Vacation & flight delays

Hey everyone!

With the summer concert now over, SERA00 is going on a working vacation! We're taking a flight over to Orlando, Florida. First stop, Universal Studios - then we make our way over to Disney World. If you're going the same time as us, you may be able to see us perform :) Hehe, it's been a cool experience being in the centre of our latest performances of This Way to the Moon. We'll also be filming the music video for our 36th single while we're there. I'll keep you guys updated! Here's a photo of some free food, because our flight was delayed...

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CASUT00 1ST ALBUM: Cartography

Hey everyone!

Note: this post concerns both CASUT00 as a whole, as well as the Canadian and Japanese counterparts separately, so for the sake of distinguishing them, I will use the terms CASU-C to refer to the eight Canadian members, and CASU-J for the four Japanese members.

In my update post, there were a couple errors and omitted information regarding CASUT00's comeback, which will actually happen tomorrow for the MV drop - Sunday, July 24, 2016, and Wednesday, July 27, 2016 for the full album. As well, concerning their title song, CASU-C and CASU-J will have different ones (more on that later), although CASU-C will have an English version of CASU-J's title song in their album, and vice versa.

This is actually the first real collaboration between all the CASUT00 girls - previously, they just shared a name. CASU-J has been promoting separately in Japan, with their management outsourced to YS Japan. This will be CASU-J's first release under YS Canada's Infinity Project. When I've mentioned CASUT00 previously, I was always referring to just the eight Canadian members, so I hope you'll understand the slight change in terminology.

CASUT00 has a noticeably different music release system than SERA00. While we release a single every couple of months, CASUT00 releases albums/EPs around once a year. It may seem like a rather long break, but CASUT00 has been working very hard towards this comeback. This year, they've been writing their own songs.

That's exciting, because we rarely write any of SERA00's releases. They're almost always handled by Miss Avery's production team, or we get them from external composers. Although some SERA00 members who have an interest in songwriting may have released songs as B/C-sides, team songs, or Stage repertoire, we as members have never been directly tasked with songwriting. So for CASUT00, writing their own comeback song was a new challenge within the 00 realm.

A year later, CASUT00 is finally ready to comeback with their own songs! CASU-C and CASU-J each wrote their own title songs, "Uncharted" and "Destination: Journey" respectively. There are a couple other self-composed songs on their album. The other songs are written by a similar set of people from their previous albums, including Miss Avery, Angel, Huang Yu Yan, and a couple others. I may make another post if I feel like elaborating on their album, but for now, check out the full track list for their album in the "Songs" tab! Or just click here.

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Introducing the 9th generation!

Hey everyone!

Today I'd like to introduce SERA00's 9th generation in advance of their debut at the 2016 SERA00 Summer Concert "Walking on Flower Paths."

Cassandra Seong "Cassie"
Celia Park
Gianna Li "Joy"
Kaira Hayes [ACE of the 9th generation]
Koto Lazos
Linden Kelly
Milla Cassano
Saerim Kim
Valerie Trent "Velvet/Vel"

Indeed, you may find that the list seems somewhat lacking - at nine girls, the 9th generation is the lowest number of girls accepted in the history of SERA00. Even the 1st generation had more than nine girls. It is true that SERA00 is trying to downsize - not significantly, since part of the charm of the group comes with our unconventionally high number of members, but to a more manageable number. Not only does it allow Management to better handle the group, it also gives each girl a bigger chance of exposure. Most of the limelight does tend to fall on the more popular members of SERA00, so for many members, getting through the audition is only the first challenge towards stardom. I think the magic number is around 60 right now, approximately 20 girls per team. But don't take my word for it - my sources are unofficial.

But of course, the 9th generation's low numbers doesn't make them any less of a generation - in fact, less spaces means the odds of getting in were higher this year. It's a feat to be congratulated. To the aspiring girls who didn't make it this time, don't worry - SERA00 will still be holding yearly auditions, and you can always try again next year! Or perhaps another route can be to audition for YS Entertainment? Although the odds of being accepted as a company trainee are significantly higher than SERA00's auditions, the company does hold auditions more frequently - once a month at all locations.

You may recall that the ace of the 8th generation, Sayoung Yoon, was the first SERA00 member who did not partake in our annual audition. She was the first YS trainee who was placed into the group by Management. Following her success, Management has decided to repeat the move this year. Both YS Japan and YS Taiwan have sent over one trainee each, Cassie and Joy respectively. Which means that technically, there were only 7 spots to be filled through the SERA00 auditions this year, compared to the usual 12~16. A rather competitive year.

