If you lack talent in dancing and singing, is it impossible to succeed as an idol?
If you were to ask me this, I would definitely answer
no
.
Because there have been countless idols who have succeeded despite not being talented on stage.
They might be excellent in entertainment show, have stunning looks, or possess charming personalities. There were plenty of reasons if you looked for them.
But, regardless of success, whether they could gain recognition was a different matter.
Idols were naturally expected to perform on stage, and the stage was a battleground with no place to hide.
A lack of skill was bound to show, and given the nature of idol groups where there were several people performing together, comparisons with more talented members were inevitable.
Of course, as professionals, we must identify our shortcomings, work to improve them, and accept legitimate criticism. However, idols who lived on the receiving end of malicious comments on a daily basis were, unfortunately, more often exposed to condemnation than constructive feedback.
Even if someone objectively had great skills, it was human nature to disregard them if there was someone better. And even if they hadn’t intended to, offering praise without belittling someone else was far harder than it seemed, and concealing one’s rudeness through constant self-censorship was more mentally draining than one might think, so people would always repeat the same mistake.
[Wow, haha, Seo Yutae is really overwhelming. Because he is right next to them, I can’t see any of the rest of the scraps. Is his presence for real?]
[If only that one person wasn’t there, the stage quality would’ve been amazing. Such a shame ㅠ]
└ Just one? haha, honestly, everyone except Seo Yutae, Seo Yuseong, and Lee Chise is of a lower level.
[Speaking as someone who’s been a fan of idols for a decade, those kinds of people will never improve, haha. They simply don’t have talent. I have no idea why on earth that person is popular.]
If you kept hearing those kinds of comments, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to feel like all the effort and time you’d spent had been completely meaningless. It was really laughable how much these evaluations from non-experts, who hadn’t even spent a few hours thinking them over, could wound a person’s heart.
Rankings and comments.
In an environment where hurtful words about you were posted for all to see, and where there was no escape from constant competition and evaluation, the human mind could quickly become exhausted.
“Grandma, I told you not to read the comments. Why did you look at them if you were just going to cry like this? I’m fine, so please stop fighting with those people.”
Yes, just like Jo Inchan did.
I was worried about Lee Danbi.
‘I’m sure he can succeed.’
I never once felt anxious about not being able to bring success to Lee Danbi.
Lee Danbi was a child with outstanding charm, enough to win the public’s love. I was confident in my judgment and possessed the ability to lead him to success.
But unfortunately, unfortunately, the members debuting alongside him happened to be those rare individuals blessed with exceptional talent.
I was worried that Pantheion might become a poison to him.
But despite having all that anxiety, I ultimately decided to let Lee Danbi into the group.
The reason I was able to make that decision was because I already knew that the lack of talent on stage could be compensated for by other talents.
“I’ll take a look. Give it a try.”
That’s right, through Jay.
Jay was my first challenge.
It was my first rebellion against this unforgiving world that told you that
if you don’t have the talent, you can’t do anything, and you shouldn’t do anything at all
.
Jay clearly lacked talent in both dancing and singing. While he didn’t lack more than the average idol, the reality was that he was ridiculously lacking compared to the other members.
I knew it, he knew it, and everyone, including the company staff and the other members, knew it.
But he had another talent.
It was his quick perception, so quick it was almost creepy.
He knew perfectly what he lacked, and he found a way to fill it in on his own.
“Hyung, let me film you practicing. I want to analyze it and practice.”
He would analyze every move of talented individuals, memorize it entirely, and then organize it into a system. Even if he couldn’t fully understand the movements talented people instinctively made, Jay’s method was to put everything into his mind and find the rules within them.
He spent a long time filming hundreds, even thousands, of my practice videos, asking me to explain the movements, and getting me to confirm the rules he’d discovered. During that time, there was one day when he said this to me with a heavy expression.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to latch onto your talent and hold on until the end, hyung. I know Hyung will accept it, so yes, I’m acting like a spoiled brat. No matter how much others criticize me for being a burden, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear them.”
He must have felt guilty seeing me quietly invest so much time in him.
When I heard those words, I burst into a lighthearted laugh and responded like this.
