CN Blue

CN Blue
CN Blue in a Press Conference in Bangkok. From left to right : Lee Jung Shin, Lee Jong Hyun, Jung Yong Hwa, Kang Min Hyuk
Background information
Also known as	Code Name Blue
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	Pop rock, power pop, alternative rock
Years active	2009 (2009)–present
Labels	FNC (South Korea) Warner Music (Taiwan/Japan, present) AI (Japan, present) Victor (Japan, former) Universal (Philippines)
Website	Official site
Members
Jung Yong Hwa Lee Jong Hyun Kang Min Hyuk Lee Jung Shin
Past members
Kwon Kwang Jin

CN Blue (Korean: 씨엔블루 Japanese: シーエヌブルー ), stylized as CNBLUE, are a South Korean rock band formed in Seoul in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong Hwa (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Lee Jong Hyun (lead guitar, vocals), Lee Jung Shin (bass guitar, vocals) and Kang Min Hyuk (drums, vocals). "CN is an abbreviation of ‘Code Name’ while BLUE is an abbreviation of the members’ individual images," said by one of the members. ‘Burning’ represents Lee Jong Hyun, ‘Lovely’ represents Kang Minhyuk, ‘Untouchable’ represents Lee Jung Shin, and ‘Emotional’ represents Jung Yong Hwa. Debuted on 19 August 2009 in Japan with the band's first mini album, Now or Never. They were coined as the "2nd FT Island". The group released four teasers for their 1st album Bluetory, starring one member per each of the videos in the sequence of Jonghyun, Minhyuk, Jungshin and lastly, Yonghwa on the 6th, 8th, 11th and 13 January respectively. On 14 January, CN Blue debuted their first mini-album with the lead single "I'm a Loner" (Korean: 외톨이야).

History

2009: Indie boy band in Japan, Now or Never, and Voice

In mid-June 2009, CN Blue began to perform on the streets and in live clubs in Japan.^[1] They formally debuted as an indie band on August 19, 2009 with Now or Never. The mini-album was recorded completely in English, and failed to chart on the Oricon. In late September, their original bassist Kwon Kwang Jin left the band and was replaced by Lee Jung Shin later that year. Their second extended play Voice was released in November. Recorded with both English and Japanese tracks, Voice peaked at No. 227 and stayed on the Oricon for two weeks.

2010: Korean debut, ThankU, and other activities

In January, FNC Music unveiled new teaser pictures for CN Blue's debut in South Korea. Bluetory was released on January 14, 2010, and stayed at the top of the Gaon Chart for two weeks. "I'm A Loner" (Korean: 외톨이야) was promoted as the title track. The song peaked at No. 2, solidifying their break into the industry. The group had their first televised live stage on KBS Music Bank on January 15. Later, on January 29, the group made their first music show chart win on Music Bank.

The group debuted their new reality show "CN Bluetory" on the Korean music channel Mnet on February 10. In March, the band started preparations for their first full-length album ThankU. It was released on March 20, 2010 with only one new track. The album peaked at No. 90 on the Oricon charts, their highest position thus far. In April, their official fan club name was announced as BOICE, a combination of "blue" and "voice."

CN Blue headed back to Korea in May and released their next promotional single, "Love Light" (Korean: 사랑 빛), on May 10, 2010. The song peaked at No. 10 on the Korean national chart and foreshadowed their upcoming release. On May 19, their second extended play Bluelove was released. It was promoted with the track "Love," which charted at No. 2, matching the success the band found earlier with "I'm A Loner." Bluelove peaked at No. 3, but stayed on the chart for many weeks. CN Blue held their comeback stage on M! Countdown the following day.

