[INTERVIEW] Ryan Jhun's interview about Produce 101 Season 2 & Wanna One

(t/n: I only translated the necessary parts about 101)

"It took 12 hours to record 89 trainees for Produce 101 Season 2's theme song 'Me, It's Me'. If there is a Produce 101 Season 3, I will volunteer to give another one of my songs."

In a 4 minute 7 second song, there are 89 trainees who participated. Excluding the F Rank trainees and the ones that left the show before it aired, all trainees participated in singing the song. 'Me, It's Me' is Produce 101 Season 2's theme song and the trainees' first 'mission' song. All trainees performed this on M! Countdown, and this song was used as the BGM when the trainees' ranks were revealed at the end of the song. "I listened to all 89 trainees' voices individually and divided the parts, it wore me out."

- How did you compose 'Me, It's Me?'

"I made this song 10 years ago. The original title was 'Moonlight' and the lyrics were something like 'I walk the moonlight with you' instead of 'The time I spend with you'. My producer team changed the lyrics to match PD101S2's image, and Ahn Junyoung PD participated in writing lyrics himself."

- Wasn't it hard to have all of the trainees' songs in one song? How did you record it?

"Excluding the F Rank trainees, I listened to all 89 trainees' voices and narrowed it down to 19 members to revolve this song around. Instead of looking at only talent, I looked for trainees who fit this song and can express their vocals well while singing this song. I made the 19 trainees the main of this song and had the rest of them be the background. It took 12 hours to record this song, but none of them showed that they were tired which made me realize how desperate they were to debut."

- After the final 11 members were chosen, they re-recorded the song.

"The 12 hour recording narrowed down to 3~4 hours. I asked, 'Why are you so good?' and the kids said 'We sang this song so much to the point we would throw up.' This song was glued in their mind so they could sing it at any moment. While we were recording the new version, I noticed that some of the 19 trainees who recorded the song in the beginning with me were here. Ong Seongwoo, Lee Daehwi, Hwang Minhyun, and Ha Sungwoon."

- How did you work with the final song 'Super Hot'?

"I wanted to present a song to the trainees. A party-like song that anybody can hum along to. We started and finished this song within 2~3 weeks.  We had to record, edit, mix, and master this song within 2 weeks so it was a really important time, but the trainees were really good so we finished with no trouble."

- How have the trainees changed from the beginning and end of the show?

"Of course their skills improved. Maybe because it was right before announcing the last 11 members, but they were really nervous. I tried to relieve their stress for trainees who couldn't show their full potential because of the nervousness."

- The difference between Season 1 & 2?

"These trainees have to face the worst of situations and have to win and survive through all of this. I noticed that in season 2, the trainees supported each other and worked with each other rather than thinking of this as a competition. They showed great teamwork despite the competition, and it was nice to see them rely on each other."

- If the unreleased footage of the trainees were released, the public's view of idol singers might change.

"There are lots of things that weren't broadcasted. It's unfortunate that the public still doesn't accept idol singers. These trainees are trying to fulfill their dreams in a short time, but the time and effort they put into being a singer is beyond your imagination. The kids who aren't as talented work multiple times harder than those who are talented, but it's unfair that they can't improve and prove that they've been working hard. You could think of the trainees who lack a lot as untalented, but please don't ignore their passion and love for music and their hard work."

- Do you have anything to tell the Wanna One members?

"I already saw them recently. I told them 'since you've been chosen, do it properly. Don't bask in your popularity, act as if it's a matter of life or death.' Honestly, even if I don't say this I know they'll do well. Because this is a project group, and they were the final survivors, I think their desperation will last long."

article
trans by @nudongs
don't repost