Charm is a member of the idol girl group, Cherry, managed by the Japanese company, Make It Entertainment (MINT). A chance encounter with her co-member, Lily, opens a Pandora's box that reveals what happens behind the camera, off the stage and beyond...
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Our first single was like the first step of an infant - small, shaky but triumphant. We believed we did our best but there was always room for improvement. As expected, we got polar views and opinions from the public. Some said it was good enough for a start and that we had a lot of potential while others criticized that we were far behind. No matter what the comments were, we were certain that we had a long way to go but we were off on a good adventure.
We were busy juggling time in attending our classes, promoting our first single, and preparing for our second single. Preparation for the second single at this stage would mean studying the songs and the basic choreographies without the blockings. Learning from the first single, the Management would like us to sound more Japanese by adapting the Japanese enunciation to the Filipino lyrics of the songs. "Music" became "mujik" and "please" became "pris". It sounded off to the point of comical that our voice coaches had to contend but the Management thought it was the way to go, and who were we to object?
The Management announced that our audition for the second single would take place in three days. We learned the song and choreography for a week but the A-listers were so busy with the promotions that we were not training as frequently as the Tier B and trainees. The A-listers seemed to be on a disadvantageous side. The upcoming audition was the talk of the dorm and most of us locked ourselves in our own worlds rehearsing for the day that could make the idol stratum we were in, in our favor. The auditions for a single were a big deal for us because it was the time when the A-listers would be picked by the Management rather than determined through public voting. This was the time when we needed to show our craft and artistry over our idol charisma. The Management told us that popularity would not be part of the criteria because they were looking for those with potential. And so we believed. We were working double our usual to prove ourselves to the Management that we deserved a spot in the second single.
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It was the audition day. Everyone was in their best outfits. Some were glamorous. Some went for the "kawaii" look. Others were more daring in their own style. We were used to wearing uniforms since the program. In our training and classes, we had to wear our color-coded training uniforms, identifying the caste we were in - A-list, Tier B, trainee. In events and guestings, we had to wear the same costumes to identify that we were in a group, that we were Cherry. It was like we were part of a communist movement. But this was not the case for auditions. The Management asked us to be in our best attire in this internal event. The reason for this deviation became apparent to me when I saw how our choices of clothing show our individualities, how each of us was unique in our own way. The uniforms just covered our many peculiarities and differences.
