The most miserable wage slave
April 27, 2021 5:01 AM Subscribe
Vladislav Ivanov, a 27-year-old man from Vladivostok, was working as a Russian translator for the Chinese reality/talent show Produce Camp, in which a cast of young contestants are selected to form a boy band, when the directors invited him to sign up. He regretted doing so pretty much immediately, and attempted to sabotage his chances at winning by performing half-heartedly and pleading with the audience to vote him out, but to no avail, as he became a firm fan favourite, his miserable demeanour appealing to a generation of young people sympathetic to the ironic, defeatist Sang culture.
Ivanov was finally emancipated from his Kafkaesque and/or Brooksian ordeal when he was voted out in the final.
Ivanov was finally emancipated from his Kafkaesque and/or Brooksian ordeal when he was voted out in the final.
I wonder whether they would have manipulated the vote, in the end, to keep him out of the top 11 if he truly didn't want to be there.
(Not the usual preferential-editing style of manipulating the vote , but like actually fudge the number of votes like the original, Korean version of Produce Camp where this has been a big scandal for the last couple years now.)
"I don't want this, but you keep voting for me anyway" must have made such terrific TV, no wonder they kept putting him in front of the screen and fans kept voting to continue watching this plotline.
posted by subdee at 5:50 AM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
(Not the usual preferential-editing style of manipulating the vote , but like actually fudge the number of votes like the original, Korean version of Produce Camp where this has been a big scandal for the last couple years now.)
"I don't want this, but you keep voting for me anyway" must have made such terrific TV, no wonder they kept putting him in front of the screen and fans kept voting to continue watching this plotline.
posted by subdee at 5:50 AM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
The political subtext seems intriguing. China had a period of relative openness in the 00s, but has been swinging back into rigorous autocracy under Xi, and the Sang culture sounds like the sort of petty thoughtcrime a totalitarian party would seek to eliminate,
My suspicion is that the votes have been rigged all the time; at first, the producers rigging them to put this weird Russian emo in for drama and ratings, and then someone in the CCP got wind of what was going on, called them in and instructed them to fix it.
posted by acb at 5:56 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
My suspicion is that the votes have been rigged all the time; at first, the producers rigging them to put this weird Russian emo in for drama and ratings, and then someone in the CCP got wind of what was going on, called them in and instructed them to fix it.
posted by acb at 5:56 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I recently watch the female version of Produce Camp, Produce Camp 2020 because former-EXO members Tao, Luhan and Kris (in a guest episode) were on it. It was a lot more international than I was expecting, and the winner was Uighur Chinese. It seems like they cast the international folks for the overseas publicity, and it works. I ended up getting pretty invested in the Congolese-Chinese contestant, Winnie Zhong Feifei. Sadly the big social media plotline about her was about racism, and she had some specials like "how I do my hair" and such but the exposure seems to have helped her since the show ended.
posted by subdee at 5:56 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by subdee at 5:56 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
"I don't want this, but you keep voting for me anyway"
Sounds like Boris Johnson.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 6:04 AM on April 27, 2021 [5 favorites]
Sounds like Boris Johnson.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 6:04 AM on April 27, 2021 [5 favorites]
Yeah... Well there are a lot of ways to manipulate votes besides outright miscounting, right? Giving a lot of screentime to the preferred contestants for starters, and then you can do social media manipulation with paid boosts and so on.
I don't know if it's in the guardian article, but I read another one about this and the interesting thing to me was that he appeals directly to the fans to stop voting.
“Like I said before, I can hold on until the finale if I have to, but I never expected to be this high in the ranking,” Sidorov said after his performance. “I feel super afraid standing here, but I have to trust that the voters will respect my choice and not overstep the bounds of propriety.”
If you can have this kind of affably distanced relationship with your fanbase, where you appreciate them but also clearly state your boundaries, you actually are cut out to be an idol LOL.
But not having to be in the micromanaged constructed idol group while still getting the reality TV show exposure is the best of both worlds, dude clearly dodged a bullet there.
posted by subdee at 6:05 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
I don't know if it's in the guardian article, but I read another one about this and the interesting thing to me was that he appeals directly to the fans to stop voting.
“Like I said before, I can hold on until the finale if I have to, but I never expected to be this high in the ranking,” Sidorov said after his performance. “I feel super afraid standing here, but I have to trust that the voters will respect my choice and not overstep the bounds of propriety.”
