Call Me By Fire Star James Lee's Hand Was Severed In A Freak Accident In 2015; Took 5 Surgeries To Reattach It

Former K-pop star James Lee, 33, has seen his popularity skyrocket since appearing on Call Me By Fire.

With his good looks and undeniable musical talent, the strapping Korean-American musician, who was a member of K-pop rock trio Royal Pirates, gets a lot of screen time on the show because of his friendship with fellow Korean-American contestant Li Cheng Xuan. That, and how his poor command of Mandarin (he is not Chinese, after all) lends itself to a lot of jokes.

Turns out, behind that handsome mug hides a painful past.

Last week, James, 32, shares a video of himself struggling to play the guitar on the show.

“As a former bass player in a band, it’s a huge pity that I can’t play the instrument I’ve played for 13 years again,” he said.

Back in 2015, James was forced to give up his K-pop career after a freak accident left him with a severed hand but more of this later.

“After the accident, I practised the bass for about a month. I could maybe do 30 seconds and then I had to stop. My hand was killing me. It’s the first time I am doing it again and it just brought back memories,” he said.

“It really hurts,” he added.

In 2015, James was meeting a friend at a restaurant in Seoul and as he opened the door, the door's steel frame and glass wall fell on him, crushing his left shoulder and slicing his left wrist. His hand was reattached after five surgeries, but he was told he could not play the bass again.

James left the band in 2017 after discovering a blood clot in his brain and returned to Los Angeles to focus on physical and mental recovery.

In 2018, James launched a solo career and moved to Beijing where he is an in-demand producer and songwriter and counts stars like Angelababy as friends.

Photos: James Lee/Weibo