After their success in Korea, the band headed back to Japan. They released their first single "The Way" on June 23. For the first time, they charted in the Oricon top 40 at No. 26. The release was followed by "I Don't Know Why" on September 16. The song reached No. 8 on the Oricon Daily Chart, marking the first time the band made it inside the top 10. On the weekly chart, they peaked at No. 15. On the Japanese indie top chart, the band reached number one.^[2] The band embarked on a small tour across Japan in order to promote the single.^[3]

CN Blue members Kang Min Hyuk and Lee Jong Hyun starred in the Korean movie "Acoustic." They released a song from the OST on October 7 entitled "High Fly" that peaked at No. 98 on the Gaon Chart.^[4]

2011: Re-maintenance, First Step, 392, and In My Head

On January 9, CN Blue released their third Japanese single, Re-maintenance. They started off their 2011 Japanese promotions with a Zepp Tour in 4 cities: Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Tokyo from January 9–16.^[5]

FNC Music, their entertainment agency in South Korea, released teasers for a CN Blue comeback in February 2011.^[6] However, the release date was later changed to March 21. ^[7] The teaser was noted for having "more of the same departure from their pop rock sound into a heavier concept."^[8] CN Blue released their first full-length album FIRST STEP with the title track "Intuition." Despite the delay, fans couldn't seem to get enough of the fabulous foursome - "Intuition" achieved an all-kill on Korea’s major online music charts.^[9] Their album also topped the Gaon Chart for physical album sales that month. They won K-Chart a week after their comeback on Mnet's M! Countdown, KBS Music Bank and SBS Inkigayo, and for the first time they won triple crown on Music Bank and M! Countdown.^[10][11]

After finishing promotions in Korea, CN Blue made a comeback in Japan with the release of their second and last indie album "392" on September 1, 2011. They also announced that they would make their major debut in Japan on October 19, 2011 under the Warner Music Japan label.^[12] "392" placed 6th on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart.^[13] CN Blue released their major debut single "In My Head" on October 19, 2011 and peaked at No. 3 on the Oricon Daily Chart and No. 4 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.^[14]. In My Head CD Single consist 4 track : In My Head (composed by Jung Yong Hwa), Mr.KIA (composed and written by Jung Yong Hwa, Rain of Blessing (composed by Lee Jong Hyun), and instrument version of In My Head. In November, "In My Head" claimed a gold record accreditation according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), meaning that their album sold over 100,000 copies within a month of going on sale.^[15]

Members

Yong Hwa

• Full Name: Jung Yong Hwa (정용화) (ジョン・ヨンファ, 鄭容和)
• Date of Birth: June 22, 1989 (1989-06-22) (age 22)
• Position: Leader, Rhythm Guitarist, Main Vocalist, Main Rapper
• Height: 180 cm
• Other: Played Kang Shin Woo in the SBS drama You're Beautiful and Lee Shin in the MBC drama Heartstrings. Appeared on the MBC variety show We Got Married with Girls' Generation's Seohyun.

Jong Hyun

• Full Name: Lee Jong Hyun (이종현) (イ・ジョンヒョン, 李宗泫)
• Date of Birth: May 15, 1990 (1990-05-15) (age 21)
• Position: Lead Guitarist, Vocalist
• Height: 182 cm
• Other: Acted in the movie Acoustic.

Min Hyuk

• Full Name: Kang Min Hyuk (강민혁) (カン・ミンヒョク, 姜敏赫)
• Date of Birth: June 28, 1991 (1991-06-28) (age 20)
• Position: Drummer, Backing Vocalist
• Height: 184 cm
• Other: Played Hwang Yeon Doo in the SBS drama It's Okay, Daddy's Girl and Yeo Jun Hee in the MBC drama Heartstrings. Acted in the movie Acoustic. Appeared in Orange Caramel's "Magic Girl" MV.

Jung Shin

• Full Name: Lee Jung Shin (이정신) (イ・ジョンシン, 李正信)
• Date of Birth: September 15, 1991 (1991-09-15) (age 20)
• Position: Bassist, Rapper, Backing Vocalist
• Height: 187 cm
• Other: Appeared in 4minute's "Heart to Heart" MV.

