In a recent interview, Soyou opened up about her experiences on “Produce 48” as one of the vocal trainers.

Soyou shared what her initial thoughts were when offered a trainer position on the survival program, saying, “When I received the offer [to be on] ‘Produce 48,’ I agonized over it a lot and thought many times that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I felt like I lacked the position to teach someone. When you study and teach someone, you experience more things, so I [decided to accept] the challenge.”

Soyou continued, “I thought a lot about how to convey my tips to these participants. I was in their shoes back then before my debut, and I knew how desperate they were because I made my debut through competing.”

She added, “At that time, if I hadn’t gone through with it, I would’ve only regretted it. I wanted to make sure they didn’t regret it that way. So there were times when I spoke [to the participants] harshly.”

Soyou expressed her affection for the “Produce 48” participants, saying, “When I think about it, they’re really young, but I’m surprised when I see them. The ones who absorb [lessons] like sponges are amazing. The really passionate ones come to ask [questions] during break time, and I find that endearing. So I realized many things while teaching them. I became determined to not to forget who I used to be. That attitude helped me a lot when I recorded my album.”

The trainees from her label Starship Entertainment earned great results on the show. Concerning that, Soyou said, “Actually, they’re all amazing. I wanted the trainees from my agency to do well, but I [treated them] really fairly. At first, I didn’t know what to do when they were coming for the group evaluation. I couldn’t meet their eyes. I thought they’d be too nervous. If I’m too nice to them, the editing might come out strangely on the screen. I tried to objectively assess without making eye contact. [They] got good results.”

Soyou commented, “When An Yu Jin was picked during the final evaluations, I teared up. It’s because she cried like a child. The teachers felt happy yet regretful when [the trainees] got selected. I think that’s why I cried.”

Soyou is set to make a solo comeback with her title track “Black Night.”

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