Hard Work + Patience = Succcess. So says Dana Evans, MNL48 member and recently included in the group’s 3rd single senbatsu, her first. This was a response to my question in her Instagram Stories about what topic would she want if I am going to write an article about her.
To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting any response when I asked that question. At that time, I was still trying to finish my piece about Sheki and was expecting that I would run a story about the Handshake Event for the following week. I previously tagged her in a picture to which she did not respond, and I think I asked several questions to her that she did not answer. So when I saw that she actually responded, I was surprised. But why not? I follow Dana’s social media accounts, keep tabs on her progress, and was genuinely happy that she was selected as part of the 3rd single senbatsu.
But unlike Kaede who is my oshimen, Ash who I’ve followed for a long time, or Sheki whose journey is open for everyone to see, I have no deep or intimate knowledge about Dana. In other words, I am worried that whatever it is I’m going to write may not be able to do her justice.
The thing with idols is that if you don’t bother to go deep into them, you will be easily influenced by the hype and the mystery surrounding them. And Dana seemed surrounded by an impenetrable mist, which can be pierced only if I deign to go deep into her as an idol, but the deadline I have set myself to finish this article doesn’t allow for that.
But that might be a blessing in disguise: because even with the fact that I do not have a deep knowledge about her, I still respect her and the road she took to get where she is now. The equation of Hard Work + Patience = Success really sums up everything about this girl.
My first encounter with Dana Evans was in 2017, when the MNL48 audition was re-launched in Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall. I was invited to cover the event, and I remember going there straight from work. I arrived just as the dancers were making their final rehearsals. I didn’t know it then, but out of that group of talents from Movie Stars Cafe and free-lancers, is one young girl who will eventually be part of the idol group she was then promoting.
Dana is no stranger to working in front of the camera. Prior to her stint in MNL48, she is a model, and worked bit parts in some shows. Being hired to perform alongside Angel Pancho (the future Coach Angel) shows that she did dancing jobs too. For all we know, she must have joined lots of other auditions as well.
But those work were so different to being an idol. In addition to showcasing her talents in modeling and dancing, she also has to sing and fish people with her personality. How difficult was the transition? Most likely hard, because she was taken from her comfort zone and placed in a culture she may not have understood. Yes, she danced to AKB48 songs during her stint with HHE, but that was a temporary thing back then. How was she to know that it will eventually be her life?
How difficult could it be, for someone like Dana who earned her own money, drove a car, was relatively free, to transition into a world full of restrictions? In the first few months of being an MNL48 member, Dana was listless, sometimes looking lost. Of course she performed very well, especially at dance, but I couldn’t see the fire in her eyes and that made me worry.
But Dana worked hard. Really hard. You can see that in her social media posts. You can see how she tried to update it as regularly as possible. You can see how her number of fans increased slowly but surely. Top member she may not be, but she was making the most of the hand she was dealt with.
My eureka moment with regards to Dana was during the Seijin Shiki last January. It was the first time she was thrust into the spotlight, the first time she took part in an MC, and the first time she occupied important positions in the songs they performed. It was an opportunity that she took advantage of, showing attendees what she is capable of as an idol.
She worked hard for that moment, just like everyone in the group. But she had to be really patient and wait for it. There was only a few slots available for non-front girls in the first two singles, so getting in was a long shot. Auditioning for the single meant performing it in front of the producer, Paolo Kurosawa and probably a few others. The pressure must have been overwhelming, and the odds are against her favor. You need the right amount of confidence, skill, preparedeness, and mental fortitude to get it right, and the people who had been part of the senbatsu? Most of them have probably already figured it out.
But hard work and patience do produce results. Dana was chosen as part of the 3rd single senbatsu. Besting most of her sisters to earn a spot in what is turning out to be a very exclusive club. If she managed to do that, then maybe there’s a lot of fight left in her after all.
Maybe she was listless before because she was getting demoralized at remaining outside the magic 16 for so long. Maybe she thought that with her experience, she would be able to ace the single auditons. Maybe she’s just getting tired at the restrictions she had to go through.
Being part of the senbatsu gives the members a certain aura. It made them look and feel special to our eyes and gives them an extra bounce on their step. Since becoming part of the senbatsu, Dana’s fandom just exploded with activity. There’s always activity related to her in my Facebook feed. There’s always something that is posted regarding her and what she’s been doing. Her Instagram stories are regularly updated, and people are starting to flock to her.
Is this the break she is looking for? A reason to stay? A reason to go on with everything she’s been going through? Only Dana knows. This is just one single out of many and in a month’s time, she’ll be fighting for her place in the group once again.
But perhaps I should look at things another way. Dana didn’t become Dana because she had it easy. She didn’t do those dancing and modelling gigs for the heck of it. She wanted – and probably needed – the money, and she’s prepared to work her butt off despite her young age. Dana has struck me as someone who is always on the go, always on the move. Like so many of her sisters in MNL48, she joined the group for the hope of a brighter future. And just like her sisters, she had to earn her place.
Has she earned her place? Is this her reward? After all, it is a senbatsu spot for one single out of many possible future singles. In a few months, everything will be back to square one. But if Hard Work + Patience = Success, then nothing should stop her from getting it.
***Special thanks to Kioku.48 and Wariboushi Photography.
Lit article. I kinda got interested in getting to know her.