this success, Dohyun resolved to find his third artist.

The third artist he had in mind was none other than one of the singers who had worked with him on Monthly Dohyun. This singer was now out of contract with their agency and was busking or doing covers on YouTube.

Specifically, he was thinking of Lee Giran, the main vocalist of the boy group Rouge Black, who had participated in the Monthly Dohyun project.

Lee Giran’s public recognition was practically non-existent.

Except for those who were very familiar with K-pop…

However, Dohyun had great expectations for Lee Giran.

He believed Lee Giran was an amazing vocalist who could aim for not only the K-pop market but also the global music market.

That’s why he wanted to bring Lee Giran into the company.

Lee Giran awkwardly addressed Dohyun as “CEO.”

“CEO… um… what brings you to call me here…? Are you starting the Monthly Dohyun project again?”

“No. I’ve been thinking a lot about it.”

“…About what?”

“Giran, it’s such a waste of your voice. That’s what I think.”

“…Ah.”

“You’re busking and running your own YouTube channel… but I think it’s such a waste to let that talent fade away like this.”

Giran’s heart pounded at Dohyun’s words.

Dohyun wasn’t someone who would just say anything carelessly.

For him to say this meant…

“Could it be… that the third artist of The Dreamer Label is…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m telling you now that you’re the third artist. You can refuse if you don’t like the idea. But you know, I can’t find a better fit than you for the third artist. I want you to be the third artist.”

“Huh… can I really be the third artist? Even though the public doesn’t know me well? Wouldn’t that be a problem?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll make you successful.”

Dohyun’s voice was full of confidence.

Listening to that voice, Giran wanted to trust Dohyun completely.

Thanks to Dohyun, he had already entered the music charts for the first time in his singing career with the Monthly Dohyun project.

So, he couldn’t help but be even more thrilled with Dohyun’s offer.

“And CEO… let’s not call each other that. The other guys comfortably call me ‘hyung’ [older brother or close male friend] in private… what’s with ‘CEO’? We’re not that awkward, are we? Or are we awkward?”

Giran shook his head at those words.

“Ah, no! We’re not awkward! We’re definitely not awkward!”

“Right? So… let’s be comfortable. Call me ‘hyung.’ When it’s just the two of us. Even if you call me ‘CEO’ in public… I think it’s right to just call me ‘hyung’ now. Got it?”

“Yes, hyungnim!”

“Hyungnim… you sound like a gangster. Just call me ‘hyung’.”

At Dohyun’s joke, Giran, looking very nervous, called out, “Hyung!”

“Don’t be nervous. Here’s the contract. It’s a preliminary contract. There aren’t any unfair clauses, by the way. The Dreamer Label prioritizes conditions for fostering junior artists, so we’ve unconditionally removed toxic clauses. Rather, if there’s anything you want to add as a special clause, tell me. We can add it. Oh, and the contract fee starts at 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD].”

“1… 100 million won? That’s so much? Do I have to pay it all back later…?”

“No? Why would you pay it back?”

Dohyun answered nonchalantly, and Giran wore a confused expression.

In his previous company, he hadn’t received a single penny in settlement.

He was charged for all the dorm, training fees, meal expenses, and investments incurred during his trainee life, so even though the group had reached a certain level, he couldn’t get his money back. Rather, he only heard that they were in the red, and the group disbanded.

However, now he was being offered completely different conditions.

“Hyung… is it okay for me to receive such good conditions? If… if it’s too much of a stretch… I’ll decline. If you’re offering these conditions because of me…”

“No. Absolutely not. I’ve determined that you’re suitable as the third artist, and I’ve set the amount accordingly. This amount is just a ‘contract fee’ that we’ve set so we can do well together, and we won’t be deducting from this amount. Understand?”

“Wow… this is the first time I’ve ever received money since I started my singing career…”

“It will continue to be like that in the future. The costs we invest in you won’t be returned by you. That’s a cost that the company will naturally take responsibility for. Settlement will run as settlement, and investment will run as investment. Huentertainment established The Dreamer Label to make that happen.”

Dohyun’s purpose and goal were clear.

That’s why The Dreamer Label could run so smoothly.

Giran looked at Dohyun with emotion-filled eyes.

Dohyun was happy that the third artist had been found, following Lee Rae and X Machina.

“Think about the contract and contact me. You don’t have to do it, so contact me either way.”

“No! I’ll do it, this contract. Honestly, even if it’s a label under Huentertainment… it’s still Huentertainment in the end, right? Even if I’m under The Dreamer, it’s still Huentertainment in the big picture.”

“Well, that’s true, but The Dreamer’s conditions are a bit different from Huentertainment’s…”

“It’s still good. First of all, it’s good that I can be with hyung. I think it’s an honor for me to be with hyung, who wrote the history of winning eight Grammy Awards. Thank you! For giving me this opportunity!”

