Battle (Korean band)

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Battle


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = South Korea
Genre = R&B
Pop
Hip hop
Years_active = 2006-present
Label = Good! Entertainment (2006-present)
URL = [http://www.goodenter.com Good Entertainment]
Current_members = Ryu
Taehwa
Lio
Chris
HwichanInfobox Korean name


hangul=배틀
hanja=
rr=Baeteul
mr=Paet'ŭl

Battle (배틀) is a Korean boy band that debuted on December 17, 2006 with the release of their first single "Crash". They are most popular for winning the reality show, Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa! The group includes Ryu, Tae-hwa, Lio, Chris, and Hwi-chan. Shin Ki-Hyun, who was picked by Shinhwa's Eric, departed the group in 2008.

Battle Formation

Though most members of boy bands are found through auditions or have been in training for years, the members of Battle instead participated in a popular reality show, "Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa!", hosted by the members of Shinhwa themselves. The show was sponsored by Good Entertainment, M-NET and Coca-Cola. The boys, originally six but now five, were hand-picked particularly by each of the Shinhwa members. They were chosen because of their singing, dancing, and endurance skills. Although Kim Jang Hyun was picked during the course of the show, he decided to leave the group due to conflicting musical styles. Dongwan, the one who picked Jang Hyun, replaced him with Hwichan.

Though initially marketed as the next "Shinhwa", meaning "legend" or "myth", Battle did say that though it is an honor to be compared to the legendary band Shinhwa, they do not want to be the next Shinhwa; rather, they want to make a name for themselves and consider Shinhwa to be their mentors. The six boys are currently undergoing vocal training under the management of Good Entertainment.

Career

2006: Debut

Their first single was "Crash", a song with a strong guitar and drum accompaniment. The music video was very dark, showing the members destroying various objects such as T.V.s, cars, etc. As opposed to "Crash", which was a melodious dance tune combined with hardcore guitar and staccato drum beats, their other song, "Icarus", was a ballad, showing their smooth vocals and harmonizing skills. Many of the fans also mention that "Icarus" sounds a lot like Shinhwa's number one hit song, "Once in a Lifetime". "Flying Up", the third track from the single, was a rap song with great beat. With their debut, Battle's fan color is Pearlescent Gold. Their first ever debut performance was on SBS Gayo where they received very little applause and cheers though it being their first performance they achieved very well from then on when they first did their live performance critics all stated that Battle is weak in vocal skills, despite the rolling rumors and comments Battle went on MBC Music Core and did a live performance for the very first time and succeeding very strongly.

First Tour

On February 24, 2007, staff from GMM Grammy, Channel V Thailand and MTV Thailand came to Korea to interview Battle and cover its activities. According to Good EMG, staff from GMM Grammy told them that Battle had gained so much popularity in Thailand that a fan club had already been formed. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title= New Group 'Battle' to Release Single Album in Thailand | date=| publisher= | url = http://english.kbs.co.kr/entertainment/news/1445902_11858.html| work= KBS GLOBAL| pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-05 | language = English] Good EMG also said that the group would visit Thailand to hold a mini concert on April 30 and give interviews with major music channels, thus beginning Battle's first tour. The group flew to Thailand and even released a single there. They stayed for a week, busy with promotions and photoshoots. Battle's song was aired throughout the country on the radio station "Seed FM" and cable TV "Channel V Thailand".

2007

In contrast to its first single, Battle's second single "Tell Me! (Mal Hae)" was very different, featuring the boys in pink and singing to a light, catchy melody. These two singles represent opposite sides of Battle, portraying a different image of them. "Tell Me" was ranked as 7th on the "Top 20 Album Sales (May 2007)" with 10,263 copies sold in that month. [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]

After their tour from Thailand, Battle flew to Beijing, China on July 31, 2007 to promote their second single there. There, they appeared on numerous shows, including the popular CCTV-4 music program "Joonghwajeong". They return to Korea on September 2, 2007 to begin recording their first album along with vocal training and even foreign language lessons. They will then embark on local and overseas promotional activities after releasing their completed album. In order to concetrate only on their album, Battle has suspend activities for the next 8 months. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title= Battle To Suspend Activities For 8 Months | date=2007-08-29 | publisher= | url = http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/entertainment/enter_chart_detail.htm?No=6169| work= KBS World| pages = | accessdate = 2007-09-16 | language = English]

2008

On May 30th, Battle's homepage was offically opened and their new looks were unveiled. Each were sporting a unique style unlike their previous singles where they were wearing outfits similar in style and color. Every two days or so, each of their photos were released. And finally their music video was released 2 hours later than scheduled. They will make their comeback stage on Music Bank's Summer special, on June 13th.

