Leo (singer)
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Jung Taek-woon (; born on November 10, 1990), better known by his stage name Leo (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical theatre actor, signed under
Jellyfish Entertainment Jellyfish Entertainment (), is a South Korean entertainment company established by composer and producer Hwang Se-jun in Seoul, South Korea. Jellyfish Entertainment is the home of artists including Jang Hye-jin, VIXX, Verivery and formerly gug ...
. Leo debuted as a member of the South Korean
boy group A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Man ...
VIXX VIXX ( ko, 빅스 pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show ''MyDOL''. Originally a sextet, the group is presently composed of fi ...
in May 2012, and began his acting career in 2014 in the musical ''
Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...
'' as Lee Young-jae. In 2015 he began his songwriting career, and with VIXX member
Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...
formed the group's first official sub-unit
VIXX LR VIXX LR ( ko, 빅스 LR) is the first official sub-unit of South Korean boy band VIXX formed by Jellyfish Entertainment. Established in August 2015, VIXX LR consists of VIXX vocalist Leo and rapper Ravi. The duo debuted with their first mini al ...
.


Early life

Born in
Yangjae-dong Yangjae-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of the greater Gangnam area Seocho-gu in Seoul, South Korea. Yangjae-dong is divided into 2 different dong which are Yangjae 1-dong and 2-dong. Yangjae High School (YHS), part of Gangnam school district ...
,
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 South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, his family consists of himself, his parents and three older sisters. Leo studied music composition at
Baekseok University Baekseok University is a private Christian institution of higher education, located in Cheonan City, in northern South Chungcheong province, South Korea. It carries a maximum enrollment of 15,000. Academics Undergraduate offerings are divide ...
and was a member of the National Youth Soccer Players from 2004 to 2007. Growing up, Leo was actively involved in swimming, boxing, taekwondo (blue belt), and soccer. While recovering from an injury, he developed an interest in becoming a singer after listening to
Wheesung Choi Whee-sung (; born February 5, 1982), known professionally as Wheesung or by the stage name Realslow, is a South Korean R&B singer, record producer, and musical theatre actor. Career 1982: Early life and education Wheesung was born on ...
's "Walking in the Sky".


Career


2012–2014: Career beginnings

Leo was one of ten trainees who were contestants in
Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's survival reality show ''
MyDOL VIXX ( ko, 빅스 pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show ''MyDOL''. Originally a sextet, the group is presently composed of f ...
.'' Leo was one of the six contestants who were chosen to be a part of the final line-up of the new boy group VIXX. The group debuted with " Super Hero" on May 24, 2012 on
M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...
. During ''MyDOL,'' Leo was featured in
Brian Joo Brian Joo (Korean name: Joo Min-gyu (); born January 10, 1981), better known professionally as Brian (), is a Korean American singer and one-half of the R&B duo Fly to the Sky. His first solo album, ''The Brian'' was released in December 2006. ...
's "Let This Die" and
Seo In-guk Seo In-guk (; born October 23, 1987) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He launched his singing career after winning the talent reality show ''Superstar K'' in 2009, and made his acting breakthrough in ''Reply 1997'' (2012). Since ...
's "Shake It Up" music videos. After his debut with VIXX, Leo appeared in episode 4 of SBS' television drama ''
The Heirs ''The Heirs'' (Korean: ), also known as ''The Inheritors'', is a South Korean television series starring Lee Min-ho, Park Shin-hye, and Kim Woo-bin. Written by Kim Eun-sook, the drama is set in a high school populated by the privileged and ube ...
'' alongside his group members. As an avid sports fan, Leo has appeared in several athletic variety shows with other idols such as ''Dream Team'' and ''Idol Athletics Championship''. In 2014, Leo had a cameo role in SBS' television drama '' Glorious Day'' alongside Hyuk and was cast in the musical ''
Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...
'' in the lead role of Lee Young-jae from April to June at the Hongik Daehakro Art Center, Grand Theater in Seoul. Later that year, Leo also participated in the '' Y.Bird from Jellyfish Island'' project created by Jellyfish Entertainment CEO Hwang Se-jun by collaborating with Lyn on her self-composed single "Blossom Tears" (); their single '' Y.BIRD from Jellyfish with LYn X Leo'' was the fourth in the series. In the haunting music video, he played a psychopath who killed the women he loved so that he could keep them.