As usual, I'll provide a brief summary of my first impressions of the new girls. Hmm...I do wonder what they think of me though. I literally sat through their final stage auditions and initial training in order to observe them and write about them...

The YS girls. What can I say? Not to sound biased, but Cassie and Joy top all the other girls in every aspect of training. This isn't a bad thing though. As I've already explained with Sayoung, being a company trainee, they've both already gone through extensive training. Kaira, the selected ace of the 9th generation, has an outgoing and energetic personality, is willing to help others, and is fairly talented in both singing and dancing. Saerim is also another girl whose skills are well-rounded. In terms of singing, Celia, Linden, and Milla stand out, while Koto and Velvet are more dance-inclined. For visuals, I'd say Joy and Koto? They're all beautiful girls.

For any fans who can somehow remember that yes, there is another Trent already in SERA00 (Evalyn Trent), I'd just like to mention that she and Valerie are not related.

If you've browsed the site lately, you'd notice that I redid most of the lists of members - it took quite some time, but I think it's now easier to read and more efficient for fans who want to access the members' information. Enjoy :)

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35th single: This Way to the Moon - Evie centre!!

Hey everyone!

As promised, here is the post dedicated to our new single. I've already updated the site's discography and tracklisting to include our 35th single. The title is "This Way to the Moon" and the centre is...me!

No kidding. Go look at the discography. "Evie" is really there. Some people have said that an Evie-centre is actually predictable, as I'm the only media member who hasn't centred a single at least once. Honestly, I think Management is just taking the opportunity to use the reception to this Evie-centred single to judge whether moving forwards with my solo debut is a good idea or not.

In addition to a first-timer centre, there are also some first-time cast members. Management has really picked a promotional cast this time. Let's break it down.

Centre: Evie
Sassan, Luna, Maya, Angel, Harley, Kotoka, Luraland, Rome, Sammi, Sayoung, Tomiko, Katalie, Tang Tang, Soracchi, Henley

If you're a media member (election top 8), you're almost guaranteed a place in anything SERA00 does - whether it's a TV show appearance, CF deal, or the main cast of a single. So we have the media members here - Sassan, Luna, Maya, Angel, Harley, Kotoka, Luraland, and me. Then we have the B and C rank centres, Rome and Tang Tang respectively. We also see Sammi, Tomiko, and Soracchi, the three who took the greatest improvement in last year's election. The 16-member cast is rounded off with the highest ranking girls from the 8th generation, Sayoung, Katalie, and Henley. Those three also happen to be 00 ranks, and 00 ranks rarely make it into the main cast - definitely not three of them. That gives us an indicator that the remaining 8th gen 00 ranks will be promoted sooner rather than later. It makes sense, seeing as the 9th gen is about to come in.

The MV and single "This Way to the Moon" drops tomorrow. Make sure to give it a watch and a listen!

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July Update #2 - new single, concert, 9th gen, CASU comeback, new stages

Hey everyone!

I'm back with update #2! This time, all things SERA00! I'm not going to go into great detail here, as this post is meant to introduce you to the things you can look forwards to.

First up, our 35th single, currently titled "This Way to the Moon," will be released this Tuesday, June 12, 2016. More on that later - I will dedicate the next post to this.

The 2016 SERA00 Summer Concert "Walking On Flower Paths" will be taking place near the end of July! As always, it'll be a three day concert, July 29-31, 2016. Just to clarify, no flowers will be harmed in the making of this concert. :P

The 9th generation! I will also dedicate another post to the official announcement of the 9th generation, which will be soon, as they will be making their debut at the summer concert.

CASUT00 will be making their comeback too, and simultaneously with CASU-J. They will share the same title song, but CASU-J will be releasing a Japanese version, while the Canadian based girls will release an English version. They will be coming back with their first full-length album! The title song will be pre-released on Sunday, July 24, 2016, and the full album will be dropping on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (edit: I had the dates a week too early - it's fixed now)

What else is new? Totally, completely, long overdue - new stages! That'll be the 7th stage for Aurora, 5th stage for Angel, and 4th stage for Night. The 00 ranks won't be getting a new stage, but their most current stage (6th) will be updated. That means - all stages are comprised of new stage repertoire, with a couple of SERA00's most recent singles (most recent at the time the stage was debuted) thrown in - so the singles in the 6th stage will be updated with SERA00's current most recent singles.

Alright, I think that's a pretty decent update.

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July Update #1 - hair, food, um...more food?

Hey everyone!

I know I keep promising to post more often...I'm trying! An update post counts, right...?

Photo! I dyed my ends (see previous graduation post for photos of my usual hair) with blue, but it didn't really come out blue...maybe a murky green with blue streaks? Ah, it's ok, the colour is actually growing on me.

