(Yonhap)

To achieve his dream of becoming a singer, an 11-year-old boy embarked on the life of a trainee under an entertainment agency.

Nearly three years after his debut as a member of the hip-hop duo 1Punch in 2015, Samuel, now 15, finally took to the stage alone with the release of his solo debut album “Sixteen” on Wednesday.

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.

Naming American pop artist Chris Brown -- who began his career at 16 -- as his role model, Samuel said, “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.”

(Yonhap)

(Yonhap)

Appearing excited and nervous, the singer reflected on the fierce competition he faced while a contestant of the second season of the Mnet program “Produce 101.”

Although the show earned him wide popularity, he failed to make it to the top 11, finishing 18th. The final 11 winners of the show formed a project boy band called Wanna One, which is slated to debut Monday with the album “To Be One.”

“Frankly speaking, I was a bit disappointed when I couldn’t debut as Wanna One. 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,” said Samuel.

(Yonhap)

“But I didn’t give up on my dreams of becoming 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 added.

Asked how he felt about having to compete with soon-to-debut Wanna One, the young singer said he was excited to see them promoting their own songs. Naming Park Ji-hoon, Ong Sung-woo and
Kang Daniel as fellow contestants with whom he still keeps in touch, Samuel said he supports his friends’ musical career.



“Sixteen” features the pop-dance number “Sixteen” as its lead track. It also includes “Jewel Box,” “I Got It,” “123,” “With U” and “I’m Ready.”

By Hong Dam-young (lotus@heraldcorp.com)