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// On :Senin, 13 Mei 2013
1.Super Junior
Super Junior (Korean: 슈퍼주니어; Syupeo Junieo) is a South Korean boy band. Formed in 2005 by producer Lee Soo-man of S.M. Entertainment,
the group comprised a total of thirteen members at its peak. Super
Junior originally debuted with twelve members, consisting of leader Leeteuk, Heechul, Hankyung, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kibum. Kyuhyun joined the group in 2006.
Known as the "Kings of the Korean Wave", Super Junior launched into
international recognition following the release of their best-selling
single "Sorry, Sorry" in 2009, the title song of their most critically successful album Sorry, Sorry [1][2] and were the best-selling K-pop artist for three years in a row.[3]
Over the years, they have been divided into smaller subgroups,
simultaneously targeting different music industries and audiences.
Largely due to Super Junior's success as entertainers, other Korean
entertainment managements began to train their music groups in other
areas of entertainment, such as acting and hosting.[4] In addition to their commercial success, Super Junior has earned fourteen music awards from the Mnet Asian Music Awards, sixteen from the Golden Disk Awards, and is the second singing group to win Favorite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after JTL in 2003.[5] In 2012 they were nominated for "Best Asian Act" in MTV Europe Music Awards showing one more time their popularity around world.[6]
In December 2009, Hankyung departed from the group after filing a lawsuit against their agency S.M. Entertainment.[7] Hankyung subsequently won the lawsuit in December 2010,[8]
though his departure from Super Junior was not made official until
September 27, 2011, when S.M. Entertainment finally released a statement
to that effect.[9][10] Heechul enlisted for his mandatory military service on September 1, 2011. Kangin was absent from the group for their fourth and fifth album promotions, but completed his service in April 2012, and rejoined the group for their sixth album
in mid-2012, however, the absent three members are considered as part
of the group regardless. Leeteuk enlisted for his mandatory military service on October 30, 2012. Yesung enlisted for his mandatory military service on May 6, 2013. As of 2013, Super Junior has eight active members: Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun.
2000–2005: Formation and debut
In 2000, SM Entertainment held their first overseas casting auditions in Beijing, China and recruited Hankyung, who auditioned against three thousand applicants.[11] That same year, Leeteuk, Yesung, and Eunhyuk were recruited after auditioning for the company's annual casting system in Seoul. Sungmin and Donghae became trainees after jointly winning first place in an SM-sponsored contest in 2001. In 2002, Heechul and Kangin were recruited along with Kibum, who was discovered in Los Angeles, California by a casting agent. Siwon became a trainee after being scouted in 2003 and Ryeowook in 2004, who was recruited into the company after winning the 2004 Chin Chin Youth Festival singing competition.[12] Shindong and Kyuhyun, the latter winning third place at the 2005 Chin Chin Youth Festival, were cast in 2005.In early 2005, Lee Soo-man announced that he had been preparing for an all-boy project group of twelve members to debut at the end of the year. He called this singing group to be "The Gateway to Stardom of Asia,"[13] as most of the members in this group were chosen for their experiences as actors, MCs, models, and radio hosts prior debut. Heechul and Kibum were already established actors at the time, and most of the other members had already made various kinds of appearances in television and media.[14][15][16] Inspired by the rotational concept of Japan's girl group Morning Musume, Lee said that his new group would also experience line-up changes, with new members replacing selected members every year to keep the group constantly young and all-rounded. This concept was then newly introduced to the K-pop market.
For a while the group was rumored to be called O.V.E.R, the acronym for "Obey the Voice for Each Rhythm."[17][a] However, before the group settled with their current name, the company simply referred to them as juniors, a representation of the members' young ages when they first became SM trainees.[17] After the members' showcased their different talents to the company at a picnic, the company finalized their group name to Super Junior, and officially became Super Junior'05, the first generation of Super Junior.[12] Super Junior 05 made their pre-debut performance on the Korean channel Mnet on September 11, 2005.[b] At the showcase, they performed various styles of hip-hop dancing, where they danced to B2K's "Take It to the Floor". Hankyung, Eunhyuk, and Donghae also performed a separate dance together, dancing to Usher's "Caught Up." However, the performance did not air on television until May 16, 2006 as a segment in the Super Junior Show, the group's first television documentary.
The group officially debuted on SBS's music program Popular Song on November 6, 2005, performing their first single "Twins (Knock Out)". A digital single with "Twins (Knock Out)", "You Are the One", and three additional tracks were released online on November 8, followed by the release of their debut album SuperJunior05 (Twins) on December 6, 2005. The album sold 28,536 copies in the first month of release and debuted at number three in the monthly chart of December 2005.[18][c]
2006–2007: U, Don't Don, and commercial success
In February 2006, Super Junior 05 began performances for "Miracle", the second promotional single from their debut album. "Miracle" topped the music charts of Thailand, drawing interest from international markets.[19] As promotions for "Miracle" ended, SM Entertainment began selecting new members for Super Junior's second generation, Super Junior 06. The company even prepared a list of chosen members that were to graduate from the group. However, the company abandoned the rotational concept after adding a thirteenth member, Kyuhyun, in 2006. The group then became known as just Super Junior, without the suffix "05".[20][21]After the addition of Kyuhyun, Super Junior released their single "U" for free download on May 25, 2006 on their official website. "U" exceeded 400,000 downloads within five hours of release and ultimately surpassed 1.7 million downloads, crashing the server.[22][23] The physical single of "U" with a total of three tracks was released on June 6, eventually selling over 81,000 units in South Korea.[24] The single became one of Korea's most popular songs of the year, taking up number one spots for five consecutive weeks on two of Korea's top music programs.[25] By the end of the year, Super Junior collected over seven awards in five of South Korea's top music award ceremonies, and was one of the three Best Newcomer winners at the 21st Golden Disk Awards.
