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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Downtown

Hey everyone!

I went downtown with a friend on Saturday. Our journey began with a visit to the TOT the Cat Café, then to NU Bügel, and finally Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Matcha Café (next to Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake). Hmm...I guess we spent the entire day eating food...shhhh don't tell my manager!

Yes, I know you probably wanted to see photos of cats. I took videos, but I forgot to take photos. Sorry.

street view from NU Bügel

NU Bügel's lights...?

that's me :D

Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Matcha Café! We got a cheesecake, a couple madeleines, aaand ice cream. Oops.

the menu at Uncle Tetsu's

Until next time...
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Where do SERA00 members attend school?

Hey everyone!

I know that I regularly complain about school and how it hinders my ability to update this blog readily...and I was going to give the same reason for the lateness of the winter concert and SERA00 Star City recaps. (I'm still going to.) However, I realized that the last time I talked about school was two years ago, when I was in the tenth grade. I don't mean SERA00 School, or complaining about school, but actually dedicating a post to it. The SERA00 member schooling system has changed quite radically since I last wrote about it, so I thought it was worth an update.

First off, I'm in grade 12. If you recall my previous posts about school in ninth and tenth grade, all members were tutored within the SERA00 Complex. We had scheduled academic classes, but they were all exclusively with other SERA00 members, organized by Management. Now, there was nothing specifically wrong with the system - we were all well educated, and those members who wished to continue post-secondary studies were able to, and none of them has complained of being academically behind their peers. The schooling system was tailored to fit around our odd schedules, which made it difficult for us to attend a "normal" school. The concept is similar to child actors and actresses attending school on set.

What was the problem, then? Ultimately, the factor that caused the paradigm shift was the lack of "outside" contact. For many of the members, we could literally spend all of our time, 24/7, within the SERA00 Complex. We study, train, perform, work, eat, and sleep inside the Complex. You could literally never go out. Of course, it didn't exactly happen like that. We did leave the Complex now and then to visit family, go out to eat, have fun, attend events and schedules, etc. I'm sure there were many other factors as well, but this was the main one that Management quoted when the change was announced.

Where do we attend high school now? Two years ago (three? the 2013-2014 school year), the Modern Arts Performing School (MAPS) opened in the closest town to the SERA00 Complex, next to the plaza that Fela's Sweetshop is in. Although still considered a relatively new school, its reputation is already impressive, partly because it is the arts-focused counterpart of the prestigious Guilun Academy. Located in Taiwan, the Guilun Academy is attended by many YS Entertainment artists, including Huang Yu Yan, DRE4M, and ECTI. Unlike MAPS, Guilun Academy students are known for their academic prowess. 

MAPS is an arts school focused on "modern" performing arts. "Modern" bands and dance instead of classical orchestras and traditional dance. Of course, that's not to say that "modern" performing arts are better than traditional performing arts - this just happens to be MAPS' specialty, and it fits SERA00 very well.

Currently, every SERA00 member of high school age is enrolled in MAPS. There are around 500 students in MAPS, and about 60 of them are SERA00/CASUT00 members. MAPS has competitive admission, so students must go through a rigorous application and audition process. SERA00 members have to go through the same process too, although no member has failed to be accepted so far. We're treated pretty much the same as other students. We attend the same classes and the full 9-4 school day. The only exception I can think of is the MAPS Showcase. It's an annual concert that all students prepare intensely for - it's attended not just by parents, but media and entertainment agency recruiters as well. It's a unique chance for students to get noticed. As a result, preparation is intense and consumes many hours not just during but after school as well. It's a requirement for all MAPS students, but SERA00 girls are exempt, as it's simply impossible to squeeze in Showcase prep with all the SERA00 schedules. SERA00 members are already debuted as well, so there's no need to appeal to recruiters, although in the past two years, we have put on a performance as a group at the Showcase, usually our latest single.

SERA00 doesn't recruit at MAPS Showcases, if you were wondering. SERA00 doesn't do street casting in general. All members join through the annual auditions. The only instance ever where Management placed a member in SERA00 is 8th gen's Sayoung Yoon, but she was already a YS Ent. trainee. If a MAPS student wants to join SERA00, they go through the same audition process as the public. So far, SERA00 only has two members who were already MAPS students when they auditioned for SERA00 - 7th gen's Eliza Moir, and 8th gen's Romy Stokes.

Okay, I think this post is long enough. Looking at my school agenda, I have some sort of test or assessment EVERY DAY next week...plus tonight is an Angel Stage :D

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It's Okay, Wolf Boy - MY. SOLO. DEBUT. (not)

Hey everyone!

Super exciting news!!!!! Yes I know it's past 2AM but I literally just received the green light to release this information and I wanted the blog to be the first to announce this before the press picks it up. So that's why I'm posting this now!

I may have jumped ahead of myself a bit here - the super exciting thing isn't happening now...or anytime soon enough that I can give you a date. However, the knowledge that it's going to happen is already super exciting and I hope you guys are as excited as I am!! How many times have I already used some form of the word "excited"?

