Howl loud honey bees; we’ve got something fun for you!🐝🐺We recently had a chance to sit down with LYKN, one of the rising boy groups of Thailand. And we couldn’t be more excited to bring them a bit closer to you. During our chat, William, Lego, Nut, Hong, and Tui showed us their great chemistry and friendship—not leaving out any chances to both compliment and tease each other. But we also dived into their inspirations, hard-working ambitions within T-POP’s growing scene, and much more.
Random Facts
Before officially debuting as LYKN this spring, the five members started their joint path on GMMTV’s most recent survival show, Project Alpha. Meaning we’ve been able to follow along with their growth and journey for almost a year now. But to get to know them and their off-stage friendship dynamics a little better, we start the interview with some random rapid-fire questions.
What are your favorite late-night snacks after a performance or event?
NUT: Yogurt.
LEGO: Mine is a bigger meal, like barbeque/grilled pork.
HONG: I would choose cheese and dry fruits.
WILLIAM: For me, it’s some kind of dessert or Hainanese chicken rice.
TUI: I like everything that’s fried. Chips, fries, fried chicken.
What are the most played songs on your playlists right now?
LEGO: We have a pretty similar taste, so we are just going to say it together. 1 2 3…
Should we act surprised they picked ‘UMM UMM’ by LYKN?👀 Media training A+, haha. To be fair, their second and latest release is also one of our most-played songs this summer, so it’s only fair to bring up the track now. 💁♀️🔂 LYKYOU, if you’ve done the dance challenge already, make sure to share it with us on socials.😉
Who is the best at keeping secrets among the members?
WILLIAM: I think it’s P’Tui.
LEGO: I think it’s me when it comes to keeping my own secrets, haha. But in general, I’d choose P’Hong.
HONG: Why?🤨
LEGO: Because you barely talk to anybody.👀 When I speak to P’Hong, sometimes his reactions are actually like in our song, just “umm umm.” But he is more and more talkative nowadays!
HONG: Okay, fair… I would say Tui as well. He is the kind of person who will genuinely listen and just accept you if you tell him a secret or open up about your weakness.
Who is the early bird and the night owl in the group?
The following questions all seem to be unanimous. To reveal the group’s early birds, HONG counts to three, and all members point at TUI before LEGO adds, “But also P’Nut. He always wakes up at 8 or 9.” Although they both start their days early, there is a difference between their reasons, as HONG clarifies. “P’Nut is an early bird, in a healthy, natural way. Tui is simply just because his home is too far away.” Well, that’s a pretty relatable reason. *Intensly Googles how to learn teleportation so we can go back to sleep instead of sitting in the traffic.*
Picking LYKN’s night owl also seems to be an easy decision, and HONG counts to three again for all the members to point towards LEGO this time. HONG quickly comments, “He just doesn’t sleep.” And LEGO explains, “I have a lot of things to do at night.” We just lay back and silently listened as the other members took over our position and started questioning the youngest member’s bold statement. Who then quickly explains. “Okay, I mean, it’s the only time when I really have free time, and I can enjoy other activities, being home, having some time for myself, and making the most of the day.”
Who talks the most and least in the group chat?
Our last rapid-fire question seemed to stir up some things as all the boys were just cracking up, and we were eager to find out the tea. On the count of three, all members—including himself—point to TUI, who just nodded, “Of course, it has to be me.” LEGO paints the group chat’s atmosphere by adding, “He doesn’t like it when the atmosphere is too quiet.”
And TUI explains, “Sometimes I want to stop talking, but I cannot. It’s my instinct. But the least is probably William if we are talking specifically about the group chat. It’s like he lost his phone.” His little chuckle and mischievous eyes tell us that he knows precisely what his members mean and will not even try to deny it before LEGO further explains. “Even when he’s asking us a question, after we reply, it’s almost like he’s throwing his phone away. Even right now, he hasn’t read my latest message yet.”