In late 2006, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Yesung formed the subgroup Super Junior-K.R.Y, Super Junior's first sub-unit. They performed their first single "The One I Love", theme song to the Korean television drama Hyena, on the KBS music program Music Bank on November 5, 2006.[26] In February 2007, Leeteuk, Heechul, Kangin, Sungmin, Shindong and Eunhyuk formed Super Junior-T, a trot-singing group. They released their first single "Rokuko" on February 23, 2007, and made a debut performance on Popular Songs two days later.[27]
Super Junior's second official album was intended for a late 2006 release, but due to several accidental setbacks, Don't Don was not released until September 20, 2007.[28][29] Don't Don sold over 60,000 units the first day of release and debuted at number one on the monthly chart of September 2007.[30] Although Don't Don received mixed reviews from critics, the album went to sell more than 160,000 copies by the end of the year, becoming the second best-selling record of 2007.[31][32][c] Super Junior received seven nominations at the 2007 Mnet/KM Music Festival, winning three of them which included Artist of the Year, termed by many as the highest recognition of the ceremony.[33] Super Junior collected two more recognitions at the 22nd Golden Disk Awards, including a Disk Bonsang award (Record of the Year).[34]
2008–2009: Sorry, Sorry and career breakthrough
Super Junior's first Asia-wide concert tour, Super Show, started on February 22, 2008, in Seoul.[36][44][45][46][47][e] The group held a successful two-day fan meeting in Japan at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, selling out 12,000 tickets in several days.[48] The group released a compiled single "U/Twins", which includes the Japanese version of "U" in the limited release version, to complement the event. The single peaked at number four on Japan's Oricon Daily Chart on its first day of release, and dropped down four places on its second. The single broke a new record for being the first Korean single to have made within top 10 on Japan's Oricon Weekly Chart.[49]
The group released their third studio album Sorry, Sorry on March 12, 2009.[50] It was their first album to debut at number one on the Hanteo Charts, selling over 29,000 copies the first day.[51] After only a month of release, the album became South Korea's best-selling album of 2009, and ultimately sold over 250,000 copies in South Korea.[52] It became the best-selling K-pop album in Taiwan,[53] Thailand, China, and the Philippines, in which the latter credited the album to be the first K-pop album to reach number one in music charts from the country.[54] The album's title single "Sorry, Sorry" became an instant hit,[55] collecting a total of ten number-one awards for ten consecutive weeks in Korea, and stayed as number one for a record-breaking 37 weeks in Taiwan's K-pop singles chart. "Sorry, Sorry" achieved national and international success, and has since been the group's best-selling single in South Korea.[2][56][57][58] Sorry, Sorry won several accolades at the 24th Golden Disk Awards, including the Disk Daesang (Record of the Year).
After the success of Sorry, Sorry, Super Junior commenced their second Asia-wide concert tour Super Show 2, on July 17, 2009 in Seoul.
2010–2011: Bonamana, lineup changes, and international recognition
Despite their critical and commercial success, the group was plagued by legal turmoils and lineup changes during their concert tour. Though Kibum was shown in the ads and promotional videos for Super Show 2, he did not officially participate in the concert tour, and announced his temporary leave from the group to pursue his acting career. In October 2009, Kangin was charged with a DUI and hit-and-run after crashing into a parked taxi holding three passengers.[59] In December 2009, Hankyung filed for contract termination from SM Entertainment, claiming that the provisions of his contract were unlawful, harsh, and against his rights.[60] He parted with the group and released his solo album Geng Xin in July 2010, which sold over 510,000 copies. That same month, Kangin announced his hiatus to fulfill his two-year mandatory military service.With only ten members left, Super Junior went off to release their fourth studio album, Bonamana in May 2010. Although the album did not fare well as Sorry, Sorry critically, it sold over 300,000 copies in South Korea, outselling Sorry, Sorry.[61] The album remained at the top of Taiwan's Korean-Japanese Music Charts for 61 weeks, breaking their own previous record of the said chart.[62]
To promote the album, Super Junior embarked on their third Asia-wide tour Super Show 3 in 2010 and 2011,[63] and had sold-out concerts for each stop.[64] In February 2011, Super Junior released a 3D movie version of their tour,Super Show 3 3D in all CGV and Primus movie theaters.[65] The movie debuted at number six on the box office charts and went off to become the best-selling 3D movie in Korea.[66] After touring in Japan, they released the Super Junior Japan 'Super Show 3' Opening Commemorative Album in February 2011, which debuted at number two on Japan's Tower Records online sales charts. The DVD version of Super Junior Japan Limited Special Edition – Super Show 3 also debuted at number two, while the CD version debuted at number 10. The album also remained at number three spot on the Oricon Daily Chart for two consecutive days and number six on the Oricon Weekly Chart. Following their commercial success in Japan, the group released a Japanese version of Bonamana's self-titled single in June 2011, which debuted at number two on the Oricon Daily Singles chart, selling over 59,000 copies the first week of release,[67] however, SM did not see the release as their official Japanese debut and has stated that their debut in Japan will occur at a later time.[68]
Between Super Show 3 stops, the group took part in the SMTown Live '10 World Tour and toured in Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo and New York along with other SM Entertainment-managed artists, performing outside of Asia for the first time.[69] Super Junior's performances were well received by the media,[70] and they were honored as Korea's National Pop Culture Icon for their role in spreading the Hallyu Wave (Korean Wave), receiving the Minister of Culture Awards by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Pop Culture Art Awards. They were featured on CNN's Talk Asia program, and talked about their popularity and strategy for advancing into the world music industry.[71][72] The group has achieved recognition beyond Asia, reaching notability in Europe, North America, and South America. Peru’s Top 30 ranking of The Sexiest Men in the World included all of the members on the list[73] They gave exclusive interviews to Slovenian and Iranian magazines,[74] and were selected by Brazilian Hallyu fans to be the number-one Korean artist they want to visit Brazil.[75][76] Both Mexico's TV Azteca and the United Kingdom's BBC acknowledged Super Junior to be the leading icon of the Hallyu effect.[77][78]
2011–2012: Mr. Simple and The World Tour, Super Show 4
The group, with Super Junior-M members Zhou Mi and Henry, also recorded the song "Santa U Are The One" for the 2011 Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift album, released on December 13, 2011. In addition, Donghae and Eunhyuk released their collaboration digital single "Oppa, Oppa" on December 16[85] and performed the single on Music Bank that same day.