("Stop going on and on, Evie, just tell us what it is...")

Are you ready?

MY. SOLO. DEBUT.

Omg?

YESSSS IT'S HAPPENING. EVIE IS GOING TO HAVE A SOLO DEBUT. I'm sorry for the all caps but I'm SOOOO FREAKING EXCITED.

("Calm down, Evie.")

Assuming that no other member debuts between now and my solo debut sometime in the hopefully not-too-far future, I'll be the fourth SERA00 member to have a solo debut, after Luraland, Sassan, and River. I promise I'll tell you all more of the juicy details and how it all came to be later! As I said before, no date has been set so it could be months or even next year.

But don't get disappointed yet - something exciting is happening now too! Are you curious as to what any of what I wrote above has to do with the title of this post? Well, my solo debut may not be in the foreseeable future, but the release of this song sure is!

"It's Okay, Wolf Boy" is part of the OST of the upcoming film Wolf Boy! The film has no affiliation with SERA00 which makes it an even bigger honor that I was chosen to sing the song - yes! "It's Okay, Wolf Boy" will be sung by Evie - just me, me, and me!

It's not my official solo debut but it is a solo song - and I can't tell you how much I love it! I was able to pre-screen the movie and I know it's going to be an amazing, heartfelt, and tear-jerking film. 

Just some last minute updates - working on the winter concert recaps. Also working on the SERA00 Star City recaps. They're coming soon! Please look forwards to "It's Okay, Wolf Boy" which will be released next week ahead of the film's premiere.

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Updated "Songs" tab!

Hey everyone!

As I was pondering my upcoming posts about the SERA00 Star City episodes, I realized that I'm probably going to be including a lot of SERA00 song names, since all participants are performing SERA00 songs. I know that it's hard for even the most avid fan to keep track of our 200+ songs. Even I don't know them all!

So I've been working on updating the discography, which can be found under the "Songs" tab. You can now click on links under each single that will show you the tracklist, and expanded the Stages to include the dates of each Stage's debut performance, as well as a link to the full setlist. Granted, I set it up but a lot of the content is still missing. It takes time to find this stuff out! I'll keep adding to it as I dig up more information.

I'm also working on a timeline of SERA00's history! But that's turning out to be a lot more work than I anticipated, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to have that up for you guys.

By the way, this post was written by me, Evie, but it's going to be uploaded by my manager since I should currently be performing in the 2016 SERA00 Winter Concert "If It's Forever" ... thanks!

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SERA00 Star City [2/2]

Hey everyone!

I split up the post because the first one was getting too long. Tonight will be the first of our two-night 2016 SERA00 Winter Concert!

I was talking about Star City in the previous post as if it was all going to happen in the future, which understandably made some of you confused, as there have been a lot of ads and commercials for the show recently. Yes, you're right - the first episode has already premiered yesterday night. The results from the first challenge will be revealed at the beginning of the next episode, but the surprise I mentioned earlier is that we will actually be revealing the results on the second day of the concert! Both to the members and the audience, both of which have never seen the results before the reveal.

For those who haven't seen the first episode yet, I gotta say right off the bat that you won't be seeing me on the show. I'm sorry. I was not one of the souls brave enough to risk my rank for a stab at a solo concert and musical role T.T At least now I'll be able to provide a (hopefully) unbiased commentary of the show.

PARTICIPANTS

STAR POWER

STAR TALENT

B rank Samantha Willis “Sammi” Hollis Stern “Holly” C rank Tang Tang Tsang Fawn Cobbleton Eclair Holland "Echo" Felicia Russel “Felicity” Ginelle Gerald “Ginger” Piper Weston Yura Chung Oakley Canterbury Cindy Howe Ariande Wong “Ariel” Braelyn Rowe Liesl Surrey Kaya Courtland April Heffron 00 rank Katarina Ren “Katalie” Xue Ling Kuo Emily Wattana Cora Hyland “Coral” Erica Cortez Seren Ellery Judy Kim “Juhyun” Linda Hoang “Liha” Yuzuki Ito CASUT00 Arron Isabelle Nikki Holiday

B rank Raine Colbert Macey Fent C rank Sora Takashi “Soracchi” Mikayla Iverson Jessica Caves Kai Lee “Kailee” Shannon Hunton Kerria Santivejkul Isla Hedley Emma Jung Poppy Ganeson Briar Ross “Briar Rose” Eliza Moir Celestia Charrete Aspen Wilkenson Haley Wickham 00 rank Henley Rey Izumi Kimura “Ice” Dana Jennings   Romy Stokes Jenna Moore Sayoung Yoon Leanne Chen “Lychee” CASUT00 JY Rachel Madison Ava

As I was compiling this list, I realized something that may be confusing which I will clarify now. If you read my election results post, you will see some girls, like Sayoung - who is listed high up under B rank, but is listed under 00 ranks on this list - whose rank seems inconsistent. Well, even though in the election she landed within the bracket required to move up to B rank, you cannot become an official member just by ranking high at an election. You remain a 00 rank despite your ranking until you are promoted by Management. The only difference is that when other 00 ranks get promoted, the automatically become C ranks - she will become a B rank.

