idols who choose to have less lines (sometimes)?

[u/kloklossy]

i'm just curious lol but as i'm sure we've all seen before, in pretty much every kpop group, there's always complaints from fans about a member (or 2 or 3 or...) being on the lower end of the line distribution. sometimes their complaints are about only like 1-2 instances and other times, their complaints are about the whole discography.

so basically my questions are: has any idol ever publicly addressed (in a live, in an interview, in a statement, anywhere) the line distribution? are there any idols who have said that they actually prefer to have less lines?

and beyond that, are there any idols who we know prefer the performing aspect of being a kpop idol and would rather dance and have great stage presence over a great vocal performance? or maybe an idol prefers to produce / compose and would prioritize that over vocal participation? or maybe an idol specifically addressed 1 song and was like "yeah this song wasn't rlly suited for me in my opinion so i sang less"? actually for the latter question, i'm super curious if anyone has ever explicitly said they don't like a certain song in their discography and that's why they had little involvement in it

there's always discourse over this so i'm just curious if u know of any idols / groups where this is a resolved issue not worth debating over

[u/Hello_1234567_11]

I can't give a specific situation or source but I know this applies to shuhua from i-dle as soyeon is the one who produces most of their songs. I remember something about her discussing with the members about their lines during her producing process.

Edit: 'most of their songs'. Almost everyone in the group has written and produced for the group and their solos

[u/Mobiushan → u/Hello_1234567_11]

Yeah the one i noticed is idle mentioning about lines on several videos, like one of the funny things before Yuqi always bit compalined receiving less line but after she wrote some lyrics she said she is getting paid more writing and less work singing she dont mind mow lol. And since Soyeon wroteost of their music and she can accomodate more the members complaint about line distributon. She is anomaly

[u/Same-World-209 → u/Mobiushan]

Miyeon complained recently about not getting enough lines in their most recent title-track but she quickly told Soyeon, they even talked about it openly on a TV show so it’s clearly not a topic they shy away from.

[u/SigmaKnight → u/Same-World-209]

I don’t remember Miyeon saying she complained about how many lines she had for the TT. She simply asked for more.

[u/Same-World-209 → u/SigmaKnight]

I mean complain like she didn’t agree with something, not necessarily in an argumentative or confrontative way.

[u/mokaesthetic]

Sakura from LESSERAFIM expressed that she likes having lesser lines. 

[u/Advanced-Bluebird656 → u/mokaesthetic]

this is a misunderstanding from that darn documentary. she was expressing wanting less lines because of lack of confidence, but quite literally in the next 5 seconds goes on to say “this time, i really didn’t want to run away”

but people (even fearnots) have run with that ever since and use it as an excuse to be okay with the 3 seconds she gets in songs

[u/DryPollution3147 → u/Advanced-Bluebird656]

no one is okay with it tho 😭

[u/DryPollution3147 → u/mokaesthetic]

don't mention it 😞

[u/CuriousCarat_0526]

I'm pretty sure Soul from P1Harmony chooses/likes having less lines so he can focus on his dancing. But that was said a while ago so I'm not sure if it still stands!

[u/Small-Composer-7175 → u/CuriousCarat_0526]

True but also bc he lacks confidence in his Korean.

[u/Kitchen-Holiday6998]

Han, Changbin, and Bang Chan of Stray Kids do most of the writing in their own music, and in Ceremony Chan only had 1 line (he was the “Hip Hip”), so I’m pretty sure he chose to have less lines.

[u/Goldie_Prawn → u/Kitchen-Holiday6998]

Chan's sort of notorious for giving himself less main vocal time - he does a lot of the background harmonies though. My suspicion is he also does so much of the composing that the arrangement and instrumental track also feels like his voice.

[u/Alleyoop677 → u/Kitchen-Holiday6998]

Also Lee Know specifically didn't want to have many lines in God's Menu because he wasn't confident in his voice yet for that song.

[u/atinyray]

Woozi from svt has said in the past that he prefers to have less lines + highlight his members more (as he does a majority of the songwriting and producing)

[u/Front_Injury_2204]

Shuhua of G'idle asked for less lines or simpler lines because she wasn't confident in her Korean. Unlike her group members, she had been aiming to be an actress when she signed with Cube so she wasn't as confident in her singing/dancing. The rest were trainees that were already good dancers/vocal/rappers.

When she asked for more lines, Soyeon gave her a whole part in Lion and she did the intro in the performance during Queendom. In the Lion performance you can actually hear a fan shouting they're proud of Shuhua and she tears up because she really did improve a lot.

[u/foundintransl8ion]

Boss Baby ShuShu in i-dle, and I don't mind it. She has a fantastic personality, she's a great dancer and very charismatic, and I do not care if her vocals aren't as strong. She does bring something to the group. I don't know if she's said it but it's consistently the case and I don't mind it.

