Height is both help and hindrance, says K-pop star

Being the tallest in his group has helped Lee Jung Shin, the youngest member of Korean pop-rock boy band CNBlue, stand out. But his height can also be a hindrance, he said.

The 21-year-old, who is 1.87m-tall, told The New Paper in an interview at Oasia Hotel on Thursday: "Being so tall benefits the fans more than me. Fans can always spot me from afar even if I am wearing a cap and (I am) in disguise."

He added with a laugh: "Sometimes I go shopping on the streets with my bandmates and people look at me as I am so tall, and then they realise who I am and go, 'Oh...', and then they start to notice the others next to me and go, 'Oh...', and start following us."

Lee, who was in town to promote the new reality TV talent series K-pop Star Hunt 3, has been a member of CNBlue since its inception in 2009.

The regional show sends two contestants from each participating country to South Korea.

The contestants have to undergo song-anddance challenges and face the risk of weekly eliminations.

The overall winner will get a contract with CJ E&M and FNC Entertainment, the agency Lee is from.

The public auditions of the Singapore leg to find two local representatives will take place at Bugis+ on Sunday, from 11am.

Lee is the bassist and rapper of CNBlue. The other members of the band are leader and lead vocalist Jung Yong Hwa, 24, guitarist and vocalist Lee Jong Hyun, 23, and drummer Kang Min Hyuk, 22.

The handsome boyish-looking quartet are known for writing their own songs and playing their own musical instruments.

Lee revealed he is closest to Jung.

"When I do promotional events alone, I call Yong Hwa and chat with him when I have free time. I click well with him because our characters are quite similar," he said.

"In fact, I wanted to come with him on this trip to Singapore but he is too busy with his acting schedule."

He also praised Jung as a good leader, and said Jung makes everyone sit down for a post-mortem briefing session after each concert or live performance.

"We talk about how we did, and discuss the good and bad points of the gig. We also give each other suggestions on how to improve."

The currently single idol says he is not jealous of Jung's sweet lovey-dovey relationship with Seohyun of K-pop group Girls' Generation on popular Korean variety dating show We Got Married, which pairs K-pop celebrities and shows what life would be like if they got married.

He said: "No, I am not jealous of him, why would I be?"

He added: "If I have the chance, I would want to be on the programme as well, but my busy schedule now does not allow it. "I would also rather use my free time to catch up on band practice as I didn't train as hard as I would have liked to in the past."

Tough training

Being a trainee under FNC Entertainment before his showbiz debut was tough for Lee, who recalled the long hours he had to put in.

He said: "I had to rush from school to training, and we would train till midnight. The next day, I would wake up early for school and the cycle repeats. It was very tiring."

But he did have some good times during his training stint.

"We had only 30 minutes for lunch, so we would sprint from our training venue to a hotdog stand 10 minutes away, finish the hotdog buns in five minutes, and then sprint back in 10 minutes.

"That was one of the most fun memories I had," he reminisced.

With all his co-members also branching out into acting, Lee said he supported them by watching their TV dramas and giving them feedback.

But as the others were too busy with their hectic schedules, he said they did not watch his drama The Blade And Petal, which ended its run in South Korea last week.

Lee pondered before saying, deadpan, to laughter from the media: "When Yong Hwa and Min Hyuk's new dramas air later this year, I will tell them I am too busy and can't watch their shows as well."

K-pop Star Hunt 3 premieres on Channel M (StarHub Ch 824 and SingTel mio TV Ch 518) on Nov 30.

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