The Reason Why Kris Wu Left EXO & SM Entertainment

Many K-pop fans would remember the intense dispute between Kris Wu (吳亦凡) and South Korean entertainment powerhouse SM Entertainment when he left EXO.

In speaking with radio show Wild 94.9 recently, the 27-year-old pop star opened up about why being in a K-pop group was limiting to his artistic creativity and he also talked about his current solo music endeavours in America.

“Well, first of all I’m not Korean, right? I’m Chinese. Korea is not like a home for me, it’s not my base. So working there was still kind of stressful, I guess, for me. And… because the way that K-pop works, is that you gotta kind of do stuff that your company asks you to do,” he told DJ Gabby Diaz.

He added, “Everyone had no freedom, and for me, it was super stressful. I wanted to do my own stuff. I wanted to make hip hop music. I wanted to make sure that the stuff that I sing would represent me as an artiste, and I couldn’t do any of that when I was in Korea. That’s one of the reasons why I left.”

Now that he’s pursuing his dream in the US, the former EXO member admitted that he’s much happier since he’s been given the freedom to fully express himself. “Now in China, I have my own company and I run everything by myself. I can just do whatever I want to do,” he shared.

When asked whether he still keeps in touch with his former bandmates from EXO, or if the group had already moved on, the singer replied with an awkward “yeah”, referring to the latter.

Last week, Kris Wu released his new single “B.M.”, which stands for “Burberry made” – a nod to his collaboration with the high-end British retail brand. Besides his work with Travis Scott on “Deserve”, the entertainer has also been in the studio with famed record producer Pharrell Williams.

Check out the interview and his “B.M.” music video below: