On May 10th, MBLAQ’s Thunder guested on SBS’s “Strong Heart” and confessed that he didn’t participate in MBLAQ’s debut album at all.
Thunder first came to Korea from the Philippines when he was 17 years old. Because he’s always been a fan of Rain’s, he auditioned for J.Tune Entertainment, but was unfortunately eliminated twice in the finals. As an alternative plan, he auditioned for IU’s agency and prepared to debut there.
Later, he received another opportunity to audition for J.Tune through a dancer he came to know. After his audition, Rain commented, “I’m not quite sure about your level of passion,” which urged Thunder to respond, “I’ll put my life on the line for this.”
Fortunately, his determination paid off, and Thunder was able to join MBLAQ just 15 days before their debut (the original fifth member had to leave the group because of his poor health).
Thus, the voice that fans presumed was Thunder’s belonged to the ‘original’ member.
Because MBLAQ had already completed their recordings and reported their debut to the press, they couldn’t postpone it for Thunder. Thunder had also only taken vocal lessons, so his rap skills weren’t quite on par with the ‘original’ member’s then.
He revealed, “I was called the hole of MBLAQ.. and I cried for three days a week because of that.” With a smile, he added, “Seven days after I began training, we shot our music video and then debuted a week later. I tried my best to match my tone to his voice.”
Thunder concluded his confession with a message to his fans, “I’m apologetic for what I’m about to say, especially for those who really loved MBLAQ’s first album. I would like to say that I’ve always tried to show who I was and never once lip-synced my part. It’s always been me since our second album, so I hope that you continue to give us your love. Thank you.”
c: allkpop
