Because my debut was so popular, I had a wide range of choices for who I wanted to do my first interview with, but there was no competition. Eric Nam's interviews always seemed so relaxed and informal, so it was perfect.
~YOUR OUTFIT~
I stand behind the cameras of the set as Eric does his intro.
"Hello Nam-nation!" He grins into his mic. "The K-pop industry has recently been taken by storm because of a certain female soloist. So, without further ado, please give a warm welcome to, fresh of her debut, ZeeZee!"
All of the camera crew applaud as I walk on set and take a seat.
"And suddenly, I feel very underdressed," Eric jokes. I laugh. "Here's my in jeans, a T-shirt and you in, well, that."
"Thank you," I chuckle.
"So, could I just have a word with my stylist... No? I'm just kidding. Anyway, enough about me. ZeeZee, please introduce yourself."
"Hi!" I smile, waving at the camera. "I'm ZeeZee, Y/N L/N, and I am so excited to here today!"
"She's lying guys." We laugh again.
"Now, ZeeZee. Your album and all five MVs were released last week, correct?"
"Correct."
"And your debut performance was yesterday, was it not?"
"Indeed it was – someone's done their homework."
"Google is a beautiful, beautiful place."
I laugh.
"Well, something I was shocked about, was how young you are."
"Yea, even my staff were a little surprised about it."
"I think you just have a very mature vibe about you."
"Well thank you but give me a coffee and it's gone in a second."
"Trust me, I'm exactly the same. Now, for the people that don't know, how old are you?"
"I'm seventeen."
"So, are you still doing school?"
"I'm almost finished my A-levels - for some reason I'm doing UK school," I laugh. "I'm studying Mandarin, Spanish, French and cookery."
"Wow! You must love languages," He laughs. "How are you finding it balancing studies with your career?"
"Well, it's not easy," I smile. "But I'm predicted A* for all four."
"Girl is more successful than I was and smarter," Eric laughs. I join in.
"Now, I don't want to ask too many questions, but I have quite a few, so-"
"Fire away," I grin.
***
"So, my first question: the stage name. Where'd it come from?"
"Well, I've spent years thinking about it, and I'm pretty sure I came up with this one when I was... fourteen?"
"Ooo."
"In algebra-"
"Something I'll never understand."
"The unknown quantities are usually x,y or z. So ZeeZee is supposed to mean that you don't know what I'm gonna do next."
"That's brilliant actually."
"Thank you."
"Wish my stage name was as good as that," He mutters. I burst out laughing.
"Okay! Next question. A lot of netizens recognised you from the show Sixteen, and, well, they were surprised to see you back. So, how did you come to be Pnation's first K-pop Idol?"
"It's a bit of a long story."
"Well," He checks his watch. "You've got five minutes." The two of us laugh.
"So, I grew up around music in Trinidad: I was always dancing and singing. And, with my mum being Korean, wanting to be a part of the K-pop Industry was natural, you know?" He nods. "Well, the year Sixteen was announced, I decided it would be a good time to join JYP. I was... twelve? At the time."
"Wow, so young."
"Yeah, I know. So, I told my parents, and, to put it nicely, they kicked me out."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Backtrack there. They kicked you out?"
"Yup."
"At twelve?"
"Yeah, crazy I know. From there, my aunt, who is awesome by the way, got the flight with e to Korea, and the day we arrived I went to open auditions at JYP, I got in, and became a contestant on Sixteen."
"Sorry to cut in here, but as netizens may or may not know, Sixteen was the show that formed JYP's girl group Twice, and you got into the final."
"I did."
"Now, there was a lot of controversy around the final lineup, and the final episode itself."
"You're telling me," I laugh.
"Well, it has been said time and time again that you were the most talented trainee there-"
"Not true."
"Even though you were the youngest. And shush, we're soloists, we don't need to be modest." I burst out laughing. "And so many people were shocked that you didn't get into the final lineup. But the biggest thing was, when you weren't performing, you looked so... defeated? Am I okay to ask if there was a reason?"
