He was about to give up on his K-Pop dreams.
12 minutes ago
K-BOYS and RAINZ member Seongri, who has appeared on six audition programs, including Produce 101 Season 2, opened up about the difficult path he has taken since the show, including how he truly felt watching Wanna One’s success.
| @seongriofficial/Instagram
In the latest episode of MBN’s Kim Ju Ha’s Day And Night, the Top 3 contestants from Unknown Legend, Seongri, Haru, and Jang Han Byul, appeared as guests.
During the broadcast, Seongri explained why he decided to challenge himself through yet another survival show. He shared that after completing his mandatory military service last year, he briefly had work, but it quickly disappeared. “There were simply not enough stages for me to perform on,” he said.
Seongri revealed that before joining Unknown Legend, he had even been learning a different, more ordinary skill. However, when he saw the recruitment notice for the show, he found himself debating whether to try again.
I had gone on a total of six audition programs, but I always had to turn back without ever crossing the threshold into the finals. Each time, the sense of frustration grew. I was trying to tell myself, ‘I guess my fate only goes this far,’ and give up. But my blood started boiling again. I decided to do it, thinking it would be my last time.
— Seongri
Seongri first became known to many viewers through Mnet’s Produce 101 Season 2 in 2017, where he finished in 46th place and was eliminated. After the show, he debuted as a member of the seven-member project group RAINZ with other former contestants. Looking back on that time, Seongri expressed lingering regret toward the group’s younger members. “At the time, I was the oldest member and the leader, but I don’t think I properly fulfilled that role,” he said.
Afterward, Seongri continued challenging himself on audition programs, including several trot competitions. He revealed that he appeared on five trot survival shows, including Voice Trot and Mister Trot 2, but experienced another painful setback when his appearance on Mister Trot 2 was completely edited out.
Back then, I went into the competition putting everything on the line. But after experiencing the pain of being completely edited out for the first time, I locked my door and cried. I drank soju straight from the bottle, and it was really hard. That was when I felt frustrated about my dream.
— Seongri
When show host Moon Se Yoon brought up the Wanna One members, who appeared on Produce 101 alongside Seongri and went on to become major stars, Seongri admitted it was not easy to continue preparing for more auditions while watching his former castmates succeed. “It can’t be expressed in words,” he said.
Honestly, when I saw them doing well, I couldn’t help but feel envious. I was happy they were doing well, but I also felt so impatient. But because of that, I became less hesitant about applying for competition programs. I developed the mindset of, ‘Let’s just try anything first.’ What I realized while doing Unknown Legend is that all the competition processes I went through to this point were probably steps that helped make me who I am today.
— Seongri
Seongri ultimately won Unknown Legend, now looking forward to “work even harder and sing happily for [his] fans.”
Watch the full clip here:
Source: Sports Today and Star News