In 2011 Super Junior was selected as the Hallyu Star who foreign fans want to date. Arirang Survey in 188 Countries Revealed Super Junior as the Most Wanted Artist.
On January 11, Super Junior participated at the 26th Golden Disk Awards which was held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan. The group ended up bringing home four awards: Popularity Award, MSN Japan Award, Disk Bonsang and the grand prize Disk Daesang. This was followed by further successes at the Seoul Music Awards on January 19, at which they were awarded the Disk Bonsang and Disk Daesang.
On January 13, Super Junior were crowned 'Album King' in Taiwan, after Super Junior’s 5th album Mr. Simple and 4th album Bonamana ranked 1st and 2nd on both album and music sections of the Korean Music Chart 2012. Significantly, Super Junior ranked 1 on the KKBOX K-Pop chart for 64 consecutive weeks with their 4th album title song "Bonamana", marking the longest record in the history of KKBOX K-Pop chart. They then reached 1 with the 5th album title song "Mr. Simple" for 46 consecutive weeks (as of 4 July 2012), effectively knocking themselves from the 1 spot. On February 22, Super Junior won Album Of The Year for the 3rd Quarter at the Gaon Chart Awards[86] and on March 13, Super Junior won Favorite K-pop Video for "Mr.Simple" at the MYX Music Awards.[87]
Also, Super Junior successfully completed their world tour ‘SUPER SHOW 4’ in 10 cities worldwide including Seoul, Osaka, Taipei, Singapore, Macao, Bangkok, Paris, Shanghai, Jakarta and Tokyo for 6 months starting in November. Combined with their three Asia tours, ‘SUPER SHOW 4,’ Super Junior’s concert brand, gathered a total of 900,000 audiences.
2012–Present: Sexy, Free & Single and The World Tour, Super Show 5
Super Junior 6th Album Sexy, Free & Single managed to rank high in iTunes in several countries including Australia, France, Peru and Japan. It also ranked 3rd on Billboard World Albums.[89] The album debuted at 1st place on the South Korean Gaon Chart, selling 335,744 copies in one month.[90] Staying on the chart as 1st place for three weeks in a row, 459,182 copies have been sold in only two months (July - August).[90][90] Furthermore, Sexy, Free & Single also debuted at 1st on "Hanteo Chart" with more than 200,000 copies sold in one month become the first group to do so far this year.[91] Super Junior rank 1st place on Hanteo's "Top 5 K-Pop Artists" 2012 winning Hanteo "Singer Award" and also rank 1st place in Hanteo "Album Award" 2012 also winning this award.[92][93]
Sexy, Free & Single was placed 1st for several weeks on Taiwan KKBOX KPOP chart having all album songs charted.[94] The Japanese version of this song, which was released on August 22, has sold over 118,902 units so far and is being considered Gold for selling over 100,000 units.
Super Junior were nominated for "Best Asian Act" in MTV Europe Music Awards showing one more time their popularity around world.[95] On October Super Junior won "Teen Style Icon" award in Style Icon Awards[96] and on November they also won the "Best Artist Group Award" the 19th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards.[97] On November 30, Super Junior attended the Mnet Asian Music Awards where they won three awards, "Album of the Year", "Best Global Group - Male" and "Best Line Award", being the second year in row that Super Junior wins "Album of the Year".[98] Their Super Show 4 3D movie was awarded with "Work of Art Award" at the International 3D Festival being the only singer together with Glam winning an award.[99]On January 15 Super Junior won "Disk Daesang" at 27th Golden Disk Awards, being the 3rd "Disk Daesang" that Super Junior wins and two times in row.[100] Super Junior announce their world tour in February 2013. "The World Tour, Super Show 5" begin in March starting in Seoul. The group will then go to China, Japan, South America, and Europe.
