TXT vocalist Taehyun has opened up about his experience as a K-pop idol, from his trainee days to the group’s international success.

During an interview with PAPER Magazine, the idol shared about his time as a trainee before becoming a part of one of K-pop’s biggest boybands today. Taehyun also discussed some of his musical inspirations and songwriting process.

“I never really told anyone about my dream [of becoming a singer] growing up,” he said, admitting that he had only started nurturing his ambitions after auditioning for Big Hit Music in middle school.

“I can say with confidence that I am a ‘nose to the grindstone’ kind of person,” said Taehyun, who believes his success was a result of hard work rather than natural talent. The vocalist went on talk about the stress he experienced as a trainee.

“Being part of the trainee process, we would be tested and evaluated and receive a lot of feedback, sometimes negative feedback. There are elements [of it] that are stressful,” he explained. “But never once did I lose my passion for music and performance.”

Later, Taehyun also discussed his process as a songwriter. The idol has been credited for some of TXT’s recent tracks, such as ‘Dear Sputnik’ and ‘MOA Diary’. “I try to become inspired by and look at pop artists and pop stars who are pushing the genre forward,” citing Justin Bieber and The Kid LAROI as inspirations.

He also revealed that he did not have a strong need for creative stimulation when writing music. “This may seem unromantic, but I think it’s also my strength that I don’t really have to go anywhere to be inspired,” Taehyun explained. “I can just be sitting at my desk and come up with a melody.”

TXT recently dropped ‘The Chaos Chapter: Fight Or Escape’, a repackaged version of ‘The Chaos Chapter: Freeze’. The new version of their sophomore studio album added the recently released title tracks ‘LO$ER=LO♡ER’ and the fan-dedicated ‘MOA Diary (Dubbadu Wari Wari)’, as well as a “emocore mix” of ‘0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)’