Music Inspirations
It’s always fascinating to hear young artists talk about their favorites or specific moments that led them to pursue music as a career. So we naturally wondered who some of the inspirations behind LYKN’s undeniable passion are. TUI starts with bringing up the iconic K-Pop group GOT7. “They are my idols. After getting to know them, I started to sing and dance and wanted to become a performer as well. But it isn’t only about music, but also how GOT7 has seven different types of members, making them a diverse group who get to do many things together for so many years.” Continuing to bring up legendary Korean groups, NUT shares the specific song that was a turning point for him. “I like BTS, and the first song I heard from them was ‘FIRE (불타오르네),’ that was the start of my artist journey.”
If you read our recap on Project Alpha, you know how much we admire WILLIAM’s vocal colors. And it’s no secret that there is also dedication behind his talent, and even now, he brings up an artist who also made Thailand fall in love with his vocals. “For me, it’s Tom Isara. He was a competitor and the winner in Thailand’s Masked Singer’s first season. His voice is amazing and cool. I’ve been listening to him for a long time.”
Then LEGO brings the conversation back to K-Pop by mentioning none other than NCT’s Taeyong. “He’s the one that inspired me to be the kind of artist who wants to do well in everything. Because to me, he is a true all-rounder.” And if you ask us, LEGO is one as well, and we can’t wait to see him grow into the artist he aspires to be: “He’s also the leader of such a complex group with so many members. That’s a lot of hard work, but he’s doing so well. I want to be like him one day.”
HONG’s answer sparked a little something in our imagination…Because we would be totally down for a HONG x Woodz collab.👀 “I was a casual listener, but when I went to his concert, I was very inspired and realized I wanted to do this. Since that show, I’ve been listening to him every day. I put his music on even before going up on stage or attending a program.”
Becoming LYKN
It’s always a pretty exciting journey to see how such unique characters come together and form a cohesive group. When we ask about their bonds and what sets the foundation for LYKN as a group, LEGO starts by highlighting an important aspect. “Although we work in a team, we are still five completely different individuals.” Ensuring the members can stay true to their distinctive characters will add significant power to the group’s diversity. It’s the key fuel to a colorful and exciting discography. After making his point, the youngest member continues and brings up their most significant bond.
“It’s our dream, our goal, that we passionately try to capture together. But our age is also relatively close. The gap between me and P’Nut is only about three years, which also helps us understand each other well.” The members are currently all between the ages of 17 and 20, and HONG agrees it helps them relate to each other. He also adds, “We also bond through humor and activities or conversations unrelated to work when we spend time together.” And we can definitely vouch for the humor part as we watched the members bounce off of each other really well during our entire chat.🤭
We also wondered how each member sees their personal growth since embarking on this journey, and TUI is the first to open up. “I think a lot more carefully than before. Because whatever I do now will also affect the rest of the group.” Then WILLIAM continues. “I think we all became more aware, as in knowing and understanding each other. And taking our likes and dislikes into consideration.” Building onto that, HONG adds, “I also understand myself more, what I’m capable of, and what I need to practice more. I would say I mentally developed. As in, I learned how to deal with certain situations or just the noise around me.”
LEGO seems to be just as impressed by that answer as we were. But after a short pause and a wow, he continues by telling us that his growth is more like overall progress. “I think I improved on every side of me. From learning to be more social, developing my skills, working towards my dream, etc.”
To close this topic, NUT reminisces about his time before joining GMMTV’s program. “The biggest growth for me is probably becoming more confident. Before I went to (Project) Alpha, I had no confidence in anything I did and was afraid of being judged. But during the show, I met many great people and artists. Meeting them and the entire experience made me gain confidence and became more comfortable.” Is this the right moment to comment on how proud we are? Following the five boys throughout the survival program already showed us their passion and dedication from week to week. And seeing them working even harder ever since and hearing them realizing their own growth and potential…just makes us feel things. Don’t worry, we are not crying, we are just happy for them.🥹
Representing Thailand’s T-POP Movement
Speaking of growth and dedication…Debuting in the middle of a starting wave of T-POP’s globalization brings an extra role to the group as a representative of Thai music’s worldwide movements. Even just writing down this sentence felt a bit heavy. So, we were wondering how LYKN feels about bringing T-POP to international tables.
