In a recent Naver V Live broadcast, Seungri talked about his friendship with the BLACKPINK members, his music, and more.

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On July 20 at 5 p.m. KST, Seungri spent the hour before the release of his first solo album, communicating with his fans through a live show, “Hello, This Is Seungri Season 2” (literal translation).

He began the session by saying, “This is BIGBANG’s Seungri, who has returned with a solo for the first time in five years.” The idol shared how he came to release an album despite the fact he “didn’t have any plans for solo promotions,” and talked about how the other BIGBANG members had encouraged him.

Seungri also talked about how his title track “1, 2, 3!” hadn’t originally been meant for him. He explained, “When I first heard ‘1, 2, 3!’ I found out that BLACKPINK’s Rosé had already recorded for it. It was originally BLACKPINK’s. But people thought that it would fit better with a guy, so I sang ‘1, 2, 3!’ and it came out well. That’s how the song came to be.” He added, “It was originally a song that had a very scary and awesome vibe to it. But I added my own refreshing energy and feel to it, so it became a more energetic and confident song.”

While on the topic of BLACKPINK, Seungri then shared that he enjoyed listening to the group’s “Forever Young” these days. Seungri commented, “I like the lyrics, ‘Forever Young.’ Thank you to BLACKPINK for creating a great song.” He talked about his affection for the group and continued, “I told BLACKPINK, ‘I want to be friends with you guys.’ They really are good to me and treat me as a real friend. It’s great. I want to join BLACKPINK as their fifth member.”

Seungri talked more about his music as well. He shared, “I participated in all the songs in this album. I worked hard to show my sincerity. I’ve promoted as BIGBANG for more than 10 years. I put in a lot of effort to make music that is more mature and experienced. People will probably be surprised that I have this kind of musical talent.”

The BIGBANG member released his first Korean studio album “The Great Seungri” on July 20 and will be promoting with his title track “1, 2, 3!” on music shows.

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At a press conference for the release of his solo album, BIGBANG’s Seungri talked about always feeling like he was behind in BIGBANG, as well as his accomplishments and overcoming others’ doubts about him.

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He said, “I was always in the background of BIGBANG, with nothing to really claim as my own. Visually, there was T.O.P, for dancing, there was Taeyang. For music or fashion, it was always G-Dragon, so I thought I’d do my best for variety shows, but then there was Daesung. There was no position that was my own. I had no choice but to do what I could to survive.”

But that doesn’t mean he’s not proud of being a part of BIGBANG. He’s just also proud of how he’s worked to make a name for himself.

The singer has already accomplished a lot. He said, “My rank has risen a lot within YG. I’m receiving a lot of support from the agency, [whereas before], I was always on the back burner. Whenever I had wanted to do something, people were skeptical. Even when I started doing business, they just told me how hard it would be. But I kept making it happen, and [with that], I think I was able to earn the trust of [Yang Hyun Suk]. The label I created was acquired by YG, and now I’m the CEO of a subsidiary called YG-X. As one of the oldest artists of YG, and as a member of BIGBANG, I need to give back for all the support I’ve received. So I’m very serious about these promotions.”

Currently, the other four members of BIGBANG are all carrying out their mandatory national services, in the military and otherwise. He said that with his promotions, he hopes fans don’t feel the absence of BIGBANG. Because he wants to keep BIGBANG’s hiatus as a full group as short as possible, he said he is planning on following his members soon and enlisting in the military early next year.

Closing, Seungri said, “It’s my first solo album in five years, so please check it out,” and joked, “I like rumors, too. Because the worst thing is indifference.”

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