Happy to play second fiddle

FTIsland's Lee Jae Jin does not feel over- shadowed by the band's lead singer Korean quintet FTIsland are certainly not the only rock band in the world to suffer from the problem of being known primarily for the frontman.

Mention their name and lead singer Lee Hong Ki, 23, is probably the only person who comes to mind for many. He had debuted in show business as a child actor and shot to fame in the popular drama You're Beautiful (2009).

However, FTIsland bassist-singer Lee Jae Jin, 22, does not feel overshadowed by Hong Ki. In fact, he admits that his colleague, known for his powerhouse vocals, is a better singer. "I wish I had better vocals, like Hong Ki's, but I know it's impossible," he says.

Jae Jin was speaking to the media after judging the finals of the TV talent search contest, Scoot: K-pop Star Hunt 3, at Suntec City last Sunday. The series is currently airing on Channel M (StarHub TV Channel 824/874, SingTel mio TV Channel 518). Jae Jin will be back in Singapore again for FTIsland's second full concert on March 8.

They first played here in January 2012 at the Max Pavilion. The rest of the band members are guitarist-keyboardist Choi Jong Hoon, 23, guitarist Song Seung Hyun, 21, and drummer Choi Min Hwan, 21.

The possibility of the concert here being cancelled was raised when news broke in November last year that Hong Ki slipped and fell outside a restaurant. He suffered facial fractures and dislocated his shoulder.

He had to stop work to recover then, but Jae Jin assures fans that Hong Ki is well now. "He was in pain, but he's fine now. We were joking that he got injured on purpose so that he could get some rest," Jae Jin says through an interpreter. The upcoming concert marks the sixth anniversary for the band, which have produced hits such as Love Love Love and Hello Hello.

"Don't expect special effects or our band members to be flying around. The focus will be on our music," adds Jae Jin. Despite the band's camaraderie, he reveals that there are times when they get into arguments, which are usually triggered by the members divulging one another's secrets on variety shows.

"We have quarrelled a lot of times when we spilled one another's secrets on screen. Originally, we would get angry with each other. But after a while, we would just laugh it off," he says.

While the savvy Jae Jin evades the question on what is the one secret revealed about him that had him hopping mad, he shares his clever method to stop information from being broadcast when the band are interviewed together on TV.

"During the recording, when other members are revealing my secrets, I would say a vulgarity or a brand name, so that the TV editor has no choice but to cut out that segment."

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