This time, the oldest member, NUT, is the first to talk about LYKN’s responsibility in contributing to T-POP’s growth. “We have to practice our skills to improve our performance. And produce quite catchy songs to a wider audience; to get our fans to love our music.” WILLIAM agrees, saying, “We have to practice more and more.” TUI also admits that improving is crucial in bringing more attention to Thai music.“If we keep challenging ourselves and each other, T-POP will become better and better as a whole market.”
LEGO then continues by highlighting the diversity of T-POP. “All artists and groups have their own style. But we share the same goal. Letting everyone around the world know how much talent Thailand has.” After diving into T-POP’s common goal, HONG decides to share his personal goal with music. “I would like to represent something with our songs. To create songs that mean something or the listeners can relate to. Perhaps a straight vocal or straight rap track that just talks honestly about a certain topic or the experience we have either as a band or personally.”
RISER MUSIC
In the past months, we’ve seen the members working closely with the artists around them—performing, releasing covers together, etc. So, we play around with the idea of LYKN releasing an original track featuring one of their senior artists under RISER MUSIC. When we ask who they’d pick, the union is just as strong as it was during the random questions earlier. And they unanimously agree on NANON. “Because all of us are pretty close to him,” as NUT says.
But HONG thinks a bit further and shares that “NANON is a very interesting person. I’ve heard that he notes down whatever comes to his mind in a notebook. He’s always full of ideas about what he wants to do next. Maybe he also has an idea in there about what he’d like to do with us.” Hmm…is he teasing us?! 👀 Well, only time will tell, but let’s all act surprised when they actually drop a collab. We already know it would be a hit.🫨
TUI also shares his admiration for NANON, both as an actor and a singer who has been in the industry for about a decade despite his young age. “I believe P’Nanon is also one of our idols.” As for the concept, he and WILLIAM play around with the idea of a rock/pop-rock release. While HONG and LEGO talk about their senior’s flexible, multifaceted talent. Then, the younger one elaborates on this characteristic being a great match to LYKN’s diversity. “Our group concept also involves flexibility. We are trying to be a versatile group. So we could try anything together. Maybe something unexpected.”
How Does LYKN Spend Their Free Time?
Before saying goodbye and letting the boys get ready for another schedule following our interview, we wondered what other passions and hobbies the members have and how each of them unwinds when they are not practicing or performing. Hint: It still involves some music. And screaming? 👀
HONG: I just got into reading mangas not long ago. I never thought I would read mangas because I usually enjoy anime more. But I started realizing that there is something in mangas that can’t be brought to life in the animes. How the creators express and deliver the storyline through drawing is just different.
WILLIAM: I love to play guitar and piano. And scream around in my room. When I go back to my room, I usually play my electric guitar. I listen to rock and play along.
TUI: I always enjoy singing and dancing. And even in my free time, I like playing instruments like drums or guitar, for example. Sometimes, I record it and start writing something in my program, just for fun, to play around and explore more about music.
NUT: My hobby is similar to HONG’s. I’m currently watching My Hero Academia, and it’s been giving me a lot of passion. Animes, in general, give me inspiration. My Hero Academia, for example, has a really great main character. He is constantly improving himself to become the best hero in this story. I would like to keep developing myself like that.
LEGO: I am the type of person who always finds something to do. If I stay home, I might do a self-care, skincare routine, or a spa course with masking, scrubbing, etc. If I’m running out of things to do inside the room, I just go out; to the cinema, to meet my friends, or sometimes to hit the gym—but just sometimes, not very often, haha.
It was so great to get to know WILLIAM, LEGO, NUT, HONG, and TUI a bit more. We are certainly very excited to see what else is in store for them in the future. And you, honey bees, don’t forget to check out LYKN’s previous releases if you haven’t had a chance yet. And make sure to let us know your thoughts on Twitter or by leaving a comment on our Facebook and Instagram posts.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LYKN:
INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | TIKTOK | TWITTER | RISER MUSIC TWITTER | RISER MUSIC YOUTUBE
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MEMBERS:
WILLIAM IG | WILLIAM TWITTER | LEGO IG | LEGO TWITTER | NUT IG | NUT TWITTER | HONG IG | HONG TWITTER | TUI IG | TUI TWITTER
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