H.O.T.

H.O.T. (Hangul: 에쵸티) was a popular five-member South Korean boy band of the mid to late 1990s. Their name is an acronym - H.O.T. standing for "High-five Of Teenagers". They were formed by SM Entertainment in 1996 and disbanded in 2001.

Kangta recently became a hot topic as he mentioned the possibility of popular group H.O.T reuniting again since their disbandment back in 2001.^[1]

History

Often credited to be the forerunners of the "idol group" trend in the Korean music industry, H.O.T. successfully turned mainstream Korean music into music for the younger generation. Made up of five teenagers (at the time of their debut), they were formed to specifically target teenagers, hence their name "High-five Of Teenagers" (acronym H.O.T.).

Members

Moon Hee Jun / 문희준 - Leader & Sub Vocalist

Jang Woo Hyuk / 장우혁 - Main Rapper

Tony An / 토니안 - English Rapper

Kangta / An Chil Hyun / 강타 - Lead Singer

Lee Jae Won / 이재원 - Sub Rapper & Sub Vocalist

H.O.T. was formed by producer Lee Soo Man of SM Entertainment. Their songs are a mixture of rap, ballads, dance, and by 1999 Rock, with singer Kangta providing most of the ballad vocals.

The first member that Lee Soo Man picked was Kangta, while hanging around Lotte World. The manager saw him dancing and singing, and was impressed. Second was Moon Hee Jun, after auditioning, he got in. Hee Jun then offered his friend, Lee Jae Won to audition, and Jae Won got in. Then the fourth to join was Woo Hyuk, after winning first place in a dancing contest. He was asked to try out and became the fourth member to join. SM Entertainment traveled to LA to hold auditions, and Tony An and his close friend Andy Lee got in. But later Andy's parents withdrew support, and Andy dropped out of H.O.T and in 1998, joined Shinhwa.

While they were remembered as simply as a boy band aimed at teenage girls, the members made a fair amount of contribution to their albums by writing and composing their own songs. By the release of their third album Resurrection, they had written most of their own lyrics. For their last two albums, I yah! and Outside Castle, they also began to compose the music for most of their songs.

The members, Moon Hee Jun and Jang Woo Hyuk in particular, also choreographed all their dance moves to their songs, adding an exciting dimension to the band's music videos.

They were the first K-pop group to ever hold a concert in the Seoul Olympic Stadium because of the magnitude of their fanbase. Because of their popularity, they were seen frequently in advertisements. At one point, they even had their own soda brand with a catch phrase "I only drink H.O.T."

H.O.T also got the image if being angels after their release of their anime music video for their song Promise of H.O.T [1][2]

Shortly before their disbandment, they starred in a Space Jam-like movie Age of Peace, to which they also released a soundtrack consisting of trance & 2 vocal songs. Age of Peace was showcased in Japan while they were promoting their fourth album. Everything in the film except for the five members were computerized. They produced a soundtrack for this film as well. They won numerous awards from KMTV, and various popular music shows in Korea.

As expected from teen idols, H.O.T. maintained a squeaky-clean image, avoiding things South Korea wouldn't tolerate from singers such as avoiding military time (or skipping the country to do so), dropouts, battery, obscinity, arrest, drugs, etc.

They maintained a friendly rivalry with other K-pop bands such as Sechs Kies, and were close friends with Kim Hwan Sung of N.R.G., who died from pneumonia a week or two prior to his 20th birthday. Kangta, especially was heartbroken by his friend's death. When N.R.G. released their album after Kim Hwan Sung's death, Kangta wrote the main track of their album.

Disbandment and post-H.O.T.

H.O.T. disbanded in May 2001. As H.O.T. neared the end of their contracts with SM Entertainment, it was rumored that financial issues caused the group to split. Three members (An, Jang and Lee) received royalties equivalent of 1 cent for each copy of their album sold, meaning that each of them would earn roughly $10,000 for selling a million copies of their album. On the other hand, Kang Ta and Moon were rumored to be receiving more.^[2]

Trivia

• Forever The White Angels

H.O.T was the first group with their own "fan color". Later, other korean music groups and singers followed. Although H.O.T is no longer exist today, the color white still represent the soloists Kang Ta and Moon Hee Jun and group JTL(formed by ex-H.O.T members: Jang Woo Hyuk, Tony An, and Lee Jae Won).

In the years 2004 and 2005, Tony An, Lee Jae Won, and Jang Woo Hyuk became solo singers. Not surprisingly, white will always be the color of former H.O.T members.

Discography

Albums

H.O.T. discography

H.O.T. discography

H.O.T. discography

H.O.T. discography

H.O.T. discography

H.O.T. discography

H.O.T. discography

Joint discography

Christmas In SMTOWN (December 15, 1999)
Christmas Winter Vacation In SMTOWN.com (December 8, 2000)
Christmas Winter Vacation in SMtown.com - Angel Eyes (December 4, 2001)

References

External links

[1] KangTa Plans for H.O.T re-group

[2] Show Me the Money

[1]

[2]