Former member

• Kwon Kwang Jin (권광진) - Bassist, Backing Vocalist (2009)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak positions		Sales
		JPN [16]	KOR [17]
2010	Thank U Released: March 20, 2010 Label: AI Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	90	—
2011	First Step Released: March 21, 2011 Label: FNC Music Format: CD, digital download	16	1	JPN: 4,604+[18] KOR: 93,059+[19]
	392 Released: September 1, 2011 Label: AI Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	6	—	JPN: 22,341+[20]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Extended plays

Year	Album details	Peak positions		Sales	Certifications
		JPN [16]	KOR [17]
2009	Now or Never Released: August 19, 2009 Label: AI Entertainment Language: English	—	—
	Voice Released: November 25, 2009 Label: AI Entertainment Language: English, Japanese	227	—
2010	Bluetory Released: January 14, 2010 Label: FNC Music Language: Korean	—	1	KOR: 91,380+[21] TWN: 10,000+[22]	TWN: Platinum[22]
	Bluelove Released: May 19, 2010 Label: FNC Music Language: Korean	—	3	KOR: 91,071+[21] TWN: 10,000+[22]	TWN: Platinum[22]
2011	First Step +1 Thank You Released: April 26, 2011 Label: FNC Music Language: Korean	—	1	KOR: 29,723+
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions		Album
		JPN [23]	KOR [17]
2010
	"The Way"	26	—	392
	"I Don't Know Why"	15	—
2011	"Re-maintenance"	12	—
	"In My Head"	4	—	N/A
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Promotional singles

Year	Promotional single	Peak positions		Album
		JPN [23]	KOR [17]
2010	"I'm a Loner"	—	2	Bluetory
	"Love"	—	2	Bluelove
2011	"Intuition"	—	1	First Step
	"Love Girl"	—	19
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Videos

Video albums

Year	Album details	Peak positions	Sales
		JPN [24]
2011	Listen to the CN Blue Released: February 9, 2011 Label: AI Entertainment Format: DVD	5
2011	CN Blue Zepp Tour 2011: Re-maintenance at Zepp Tokyo Released: April 25, 2011 Label: AI Entertainment Format: DVD	16
2011	Listen to the CN Blue 1st Live Concert 2010 at Ax-Korea Released: June 22, 2011 Label: AI Entertainment Format: DVD	15
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Music videos

Year	Music video	Director
2010	"I'm a Loner"
	"Love"
2011	"Intuition"
	"Love Girl"
	"In My Head"

Tours

• Listen to the CN Blue (2010)
• Zepp Tour 2011 - "Re-maintenance" (2011)

Awards

Years	Awards
2010	Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Rookie of the Month (January) ("I'm A Loner") GaOn Charts Awards: Rookie Award Style Icon Awards: New Style Icon, Singer[25] M.net Asian Music Awards : Male Rookie Award[26] 25th Golden Disk Awards : Digital Music Bonsang ("I’m A Loner")[27] 2nd Melon Music Awards: Best New Artist[28] 2nd Melon Music Awards: 2010 TOP
2011	20th Seoul Music Awards: Best Newcomer Award[29] Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Song of the Month (March) ("Intuition") 2011 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Award - Cultural Minister of Finance Award[30]

Music Programs

These are collection of CN Blue wins on Korea's televised music shows. Inkigayo is aired on SBS, M! Countdown on Korea cable channel M.net and Music Bank on KBS.

Music Bank

Year	Date	Song
2010	January 29	I'm A Loner
2011	April 1	Intuition
	April 8
	April 15

Inkigayo

Year	Date	Song
2010	January 31	I'm A Loner
	June 20	Love
	July 4
2011	April 10	Intuition

M! Countdown

Year	Date	Song
2010	June 10	Love
	July 1
2011	March 31	Intuition
	April 7
	April 14

