From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 76: Performance Evaluation (8)

Kim Young-woo looked over the group before speaking slowly, "I think this team has had the best performance so far. It seemed that you all put in a lot of effort to memorize the choreography and formations, and even added your own twists as well. Whose idea was it to stagger the dance break before coming in together?"

Benjamin raised his hand with a wry smile before speaking, "It was my idea since I thought it would look cool, but Rex helped us figure it out since I had never done anything like that before."

"That was a brilliant choice, and I wish I had thought of it myself. Well done on the choreography as well." Kim Young-woo politely complimented them, and Rex beamed happily at the unexpected compliment.

A choreographer, especially one as talented as Kim Young-woo, saying that they wished they had come up with a move you implemented was high praise.

"I think you all are on the right path, and if you continue this way, I don’t see why you wouldn’t take first place. You’ve set the standard that other teams have to aspire to and beat. Good job."

Kim Young-woo put his microphone down, and the entire B(1) team couldn’t stop smiling.

"Jelissa? Any words for the team? You mentor quite a few of them, right?"

"I doooo~. You guys did such a good job. I love your line distribution. You didn’t mess up the lyrics, everyone enunciated their words and weren’t off key, you stacked and harmonized your vocals, it was great!" Jelissa smiled happily as she clapped her hands.

"Definitely continue practicing to refine the fine details like your breathing and emphasis, but that’s something we can go over in lessons. As Young-woo said, you definitely set the bar high. Great job."

"Thank you!"

"And finally, X-ponent. Do you have anything to say to this team?" The MC asked the only rap trainer.

"Yeah. Big Ben, Leo, Justin. You three did a great job with the rap. Ben, you definitely embodied the energy and sharpness. I definitely loved your delivery. Leo and Justin, your energy was completely off the charts, but you need to work on the clarity of your words a bit. But overall, it was great. You all brought the rap bar from down here to up here. The rest of the teams better watch out for the three of you."

"Thank you!"

"Thanks!"

"Wow! Thank you!

The three boys were grinning from ear to ear before high-fiving each other.

"Wow, great feedback from the judges. Where will Team B(1) land on the unknown pyramid? Let’s take a look."

MC Ryan Leary watched while dramatically pretending to hold his breath as he watched Larry take the label after discussing with the judges and sticking it right on top of the pyramid.

"Woooo!!!!!!!"

"Rah!!!!!!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The seven boys high-fived before Benjamin jumped on Jamie’s back while pumping his arms into the air.

Justin ran around the group in a circle while Leo did an unexpected backflip.

At the unexpected chaos from the laughing boys, the MC laughed before sending them to their seats and calling up the next group.

The seven-person B(2) team, which included Levi Temple, Jin, and Tae Young, went next and had a pretty good performance.

Unfortunately, since they were compared to the B(1) team, they only made it to the second level of the pyramid.

Finally, the last two teams played rock, paper, and scissors to decide who went first, and the team led by William Forbes lost the match.

After their performance and feedback from the judges, the A(1) team quickly moved up and was placed at the second level from the top.

Then the A(2) team, which contained William Forbes, Daniel Kim, Choi In-su,

Williams’ team contained Daniel Kim, Choi In-su, Jerome Tyler, Lee Seung-ho, Choi Woo-bin, and Kang Hyuk. freeweɓnovel.cøm

The group of seven seemed to be split: William, In-su, and Jerome on one side, Daniel Kim in the middle, and Seung-ho, Woo-bin, and Hyuk on the other side.

As they performed, surprisingly, Ari wasn’t impressed.

The people performing were good but it didn’t look cohesive.

Rather than a team effort where everyone was working together it really seemed like two separate groups that were stuck together.

The two groups seemed to be trying to out sing, out dance, and out rap each other with the only stable island being Daniel Kim who added adlibs with his surprisingly deep voice and executed the dance flawlessly while adding his own finesse to it.

Even the judges had the same feedback especially for William who was the leader and his face darkened as his group was placed in the second to last spot on the pyramid right above Ari’s group.

As the long performance, judgment, and commentary were finally coming to an end, PD Park Ji-ho came out of nowhere with a wide smile on his face as he walked to stand beside the MC.

