Ex-NCT Mark Lee’s First Solo Performance Since Departing Sparks Mixed Reactions

Recently, it was announced that Mark Lee would have his first solo performance since leaving NCT.

Following the reveal of his own label, Upper Room, it was announced that the idol would be attending the World Environment Day event in Azerbaijan. It was stated that he would be performing his first post-NCT solo, “Ready or Not.”

The idol began his performance by discussing how he wrote the song, noting that he had been thinking about his future while on vacation in Kenya.

“i visited kenya this year and at that time, i was going through a very important time of my life. i had to make a very important decision for my career & for my life. so i had a lot of people tell me, a lot of advice, asking me questions that i really didn’t know the answer to” pic.twitter.com/JDh13Zu51V

— 마끄리 🩵 (@0802lees) June 5, 2026

“Ready or Not”‘s lyrics shared the theme, with the idol singing while playing the guitar.

mark lee’s first performance of his new song “ready or not” 🥹🩵

MARK LEE BACK AGAIN#MarkLeexWorldEnvironmentDay@UNEP @upperroomlabel pic.twitter.com/wwdQwvS5LN

— ‏ً (@LMKFEED) June 5, 2026

The performance was shared on a popular site, where netizens expressed their opinions, which were decidedly mixed.

• As soon as the pitch goes up a little, his singing becomes really bad.
• It’s fine, though.
• Mark is cool. It may not be flashy, but he makes music that moves people’s hearts.
• I like Mark, but honestly, he really isn’t singing well in this video… He’s definitely better at dancing or rapping.

On the other hand, fans of the idol were happy that the idol was able to express himself this way and are excited for the future, while some international reactions were also mixed.

i’m so sad sm never let him shine with his vocals and i’m so happy he can finally show even more of what he’s got

— jaemin rim reaper (@soohaeist) June 5, 2026

his voice here is so powerful and chilling to the bone, i can hear every lyric coming straight from his chest, genuinely from his heart and then followed by the beautiful acoustic guitar too? mark’s outros are truly something else… pic.twitter.com/MOt9fMY2ib

— risa ♬ˎˊ˗ HAECHAN DAY! 🐻🌻☀️💚 (@xneojunx) June 5, 2026

Okay but ‘Ready or Not’ intro…

‘Mama, am I making you cry?
I’m outside on the bench all alone
And I can’t call you right now
Cause I left my phone at home’

Mark was really going through so much ☹️ pic.twitter.com/ywt2mZZ4ra

— ᴄᴀʀᴏʟɪɴᴇ (@anythingforlmk) June 5, 2026

Yeah I think he should stick to rapping Chile

— diamond (@staym4dhoe) June 5, 2026