Lyrics

Returning to the studio the next day. It was time for me to write the lyrics for Raise the Standard. I decided that I would try to at least get half the song finished today as we didn't have a lot of time until the deadline, and I also had a solo to prepare. I spent about 8 hours straight in the studio listening to the music on repeat while writing lyrics. The only breaks I took were to go to the toilet, eat food that had been delivered or talk to any of the group members that came in to listen. By the time I left the studio, I had written the first two verses and the chorus and was feeling pretty good about it. I sent the backing track and lyrics to the other members then called it a day and went to relax and eat in the cafeteria.

Entering the cafeteria I found what looked like a heated argument. The other group made up of Seol Young, Sim Hyun-Shik, Ho Jung, Hayashi Roh and Akizuki Akira were all arguing over something. It looked like a three on two as Ho Jung seemed to be backing up Seol Young on whatever it was they were yelling about. Getting a little closer I could finally make out what they were arguing about.

"I should be the main vocalist, not Hayashi!" -Seol Young

"Fine, then I'll be the Main Rapper!" - Hyun-Shik

"But I'm already the Main Rapper!" - Seol Young

"You can't take every position, we need to spread the roles and lines evenly otherwise it isn't a GROUP performance!" -Hyun-Shik

"But Seol Young is a better Rapper and singer than Hayashi and Akira!" - Ho Jung

"Then he can show it in his solo performance!" -Hyun Shik

They seemed to be fighting over positions, and by the sounds of it, Seol Young wanted all of them. I was silently applauding Hyun-Shik for putting up with him this well so far. How had he not punched him in the face already? Ho Jung was in the background trying to back Seol Young Up. But no matter what he said Hyun-Shik seemed to have a witty and logical retort to beat him back. I ordered my coffee and a sandwich and watched while waiting.

"How long have they been arguing here?" I asked the woman at the cash register.

"They came in about 9 this morning. They were fine for the first hour but then started arguing. It escalated from there and now it looks like that." She tells me. It seemed as though they had been fighting for almost 7 hours. I collected my order and placed it down on a table. I then walked over to the group as I had decided to end their argument.

"What seems to be the issue over here?" I ask while sauntering over. The group all stop yelling and turn to face me. Hayashi and Akira's faces turn from a look of agitation to a look of relief at someone interrupting the argument finally.

"Just having a minor disagreement over certain roles in the group" Hyun-Shik replies with a strained smile.

'Minor disagreement my ass' I think. "So you have been having a very loud 'minor disagreement' for almost 7 hours now? Where has that gotten you?" I ask sarcastically. Hyun-Shik looks down at his feet. Seol Young just sneers. "And what's it to you if we've been disagreeing?" He asks me angrily.

"What's it to me? You're disrupting my mealtime, and you will reduce the quality of the show if you continue this way and don't get your crap together!" I tell him.

"If you continue to argue, you're not going to get your song done, and you might end up in the final stand! I can hear that you are arguing over positions. A group is meant to be able to WORK TOGETHER and distribute the roles EVENLY and according to ability. So if you ask me, Seol Young should be the main Rapper, Hayashi should be the Main vocalist and Akira the Main Dancer." I tell him. I then turn and walk away. The group remains silent as I walk back to my table. They talk in a hushed tone before finally leaving the cafeteria. I enjoy my order in peace, relaxing to the calming sound of birds and the hustle and bustle of the nearby street that can be heard outside the open windows.

A little bit later, I return to the studio to get a little bit more of the lyrics finished. It was about 3 hours later and I had managed to write another whole verse. I wanted to add one more, plus the rap lines, which in total would have the song last a full 3 and a half minutes long. I would finish the lyrics early the next day. When this was announced to the group, we gathered together in the studio around lunchtime to practice and possibly record if we do well. The vocal lines were distributed among us. I got the opening part given to me which I was pretty happy about. We then decided that we would start by singing however we felt like, but a little bit after that we began to change certain aspects to make it sound better. The rap verses were added in, and overall the song sounded really good. Everyone was able to memorise the lyrics by the end of the day and we recorded the whole song the next day. We then instantly began on the choreography which took about 3 days to complete and another 3 to learn. We then practised as hard as we could for the next few weeks on both our group and individual performances. We worked closely with backup dancers, stylists and set designers to create the perfect aesthetic and appearance for both performances. Overall, it took about 5 weeks to be ready and another week to finish up and perfect everything. Soon after, we were taken to the location where we would perform for everyone.