Little Pink Starfish

Music is still fun for me.

Of course, there are more painful moments.

The worn-out emotions of a regressor sometimes fall into despair over trivial things.

It’s already in the past, but thinking about it now, it’s kind of funny.

That I felt disappointed in the Sedalbaekil members just because they rejected my suggestion to change the choreography.

From the friends’ point of view, that was truly an absurd thing.

They were the ones who chose me knowing that Choi Taeho and Ryan Entertainment would put pressure on them.

Of course, I didn’t particularly care about the pressure from someone like Choi Taeho.

But the members of Sedalbaekil don’t know my true identity, do they?

They’re people who bet their lives on an abstract emotion called friendship, and I have a duty to respect that.

Even so, it’s me again who ends up suspecting that maybe my friends have lost their drive to improve.

So what I want to say is, even though I’m this worn-out regressor, music is still fun.

You weave sounds together to make chords, weave chords to create a melody.

You stretch the melody to develop the song, and use instruments to add gloss.

Finally, you layer the vocals.

The music born from this entire process becomes a kind of random box whose outcome I myself can’t predict.

Of course, there are somewhat proven songs like Selfish, which I gave to Drop Out, or Colorful Struggle that we sang on Color Show.

But using those proven songs is only possible in the early stages of regression, and as time goes on, original tracks become necessary.

It’s because the name “Sedalbaekil” was imbued with life.

The song that marked GOTM’s biggest hit during its active days was Sweet Child, Mild Child.

You might’ve guessed from the title, but it’s a song that pays homage to Guns N’ Roses’ most famous track, Sweet Child O’ Mine.

Then if we sing this song as Sedalbaekil now, would it be a massive hit?

Would it stay at Billboard No. 1 for more than five or six weeks and win a Grammy?

Probably not.

The reason Sweet Child, Mild Child became a hit was because it fully captured GOTM’s narrative.

The history of a multiracial band, including people of color.

It’s a song that perfectly encapsulated that.

In contrast, if Sedalbaekil suddenly showcased a band performance, the public would find it unfamiliar.

The members would probably struggle to play properly, too.

That’s why, if Sedalbaekil releases a third album, there’s a high chance it’ll be filled with only original tracks.

And what the result will be, I don’t know either.

Maybe it’ll sell just one million copies and trigger regression depression, or maybe it’ll suddenly sell ten million copies and trigger regression mania.

“…….”

Saying “regression mania” sounds kind of weird.

Anyway.

For a regressor like me, the world’s issues and the flow of history are like familiar equations.

Depending on the input, the outcome changes, but if you know the function’s rule, you can more or less estimate the result.

But music—I still don’t know.

There have been more times than I expected when the music I poured everything into flopped.

So this uncertainty is the driving force that allows me to continue making music, the reason I still enjoy it, and also why I haven’t reached the 200 million copies the devil proposed.

And now.

Uncertainty has erupted again.

Players.

A song born from my habit of composing while reflecting on past lives whenever I regress.

No, it’s more of a memorial rite than a habit.

I won’t be active as GOTM anymore, and I won’t remain friends with those I spent decades with.

Somehow, Chris Edwards ended up listening to that song, and since he did, I wanted to give the GOTM members a chance.

I recommended the name BOTY, but they returned to being GOTM, and Andrew Bryant unexpectedly asked Sedalbaekil to sing the song.

There wasn’t any major reason why I agreed.

He just asked, so I did it.

We’re filming a program called Self-Made, and it would’ve been weird to say no on camera.

And it wasn’t like we were going to lose anything either.

Still, deep down, I thought Players wouldn’t do so well if Sedalbaekil sang it.

Not because Sedalbaekil lacks skill.

They’re actually quite decent now.

In the soccer games California rappers play a lot, a player’s performance stat is divided into ability and potential.

Potential is the total amount of talent a player has, and ability is the current level they can perform at.

Even if someone has a potential of 100, if they’re unmotivated, their ability won’t increase much.

At best, 60–70?

But someone with a potential of only 80 could have a full 80 in ability if they’re diligent and have strong ambition.

So regardless of talent, the former is a 60-point player, the latter an 80-point one.

Sedalbaekil is the latter.

Except for Goo Taehwan, there’s no one with exceptional potential.

They have overflowing talent in Korea, but it’s not enough potential to compete on a global stage.

Still, they’ve worked hard to raise their ability.

And someone like Lee Ieon turned out to be a higher-potential singer than I initially thought.

So Sedalbaekil’s skills are fine now.

Even so, I predicted Players wouldn’t succeed on the Billboard charts because we’re a K-pop group.

After the COVID era, K-pop has moved out of the minor culture even in the U.S., but the prejudice still remains.