“Okay, take it all. Chew on it thoroughly and digest it as your own.”
Jay was the kind of person who, acknowledging his own shortcomings, would meticulously analyze and imitate geniuses—those who could achieve results with just 10 practices that would normally require 10,000 for others—and then achieve those same results himself with only 100 practices.
He had personally proven that the talents he desperately needed but didn’t have could be compensated for by something else.
And my second, and final, challenge was Lee Danbi.
If Jay’s talent was his quick perception, what was Lee Danbi’s?
Having spent time with him preparing an entire album, I was now completely convinced.
‘I’ve never seen someone with such a stubborn, tenacious spirit like that before.’
Talent isn’t always something you’re born with, it can also be acquired through the environment you’re in.
Lee Danbi’s case was a perfect example of this.
His life, where he was hanging on a cliff with no way back, where he would fail straight into failure if he didn’t do everything on his own with no one to support him, was what created that.
‘Living by his own terms, ignoring what others say, is certainly something he’s born with.’
Lee Danbi was the kind of person who, even after seeing geniuses who could achieve results with just 10 practices—results that would normally require 10,000 for others—would stubbornly complete 10,000 practices without a single complaint or hesitation. He persevered, even when people mocked his efforts that didn’t receive immediate reward, and even knowing he could never catch up to the geniuses who put in 10,000 practices.
‘Even though he was constantly pointed out and had to practice endlessly, repeating things over and over until it met my standards, Lee Danbi never expressed a single complaint.’
That was undoubtedly
talent
.
And Lee Danbi’s talent would shine today.
By gaining everyone’s recognition and defeating those who had looked down on him.
“Can you do it, Lee Danbi?”
“Of course, hyung.”
Lee Danbi, staring directly at my face, smiled confidently and answered.
Kim Saemyeong seemed quite happy that it was Lee Danbi, not me, Lee Hwayoung, or Woo Kangwon, who was coming out. After hearing our conversation, his face brightened, and he confidently stepped forward to stand next to Lee Danbi.
“Let’s take it quickly. We don’t have much time.”
Needless to say, after seeing his team’s center get destroyed by me in real time, he would have hated to suffer the same fate. And while Lee Hwayoung wasn’t exceptionally skilled in terms of dance technique, his presence and aura were so strong that he could steal everyone’s attention regardless of his position. Someone as cunning as Kim Saemyeong would surely know that.
‘I’m not saying that Lee Hwayoung resembles my old self for nothing.’
And he was physically no match for Woo Kangwon from the very beginning.
That was something you could tell just by opening your eyes. There was no other option. That child was as big as Namsan Mountain.
And Do Yuda and Zen had already dashed off like bullets to the MC’s waiting room after receiving my permission, like dogs who had been told to ‘
Wait
‘ and then ‘
Eat!
‘.
‘Lee Danbi must have seemed like the perfect choice to Kim Saemyeong.’
The reason Kim Saemyeong wanted to call out Lee Danbi was likely because he wanted to hear people say, “
As expected, Kim Saemyeong is far superior in terms of skill
” or “
I don’t understand why Kim Saemyeong got eliminated
“. Therefore, he probably prepared hard for this challenge today, fueled by resentment.
‘He probably learned the choreography in advance from the company’s choreographer. The noise of someone racking their brain is really loud this time.’
I suppressed a sneer as I watched Kim Saemyeong, who was warming up, clearly showing off that he already knew the choreography.
‘Just because I’m not the one doing it, just because you’ve already learned the choreography, doesn’t mean you’re safe … who the hell gave you that idea?’
It seemed that he still remembered me and Lee Hwayoung, but had he completely forgotten how Lee Danbi performed the program’s theme song choreography on the final stage, and what kind of evaluation he received?
I wasn’t sure if he realized this correctly, but for the
Heracles
choreography, I broke down the beats and packed the details so tightly that there was barely room to breathe. That was why it took my members more than two weeks to readjust the details after being scolded to death following my review. This was Pantheion, a group with a reputation for having an abundance of insanely talented individuals.
Even if he had copied the choreography in advance, there was no way he could flawlessly perform the sequence that I had perfected by correcting each and every movement of the members.
