Chapter 371: Jin Daibiao
S.M. Entertainment, recording studio.
Due to Jiang Shu's intervention, S.M. Entertainment was still in that small, dilapidated building and had not yet constructed the grander Kwangya Building.
The other three members of aespa sat obediently on the sofa, hands on their laps, quiet and still.
Jiang Shu and the sound engineer sat in front of the recording equipment, wearing headphones, listening to Liu Zhimin sing in the recording booth.
aespa's strength wasn't exceptional, but as a group jointly trained by S.M. Entertainment and DM Entertainment, it would be unrealistic to say they were bad.
Although aespa rarely sang live, it didn't mean they were incompetent.
This song, "AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST," was a BLACKPINK song. Its vocal difficulty wasn't low, but it was only somewhat challenging, not exceptionally difficult, as BLACKPINK's singing skills weren't so strong as to be in a league of their own.
Putting everything else aside, even my sister Xiuxiu could sing it in the recording studio, let alone the aespa members.
The reason this song was brought out was the thought that instead of letting it gather dust in his mind, it would be better to give it to aespa.
All jokes aside, Lalisa's unique duck-like vocal color in this song, and Rosé's honey voice, were quite difficult for aespa to replicate. But it didn't matter; they could just modify it to fit aespa's own style.
Liu Zhimin's part was quickly finished, and she stood in place, looking back outside.
"The stability isn't enough," Jiang Shu said, setting the tone as soon as he spoke, which also put the sound engineer at ease.
"Karina, you are..."
Liu Zhimin inside listened intently, silently making improvements in her mind based on the sound engineer's comments.
"President nim, do you have anything else to add?" the sound engineer asked Jiang Shu after finishing.
"No, continue."
"Yes, Karina, please continue."
The atmosphere during recording, unless it's a casual session, is usually quite serious, especially with Jiang Shu present.
This song, "AS IF IT'S YOUR LAST," was set to be released on July 30th. S.M. Entertainment preferred releasing singles for comebacks, while DM Entertainment preferred album comebacks, even if it was a mini-album with at least two songs.
However, S.M. Entertainment was now steered by Kakao Entertainment, and with Jiang Shu as the second-largest shareholder, the relationship between the two companies became relatively closer.
Firstly, Kakao Entertainment, when it came to the K-pop industry, focused more on return on investment rather than the actual control of one or two companies. Unlike Li Xiuman, who ran S.M. Entertainment like a dictatorship, Kakao Entertainment's demand after taking over S.M. Entertainment was simple: make money.
They would grant power to whoever could make money for them.
And as the helmsman of DM Entertainment, the current leader in the K-pop industry, Jiang Shu naturally entered their sights.
The collaborations between aespa and Red Velvet were both very successful, and Kakao Entertainment was happy to delegate authority to Jiang Shu.
Although Jiang Shu was only an Executive Director on the S.M. Entertainment board, he effectively exercised the power of a President.
Based on this, regarding many issues concerning aespa and Red Velvet, he would be more inclined to follow S.M. Entertainment's wishes, provided it didn't affect DM Entertainment's interests.
This recording session lasted over three hours. The four members of aespa took turns, but only the first verse was completed. The progress wasn't fast, but it was within an acceptable range.
There was still over a month until the comeback, and promotional work had already begun. Even if the recording wasn't finished yet, the workload could still be completed if the schedule was tighter later on.
Time was tight, but it wasn't impossible to finish.
Coming out of the recording studio, Jiang Shu looked down at the messages on his phone.
Liu Zhimin and the members came out of the recording studio together. She glanced at Jiang Shu's back, hesitating whether to say something to him.
But what should she say?
Liu Zhimin was momentarily at a loss.
"Executive Director Jiang!"
At that moment, a clear female voice came from the other side of the corridor, attracting the attention of Jiang Shu and the four aespa members.
Looking up, they saw a tall woman in professional office attire. Everyone present recognized the woman's identity.
She was the secretary to S.M. Entertainment's new representative.
After Jin Daibiao's secretary arrived in front of Jiang Shu, she bowed respectfully.
"Executive Director Jiang, Representative nim wants to discuss something with you, but Representative nim is currently meeting with Ms. Min Xizhen, the Art Director of Big Hit. What do you think...?" Jin Daibiao's secretary carefully chose her words, speaking cautiously.
Asking Jiang Shu to wait was undoubtedly a bit presumptuous.
Although the other party was the Representative, the person in front of her was supported by Kakao Entertainment and also held a large share as the second-largest shareholder of S.M. Entertainment.
"What does he want from me?" Jiang Shu didn't mind the subtle presumption, focusing more on why Kim Young-min wanted to see him.
Yes, Representative Kim Young-min.
This professional manager, who lost the power struggle with Li Xiuman, was banished by Li Xiuman to be the head of S.M. Entertainment's Japan branch. Now that Li Xiuman had left, Kakao Entertainment, although somewhat disdainful of the current 'rotten apples' at S.M. Entertainment, had no one else to use. They were planning to bite the bullet and use these 'rotten apples,' but Jiang Shu suggested bringing Kim Young-min back to take charge.
Kakao Entertainment thought about it and realized it was indeed a solution.
Kim Young-min, as a professional manager, had skill; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to rally a large group of people within Li Xiuman's company to challenge the founder.
Moreover, during his tenure leading S.M. Entertainment, the company's development was consistently upward, which indicated that his methods of managing subordinates and his business development capabilities were both sound.
Thus, Kim Young-min, who had been planning to retire at the Japan branch, was inexplicably pulled back and given the position of Representative, which was one level higher than his original President position.
In Korean companies, the Representative is generally concurrently held by the President of the board of directors, and is the true holder of power in a company.
However, S.M. Entertainment was clearly not a normal company.
President, Representative, President, and Executive Director—these four positions would typically only involve three people, sometimes even just two.
But at S.M. Entertainment, there were four people holding these four positions.
However, in front of Executive Director Jiang and Representative Jin, the current President of S.M. Entertainment was merely a mascot, a pure tool.
The secretary in front of them was Kim Young-min's niece, who had just returned from studying for her MBA in the UK. Kim Young-min, having learned his lesson from a previous secretary when he returned to S.M. Entertainment's core power structure, chose to bring his niece in as his secretary to ensure she was trustworthy.
"This..." Jin Daibiao's secretary glanced at the four aespa members not far away and didn't speak immediately.
Seeing this, Kim Minjeong quickly pulled Liu Zhimin, while Giselle also pulled Ning Yizhuo, and after bowing to the two, they left.
After watching aespa walk away, Jin Daibiao's secretary finally spoke.
"Director Min Xizhen of Big Hit is here to borrow resources from the company this time. The Representative wants to see you about these matters."
"Besides that, there are also some matters related to YG."