Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 123

35. Diva(G)

2016.

At YC Entertainment, projects for YC Revolution were progressing rapidly.

Among them, the most anticipated project in Japan was the Diva(G) project.

Diva is a term originally used for prominent female opera singers, but now it’s also applied in theater, film, and popular music. Think of it as similar to “prima donna” [a leading female performer in an opera or ballet].

The Diva(G) project combines “Diva” with “G,” which stands for “girl group.” It was also the name of the girl group YC Entertainment was debuting, comprised entirely of Japanese members.

You might wonder why there was so much buzz around a girl group project that hadn’t even debuted yet, but considering the success of New Daisy, who debuted the previous year, it’s understandable.

New Daisy, formed through the New Daisy Project the year before, dominated the Japanese music scene upon debut and achieved significant success throughout Asia, including Korea.

After gaining recognition at Coachella in the United States and even charting on Billboard, Japan was understandably in an uproar.

-New Daisy Proves Japan’s Potential to the World!-

-Japan’s Global Talents: Beyond the Country to the World?-

-YC, the World’s Most Watched Artist! Why is He Looking for Talent in Japan?-

The articles primarily portrayed New Daisy as a Japanese girl group.

However, while New Daisy was created through the New Daisy Contest, this was largely for promotional purposes.

The main focus was on Korean members with exceptional potential and skills, and since they performed K-pop, the group’s identity was essentially that of a Korean girl group.

This led to a subtle rivalry between Japanese and Korean Daisy fans. However, Diva(G) was different.

It was explicitly intended to be a Japanese girl group.

This was partly to fulfill the contract terms of Ichiro, the head of the Japanese branch, but more importantly, it was to dominate the Japanese market.

“Japanese culture is resistant to change. They’re reluctant to embrace new things.”

This is evident in their continued use of floppy disks, which became obsolete in Korea a decade ago.

Despite the existence of USB drives, a revolutionary portable storage device, the continued use of CDs and floppy disks makes one question whether Japan is truly a technologically advanced country.

Furthermore, the prevalence of cash transactions over credit cards indicates a resistance to adopting new technologies.

In that respect, K-pop hasn’t yet fully integrated into Japan’s mainstream culture.

While it enjoys significant sales and media exposure, its profitability isn’t particularly high considering Japan’s music market is the second largest in the world.

So, how do you change this market?

There’s only one way.

The flow of culture had to be altered from within the country.

Since Japan is relatively insular when it comes to external cultures, it was difficult to establish a mainstream presence without initiating change from within.

President Ichiro understood this, and he aimed to transform the market by creating a Japanese girl group using the K-pop system.

New Daisy existed, but as mentioned earlier, he knew it was difficult for the Japanese public to fully embrace them as a Japanese group.

“If we can succeed with just one team, that’s enough.”

Then the mainstream will shift.

That meant the market, which had previously emphasized familiarity, would crumble, and the K-pop format, which emphasized professionalism, would become the norm in Japan.

This implied that the K-pop market in Japan, which was currently being consumed, would grow exponentially.

Of course, the idol format using voice actors in subculture styles like anime and games would still exist, but it would inevitably evolve to emphasize greater professionalism.

The Diva(G) project was created for this very reason.

Diva(G) was promoted through YC Revolution, but unlike the Daisy Contest, it wasn’t about selecting new members.

“Diva(G) must possess skills comparable to any K-pop group.”

To achieve this, they needed to spend at least a year or more as trainees to build teamwork.

Surprisingly, teamwork is paramount in the life of an idol group.

The company’s investment in dormitories wasn’t for nothing.

No matter how talented individual members are, if their chemistry is lacking, the group will appear amateurish.

That’s why the Diva(G) project didn’t involve a member selection process.

Instead, for promotion, they adopted a format of accepting popular submissions from challenge videos based on short, 30-second dance or song clips featuring Diva(G) members as trainees.

The challenge format that propelled Black Tiger to Billboard success was a proven promotional method, so its impact was significant.

Demand was a concern, but this was mitigated by the fact that Diva(G) was a 13-member group.

All six of the Diva(G) songs were released in short video clips.
The challenge songs, condensed into 20 to 30 seconds, were incredibly catchy, as expected of YC songs.

Within a month of the Diva(G) project’s launch, over 50,000 challenge videos were created, with more than 20,000 people participating.

This indicated that many participants created multiple videos.

In fact, quite a few people uploaded challenges for all 13 videos.

Among the previously revealed Diva(G) members, Mei was the most popular.

She narrowly lost to Sakura in the New Daisy final member selection and already had a dedicated fanbase of over 10,000 paying subscribers.

Originally, her popularity wasn’t that high, but she rode the wave of New Daisy’s Billboard success.

About a month after the Diva(G) project began.

New videos started appearing on the YC Revolution Diva(G) account.

It was a drama series featuring Diva(G) members, presented in an entertainment format.

The title was ‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ It was a typical school-day drama.

“I like you.”

Mei, upon hearing Momo’s confession, shook her head with a displeased expression and said,

“Please deliver the line with more emotion! It doesn’t resonate at all.”

“That’s because there’s no sincerity.”

