[SBS Star] VIDEO: BTS SUGA Shares Why Big Hit Music Stopped JUNGKOOK from Doing a Guide Track

SUGA of K-pop boy group BTS shared why their management agency Big Hit Music stopped his group member JUNGKOOK from doing a guide track. 

On October 17, rock band Kim Jong-wan-guested episode of SUGA's YouTube show 'SUCHWITA' was unveiled online. 

During their conversation, the two stars mentioned their past collaborative track 'Dear My Friend' that was released as part of SUGA's mixtape album 'D-2' in May 2020. 

Kim Jong-wan said, "Our collaboration was a fun experience. I remember your company reaching out to me. At the time, you guys weren't as big, but were busily getting your name out there. Your agency staff was like, 'There is a K-pop group called BTS under our company. They are blah blah blah.' They kindly gave a detailed explanation of who you were." 
After receiving their call, Kim Jong-wan said he looked at SUGA's portfolio, because he has his own rule when it comes to working with other artists. 

"I always do that to determine if they truly love music. When I was going over your work, I was like, 'He's definitely the right kind of person to work with. He has his own unique character, and I love that.' I actually paused all my other projects to fully concentrate on 'Dear My Friend'." 

When asked why he stopped the other projects, Kim Jong-wan explained, "Your lyrics were so real. I had to take the song seriously." 
Despite his long experience as a musician, Kim Jong-wan admitted that he was really scared to sing 'Dear My Friend' at first.

The musician laughingly stated, "JUNGKOOK did a guide track, and his vocals were just beyond amazing. That made me scared. So, I was hesitant to record my own version of 'Dear My Friend', fearing it might not match up to the same level." 

He continued, "JUNGKOOK had his own vocal colors, and they were beautiful. I felt like I was unconsciously trying to imitate JUNGKOOK's performance, despite being aware that you probably preferred my original interpretation. The recording was not easy." 

SUGA nodded and commented, "Yeah, JUNGKOOK's an amazing vocalist. It's not just you. A number of other artists who have listened to his guide vocals said pretty much the same thing. His singing tends to put a lot of pressure on them. 'Dear My Friend' was the last guide track that JUNGKOOK ever did though. Our agency specifically asked me not to get JUNGKOOK to sing the guide anymore after that one, so..."  
 
(Credit= 'BANGTANTV' YouTube, 'bangtan.official' Facebook) 

(SBS Star)