Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Noisy sirens blared above the dark stage.

Wee-woo wee-woo wee-woo

There was the sound of glass breaking, then the sirens transitioned into a melody accompanied by a beat.

[Hahaha!]

Next, was the sound of children laughing. Elaborate lights came on revealing seven people sitting on the stage. TeSTAR were all wearing glossy black zip-up hoodies, the hoods pulled up over their heads.

Various emojis, rendered in red and white paint, covered the hoodies. Cha Eugene bounced forward without warning, marking the beginning of the song’s intro.

[“Look here, please!”]

A child’s voice was heard in the background and Eugene posed with his fingers in a “V” under his chin.

[Whenever I sing a line

the hands at the mic grow anxious

I’ll show you who’s the real deal today

Wish me luck, precious]

Eugene playfully bared his canines and mimed playing the beat mid-air.

TeSTAR joined Eugene two at a time as he sang, clapping as they began a rough group dance. They were relaxed and also somehow there was something triumphant and wicked about them.

Eugene was dragged back by the other members’ hands on his shoulder but continued to gesture wildly at the camera.

[They obsess over it (they need to see a doctor)

Don’t state the obvious

No stupid thoughts

Just shout for me till you’re delirious

Shout out loud]

Big Sejin threw his hands up and down, the members on either side of him executing a flip that resembled a martial arts move. They each looked down the lens of the cameras trained on them before disappearing off stage.

[Shout out to me

You want to thank me?

Lump payments only, please]

The comments were full of confusion but mostly positive. Those who knew the original song well and those who didn’t both had things to say about the performance, but the conclusion was the same.

It was fun.

- God, this is so fun

- How are they this good?

- Yes, this is more like it

- I guess they really are on a different level. This feels so different from the earlier groups

- Look at them, they never miss a camera...

- This song used to have poser vibes. Cha Eugene is a genius

- I love it

- They didn’t alter the song at all, wow

- The original sounded so cringe, but this... No way. Why do I like this? They’re even wearing the exact same outfits

The performance continued as the comments accumulated rapidly. Park Moondae landed on the stage, thrown by the members who’d grabbed him by the arms and legs. He picked up a hand microphone.

[You don’t get to pass through here

You need to pay a deposit, you see

Sit down right here and enjoy the atmosphere

You can’t leave, no not yet]

The pitch of the pre-chorus had climbed steeply, but Moondae sang it casually as if it made no difference to him.

Their formation then shifted and the members spun on the floor before springing to their feet. They took turns posing next to Moondae, faces pressed close for the cameras, before sliding away, making room for the next member.

They all looked like playful kids with something of a delinquent attitude. After glaring at each member playfully, Moondae laughed and pointed a finger at the camera.

[Don’t let them come if they can’t enjoy it

Shout out to me

Lump payments only]

His voice rang high and clear. The music was playing at a lower volume than usual on purpose, and his loud, clean vocals were a reminder to the audience that this was a live performance.

- They look like they’re having so much fun

- I can’t believe they pulled this off without looking stupid

- Park Moondae sings so f*cking well

- His high notes are bliss

- Did his voice just drown out the music? LOL

- This hasn’t been altered, right? Why does it feel so different?

- It’s like this was their song from the beginning

In the meantime, their performance had reached the climax of the song.

[Shout out to me]

[Shout out to me]

There was a drop, and a slightly more relaxed and heavier beat began. The sirens shifted into a Middle Eastern-inspired melody, filling the air with an elaborate sound. The chorus had a ton of impact.

[You’re not alive if you don’t enjoy it

Shout out to me]

A choreography laced with jumping, including many complicated rhythms and leg movements commenced.

TeSTAR didn’t forget to freestyle a little, moving to the beat and putting on an enjoyable show, easily handling the difficult dance moves with grins on their faces. They embodied their on-stage characters—talented, mischievous brats just having fun.

The viewers were abruptly reminded of something many of them may have forgotten.

- Oh right. These guys won because they obliterated their opponents. LOL

- Gosh, they’re such naturals on stage

- I’m getting such a rush right now

- Yes, THIS IS IT

- Help, I don’t dare even blink

Anyone who’d seen Idol Inc. but hadn’t been interested enough to keep up with the music show appearances or clips of them on WeTube had just been exposed to another TeSTAR performance thanks to this end-of-year show. The fact their first performance was of a song belonging to the group there had been so much fuss about lately only made people talk about it all more.

- Has anyone seen the original performance of this song? I’m wondering if it’s just the song that’s so good or is it them?

- Did TeSTAR really not change the song at all? Is this how the original feels?

The members had been shaking their heads and jumping in the air during the climax of the song when something began flopping around with the movement of their heads.

It was animal ears. They had attached fabric that resembled their animal mascots’ ears on their hoods. The intense choreography of the chorus had caused them to spring free of their hoods.

- Whoa, did you see that?

- Animal ears T_T. They have animal ears on their hoodies

- That’s so clever

- Goddamn. That’s cute

- This is how much fun you should be having while watching an idol performance

- Cutesy animal bad boys?

- Is this a new TeSTAR song? Why is it being performed in part one?

The performance’s concept, which could have been a little overwhelming in its intensity, was pleasantly mellowed out by the cute animal ears showing up toward the end.

[Hahaha!]

The song’s final climax kicked off. There were no vocals, each person performing a different move dispersed throughout the group choreography, all of them giving high energy as the dance sped up slowly.

The seven idols executed the group dance flawlessly but didn’t seem capable of holding back their excitement whenever the camera focused on them individually as the song came to an end.

