SG Wannabe

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = SG Wannabe


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = flagicon|South KoreaSouth Korea
Genre = K-Pop, Ballads
Years_active = 2004-present
Label = Mnet Media
URL =
Current_members = Kim Yong Jun
Kim Jin Ho
Lee Seok Hun
Former_members = Cahe Dong HaInfobox Korean name


hangul=SG 워너비
rr=SG Wannabe
mr=SG Wannabe

SG Wannabe or SG워너비 (the SG representing Simon and Garfunkel) is a popular South Korean Ballad trio that debuted in 2004 with their song, "Timeless". The group quickly became popular and the song, along with the music video, was played on cellular phones all over Korea [ [http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/entertainment/enter_artists_detail.htm?No=10336 Kbs World ] ] , 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 the appearance [ [http://www.last.fm/music/SG+Wannabe/+wiki Artist Description for SG Wannabe] "Artist Wiki". Retrieve on June 13, 2007.] .

Members

Kim Yong Jun (Whyme, 김용준, 金勇俊)

*Birthdate: September 12, 1984
*Collaborations: SG Wannabe Yong Jun & Brown Eyed Girls Gain Single (November 26, 2006)
*Position: Leader and Vocal

Kim Jin Ho (김진호, 金鎮浩)

*Birthdate: May 21, 1986
*Position: Main vocal

Lee Seok Hun (이석훈, 李石薰)

*Birthdate: February 21, 1984
*Position: Vocal

Former Member

Chae Dong Ha (채동하, 蔡東河)

*Birthdate: June 23, 1981
*Debut Album: "Nature"
*Position: Leader and main vocal

Musical career

1st album: "Wannabe+" (2004)

SG Wannabe debuted in 2004 with their first album, Wanna Be+. It was produced by Lee Kyung Sub and Park Keun Tae, two famous music producers in Korea. The title track's music video for the album attracted media attention, as it featured top actors such as Seol Kyung-goo and Kim Nam-jin, and actresses Kim Yoon-jin, Kang Hye-jeong, 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. [ [http://www.sejongsocietydc.org/mv_wk3 Korean Video of The Week] "The Sejong Society Of Washington D.C." Retrieved on June 13, 2007]

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 predecssor, "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. [ [http://english.kbs.co.kr/entertainment/news/1379213_11858.html SG Wannabe sells 400,000 copies of its album in 2005] "KBS GLOBAL". Retrieve on June 13, 2007.]

3rd album: "The 3rd Masterpiece" (2006)

On April 11, 2006, the trio released the long anticipated 3rd 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 Hit's Compilation entitled "SG Wannabe Best Album - The Precious History." It was a collection of their favorite songs from the past 3 albums and also included 3 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. The music video starred singers Kim Bum Soo and Nam Gyu-Ri from female trio, See Ya. However, despite having high sales and topping the charts, they did not win another , though the group was nominated daesang. Another male group with more commercial success and higher album sales, Dong Bang Shin Ki, swept four daesangs.

4th album: "The Sentimental Chord" (2007)

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. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title= Top 20 Album Sales (May 2007) | date=2006-07-18 | publisher= | url = http://daintymist.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/top-20-album-sales-may-2007/| work= Escaping To Another Realm| pages = | accessdate = 2007-06-26 | language = English] 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 [http://www.miak.or.kr/stat/kpop_2007_2.htm 1월 가요음반 판매량집계 ] ] . In addition, several changes also occurred within the band, with member Chae Dong Hae leaving the group in order to focus on a solo career. [http://www.koreadaily.com '생활의 플러스' - 중앙일보, 당신의 생활이 업그레이드됩니다 ] ] [ [http://rki.kbs.co.kr/english/entertainment/enter_chart_detail.htm?No=7006 SG Wannabe Heading for a Breakup] ] Chae Dong Ha made his acting debut in Kim Jong Wook’s music video for “Only You,” which is the new singer’s follow-up single after “Bad Guy.” “Only You” is actually being used now as the theme song of the MBC show “We’re Married.” [ [http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Chae-Dong-Ha-debuts-as-actor-talk527208.html Chae Dong Ha Debutes As Actor] ]

5th album: "My Friend" (2008)

As of April 23, 2008, SG Wannabe's fifth album had 85,000 pre-orders and counting. The album is slated to be released on April 24th with fourteen new tracks, including a Japanese version of "I Miss You" (보고싶어). [ [http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-k/version-all/section-music/did-91/pid-1010723976/ Album Information on Yesaisa] ] SG Wannabe's new member, Lee Suk Hoon, also made his debut performance on April 24th on "M!CountDown", singing the first track, "Lalala", on the new album.

Awards

ingles

* Kim Jong Kook & SG Wannabe - Only Wind, Only Wind 바람만바람만(November 11, 2006)
* BIG4 (Kim Jong Kook, SG Wannabe, M to M and Vibe) - Untouchable

Others

* OST: Magic OST (August 27, 2004)
* Compilation: The Voices (July 27, 2005)
* Compilation: KCM's Special - Lovers (October 13, 2005)
* See Ya's debut album - track 3 (Because I Love You). (February 2, 2006)
* [Single] Music Is My Life Part 2 - Track 1 (비틀즈의 음악보다) (May 7, 2007)

References