This is a review article written after watching the broadcast.
You Quiz on the Block Lee Jae recalled his difficult days as an SM trainee.
On the 22nd episode of the tvN variety show You Quiz on the Block (hereafter You Quiz), the star of the K-POP Demon Hunters OST "Golden," Lee Jae, appeared.
That day Lee Jae said he spent 12 years as an SM trainee, saying, "I was a cohort with Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee and f(x)," and revealed he was a trainee from 2003 to 2015.
Lee Jae, who began trainee life at 11, recalled, "I was the first to arrive at the practice room at 7 a.m. and stayed until 11 p.m. I really worked hard. Looking back now, it's amazing that I worked so hard at such a young age."
Above all, Lee Jae said, "What I still remember is that Yuri unni once came in while I was practicing vocals. She told me, 'I think you're really going to become something. You work so hard. You will definitely succeed.'"
Lee Jae practiced dance for six hours and singing for six hours every day and worked hard, but in the end he did not debut with SM. About this he admitted, "SM and I had slightly different ideas. At that time the trend was a clean voice. So I was trying to change my voice. I was told to sing cleanly. On top of that, I was too old."
Having missed his debut timing, Lee Jae, who started at 11, ended his trainee life at 23. He said, "There are stages. Trainee, then someone preparing to debut. I was always a trainee," and added, "I worked hard too, so 'Why didn't I debut? Am I lacking a lot?' I was very disappointed in myself."
He continued, "After the contract ended I took a taxi home and tears came. I worked so hard and it didn't happen? The wound was so deep. I felt life was really hard."
In the end Lee Jae cried, saying he felt sorry for his younger self. He said, "More than the contract termination, I felt sorry for the young Lee Jae to whom I had poured so much. That much time felt wasted, and I hated myself so much and felt sorry. The disappointment of 'even if you work hard it doesn't work' was too great."
Meanwhile, Lee Jae said he overcame his complexes about his voice while singing "Golden" for K-POP Demon Hunters. He said he hesitated when director Kang Megi offered him the vocal part, explaining, "I came in as a composer and thought, 'Could I dare do this?' My voice was such a complex — isn't it too dark? (During my SM trainee days) it felt like a complex."
Lee Jae said he was afraid because he thought his voice sounded too rough, but added, "I wanted to break down this wall for a long time. When I was young my voice was so ugly and old‑fashioned that I worried a lot, but people liked not only the song but my voice, which gave me completely different confidence. I'm so grateful to the fans," expressing thanks to his fans.
[Photo] You Quiz on the Block broadcast screen capture
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