[Shout out to me]

Kim Raebin was sitting at the center, yawning as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The screen faded to black in preparation for Onyx’s performance, but the comments were losing it over TeSTAR.

- Holy sh*t

- I don’t know what else to say. They’re just damn good at what they do

- That was way too short

- They only did the first verse. I guess it’s because it was a special stage T_T

- Look at these comments. Have you forgotten everyone else also did one verse only? LOL

- This isn’t a TeSTAR song, then?

- I’m going to watch the Onyx version

- I was planning on commenting during their stage, but I only remembered to after they’d already finished

The mood abruptly changed as soon as Onyx began to perform. They’d picked TeSTAR’s debut song, “Magical Boys,” but their rendition was... mediocre at best.

- Hmm

- Maybe they didn’t have a lot of time to prepare

- They’re really bad at this

- They lowered the key how many times? It doesn’t sound anything like the original T_T

- I think they’re lip-syncing. Oh, maybe the backing track is just too loud

- Whatever. This is no good T_T

The viewers’ excitement cooled immediately. At the same time, many decided to find out what Onyx’s original rendition of their debut song had been like. Seeing Onyx perform immediately called to mind the same question for everyone.

Did TeSTAR do a better job at performing Onyx’s song than Onyx did? Most people who went and watched videos of Onyx’s “Enjoyers” lamented that it wasn’t that great, and some screamed with excitement as they rushed to formulate posts about the topic.

***

Fancams of all the special performances from part one of SBC Gayo Daejeon were uploaded across community sites and social media almost instantly.

========================

[SBC Special Rookies Performances]

: The original performances are attached below as well!

(video) (video)

[...]

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The comments were instantly flooded with hot takes about TeSTAR and Onyx. Similar comments had already been made while the show was airing, but overall reactions to the original song were scathing.

- What’s going on? TeSTAR is better at Onyx’s own song

- LMAO

- I guess the people who bought stock on Idol Inc. were right! All that sh*t talk about it all being a made-up variety show was nonsense

- I’m really shocked at how bad Onyx is in comparison

- TeSTAR can’t have had much time to practice. Wow. Just wow...

- Dude, this comparison is SAVAGE

- There’s a reason Idol Inc. was such a f*cking hit. Of course, it was, with guys like this performing

It wasn’t just the gap in skill, either. Even the way the two groups had interpreted the song was fundamentally different.

Onyx’s debut song “Enjoyers” was an energetic hip-hop track, obviously intended to be a powerful performance track. Rookie groups practiced their debut song for several months at least, often for over six months. Naturally, Onyx had put their all into the song, knowing that it was their only shot at putting their best foot forward.

While their grim determination hadn’t been completely at odds with the song, it was actually better suited to a more playful, fierce vibe. TeSTAR had figured this out and done the track justice.

- I can’t believe how expressive TeSTAR is. No wonder they made it out alive from that mess of a TV show

- I’m sorry to say this... but their version should be the original...

└ Yeah, the Onyx version seems more like a cover of a senior group they admire, LOL

└ They weren’t quite able to capture the spirit of the TeSTAR version, but it’s still obvious they tried really hard

└ This. Haha

Onyx didn’t have an overly large fanbase and netizens weren’t being particularly circumspect about their observations. Not that everyone who’d been so hung up over the recent controversy had disappeared entirely.

- Ugh, here we go again. Will the TeSTAR supporters never give up?

- Why can’t they understand that it’s still unfair for a variety show group to win Rookie of the Year awards?

- They should be ashamed of themselves for being so obsessed with the awards...

- M*ggles won’t like TeSTAR no matter how much the fans push

But such an obvious comparison of skill made all the sh*t talking seem rather silly. People flocked to the rare internet phenomenon that was a clear victor and had a great time laughing at the trolls.

- Hey, m*ggles have eyes too, you know. LOL these guys are hilarious

- They won fair and square. Cut it out, you’re embarrassing yourselves

- You’re the ones who are hung up haha

- I swear I’m not a TeSTAR fan, but TeSTAR just killed Onyx’s song for Onyx. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is

ㄴ LMAO

- Awards should go to those who deserve them.

- I think TeSTAR would have swept up the Rookie of the Year awards even if they’d debuted without the TV show

└ Yeah. They even produced their own debut album LOL

The trolls attempted a shift in tactics.

- Gosh, that was mean... They performed the original song without rearranging it on purpose to screw Onyx over

This had no effect, either.

└ If they did it on purpose, then it just makes the whole thing even more embarrassing for Onyx

└ ROFL yeah

└ TeSTAR didn’t do anything bad... Onyx is just bad, okay?

└ LOL cool it, you make it sound like TeSTAR broke Onyx’s legs or something to keep them from performing

The recent comments on videos of Onyx’s original performances were filled with people who’d seen the SBC Gayo Daejeon clips. The official video of TeSTAR’s version of “Enjoyers” hadn’t been uploaded yet, so this was the best alternative for the moment.

- No... This isn’t what I’m after... They don’t seem relaxed or have that playful troublemaker vibe... They’re supposed to feel like bad boys!

- Uh... I mean, they’re really trying, that much is true I guess...

- I like this version too! Don’t let the comments get you down!

- This feels like a cheap knock-off of a luxury product

└ LMAO

- Sorry, the singing just isn’t good enough...

It was the general public’s cruel comments, rather than the fans of either group, that clearly showed which direction popular opinion was headed. There was no need to wait for a verdict. TeSTAR had won by a landslide.

Park Moondae received an unexpected congratulatory gift the very next day.