Members

Ryu (Won Seung-jae), 21, picked by Andy of Shinhwa, is the oldest among the five and the leader. Having been a model, he decided to put his catwalk days behind him to concentrate on his music and a possible acting career. Ryu is a rapper, having chosen to follow that route during his days on Shinhwa Battle Cokeplay.

Lio (Park Ji-woon), 20, was chosen by Jun Jin of Shinhwa and was also featured in Jun Jin's first solo album. Having studied in China, Lio is fluent in Mandarin and is currently studying English. In Shinhwa Battle Cokeplay, Lio was consistently referred to as the "rapper of Battle Shinhwa", with reference to him being the strongest rapper on the show.Armed with a mischievous smile, Lio is considered to be one of the best dancers in Battle, charming fans with his smooth moves and lopsided grin. He was featured in Jun Jin's solo debut under the track "Come Back." He is also Jun Jin's "stepbrother."

Tae-hwa (Jin Tae-hwa), 20, is the best dancer in the group, chosen by Shinhwa's own choreographer and dancer Min Woo to be part of Battle. During "Let’s Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa!" the popularity award was bestowed upon him. He has a great voice which is used on all of Battles songs.

Hwi-chan (Kim Tae-kwan), 20, replaced Shinhwa member Dongwan's initial choice, Jang-hyun. After Jang-hyun decided to leave the group, Hwi-chan stepped in and joined Battle, providing his strong, melodic voice to the group. Having lived with his grandma for most of his life, because Hwi-chan's parents worked long hours, he received devastating news that she died not long after he was eliminated from the show.

Chris (Jung Hyung-rok), 18, is the baby of the group and was picked by Hye Sung of Shinhwa. Though he was born in Seoul, he and his family moved to California when he was young. He attended Burbank Elementary School, Ross Middle School, Gahr High School, and then Torrance High School. Rather like the mother of the group, Chris loves to cook for his fellow members, and lends a soft, sweet-catchy voice to Battle.

Former Members

Ki-hyun (Shin Ki-hyun), 21, who stands at an intimidating 187cm, often slouched to look the same height as his fellow members. Kihyun loves playing soccer and is competitive at heart. Chosen by Shinhwa's member Eric, Ki-hyun contributed his talent in rapping to Battle’s songs but then worked on his vocals and sang some small parts in their songs. After acting in a small role in a drama, Ki-hyun left the group to pursue an acting career. There were a lot of rumors surrounding his departure from Battle. Some which are unconfirmed.

Member Profiles

Performances

* Debut performance (SBS Inkigayo; 2006-12-17) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rlICwg3798]
* Mnet M!Countdown; 2006-12-21 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvAcGSQKrok]
* MBC Show! Music Core Ep.55; 2006-12-23 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANYi5F1LOs8]
* SBS; 2006-12-24
* Mnet M!Countdown; 2006-01-04
* MBC Music Core; 2007-01-13
* SBS; 2006-01-14
* Mnet M!Countdown; 2007-01-18
* MBC; 2007-01-20
* SBS Inkigayo; 2007-02-04
* SBS Inkigayo; 2007-02-25
* M Super Concert; 2007-05-04

Appearances

Battle also appeared in varieties of shows.

*Super Vikings: Taehwa [231206]
*Mnet M!Pick; 15 episodes (Including Battle's first fanmeeting)

Trivia

*All of Battle (except for Hwichan, who was not part of Battle at the time) appeared in Shinhwa's "Once In A Lifetime" music video.
*Battle's balloon colour is gold. Fans wave gold balloons to support them at concerts.
*Battle's fanclub is called "Destiny".
*Chris and Ryu appeared in a reality show, 'Prettier than Flowers', where they dressed as women.

References

ee also

* K-pop
* Contemporary culture of South Korea
* Korean music
* List of Korean musicians
* Shinhwa

External links

* [http://goodenter.com/ Good Entertainment]
* [http://goodenter.com/battle/ Battle's Offical Site]
* [http://battleinternational.com 1st International Forum]
* [http://battledestiny.co.nr Malaysia Battle Forum]
* [http://battleindo.co.nr Indonesia Battle Forum]
* [http://www.battlepop.com]