The reason Zico apologizes to his colleagues in the music industry
Singer-producer Zico once again bowed his head to his colleagues. This time, it was in response to the resentful (?) remarks from his seniors and juniors
On March 7th, a video featuring Kwanghee and Zico was uploaded on the YouTube channel “Careet”.
On this day, Zico caught attention by apologizing to his colleagues for the trend of doing challenges, which started with the hit song “Any Song”. Kwanghee asked Zico how the challenges started, to which Zico replied, “I realized that music wasn’t just something people listened to anymore, but it extended beyond that. Auditory experiences started to lead to visual ones.”
Zico explained further, “Nowadays, many people are showing off their talents through various short-form platforms. But back then, there was a hesitancy and embarrassment surrounding it. I thought if we could establish a pretext for such activities, it could become an enjoyable phenomenon that everyone could participate in.“
Kwanghee said, “There were good aspects, but many idols complained that they didn’t have any rest time. They said they were too busy memorizing their own dances and couldn’t understand why they had to memorize other people’s dances.”
In response, Zico apologized, “Honestly, I have nothing to say when I see that. I’m very sorry. I’d like to take this opportunity to suggest that all entertainment agencies and platforms in Korea collaborate to have about a month of intermission.”
As Kwanghee mentioned, the challenges that started with Zico’s “Any Song” have become an indispensable promotion for new songs in the K-pop industry. Some singers have expressed their frustration, saying that they have to create challenges for every song because of Zico. Sunmi, for instance, directly said, “It’s tough because of Zico. Every entertainment company has to make challenges.”
Zico himself was aware of these difficulties. In February, he appeared on MBC’s entertainment program “Omniscient Interfering View” and said, “After dance challenge became mandatory for promoting new songs, many people resent it. Singers are supposed to rest in the waiting room during breaks, but now they have to meet fellow singers during breaks to learn each other’s choreography. There’s more to do, so I would like to take this opportunity to apologize.”