If you can have this kind of affably distanced relationship with your fanbase, where you appreciate them but also clearly state your boundaries, you actually are cut out to be an idol LOL.
But not having to be in the micromanaged constructed idol group while still getting the reality TV show exposure is the best of both worlds, dude clearly dodged a bullet there.
posted by subdee at 6:05 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
My suspicion is that the votes have been rigged all the time; at first, the producers rigging them to put this weird Russian emo in for drama and ratings, and then someone in the CCP got wind of what was going on, called them in and instructed them to fix it.
I don’t know that the second part is at all necessary, I mean from the producers’ perspective it’s one thing to have this guy as a compelling plotline in one season of a show and quite another thing to actually have him contractually trapped in a band. That’s when his attitude goes from hilarious draw to massive liability.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:07 AM on April 27, 2021 [11 favorites]
I don’t know that the second part is at all necessary, I mean from the producers’ perspective it’s one thing to have this guy as a compelling plotline in one season of a show and quite another thing to actually have him contractually trapped in a band. That’s when his attitude goes from hilarious draw to massive liability.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:07 AM on April 27, 2021 [11 favorites]
More than the censors getting on the case, it really seems like his organized fans decided to respect his wishes in the finale.
posted by subdee at 6:08 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by subdee at 6:08 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ironically he probably would have gotten what he wanted if he had done the most tryhard job of singing and dancing possible. Like cendawanita pointed out, a moody pale slender guy can mint gold. But instead imagine him with a pasted-on smile overselling every number like he was auditioning for a 1930s Broadway review, and once the novelty value wears off nobody's going to want to put up with him.
posted by ardgedee at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
Yeah if there's vote rigging (who knows? It wouldn't be unusual in any "vote your choice" show) I guess it wouldn't have mattered, but I was relieved for this guy's sake that the rest of the world didn't hear about his plight before now. He would've been doomed.
(Still -- I've been watching clips of his lackluster dancing and cracking up. It's VERY funny.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
(Still -- I've been watching clips of his lackluster dancing and cracking up. It's VERY funny.)
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Top of the Pops once asked Nirvana to perform Smells like Teen Spirit over a backing track. This was totally normal for this show, the popstar of the week would come out and dance and lip-sync to the latest hit. For some reason they thought Nirvana would be into this? They had a hit song I guess. I don't know what the story behind it was, maybe there's some reason they couldn't get out of it, but Kurt gave them the performance they probably deserved.
posted by adept256 at 6:21 AM on April 27, 2021 [22 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 6:21 AM on April 27, 2021 [22 favorites]
🎶And I-e-aiiiii would prefer not tooooooo...🎶
posted by clockwork at 6:22 AM on April 27, 2021 [16 favorites]
posted by clockwork at 6:22 AM on April 27, 2021 [16 favorites]
“Becoming a member of a boy band is not my dream as I can’t sing and dance,” Ivanov said in Chinese on the show, according to SCMP. “I hope the judges won’t support me. While the others want to get an A, I want to get an F as it stands for freedom.”
I’m intrigued and confused by this quote. He’s speaking in Chinese... does the show use “A” and “F” as grades? Is “F stands for freedom” a translation of some Chinese equivalent?
posted by oulipian at 6:22 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I’m intrigued and confused by this quote. He’s speaking in Chinese... does the show use “A” and “F” as grades? Is “F stands for freedom” a translation of some Chinese equivalent?
posted by oulipian at 6:22 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
From the Sang culture link: "Elsewhere in China, there is ‘Hopeless Drinking Yoghurt’, which boasts of being ‘fat-free and aspiration-free’". Somewhere, the people behind OK Soda are weeping and pumping their fists.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:32 AM on April 27, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:32 AM on April 27, 2021 [11 favorites]
Academic grading in China
Short answer is yes. Every Chinese student knows the roman alphabet as part of pinyin, as that is how they learn the phonetic sounds of chinese characters.
posted by adept256 at 6:32 AM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
Short answer is yes. Every Chinese student knows the roman alphabet as part of pinyin, as that is how they learn the phonetic sounds of chinese characters.
posted by adept256 at 6:32 AM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
Noooooo I'm getting interested, now I'm thinking about watching Produce Camp but these shows are so long, the episodes are like 2 hours long each. Help.
posted by subdee at 6:33 AM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by subdee at 6:33 AM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
Top of the Pops once asked Nirvana to perform Smells like Teen Spirit over a backing track . This was totally normal for this show, the popstar of the week would come out and dance and lip-sync to the latest hit.