2.Teen Top
Teen Top (Hangul: 틴탑) is a South Korean boy group that consists of six members: C.A.P, Chunji, L.Joe, Niel, Ricky and Changjo. The band debuted under T.O.P Media, founded by Andy Lee of Shinhwa, in 2010. They released their first single album Come into the World on July 9, 2010 and made their official debut the following day on MBC's Music Core. Their official fan club name is Angel, previously unofficially named Andromeda.Career
Teen Top members Ricky and Niel were both child actors. Niel debuted through the musical Please, where he played the younger version of Joo Won's role. Ricky debuted in Seo Taiji's music video for "Human Dream" and later portrayed the young version of Song Seung-heon's character in Love Song.[1]2010: Debut
In July 2010, Teen Top made their debut with the title track, "Clap" (Korean: 박수), of their debut single album Come into the World, which was released on July 9. The music video for "Clap" features Lizzy from After School.Teen Top officially debuted on July 10 at MBC's Music Core, followed by SBS's Inkigayo, receiving positive reviews for both performances.[2] Based on their performances, netizens gave Teen Top the nickname "Knife Choreography".
2011: "Supa Luv" and Roman
On January 13, 2011, Teen Top made their first comeback on M! Countdown with their 2nd single "Supa Luv", which was produced by Shin Hyuk. The song, originally written and performed by Redd Stylez, was re-written and translated into Korean by Wheesung.[3]On March 2, Teen Top released a music video for a remix version of "Supa Luv" by A-rex, featuring scenes from the American film Beastly. The remix was then chosen for the movie's promotion throughout Asia.[4]
The group made an appearance on the French news program Le Grand Journal, for which they received overwhelming critical acclaim by comparison to other acts that had appeared on the show. Their performance of "Supa Luv" was highly praised, with hosts commenting on the synchronized dancing and the pastel colored hair sported by each member. Notable acts that had made it onto the talk show as well include Eminem, Usher, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas and Rihanna.
On July 11, after celebrating Teen Top's first anniversary, their agency, T.O.P Media, announced on the group's official website, that a new mini album was set to be released on the July 26. In addition, further details regarding the band's comeback were revealed.
On July 21, T.O.P Media released the first teaser for Teen Top's comeback single "No More Perfume On You" (Korean: 향수 뿌리지마) through various video portals including YouTube and Daum. The following day, the second teaser was released exclusively on YouTube. Teen Top's mini-album Roman was released on July 26 as a digital download and on July 27 in stores.[5][6]
2012: It's, aRtisT and Be Ma Girl
In January 2012, Teen Top released their second mini album It's. Brave Brothers produced, wrote, composed and mixed all of its six tracks.[7] The album was due to be released at midnight of January 4/5, but by 8 pm on January 4, it had leaked to shareware sites, garnering over a thousand hits in ten minutes alone.[8]Teen Top revealed the music video for their comeback song "Crazy" (Korean: 미치겠어) on January 5, featuring 4Minute's Kwon Sohyun.[9] The song was introduced on the Brazilian RedeTV! entertainment news program Leitura Dinâmica on January 10, which helped Teen Top gain more international interest.
On February 3, Teen Top won their very first award on KBS Music Bank since debuting with "Clap" on July 10, 2010.[10] Moreover, they received the honor of performing the ending stage on MBC Music Core, followed by another win on SBS Inkigayo.[11] At the average age of 17.3 years, the band was the youngest idol group to have won awards on the aforementioned music shows. On February 25, Teen Top once again received the honor of performing the ending stage on Music Core.
Teen Top celebrated the inauguration of their official fanclub ANGEL on May 28.
aRtisT, Teen Top's third EP, was released on May 30 as a digital download, followed by the release of the music video for its title track "To You". Physical albums were released on June 4, 2012. With this album, the group gained much attention, topping major music charts.
On June 19, the band began their Teen Top Zepp Tour 2012 through Japan with stops in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.
Ahead of Teen Top's official summer comeback, two music video teasers were released on the group's official YouTube channel on July 28 and 31.[12] On August 3, the music video for "Be Ma Girl" (Korean: 나랑 사귈래?) was released, followed by Teen Top's comeback performance on MBC's Music Core a day later.
2013: European Tour and No. 1
In February 2013, Teen Top held their first European tour, "TEEN TOP SHOW! Live tour in Europe 2013", making stops in Germany, England, France and Spain. The tour was successful and set a new decibel record for their concert in Paris, France.[13][14]On February 8th, T.O.P Media announced that Teen Top will be releasing their first studio album titled, No. 1, on February 25th with a track from the album, I wanna love (사랑하고 싶어), pre-releasing on the 15th. The first the Music Video teaser for I wanna love was released on the 12th. Both the track and Music Video for "I wanna love (사랑하고 싶어) were released on the 15th. The Music Video featured streets and sceneries of Hong Kong.[15][16][17][18] They released their full album digitally and physically on the 25th along with their full Music Video for "긴 생머리 그녀 (Miss Right)" later on the same day.[19]
3.Infinite
Career
2010: First Invasion
In 2010, Infinite first appeared in the reality show You Are My Oppa introducing the group before making their debut on June 9. They performed songs from their first EP First Invasion with the singles "Come Back Again" and "She's Back"[1]2011: Evolution, Over the Top, and Japanese debut
The MV teaser for their next title song Nothing's Over, off their first single album Inspirit, was released on March 7, 2011. The full version was later released on March 16, 2011 ahead of their comeback stage on M! Countdown on March 17, 2011 where they performed both Nothing's Over and part of Shot. Infinite then continued promotions with their follow-up track Can U Smile on May 12 on Mnet’s "M! Countdown".
