Super Junior-M (stylized as SJ-M), an initialism for Super Junior-Mandarin, is a Chinese sub-unit of the South Korean boy band
Super Junior
Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent ...
. The sub-unit is the first international music group in the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
music industry
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
to have members of both
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
descent.
Formed in 2008, Super Junior-M became the third and most successful subgroup branched off from the Korean band
Super Junior
Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent ...
. The sub-unit originally consisted of leader
Han Geng
Han Geng (Chinese: 韩庚; Pinyin: Hán Gēng; ) (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, ...
,
Donghae,
Siwon
Choi Si-won (; born 7 April 1986), known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior. Choi committed as special representative of UNICEF K ...
,
Ryeowook
Kim Ryeo-wook (born June 21, 1987), better known by the mononym Ryeowook, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical actor. He is best known as a member of boy group Super Junior and its subgroups, Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-M. ...
,
Kyuhyun and two additional members appearing exclusively to the subgroup,
Zhou Mi and
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
.
In December 2009, Han Geng filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment and decided to leave the main group and sub-unit, resulting in the sub-unit's temporary disbandment.
After a year-long hiatus, Super Junior-M returned with addition Super Junior members
Eunhyuk
Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and ...
and
Sungmin. They released Super Junior-M's second mini album ''
Perfection
Perfection is a state, variously, of completeness, flawlessness, or supreme excellence.
The terminology, term is used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts. These have historically been addressed in a number of discrete a ...
'' in February 2011. After Han Geng's leave, the group considers Sungmin as the new "leader", as he is the oldest member of the team. However, SM Entertainment has not released any statements about electing a new group leader.
On April 30, 2018, Label SJ released a statement announcing Henry's departure from the group, leaving Zhoumi as the only Chinese member. Although the sub-unit has not disbanded, the group has been inactive since 2015.
History
Name origin
Before the official name of the subgroup was released, they were known by "Super Junior China". On April 3, 2008, SM Entertainment announced their official name to be Super Junior-M, with "M" representing the word "
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
".
The "M" can also represent a list of other aspects, such as the first letter of their debut album ''
Me'', and also "" (), the
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
for "charismatic" and "fan", the latter meaning referring to their desire to connect closer with fans.
2007: Formation and controversies
In October 2007, SM Entertainment announced that a new Super Junior subgroup would debut in China in 2008. Super Junior's original member
Han Geng
Han Geng (Chinese: 韩庚; Pinyin: Hán Gēng; ) (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, ...
, and a new member
Henry Lau
Henry Lau (; ko, 헨리; born October 11, 1989), often mononymously referred to as Henry, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor based in South Korea and China. He debuted in 2008 as a member of Super Junior-M ...
, who performed the violin solo of Super Junior's "
Don't Don
''Don't Don'' (Korean: ) is the second studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior. It was released by SM Entertainment on September 20, 2007 in South Korea. This is the group's first album as thirteen members, with the addition of Kyuh ...
", were announced to be the first two of seven members representing the subgroup.
Some of Super Junior's official fanclub, E.L.F, signed online petitions and held protests to express their dissatisfaction and opposition of adding a fourteenth member to the group, fearing that a new member would mean one of the original lineup would get 'replaced'. Many fans boycotted Super Junior's products and held silent protests in front of SM Entertainment's main building 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 ...
, holding signs of the "Only 13" slogan.
Over one thousand fans appeared in front of the SM Entertainment building on E.L.F's third protest on November 3, 2007. Instead of a silent protest, the fans sang various Super Junior songs and shouted "thirteen." Fans purchased 58,206 stocks of SM Entertainment, holding 0.3% of the company's entire stock.
They released a statement through the media, stating that they would obtain all chances to prevent SM Entertainment from adding new members and to keep Super Junior as only thirteen.
SM Entertainment later announced that they would not add the new subgroup members to the main group.
2008–2009: Debut and commercial success
From April 4 to April 7, 2008, the seven members of Super Junior-M were individually announced to the Chinese media in a chain of short trailer clips. The first member, Han Geng, was announced to be the subgroup leader on April 4.
On April 5,
Siwon
Choi Si-won (; born 7 April 1986), known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior. Choi committed as special representative of UNICEF K ...
and
Donghae were revealed to be the second and third members.
On April 6,
Kyuhyun was announced to be the fourth Super Junior-M member, following the new member, Henry, as the fifth.
Ryeowook
Kim Ryeo-wook (born June 21, 1987), better known by the mononym Ryeowook, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical actor. He is best known as a member of boy group Super Junior and its subgroups, Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-M. ...
and another new member,
Zhou Mi, were announced to be the final two members on April 7.
A trailer of all seven members was released on the group's debut day, April 8. Super Junior-M's trailer clips exceeded 1.4 million views in less than four days.
Super Junior-M debuted in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
on April 8, 2008, at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards, simultaneously with the release of their first music video, "
U" on
Sohu.com
Sohu, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet company headquartered in the Sohu Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing. Sohu and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine (Sogou.com), on-line multiplayer gaming (ChangYou.com) and other se ...
.
"
U" is a translated Chinese cover of the 2006 song "
U", originally by
Super Junior
Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent ...