And here's Oasis performing 'Roll With It' on Top of the Pops in 1995.
Liam isn't singing and Noel isn't playing the guitar, though to non-Oasis fans this may not be immediately obvious.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 6:36 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
And here's Oasis performing 'Roll With It' on Top of the Pops in 1995.
Liam isn't singing and Noel isn't playing the guitar, though to non-Oasis fans this may not be immediately obvious.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 6:36 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
Here's The Orb performing The Blue Room on Top of the Pops by playing chess.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 6:43 AM on April 27, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by thatwhichfalls at 6:43 AM on April 27, 2021 [10 favorites]
I'm so torn between finding this hilarious and being horrified at what happened to him. There's something very wrong about this. I'd be traumatised in his shoes and it's not okay.
But also...bwahaha!
Also, this is very William Gibson, isn't it?
posted by Omnomnom at 6:43 AM on April 27, 2021 [10 favorites]
But also...bwahaha!
Also, this is very William Gibson, isn't it?
posted by Omnomnom at 6:43 AM on April 27, 2021 [10 favorites]
I'm so torn between finding this hilarious and being horrified at what happened to him. There's something very wrong about this. I'd be traumatised in his shoes and it's not okay.
Of course. Someone help me out here, I'm not a kpop stan, but I heard of this story in the cultural noise. Apparently there's a production company that's being held criminally liable for the mental health of one of their stars who's been wrecked by the business. Like they've been drilling him to be perfect non-stop for years and the poor boy has just cracked.
posted by adept256 at 6:50 AM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
Of course. Someone help me out here, I'm not a kpop stan, but I heard of this story in the cultural noise. Apparently there's a production company that's being held criminally liable for the mental health of one of their stars who's been wrecked by the business. Like they've been drilling him to be perfect non-stop for years and the poor boy has just cracked.
posted by adept256 at 6:50 AM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
Taking one look at him my first thought was 'this guy is going to get all the votes no matter what he says.' He just looks like the epitome of boybandness for that region.
So much empathy for him and delight in his escape. Boy and girl band producing is kpop and jpop sounds especially brutal and abusive and something to be run from rather than embraced.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 7:06 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
So much empathy for him and delight in his escape. Boy and girl band producing is kpop and jpop sounds especially brutal and abusive and something to be run from rather than embraced.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 7:06 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm so torn between finding this hilarious and being horrified at what happened to him
Honestly, it's the fact that he got out (and got his happy ending) is why I can countenance the story at all.
Apparently there's a production company that's being held criminally liable for the mental health of one of their stars who's been wrecked by the business.
TBH if it's a big production company, they're all terrible. Suicides amongst popstars in Korea aren't unheard of, fandom army mobilisation is pretty much being perfected in China, and between CN and SK markets there's a lot of cross-pollination of show pitches and pop groups (I'm not mentioning Japan simply because while it shares a lot of the horrendous practices, they have remained very Japanese for the most part in only minimally taking part in the various business crossovers), that when combined with the work culture and the general hierarchical state of the respective societies, overexhaustion and mental unwellness is only the tip of the iceberg.
posted by cendawanita at 7:21 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
Honestly, it's the fact that he got out (and got his happy ending) is why I can countenance the story at all.
Apparently there's a production company that's being held criminally liable for the mental health of one of their stars who's been wrecked by the business.
TBH if it's a big production company, they're all terrible. Suicides amongst popstars in Korea aren't unheard of, fandom army mobilisation is pretty much being perfected in China, and between CN and SK markets there's a lot of cross-pollination of show pitches and pop groups (I'm not mentioning Japan simply because while it shares a lot of the horrendous practices, they have remained very Japanese for the most part in only minimally taking part in the various business crossovers), that when combined with the work culture and the general hierarchical state of the respective societies, overexhaustion and mental unwellness is only the tip of the iceberg.
posted by cendawanita at 7:21 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
YIL "996" referred to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/996_working_hour_system
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 7:34 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 7:34 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
Top of the Pops once asked Nirvana to perform Smells like Teen Spirit over a backing track yt . This was totally normal for this show, the popstar of the week would come out and dance and lip-sync to the latest hit. For some reason they thought Nirvana would be into this? They had a hit song I guess. I don't know what the story behind it was, maybe there's some reason they couldn't get out of it, but Kurt gave them the performance they probably deserved.