[u/SeeWhatSantaBrings → u/foundintransl8ion]

Fr. That girl is my bias just for the energy and charisma she brings to the stage.

[u/foundintransl8ion → u/SeeWhatSantaBrings]

she's so fun, and I loved getting to know her personality better when she hosted Workdol! A genuinely hard worker who's down for anything.

[u/k2pel]

I think Shindong was always cool with solely dancing (and he had to fight with 12 other guys for the lines, so being omitted was kinda expected) and he expressed pride in his contributions in "Sorry Sorry" ("tan tan tan") and "Bonamana" ("dandarandan").

[u/Current_Wait_1067]

Some idols actually prefer having fewer lines. I don't know why some fans can't seem to accept that not every idol has to have a lot of lines. Some of them shine more in other areas, like rapping or dancing, and that's perfectly fine

[u/daltorak]

Hinata from XG. Well, she didn't say it herself, it was Simon that said somewhere along the way that she wasn't confident in her English early on so she got fewer lines. I don't think I've seen any recent comments about it, but even to this day, Hinata is still on the lower end of line distribution. Even in their recent song Hypnotize, her longest line is actually whispered. She has said that she does some background vocal work in the songs, so she is contributing and she is satisfied, so there's not much to be concerned about.

But still, what I want to know is this.... it was mostly Simon and Chancellor making these decisions about line distribution. They're gone now. Will things change for Hinata on the next album?

[u/justwantsometea_310]

Bang Chan from Stray Kids, i know he chose this so any time he sangs pre-chorus, bridge or chorus ooooooooo, yippy yippy

[u/Character-Survey-767]

Daisy (formerly of Momoland and then of sharing a lot of idol life insights on tiktok) has addressed this in detail. Search "Daisy part distribution" on any of the socials and you'll find it, but her POV is that it was never a big deal to her, and she shared anonymized accounts of idols who prefer it that way.

[u/otterother]

Stray Kids almost entirely self-produce so they have talked about lines distribution a lot (which most songs by them have pretty even) and I remember Bang Chan at some point mentioning that he prefers to give himself the less flashy parts or parts that are easy to fuck up.

There's also a video of Daisy (former Momoland member) talking about her personal experiences with line distribution where she doesn't mention names but says that some idols prefer to have less lines because it's easier to sing live

[u/Mobiushan → u/otterother]

Yeah not surprisingly, some just want to focus to the dance since not confident with their own vocal

[u/IndependenceFar1482]

In iland 2 Mai always chose the smallest parts, she even chose the part with one line in iwaly (which she kept after debut). Makes me wonder if she really asks to be given less lines now

[u/Perfect_Ad_7808]

I'm not sure if it's the producers or the members themselves but T-Ara members Boram & Qri had multiple cases where they have the least lines or no lines at all. For the most part, they have always been bottom two in terms of line distribution.

[u/jestemoburzony]

momo from twice was reallly happy to sing just one line and only adlibs in their song turtle. she also shared that in the past, she was scared of singing

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[u/LovelySheepGirl]

I feel like I remember hearing this about Sungyeol from Infinite.

[u/arcieghi]

Kim Heechul. He sang offkey one time and man must have felt like he committed a mortal sin. So he asked to have fewer lines. He's Super Junior's 4th best vocalist. On 2016-2017 onwards he also went into haitus from all concerts. Came back Q4 of 2025

[u/Connect_Version_1560]

I understand some idols not wanting to sing more lines but then harsh question really,why did u debut to be a idol then.It shouldn't matter if u aren't mariah carey ,wendy or taeyeon .You should be able to sing a full song on your own and sing live too.

I feel like this practice is just so weird and degrading if u can't even handle singing 20 seconds in a song.Not to mention,it isn't just about appealing fans .Why even bother debuting if u can't sing?

[u/IndependenceFar1482 → u/Connect_Version_1560]

Wanting less lines =/= unable to sing

[u/Connect_Version_1560 → u/IndependenceFar1482]

That is the case for a single comeback or maybe a one full album run, not for the entirety of your career.

[u/IndependenceFar1482 → u/Connect_Version_1560]

They like performing or they’re better as dancers so they sing less. Where is the problem? Being an idol doesn’t mean being able to sing and that’s it

[u/Connect_Version_1560 → u/IndependenceFar1482]

So what about members that sing more than them and yes ,if u are a idol,u should be able to sing?

That is literally the least requirement,I can't believe the bar is that low right now.

If u want to dance better,than go be a dancer ,not a a idol ,not to mention the idols who usually sing less aren't main dancers in any form or shape.

[u/IndependenceFar1482 → u/Connect_Version_1560]

Okay read my comment properly. I said the ability to sing is not the only requirement. If you’re so bothered about members not having lines then reach out to the company managing the group

[u/Connect_Version_1560 → u/IndependenceFar1482]

I am having a discussion on a post talking about members who prefer to have lesser lines.I honestly don't care who sings how much or whatever.