Chapter 8: Tree of Life

n."Bro, can I see the trophy"Just as he sat down, Kim Seon Ho whispered to Jin Jonghyun beside him, beckoning with a forceful gesture, looking extremely eager. Among the reluctant gazes of several pe..."Let's take a break, I can't go on, I'm too tired."

The song just ended and Park Chan-yeol couldn't hold back, he sat down on the ground directly, gasping for breath non-stop. He also shook his hand to indicate that he couldn't take it anymore and needed a break.

The other members were the same, all pushing their limits. As soon as the song ended, they collapsed haphazardly without anyone having to tell them to.

Chi Jingyuan also stretched out his legs and slumped against the wall, panting continuously. Sweat flowed down his forehead like a stream, soaking through his sportswear.

He felt once again the exhaustion he had experienced when he first joined the company and was preparing for his debut album.

After the meeting on the 20th, EXO officially began production of their comeback album.

This time it was much harder than when we debuted with our mini album. Just learning and recording the twelve songs for this first original album was a huge amount of work.

Fortunately, most of the people singing the parts are basically the main vocalists of the group. They are pretty good at learning new songs and recording. If we gave a few more lines to the dancers and visual members, I guess it would take two months to finish recording.

Each song's lyrics part and dance are divided by the company according to their respective roles in the team, and the workload also varies accordingly.

Of course, there will be more people praising the main person.

In the original album's main song, "Wolf," Ji Kyeong-won's part is considered average and not particularly outstanding.

Speaking of "Wolf", this song is the root cause of why EXO has been so exhausted recently.

This lead single is a standard dance track, but listening to it with just your ears might make you think the song is average, even that the melody and rhythm are strange.

Only by cooperating with the dance can you experience its charm. It's a song that only shines on stage.

Therefore, the song has very high requirements for dancing. The company specially invited Toa, an American dance prodigy, to be in charge of choreography.

Toa rose to fame at a young age, and while he's not that old yet, his talent in dancing is undeniable. He has collaborated with ** Entertainment on numerous occasions, choreographing several title tracks for SHINee, including last year's hit song "Sherlock," which garnered widespread praise and admiration.

The final choreography he came up with was indeed interesting. The dance moves in are very memorable, especially the opening where twelve people form a 'Tree of Life' formation.

This choreography not only fits EXO's group concept, but the styling is also very distinctive.

Members used their bodies and arms to form the trunk and branches of a tree, and the whole tree swayed and moved with the melody. It was very eye-catching, and the actual dance effect was unforgettable. It can be called a classic and added a lot to the stage effects of the title song.

This idea is really great, both Chi Jingyuan and the members are full of sincere praise.

Besides the opening, the other dance moves are also very good and express the style of the song "wolf" well.

But this dance has one biggest problem, it's too difficult.

Not only is it difficult, the dance is also very intense. The movements require a lot of strength, and it's especially tiring to jump.

Such a difficult dance naturally takes a lot of time to memorize and practice, which is a big challenge for every member in terms of fundamentals and physical strength.

Even the main dancer, Kim Jong-in, who is said to be able to learn a dance just by looking at it a few times, has been exhausted these days. Now there he lies motionless on the ground.

What's even worse is that for this difficult and tiring dance, they have to learn and practice not just one version. They have to perform four versions of "Wolf" altogether.

Twelve people's Korean and Summer versions, each person's dance part is completely different, it's easy to get your own movements mixed up, they all need a lot of practice.

In addition, there are also versions of Team K and Team M, which are yet another set of parts.

When spoken of, Ji Jingyuan seemed terrifying to Guang.

Even after finishing his practice sessions these days, Ji Jingyuan can't return to the dormitory. He has to work overtime with several choreographers to create a choreography for the song "Roar." They often work until late at night before they can go back to rest.

The choreography for "" mainly focuses on showcasing the members' coolness and charm. It's not overly difficult. To match the song title, the chorus features dance moves directly mimicking those of a gorilla, which is quite distinctive.

Although not difficult, the dance is very memorable. It's really cool when paired with the music. The effect of a group performance is excellent. Ji-yeong's evaluation is that it's quite magical and impressive.

Under Chi Jingyuan's guidance, the choreography is progressing very quickly. It's estimated that it will be finished in two days. He considers this a success and can relax afterwards.

It is worth mentioning that Chi Jingyuan refused the company's request for him to write summer lyrics for "Roar". He felt that his skills were not yet at the level to write summer lyrics.

The company remained silent and handed the task to a lyricist from Xia Guo who they had previously collaborated with.

Although 《Roaring》 hasn't started practicing yet, the practice of this 《Wolf》 is really terrifying just hearing its name.

"Alright, let's rest for a bit. Time is tight, we need to keep going. Let's do it again."

After a short break, the dance teacher in charge of instruction and supervision clapped her hands to stand up and called the members to continue training: “Let’s do ‘The Tree of Life’ again. This opening is one of the biggest highlights of the song ‘Wolf’. When I watched you guys perform just now, I felt something was off somewhere.”

"Yes!" The members replied, gulping down their water before scrambling to their feet and marching to the center of the practice room, where they lined up.

In the choreography of the Tree of Life, among the twelve people standing in a vertical line, Ji Jingyuan stood behind Wu Shixun, second in line, with Luhan behind him.

His movements consisted of him and Luhan's left hands grasping each other, using that force to lean his body to the right, lying on his back with his head low. At the same time, his right hand was bent and extended outwards like a branch.

He was the only one in the choreography who showed his face. It is said that the choreographer chose him to do this move because he thought Park Ji-won was the best-looking and that showing his face would be more appealing to the audience…

Chi Jingyuan and Luhan looked at each other, then reached out and grabbed each other's hands. They both leaned to the side simultaneously, their right hands curving upwards, and quickly a Tree of Life appeared in the practice room.

"John, your hands are too open, they overlap with the people behind you."

"Also, Bo-hyun, your two hands are stretched at different angles. Keep both sides of the movement consistent…"

"Jingyuan and Luhan, you both need to lower your heads by the same amount. You guys need to communicate well, and the depth should be symmetrical, not too different, or it will look awkward."

The teacher kept pointing out mistakes in the mirror, and those whose names were called would correct themselves accordingly.

Only Qi Jingyuan obviously felt that his right hand, which had been acting as a branch all along, began to tremble.

Because he was a bit taller, he had to keep his head down and legs bent.

Moreover, his hand kept reaching out into thin air, it was really tiring. He even felt like he couldn't hold onto Luhan anymore...

…………

Then, who will be the newcomer that has captured everyone's attention over the past year

"The 22nd Seoul Music Awards Rookie Award... EXO-K, Congratulations!"

This novel is published first on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network.expect 'Roar' to be this successful. EXO's popularity is amazing and a real surprise! Kyungsoo, your song is truly fantastic.”"Although I felt the demo was going to be a hit when I first heard it, I d...