New Order dropped a stinker first by about 8 years.
posted by srboisvert at 9:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
New Order dropped a stinker first by about 8 years.
posted by srboisvert at 9:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
I wanted to see him strap on a guitar and cover Pavement. He’s got style for miles and miles.
posted by sjswitzer at 9:48 AM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 9:48 AM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
I first learned of this in a slightly mangled version that claimed he had somehow accidentally joined the competition, and I was like, "Well, I can sympathize. I'm sure all of us have accidentally entered a Chinese boy band reality show contest at one time or another, right?"
This explanation makes a lot more sense...
posted by Naberius at 9:53 AM on April 27, 2021 [7 favorites]
This explanation makes a lot more sense...
posted by Naberius at 9:53 AM on April 27, 2021 [7 favorites]
> New Order dropped a stinker first by about 8 years.
Public Image Limited made an epic display of dgaf on American Bandstand three years before New Order.
posted by ardgedee at 10:09 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
Public Image Limited made an epic display of dgaf on American Bandstand three years before New Order.
posted by ardgedee at 10:09 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
Getting strong anti-Spandau Ballet vibe
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:14 AM on April 27, 2021
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:14 AM on April 27, 2021
🎶And I-e-aiiiii would prefer not tooooooo...🎶
Bartleby the Pop Idol.
posted by Naberius at 10:25 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
Bartleby the Pop Idol.
posted by Naberius at 10:25 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]
The New Order trainwreck was because they insisted on playing live rather than miming. I saw them live about the same time and their TotP performance was entirely representative.
Lots of unreliable electronics and a totally smashed band made for a somewhat rocky live experience (although they still made In a Lonely Place sound amazing).
posted by thatwhichfalls at 11:21 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Lots of unreliable electronics and a totally smashed band made for a somewhat rocky live experience (although they still made In a Lonely Place sound amazing).
posted by thatwhichfalls at 11:21 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
After following multiple seasons of Produce 101, Idol Producer / Youth with You, Produce 101 Japan, etc. I stopped following these types of shows this year and I missed this!
I think Produce 101 Season 2 had the best theme song of all. I was in Seoul a couple of months after this edition of the show ended and there was no escaping this song anywhere one went.
Cai Xukun still remains the center of my heart (in idol groups the 'center' is the group member placed in the center of the group for photoshoots, dance formations, etc. due to their charisma / good looks / popularity). And who can forget Nongnong?
posted by needled at 12:06 PM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think Produce 101 Season 2 had the best theme song of all. I was in Seoul a couple of months after this edition of the show ended and there was no escaping this song anywhere one went.
Cai Xukun still remains the center of my heart (in idol groups the 'center' is the group member placed in the center of the group for photoshoots, dance formations, etc. due to their charisma / good looks / popularity). And who can forget Nongnong?
posted by needled at 12:06 PM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
And here's the theme song for Chuang 2021 - see if you can spot Vladislav/Lelush!
posted by needled at 12:16 PM on April 27, 2021
posted by needled at 12:16 PM on April 27, 2021
One of my faves in the malicious compliance department is Muse on Italian TV.
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:42 PM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:42 PM on April 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
The New Order trainwreck was because they insisted on playing live rather than miming.
I know, it's funny. Bernard (?) insisted on playing live even though they weren't ready to re-create the studio recording. Stephen Morris face-palms when he talks about it. In related, New Order had a catastrophic equipment breakdown on our stop in their first N American tour. A 20 minute set with a predictable mini-riot ensued.
posted by ovvl at 2:34 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
I know, it's funny. Bernard (?) insisted on playing live even though they weren't ready to re-create the studio recording. Stephen Morris face-palms when he talks about it. In related, New Order had a catastrophic equipment breakdown on our stop in their first N American tour. A 20 minute set with a predictable mini-riot ensued.
posted by ovvl at 2:34 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
I saw New Order twice in the 1980s ... and they tanked both times. Just not a very good live act. At all.
posted by philip-random at 3:11 PM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 3:11 PM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
After making it to the final, Ivanov grumpily ate a lemon on camera, and said he hoped people would not support him again.
