Photos courtesy of B.I.
Kim Han-bin—better known to his 4.3 million followers as B.I has made landfall in the U.S. The 25-year-old heartthrob and former frontman of the South Korean boyband iKon recently took his signature soulful hip-hop sound solo, releasing two albums in 2021 (Waterfall and Cosmos) to rave reviews both at home and abroad. Earlier this year, B.I performed as part of The Grammys Global Spin series, making him the first South Korean artist to on the platform. As his global fan base grows, all eyes are on B.I. Here, the K-pop icon answers a few questions for us, and whoever else is watching.
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INTERVIEW: What did you watch last night?
B.I: I’ve been watching the Kanye West documentary, Jeen-yuhs. The growth and progress he made throughout his career and life were really fascinating to watch.
INTERVIEW: How do you watch?
B.I: I usually watch the show on Netflix, either laying down on the couch or in bed.
INTERVIEW: Who are you watching?
B.I: Who am I watching? Right now, I’m watching one of my team members jot down my responses to these questions. On TV these days, I’ve been rewatching this anime called Slam Dunk. One of the characters is just really cool.
INTERVIEW: Who watches you?
B.I: I’m hoping that my fans, friends, and family do……
INTERVIEW: How do you get attention?
B.I: I’m actually still pretty shy so I don’t go out of my way to get attention. But with people that I’m really close to I normally make corny dad jokes to get attention. They all end up just staring at me while I’m the only one cracking up.
INTERVIEW: What do you do when no one’s watching?
B.I: Sometimes when no one is watching I try random dance moves to the music playing in my head. There were a few times someone walked in during my dance, which was pretty embarrassing.
INTERVIEW: What movie do you know by heart?
B.I: Fight Club. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton really brought that film to life.
INTERVIEW: Which show do you watch the most?
B.I: There was a show called “알쓸신잡” (The Dictionary of Useless Knowledge) and this is the show that I watched the most. It’s basically experts from various fields sharing their knowledge and opinions about specific subjects. This show has broadened my perspective.
INTERVIEW: Do you get shy on camera?
B.I: Yes, I do. It still feels awkward to stand in front of the camera sometimes. When I’m performing though, I feel super comfortable… it’s hard to explain.
INTERVIEW: Do you watch the news?
B.I: I watch the news here and there, I try to keep up with current events but I wish they shared more positive news as well!
INTERVIEW: Do you like being watched?
B.I: I can say I like being watched in certain scenarios. Especially, when I’m performing on stage I feed off the energy from the fans.
INTERVIEW: Do you watch what you eat?
B.I: Honestly, I don’t watch what I eat, but I generally try to stay away from greasy foods. My only weakness is burgers. They’re like my kryptonite, the craving is unstoppable.
INTERVIEW: What’s the best streaming service?
B.I: Netflix and Watcha.
INTERVIEW: What’s your favorite channel?
B.I: My favorite YouTube channel is called Wookipop, its content is based on interviews and histories of pop artists.
INTERVIEW: Who do you love?
B.I: I love my fans of course and I love my family, friends, and myself. I think you need to know how to love yourself in order to love others.
INTERVIEW: Who do you follow?
B.I: I follow a lot of people as I’m always trying to learn. In music, I follow a lot of the artists that I respect and try to learn from their sounds. In fashion, I try following certain brands and designers so I can incorporate the trendiest looks and sounds into my music.
INTERVIEW: When was the last time you lied?
B.I: I told my baby sister that I was going home last weekend but I couldn’t. I guess you can consider it a lie from the perspective of my sister. I promised I would be home for a few days, but got caught up working and didn’t make it.
INTERVIEW: What are you looking forward to in 2022?
B.I: I honestly have a lot of things I’m looking forward to in 2022. I’ve been working tirelessly on my music that I’ll be releasing this year, I’ve worked really hard with my team and am excited that it’ll be coming out. I’ll actually be releasing a single soon and an EP to follow shortly after, look forward to it!
INTERVIEW: What did you do last week?
B.I: I wrapped up filming my music video. There are some super shocking scenes that we worked on. All I can tell you is that I literally almost fainted shooting some of these scenes.
INTERVIEW: What’s on your mind?
B.I: I’ve been experimenting with new sounds and trying to create music that’s a good representation of me. I want to tell a story with my music that people can connect to. I guess I’ve been thinking a lot about how to portray the messages I want to share through my music.