K-pop didn’t enter the mainstream because those biases disappeared.

It’s because the centrists, who neither liked nor disliked it, changed sides.

Some came to really love K-pop, and some came to really hate it.

So what about now?

An Asian person, especially one working overseas, releasing a song—there’s no real advantage in that.

Especially when we don’t even have an established fandom in North America.

But…….

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

Billboard Hot 100

.

.

66. Players

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Players debuted at number 66 on the Hot 100.

And it wasn’t even ranked based on a full week’s worth of data.

Just two days.

Given that, even I was a bit flustered and had to investigate to understand the situation.

It turned out to be the trickle-down effect from what HR Corporation did to promote The First Day.

I imagine Korea must be in an uproar.

Thinking back to how people reacted when Colorful Struggle barely made the bottom of the minor R&B chart.

“Honestly, I’m so jealous. If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve taken your joke seriously back then.”

“They say regret follows truth like thunder after lightning, don’t they?”

“Oh, I’ve heard that one before. A French proverb, right?”

“Moroccan, I think. Probably.”

The man in front of me, Paul, chief manager at Colors Media, shook his head.

Well, from Paul’s perspective, it must be frustrating.

Colors Media was the first major company to contact Sedalbaekil, a Korean K-pop group.

They even got us on a show called Color Show.

Since then, Paul and I have talked about various things.

The topic he asked about the most was Sedalbaekil’s working process.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe. That so many songs came from one person’s head. Especially in such a short time.”

It’s a natural reaction from someone who doesn’t know I’m a regressor, but my response is also obvious.

“God, did.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t God but the devil.

And so we had a pretty long conversation and finally got to the main point.

“Zion.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“The fact that you flew all the way here means you want something, right?”

He’s right.

Paul only said he wanted to meet, but I flew straight to the U.S.

Just as he said, I want something.

“That’s true, but I’d rather hear what Colors Media wants first.”

“Our biggest wish is to break into the Asian market.”

“And the subject?”

“From the third album onward, I suppose? It’s too late to jump on the second.”

“Can I hear the specific plan?”

“If I say we’re using Sony Music as our role model, would that be enough?”

“More than enough.”

Sony is a company that prefers pioneering within culture rather than earning money outside of it.

There are mixed opinions on how the company operates, but no one can deny that it’s a behemoth in the music industry.

I get the picture.

Colors Media knows that Sedalbaekil has only signed distribution deals for the 1st and 2nd albums with HR Corporation.

Of those, the 1st album is receiving full promotional effort, and the 2nd is just being distributed.

Covering both is practically impossible, so I have no complaints.

Personally, I like HR Corporation.

Andrew Bryant thinks he became CEO thanks to me, Chris Edwards is a friend again, and Alex Pereira highly evaluates us.

But emotions aren’t very important.

“How about this then?”

“Go on.”

“Right now, HR Corporation is trying hard to make The First Day go Diamond.”

“Diamond, huh……”

“That means the 2nd album, STAGE, is inevitably being neglected. I get it. Marketing strategy needs focus.”

“True.”

“If Colors Media takes over the promotion rights for the 2nd album, I’ll attach the promotion rights for the 3rd album as well.”

I could practically see the gears spinning in Paul’s head.

It’s not a bad deal.

HR Corporation isn’t stupid. They won’t easily give up the distribution rights to the 2nd album.

Anyway, promoting the 1st will bring trickle-down attention to the 2nd.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to hand it over either.

In some ways, the 2nd album might feel like a chicken rib to them—too good to throw away, but not worth holding onto.

Why? Because the album came out much faster than they expected.

HR’s original plan must have been to fully sell the 1st before reassessing the 2nd’s sales strategy.

But Sedalbaekil released the 2nd album just half a year after the 1st, and it’s getting a solid response.

Too good to dump, but feels like it’s rotting in storage.

If Colors Media offers a fair price for it, HR might welcome the deal.

Then is Colors Media definitely losing?

Not really.

I’m offering to include the 3rd album if they buy the 2nd.

In other words, they can get both the 2nd and 3rd albums for the cost of just the 2nd.

“For reference, the unit album contract isn’t with HR Corporation.”

“Then even that…?”

“Depends on the conditions.”

Paul will probably accept our terms.

I know the future, so I can guess the present.

Colors Media has failed in all their diversification attempts over the past few years.

Color Show continues to grow steadily, but its profitability isn’t that great.

And everything besides Color Show is in decline.

Their interest in the Asian market isn’t unique to this life.

The only difference is, originally they looked to Japan.

If my offer is accepted, something pretty interesting might happen.

Our first and second albums will be competing in the same market.

From my personal judgment…

Other than the history tied to Billboard legends, the 2nd album is the better one.