In case you were curious, this photo was taken at the Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse in Toronto - it's Summerlicious, so we dined there. Yes, the food was good. I am still quite stuffed from the experience.

Tomorrow, more food! I'm attending a potluck organized by my fellow MAPS classmates, since it's our last year in high school. It'll probably be hard to see most of them. Speaking of which, some of you asked me where the other SERA00 98' liners are attending university. You may already know this if you've read press releases or something, but an overwhelming majority of us are attending either U of T, Ryerson, or York. The reason? SERA00, likely. It'd be almost impossible to continue SERA00 activities and attend a farther post-secondary institution, as we'd have to be in two places at the same time. That's just not happening, For some, SERA00 might be the dream - a dream they aren't willing to give up, but I think also, for a lot of us, SERA00 is comfort. And it can be hard to step out of that comfort zone.

I'm in no position to comment on which of the paths is the best. There are members who have taken both in the past - some who've graduated SERA00 to pursue higher education, some who've stayed close in order to continue on with SERA00, even some who have dedicated their attention to SERA00 full-time. I'm on the boat that is tethered here with SERA00, and I won't deny that I've questioned my choice, of turning down more "prestigious" offers to stay close, turning down the unknown, and perhaps the challenges and opportunities that could have come with it.

But since the choice has been made, there's no use dwelling on what could have been, or we might miss what still could be :)

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P.s. for those who noticed that the title said Update #1, there WILL be Update #2, focused on SERA00 related activities. I SWEAR. IT'S COMING.

~Class of 2016~

Hey everyone!

On this happy occasion, I shall save the apologies for my lack of posts for another post ^_^ Two days ago, Monday, was the 3rd Modern Arts Performing School Commencement Ceremony, a.k.a. high school graduation! Me, Rome, and the rest of the SERA00 98-line sat in the sweltering arena, waiting for all 500 names to be called, waiting for our turn on stage - not to perform, but to receive our diploma. Well, to be exact, it was a blank sheet of paper, rolled up, and a student stood by with a basket for you to deposit the diploma after you had walked off the stage. Recycling at it's best.

Many chairs for many graduates

The ceremony began with the formalities, the speeches, the congratulations from trustees who were but a name without a face to us for the most part of the year - and the advice and wisdom of how we should approach our future. To be honest, I tuned out most of the speeches. Most of them were really long and some of the speakers, at no fault of their own, had accents that made their English rather hard to decipher. Not to mention the heat...five hundred graduates plus all the guests of each graduate, all stuffed into an arena with no AC...not exactly an atmosphere you'd like to sit in for four hours.

Speeches

Although it was unquestionably an unpleasant environment, I did ask myself after the ceremony - would I sit through that again? And I can't help but think - yes, I probably would. But why? A graduation ceremony, what is it really? A product of tradition, something every student will sit through just because all the students before sat through it too? What does it mean to you when you are just one of the hundreds present, conforming with everyone else who is dressed in that black gown, waiting hours just for that ten second walk across the stage to receive a blank scroll? 

But perhaps the reason behind the madness is easier when related to something else. Because whenever I see a stage, I can't help but think of our stage. The SERA00 Stage. I know there are many people out there who passionately want to perform - I see it in front of my eyes every year during the SERA00 Auditions. Thousands of girls lined up, waiting - not even for a chance to stand on stage, but a chance to audition for those limited spots on stage. And for those who make it through, finally being able to stand onstage and gaze out at the audience is a moment of accomplishment. A sign that you've maybe done something right. And every performance is a reminder of the privilege that you were chosen to stand in that spot, so you better do your damn best.

Hats in the air

When you think about it like that, the graduation ceremony suddenly becomes a reality check. There are millions of children out there who don't have access to education. And yet here I am, having complained about school all year long, but finally standing on that stage. Graduating. That is something many children will never have the privilege to do.

Two days ago, I graduated from high school. I graduated not just for myself, but for all those who have helped me to this place. I graduated for my parents, my teachers, my friends, my members - and all those who were not able to graduated. I graduated for them - and you will to, knowing that we will do our damn best with what we were given, so that someday, they may graduate too. 

I am a 2016 high school graduate.

I may not have been the best student (far from that, in fact). But I'm off to university next year. I'll be studying at the University of Toronto. I will continue my activities with SERA00, because that's what I love to do. I know I'll have to juggle all the new challenges that comes with change, but you can bet that I'll try my damn best.

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I'm 18.

Hey everyone!

Today is Evie's 18th birthday. Evie is an adult now. She doesn't feel any different.

Thank you to those who came out to my birthday stage tonight, and for everyone's wishes :)

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