Lee Suk Hoon shared his thoughts on competing with top idol groups.
On the April 26 airing of MBC FM4U's 'Ji Suk Jin's 2 O'Clock Date,' Park Seul Gi asked Lee Suk Hoon, "Your comeback overlaps with BTS and TWICE. Why did you come back now?"
Lee Suk Hoon replied, "To be honest, I'm not a singer that clings to chart rankings. So I didn't consider BTS and TWICE's comeback period." He also said, "I've recently celebrated my 11th debut anniversary. I debuted at 25. I wondered where the time went."
Lee Suk Hoon released the new song "What If" on April 2. Meanwhile, BTS made their comeback with 'Map of the Soul: Persona' on April 12, then TWICE followed with 'Fancy You' on April 22.
Kind of an insulting thing to ask a veteran artist in my opinion. The thing is, people like him have had longstanding careers, and he's seen plenty of other major artists rise, like EXO and SNSD. I love both BTS and Twice, but they aren't the end all be all of music in K-pop. They are both enjoying their moment on top, but that doesn't mean they are the only music people listen to. It's kind of like when people worry about views on music videos and breaking records. Sure, music video views are important for certain awards- but people sitting there and constantly streaming doesn't account for the many other artists that people listen to and enjoy as well. I thought he gave a mature and kind answer to what seemed like a sort of baited question, as if to say, "Don't you think it's foolish to be promoting while these two titans are having a comeback?" It's a shame that, depending upon who's the "it" group at the time, everyone else's comebacks and promotions always seem to have to be made about those people as well. I don't just mean BTS and Twice, it's been the same when other groups have been on top as well.