[Exclusive] Eddy Kim Talks About EXO’s Suho, His Upcoming Concert, the Future, and More in Interview!

It felt like a victorious moment for many fans when Eddy Kim finally made his debut a little over a month ago on April 11. He was known by his legal name Kim Jung Hwan on the fourth season of Mnet’s audition program “Superstar K,” and easily stood out and grabbed the hearts of many women with his manly image wearing a military uniform and skillfully strumming the guitar with his compositions. Some of the other finalists on the program have already made their debut and achieved a certain level of fame. They include Jung Joon Young, Yoo Seung Woo, DickPunks, and Hong Dae Kwang as well as Roy Kim, the winner.

Eddy Kim was quite busy since debut. He held his debut showcase, which Soompi attended, on April 11, decided to promote with double tracks instead of one, opened up about chaebol rumors, and is now planning to hold a concert, which has been reported to sell out in just five minutes.

Soompi had a good time at his showcase, and wanted to get to know him a little more. He happily accepted our interview. Without further ado, check out our interview below!

Q: You’ll be holding your first solo concert “2 Years Apart” later this month. What are some special things you have planned for the concert?
I plan to show sides that I haven’t been able to during my time in “Superstar K” and during this album promotions. I’ll be playing the guitar, but will also be dancing and playing the piano. Please look forward to it!

Q: Heard you’re friends with EXO’s Suho from Junior High. Please share a memorable episode. Also, did he give you any advice?
He was a friend from a nearby school, and we hung out often. He was a trainee at SM Entertainment back then. That’s probably a reason why he had a lot of friends, and he was also cool and very popular back then like he is now. Rather than giving me advice, he happily greeted me and we got to chat a bit backstage. Because I’m a rookie, I feel glad and also confident when I have friends around me during promotion.

Q: Are you close with any other celebrity before or after debut?
Actually, now that I think about it, I do have quite a few celebrity friends. Some of my closest friends are seniors Shinhwa’s Jun Jin and SS501’s Kim Hyung Jun.

Q: The first year is very important for many singers. What’s your goal for this year?
I plan to go over and pick songs to arrange from the many that I’ve wrote before debut, and plan to release them this year. As it’s my first year, I plan to be very active and promote. Please watch over me!

Q: You penned the music and lyrics for all the tracks in your debut album. Are you willing to perform a song written by someone else? Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
It’s true that I want to sing and perform someone else’s song, but I still want to show more of the songs that I wrote and want to hear feedback from a lot of people. However, if there’s a good song that works with me, I’ll be able to promote it. As for collaborations, I would like to work with Gray and Crush, who are some of today’s hottest musicians in the hop hop world. I would probably be able to show a deeper R&B and soul sound.

Q: You previously mentioned that you feel some pressure because this is your debut album and you’ve penned the music and lyrics for all the tracks. Do you feel pressure because of your music education background as well since people could be more critical because of it?
I’m super happy because I’m able to achieve one of my dreams. I got to compose and write the lyrics to all of the tracks in debut album. Rather than feeling pressure about how my songs will be received by the public, I felt more pressure that my label’s name MYSTIC89 will also be affected by how well I do. However, the album received a lot of love and the agency is really happy so a bit of that pressure has been lifted and I feel a little bit more confident.

Q: How has studying music abroad and living in a foreign country shape you and your music?
I’ve enjoyed listening to American pop music more than K-Pop since I was young. I always dreamt of doing music in the States. Then, I got to study abroad and study music as much as I wanted. At that time, my music skills improved a lot and I’ve also experienced more things than my peers. The various experiences back then and the music education acquired has helped shaped me and my music.

Q: Where do you see yourself 5-10 years from now?
I think that I’ll have a role within music where I’ll continue to gain more experience whether that’s as a singer-songwriter like I am right now, a producer, a singer or something else. I hope that even more people will be able to love and sympathize with my music.

Q: Thank you for your time. Any last words for Soompiers and the international fans?
I’m happy that I’m able to share my thoughts through this interview, and it’s an honor. I’ll work hard and present a lot of good music so that I can meet the Soompiers who are abroad! Please love Eddy Kim’s songs~