References

1. ^ "씨엔블루 "좀더 열심히 활동할 것" [CN Blue "Further growth as a live band"]" (in Korean). Nate News. September 21, 2010. http://news.nate.com/view/20100921n01741. Retrieved October 21, 2010. 
2. ^ "CNBLUE and Kara, Reaching New Heights on the Oricon Charts". KBS Global. KBS. September 30, 2010. http://english.kbs.co.kr/Entertain/KpopNews/view.html?No=13081. Retrieved October 21, 2010. 
3. ^ "씨엔블루, 日서 새 싱글내고 라이브 투어 [CNBLUE, live tour for new single]" (in Korean). Yahoo! Korea. Yahoo!. September 2, 2010. http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?articleid=2010090211454953801&linkid=4&newssetid=1352. Retrieved October 21, 2010. 
4. ^ "Gaon Chart Search: High Fly" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/search/list.gaon?Search_str=High+Fly&x=53&y=8. Retrieved October 29, 2010. 
5. ^ "씨엔블루 일본콘서트 매진 행진, 뜨거운 인기 입증 [CNBLUE Japanese tour completely sold out]". Newsen. January 6, 2011. http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=201101061215521001&search=title&searchstring=%BE%BE%BF%A3%BA%ED%B7%E7. Retrieved January 9, 2011. 
6. ^ Kim, Sunny (February 15, 2011). "CN Blue To Comeback In February!". MTVK. Viacom International Inc. http://www.mtvk.com/2011/02/15/cn-blue-to-comeback-in-february/. Retrieved March 19, 2011. 
7. ^ Kim, Sunny (February 28, 2011). "CN Blue Begins The Countdown To Their New Album With A Teaser Image!". MTVK. Viacom International Inc. http://www.mtvk.com/2011/02/28/cn-blue-begins-the-countdown-to-their-new-album-with-a-teaser-image/. Retrieved March 19, 2011. 
8. ^ Kim, Sunny (March 6, 2011). "CN Blue, ZE:A, And Girl's Day Release Comeback Teasers!". MTVK. Viacom International Inc. http://www.mtvk.com/2011/03/06/cn-blue-zea-and-girls-day-release-comeback-teasers/. Retrieved March 19, 2011. 
9. ^ http://www.allkpop.com/2011/03/cnblue-gets-an-all-kill-with-intuition
10. ^ http://www.allkpop.com/2011/04/cnblue-wins-m-countdown-triple-crown-other-performances
11. ^ http://www.allkpop.com/2011/04/cnblue-wins-music-bank-k-chart-triple-crown-other-performances
12. ^ http://www.allkpop.com/2011/08/despite-visa-problems-cnblues-japanese-album-392-released-signs-with-warner-music-japan
13. ^ Oricon Weekly Album Chart
14. ^ Oricon Weekly Single Chart
15. ^ RIAJ Data October 2011
16. ^ ^{a b} "ＣＮＢＬＵＥのアルバム売り上げランキング [CN Blue album sales rankings]" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Oricon Inc. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/488826/ranking/cd_album/. Retrieved March 13, 2011. 
17. ^ ^{a b c d} "검색결과 - 씨엔블루 [Search Results - CN Blue]" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/search/list.gaon?Search_str=%EC%94%A8%EC%97%94%EB%B8%94%EB%A3%A8&x=19&y=11. Retrieved March 13, 2011. 
18. ^ "Oricon Weekly Album Sales". http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/w/more/2. 
19. ^ "Gaon Chart unveils the best singles and albums for first half of 2011!". Allkpop.com. July 7, 2011. http://www.allkpop.com/2011/07/gaon-chart-unveils-the-best-singles-and-albums-for-first-half-of-2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011. 
20. ^ Oricon Monthly Album Chart
21. ^ ^{a b} "2010년 가온차트 부문별 Top 100위 [2010 Gaon Chart Top 100 Ranking]" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. February 8, 2011. http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/notice/view.gaon?idx=36. Retrieved March 13, 2011. 
22. ^ ^{a b c d} "CNBLUE Goes Double Platinum in Taiwan". KBS Global. KBS. September 23, 2010. http://english.kbs.co.kr/Entertain/KpopNews/view.html?page=1&No=13047. Retrieved October 22, 2010. 
23. ^ ^{a b} "ＣＮＢＬＵＥのシングル売り上げランキング [CN Blue single sales rankings]" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Oricon Inc. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/488826/ranking/cd_single/. Retrieved March 13, 2011. 
24. ^ "ＣＮＢＬＵＥのDVD売り上げランキング [CN Blue DVD sales rankings]" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Oricon Inc. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/488826/ranking/dvd/. Retrieved March 13, 2011. 
25. ^ Winners at the 2010 Style Icon Awards
26. ^ CBS News. CBS. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
27. ^ Winners from the 25th Golden Disk Awards
28. ^ Winners from the 2010 Melon Music Awards
29. ^ Winners from the 20th High1 Seoul Music Awards
30. ^ Winner of 2011 Korean Popular Culture and Art Awards

External links

• Official website (Korean)
• Official Japanese website (Japanese)
• CN Blue on Warner Music Japan (Japanese)