Kris Wu - People Magazine April 2016
“People love me for who I am. If you do not like me for who I am, there is no need to.”
This is what Kris told me.
Born in Chicago, Korean-American Kevin Shin joined SM in 2006 after passing an audition held in America. In 2007, Kris Wu also joined SM as a trainee after passing the audition in Canada. With similar backgrounds and being of the same age, when the both of them first met, they got along extremely well. Kris Wu and Kevin trained together from dawn till dusk for three years. “We practiced every day, saw each other every day, and lived together.”, with the hope that they could debut together and stand on the same stage.
In 2010, due to conflict of interest between Kevin and the company, “I don’t wish to become an idol”, he decided to leave SM and develop his career on his own. When he left the company, Kris Wu cried. “I said, we both agreed that we would debut together, endure hardships together, so why did you have to leave first? ……I felt that he would debut soon, and I said, why did you have to leave at this time, I’m terribly saddened.” Kris Wu asked Kevin thrice, are you certain that you want to leave? Kevin said he was. “I said, alright, if you are certain, I will definitely wish you well……In the future I would definitely help you.” Kris Wu said.
After Kevin left SM to produce music solo, he suffered through all kinds of hardships. Later on, Kris Wu debuted as a member of EXO, and became popular. Even so, both of them kept in contact daily. Although the company did not allow Kris Wu to keep in touch with ex-trainees, he regularly went to meet Kevin in secret.
Both of them produced a song, <Lullaby>, which represents both of their feelings of guilt towards their mothers. The lyrics included, I’m sorry Mom, These years have been tough, Don’t wanna see you cry, Just sing me a lullaby.
In 2014, Kris Wu proposed his contract termination to SM, and returned to China to further develop his career. One was in China and the other was in Korea, but despite being separated, Kris and Kevin’s friendship did not weaken. During his lowest time, Kris Wu still told Kevin, “No matter what happens, don’t ever change yourself from who you originally were.” He really wanted to be able to give Kevin lots of encouragement. “I have always told him, don’t you worry, no matter what, you still have me as a friend. If things really don’t work out, come to Beijing and live together with me at my place, we’ll make music together.”
After working hard, Kevin signed on to Korea’s CHITWN MUSIC company, and finally gained the freedom to create the hip hop music which he liked.
On 6 November 2015, Kris Wu held a fanmeeting on the day of his birthday, and Kris stood together with Kevin onstage at Beijing Workers’ Stadium to sing <Lullaby>. Kevin told <People Magazine> that, to him, at that point when he stood with Kris Wu on stage, was the moment that his dream of many years had finally come true.
During the interview, Kris Wu repeatedly told <People Magazine> that Kevin was his best friend, brother, and comrade. <People Magazine>’s reporter gave a phone interview to Kevin, who was in Korea. Kevin said that Kris Wu was a close friend, and shared about their time as trainees spent together. During this period of time, Kris Wu placed great importance on and a tenacity towards their friendship that surprised Kevin.
It’s as you said, Brother. We are like family, he’s like my brother from another mother. Kris’s mother is like my mother, and my mother is like his mother. Both of our personalities are rather similar, and we have been close all this while. No matter what he’s thinking, no matter what I’m thinking, we would always know what was on the other’s mind.
He was the first person I saw when he arrived in Korea. When he walked into the room, I was standing there. He came in with his mother, and stood by my side. I was introduced to Kris. “Hi, how are you” “Ok, let’s go and get something to drink.”, it went like this. He came from Canada and I came from America, both of us came from Western countries to Korea, and that was a very similar point. From that day on, our relationship was extremely good.
When we were in SM, we had no family (in Korea). We practiced every day, and didn’t know when we would debut. In order to gain the opportunity (to do so) by SM, you would have to practice incredibly hard. This was really very tough, every day we would have to practice till 10, 11pm, and at times we would even have to practice till 1am. This was physically a huge challenge, and especially for us, since we were still kids at that time. We wanted to go out and have a good time, but couldn’t, we had to endure these (training).
The toughest part was pushing yourself to practice every day, when you did not have a goal. You have a dream, but a goal which no one can forsee. You wake up every day, stay at the company for 9 to 10 hours, doing some extremely tough practices. We were both very young, Kris and I, we both wanted to enjoy our youth, but we practically sacrificed the golden times of our youth, because we practiced daily, without fail.
