Many say bad publicity is better than complete obscurity; just ask US President Donald Trump, the walking embodiment of controversy.

But fame and success often have strings attached, and what follows can include unwanted attention about personal issues and judgement from onlookers.

Zion.T described the bitter irony in “The Song,” a single from his latest album “00.” The lyrics “I don’t want this song to be popular. I don’t want people to remember the lyrics to this song,” depict the conflicting thoughts of one who seeks fame, but is bogged down by it.

“I’ve gained a reputation as a singer who writes about his own life, and this has led me to sing about things that I didn’t want (the public) to know. Like my father’s work and my upbringing,” he said in a joint media interview.

“There was certainly some embarrassment, as though my diary has been revealed. But at the same time, success and the money that follows makes me happy. These (conflicting) feelings are reflected in this song.”

The new album looks to follow the theme as well. According to Zion.T, the “00” represents the glasses which has become his symbol to the public, while meaning that the album is a reflection of his point of view. It also represents the common denominator between him and the public: music.

Zion.T has built a reputation for singing about himself; his breakout hit “Yanghwa Bridge” is about his earlier life and hardships his family went through.

Ironically, the song presented some setbacks in terms of the artist’s development.

“The song is dear to me in that it propelled me to popularity, but some people’s views of me are refined to that song. I want to express various things, but they don’t care about it and just say ‘Oh, you were better back then’,” he said.

“People change. My wish is that (the fans) would watch me as I do. In some sense, ‘Yanghwa Bridge’ is my complex,” he said. The singer jokingly added that his friends are now calling him in the middle of the night to say that they are on the bridge.

A jab at the hit is included in the song “Complex,” which depicts him and K-pop star G-Dragon “dissing” each other about each other’s’ inferiority complexes.

The track has become a magnet for controversy, with lyrics seemingly demeaning “idols” -- used in Korea to refer to boybands and girl groups -- receiving complaints from fans of popular K-pop teams.

“I have no intention to belittle idol singers who went through years of training... It’s just that I thought us (Zion.T and G-Dragon) exchanging punchlines would be fun,” Zion.T said.

The song “Comedian” describes the pressure of being under a microscope 24/7, and the public regarding celebrities only in certain point of view.

“A comedian’s job is to make people laugh, no matter what they say. So even when they try to say something serious, people may laugh. But they are not just comedians; they talk about themselves, or other people,” Zion.T said. “People are confined to how other people perceive them, depending on what their job is ... How can people judge them based on a few paragraphs in articles? How could people understand and judge them?”

The singer’s frustration appears to be reflected in the lyrics, which goes on the say “you could never understand. You just laugh. Hahaha.”

Does this mean he is sickened by shackles of success? The singer assured that his intend was never to go that far.

“Strictly speaking, half of the lyrics ‘I don’t want to be popular’ is a joke. This album has to be successful,” he said. But the other half, he added, is a reflection of how he felt while rising to stardom.

Zion.T said his regrets are that being defined as a “K-pop singer” holds him back from venturing into other means to express himself.

“My thing right now is music, but I hope to widen the scope to other fields as well,” he said.

For now, the 27-year-old’s ambition is to make good music.

“My face isn’t getting any more handsome, so my music has to make progress, right?” he said with a smile. “One thing is for certain. I’m going to make songs that people can relate to, and try songs that I haven’t yet tried before.” 


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)