Chapter 193. The Haves Win
Conference room.
Me, Dae-hun, Jin-hee, Seung-tae, our indie-stage planner, or ISP, Seong Hee-jae, Moon Hee-jung who had come to hang out, and all the Blue Moon members.
The warriors of the entertainment industry gathered in the conference room were holding a careful discussion with stern, serious expressions.
It was a very important discussion.
Aran had her eyes open so wide they looked like they were about to roll back.
"Let's go with Sang-do oppa's song. Don't accept the one from the new composer."
Aran made her case.
Her reasoning was that they had loyalty to Sang-do.
Quite persuasive.
"Still, this might be a good chance to completely change our image for once."
That was Dae-hun's opinion.
Blue Moon had always shown people something new, so they should continue doing so.
Quite persuasive.
"That's so mean. You're saying we should abandon Sang-do oppa?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it abandoning him..."
Dae-hun looked troubled by Aran's accusation.
"Shh! Quiet. Sang-do might hear you."
I stepped in and silenced them.
Of course, Sang-do was working in the company studio and had absolutely no way of hearing this secret meeting.
Youngchae watched the meeting unfold for a while before asking,
"Sang-do's a professional too. Do we really need to hold some secret gathering like this?"
"Shh! PD Seo Hoe-dong might hear you."
Youngchae continued.
"I like Sang-do's song better too. But even if we use an outside composer's song, I don't think he'll get hurt over it."
Exactly.
We were currently having a very serious discussion over which song should become Blue Moon's next release.
"Sang-do's 〈Lucky Driver〉 is incredibly good. I was just saying that since Sang-do is our in-house composer, maybe we shouldn't burn through his material too quickly."
"So you agree it's good, right?"
"It's amazing."
Sang-do's 〈Lucky Driver〉 had a much stronger hip-hop flavor than usual, with a sticky electronic beat and a sharp hook.
We'd never done a hip-hop song before, but it still retained Blue Moon's unique color.
That made it a very safe choice while also offering a decent image change.
"Anna recorded everything from the rap to the hook again, right?"
"Yeah. Whew. Serin unni's part looked brutal."
"No, Anna, you sang it really well too. Honestly, I think you could take the highlight this time."
I asked Anna how the rap felt to perform.
She said it was fun even while singing it herself, and the highlight gave her goosebumps every time she heard it.
She said it made her feel like she was speeding through the city in a sports car.
It sounded that way to me too.
"Out of all the outside submissions, I like this 〈Zero Under〉 the most. We should consider it. Trying something new constantly is good, but if we do it too often, even the fans might start feeling exhausted."
Moon Hee-jung said.
Quite persuasive.
Everyone had listened to both songs, and no matter which one we chose, they thought the final track would turn out well.
In 〈Zero Under〉, the highlight vocal simply repeated the words Zero Under over and over, while most of the musical progression was carried by the instrumental.
Since it came from a famous studio known for producing nothing but top-tier hits, the arrangement was razor-sharp and tightly constructed.
As a fan, if Blue Moon released 〈Lucky Driver〉, I'd go crazy.
If we released 〈Zero Under〉, I'd probably be moved to tears.
Songs from famous studios always led the newest trends.
Wouldn't that make you incredibly proud?
Including myself, we put it to a vote.
Exactly half and half.
I voted for Sang-do's song.
Without my vote, 〈Zero Under〉 would've won.
Still, my opinion mattered too...
"All right. Let's decide."
"How?"
Dae-hun asked as I tried to wrap things up.
"What do you think? You still don't know me at all."
I had asked Dae-hun, but Moon Hee-jung answered.
"Don't tell me you're making both double title tracks?"
"Exactly."
We'd already filmed plenty of music videos.
How hard could releasing two title tracks be?
I'd worried that we might start looking like we were simply overwhelming everyone with quantity.
But judging from the employees' reactions, both songs were masterpieces in their own right.
In that case, there was no problem doing both.
So we decided to do both.
A few days after sending Serin's recording, I received a call from the distribution manager at World Dizn Korea.
"They want to cast her."
They wanted to cast her?
I was genuinely grateful.
But hadn't that already been decided?
They'd contacted us with a casting offer in the first place.
And weren't you the person responsible for voice casting?
Why are you delivering the news like someone else made the decision?
"Thank you. How was she? Did Serin do well?"
"Yes. I've listened to plenty of Blue Moon songs, so I already know Serin's voice well. I could immediately understand why Director Even Favreau recommended her voice. After hearing the file you sent, it really hit me."
Apparently, once they chose someone, they needed final casting approval from World Dizn's American headquarters.
Meaning everyone over there had listened to Serin's recording too.
Even though it was in Korean, they said it carried a powerful emotional appeal.
This Even Favreau must have been the American sound director who originally recommended Serin.
And apparently, the American animation director who completed the film had praised her highly too.
"They especially praised Anna. They said her proactive personality came through perfectly and matched the role in the recording incredibly well. Hahaha."
Anna?
Right.
Anna's voice had been in the recording too.
And for someone who was merely reading the other role, she'd been pretty good.
Still, proactive personality?
If they knew how miserable she'd been while earning her Korean-history certificate and enduring the Astra Pigeon Attack, they'd probably collapse from shock.
"You're even complimenting the other members. I'll definitely pass that along."
"Yes. And there's another favor we'd like to ask. We'd like to cast Anna too. Not me, specifically. Director Even Favreau wants her. He said he'd seen Serin and Youngchae in America, but never Anna."
They wanted to cast Anna too?
At American Dizn?
I asked for a more detailed explanation.
There wasn't much more to hear.
Favreau literally wanted Anna for the role of Duchess Anne.
He thought her voice was excellent.
Elegant, even.
"Oh. I see. Then I suppose we'll have to go to America once?"
"That's right. And as you know, 〈The Three Duchesses〉 is a musical, so there are songs too. Serin can sing, right?"
"Of course."
Serin would handle both acting and singing.
Anna would only do the acting in the American version.
