WINNER's Kang Seung Yoon Speaks Honestly About Obstacles In His Career, Shares What To Expect From Upcoming Solo Music, And More

WINNER’s Kang Seung Yoon discussed the past, present, and future of his music career.

On the April 16 episode of Naver NOW’s “SAP,” Kang Seung Yoon appeared as a guest on the audio show hosted by Zion.T.

This episode was recorded before the April 9 release of WINNER third studio album “Remember,” and Kang Seung Yoon shared everything from stories about creating the group’s album to spoilers for his solo album.

Bringing up Kim Jin Woo, who became the first WINNER member to enlist in the military on April 2, Zion.T said, “It must’ve felt different having a comeback with an empty spot left by a member.” Kang Seung Yoon replied, “It’s our third studio album. While preparing it, I had no idea that we wouldn’t be able to promote together like this. The [enlistment] date came so suddenly that we were a bit shocked. But we’ll continue to carry out promotions on his behalf. Before he enlisted, we created a lot of content including performance clips. We also included his solo track as the No. 2 track. I think it’ll be a good gift to his fans.”

When Zion.T asked, “I heard you had a goal you wanted to achieve as a leader and producer before the older members’ military enlistments,” Kang Seung Yoon replied, “There was. I’m a human being with lots of ambition. Rather than a specific goal, my goal was to getting the most amount of people possible to know about WINNER. Rather than getting No. 1 somewhere, it’s a goal that can expand infinitely, so it hasn’t really been achieved.”

He continued, “But I think it was the most we could do. That’s how I express it. The fans say that it’s a ‘military hiatus’ but I think that the WINNER before enlistment is chapter one and that the time when we shine after being discharged and completing our solo promotions is chapter two. I think serving in the military is only natural.”

Kang Seung Yoon got his start in the industry in 2010 when he came in fourth place on Mnet’s “Super Star K Season 2.” He named his first difficult time as the trainee years after this TV show, and he explained, “I think I had various turning points despite my young age. When I went on ‘Super Star K’ in high school, when I started acting, when I was going to debut as a solo artist and then debuted as WINNER. But my first memorable time of difficulty was when I was a trainee. I didn’t really think of ‘Super Star K’ as a difficult time, but starting my trainee years was definitely a difficult time. It felt as if I was digging the ground with a shovel to look for something that was buried underground, but I was digging without knowing how far I needed to dig. You don’t know if it’s treasure or trash.”

Speaking about his “Super Star K” application, he said, “I think I wrote ‘I was born to be a star.’ I was 17 years old at the time and it’s an age where you think you’re really cool. I don’t think I really thought that, but I wanted to stand out somehow. Starting with the application, it felt like I was asking to be chosen.”

He added, “I was a guitar major from the start. I majored in classic guitar in high school and went on ‘Super Star K’ three months after I started singing and playing the guitar. I used my entire three-month repertoire on ‘Super Star K.’ I also briefly worked as a billiard player in middle school, but I liked singing even before that. I became obsessed with it for three months and focused on practicing.”

Kang Seung Yoon faced another obstacle when he was told he had weak vocal cords during his appearance on “Super Star K.” “My vocal cords are still really weak,” he said. “I like singing karaoke, but I don’t go to any karaoke rooms since my debut. When singing at karaoke, since it’s hard to monitor my voice, I end up using my voice too much. If I go to karaoke once, I lose my voice for a week. I was just born with weak vocal cords. My ear-nose-and-throat doctor said that I was doing a good job of producing sounds with weak vocal cords in a way that didn’t hurt me.”

Zion.T then said he was surprised by Kang Seung Yoon’s performance of his song “SNOW” on “Music Core.” The WINNER member replied, “You pay a lot of detail to each line. I tried to sing it in my own style, but the song itself was quite difficult. I quickly realized that it would be faster to sing it in a totally different style and performed it that way,” and Zion.T thanked him for singing his song.

One of WINNER’s biggest hits is “REALLY REALLY,” and Kang Seung Yoon shared his thoughts on this. “I think that’s something I really worked towards while making music,” he said. “It’s also something I’m self-reflecting on. It’s something that can’t be helped. If you receive a lot of love once, then you want to get love again next time.”

Kang Seung Yoon has produced songs of various genres since his debut. “I was in a situation where I had to do various things,” he said. “I had my first monthly evaluation as a trainee and sang with my guitar at the beginning. But the reactions to those songs weren’t good. So I listened to R&B, hip hop, and pop, and listening to popular genres made me who I am. It was difficult at first, but I began to think that absorbing other kinds of music was fun and comforted for me.”

When asked how WINNER and Kang Seung Yoon are different, he answered, “My latest solo track is different from what many people think is my music style. I’m someone who has already gotten used to trying new things while promoting with the group WINNER, so my solo album will also be different from WINNER. WINNER sang in a trendy style with those kinds of melodies to show our side as a group, and I think as a solo artist I’m more relaxed and show a variety of genres.”

He revealed, “The songs that I’ve prepared include some rock ballads and ballads. Since I’ve barely released solo tracks during the 10 years after ‘Super Star K,’ there are many people who think I’ll release rock or folk ballads if I do release a solo album and that’s something I’m contemplating over. There are songs in that style as well. What’s definite is that it’ll be more direct than WINNER’s songs. I’m going to tell more of my true stories. There are many times when WINNER expresses emotions in a kind, romantic way, but I think I don’t have to express it through allusion and can just directly say that it’s tiring if something’s tiring. I think this might be reflected in it, but I’m not sure.”

Zion.T then brought up a bias about idols. “Some people in Korea view idols differently from artists,” he said. “There’s a view that everyone is an artist, [except for idols]. Because of this kind of perception, I wonder if you feel like there’s a limit.”

Kang Seung Yoon candidly answered, “That’s something I really dislike. There are a lot of things like that. Because idols have to be a certain way, there are some who think, ‘Why do you guys release songs like this?’ It’s worse than I thought. So one of my goals for these promotions is to break that bias.”

The WINNER member concluded the interview by describing some of hopes and dreams. “I want WINNER to continue our trendy vibe,” he said. “The difficult thing is that it’s trendy and honest music, and that’s the goal I want to have moving forward. It’s my dream to make songs that are trendy but songs you can listen to for a really long time. That’s probably the dream for all musicians. To make music that doesn’t feel old no matter when you listen to it.”

Revealing his biggest fear as being alone, Kang Seung Yoon explained, “That has many meanings. I want to continue being with the members, so I feel scared about being alone. I also fear being alone since I’m a workaholic and lose things around me while becoming lost in my work in order to achieve my dream. I think that it’s really fortunate that I’m a member of a group.”

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