Their first album Over The Top was released on July 21, 2011 together with the MV of their title track Be Mine (내꺼하자). The music video teaser of their title track was first released on their official website at midnight of July 15 followed by an album preview on the 20th. The group then had their comeback on July 23, 2011 on Music Core. They received their First Music Show #1 Award in M! Countdown on September 1, 2011. They have received a "Double Crown" for winning two consecutive #1 wins at M! Countdown. Infinite re-released their first album Over the Top as a repackaged album. This repackaged album was titled Paradise. "Paradise" was released on September 26, 2011. Woollim Entertainment revealed the music video teaser of "Paradise", the repackaged album's promotional track on September 22, 2011. On 9th of October, Infinite came first on Inkigayo for "Paradise." Infinite then won their second trophy with "Paradise" on October 13 on M! Countdown.
Infinite members Sungyeol and L walked the runway in Fashion Week in Seoul.
In November 2011, INFINITE participated in "Birth of a Family" where they had to take care of three dogs.[2]
Infinite unofficially debuted in Japan with their first Japanese single To-Ra-Wa[3] on January 26, 2011. Immediately after its release, their Evolution album hit #3 on real-time charts for sales in Korea.[4] The song topped to #1 for ringtones on the daily charts of the K-POP section of Japan’s top mobile website. Infinite released various rental singles song including "She's Back", "BTD (Before The Dawn)", and "Nothing's Over" before they officially debuted in Japan. Infinite made their official debut with the Japanese version of "BTD". "BTD" was released on November 19, 2011. The single was released in three versions, a CD+Photobook including a 40-page photobook, CD+DVD that includes their first Japanese showcase at Zepp Tokyo on July 21, 2011 as well as "BTD"'s music video and making-of, and regular edition. All editions comes with a random (1 out of 7) trading cards. The B-side for the single is "Can U Smile", a remake from their 2nd Mini Album EVOLUTION found on the 3rd track of their first single album Inspirit.
On December 2011, they digitally released their first Christmas song "White Confession (Lately)".
2012: Touring, individual activities and Infinitize
Infinite performed their very first Korean concert [5] in front of approximately 8,000 fans on February 11–12 at the Seoul Olympic Park in Songpa District, eastern Seoul. The concert was titled Second Invasion, following after the band's debut album, First Invasion. The tickets for the concert sold out within 10 minutes after being released online on December 14. A teaser for the concert was released.[6]Dongwoo was featured on Baby Soul/Yoo Jia's new single "She's a Flirt" released on the 18 January.[7]
L was cast in for the tvN TV drama Shut Up Flower Boy Band which started airing on the 30 January.[8]
Sunggyu and Woohyun made their musical debuts in "Gwanghwamun Sonata" on the 7, February to the 11 March at the LG Arts Center.[9]
On April 1, an encore performance of Infinite's first concert "Second Invasion" was held, once again at the Seoul Olympic Park. The performance was titled "Second Invasion - Evolution". Ticket sales for the concert began on February 28, and instantly sold out all 10 000 seats.[10]
The encore performance also obtained a partnership with Youtube to broadcast parts of it live worldwide. Infinite is now the first K-pop group to ever live stream a concert through Youtube.[11]
"Be Mine" was remade to serve as their 2nd Japanese single. It was released on April 18, 2012 with fourth versions, a CD+DVD limited edition ("SOLID VERSION"), two CD Only limited editions ("POP ART VERSION"/"INNOCENT VERSION"), and a regular CD Only edition. All the limited editions include a different packaging design and 9 photocards (of a total of 15 types). The title track is a Japanese version of their song "Naekkeohaja", which was the lead track for their Over the Top album. The single also includes the introduction track of the album, and a Japanese version of "Julia". It peaked at #2 both in Oricon Daily and Weekly Charts.[12] Total reported sales amount to 54,218 copies.
The group made their comeback with their third mini album INFINITIZE with the title track "The Chaser". Before the official release, they released a prologue single "Only Tears" on May 7, 2012.
Infinite was awarded a "Triple Crown" for winning #1 in a week at all Music Programs. On June 14, 2012, Infinite won their first triple crown on M! Countdown for the "The Chaser" which achieved top spot on the charts for three consecutive weeks.[13]
Hoya was cast in Reply 1997 that aired on the 24 July.[14]
Woohyun was cast in The Thousandth Man which started airing on the 17 August.[15]
L was cast in What is Mom that aired on October 8.[16] Infinite sang the sitcom's OST, Fantasy.[17]
Sungkyu debuted as a solo artist. Pre-releasing his song, Shine, on Nov 6th and releasing his first album, Another Me, on Nov 19th.[18] L is featured in Sunggyu's title track song 60 sec MV. His album topped the Hanteo chart and to date it has sold 62,958 copies.
2013: Infinite H, New Challenge and Koi ni Ochiru Toki
Dongwoo and Hoya made their debut as Infinite H on January 10, 2013 with the mini album Fly High.[19]On March 21, the group released their fourth mini album, titled New Challenge. "Man in Love", title track of the mini album, has won seven (7) music show awards during the entire promotion. It received 1st place for two consecutive weeks in SBS' Inkigayo,[10] (March 31 and April 7) and KBS Music Bank (April 5 and 12). The song has as well ranked on top spot on MBC Music's Show Champion (April 3) and on Mnet's M! Countdown (April 4). The group has achieved an all-kill with their first place wins on all music broadcast shows during their third week of promotion. On April 20, MBC has introduced a brand new ranking system for ‘Music Core’ and hailed Infinite as the winner of that week's chart and the first receiver of the revived ranking award.