. They released their debut album ''
Me'' in selected provinces of China starting April 23, 2008. A Korean version of the album with three bonus Korean-language tracks was released in
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 ...
on April 30, 2008. A modified version of the album was released in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
on May 2, 2008.
Though a majority of the tracks in the album were Mandarin remakes of Super Junior's previous Korean hits, reviews were generally positive. Hong Kong
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
singer,
Hins Cheung
Hins Cheung King Hin (; born 1 February 1981), is a Chinese-born Hong Kong singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessperson. He made his debut in 2001 with the studio album ''Hins' First.'' He has since released 17 studio albums and EPs ...
, critiqued the album favorably, saying that the album contains "international-level music" and that the group is "vocally-talented".
A month after their debut, Super Junior-M won their first award, Asia's Most Popular New Group, at the 5th annual Music King Awards in
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
on May 25.
They took home another three awards that year. On December 27 and 28, Super Junior-M held their first concert, the Super Junior-M Show, in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
Following their debut performance in April 2008, the group made a few successful guest appearances in many chains of entertainment variety shows to promote their album. They appeared in an episode of the second season of
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
and
HunanTV's collaboration show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which made the show's ratings increase to 5.01%, ranking it the third most watched show ever in all of China.
Super Junior-M's appearance in the talk show ''Behind Story'' () also increased ratings. The show had the highest ratings during their time slot, with a strong 4.05%.
Separated into several weekly episodes, the group's appearance in their first episode on the challenging game show ''Bravely Going Forward'' () in early August gave the show the highest ratings during that time slot as well.
In August 2008, Han was cast in the idol television drama ''
Stage of Youth'', a mini-drama dedicated to the
2008 Beijing Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
. Han portrayed Xia Lei, a youth who aspires to be a famous dancer. Other members of Super Junior-M gave
cameo appearances
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the final episode.
In September 2009, Super Junior-M released their mini album, the
EP ''
Super Girl''. The album garnered them a nomination for Best Vocal Group at the
21st Golden Melody Awards.
The EP's title single "
Super Girl" is Super Junior-M's most critically successful song to date, winning numerous accolades for its composition and performances.
2010–2011: Lawsuit, lineup changes and ''Perfection''
In December 2009, Hangeng filed for contract termination from
SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
, claiming that the provisions of his contract were unlawful, harsh, and against his rights. Super Junior-M immediately canceled all of their future activities and performances in China and Taiwan. They returned to Korea to begin preparing for Super Junior's
fourth studio album. Han, however, stayed in China and signed under a new management, releasing his debut solo album ''Geng Xin'' in July 2010.
Although Super Junior-M remained largely inactive for most of 2010, they won several accolades for their song "
Super Girl" at China's 2010 MusicRadio TOP Awards, including Most Popular Group, Golden Melody Award (Top 15), and Best Composition.
In December 2010, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Han. However, SM Entertainment announced that they will file an immediate appeal to reverse the decision. In September 2011, Han and SM Entertainment officially came to a mutual agreement regarding Han's contract, closing the case.
In February 2011, Super Junior-M resumed their activities with two new members from the main group,
Eunhyuk
Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and ...
and
Sungmin, with the release of EP ''
Perfection
Perfection is a state, variously, of completeness, flawlessness, or supreme excellence.
The terminology, term is used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts. These have historically been addressed in a number of discrete a ...
''. It debuted at number 2 on Taiwan's G-music chart,
and stayed on the chart for four weeks.
The repackaged version of the album was released on April 29, debuted at number 2, and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks.
2013–2018: ''Break Down'', ''Swing'', and Henry's departure
In 2012 the group resumed their activities in China when they performed on 2 October, along with
Kim Jang-hoon
Kim Jang-hoon (; born 14 August 1963) is a South Korean singer, known for his rock ballads.
Early life and education
Kim dropped out of school and worked as a DJ at cafes. In 1991, he released his debut album. Cho Dongik mainly wrote and arra ...
and
EXO-M
Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and ...
in a special concert to mark the 20th anniversary of South Korea and China's diplomatic ties hosted by
Shanghai Media Group
Radio and Television Station of Shanghai (RTS), a Shanghai-based state media outlet, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Media Group (SMG), represent one of China's largest state-owned media and cultural conglomerates, with the most compl ...
. This was followed by official from SM Entertainment confirming that the group are in the planning stages of their comeback with a new album. On January 7, 2013, Super Junior-M released their second album, ''
Break Down'', along with the music video for the lead single of the same name. A press conference took place in Beijing on January 7 and promoted the album in China. They promoted the album in South Korean mutizens for a week as well different Fan Meetings in Asia. The song debuted No.1 on the Billboard charts.
After one year and three months since their second album 'Break Down', Super Junior-M released their third EP album, ''Swing'' in China on March 21.
Previously on March 18, 2014, Super Junior-M had unveiled the teaser image for the EP. A press conference was held on March 22 in Beijing, which was broadcast live online and viewed by over a million people. The album was later released on Korean music sites, such as MelOn, genie, Naver music and more, on March 31. They held their first comeback stage on China's CCTV's 'Global Chinese Music List' and continued in Korea, performing on music programs for 2 weeks.
