Jang Hyun-seung (; born September 3, 1989)
most often credited as Hyunseung, is a South Korean singer. He is best known as a former member of the boy group
Beast. With Beast, he has released singles and albums in both Korean and Japanese. Beast won the Artist of the Year (Daesang) award at the
Melon Music Awards in 2011.
Hyunseung was also one half of the duo
Trouble Maker with former Cube label mate,
Hyuna
Kim Hyun-ah (born June 6, 1992), better known by the mononym Hyuna (stylized HyunA), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper and model. She debuted as a member of the girl group Wonder Girls in February 2007. After leaving the ensemble sho ...
. In December 2011, the duo released their debut extended play with the lead single, "Trouble Maker."
[Trouble Maker wins Triple Crown #1 + Performances from December 29th’s ‘M! Countdown’](_blank)
In 2016, he left Beast.
Family and personal life
Hyunseung was raised in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea. He has a younger sister named Jang Geu-rim. His father died in 2012 from a sudden heart attack.
In 2010, Hyunseung was reported to be attending
Dongshin University
Dongshin University is a private university in southwestern South Korea. Its campus is located in Naju, a city in South Jeolla province which borders Gwangju. It enrolls about 7,000 students; the class of 2003 contained 1,378 student The curren ...
under a full scholarship, along with four other members of Beast. He was majoring in Applied Music. In 2019, his university degree was revoked by the Ministry of Education following investigation into universities’ special treatment for celebrities.
Career
Pre-debut
In 2004, at the age of 15, Hyunseung took part in auditions for
YG Entertainment
YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...
. He was eliminated in the second round, but went to see CEO
Yang Hyun-suk
Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...
afterwards out of frustration at being eliminated and was accepted as a trainee.
For a year and four months, Hyunseung was a trainee for the boy group
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
. During this time, he used the stage name "So-1," a
homonym
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...
for the Korean word for wish. He first gained media attention when he appeared in the group's pre-debut "Big Bang Documentary," along with members
G-Dragon
Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...
,
T.O.P
Choi Seung-hyun (; born November 4, 1987), better known by his stage name T.O.P, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He performed as an underground rapper before joining the record label YG Entertainment and ...
,
Taeyang
Dong Young-bae (; born May 18, 1988), better known by his stage names Taeyang (meaning "sun" in Korean) and SOL (when performing in Japan), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and dancer. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Taey ...
,
Daesung and
Seungri
Lee Seung-hyun (; born December 12, 1990), better known by his stage names Seungri (Hangul: ) and V.I (when performing in Japan), is a former South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, businessman and sex offender convicted of facilitating prost ...
. He appeared in 10 out of 11 episodes, but was cut from the group in a final elimination round with Seungri. Yang Hyun-suk said that Hyunseung's expressiveness and stage presence were underdeveloped at the time. Fellow Beast member,
Yoon Doo-joon
Yoon Doo-joon (born July 4, 1989), better known mononymously as Doojoon, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is the leader of the South Korean boy group Highlight.
Early life
Yoon Doo-joon was born in Goyang, South Korea on July 4, 1989 ...
decided to become a singer after watching the Big Bang documentary featuring Hyunseung.
Hyunseung refers to his experiences at YG as important to his development as an artist.
Hyunseung later met future fellow band member
Yang Yo-seob
Yang Yo-seob (born January 5, 1990), more commonly known as Yoseob, is a South Korean singer and musical actor. He is the main vocalist of the boy group Highlight.
Biography
Yang was born in Seoul, South Korea on January 5, 1990, in a small f ...
while they were working as dancers for a show performance team. Yoseob convinced Hyunseung to join Cube Entertainment, leading to him debuting with Beast.
Beast
The group has released 3 Korean albums, 9 Korean extended plays and various singles. In December 2010, Hyunseung teamed up with fellow member
Lee Gi-kwang
Lee Gi-kwang ( ko, 이기광; born March 30, 1990), known professionally as Gikwang or Kikwang, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. He originally debuted as solo singer with ...
in a sub-unit to write and compose an
R&B track as part of the group's digital album, ''
My Story''.
