Sunmi has opened up about her honest feelings during her early days with Wonder Girls, particularly around the group’s breakout hit "Tell Me."
In a video released on August 23 on the YouTube channel Kkondaehee, titled "Even 24 Hours Isn’t Enough to Talk with Sunmi over a Meal," the artist shared candid stories about the struggles and emotions she experienced after her debut.
Sunmi debuted as a Wonder Girls member less than two years after joining JYP Entertainment. Looking back on her middle school debut, she said, "I never thought I would debut that quickly. I was really lucky." She admitted, "Objectively, I wasn’t good at singing or dancing at the time. I was really lacking."
Curious about why she had been chosen, Sunmi recently asked producer J.Y. Park directly. She explained, "He said my eyes were so gentle at that time. During the showcase," even recalling in detail the outfit she wore that day.
Although Wonder Girls skyrocketed to fame with Tell Me less than a year into their debut, Sunmi recalled feeling overwhelmed. She explained, "I still remember hearing Tell Me for the first time in the waiting room of Music Bank when I was 16. It was the first time in my life I’d ever heard that kind of electronic sound," she said, adding that she burst into tears at the time.
She further elaborated and confessed, "The idea of catchy songs didn't exist at that time. At that age, I was so anxious, I wondered if this was going to be the end of our group’s career."
Sunmi also shared painful memories about the Tell Me album jacket photoshoot. "Those photos are still considered taboo among our fans. I was 16 and at an age where I just wanted to look pretty," she said, recalling how her tightly permed, puffed-up hairstyle left her feeling scarred. "The outfit was one thing, but having my hair frizzed and pulled up like that… it really hurt my feelings. During the photoshoot, it was so hard to even look in the mirror."
Even though "Tell Me" became a cultural phenomenon, Sunmi said she couldn’t understand its popularity at the time. “I honestly thought, why do people like this? I couldn’t make sense of it.”
Speaking about the choreography, she revealed, "The demo choreography we received was actually J.Y. Park dancing barefoot in his studio." She became emotional while recalling the memory and momentarily couldn’t continue speaking.
Comedian Kim Dae Hee, the host, joked in response, "You cried when you heard the song, you cried during the photoshoot, you cried when Park Jin Young showed you the choreography. You cry every time Tell Me comes up!” drawing laughter from everyone at the studio.
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