The title song, Swing, is a pop dance song that mixes in both R&B and electro sounds. The album contains six Chinese songs, produced by hit makers Yoo Han Jin, hitchhiker and Henry's team of composers, NoizeBank, as well as the Korean version of Swing.
The music video for Swing debuted on Chinese video sites Youku, Weibo, and iQIYI on March 23, before being released on YouTube on March 24. In 2015, Sungmin began a military service. The rest of members recorded a song titled "" ''(Forever with You)'' in Super Junior's album ''
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
''. Then, the group began a hiatus.
On March 31, 2018, Super Junior-M's parent group Super Junior held its seventh world tour
Super Show 7 in Taipei. Member Donghae mentioned that Super Junior-M plans to release new album after all members return to the team in 2019, but never came to fruition following the fandom's boycott on Sungmin.
On April 30, 2018, Henry decided not to renew his contract with
SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
, and left Super Junior-M.
Band members
In December 2009,
Hangeng
Han Geng (Chinese: 韩庚; Pinyin: Hán Gēng; ) (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junio ...
departed from the group after filing a lawsuit against their agency S.M. Entertainment. Hangeng subsequently won the lawsuit in December 2010.
In April 2018,
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
parted ways with the group after a decade. SM Entertainment revealed, “Henry’s exclusive contract recently expired, and we have ended on good terms.” Henry has completed his contract with SM Entertainment and he has decided to leave the agency.
Between March 2015 to August 2017, four members completed their mandatory military service: Sungmin enlisted for his service on 31 March 2015, and completed his service on 30 December 2016.
Eunhyuk enlisted for his service on 13 October 2015 and was discharged on 12 July 2017.
Donghae enlisted for his service on 15 October 2015 and was discharged on 14 July 2017.
Siwon enlisted for his service on 19 November 2015 and was discharged on 18 August 2017.
From August 2017 to present, two members enlisted for mandatory military service. Ryeowook enlisted for his service on 11 October 2016 and was discharged 10 July 2018. Kyuhyun enlisted on 25 May 2017 and was discharged on 7 May 2019.
;Current active members
*
Eunhyuk
Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and ...
*
Zhou Mi
*
Donghae
*
Siwon
Choi Si-won (; born 7 April 1986), known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior. Choi committed as special representative of UNICEF K ...
*
Ryeowook
Kim Ryeo-wook (born June 21, 1987), better known by the mononym Ryeowook, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical actor. He is best known as a member of boy group Super Junior and its subgroups, Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-M. ...
*
Kyuhyun
;Current inactive members
*
Sungmin
;Former members
*
Han Geng
Han Geng (Chinese: 韩庚; Pinyin: Hán Gēng; ) (born February 9, 1984) is a Chinese Mandopop singer and actor. He started his career in 2001, when he was chosen by S.M. Entertainment to become a member of South Korean boy band Super Junior, ...
*
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
Timeline
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Period = from:2008 till:2020
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id:a value:rgb(1,0,0) legend:First_generation
id:b value:rgb(1,0.5,0) legend:Second_generation
id:album value:black legend:Studio_album
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color:blue width:7 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from
bar:Hangeng from:start till:09/21/2009 Color:a
bar:Donghae from:start till:10/15/2015 Color:a
bar:Donghae from:10/15/2015 till:07/14/2017 Color:black
bar:Donghae from:07/14/2017 till:end Color:a
bar:Siwon from:start till:11/09/2015 Color:a
bar:Siwon from:11/09/2015 till:08/18/2017 Color:black
bar:Siwon from:08/18/2017 till:end Color:a
bar:Ryeowook from:start till:10/11/2016 Color:a
bar:Ryeowook from:10/11/2016 till:10/07/2018 Color:black
bar:Ryeowook from:10/07/2018 till:end Color:a
bar:Kyuhyun from:start till:05/25/2017 Color:a
bar:Kyuhyun from:05/25/2017 till:05/24/2019 Color:black
bar:Kyuhyun from:05/24/2019 till:end Color:a
bar:Henry from:start till:04/30/2018 Color:a
bar:Zhoumi from:start till:end Color:a
bar:Sungmin from:02/10/2011 till:03/31/2015 Color:b
bar:Sungmin from:03/31/2015 till:12/30/2016 Color:black
bar:Sungmin from:12/30/2016 till:07/06/2017 Color:b
bar:Sungmin from:07/06/2017 till:end Color:black
bar:Eunhyuk from:02/10/2011 till:10/13/2015 Color:b
bar:Eunhyuk from:10/13/2015 till:07/12/2017 Color:black
bar:Eunhyuk from:07/12/2017 till:end Color:b
LineData =
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Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Soundtrack appearances
Videography
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
Super Junior-M Official Korean website
{{Authority control
Super Junior subgroups
Avex Group artists
Chinese boy bands
Chinese dance music groups
K-pop music groups
Mandarin-language singers of South Korea
Mandopop musical groups
Musical groups established in 2008
Musical groups from Seoul
SM Entertainment artists
SM Town
South Korean boy bands
South Korean dance music groups
South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups
South Korean synthpop groups