With INFINITE sweeping music shows with their single “Man In Love”, they’re now recognized as the first artist in 12 years to win #1 on three major broadcasting stations (SBS, MBC, KBS) with the same song.
The group is scheduled to release their Japanese debut album, Koi ni Ochiru Toki, on June 6.[20]
Members
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth[21] | Position[21] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Hangul | Romanized | Hangul | ||
| Sungkyu | 성규 | Kim Sung-kyu | 김성규 | April 28, 1989 | Leader, main vocalist |
| Dongwoo | 동우 | Jang Dong-woo | 장동우 | November 22, 1990 | Main rapper |
| Woohyun | 우현 | Nam Woo-hyun | 남우현 | February 8, 1991 | Main vocalist |
| Hoya | 호야 | Lee Ho-won | 이호원 | March 28, 1991 | Rapper, vocalist |
| Sungyeol | 성열 | Lee Sung-yeol | 이성열 | August 27, 1991 | Vocalist |
| L | 엘 | Kim Myung-soo | 김명수 | March 13, 1992 | Vocalist |
| Sungjong | 성종 | Lee Sung-jong | 이성종 | September 3, 1993 | Vocalist |
Big Bang (South Korean band)
Big Bang (South Korean band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Big Bang | |
|---|---|
 From left to right: Seungri, G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P, and Daesung. |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | K-pop, J-pop, hip hop, rock, dance, electronic, R&B[1][2] |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | YG Entertainment (South Korea) Universal Music Japan, Avex (Japan) Warner Taiwan (Taiwan) United Asia Management[3] |
| Associated acts | GD & TOP, YG Family, 2NE1 |
| Website | www.ygbigbang.com |
| Members | G-Dragon T.O.P Taeyang Daesung Seungri |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 빅뱅 |
| Revised Romanization | Big Bang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pik Paeng |
The group's turning point came with their hit song Lies, which stayed at number one on Korean charts for a record-breaking seven consecutive weeks. Their follow up releases, Hot Issue and Stand Up, furthered their success, spawning hits such as Last Farewell and Haru Haru.[4] From 2007 to 2008, Big Bang received many awards, including "Best Male Group", "Song of the Year", "Artist of the Year", and the Grand Award at the Seoul Music Awards.
From 2009 to 2010, Big Bang expanded their endeavors to Japan, and were voted "the Korean group that Japanese fans wish to see the most". They became the first foreign group awarded "Best Newcomer" from the Japan Cable Broadcasting Station and "Best New Artist" at MTV Japan. Amidst their Japanese group promotions, the members branched out to do solo activities. Taeyang, G-Dragon, and Seungri have released solo albums. G-Dragon and T.O.P also collaborated on an album under the sub-unit GD & TOP. Seungri and Daesung have acted in both TV dramas and musicals. T.O.P became a highly acclaimed film star. Daesung also hosted many of Korea's most popular variety TV shows.
After nearly a two-year hiatus in Korea, Big Bang reunited in 2011 with their successful album Tonight. However, promotions were cut short when multiple members encountered legal issues. In November 2011, representing the Asia-Pacific region, Big Bang emerged as the inaugural "Best Worldwide Act" winner at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards.[5][6][7] This was the first time in six months all five members were seen together. In 2012, Big Bang released their fifth Mini Album Alive in Korea and Japan before embarking on their first ever World Tour which concluded in early 2013.
History
2000–2005: Formation
Prior to the group's debut, a few of the members were already exposed to the entertainment industry. G-Dragon and Taeyang were the first ones to receive training under YG Entertainment at the age of eleven. They were child actors/stars first cast as the younger version of YG duo, Jinusean in their music video "A-YO". Mesmerized by the experience of being cast in a hip hop music video, both of the children made the decision to cast into YGE, even though they were rejected in the beginning.[8] The duo released two tracks under the name GDYB, and were often featured in label mate Wheesung, Gummy, Perry, Masta Wu, and Se7en's albums and music videos. One of their well-known piece is "Unfold to Higher Place", featuring Perry and Gummy.[9][10] G-Dragon also participated in promotional activities with YG Family which consisted mostly all of YG label mates. The young trainees had planned to release an album together, but was later pushed aside as YGE had decided to debut an idol group with them participating.T.O.P was an underground rapper[11] under the stage name "Tempo". One of his most popular track was "Buckwild" with NBK Gray.[12] G-Dragon contacted T.O.P, with whom he was childhood friends, when YG Entertainment was scouting for candidates to create a boy group.[13] The pair recorded several demos and sent them to Yang Hyun-suk, who later asked T.O.P to audition. However, he was rejected by the record label because he was deemed too "chubby" to fit the "idealistic version" of an idol. Six months later, he was recruited after losing weight. T.O.P reportedly lost twenty kg (44 lbs) in forty days.
Seungri was a leader of a local dance team in his hometown, Gwangju. He first appeared on the reality television series Let's Cokeplay: Mnet Battle Shinhwa, a show in which idol group Shinhwa search for members to make up the "second-generation Shinhwa". His lack of vocal skills did not charm the panel and led to his elimination from the Top 4. He then auditioned and was accepted to train under YG, but in Big Bang's Documentary series, it was revealed his position was in jeopardy but he later impressed Yang Hyun-suk and made the cut. At the time, Seungri competed against another trainee, Hyunseung (now of BEAST fame), who was cut from Big Bang. Hyunseung, who went under the homonym of So-1, meaning "wish" in Korean, was shown in 10 out of 11 episodes but was cut from the final episode because Hyun-suk felt that he was not ready and needed more time.