Thus, the third artist, Lee Giran, was born.

* * *

Lee Giran had to take on a distinctly different concept from Lee Rae, whose face was already known to overseas fans, and X Machina, who had a solid foothold with domestic fans.

If Lee Rae sang ‘Wicked’ with a dreamy yet destructive voice, and X Machina showed decadent and wasted sexiness, Lee Giran had to take steps to increase his recognition differently. It was decided to go with a concept that could stimulate people’s curiosity.

Therefore, as a result of the planning meeting, it was decided that Lee Giran would start his album activities with the concept of a ‘faceless singer’ first. He would be evaluated only by his ‘voice’ rather than his ‘recognition.’ Lee Giran’s great strength: his voice.

To be evaluated only by his voice, they covered Lee Giran’s eyes and took a concept photo of him chewing an apple. Here, the apple represented the fruit of good and evil. It symbolized coming down from the land of eternity to a place with a defined life. And it meant demonstrating one of his defined talents: his voice.

[Who the heck is the 3rd singer planned by Na Dohyun?]

┗I don’t know either

┗I’m a fan and I still don’t know

┗I heard it’s a total unknown, but I really don’t know

┗Does Na Dohyun only collect unknowns…

┗As a fan of an unknown, I feel bad

┗So is your oppa [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend used by females] the main character of this 3rd singer?

┗Yeah, he’s the main character, but I won’t tell you who it is because you guys are rude

┗I heard it’s Rouge Black’s Lee Giran

┗Rouge Black? Was there such a group?

┗Yeah, there was ㅋㅋㅋ There’s a group that the agency president ruined

Dohyun carefully examined the reactions on communities and social media.

Instead of watching the reactions himself, he instructed Lee Giran to ban himself from all communities and social media. It could act as poison.

“Giran.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“People are more curious about you than I thought.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I think I’d be curious too. An existence that ate the forbidden fruit and fell into the human world. A role that makes a bet with only his voice in the human world. That role is good. Reporters have already noticed it’s you and are contacting the company. Of course, unlike this debut album, Lee Rae and X Machina will release a mini album instead of a full album, and then release a full album later.”

To promote Giran, Dohyun decided to proceed with a different strategy this time.

A way to firmly imprint the singer Lee Giran on the public’s mind.

To create curiosity about who the ‘faceless singer’ Lee Giran is.

At the same time, to make people focus entirely on the ‘voice’ rather than the face.

When Lee Giran’s voice became familiar to the public, he would reveal Lee Giran’s identity.

Lee Giran’s stage name was also decided.

It was ‘R.’

It was obvious enough that people who were fans of Giran would recognize it as Lee Giran, but the singing style was also completely changed so that people who didn’t know wouldn’t know.

Until now, it was a pretty cool and explosive singing style, and it was a style that suited rock well, but now it was different.

While preparing for this album, Dohyun, PD [Producer] Lee Junhyuk, and vocal trainers considered the most important thing was to find another potential in R’s voice.

For example… the stickiness that had been melted between the cool voices.

Dohyun and the PDs found such a thing.

R became more interested as he found new things in his voice and focused on training hard.

In that way, he was able to finish recording all six songs to be included in the mini album.

The pre-order quantity was 50,000 copies.

It was a completely different figure from Lee Rae, who had an overseas fandom, and X Machina Seokwon, who had a solid domestic fandom, but Dohyun was confident that his eyes would not be wrong.

The pre-order quantity will start at 50,000 copies, but it will grow from there.

Dohyun thought that R was the one who would climb to a higher position in the future.

First of all, he was aiming for the Korean Music Awards. He would compete with musicality, then create a Korean fandom, and then aim for overseas expansion along with the creation of an overseas fandom. That was the plan for R.

“Giran, how do you feel now that the album will be released at 6 p.m. tomorrow?”

Giran was drooping. He was in a continuous state of tension, so he lost his energy as the mini album release date approached.

“Hyung. What if no one listens to me? People have become curious about ‘faceless singer’ R… but what if no one listens…? It’s amazing that there are even album pre-orders…”

“You’re going to go with a different strategy. Don’t worry about the pre-order quantity. You’re going to walk the path of an artist, not just popularity. After this CD release, it will lead to an LP release soon. Through vinyl releases, I’m going to make you the main character of the voice people want to collect. Just watch. My strategy is bound to work.”

Dohyun’s voice was full of confidence.

Giran had no choice but to nod.

It was a word that Dohyun, who had tasted countless failures and successes, could say.

Giran said to Dohyun.

“Hyung, I’ll trust you. I’ll really trust and follow only hyung. I’ll really work hard. The Dreamer’s 3rd singer, faceless singer R. I’ll do my best until I become a singer with a face, R!”