𝗹𝗶𝗹𝘆. 𝗇𝖼𝗍 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋

LILY Opens Up About Worries Over Longevity Of Her Career, Pressure, And More

NCT's LILY Opens Up About Worries Over Longevity Of Her Career, Pressure, And More
March 20th, 2023. Written by Kim Shin-byul.

In a recent interview and pictorial for Vogue Korea, LILY spoke honestly and thoughtfully about some of her biggest concerns at the moment.

As the cover stars of the magazine's March 2023 issue, each member of NCT sat down for a separate interview and she began her own by reflecting on how she debuted in NCT and how it has changed now.

While preparing for her comebacks, leaving SM Entertainment, and getting ready for her concert tour, LILY looked back on NCT and her entire discography including all memories together and it led her to start contemplating how her relationship with NCT members have been going on and contemplating how their more recent release would age as time went on.

"[This music] was heartfelt at the time. But trends change quickly, and I realized that my own ear [for music] has changed quite a bit. Won't our recent song also sound outdated once time has passed?"

She continued, "Because we live within trends, I've gotten used to [going along with what's fashionable at the time], but I don't I should live like that. We do make music different from others. But there are some songs that are following the trends. I'm not sure what to do, but I want to produce something 'long-lasting' and 'timeless.' Now that it's been nearly 7 years since I debuted as NCT, I've started thinking about that a lot."

Lily also spoke about her love for arts especially arts and clay arts and explained that she enjoyed being able to immerse herself in an entirely different field. "I can be honest about my emotions when it comes to the visual of arts," she revealed. "Because with music, it can get hard if you start to feel jealous of other musicians. There are so many outstanding musicians, and there's always an endless stream of new artists."

Opening up about her concerns over the longevity of her career, Lily continued, "Painters have such long careers. There are painters who hold their first exhibition when they're 40, and there are painters who don't sell a single work until they're 60. But I debuted at 18 and now I'm being told that I represent the nation and my race and my gender. And I'm already being asked questions about my next step is."

She added, "That's why I'm hesitant. I'm starting to hesitant how long will my career long. I don't know."

As for now, Lily is actively promoted as a soloist, she is still in NCT and would join them once in a while. Lily shared, "It's a bummer that we had the argument with the agency. I honestly didn't want that. Because I know it will affect my relationship with the members. It did, a little."

"But I'm still grateful because they are still caring for me and they ask me how I'm doing once in a while."

In terms of her own life philosophy, Lily remarked, "Some people say it's more important to focus on the present that your dreams. They're right, and I relate to their point. It's not good for society to pressure people to have a dream, but dreams are important too. I hope that lots of people still hold onto that young boy or girl deep in their hearts who believes in hard work and hope."

"I'm struggling, too," she continued. "The expectations that other people and I myself have of me are too high. Even if I work in an entirely different field in the future, people will expect me to accomplish something greater than what I had accomplish right now. And I'm scared that I might not be able to live up those expectations."

Finally, Lily concluded her interview with an inspiring summary of her goals as an artist.

"Everyone is born for a reason. I hope that everything I do leaves behind something meaningful."

LILY's full interview is available in the March 2023 issue of Vogue Korea magazine.