On the January 18 airing of MBC's 'Insolent Housemate', Sunggyu explained how he became an idol to his housemate Lee Kyung Kyu. Sunggyu said, "One customer that I met at the cafe I worked at knew that I was auditioning (to become a singer), and he asked which singer I like. At the time, I named Nell and the customer said, 'I'm Nell's manager.' So I got to audition (for Nell's agency) and passed."

Sunggyu continued, "I sang Nell's 'Missing' at the audition. At the time, you had to sing one pop song as well. So I tried singing it well doing all kinds of things. And then they asked me if I can dance, but to be honest, I'm not good at using my body. But I told them I enjoy dancing and practiced dancing every day."