Jeremy Lee interview: Jeremy Lee (李駿傑) says knowing who he is freed him from comparisons after years of waiting and self doubt, and that clarity helped him define his role in MIRROR.
Jeremy Lee interview: You must wait and wait
When I spoke with Jeremy Lee, he repeated phrases such as “I personally feel” and “for me,” not out of ego, but to underline a hard won sense of self. After periods of waiting and doubt he said he slowly gathered his values and learned to stand firm, the result being a clearer place for himself inside MIRROR, the Hong Kong boy band with 12 members.
A public transformation on the award stage
Jeremy Lee recalled a defining moment on an awards stage, holding the Best New Male trophy while his face changed from tears to a composed, flirtatious look as he began to sing. He said the win did not make him feel powerful, it made him feel safer and more confident, and that gave him permission to keep walking his path.
He traced his insecurity back to his early auditions. At 14 or 15 he assumed two rehearsed songs were enough, and only after repeated failures did he take training seriously. By 18 he faced age limits for some auditions and came close to quitting, considering ordinary work or a job as a flight attendant instead.
“During the long wait my biggest inner demon was the urge to give up,” he said. “I knew effort mattered, but I kept asking how long I had to try, why there was no result yet. Those questions were the most painful part of waiting.” He noted it took three years after debut before he released his first solo work, and that the delay was a time for learning rather than mere stagnation.
The dangerous, fatal charm of androgyny
Looking back to his time on the talent show that formed MIRROR he described himself as a blank sheet with little stage experience. Judges often said he looked “K Pop” and lacked a unique signature. His mentor Lau Mei Kwan (劉美君) suggested he develop a more androgynous, seductive stage persona, an idea he accepted as a challenge to find his own strengths.
He said the risk of that direction is the fine line between artful and caricatured performance. “If you try to convince others, you must convince yourself first,” he said. “Playing at being seductive can easily read as a man pretending to be a woman. I worried whether audiences would dislike me. I did not have strong confidence then that I could handle it.”
His study list included Hong Kong icons Roman Tam and Leslie Cheung. He cited Leslie Cheung’s look in a 1997 concert when the singer wore Manolo Blahnik red heels as a particularly striking moment. He also referenced Taemin of SHINee, whose solo work blends androgynous charm with a youthful sensibility that broadened Jeremy’s imagination.
“Everyone has a different take on androgyny, it must be rooted in who you are,” he said. “I had to spend years convincing myself I could pull it off. Now it feels like part of my signature and it helps me express the desire inside.” He studies fan cam clips after shows, reviews his facial and physical details, and tweaks each performance bit by bit.
He pointed to a personal segment of MIRROR’s 2021 concert for the song “Monster” as an example. What began as a standard dance gradually became more daring, at one point adding a hand lick that he said tested limits and let audiences see different facets of him. That spirit carries into his latest solo single “CLOSER,” which he described as a Spanish suite style that traces the ambiguous ache of unrequited love.
“Last year my songs revolved around self discovery, often dark and introspective,” he said. “Now I want listeners to find a pattern they like and choose to love themselves. Life is hard enough, so I hope people can be more comfortable being themselves.”
Jeremy placed his artistic choices in a wider aesthetic conversation. He noted the rise of grotesque aesthetics in recent years, where artists distort or exaggerate everyday faces to produce memorable, sometimes unsettling work. He acknowledged the approach may not align with mainstream taste in Hong Kong, but he said his version of androgyny can be both coquettish and commanding.
From moisturizers to changing male ideals
He discussed changing expectations for male appearance, noting that once men bought face lotion in secret. “In school I used to sneak into a shop to buy moisturizer like a thief,” he said with a laugh. He added that today more male artists advertise beauty products and many men use concealer and shape their brows.
He also reflected on how family expectations shaped his voice and emotional responses. Family members told him men should speak louder and not cry, messages he said were stamped on his mind. Over recent years he learned to ignore those inherited scripts and accept that crying is an emotional expression available to everyone.
“People are interesting because each is an individual,” he said. “There are billions of personalities, and chemistry happens when different people meet. My recent takeaway is accept yourself first, then other people’s opinions matter less. How you judge yourself is not what others imagine, and who you want to be is no one else’s business.”
He said he is comfortable with his current pace, even if some think he should accelerate while his popularity is high. He described the satisfaction of solitary time at home with his cat Nana curled at his feet, and his quiet wish to one day live in a home with an ocean view.
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Photographer: Ken Leung
Art Direction: Mimi Kong and Ken Leung
Styling: Mimi Kong, assisted by Yoanah Chan
Videographer: Kason Tam, Alvin Kong and Fai Wong
Video Edit: Kason Tam and Fai Wong
Set Design: Lit
Text: Chan Ching (陳菁)
Makeup: Cherie Wong at Annie G. Chan Makeup Centre
Hair: Lydia Yung at Chic Private I Salon