Kris and I didn’t have much friends, and we didn’t go out much (socialise). Other kids had friends, and they would go out to meet new people, but we merely just wanted to chat with each other.
I opposed to many things. I did not liked to be restrained in one place, and it was necessary for me to have independence and freedom. Likewise for Kris. Thus when SM asked us to practice singing, I would not practice, because it was something they wanted me to do. This was quite laughable. When they did not ask me to practice, on the contrary I would practice dancing on my own and such.
Kris really loved fashion, he wanted to stand out from everyone with a different fashion style, a style different from the company’s. I wasn’t really into this aspect, as I could keep on wearing a certain piece of clothing, but I still stood out from the rest. I believed in this, but I had zero interest in clothes and fashion.
But this was where he was different. There were many parts in which he could create on his own. I felt that if you have a free soul, you should have the ability to “create” on your own. My creations were my music, and through my music I had freedom of expression. Likewise for fashion, it is something you create on your own, creating your own image. I felt that for Kris, it was the best way that he could freely express himself, and do what he liked to do, and even create art.
In the end I left SM and Kris, because I wanted to make my own music. I did not want to be constrained within this organisation, where I had no freedom. I could not bear it any longer, and there was no way I could further withstand even a little more of it. I had arrived a year earlier than Kris, and was there longer than Kris. My personality was such, as long as I had a goal, I would have to see myself progress in that direction. It was necessary for me to have that guarantee. But in SM, I felt that I was making no progress, and I told Kris what I was unhappy and utterly exhausted. Because the company did not allow it, I had nowhere else to go. I did not wish to leave SM, but I could not stay.
I pondered for a long time, so much so that at the last moment Kris said, this is what you want, you should leave. I gained a great deal of support and encouragement from him, but finally decided to make the choice on my own to leave.
After leaving, I began creating my own music, writing lyrics, and learning. The journey was not smooth.
As a friend and brother, Kris had always shown great concern for me. My situation was really tough, and I struggled for a while. Especially since my best friend was doing so well, I wanted to be with him, but I had chosen my own path. Kris was always concerned about me, and cared for me. There was a period of time when I really had no money, only eating once a day, and when he heard about it he came over and took care of me, and bought me food daily.
Once, I was alone and met with something for which I had rush to the emergency room. I had no family nor friends, so I called Kris. At this point in time he was already famous in Korea, and after asking him to come to the hospital, he immediately arrived. He shouldn’t have been allowed to go out, and I didn’t know how he managed it, but he did. At that time I had no money with me, and he footed the hospital bill, and brought me to eat something. This incident was something which I will always treasure, I am really grateful towards him.
To me, Kris is my brother. This is not friendship but kinship, of brothers. This bond, established between two strangers, is the closest to kinship, and we are brothers.
Kris would call me every night. He said he really missed me, asked how I was doing, and said that he supported me. At that time I had just left the company, I was very lonely, did not have any friends, and was making music alone. Kris really called me every day without fail, asking me how I was doing. He would usually call at around 11pm or later, when he was back at the dorms after practice. At times we would make calls in the morning, calling the other first thing after waking up, to tell each other the first thing we’ve done.
At times he would come to find me. But Kris coming to see me was a violation of SM’s rules. I was not part of their “family”, I was not a member of SM. Why couldn’t he meet with someone that was not part of the (SM) family? They felt that because I had left, there was no good outcome in Kris and I meeting up.
But Kris still regularly came over to my place, and we wrote songs together. My mother and his were waiting for us, always missing us, and worrying about us. So Kris had an idea, (he said) let’s write a song together, and I agreed that we should do so. He said, what should we write about, how about we write a song for our mothers? I replied that it was a really good idea, let’s do it! Thus, we spent an hour in my studio writing the song <Lullaby> and on that very day we finished recording it and kept it. One day I uploaded it on the internet, and there were some people who really loved it.
Firstly, this is a song expressing our apologies to our mothers for having let them wait for us for so long. I didn’t want them to worry for us, because when a mother worries for her child, the child will also be not be at ease. So we wanted to express that we were really sorry, do not worry about us, look at me, I’m doing very well. This was what we wanted to convey.
(When I left SM) At that time I told Kris that he had to stay for the sake of his mother. For Kris, it was certain that he would debut as a member of EXO, and this was in the works. I told him that he would first have to debut and do what he could do. Kris is a selfless person, this point was what made us a little different. To me, if I wanted to leave I would do so, I did not think of my family. But he is a really selfless person, when he wanted to leave he thought of his mother.
