Stray Kids: How Working With BTS Inspired Seungmin to Become a Singer

Stray Kids are one of the most popular K-pop groups. Because he’s a member of Stray Kids, Seungmin is among the upper echelon of South Korean singers. Despite this, he didn’t always want to be a singer.

Seungmin originally wanted to be a baseball player. Once Seungmin had a taste of show business, he had new ambitions. Interestingly, he might not have decided to become a singer if he hadn’t worked with BTS.

How Seungmin’s baseball dreams withered away

Seungmin’s initial interest in baseball stemmed from his relationship with his grandfather. Because of his grandfather, he became a pitcher in grade school.  “My late grandfather was a baseball player in high school as a pitcher. I really like baseball because I was influenced by him, and I had a bit of talent in pitching.” He had the opportunity to throw a ceremonial first pitch for a South Korean baseball team named the SK Wyverns when he was nine years old.

Seungmin also played baseball as a shortstop. He tried several other sports, however, he said he wasn’t very good at any of them besides baseball. Seungmin felt he was poor at any sport which involved kicking a ball around. However, his family’s financial situation got worse, so he no longer considered baseball as a career.

How BTS put Seungmin on the path to joining Stray Kids

Afterward, he got into music, though he had no ambition to be a professional singer quite yet. He joined a choir. He also befriended Lee Dae-hwi, a singer who would later join the K-pop groups Wanna One and AB6IX. Lee encouraged Seungmin to seek out auditions.

Seungmin evenutally got a job that changed his life goals. He got to work as a dancer for BTS. Having a job like that is a huge deal in the world of K-pop. However, working with BTS inspired Seungmin to become a K-pop singer.

Seungmin said he liked the idea of taking center stage as a singer. “While watching them perform on the large stages, they looked so amazing. With the thought, ‘I also want to stand in the center of a big stage like that someday.’ I developed my dream of being a singer.”

Afterward, Seungmin joined JYP Entertainment. JYP formed Stray Kids in 2017. Stray Kids gained an international fan base by combining Eastern and Western musical styles. Because he joined Stray Kids, Seungmin’s dreams came true.

Could baseball become a part of Seungmin’s life again?

JYP Entertainment is a major label in the world of K-pop. His past as a baseball player has come up in interviews. He has discussed his experiences playing baseball with DJ Kim Tae Gyun.

DJ Kim Tae Gyun discussed a photo of Seungmin playing baseball when he was in the fourth grade. He said he could see from the photo that Seungmin knew how to properly throw a ball. DJ Kim Tae Gyun said he would like to have Seungmin on his celebrity baseball team as a pitcher.

Also see: The Real Reason Why Woojin Left K-Pop Band Stray Kids

Written by: CheatSheet