UI Shares Suga Wasn't The First BTS Member She Wanted To Work With

One of the most popular South Korean singer-songwriters and actresses, Lee Ji Eun, better known by her stage name, UI, recently disclosed that her first choice for a collaboration with BTS was not the one she ended up collaborating with. BTS member Suga and UI have previously worked together on hit songs like Eight and People Pt 2, and their friendship has been a long-standing one. However, IU has surprised the duo’s fans after a revelation on Suga’s YouTube show, Suchwita. In a recent episode, she confessed that she had initially reached out to Suga to ask for RM’s contact. RM is the leader of BTS.

During her conversation on Suchwita, IU explained that her initial plan with RM would have resulted in “something really serious," reflecting her mindset at the time. However, fate had some other plans as despite getting RM’s contact number through Suga, IU could never muster the courage to contact him, given their lack of acquaintance.

The singer also explained that during that period, she aimed to create music that could mirror her mental state as some of her friends including Sulli and Jonghyun had died in the recent past. “It would’ve been something really serious because mentally at the time I wasn’t in the best place, I wanted to bring out those emotions in a song," IU said.

In the process, IU’s interest shifted, and she abandoned the idea of collaborating with RM, eventually creating Eight with Suga. She felt that working with someone of the same age, in this case, Suga would be more fitting for the song’s development. IU, acknowledging the success of her collaboration with Suga, now leaves fans eagerly anticipating a potential IU and RM collaboration in the future.

Watch the full episode here:

IU gained mainstream popularity in 2010 with her hit song Good Day. With consistent chart-topping success and active involvement in composing and production, IU has earned the title of the Music Queen/Goddess in the industry.

Eight featuring IU and Suga was released as a digital single on May 6, 2020, by EDAM Entertainment. It is IU’s first single.

On the other hand, SUGA, or Agust D, is a well-known rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Before joining BTS, he was an underground rapper known as Gloss. With songwriting and production credits on over 100 songs, SUGA has made significant contributions to the music scene and joined BTS in 2013.

Early this year, the two also worked together on People pt. 2, which is a part of Suga’s album D-Day.