“Let’s start! 3, 2, 1!”
The song started playing, and as with any challenge, they exchanged glances and briefly showcased the key choreography of
Panic
.
Then, as the main part began, the two of them performed the same moves.
At that moment, the same reactions that Taeui and I had when we filmed the challenge erupted from all corners of the waiting room.
“Wow…….”
Although it hadn’t been long since they started, all eyes were already on Lee Danbi.
“…Are all members of Pantheion like this?”
“It’s probably because the leader is strict….”
The quality of each move was different, so it was inevitable that everyone’s eyes would be drawn to it. Seeing Lee Danbi dancing with such a similar vibe to mine, I couldn’t hide my pride and lifted the corners of my mouth.
Kim Saemyeong, having discovered Lee Danbi performing the choreography flawlessly and so overwhelmingly that anyone could tell he was the original artist, gulped his breath with trembling eyes, looking visibly flustered.
I glanced at Kim Saemyeong, then shifted my gaze back to Lee Danbi and smiled.
I hated sneaky little bastards like Kim Saemyeong, who resorted to all kinds of tricks to cover up their mediocre skills. It wasn’t that their way of life was wrong. It was just that their personality wasn’t compatible with mine.
“I will prove my existence”
I liked these kinds of guys, not those kinds of guys.
“I will make it known that I belong here, I’m one of them.”
The ones like Jay and Lee Danbi, who gritted their teeth and tried to push beyond their limits.
.
.
.
When the challenge ended, the faces of the RH Entertainment officials grew even more grim, while all of our members and the POX Entertainment officials applauded Lee Danbi with proud smiles.
“Woaaah!”
Even though the video hadn’t been released yet, everyone was already certain that Lee Danbi would overturn all the evaluations the public had made of him up until now.
Lee Danbi, who had been watching their reactions with a slightly embarrassed smile that suited his age, ran up to me with a flushed face and threw his arms around me.
“Hyung! Did I do well?”
I hugged the child, whose body was still feverish from all the tension and excitement, so tightly that it almost felt like he might be crushed.
“Of course you did.”
It was the second time for me, but it must have been the first time for Lee Danbi.
The first victory that came after 10,000 efforts.
It was his first experience that proved talent could be overcome with hard work.
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Translator’s Corner:
Omg Jay … you’re not Seo Yutae’s youngest anymore …
But seriously, it was impressive. It was really really hard to do. I’ve been watching kpop ever since I was in my elementary and now I already have a degree, and it wasn’t that common for idols like this to appear. It’s either you’re already praised since day 1 or still getting criticized until the end by the public. It was pretty common for main vocals to be criticized for not being able to dance, or main dancers for not being able to sing. Or the prejudice that visual capable of nothing but being good-looking. I guess that’s why the 4th and 5th gen didn’t do thing fixed position anymore (though I suspected it’s because no one is outstanding enough when they just debuted. Like seriously. Back then agencies debuted minor because they’re too good that they couldn’t take the risk of losing them if they didn’t debut them right away. BUT TODAY EVERYONE JUST DEBUTED MINORS BECAUSE FOR THE SAKE OF BEING YOUNG. Like of course those kids not going to be exceptionally good, they haven’t practiced enough, just give them proper time to practice and they’ll do well T_T and after debut they will be busy with activities that they can’t fully focus on practice……)
The reason why I, a girlgroup stan who dgaf about boygroup, knew a lot about SHINee was because each of their member is legendary in their position that it’s really hard not to hear about it. The main dancer Taemin literally couldn’t have any part when they first debuted, but now he was a soloist in his own right, and could take on the group’s main vocal position. His journey was THAT legendary, respected by other idols through the generations. I seriously never heard a growth in kpop as impressive as his. Like imagine debuting with two of the most acknowledged vocalists of kpop idol history while you were not being able to sing properly … and still came out of it alive. I guess the so-called “old” kpop fans are so harsh on today’s idols are because they used to see stubborn genius like that ….
I definitely 100% didn’t have enough will to live to work that hard. I’m not sure why everyone is mistaking Jo Inchan’s position, but no, he’s not in dance position asdfghjkl His position is more like … lead vocal, I think?