From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 122: Second Performance Evaluation (3)

Kreeeeeeeeeeeeeee

The sound of a guitar note being played rang out as Team Run Club arranged themselves in a triangle formation with Benjamin in the lead.

The British boy had a cocky smile as he began the ad-libs.

Run

Run

Then the snare drums sounded out, setting the pace of the song.

Dun dun dun dun ƒreewebɳovel.com

Choi In-su, who was standing to the left of Benjamin, opened his mouth to sing an extended high note.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh~

Okay, Okay, Okay, Let’s go!

Then Benjamin’s crisp voice rang out for the ad-lib as he ducked down while William was lifted by Choi In-su and Haruto to leap over Benjamin’s head, landing on the ground, before rising up in a spin as he began to sing.

We’re running along on the fast lane

No obstacles, we can’t be tamed, yeah

We the runners, the track stars of this race

You’re the hurdle, trying to slow down our pace yeah

William’s choreography was simple, with wide, exaggerated moves meant to look cool, as the eight boys behind him performed simple floor work while hyping him up, before hopping up and rotating their formation to open up, allowing Choi In-su to step forward while William stepped backward.

With his characteristic breathy voice, Choi In-su began singing the next part as he high-fived William and stepped into the center.

Oh, we wanna win, we won’t stop~

Fighting through obstacles, so what~

I don’t want to go go back again~

Let’s go’ let’s go

His dance moves were also loose, relying on his natural confidence and swagger to sell the minimal movement, and it worked as he maintained eye contact with the judges while moving around.

As In-su sang his last note, Chen and Silas both jumped into the center to sing the next verses, which had them alternating lines, as if they were having a conversation or a mini battle.

They told me to wait, wait

Straight from the bottom

I’ll drag you back, back

No, I won’t fall now

We’re gonna make it

Past the goal line

Tell me what you wanna

Just tell me what you wanna do

The two boys fed off of each other’s energy, ending their lines with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

As they separated, Carlos stepped forward, delivering two simple lines before stepping back.

It really feels like

Feels like I’m gonna

To replace Carlos, In-su stepped forward to be in the middle, performing the identical choreography with Benjamin and William on both sides while the rest of the team was staggered in two lines.

Run the race, yeah

Make it move, Ima run

Ima running racer

Never stopping, it’s so much fun

The boys hopped while waving their hands, performing side kicks and jumps in a choreography that was wild and playful, as the nine boys with distinct visuals infused it with hints of their own style.

As Choi In-su’s part ended, William took the center, belting out the high notes with a smug smile on his face as he stared at the judges.

Ima run after all my dreams yeah

And no hurdles can slow me, yeah yeah~

Moving back with the smug smile still in place, William was quickly replaced by Benjamin, who completed the adlib while removing his bandana from his head in one swift motion.

Okay! Let’s go!

Then, circling it around his head, he began the rap chorus.

With a unified jump, each of the team members faced the same direction, pretending to run while waving their bandanas.

Run (little boy )

Run (for the line)

Run (run little boy)

Run (run as you grind)

With a cheeky smile, Benjamin tossed his bandana into the air and swapped positions with Haruto, who slickly slid into position, caught the bandana before continuing the choreography and rapping, his arms swinging energetically as his slightly permed hair bounced along with his body.

Run (run little boy)

Run (run for your dreams)

Run (run little boy)

Run (it’s not what it seems)

Don’t tell me, don’t tell me, don’t tell me bye-bye

As the first half of the song finished, Benjamin moved forward for a fast-paced rap verse before passing the center to Chen, who sang the next verse.

William Forbes came in once more with him and Carlos performing the back-and-forth portion, and Hao and Nile did the final two rap verses and the chorus.

Run

Run

As Benjamin ended the song with the final ad-libs, each of the team members posed for a couple of seconds while panting and circling their bandanas around in the air.

There was a loud round of applause as Ryan Leary walked up, patting the backs of those he walked by.

"Thank you, Team Run Club! I really feel like you ran straight into my heart. Judges? What feedback do you have to give?"

The 6 judges exchanged glances before Jelissa raised her microphone, "I want to start off by congratulating you all for your hard work. It’s clear that your team put in lots of effort to practice, and the distribution of lines is pretty fair across the board, so kudos for that."

At her compliment, all of the boys smiled broadly.

"At this point, I’m sure you know what I’m about to say." Jelissa paused, glancing at Hao, Silas, Chen, and Nile, who looked like deer in headlights.

"You need to work on your pronunciation because I found it hard to understand what you were saying at some point, especially after the first verse when the choreography got intense. And this applies to quite a few of you as well. Open your mouths and enunciate your words. Most importantly, breath control, breath control, breath control. Work on it. But apart from that, well done."

"Thank you!"

"Thank you!"

With Benjamin leading, the rest of his team members bowed their heads to thank Jelissa for the feedback.

"I’ll go next." Jaywalk paused for a moment, looking at each of the team members’ faces, before continuing, "The performance was pretty good. I can see that you’ve been putting in work but..."

He paused and tapped the table as if trying to figure out how to communicate his point.

At the end of the table, Bing Yongsun picked up his microphone and spoke slowly, "I think what Jaywalk is trying to say is that the performance is very reminiscent of BTZ. And as the person who helped direct the original performance, it looks like you lifted everything from visuals to attitude and just duplicated it."

Benjamin’s face darkened, but thinking it was a compliment, William began smiling and said, "Thank you!"

Bing Yongsun paused before continuing in the same steady tone, "I don’t think that’s particularly a good thing since you’re not them. It invites direct comparison, and I don’t think that’s a battle you will win because what you have right now is inferior to theirs."

William’s face became cold, and he replied coldly,

"Well, our performance is not complete yet. When we add our full costumes and everything else we planned for, it will be just as good, if not better than the original."

-ooooohh

At Williams’ bold words, audible gasps could be heard while all the judges stared at him, shocked at the fact that he would say that to the person who helped produce the original performance.

Rather than get angry, Bing Yongsun let out a small chuckle before speaking.

"I think you would be better off changing the direction of your performance. I can guarantee it can never pass the original by copying everything from the original."

"You don’t know that for sure. Everyone on the team is talented and a hard worker who’s not inferior to anyone else, even if they’re a senior in the industry. I can guarantee that we’ll do better, as we each bring something special that will differentiate us from the original performance." William stubbornly replied.

Bing Yongsun quietly stared at William for several moments before turning to Benjamin, "I’ve given my feedback. As the leader, go back to your team, discuss, and decide what’s best."

Benjamin nodded with a tense expression, his thick brows furrowed into a light frown.

"We’ll do our best to revise and come out better next time. Thank you for your feedback."

After Bing Yongsun nodded, MC Ryan Leary broke the tense silence with a cheerful laugh.

"Thank you to Team Run Club. Next up is Team Sam..."

"Next up is Team Jamie, please step forward."