Chapter 323: The Past and Present of ITZY
The Maldives photoshoot trip was only five days long; most of the shots could have been done on Jeju Island, but the results from Jeju Island were nowhere near as good as those from a private island shoot in the Maldives.
Jiang Shu came with the IZONE members, so naturally, he left with them too.
… …
“President, here are the documents you requested.” In the President’s office, Choi Ji-yeon placed a stack of folders in front of Jiang Shu.
“Mm, put them here,” Jiang Shu replied with a smile.
Choi Ji-yeon carefully observed Jiang Shu’s appearance.
“It seems this trip to the Maldives was very good; your spirit and energy are completely different, President.”
Hearing Choi Ji-yeon’s words, Jiang Shu touched his face in surprise.
“Really?”
“Very obvious,” Choi Ji-yeon nodded and said.
“Then maybe I just had a lot of fun,” Jiang Shu said with a smile, as if he had thought of something.
Aside from playing for the first two days, Jiang Shu had nothing else to do for the remaining three days but stay in the water villa, following a three-point-one-line routine.
Sleep—Eat—Farm—Sleep—Eat—Farm, repeating in a cycle.
After this trip to the Maldives, he didn't know about anything else, but at least the physiological needs that Jiang Shu had forcefully suppressed with willpower during this period were thoroughly released.
Travel?
Farming!
The trip was so comfortable that when Jiang Shu returned to Seoul, he felt refreshed and invigorated while working; his spirit and energy were completely different.
It could only be said that appropriate release was entirely beneficial for physical and mental health.
“Have the arrangements for Sakura been made?” Jiang Shu thought of this and looked at Choi Ji-yeon, asking.
“Yes, it has been conveyed to the Production Department and the Planning Department; they will produce the Japan sub-unit’s debut album as soon as possible.”
The first thing Jiang Shu did upon returning was to arrange for IZONE’s three Japanese members to form a sub-unit.
However, before the troops move, provisions must be prepared; the debut album still needed to be completed before their debut.
“Good.” Jiang Shu nodded. “Has the artist list for the Cultural Center’s opening ceremony been sent?”
“President Li is in charge of this matter; I will ask her for you,” Choi Ji-yeon said.
“Okay, if it’s already been sent, you don’t need to report it to me again. If it hasn’t, ask for the reason and tell me.”
“Yes.” Choi Ji-yeon bowed to Jiang Shu and then exited the office.
Once the door closed again, Jiang Shu picked up the documents Choi Ji-yeon had brought.
Opening the file, the words “ITZY Debut Album (3)” immediately caught his eye.
This document was a compilation of all of ITZY’s album songs since their debut, from their debut album “DALLA DALLA” on February 1, 2019, to “Warm Blood,” which competed with IZONE on November 3 last year—a total of six albums, five mini-albums, and one full-length album, comprising twenty-four songs.
There were also many cover and single songs; Jiang Shu had requested all the songs that Jeon Soyeon participated in producing.
ITZY was another group Jiang Shu had prepared for his K-pop Cultural Center.
Was there anyone more suitable than ITZY, who were still in a century-long battle with IZONE last year?
IZONE and ITZY simultaneously standing on stage for the K-pop Cultural Center’s opening ceremony would have an effect no different from bringing K-pop itself over.
Besides that, Jiang Shu also easily obtained a contract from Li Xiuman, which would be another gimmick when announced at the opening.
February 1, 2019, ITZY debut album “DALLA DALLA.”
May 30, 2019, mini-album two “IT’z ICY.”
October 7, 2019, mini-album three “IT’z Me.”
January 9, 2020, mini-album four “IT’z You.”
May 12, 2020, full-length album one “ITZY.”
November 3, 2020, mini-album five “Warm Blood.”
Jiang Shu successively flipped through these songs, crafted by Jeon Soyeon and the company’s producers. Twenty-five songs, each contributing to ITZY’s ascent to the top, and continuously building up the bond of “Wangdao Passion.”
Then Jiang Shu took out another document from the folder, opened the songs within, pulled out one, and placed it alongside ITZY’s latest album’s title track, “Warm Blood.”
“The arrangement frequency of ITZY’s mid-to-late period songs is a bit too high; to cater to the style, they’ve overlooked the essence of a song, which is to be pleasant to listen to.”
“High-frequency rhythms can easily make listeners feel tired.”
Jiang Shu murmured as he compared the two songs.
After all these years, Jiang Shu didn’t plagiarize songs for nothing. If you asked him to write a song, he couldn’t. But if you asked him to analyze whether a song was good or not, he could do that.
The song Jiang Shu later took out was ITZY’s original song, but ITZY in this world had already embarked on another path, a correct path, starting from their third album.
It was just a pity for the ITZY of his previous life.
Jiang Shu shook his head helplessly. He hadn’t been particularly interested in JYP’s girl groups before; he was initially a fan of S.M.’s girl groups, then gradually fell into IZONE, and later followed the Five Great Fifth Generation groups. As for JYP’s girl groups, the only one he paid a tiny bit of attention to was TWICE.
But as he came to this world and interacted with the members of ITZY and NMIXX, his perception of these girls gradually materialized.
If he could, he would also want to change the ITZY and NMIXX of his previous life.
But unfortunately, that was impossible.
However, thankfully, ITZY and NMIXX were doing very well at DM Entertainment. Even if ITZY was about to decline, at least they had once reached the peak.
“What a pity.” Jiang Shu sighed helplessly, putting away the songs and documents.
ITZY’s fate was sealed; without the bond and blessing of Jeon Soyeon, “Wangdao Passion” would become a sharp blade piercing ITZY.
This double-edged sword helped ITZY become a top-tier group capable of briefly competing with IZONE, but after ITZY’s failure, it would also become the source of their downfall, plunging them into the abyss.
ITZY’s last comeback was in November of last year; it was now June, but Jiang Shu had already decided ITZY would not have a comeback. There were many voices within the company, but Jiang Shu couldn’t do anything. He didn’t want these five girls to leave the stage so early, but he couldn’t solve the problem, so he could only use this temporary solution.
As for being misunderstood that he was suppressing ITZY, those things didn’t matter.
He just wanted the ITZY girls’ path down the mountain to be slower and smoother.
Jiang Shu raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
When he made the decision to give up on ITZY earlier, he was very resolute. Now that it was time for execution, he found it difficult to go through with it.
Had he become indecisive?
No, perhaps it should be said that he had developed feelings for these lovely girls.
Jiang Shu leaned back in his chair and turned his head to look at the framed group photos hanging on the wall.
Those were his group photos with various groups and artists from the company, and among them, there was a group photo of him and ITZY.
Looking at the girls’ smiling faces in the photo, Jiang Shu remained silent.