Solo activities
On May 7, 2015, Hyunseung released his solo debut extended play, ''My''. Other than BEAST's tracks, Hyunseung's album had more influences on hip-hop culture and pop culture in his preference, such as title track "Ma First" featuring
Giriboy
Hong Si-young (; born January 24, 1991), better known by his stage name, Giriboy (Hangul: 기리보이), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter,record producer,and actor signed to Just Music.
Career
Giriboy began his musical career in ...
and "Break Up With Him" featuring
Dok2
Lee Joon-kyung (; born March 28, 1990) better known by his stage name Dok2 (, pronounced as Dokki), is a South Korean rapper, record producer and co-founder of now-defunct Illionaire Records.
Biography Early life
Dok2's mother is Korean, and h ...
.
Trouble Maker
In December 2011, Hyunseung formed a unit with label mate
4Minute
4Minute (, often stylized as 4MINUTE) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2009 by Cube Entertainment. The members of the group were Son Ji-hyun, Nam Ji-hyun, Heo Ga-yoon, Jeon Ji-yoon, Hyuna, Kim Hyuna and Kwon So-hyun. The group was known ...
's
Hyuna
Kim Hyun-ah (born June 6, 1992), better known by the mononym Hyuna (stylized HyunA), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper and model. She debuted as a member of the girl group Wonder Girls in February 2007. After leaving the ensemble sho ...
called
Trouble Maker. Trouble Maker debuted with their self-named lead single and extended play, ''
Trouble Maker''. On October 28, 2013, the group released their second extended play, ''
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
''.
Musical career
Hyunseung made his acting debut in the musical ''
Mozart!
''Mozart!'' is an Austrian musical, originally written in German. The original book and lyrics were written by Michael Kunze and the music and arrangements were composed by Sylvester Levay. The show is a new imagining of the struggles of the famo ...
''. He performed as the main character from late July 2012 to early August 2012 at the
Sejong Center
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts is the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul, South Korea. It has an interior area of 53,202m². It is situated in the center of the capital, on Sejongno, a main road that cuts through the capital city o ...
.
In April 2014, Hyunseung was cast in the musical ''
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
''. He performed as the lead character, Clyde, from April 15 to June 29, 2014 at the BBC Art Center along with other artists, including
SHINee
Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and th ...
‘s
Key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
,
ZE:A‘s
Park Hyung Sik,
Kahi
KAHI (950 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Auburn, California, United States, the station serves the Auburn area. The station is owned by Relevant Radio; the KAHI Corporation programs the station under a time ...
, and Oh So Yeon.
In April 2016, Hyunseung was nominated and won "Best Male Artist (South Korea)" at the 4th Annual V-Chart Music Awards in China.
Departure from Beast
On April 19, 2016, Cube Entertainment announced he officially left
Beast to continue as a soloist.
On July 29, 2016, Cube Entertainment announced that Hyunseung would be joining the dance competition program ''
Hit The Stage
''Hit the Stage'' is a South Korean television program broadcast by Mnet in which K-pop idols team up with professional dance teams to compete in a dance survival contest. It premiered on July 27, 2016 and the first season concluded on September ...
'', making it his first broadcast appearance since leaving
Beast.
On December 13, 2016, it was confirmed that Hyunseung had renewed his exclusive contract with
Cube Entertainment
Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...
.
On June 12, 2018, it was confirmed that Hyunseung will enlist in the military on July 24 as an active soldier.
He was discharged from the military on 13 March 2020.
In December 2020, Hyunseung is set to release a song digitally, titled "I want to wrap your cold hands warmly". This is his first activity after his discharge in military service in March. On December 17 2020, the song was released on digital charts and YouTube called "I Just Can't Stop Loving You (Korean title: 차가운 너의 손을 따스히 감싸주고 싶어).
On August 3, 2021, Hyunseung's exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment has expired.
Mine Field
As of September 2022, Hyunseung is signed to label Mine Field under the stage name 'ABLE'.
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
Other charted songs
Features & OST
Filmography
Web shows
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, Hyun-seung
Cube Entertainment artists
Highlight (band) members
1989 births
South Korean rhythm and blues singers
K-pop singers
Living people
People from Suncheon
South Korean male singers
South Korean pop singers
South Korean male idols
South Korean hip hop singers
21st-century South Korean singers