This point was what made us different. In some areas, we were the complete opposite. Kris was forever very cool-headed, very calm, and he did not lose his temper. But that was not the case for me. At times I could not help it but fly into a rage. I think that this is because he constantly wanted to take care of others, take care of many matters, which is why he kept his cool. But I wouldn’t think much and it would be really easy for me to blow up.
When I was set on doing something, nothing would be able to change me. When I chose to leave, to go and make my own music, this decision was settled swiftly. In this aspect I was rather selfish, did I not think of my family members, did I not think that this choice meant that I would be leaving my good friend(s) and being on my own. No, I thought of those, but it did not change my choice, I was someone driven by my own motives. Kris would always think of his mother, which was why he would not leave (SM), but I had chosen to go.
I did not regret the decision I made, and worked the hardest I could. But I was a little regretful that I could not stand on the same stage with my best friend and be in the same group as him. Despite this, I showed no regret. If given the chance to choose again, I would have made the same choice. I am very stubborn, I knew I could choose an easier path, but instead I chose… a path with wasn’t hard, but a path of my own.
(Performing on the same stage with Kris Wu on his birthday) Is the most unbelievable thing, for a very long period of time, that became a reality. It has been our dream to stand on the stage together. From the day we first met, we discussed about it constantly, we have to do such and such together, we have to stand on stage together. Even after I left, we always said that no matter what, we would have to continue making music. We have always been waiting for the opportunity to come, dreaming about this every day.
And then it happened, it became a reality. It was just incredible. I shed tears. After the concert I talked with Kris, and I cried a little, because I was really so thankful for all of this, we really accomplished something we had planned to do all this while.
I recalled that when Kris returned to China, he had no friends then, and did not know many people. He told me that he did not know who to trust, he did not know who he could consider as a friend, because he did not want to make the same mistake as he did when he was in Korea. I told him that he had to believe, until he could find someone worthy of his trust. The first year when he returned, when I went to visit him, he was struggling because he did not know who to trust, he said, I don’t wish to do such things anymore, I don’t wish to be a celebrity, and to him this was too stressful.
I told him, I’ve come, I’m here. He had been looking very sad, and Kris’s mother told me that I should remain in China and be with Kris, because she had never seen her son happy in a long while.
When he started filming, he brightened up a little. I can’t remember which film it was, but it seemed like it wasn’t his first film. When he was filming his first film, I was with him, and at that point in time he was rather down, because it was his first time being an actor and there was already a huge pressure on him. It was a film which had began filming last year, which was when I felt that he was doing something that he liked, and he really liked that role too. While filming, he also got to know some people that he could trust, and did not have to be burdened with all the pressure any more.
I have always told him that he should not take things for what they are at face value, but ensure that the nature of things are known, and be cautious towards everything. We have been hurt many times, we have been betrayed, stabbed by people in the back, for this, it pained us a lot.
His personality was as such, but I told him to be careful. He believed some people whom he thought were good, but in fact, they only wanted to get close to him for the sake of fame and money. It was the same for me as well, I have been used by others, because Kris was my friend and they wanted to use me to get close to Kris. When I encountered such situations (being deceived by others), I would immediately give a call to Kris and he would do the same as well.
I have only seen Kris get angry 2 or 3 times. Once when someone wanted to use us, this was a person Kris knew as well, and he told the person directly, what are you doing, don’t use us in this manner. When he is really mad, it is very scary. When someone who is usually good tempered gets angry it is very scary, and you would never see him like this.
He was really angry, not because he was being used, but because I was. Whenever there was someone who had hurt me, I would lose trust in that person, and Kris would be really angry, he would become very worked up and livid.
When he was being used, when he was betrayed by a person he trusted, he would lose trust in that person, and break off any relations to that person. This, to him, is the most painful thing.
Both of our personalities are very similar, we would not change, but still would want to remain genuine to our true brothers. Kris is even stronger, he has not changed, but takes care of me, he has always taken care of me.
Everyone else is changing, especially those in this industry, even in the eyes of some people Kris has changed, but in the eyes of his family members, he has not changed at all, which is why there are so many people who love him. Every day while I am working I will think of this phrase, “Do not change, be yourself.” This is really important – People love me for who I am, if you do not like me for who I am, there is no need to. This is what Kris told me.
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