SG Wannabe

SG Wannabe

Performing at KCON JEJU 2015
Background information
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active 2004–2011
2015–present
Labels
Website http://www.sgwb.jp (Official Japanese website)
Members
Past members Chae Dong-ha

SG Wannabe (SG 워너비) (the SG representing Simon and Garfunkel) is a South Korean ballad trio that debuted in 2004. Their first song, "Timeless", quickly propelled the group to popularity[1] and their album topped the charts. Unlike other groups, SG Wannabe decided to abstain from promoting their music initially, declining to appear on music shows or in their own videos; the group has stated that they wish their audience will care more about the music, rather than their appearance.[2]

Members

The current members of SG Wannabe are Kim Yong-jun (김용준), Lee Seok-hun (이석훈), and Kim Jin-ho (김진호).

Chae Dong-ha (채동하) was left from the group in 2008. He died on May 27, 2011.

Musical career

1st album: SG Wannabe+ (2004)

SG Wannabe debuted in 2004 with their first album, SG Wanna Be+. It was produced by Lee Kyung Sub and Park Keun Tae and famous music producers in Korea. The title track's music video for the album attracted media attention, as it featured top actors such as Sol Kyung-gu and Kim Nam-jin, and actresses Yunjin Kim, Kang Hye-jung, and Seo Sung-min. The production costs were reportedly about 2 billion won. The group gained a reputation for being quite mysterious because they did not show their faces and did not star in any of their music videos. Nevertheless, their vocal abilities attracted many fans, and the album was an instant hit with pre-sales of 90,000 copies. Later in 2004, the group was recognized for their vocal ability with numerous awards, including nominations for Best Newcomer at the Golden Disc Awards and the Seoul Popular Music Awards.[3]

2nd album: Saldaga (살다가) (While You Live) (2005)

On March 29, 2005, SG Wannabe released their second album. It included the two #1 hits "Sin & Punishment (죄와벌)", which received numerous awards both for the music video and for the song itself, and "살다가 (While You Live)". Like its predecessor, "Saldaga" was able to attract media attention for the group's vocal ability, thus SG Wannabe became the only artist in 2005 to sell more than 400,000 copies of their album. On September 14, 2005, the group released the "Classic Odyssey", their 2.5 album. 1 billion Won (₩1,000,000,000) budget went into SG Wannabe's new remake album. It included hits such as "My Heart's Treasure Box" (내 마음의 보석상자). To top off the success of their 2nd album, SG Wannabe was awarded the prestigious Daesang (the "Artist Of The Year") from the Golden Disc award. When 2005 was over, SG Wannabe were ranked at #1, with over 400,000 copies sold of their 2nd album, and 12th, with 147,047 copies sold of their remake album on the year-end chart.[4]

Third album: The 3rd Masterpiece (2006)

On April 11, 2006, the trio released their third album, called The 3rd Masterpiece. Just like what they did in the second album (the music video had two parts; the first part was with the song "Crime and Punishment" (죄와벌), while the second part was with the song "As We Live" (살다가)), their third album also contained two-part music videos. The first part was with their new title song, "Partner for Life" (내 사람) starring Shinhwa's Kim Dong Wan and also featuring Jeong So-Young, and the second part was released with "Slowpoke" (느림보). Once again, the album manage to chart high, reaching #1 on numerous charts.

On November 18, 2006, they released a greatest hits compilation entitled SG Wannabe Best Album - The Precious History. It was a collection of their favorite songs from the past three albums and also included three new songs. They also released a music video for those songs which was called "Song of Love(사랑가) featuring Vibe", "Even If I Could See You (그저 바라볼 수만 있어도)", and "Ordinary People" featuring Hoo Ni-Hoon, Min Kyung-Hoon, Jang Hye-Jin.However, despite having high sales and topping the charts, they did not win another, though the group was nominated daesang.

4th album: The Sentimental Chord (2007)

In January 2007, the group took part in the Hallyu Festival in Osaka which also featured Jun Jin and Lee Min-woo of Shinhwa, Kangta of H.O.T and actor Song Seung-heon at the Osaka Dome.[5]

Their highly anticipated 4th album, "The Sentimental Chord", was released on April 6, 2007, almost a year after their 3rd album. Again, they amazed the audience with their new title song "Arirang" (아리랑), which had the classic instruments of Korea playing as the background music. With the release of their 4th album and their title song, they went as the #1 in the Bugs Chart as well as the Korea monthly chart. The album was also number one on the "Top 20 Album Sales (May 2007)" with 44,618 copies sold in May and 125,450 sold altogether.[6] They also released two special albums, "SG Wanna Be+" and "Story In New York." Both the special album manage to be successful as well, continuing SG Wannabe's popularity and success. Towards the end of the year, SG Wannabe was awarded their second daesang from the Golden Disk Awards, reigning as the top artist of the year. Selling almost 200,000 copies, The Sentimental Chord was the best-selling album of 2007 in Korea.[7] In addition, several changes also occurred within the band, with member Chae Dong Ha leaving the group in order to focus on a solo career.[8][9]

5th album: My Friend (2008)

As of April 23, 2008, SG Wannabe's fifth album had 85,000 pre-orders and counting; it was released with a Japanese version of "I Miss You" (보고싶어). Both versions of that song were recorded with their former member Chae Dong-Ha,[10] and new member Lee Suk Hoon made his debut performance on April 24 on "M!CountDown", singing the first track, "Lalala", on the new album.

