"First of all, you guys have all met Larry Jackson from the prestigious band SOS. He will be one of our vocal trainers, especially for C, D, and F-ranked students who need a lot of help. Please give him a round of applause, and Larry, could you say a few words?"
PD Emily calmly gestured to Larry Jackson, who was dressed in a flashy-looking tracksuit with an expensive watch gleaming on his wrist.
Larry Jackson looked over the gathered contestants with an arrogant smile, searching for that weird painted face and not finding it.
Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief that the weirdo was gone, he spotted a contestant wearing a weird green and brown mask sitting in the back.
Recognizing the wildly curly hair that framed the strange green and brown face mask, Larry Jackson gritted his teeth before speaking.
"You all may call me Mr. Jackson, and as you heard, I will be one of your vocal trainers who will teach you the basics and help improve your skills. I'll say it now, I don't do gimmicks or take nonsense. You will work hard, and I will push you to your limits, so prepare yourselves. If not, I'll fail you with no remorse."
Larry Jackson specifically stared at the back row of the contestants before stepping back.
"Excellent. Our next vocal teacher is the Grammy-winning, talented singer, songwriter, and producer Jelissa Harris. She'll mainly be in charge of teaching those A and B-ranked vocals, but occasionally, C-ranked individuals as well as those who want to focus on rapping. Jellisa, could you please say a few words?"
As PD Emily listed her accolades, the contestants clapped loudly, with a few people whistling at the artist.
A woman with a medium brown complexion and her hair put into two large afro puffs stepped forward with a small smile.
Her doe-like brown eyes were framed by long, curly lashes, and her full lips shone with a glittery gloss.
She was wearing baggy camo pants, a black crop top, an oversized white long-sleeved shirt, and black sneakers.
With sparkly star earrings, gold necklaces, and rings on her fingers, she had a casual but put-together vibe that made her seem like an approachable big sister, but with a star-like quality.
"Hello, everyone! You can just call me Jelissa!" a bright, cheerful voice came out as Jelissa looked around with a cute smile.
The contestants began cheering and whistling once again, and she laughed cutely before continuing.
"You guys are all so cute. I look forward to working with all of you to improve your skills and find the style of singing that suits your voice and whatever goals you want to achieve. My teaching style is making sure that everyone has the basics to build a solid foundation when singing any style of song, so we'll focus on that. For the duration of the program and even afterward, please take care of me, and I'll do my best to do the same for you! Okay??"
- Okay!!!
The contestants responded happily, causing her to cheer.
"Yay!"
As Jelissa finished her words in a bright tone, the contestants began cheering once more while calling out their desires.
"Jelissa, please give me your autograph."
"Wink! Please wink!"
"Cheek heart! Cheek heart!"
"Finger hearts!"
"Let's all calm down, we can chat more later." Jelissa winked while making finger hearts before stepping back.
Everyone clapped sincerely at the kind words and friendly demeanor, which contrasted drastically with Larry Jackson's.
Ari was simply grateful that he got to avoid Larry since he had a B-rank vocal badge.
He was actually looking forward to learning from the judges, hoping to improve his stats manually and put all his points into the visual.
Only time would tell if it would work.
Grabbing the attention of the temporarily excited contestants, PD Emily continued with the introductions.
"Thank you, Jelissa. Our first dance trainer is the well-known Korean choreographer Kim Young-woo. I'm sure many of you have heard of him. He's created choreography for amazing groups like BTZ, Mega Junior, and more. He'll be in charge of the A and B rank students as well as making the choreography for a couple of the songs you'll perform throughout the show, so look forward to it."
The contestants clapped loudly as the slim, young-looking Korean man wearing athletic pants, a white T-shirt, and a backward hat stepped forward.
He had piercings all through his ears and lips, along with a tattoo sleeve on his arm.
Glancing around, he caught sight of a few familiar contestants before speaking.