Me, through most of high school.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 3:17 PM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
Me, through most of high school.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 3:17 PM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
One of my faves in the malicious compliance department is Muse on Italian TV
Huge Muse fan here. Had never seen this before and I laughed so hard I almost choked. Thank you.
posted by gemmy at 5:06 PM on April 27, 2021
Huge Muse fan here. Had never seen this before and I laughed so hard I almost choked. Thank you.
posted by gemmy at 5:06 PM on April 27, 2021
Here's The Orb performing The Blue Room on Top of the Pops by playing chess.
Oh my god I love this in particular, thank you. And I love all the other piss takes being shared in this thread.
Entertaining thread derail warning.
I can share that The Orb has always been excellent live when I've seen them but I also understanding they're basically doing complicated dub-style DJing and live mixing and I am here for it. I've actually seen them in the past - checks calendar - well, within 10 years and they still had it, especially Thomas Fehlmann who has had various solo projects and DJ work.
One of my favorite live performances of all time was seeing The Orb at a rave called Organic 96 where they set up the largest 8+ channel surround sound system I've ever seen or even heard of, and I can fully acknowledge that something like 90% of that show was all about them fucking around with a surround sound mixing console and panning weird sounds all over the amphitheater and the laser show that went with it just blowing people's minds with sonic weirdness.
Like at one point they had airplane drones and it sounded like a small plane was flying overhead and then crashed and people reacted to it. They also had some off road motorcycle noise they were panning around the huge festival sized surround sound rig and it sounded exactly like some maniac had gotten into the show and was tearing around in the crowd and running people over. People were like suddenly looking behind them and leaping out of the way of an invisible motorcycle and it was fucking glorious.
Anyway, The Orb definitely did not have to phone it in for the TOTPs gig, and it's a pretty clear "Nah, fuck you." to TOTP they didn't set up any gear at all, not even a DJ mixer and some turn tables or something. Sure, most people back then wouldn't have understood what they were doing with a mixer and a bunch of samplers and other electronic music gear and playing it in a rather boring looking way, but a lot of people would get it. There were tons of Orb fans back then.
posted by loquacious at 6:17 PM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
Oh my god I love this in particular, thank you. And I love all the other piss takes being shared in this thread.
Entertaining thread derail warning.
I can share that The Orb has always been excellent live when I've seen them but I also understanding they're basically doing complicated dub-style DJing and live mixing and I am here for it. I've actually seen them in the past - checks calendar - well, within 10 years and they still had it, especially Thomas Fehlmann who has had various solo projects and DJ work.
One of my favorite live performances of all time was seeing The Orb at a rave called Organic 96 where they set up the largest 8+ channel surround sound system I've ever seen or even heard of, and I can fully acknowledge that something like 90% of that show was all about them fucking around with a surround sound mixing console and panning weird sounds all over the amphitheater and the laser show that went with it just blowing people's minds with sonic weirdness.
Like at one point they had airplane drones and it sounded like a small plane was flying overhead and then crashed and people reacted to it. They also had some off road motorcycle noise they were panning around the huge festival sized surround sound rig and it sounded exactly like some maniac had gotten into the show and was tearing around in the crowd and running people over. People were like suddenly looking behind them and leaping out of the way of an invisible motorcycle and it was fucking glorious.
Anyway, The Orb definitely did not have to phone it in for the TOTPs gig, and it's a pretty clear "Nah, fuck you." to TOTP they didn't set up any gear at all, not even a DJ mixer and some turn tables or something. Sure, most people back then wouldn't have understood what they were doing with a mixer and a bunch of samplers and other electronic music gear and playing it in a rather boring looking way, but a lot of people would get it. There were tons of Orb fans back then.
posted by loquacious at 6:17 PM on April 27, 2021 [3 favorites]
Washington Post article on Ivanov provides some additional details:
posted by needled at 6:33 PM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ivanov, who competed under the stage name “Lelush”Haha I was wondering about the similarity of his stage name to Lelouch from Code Geass.
"Produce Camp 2021," also known as "Chuang," ... has reportedly been viewed more than any other program in China so far this year.
“Chuang 2021” brought together 90 male trainees from countries around the world — including China, Thailand, Ukraine and the United States — to form an 11-member boy group as voted by its massive global audience.
His stage name was inspired by a character from his favorite Japanese anime series.
