Josephine Swan never imagined that her stay in South Korea would lead her into K-Pop's glittering and challenging world. Each day, she encounters new hurdles and adventures that fate has in store for her and her four team members. Between gruelling...
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Rosè's body moved slightly to the rhythm of the music coming through her headphones, while the wide membrane of the pop filter covered much of her face, and its use made it possible to achieve the most balanced and natural sound possible.
Forever young
Forever young
Forever young
Forever young
The powerful tones of her voice pierced loudly through the recording studio with the help of the two studio monitors set up on either side of the transparent partition, matching the fast beats of the accompanying rhythmically extended bass lines in the background.
"Good..." I heard the two Korean men at the mixing desk say softly, nodding approvingly in satisfaction in the direction of the dark-haired New Zealander. The garish colour spectrum of the already recorded takes lit up amidst the computer screens and reflected in the glasses of the two dark-haired men.
The recently formed producer duo Future Bounce consisting of Choi Pil Kang and Park Han-beom, better known by their stage names PK and Dee.P could boast many self-produced and co-written songs by well-known groups and soloists, including girl group 2NE1 and Psy, through their already years-long collaboration under YG Entertainment.
I smiled enviously as Rosè stepped out of the recording booth, her features, previously drawn with slight strain, lifting under her broad and relaxed smile.
"All right..." murmured Park Han-beom, turning invitingly in our direction.
The crumpled sheets of song lyrics wobbled under my shaky fingers as my eyes stumbled over the highlighted lines several times in a hopeless attempt to suppress the burgeoning excitement inside me.
"Josie...".
The heart in my chest leapt at the exclamation of my name and hot blood began to flow through my body at an accelerated rate so that after only a short time a small film of sweaty wetness spread across the palms of my hands and moistened the white paper between my fingers. With a deep breath on my part, I finally forced my wobbly legs to stand and moved slowly into the interior of the recording studio.
Similar to my first encounter at the beginning of the year, the small room with its wall diffusers, large microphone stand, and other technical equipment was primarily geared towards high-quality recording of voices and vocals, so my thoughts instinctively gravitated towards Seungri and Ji-yong.
Almost eight months had passed since the first recordings and our first encounters, which fundamentally changed my life and opened up a hitherto unknown phase of my life, which I slowly seemed to accept over time and despite the difficulties and hurdles.
A small smile crept onto my lips.
"Is there a reason for this happy smile?" asked Choi Pil Kang with a curious smirk and I looked up in wonder.
"It's just...I..." I stuttered beginning as he changed the height of the stand with practised moves, adjusting it to my height.
"...It's nothing..." I finally evaded and met his considerate gaze before just shaking my head and slowly approaching the microphone. The momentary mental distraction quickly disappeared under the resurgent pounding of my racing heart, its beats pounding in my ears like a powerful bass.
"Don't worry..." the man said quietly, handing me the headphones, despite the open window in the control room, his forehead glistening under his blue baseball cap.
"You don't have to be nervous." Choi Pil Kang smiled, his brown eyes sliding inspectively over the equipment, making final adjustments for the upcoming recording. I nodded, exhaling deeply, and positioned myself in front of the black pop filter that protected the microphone behind it from the incoming explosive sounds of my mouth as I sang and spoke. My hands rested on my belly as if of their own accord and I felt the descent of my diaphragm as I inhaled to below my belly button, my belly bulging outwards and retracting back towards my spine as the air slowly escaped.
"Good...let's start with the second part of the pre-chorus to begin with. " Park Han-beom's voice sounded through the headphones and my fingers pressed down on the ear cushions as Choi's voice sounded in the next moment. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the rhythm of the music and the first part of the pre-chorus to Forever Young, along with my breathing.
Neon nae maeume bureul jilleojwo
Huhoe eomneun jeoleumi taoreuge
I opened my mouth and I could feel some of my previous tension fall away from me as soon as my voice hit the microphone.
Jigeumcheoreom neowa hamkkeramyeon tonight
I could die in this moment
"Put all your energy into the climaxes, otherwise your voice will fade under the music." It sounded through my earpieces and the music started again.
I took a deep breath.
Jigeumcheoreom neowa hamkkeramyeon tonight
I could die in this moment
This time I tried to let the words ring out more soulfully and brightly from my throat, drawing out the two lines more and more until, with the start of the last word, I reached the highest register and utmost tension, forcing them on unhindered and setting the focus on the chorus that followed, sung by Jennie.
"That was great, Josie.".
Breathing deeply, I peered through the glass window and squinted at the two thumbs up from the producers. Even the waving of arms, of the girls sitting on the sofa didn't escape me and I laughed quietly shaking my head against the pop filter as I saw Lisa's wide smile and clapping hands.
"Let's listen to it." Park Han-beom's mouth moved in sync with the voice heard through my headphones and repeatedly Choi's voice rang out, further replaced by my own.
The vocal differences between my first recordings of Break Free and Forever Young were drastic due to the daily vocal training.
My soft and warm soprano voice changed over time through the continuous breathing exercises, training my breathing muscles. The initial high notes additionally became more powerful and sustained as the vocal cords strengthened, without the danger of dropping or rolling over during climaxes. Instead, I noticed how my chest voice occasionally began to merge with my head voice, bridging the two registers and forming a beautiful and even vocal sound across the entire vocal range.
"It sounds good," said I, turning back to the microphone.
"Good...then we will now move on to the intro. Are you ready?" asked Choi Pil Kang and I nodded quietly breathing.
