Shinee's Key struggled with inferiority complex at an early stage of his debut, the actor has revealed. The 26-year-old, who is now a successful singer and group's fashion director, opened up about his past inhibitions on a talk show As You Say.
The singer started off by saying: "Before I begin to talk, I want to say that I am 26 years old, and I know that I am too young to give any advice to others on how to live. I will tell a short story, and I hope you guys will listen."
Giving an example, Key, whose real name is Kim Ki-Bum said: "One reporter said to us that SHINee is like a group of swans, that we seem to have natural-born elegance. I came home and thought about it carefully, but I realized that I don't have anything 'natural-born.' So I considered which bird I am like the most and concluded that I am like a chicken."
Key went on with a few tears rolling from his eyes: "Since I was little, I wanted to become a singer, and I wanted to convince my parents' support before it's too late. They opposed at first, but eventually caved in...I kept getting rejected at auditions then finally made it at an audition that was 8000:1 passing ratio. I came an trainee at age 15 and debuted at age 18."
While Key was confident about himself, he experienced a shock wave after he debuted with other four other members. The singer-turned-actor revealed that he went into a state of dejection after seeing himself at the last spots despite putting all the hard work: "Among SHINee members, I always ranked 5th place [last] in search engines," he siad.
"I started to doubt myself...I found myself as a chicken among many swans. I had to admit that I had no competitive edge," he further explained.
The Shinee member is now relieved of all his doubts, and is now a successful singer and an actor too. Key has appeared in a couple of dramas and has gathered loads of praise for the same.
His PD once stated: "Key is someone who works hard. He prepared a lot beforehand... and as an actor, he comprehensively analysed his character role. He is receiving many praise and love from the staff members. Despite having no experience in dramas at the time of his audition, his acting gave off a very fresh vibe. Furthermore, his acting and his enunciation were good and so we decided to cast him."