His Chinese fan base, known as “Sun Si” or bamboo shoots — a pun that also means pranksters — financed LED billboards of him in a dozen Chinese cities and voted him into the top finishers during early rankings.
posted by needled at 6:33 PM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
Speaking of bands refusing to play along with contractually-obligated fake performances, here's Iron Maiden in 1987.
posted by Leeway at 6:35 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Leeway at 6:35 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
Of course, not all live performances on TotP were bad - here's Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band performing Instant Karma! in 1970.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 7:41 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by thatwhichfalls at 7:41 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
"However, in this election, one extremely popular young man has gotten practically all of the votes, for all the offices on the Student Council -- and as you may have guessed, he is not one of those duly nominated.posted by Harvey Kilobit at 7:56 PM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]
The committee feels that it will be best if we declare the election as having miscarried," Miss Steele went on, to considerable booing. "We are going to hold another election, by show of hands, here this morning -- but in the interest of fairness, we would like to invite the young man who got so many votes to come up and say a few words. Will Kevin Shapiro please approach the stage?
From the very last row in the auditorium, a small thin figure shuffled and bobbed down the aisle, and then bounded up the steps to the stage. It was our boy. It was Kevin Shapiro. The Wild Dada Ducks started a cheer that was wildly taken up by everyone else in the school. Kevin Shapiro, cool as you please, stood on the stage, waiting for the cheering and clapping to die down. I noticed for the first time that Kevin had these really klutzy shoes. They looked like Frankenstein boots. I think he picked shoes with the thickest possible soles, in an attempt to get an extra inch of height. The shoes made Kevin Shapiro look incredibly Dada.
Finally the last whistle and foot-stomp and cheer had echoed through the auditorium and Kevin Shapiro spoke.
"Hey," he said, "I don't want to be any slob President of the Student Council. Don't vote for me, see? Vote for these idiots here."
The applause was deafening. It went on for about ten minutes.
Kevin was re-elected in a landslide.
-- Daniel Manus Pinkwater, Young Adult Novel
I forgot the link to Lennon and company - sorry
posted by thatwhichfalls at 7:58 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by thatwhichfalls at 7:58 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think Produce 101 Season 2 had the best theme song yt of all. I was in Seoul a couple of months after this edition of the show ended and there was no escaping this song anywhere one went.
Kang Daniel! Be still my heart. Now that was a proper kpop Cinderella story... which of course ended in ugly contract disputes and mental health struggles.
Lelush is trending on Weibo right now because people spotted him window shopping. He is genuinely famous. I cannot even.
posted by fatehunter at 10:10 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
Kang Daniel! Be still my heart. Now that was a proper kpop Cinderella story... which of course ended in ugly contract disputes and mental health struggles.
Lelush is trending on Weibo right now because people spotted him window shopping. He is genuinely famous. I cannot even.
posted by fatehunter at 10:10 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
I watched one of Lelush's performances. And...well...dude's got serious charisma. And the "I'm so done with this" attitude kind of amps it up, really.
posted by rednikki at 8:02 AM on April 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by rednikki at 8:02 AM on April 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
This post has given context to the clip I saw on Weibo of a slim young guy dancing off stage, with the caption 'Lelush overjoyed at punch-out'. Thank you.
posted by of strange foe at 8:08 AM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by of strange foe at 8:08 AM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Compilation of clips of Lelush telling fans not to vote for him
The depression is pretty palpable, now I'm feeling conflicted about adding more views. You can see why they kept him on TV.
posted by subdee at 8:23 AM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
The depression is pretty palpable, now I'm feeling conflicted about adding more views. You can see why they kept him on TV.
posted by subdee at 8:23 AM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
This Billie Eilish cover is so on brand though...
(You guys thought I was kidding about getting suck in; I wasn't.)
posted by subdee at 4:18 PM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
(You guys thought I was kidding about getting suck in; I wasn't.)
posted by subdee at 4:18 PM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
When I first heard about this I immediately thought that he could probably leverage the publicity into a modelling contract -- at least modelling doesn't require any singing and dancing. But I read in an earlier article that he had in fact briefly tried modelling and immediately hated it. Unless it's all an elaborate act, it really sounds like this is an introverted dude who has the misfortune of looking like someone who should be famous while really not being cut out for that kind of public exposure.
posted by confluency at 5:30 AM on April 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by confluency at 5:30 AM on April 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by cendawanita at 5:34 AM on April 27, 2021 [25 favorites]