Kim Samuel, the former contestant on the Korean survival TV show "Produce 101" Season 2, has finally made his solo debut.
Despite that the 15-year-old singer did not make it to the Top 11 on the show, he pursued his own career and released the album "Sixteen" on August 2. He was one of the favorites on the TV show but ended up at 18th place out of the 20 finalists.
This is his second debut, having been launched as a member of the hip-hop duo 1Punch in 2015 along with rapper One, who is now under YG Entertainment.
His debut album contains six tracks including the title track "Sixteen," "I Got It," "123" and "I'm Ready."
At his album showcase, he said he still feels nervous when he performs.
After performing "Sixteen," the lead track of the album, at a media showcase in Seoul on Wednesday, the singer shared how he felt about his first onstage gig as a solo artist.
"Although I am still young, I'd like to show the most professional side of myself when performing onstage. I still feel very nervous and jittery onstage, but I try to overcome them by studying videos of other foreign artists' performances," said Kim Samuel whose role model is Chris Brown, according to the Korea Herald.
About his participation in "Produce 101," he said "I was a bit disappointed when I couldn't debut as Wanna One," referring to the boy band composed of the 11 winners that will debut on August 7.
He said he cried when he got home after the show's finale in June.
"After the show ended, I said goodbye to producers and staff, and went home. Then I burst into tears. I cried a lot in the shower thinking about all the hard work and effort I had put into it," he said.
But that did not dampen his drive to become a singer "because it was what I've been truly longing for."
"Friends from school and my fans also supported me after the show, which gave me strength to get over my failure and move forward," he said.