"Hello everyone, I'm Kim Young-woo. I look forward to working with all of you guys during your time on this program. We'll be covering everything from the basics to expert-level choreography that you've probably seen some of your favorite artists perform, and I hope to help you develop the skills to accomplish more than you thought possible."
Woooooooo—
As the sounds of cheers and applause rang out, PD Emily smiled before she continued speaking.
"Thank you, Kim Young-woo. Moving on, our second dance trainer is somebody you're quite familiar with: the fabulous Selena. She'll be in charge of the C and D rank students. Selena, a few words?"
Selena, dressed more simply in fitted yet baggy sweatpants and a tight top that said 'Trainer', stepped forward. Her black hair was put into a high ponytail, and she smiled gently.
"Hello again, everyone, it's so good to see your faces. As mentioned, I'll be in charge of helping you all digest the various choreographies throughout this program while teaching you the basics and helping you improve not just technically but style-wise as well. Look forward to it."
"Thank you, Selena. Our final dance trainer is Jaywalk. He's choreographed for some of the big names that you recognized, and he's also the owner of this studio we'll be using. He will be solely in charge of getting the F-rank students up to par. Jaywalk, a few words, please?"
A tall man with short brown hair wearing black and red track pants and a matching jacket stepped up.
He had a slightly plain appearance and was almost frowning as he looked at the contestants.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Jaywalk. I've been dancing for over 15 years and teaching dance for over 10, so I feel like I have some skill at this point. Even though I'll be in charge of the F-rank dance students, I'll hammer the basics into you, and hopefully by the time you leave the program, whenever that may be, you'll have some semblance of a dance skill. I'm strict, I'm tough, and I'm not here to be your friend. If I feel you're not taking choreography seriously, you'll be on my bad side."
At the fierce words, the room immediately quieted down, and audible gulps could be heard.
"Thank you, Jaywalk. Finally, we have our rap instructor X-ponent. He's a battle-tested rapper who grew from the underground scene to a household name. He's delivered great albums and also collaborated with some of the best in the industry. If you could say a few words, X-ponent?"
A darker-skinned man wearing long baggy shorts, an oversized black t-shirt, and multiple gold chains on his neck walked forward. His hair was cut short, and he had a black durag tied around his head and stylish prescription glasses perched on his nose.
"Yo, wassup with it? How we feeling tonight?"
Gooood!
A laid-back voice with an LA accent could be heard as the man continued speaking, "I'm X-ponent, your rap trainer, and I'm looking forward to working with those of you who are interested in improving your rap skills. We'll be covering all the basics like diction, flow, your delivery, writing, and the swag needed when you're rapping on stage. I want you all to do well and look forward to working with you. Peace."
X-ponent stepped back, and PD Emily led everyone to clap before she began speaking again.
"Now that you've met all the trainers that will be training you, let's get right into it. If you were listening carefully, you'll notice that each of these trainers mentioned teaching you the 'basics' repeatedly, right?"
"Yessss!"
"Yep!"
As the contestants agreed, PD Emily smiled a cunning smile.
"Here at Pop Star Academy, we want you, the contestants, to succeed as best as you can. To do that, we'll spend this week teaching you the basics in each category and a brand new song. At the end of the week, each class will record its performance video, which we'll simultaneously post on the official WeTube Channel. The class that gets the most votes in 24 hours gets a special privilege, and those who are at the bottom get a punishment. Any questions? William Forbes. Go ahead."
The voice of William Forbes, who was sitting front and center, rang out. "Is this the signal song of the show?"
"Nope, that will be revealed at the end of the week. This is purely to test and display your skills after receiving coaching. Any other questions?"
"Will this affect our rankings?"
"No, rankings will begin with the signal song, not this song. This is purely for benefits and to display your skills after a week of coaching. Any other questions? None? Great, let's watch and listen to the song that was partially produced by Jelissa and choreographed by Kim Young-woo."
PD Emily took a remote control out of her pocket, pointing it behind her, and a large projector screen slowly descended. Once it stopped moving, a dance studio appeared on the screen, and music started playing from hidden speakers.