Daesung was recruited in an open audition. He is well known for his strong singing ability. He was trained under Wheesung's supervision. Before the debut of Big Bang, he was diagnosed with vocal fold nodules, caused by strain on the vocal cords.
2006–2007: Debut
Big Bang held their debut on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park during the YG Family 10th Year Concert.[14] On September 23, 2006, the group had their debut performance on television broadcast.Following the performance, the group's first single, Bigbang, was released. It contained the songs "We Belong Together", featuring labelmate Park Bom; "A Fool's Only Tears" (Korean: 눈물뿐인 바보; Revised Romanization: Nunmulppunin Babo); and "This Love", an adaptation of the American rock band Maroon 5 song, rewritten and performed by G-Dragon.[15] The single went on to sell nearly 40,000 copies.[16] The second single, BigBang Is V.I.P, was released in September, eventually topping 32,000 copies sold.[16] Their last single, Bigbang 03, followed, with final sales nearing 40,000 copies.[16] At the end of December 2006, Big Bang held their very first concert, The Real. The following month, their debut album, Since 2007, was released, selling 48,000 copies by the end of February 2007.[16]
2007–2008: Breakthrough success and Japanese debut
Their second mini-album, Hot Issue, released that same year, followed its predecessor's success: the lead-single, "Last Farewell", (Korean: 마지막 인사; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) topped various charts, including the Juke-On's chart for eight consecutive weeks.[21] It also garnered the "Song of the Month (Digital Music)" award from Cyworld. Tickets for their Big Bang Is Great concert were also reportedly sold out in just nearly 10 minutes.[22][23]
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Big Bang took a new direction with the release of their song "Lies" by incorporating electronic music into their style. The song eventually became their break-out hit.
"Haru Haru", which
continued the group's experimentation with electronic genre, went on to
become one of their strongest singles, topping the charts for six
consecutive weeks.[24]
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As 2007 came to a close, Big Bang ventured overseas to Japan. Their first Japanese extended play, For the World, released in early 2008,[30] charted at number 10 on the Oricon chart with a little promotion only.[31] The group also held a concert at the JCB Hall in Tokyo Dome City. Big Bang returned to South Korea after their promotions in Japan ended. Although group activities were delayed due to solo projects, their third mini-album of 2008, Stand Up, was released. Featuring Daishi Dance and the Korean rock-band No Brain, Stand Up exceeded the 100,000 mark in sales. "Day By Day" (Korean: 하루하루; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru), the lead single, topped several online charts and held the number 1 position for six consecutive weeks.[24] Following the lead single's success, other songs also charted within the Top 20, with "Heaven" reaching the second spot, "Oh My Friend" hitting the ninth spot, "A Good Man" at number 12, and "Lady" peaking at number 16 – a total of five songs in the Top 20 for the group.[32]
During the release of their Korean materials, Big Bang released the Japanese song, Number 1, from their album of the same name, performing the song on Japanese radio programs and TV shows, the album peaked at number three on the Japan's Oricon daily album chart. Their Korean follow-up album, Remember, also released in 2008, yielded the number 1 single, "Sunset Glow" (Korean: 붉은노을; Revised Romanization: Byulkeun Noeul). "Strong Baby", performed solely by Seungri, was released as the second single. The album went on to sell over 200,000 copies.[32] Big Bang received their second "Artist of the Year" award from the 2008 Mnet Asian Music Awards.[33] At the end of 2008, it was reported that Big Bang earned a total of ₩36 billion ($24.5 million).[29]
2009–2010: Solo activities
For several days in January 2010, Big Bang performed their 2010 Big Bang Concert Big Show[47] in the Seoul Olympic Stadium.[48] The following month, they embarked on their Electric Love tour in Japan.[49] Although no official albums were recorded, 2010 saw the release of several singles for the group with promotional ties. The release of "Lollipop Part 2" in February, the follow-up to their single, "Lollipop"' with 2NE1, was used to coincide with promotions for LG Cyon's Lollipop phone.[50] The single also reached number one on digital charts.[51] Their next single, Tell Me Goodbye, was recorded for the Japanese re-release of Korean drama Iris.[52] The song proved to be popular and gained favorable reviews,[52] winning the "Song of the Year" award at the 52nd Japan Record Awards.[53] Additionally, tying in with the 2010 World Cup, the group released the song "Shout of the Reds" featuring the Korean rock band Transfixion and ice skater Kim Yu-na.[54]
For most of the year, the members individually promoted their own solo works and solo activities,[55] including the release of the GD & TOP unit with their collaboration album and the release of Seungri's first mini-album entitled VVIP.[56] Big Bang also won several notable awards, including the Best 5 New Artists award from the 24th Japan Gold Disc Awards[57] as well as the "Best New Artist" award.[58] Near the end of May, the group received the awards for "Best Pop Video" and "Best New Artist" from the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2010.[59] They released their latest Japanese single Beautiful Hangover on August 25, 2010.[60]
2011: Tonight and MTV EMA