2015–2016: Composing, VIXX LR and musical

In 2015, Leo composed the song "On a Cold Night" () for VIXX's fifth single album '' Boys' Record''. Originally written as a duet between him and
Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...
, a studio version was released with the rest of the members performing for that album. On August 7, 2015, Jellyfish Entertainment released a video trailer on VIXX's official website after a mysterious countdown with a silhouette of VIXX's last special album '' Boys' Record''. As time went by, members of VIXX disappeared until finally only Leo and
Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...
were left behind, which caused fans to speculate that it meant another comeback for all six members. A video trailer of
VIXX LR VIXX LR ( ko, 빅스 LR) is the first official sub-unit of South Korean boy band VIXX formed by Jellyfish Entertainment. Established in August 2015, VIXX LR consists of VIXX vocalist Leo and rapper Ravi. The duo debuted with their first mini al ...
was then revealed. VIXX LR was confirmed by Jellyfish Entertainment to be VIXX's first official sub-unit composed of rapper Ravi and vocalist Leo. Their debut EP, ''
Beautiful Liar "Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer Beyoncé and Colombian singer Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Beyoncé for th ...
'', was released on August 17, 2015. On the same day VIXX LR held their first showcase for ''Beautiful Liar'' at Yes24 Muv Hall 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 ...
′s
Mapo-gu Mapo District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. Mapo has a population of 381,330 (2015) and has a geographic area of 23.87 km2 (9.22 sq mi), and is divided into 24 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Mapo is located in ...
. In 2016 Leo was cast in the musical ''
Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...
'' in the lead role of Armand from March 25 to June 12 at the Blue Square in Seoul. It was confirmed that he would be shedding his stage name and using his birth name Jung Taek Woon for the role instead, unlike his previous musical role in ''Full House'' where he was credited as Leo. On September 20, 2016, Leo collaborated with actress and DJ Park So-hyun to celebrate
SBS Power FM HLSQ-FM, also known as SBS Power FM (), is a K-pop music radio station of the Seoul Broadcasting System. The station is heard nationwide via syndication with local FM stations in Korea via HLDG-FM in Busan, HLDE-FM in Daegu, HLDH-FM in ...
’s 20th Anniversary and released the song "That's All" () as part of SBS Power FM's 20th Anniversary song project. Leo was cast in the musical '' Monte Cristo'' in the supporting role of Albert from November 19, 2016, to February 12, 2017, at the Chungmu Arts Center Grand Theater.


2017–present: Solo debut

On October 16, 2017, it was announced that Leo had been cast in the musical '' The Last Kiss'' as Crown Prince Rudolf. On July 21, 2018, it was announced that Leo will be releasing his first solo EP titled ''Canvas'' on July 31, 2018. From August 31 to September 2, Leo had his first ever solo concert "LEO 1st SOLO CONCERT ANVAS which was held at Blue Square Eye Market Hall On May 14, 2019, Leo announced about his "2nd Solo Concert
USE Use may refer to: * Use (law), an obligation on a person to whom property has been conveyed * Use (liturgy), a special form of Roman Catholic ritual adopted for use in a particular diocese * Use–mention distinction, the distinction between using ...
which was in June 2019. Leo's second EP ''Muse'' was released on June 17. On August 3, 2022, Leo released a teaser video of Coming Soon through his official YouTube and SNS channels.


Personal life

Leo enlisted for his
mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
on December 2, 2019, serving as a public service worker due to severe panic disorder and depression. He was discharged on September 9, 2021.


Discography


Extended plays


Singles


Compilation appearances


Songwriting credits

Notes


Filmography


Television series


Web series


Television shows


Musicals


Achievements


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo Jellyfish Entertainment artists VIXX members Japanese-language singers of South Korea South Korean dance music singers South Korean male idols South Korean singer-songwriters South Korean pop singers South Korean male singers South Korean male television actors South Korean male musical theatre actors People from Seoul Musicians from Seoul Male actors from Seoul 1990 births Living people Howon University alumni 21st-century South Korean singers Singers from Seoul South Korean male singer-songwriters