6th Album: Gift From SG Wannabe (2009)

In 2009, SG Wannabe released Gift From SG Wannabe. They also released another song that has become a famous OST in many dramas titled "운명을 거슬러" ("Fate Reverse")

Former member Chae Dong-ha's suicide and absence from the music scene

Former member Chae Dong-ha committed suicide on May 27, 2011 after battling with strong depression since his SG Wannabe days.[11] The members announced their hiatus from the music scene to grieve the loss of their former member and good friend.

Solo careers

Lee Seok-hun released his first single 고백(Confession) back in June 2, 2011 a solo album later October 4, 2012 and was actively participating in OSTs before enlisting earlier this year. Kim Jin-ho released his first solo album 오늘(Today) back in February 14, 2013 and his second album 한강애(Han River Love) few months later on July 18. Kim Yong-jun has only participated in OSTs and sang two duets with his longtime former girlfriend actress Hwang Jung-eum.

Return from hiatus

Kim Yong-jun enlisted in the military on 2012[12] and Lee Seok-hun followed suit in 2013[13] while Kim Jin-ho worked on his solo career. In early 2015, after the two were discharged, SG Wannabe signed a contract with CJ E&M and announced the end of their 4-year hiatus.[14] In August 2015, they announced that a new album will come out on August 19 titled THE VOICE.[15]

Discography

Awards and achievements

Awards

Years Awards
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

Achievements

Years Awards
2004
  • 1st album music video productions of 2 billion won for a debut artist
  • 1st album title track "Timeless" won SG Wannabe all the newcomer awards
  • 1st album title track "Timeless" had 676,661 downloads on music streaming sites
  • 1st album SG Wanna Be+ had more than 50,000 mobile downloads
2005
  • Selected as MTV's "Artist of the Month" for April
  • 2nd album Saldaga was No.1 in album sales
  • 2nd albums Saldaga achieved 10 billion in the mobile market
2006
  • 3rd album The 3rd Masterpiece was the first to release a digital disc album in the world
  • 3rd album The 3rd Masterpiece was No.1 in album sales for a day
  • 3rd album title track "Nae saram: Partner for Life" was 9 weeks No.1 on Melon Charts
  • SBS The Music Trend Most Mutizen Awards for an Artist (3 for "Nae saram: Partner for Life" and 3 for "I Loved You")
  • SG Wannabe's Dinner Show sold out
  • Vocal trainer and producers for SeeYa leading to "Best Producer" award
2007
  • 4th album The Sentimental Chord was No.1 in album sales
  • Appeared on KBS's documentary program Screening Humanitary, highest ratings ever achieved for the program (SG Wannabe's episodes received an average ratings of 8-10%)
  • SG Wannabe's Dinner Show sold out
2008
  • 5th album My Friend) was No.4 in album sales
  • 5th album title track "Lalala" was the 3rd most broadcast popular song (4,225 times)
  • SG Wannabe's Dinner Show sold out
  • Appointed as Hallyu singers by the Japanese press (along with Big Bang and others)
2009
  • In May, first appearance on an entertainment program (MBC's We Got Married)
  • 6th album Gift From SG Wannabe nationwide tour was held for 8 weeks, reaching No.1 in searches
  • First artist of the generation to perform at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts
  • SG Wannabe's 59th Avenue Concert in Seoul, Daegu, and Busan all seats sold out (charting as No.1, No.2, No.3)
  • SG Wannabe was the "favourite musician" for the 20- to 30-year-olds generation
  • SG Wannabe was the first 20+ year-olds artists to have over 300 live concerts
  • Won their first non-singer award, Kim Yong Jun won "Best Newcomer" in the variety program at the MBC's Entertainment Awards
  • 4th album Gift From SG Wannabe was No.4 in album sales

References

  1. ↑ Kbs World
  2. ↑ Artist Description for SG Wannabe Artist Wiki. Retrieved on June 13, 2007.
  3. ↑ Korean Video of The WeekThe Sejong Society Of Washington D.C. Retrieved on June 13, 2007
  4. ↑ SG Wannabe sells 400,000 copies of its album in 2005 KBS GLOBAL. Retrieved on June 13, 2007.
  5. ↑ Lee Yong-sung "Osaka concert features Korean Wave stars" Korea Herald. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 2012-04-10
  6. ↑ "Top 20 Album Sales (May 2007)". Escaping To Another Realm. 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
  7. ↑ 1월 가요음반 판매량집계
  8. ↑ '생활의 플러스' - 중앙일보, 당신의 생활이 업그레이드됩니다
  9. ↑ SG Wannabe Heading for a Breakup
  10. ↑ Album Information on Yesaisa
  11. ↑ "Former SGWannabe's Chae Dong Ha Commits Suicide". Soompi. 27 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "SG Wannabe's Kim Yong Joon Enlists in Korean Army". Soompi. 17 February 2012.
  13. ↑ "SG Wannabe's Lee Seok Hoon enlists in the army + expects a visit from A Pink". DKpopNews. 23 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "SG Wannabe to Return After Long Hiatus". Seoul Beats. 21 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "SG Wannabe Is Back with 'THE VOICE'". BNTNews. 3 August 2015.
  16. 1 2 "2006 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list". MAMA. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  17. ↑ "Winners from Past Years: 2008". MAMA. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
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