U-KISS
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U-KISS |
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Template:Contains Korean text U-KISS (Korean: 유키스) is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed by NH Media in 2008. The members include Alexander Lee Eusebio, Shin Soo Hyun, Kim Ki Bum, Lee Kiseop, Elison Kim, Kevin Woo and Shin Dong Ho. The name of the group stands for Ubiquitous Korean International (Idol) Super Star.Template:Http://www.u-kiss.co.kr/ They debuted in Japan on August 15, 2008 and in South Korea on August 28, 2008.
The group has released one album and various mini albums and singles. Their first full length album, Only One, was released on February 3, 2010.
The members of the group have had various activities as solo entertainers—acting in various dramas and musicals, hosting various reality-variety shows, and releasing solo singles.
History
Pre-debut
The group was formed as a six-member boy band. Their first original concept was to be a pretty boy-group. Kim Ki Bum and Kevin Woo were original members of the boy band Xing. Ki Bum left the group on 2007 while Kevin left the group four months before the debut of U-Kiss. The pre U-Kiss activities of the two members helped the group draw attention among Korean fans.
2008: Debut
U-Kiss debuted in Japan on August 15, 2008 at the Power of Atamix alongside SS501 & Paran. The group released their first mini album, N-Generation, on September 3, 2008. Later on, the group debuted on South Korean television, with a performance of "Not Young" at M! Countdown on August 28, 2008.
Shortly after their debut, U-Kiss also was also starred in variety shows: "All about U-Kiss" , "You know U-Kiss."
2009: New member and mini-albums
In early 2009, U-Kiss made a comeback and released their second mini-album on February 11, 2009, titled Bring It Back 2 Old School. They did not gain much popularity from this album though.
Kevin joined Arirang's radio show Pops in Seoul hosting the 'All About You' segment alongside co-host Isak. Shortly after, Alexander joined the duo in hosting the 'All About You' TV program. In early 2010, Eli joined his bandmates, replacing Isak. In April that same year, Eli became an MC of MBC's show, Fusion.
Later that year, U-Kiss made another comeback with a whole new, more "manly" look with their third mini-album titled N-Generation on November 5 2009. This album helped them to gain a lot of popularity, especially their hit song, Man Man Hani (Am I That Easy). The dance for this song was named the Kangnam dance. It was also called the "Strong Man" dance. It became a popular dance in the South Korean music industry. Their new member, Lee Kiseop, also joined them in the promotion of this new mini-album. At first, some fans were unwilling to accept Kiseop as a part of U-Kiss. But that has now changed and Kiseop is now a member of the group, just like any of the other members.
Dongho appeared on many variety shows, helping to promote U-Kiss and thus gaining U-Kiss much popularity. He appeared in variety shows such as Maknae Rebellion and Invincible Baseball among many others
2010: First album and other activities
Before the release of the first full length album, MBC revealed that U-Kiss will star in a variety show. The show was titled U-Kiss' Vampire. It was premiered on January 22, 2010. During the show, the members moved in together into a dorm. They stayed together in the dorm for the whole duration of the filming of the show. In the show, they were sorted into teams according to their blood types. The show helped them to gain more popularity too.
They appeared on various variety shows as a group. Such as Shin JungHan PD Variety Show on June 8 2010, Idol League, Idol United (they had to drop out of this one as their schedules were too full. But they appeared for the first episode).
They are also starred in a new reality show that finished airing on the July 30 2010, called Chef's Kiss, in which the seven members split into teams and opened a real restaurant. They had cooking challenges every week to decide on which team would be chosen to cook and which remaining teams would have to wait tables.
They officially established their fanclub "KissMe" on the 17th of January 2010. U-Kiss fans are now called KissMes and the U-Kiss members appreciate and love their fans a lot.
On February 3, 2010, their highly anticipated full length album was finally released. At first, it was announced that their song, "Without You", which is one of the tracks from the new album, would be the main track. However, it was later changed to "Round and Round" (Bingeul Bingeul). The song Bingeul Bingeul later became a huge hit, gaining U-Kiss the most popularity and attention that they have ever received since their debut. In this new full length album, they also changed their looks slightly, but it still similar to their "Man Man Hani" look. The album consisted of five new songs and remixes of their songs from their mini-albums. The dance for Bingeul Bingeul was given the name "Tornado" dance.
Kevin and Alexander continued their role as hosts on Arirang's All About You show, and Eli joined them as a new co-host. Kevin and Alexander also became MCs for Arirang's music programme, "The MWave" in August.
Kevin and Alexander were also featured in Brave Brother's new music video, "Finally."
Eli and Kibum were also announced to star in the Thai drama "Autumn Destiny".
On the 16 of June 2010, it was announced that Soohyun would be starring a popular musical called "A Chorus Line". He had been practicing for the musical but he had to later drop out as he had to prepare for U-Kiss' comeback and for the recording of U-Kiss' new album.
Via Alexander's twitter, he confirmed that U-Kiss would be making another comeback with a new album in September.
Members
- Alexander (born July 29, 1988)
Full name: Alexander Lee Eusebio (Hangul: 알렉산더)
Height: 182cm
Weight: 63kg
Blood Type: O
- Soohyun (born March 11, 1989)
Full name: Shin Soo Hyun (Hangul: 신수현)
Height: 181cm
Weight: 67kg
Blood Type: A
- Kibum (born December 29, 1990)
Full name: Kim Ki Bum (Hangul: 김기범)
Height: 179cm
Weight: 65kg
Blood Type: O
- Kiseop (born January 17, 1991)
Full name: Lee Ki Seop (Hangul: 이기섭)
Height: 180cm
Weight: 61kg
Blood Type: A
- Eli (born March 13, 1991)
Korean name: Kim Kyoung Jae (Hangul: 김경재)
Height: 181cm
Weight: 70kg
Blood Type: O
- Kevin (born November 25, 1991)
Korean name: Woo Sung Hyun (Hangul: 워성현)
Height: 179cm
Weight: 56kg
Blood Type: O
- Dongho (born June 29, 1994)
Full name: Shin Dong Ho (Hangul: 신동호)
Height: 178cm
Weight: 60kg
Blood Type: B
NH, Media, Research: Click on Profile Section for more information on U-kiss, retrieved 25 August 2010
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Information |
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| 2010 | Only One
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Mini albums
| Year | Information |
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| 2008 | N-Generation
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| 2009 | Bring It Back 2 Old School
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Conti Ukiss
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Soundtracks
| Year | Information |
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| 2010 |
Call of the Country OST part.2
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Awards
| Year | Awards |
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| 2008 |
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