“Don’t talk about sincerity! Hey, act!”

Momo, prompted by Mei, puffed out her cheeks, which fans already compared to mochi [a Japanese rice cake], and became angry.

“No! We’re not even in the theater club in the first place. Why are we acting in the manga club!”

“Everything is for detail!”

It was Mei, the head of the manga club, who made these difficult-to-understand, unconventional remarks, but Momo, who was easily persuaded, eventually resumed acting.

Nana, another member of Diva(G), watched them, nodded, and muttered while gazing out at the sunny day.

“It was summer.”

“…….”

Nana, like the manga club, suddenly uttered lines that were overused in absurd situations, but Noah, who had witnessed such behavior countless times, simply scribbled silently with a weary expression.

‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ is a web drama, approximately 10 minutes in length, where stories like this unfold.

With so many members, more members didn’t appear in each 10-minute episode than those who did, but fortunately, no member was excluded entirely because it was broadcast five times a week.

‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ was a resounding success.

It was only natural that it garnered attention at a time when interest was at its peak due to the challenge videos.

But the biggest reason for its success was the visual appeal of the web drama.

The visual quality of ‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ was so high that it boasted colors and production values comparable to feature films, to the point where some viewers suspected the production team was obsessed with perfection.

Of course, the video maximized the hidden charms of the Diva(G) members, which wasn’t surprising considering it was directed by Hong Eui-chan.

However, the popularity of ‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ exploded after the last 20 episodes.

The premise of ‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ revolves around the Diva(G) members participating in club activities during summer vacation, so the teacher in charge of the manga club doesn’t appear.

Fans joked that they didn’t know who the teacher in charge was, but they must have been incredibly troubled, and they also speculated that the reason the teacher hadn’t appeared until now was because they had repeatedly run away.

Then, in episode 20, the teacher in charge of this troublesome manga club, filled with unconventional individuals, finally appears as school reopens.

However, even before the teacher appears, episode 20 takes a turn that makes viewers wonder if they’re watching a different drama.

This is because the girls’ demeanor, speech, and actions have transformed to resemble those of refined young ladies, a stark contrast to their behavior during the vacation, making it difficult to comprehend.

Of course, Diva(G) fans loved it.

While they appreciated the tomboyish side of the members, they also discovered another charm in their sophisticated, lady-like appearance, reminiscent of a wealthy family.

Then, after school, unlike usual, they all gathered demurely and eagerly awaited someone.

-Squeak!-

As if sensing their anticipation, the door opened, and someone entered.

-Da-da-dan… Da-dan!-

-Thump, thump-

The sound of a piano performance that captivated the Japanese archipelago three years prior began to play, and simultaneously, the viewers’ hearts began to race.

“YC Sama?”

Those watching uttered “YC Sama” with hopeful hearts, and as they wished, it was indeed YC Sama who entered the manga club.

“!!!”

YC Sama’s entrance scene, presented in slow motion, lasted for a full minute.

It was undeniably bizarre to stretch out that brief scene, which typically takes only a few seconds to open the classroom door and stand on the podium, for an entire minute.

-Tada Da-da-dan!-

However, when combined with the video that meticulously scanned him, accompanied by the piano melody of “Snow Country” that had captivated Japan three years ago, a truly impressive masterpiece was created.

In fact, this one-minute video was hailed as the best entrance scene in a decade, not only in Japan and Korea but also among YC Revolution subscribers.

Youngchan’s charisma in this video was more intense than any other video that had been discussed thus far.

-I fainted the moment YC Sama appeared.-

└You too? Me too! Thanks to you, my insomnia is gone.

└Are you kidding me? I think I’m going to get insomnia; how many times have I watched this already?

-Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.-

└I think I understand how you feel so well. That’s exactly how I feel.

└How can I watch such a ridiculously high-quality video for free!

└Compared to a certain group that makes you spend tens of thousands of yen to watch a video with ridiculous pictorials, YC Entertainment’s fan service is definitely on another level.

-Crazy! It’s so natural. I believed YC Sama when he said he had no talent for acting, but he’s not!-

└ㅇㅇ [Korean slang for “yes”]. Everything from pronunciation to gaze and eyes is perfect for a teacher!

└If I had a teacher like that in school, my life would have changed.

└ㅋㅋㅋ [Korean slang for laughter, similar to “lol”] By the way, Hollywood is going crazy again.

As if representing the feelings of YC’s fans, who were in an uproar, all the members acting like ladies in episode 20 of ‘Please Take Care of Diva(G)!’ turned as red as apples.

In fact, some couldn’t handle it and ended up with nosebleeds.

“It’s dangerous. It’s dangerous. He’s still the most dangerous man in the world!”

“Is it because it’s been a while since I’ve seen him? I think my immunity has dropped! I’m already bleeding!”

“I’m going to die. I feel like I’m going to die because I’m so happy!”

“I love you! I love you!”

After Youngchan left the classroom, there was chaos centered around those who had nosebleeds. Perhaps because they hadn’t seen him all summer vacation, the shock was overwhelming.

It may have been absurd overacting, but surprisingly, this performance was the best of Diva(G).

As Momo said earlier, everyone was sincere in their acting.