After nearly two-year hiatus as a full group, Big Bang returned to South Korea with their 2011 Big Show concert.[61] They also showcased songs from their latest extended play Tonight,[62] which went on to become a chart-topper upon its release on many Korean music charts.[63] The album also became the very first K-pop album to reach the Top 10 on US iTunes chart and is the only non-English language album in the Top 100.[64] The album had a pre-sale order of 10,000 copies in Cyworld, beating the record set by TVXQ's 6,500 copies back in 2008.[65] Aside from shattering records for their mini-album preorders, Big Bang achieved an "all-kill" on the top real-time charts in South Korea (Soribada, Melon, Dosirak, Bugs and Cyworld) shortly after the release. Over-all reception for the extended play has been positive, with Choi Jun of Asiae complimenting the group's new direction in their music, acknowledging that during the two years hiatus, the group's "style and musical sensibility [had] deepened."[66] Seven days after the album's release, it was reported that Big Bang had already earned ₩7 billion (USD$6.2 million).[67] In just a week, 100,000 copies of the album were sold.[68] Its lead-single of the same name became a chart-topper on the Gaon Chart.[69]After promotions for Tonight was finished, Big Bang released a special edition album with two new tracks: "Love Song" and "Stupid Liar". "Love Song"'s music video on YouTube gained 2 million views within just two days.[70] The group kicked off their Love & Hope Tour in May of the same year.[71]
Big Bang won the 2011 MTV EMA's "Best Worldwide Act" award as representatives of the Asia-Pacific region with over 58 million votes.[72] All five members were present at the awards show to receive the award, making it especially memorable since it was Daesung and G-Dragon's first public appearance since Daesung's car accident and G-Dragon's accused marijuana scandal. On November 29, the group also won the award for "Best Music Video" award with their "Love Song" music video at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
YG Entertainment celebrated its 15th anniversary by putting on the 2011 YG Family Concert Tour, which opened its first show on December 3 in Seoul, South Korea. Big Bang's member Daesung made his first stage appearance since his car accident involving the death of a motorcyclist in late May there.[73]
Big Bang released their third Greatest Hits album The Best of Big Bang on December 14, which contained a Japanese version of their all-time #1 hit "Haru Haru". The album topped the Oricon Daily chart on its first day of release and went on to sell over 14,000 copies in the first week, proving the group's consistent popularity. It was reported that Big Bang earned ₩88 billion (USD$77.5 million) in 2011 even though they had just promoted for half a year. The earnings included Big Bang's revenue concert for SBS's Big Bang Show, their 2011 Big Show Concert and their Love and Hope Tour in Japan.
2012–present: Alive and first world tour
The album release coincided with their annual concert, Big Show 2012, held at Seoul Olympic Park Stadium from March 2–4 to a sold-out crowd of 40,000 fans.[81] This marked the official kick off of their first world tour BIGBANG Alive Galaxy Tour 2012 in partnership with Live Nation.[82] It is directed by renowned choreographer Laurieann Gibson and will be stopping on 4 continents, 13 countries, and 21 cities.[81] Concert footage from Big Show was broadcasted in 160 countries through MTV World Stage, which pushed the promotion for their world tour.
The Japanese version of Alive was released on March 28 both digitally and physically, with 2 additional Japanese tracks. Included with the physical copy of their album was a bonus Japanese version of their hit song, Haru Haru.[83] It sold over 23,000 copies on its first day of release and peaked at #2 on the Oricon charts. It eventually sold over 100,000 copies in its first month and has since been certified gold by the RIAJ. Japanese promotions began with a performance at 2012's Springroove Festival alongside top American and Japanese hip hop artists. Big Bang was the first Korean act to be invited along with label-mates 2NE1.[84]
Following the success of their comeback, Big Bang released a special edition album titled Still Alive, on June 3. It featured four new tracks including two new Korean tracks of which their lead single was titled Monster, as well as Korean remakes of the two additional tracks in the Japanese version of Alive. The album sold over 100,000 copies in its first month of release. A special edition of their Japanese Alive album was also released following its Korean counterpart, titled Monster. The success of their special edition album further boosted the group's global recognition, peaking just outside of the Top 10 at #11 on the Billboard Social 50.
Throughout May and June, the group focused on the Japanese leg of their world tour, visiting cities such as Nagoya, Yokohama, Osaka, Saitama and Fukuoka. A shorter Chinese leg of the tour succeeded the Japanese leg from late July to early August, with Big Bang visiting Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing. The group then toured South East Asia from late September to October, touring Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia. The group then began their American leg of their tour in early November, visiting New Jersey and Los Angeles in the United States and Lima, Peru. There was initially a stop planned in Brazil, but this was later cancelled. After several performances in the Americas, the group went back to Japan for their "Special Final in Dome Tour," stopping at some of the largest stadiums in Japan including Osaka Dome, Tokyo Dome and Fukuoka Dome. Big Bang performed in Hong Kong and England in December 2012. One concert was scheduled in London, England but another date was added to their tour due to popular demand. The group concluded the tour with concerts in Osaka on January 12 and 13 and a three night stint at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul on January 25, 26, and 27, 2013.
On November 30, 2012, Big Bang received a total of three awards at the 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards, including Best Male Group and Artist of the Year. Leader, G-Dragon, also received the Best Male Solo award at the event.[85]
Members
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Japanese | Romanized | Hangul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T.O.P | TOP | Choi Seung-hyun | 최승현 | November 4, 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taeyang | SOL | Dong Young-bae | 동영배 | May 18, 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| G-Dragon | GD | Kwon Ji-yong | 권지용 | August 18, 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daesung | D-Lite | Kang Dae-sung | 강대성 | April 26, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seungri | V.I. | Lee Seung-hyun | 이승현 | December 12, 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