"Of course. So, I think it was the morning we filmed the final episode, JYP called me to his office and- I'm gonna cause so much trouble if I say this."
"Wait, are you dishing out tea? Cause if so, I need to buckle up." The crew starts laughing. "I haven't spilt goss on this show in a long time." I laugh.
"He called me into his office to tell me that I'm not going to be in the final episode."
"Wait what?! Before the filming?!"
"Before the filming."
Eric gasps.
"What'd he say?"
"He was like 'Y/N, I'm so sorry. You're one of the best trainees I've ever had, but your ethnicity would hold the group back, so I'm not putting you in.'"
"Well shit – shoot. Can't swear in front of sixteen-year-olds."
"It's fine don't worry," I laugh.
"You still performed?"
"I decided, if I was going to lose, I was gonna make sure I went out with a bang."
"Good on you," He smiles.
"Well, that's the story of JYP. How did you get into Pnation?"
"Well, from there, I bounced between companies for two years, but, just as I was about to leave Korea, I decided to do a sort of 'goodbye busk' I guess. That was when PSY found me, and the rest is history." The two of us laugh.
"Well, now that we've got the serious question out of the way-"
"Actually," I say, cutting in with a mischievous smile. "I have a question for you."
"Why am I scared," He laughs.
"I was just wondering, what's your favourite song on my album?"
"Is this your way of checking I've listened to it?"
"Maybe..."
The two of us laugh again.
"Well," He says, doing his best professor impression. "Obviously Blessing in Disguise is a masterpiece that should always be mentioned, and Play is a song I want playing at all the parties I go to, but then the skills you showed with Meow, Fine and the dancing in Knock really showed your abilities as an all-rounder. But, by far, my all-time favourite was Don't Say No. In all seriousness, I loved it.'
"Aw, thank you."
"Do you have a favourite?"
"I think 'Meow' because it was the first full rap song I wrote."
"Nice."
"Okay, now, I have to ask, who do you look up to in the industry?"
"So cliché," I joke.
"Oh I know, I feel humiliated."
I start laughing.
"Well vocally, Mamamoo and Ailee are top of the list-"
"Impatiently waiting to hear my name..."
"And of course Eric Nam is-"
"There it is."
"Top of the list."
The camera crew and I laugh.
"Rapping, there's BTS Suga, MonstaX Joohoney, Victon Hanse, HyunA, Jessi... I mean the list goes on. And then dancing, there's Kai, Taemin, HyunA, and probably a lot more I can't name off the top of my head."
"Well, you dropped a lot of big names there. Who do you most want to meet? Besides me obviously."
"I mean, a couple days ago it would have been Twice, but they came to my debut performance so-"
"Just casually dropping that in there," Eric laughs.
"I think if I saw EXO, Jessi or Victon I'd faint."
"I don't doubt it."
"So, I am getting angry gestures from the director-" The two of us laugh. "Reminding me we only have time for one more question. If you could say one thing to all of your future fans, what would you say?"
I turn to face the camera.
"This has been one hell of a journey getting here, and I promise you, it's only going to get better, so I hope you stick around for the ride."
"That's all folks!" Eric shouts. "It was lovely to meet you, so please, give it up for... ZeeZee!"
The camera crew applauds, and the cameras stop rolling.
"Just like to say, brilliant job," Eric smiles as the two of us get out of our seats.
"Thank you, the same to you," I smile.
"Well I-"
"Never fear, because Jackson is here!"
I turn around, and standing in the middle of the camera crew, is none other than Jackson Wang, holding a huge bouquet of flowers. I grin and run up to him, he wraps his arms around me, picks me up and spins me, putting me down with a kiss on my forehead.
"It's so good to see you!" I smile, going in for another hug.
"It's good to see you too," He grins. "These are for you by the way," He says, handing me the bouquet.
"Aw, thank you! Just give me a sec to get changed and then we can go."