Boy's Planet added contestant: Bae Sangwon

Sangwon finally gets to perform

i didn't expect that there'd be like 40 people reading this? thank you!

this is the part i'm scared to write since i have no references
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"Hello!" greeted the star masters when Sangwon stepped on stage.

"Hello, I'm K group trainee Bae Sangwon."

"Seungeon, is he good?" Gyuvin asked.

"He is. And that was a year or so ago, I'm sure he's gotten better."

"You're an individual trainee and you checked the boxes for vocal and dance." Master Seokhoon said.

"So far vocal performances have been disappointing, are you still confident?"

'I didn't spend 4 and a half years at SM for nothing right?' Sangwon kept the thought to himself and instead said, "I've been singing my whole life. It's something I'm naturally good at and I trained to become better."

"Confidence is good, I hope you deliver on your statement. The song you chose is quite difficult; the original singer having 20 years of experience at the time of the song's release." Master Solji commented, voicing out the rest of the judges' skepticism.

"I can do it." Sangwon was definitely treading the line between confidence and arrogance, but he had the skills to back it up.

"Alright, good luck, the stage is yours." Master Lip J said, triggering the applause from his fellow trainees. Sangwon got into position, took a deep breath and immersed himself in his performance persona; one exuding confidence.

The lyrics of the song were sexy and the choreography powerful. To perform it he had have to make the choreography look easy to do and appealing to watch. Singing live added another challenge and don't forget the facial expression; cold and coy.

time stamps:
0:00 to 0:25 (first verse)
1:27 to 1:48 (second pre-chorus)
1:36 to end (second half of bridge to end)

i know it's sporadic and difficult to visualise, just try to piece it together in your head please there's a reason it's chopped up like this.

As Sangwon heard the first beats drop, he tuned out everything that wasn't the music blasting through his in-ears. He's practiced this routine for about a month continuously, he knew it by heart by now. His voice made he audience gasp; it was smooth and his tone was beautiful.

The pre chorus was an octave higher than the verse and had floor work but Sangwon nailed it. A little bit of switching between his chest and head voice when needed surprising the judges. The high note at the end was sustained for a long enough time, showing the power in his belting. The vocal masters looked at each other in satisfaction, good technique making their jobs easier. The trainees were surprised at his vocal range, being able to reach both the low and high notes without straining.

The bridge was a bit of a recovery period before the final chorus and Sangwon knew the audience could get bored. Trying to prevent them from losing their focus on him, he looked at his fellow trainees during the gesture to come closer, making some of their hearts flutter just a bit.

The chorus had the most difficult section of choreography in Sangwon's opinion, having to be on beat, exert power and make it look effortless. Using mostly his head voice through the whole chorus made staying in the range easier. When he bent into a kind of squat, he tilted his head up towards the ceiling and closed his eyes for a second before tilting it back down, just for a little extra appeal.

As he hit the final pose and heard the applause and cheers of the trainees, he knew he did well. When he looked at the clapping judges they all had pleased smiles on their faces.

"Your confidence was warranted, you're one of the best singers in the competition so far." said Master OneStar.

"Thank you." Sangwon replied with a bow. He was smiling for the first time in the competition, validation always felt good.

"You did a female singer's song so we were worried about the range but you pulled it off really well." Master Seokhoon said.

"You showed your dance skills too. You're movement were sharp and precise, yet at the same time fluid which was perfect for the song." Master Kooyoung said.

"You were really smart with which parts you performed. Coming from an idol this is a very important thing to understand. You took the most impactful and technical parts of the song and showed your skills and potential." Master Solji praised him.

"Thank you so much." Sangwon was on cloud 9, feeling strangely high and like he could take on the world. All that was left now was for the judges to discuss and him to receive his star level.

"Trainee Bae Sangwon, you received... all stars. Congratulations." announced Master Youngjoon. The room erupted in applause. K group was happy they received another all star trainee. Sangwon bowed 90 degrees, he was really thankful that the masters saw his abilities. "Thank you very much, I will work hard to remain an all star trainee!"

He left the stage and passed by the backstage area where Sung Hanbin and Matthew were. Hanbin was reassuring Matthew that he would do well. When the two saw him they congratulated him and smiled.

Sangwon went back to the star sticker room and placed the final star on his paper. "Alright, 100% now. Pressure's on. Let's do this."

When Sangwon went back to the seats Matthew was already on stage and with his infectious smile, most of the eyes were on him. A couple of them stopped and congratulated Sangwon when he walked by and when he sat down Junhyeon was grinning at him.

"Didn't know you were such a good belter, you're so quiet. You made it back just in time."

Sangwon focused his attention to the stage after thanking Junhyeon, ready to watch the rest of the evaluations.

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authors note

idk much about vocal techniques i just searched a bit on google and youtube

can't believe i wrote like 900 words of just won's performance. next is evaluations part 2 and roommates.

(published 13 April 2023)