Anyways, my thoughts on the participants: unsurprisingly, none of the A ranks elected to join. Likely, it was because the higher ranked A ranks felt no need to join the show (honestly, if Sassan wanted a solo concert, all she would have to do is ask), and the lower A ranks weren't positive that they could snag first place to retain their A rank. Same with the B ranks, although there were a couple who took the chance - 4, to be exact, which means that unless the winning three are dominated by B ranks, at least a couple of them are bound to drop a rank. As expected, all the C rank and 00 ranks joined, as there was really no threat to their position, and same with the CASUT00 girls.

Alright, I was finishing up this post during a break - we're running a dress rehearsal at the concert venue. We're just wrapping up now and we can already hear you guys lining up outside the stadium :o I'm glad it's not too cold tonight! I'm going to go prepare with the rest of the members now. See you on stage!

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SERA00 Star City [1/2]

Hey everyone!

Remember that thing I told you I tell you about? Well, here it is. Introducing...*drumroll*...SERA00 Star City! No, I'm not talking about the SERA00 City. This is SERA00's first survival show! 

Like the election, participation is voluntary, and all SERA00 and CASUT00 members are eligible to join as a participant. I wouldn't say that the show is targeted towards the 00 ranks, but rather that it's likely all or most of them will join, compared to official members who have already debuted. Later on, I'll discuss reasons why official members may or may not want to participate.

So how does the show work? There will be two competition streams that members can choose from - Star Talent and Star Power. Star Talent participants will be judged solely on their dance and singing skills, whereas Star Power participants will be judged on idol aura, stage presence, performance. To those who are not in or are new to the idol scene, the Star Power stream may seem rather abstract to you. How can it possible match up with the Star Talent stream?

It's the same way that Sassan is ranked above Luraland, despite Luraland being the better singer. The way that Yumichan and Sayoung are miles ahead of the other girls in their generation, despite joining SERA00 at the same time. Of course, it's not to say that talent doesn't get you anywhere, or that girls who gain popularity through means other than singing or dancing talent don't deserve it. I'm not making such a generalization, rather, I'm trying to explain why the concept of Star Power should not be taken lightly.

The judges will all be celebrity guests and trainers who have no affiliation with SERA00. That's right - even Miss Avery is taking the break on the judging in this show. 

After each challenge, participants will be evaluated and ranked.

Phase 1: Solo performance

Phase 2: Self-cam

Phase 3: Same stream team performance (elimination round)

Phase 4: Musical performance

Phase 5: Cross stream team performance (elimination round)

Phase 6: Solo performance (final elimination round)

You might be thinking that Phase 4 is rather random. After all, musicals aren't for everyone, and despite SERA00's recent run of "Dreamweavers," being an idol doesn't require any experience in musical theatre. Well, at the end of the program, there will be a first, second, and third place winner for each stream, six winners total. These six girls will make up the main cast of SERA00's next musical! 

Members who are eyeing a role in the musical might consider joining the program. Viewers might argue that it's unfair to pit rookie idols against seasoned idols, but it's not an easy road for official members either.

The final ranking from the program will OVERWRITE your current ranking. First place winners get A rank, second and third get B rank, and everyone else gets either C rank if you're an official member, or if you're a 00 rank then you stay as a 00 rank. In other words, current B and A rank members have a lot more to risk losing if they decide to join compared to 00 and C ranks.

But nothing bolsters improvement like a little friendly competition. So Management is offering some pretty big prizes for the winners of each stream. Mimicking the old SERA00 Complex, the SERA00 City is able to host three sizes of concerts (from smallest to largest) - SERA00 Stage, SERA00 Encore, and outdoor concert. First place winners get a solo outdoor concert, second places get solo Encore, and third places get a solo Stage.

Granted, it's not a full-blown concert like the ones we do as a group, but it's still a super attractive opportunity, even for the top members. Can you imagine that in the 9 years SERA00 has been active, not a single member has put on a solo concert? Ever?

More to come. Here's a thumbnail selfie for your time.

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Lunar New Year & macarons <3

Hey everyone!

I decided that my posts have gone too long without a photo, so I shall provide you with one now!

Yes, it's my photo and my macarons! Today is Lunar New Year, so Management gave us half a day off (the show goes on!). What better way to de-stress than eat sugar... I know, totally not called for in an idol's diet but they were fun to make! I baked 72 of them. One batch of strawberry, one matcha, one chocolate, and one tiramisu. Seventy-two...but they all mysteriously disappeared >.< next time I'll have to make even more!

Happy Lunar New Year!!!
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