You Hee-yeol (; born April 19, 1971) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, radio disk jockey, and the host of ''

You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook ''You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook'' () is a South Korean talk show and live music television program airing from April 24 2009 until July 22nd 2022. It was hosted by You Hee-yeol, also known as his one-man band, Toy. The program has aired since Apri ...

''. He is the founder of the record label

Antenna Music Antenna (Hangul: 안테나) is a South Korean record label founded by You Hee-yeol of the band Toy in 1997. Formerly an independent label, it was fully incorporated as a subsidiary under Kakao Entertainment in August 2021. History South Kore ...

and the sole member of the project band Toy.

Biography

You Hee-yeol was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

and attended

Kyungbock High School Kyungbock High School () is one of the oldest modern secondary school in South Korea. It is located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, near Gyeongbok Palace, after which it is named. It was established on April 18, 1921. The school's original name was the No. 2 ...

. He graduated from

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three " ...

's College of Music with a major in composition. He first appeared in the local pop music scene by winning the grand prize at the fourth You Jae-ha Music Contest held in 1992 with the song "달빛의 노래" ("The Moonlight Song"). In 1994, he started the band Toy as a duo with Yoon Jeong-oh. But after releasing Toy's first album, Yoon left the band to study overseas and You joined the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

for his mandatory military service. Since 1996, Toy has continued as a one-man band with You as the sole member. After his discharge from military service, Toy's second album ''Fairy Tales for Adults'' was released, with the title song "Remember I Was Next to You" sung by

Kim Yeon-woo Kim Hak-chul, better known by his stage name Kim Yeon-woo (; born July 22, 1971) is a South Korean male singer, vocal coach, and professor at Seoul Art College ( :ko:서울종합예술학교). Nicknamed God of Vocals, he is well known for his ...

becoming a big hit. Since then, You has rarely sung the songs in his albums and instead features guest vocalists such as

, Kim Hyung-joong,

Lee Jang-woo Lee Jang-woo (; born June 1, 1986) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Glory Jane'', '' I Do, I Do'','' My Only One'' and '' Homemade Love Story. Lee also became popular after being pair ...

, Yoon Jong-shin,

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 ...

, Jinu (also known as Hitchhiker), and Byeon Jae-won.Toy (You Hee-yeol)
KBS World. You has also produced many albums for

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, go ...

musicians including

Lee Seung-hwan Lee Seung-hwan (; born December 13, 1965) is a South Korean singer and record producer known as the country's "King of Live Performances" for his frequent solo concerts. Lee debuted in 1989 as a pop ballad singer and later incorporated rock el ...

, Yoon Jong-shin, Lee Sora and

Lee Moon-se Lee Moon-sae (; ; born January 17, 1959) is a South Korean ballad singer who is often considered a Korean pop icon. Since his debut in 1978, he has released 16 full-length albums, including 1987's ''When Love Passes By'', which sold 2.85 million ...

. In 1997, he founded the record label

, then known as Toy Music. In July 1999, You published a book of illustrations titled ''In Front of a Familiar House''. The album of the same title contained instrumental tracks in a range of genres. Besides songwriting, You has worked as a radio DJ, appearing on MBC FM4U's ''Yoo Hee-yeol's Music City'' (1999–March 2001), MBC FM4U's ''All That Music'' (October 2, 2002 – April 25, 2004), and KBS 2FM's ''You Hee-yeol's Radio Heaven'' (2008–Nov 11, 2011). Since 2009, You has hosted the major

live music program ''

'' on KBS 2TV. He was also a member of the judging panel for '' K-pop Star 3'' (2013–14) and a member of the cast of ''

Saturday Night Live Korea ''Saturday Night Live Korea'' (; abbreviated as ''SNL Korea'' () or simply as ''SNLK'') is a South Korean late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show. It is adapted from the long-running American TV show ''Saturday Night Live'' by ...

'' in September 2013. In 2015, he appeared in the music video for Psy's single " Daddy". Since 2015, he became a co-host with Yoo Jae Suk in

Two Yoo Project Sugar Man ''Two Yoo Project – Sugar Man'' () is a 2015 South Korean television program starring various artists. The original 2-episode pilot aired at 22:50 ( KST) on Wednesday (August 19 & 26, 2015) under the name ''Two Yoo Project Searching For Sugar ...

. On December 11, 2021, You was diagnosed with COVID-19, canceled all of his schedules and is taking necessary measures in accordance with quarantine agency guidelines. As of December 21, 2021, it was reported that Yoo had recovered from the infection as of December 19 after completing home treatment for COVID-19 according to a decision by health officials. In 2022, You faced multiple allegations of plagiarism. After acknowledging the similarities between his song "Very Private Night" and "Aqua" by Japanese composer

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...

, the controversy continued over songs "Happy Birthday to You" (composed by You and performed by

Sung Si-kyung Sung Si-kyung (; born April 17, 1979) is a South Korean singer, entertainer and television host. He debuted in 2001 and has released eight studio albums in Korean and two studio albums in Japanese. He has also hosted and appeared on numerous So ...

) and "Time to Turn On". On July 18, 2022, You published an apology through his record label

Antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

, announcing his intention to step down from his program ''You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook'', and that he "will look after imselfmore strictly so that a controversy such as this does not arise again."

Discography

* ''In Front of a Familiar House'' (익숙한 그 집 앞) (1999) * ''A Walk Around the Corner'' (유희열이 초대하는 새로운 음악세계) (2002) * ''Summer Days'' (여름날) (2008)

Singles

* "Mother's Sea" (엄마의 바다) (2014)

Music video

* IU - The Red Shoes (분홍신) (2013) * Unnies (언니쓰) - Shut Up (2016) *Sechs Kies (젝스키스) - Don't Look Back (뒤돌아보지 말아요) (2021)

Television shows

Web shows

Bibliography

* ''You Hee-yeol Illustrations - In Front of a Family House (유희열 삽화집 - 익숙한 그 집 앞)

Awards

* 2015 MelOn Music Awards: Top 10 Artist (2015) *11th

KBS Entertainment Awards The KBS Entertainment Awards () is an event held yearly and is sponsored by KBS. The awards ceremony is approximately 140 minutes long and is shown in two parts on KBS2. The ceremony features performances by K-pop artists and music parodies fr ...

: Best Entertainer Award in the Music Show category (2012) * 9th

: Radio DJ Award (2010) * 6th Korean Music Awards: Musician of the Year (2009) * 6th Korean Music Awards: Best Pop Song - 뜨거운 안녕 (A Passionate Goodbye) (2009) * 4th Yoo Jae-ha Music Contest: Grand Prize (1992)

Music show awards

KBS Music Bank

, - , 2014 , November 28 , "Three People"

References

External links

* http://www.toymusic.co.kr/ {{DEFAULTSORT:You, Hee-yeol 1971 births Living people K-pop singers Kyungbock High School alumni Seoul National University alumni South Korean pop pianists South Korean record producers Antenna Music artists Male pianists 21st-century South Korean male singers 21st-century pianists South Korean male singer-songwriters Ryu clan of Munhwa