He looked into the faces of the contestants before he began to speak.

"How are you all feeling after that performance evaluation?"

Boooooooo!

Bad!

Terrible!

At the mixed reviews, PD Park laughed before continuing.

"Excellent! I’m sure many of you were wondering why the judges were placing your group names on that pyramid." He pointed to the whiteboard positioned by Larry.

Seeing all of the contestants’ nod, PD Park Ji-ho continued speaking, "If you guessed that they were ranking you, you would be correct. Does anybody have any guesses as to why?"

"Benefits?"

"Performance order?"

"Elimination ranks?"

"For the love of the game?"

Different responses came, and PD Park nodded in the direction of the person who said benefits.

"This pyramid indicates the order in which you’ll film your performance videos and the perks that you’ll get for the performance video. The higher up on the pyramid that your group is placed, the more perks you’ll get for your performance video."

PD Park Ji-ho then walked over to the whiteboard containing the pyramid and removed the colored tape over the text by the bottom section of the pyramid.

"Those placed at the very last section of the pyramid can only modify a basic stage with simple props like lights, plants, and basic furniture for the performance. Absolutely nothing else will be provided by the staff. No clothing and no makeup. Plus, you’ll only be recorded in one take."

As PD Parks’ words finished, the faces of the teams placed at the bottom of the pyramid turned pale.

Having only one film take meant that if the team screwed up once, the video would just be posted like that for all the world to see.

And since no makeup or costumes were being given by the production team, the contestants would have to make do with the clothing and makeup they had brought or just bare their bare faces to the world.

When Ari remembered PD Emily’s wicked laugh as she told them to only pack the uniforms they were given and training clothes, Ari wanted to go shake her down and ask her if she was insane.

Instead, he continued to listen to PD Park’s words.

The PD removed the next colored tape near the bottom and displayed the benefits: "Those ranked on this level may modify a basic stage with simple props and have their costumes provided by the production team. This, of course, includes hair and makeup done by professionals. You may have two film takes and choose the best one."

At the PD’s words, Ari ignored the smirk that Ian shot at him and continued to listen to the PD’s words as he removed another strip of colored tape.

"Those ranked on this level get the previously listed benefits and extra effects like fog machines, special lighting, and pyrotechnics for their performance. The staff members will give you a list, so feel free to pick as much as you want. You also get 3 takes to record your performance video and can choose the one that will be uploaded."

The contestants on that level cheered while others groaned in devastation, but Ari rolled his eyes at the unfairness of it all.

Of course, if the PD had announced that these were the rewards of the performance evaluation, many teams would have worked even harder to score something that would make their team stand out in the sea of performance videos of the same song.

Unfortunately, they were finding out too little, too late.

Intentionally ignoring the feelings of the contestants, the PD continued.

"And finally, for the only team at the top of the pyramid, you get all of the effects and a blank check for any extras you want to add. Go crazy, and the production team will do their best to make it happen. You’ll also have up to 10 takes so the perfect performance can be captured."

As some contestants looked happy and others looked dejected as they chattered to each other, PD Park Ji-ho smiled widely for the camera before clapping his hands.

"Please meet with your teams and submit your requests by tomorrow. What I listed are just examples, so if you need to research, speak with a staff member, and they’ll allow you limited access to the internet on the tablets. Additionally, we’ll run individual interviews right after this, starting with team A (1), so come when you’re called. Thank you to the judges for their time. There are no lessons this evening, you’re all dismissed."

As all the contestants began to get up and move around while chatting to each other or following the staff, Ari made eye contact with his team and gestured for them to follow him to the practice room.

Now was not the time to chatter and make friends; they needed to plan, practice efficiently, and figure out how to stand out when they could only have simple props.

"Look at him. He’s already acting like a dictator," Caleb muttered snidely as he shoulder-checked Ari as he walked past him.

"If you think I’m a dictator now, you’ll really cry later, I promise you," Ari replied while giving him his most cheerful smile.

He had warned them not to make him the leader.

Starting now, everybody, including himself, would be ground to the bone until the day of the performance.

He refused to display this embarrassing appearance in front of the judges again, and hopefully, after this, nobody would offer to make him the leader again.