Infinite (group)

Infinite ( ko, 인피니트; stylized as INFINITE) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 by Woollim Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Sungkyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, Sungyeol, L and Sungjong. Originally a seven-piece group, Hoya departed from the group on August 30, 2017.

Infinite debuted in June 2010 with their EP '' First Invasion''. In 2012, the single " The Chaser" was named ''Billboard''s third best K-pop song of the 2010s decade and was included in ''Rolling Stone''s list of 75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time in 2020. ''Billboard'' subsequently launched their K-pop column "K-Town" with Infinite in January 2013. In March of that year, Infinite's fourth EP '' New Challenge'' sold over 160,000 copies in South Korea alone, making it among the best-selling albums of 2013, with the single "Man in Love" also experiencing success. Shortly after this, Infinite became the first Korean artist to obtain permission to film at Universal Studios Hollywood for their second single album ''Destiny''. In 2014, Infinite became the first Korean act to top ''Billboard''s Emerging Artists Chart.

Infinite are known for their highly synchronized dancing and choreography as well as their live vocals. They have also endorsed several brands including Samsung and Pepsi, and were the ambassadors for UNICEF's 2012 Birthday Campaign. The group placed within the top 20 on the ''Forbes'' Korea Power Celebrity 40 rankings in 2013 and 2014.

Background

Prior to Infinite's debut, Woollim Entertainment was a small company that housed only alternative artists, primarily depending on the activities of indie-rock band Nell and popular hip-hop group Epik High. Woollim's plans to debut their first idol group, which were first revealed in early 2010, came after Epik High's departure from the agency in 2008 and a noticeable increase in popularity of K-pop at the time. Attention was first drawn to Infinite before their debut when it was announced that Epik High had merged their new independent label with Woollim and were playing an active role in the debut of the new idol group. Infinite was marketed as a group that, despite being a K-pop idol band, would remain close to Woollim's roots of alternative music by releasing songs with a unique genre that can be differentiated from other singers in the industry.

The name "Infinite" was initially suggested by MC the Max member J.Yoon, and was ultimately chosen as the group's official name amongst other options including "Big Dipper", "Blackberry", and "Super Sonic". "Infinite" can be understood to convey the limitless possibilities of Infinite, representing the fact that Infinite will continue to grow and develop endlessly, without being restrained by any boundaries.

History

2010: Debut

Prior to their debut, Infinite participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics by providing vocals in the chorus of Epik High's supporting song.

L, Sungkyu, Woohyun, and Sungjong appeared in Epik High's music video "Run" while Hoya and Dongwoo served as backup dancers during music shows performances. From April to May, Infinite appeared on Mnet's reality television show ''You Are My Oppa'', where the members were introduced to a female high school student ( Lovelyz's Yoo Jiae) at their residence and were tasked to provide her packed meals and help her with homework. Epik High co-starred on the program.

Infinite released their debut mini-album '' First Invasion'' and its lead single "Come Back Again" on June 9, 2010. They also promoted the song " She's Back" from the same album.

2011: ''Over the Top'' and advancement into Japan

The group's second mini album ''Evolution'' was released on January 7. The group promoted it with the lead single " Before the Dawn (BTD)". The group entered the Music Bank K-chart for the first time.

Infinite made their comeback with their first single album ''Inspirit''. In the music charts, the group finally ran from the top 30 to the top 40, and also went up to the top 10 in the Music Bank K-chart.

Their first studio album '' Over the Top'' was released on July 21 along with the music video of their title track " Be Mine". They received their first music show first place award at ''M! Countdown'' on September 1 and received a "Double Crown" for winning two consecutive #1 places at ''M! Countdown''. Following the success of "Be Mine", Infinite re-released ''Over the Top'' as a repackaged album titled ''Paradise'', along with its title track of the same name, on September 26. On October 9, Infinite came first on ''Inkigayo'' for ''Paradise''. They then won their second trophy with ''Paradise'' on October 13 on ''M! Countdown''.

Infinite unofficially debuted in Japan with their first Japanese single "To-Ra-Wa" on January 26, which was a Japanese version of their Korean debut song, "Come Back Again". Immediately after its release, their ''Evolution'' mini album hit #3 on real-time charts for sales in Korea. The song was the top downloaded ringtone on the daily charts of the K-Pop section of Japan's top mobile website. Infinite released various rental singles including "She's Back", "BTD (Before The Dawn)", and "Nothing's Over" before they officially debuted in Japan.

Infinite made their official Japanese debut with the release of the Japanese version of "BTD" on November 19. The B-side for the single is "Can U Smile", a remake of a track from their 2nd mini album ''Evolution''. It is the third track of their first single album ''Inspirit''.

On December 5, Infinite released their first Christmas song, "White Confession".

2012: First concert and ''Infinitize''

Infinite held their first concert 2012 Infinite Concert "Second Invasion" in Seoul's Olympic Stadium on February 11–12 and in Tokyo International Forum on February 25–26. The encore concert, 2012 Infinite Concert "Second Invasion Evolution", was held in Seoul's Olympic Stadium on April 1.

The group's second Japanese single album was released on April 18. It included the Japanese version of their song "Be Mine" as its title track, as well as a Japanese version of "Julia". The single peaked at #2 in both the Oricon Daily and Weekly Charts. Total reported sales amounted to at least 54,218 copies.

On May 15, the group's third mini album ''Infinitize'' was released. The lead single " The Chaser" swept domestic music charts upon release and achieved a digital all-kill. On June 14, Infinite obtained their first triple crown with "The Chaser" on ''M! Countdown''. At the end of the year, ''Billboard'' named "The Chaser" the number one K-pop song of the year.

2013–2014: ''New Challenge'', first world tour and ''Season 2''

On March 21, the group released their fourth mini album '' New Challenge''. The lead single was titled "Man in Love", which took seven trophies on music shows during its promotion period.

The group released their first Japanese debut album, ''Koi ni Ochiru Toki'', on June 6. It took the #1 place on the Oricon's albums chart for the week of June 3 to 9 with 69,647 copies sold.

The group then released their second single, "Destiny", on July 16. The group first performed "Destiny" at the 2013 Mnet 20's Choice Awards on July 18 and began promotional performances on MBC's July 20 episode of ''Show! Music Core'' and various music programs.

Infinite began their first world tour named One Great Step on August 9 in Seoul. The tour also included 22 shows in Asia, North America, Europe and Dubai.

On January 16, 2014 Mnet released a preview for the group's new reality show, ''This is INFINITE.'' The show aired on February 6.

Their first world tour encore One Great Step Returns was held in Seoul's Olympic Gymnastics Arena on February 28 and March 1.

On April 10, 2014, Infinite released their instrumental album ''The Origin''. Prior to this release, Infinite released the instrumental music video for their song "BTD (Before the Dawn)", which featured never-before-seen footage from the original "BTD" music video.

On May 12, Woollim Entertainment confirmed in an interview with Newsen that Infinite's second studio album, ''Season 2'', would be released on May 21. Prior to the release of the album, Infinite held a showcase in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, titled ''1.2.3''. The group held the first showcase in Japan on May 19 and Taiwan on May 20 before performing in South Korea on May 21. On May 21, their second studio album with title ''Last Romeo'' was released. Following the album release, Infinite held a showcase at the Jamsil Student Gymnasium in Seoul. A repackaged edition for ''Season 2'' titled ''Be Back'' was released on July 22.

Infinite held their second summer concert 2014 Infinite Concert: That Summer 2 in Seoul's Blue Square Samsung Card Hall with the expected total audience of 15.000 fans. It consisted of 7 shows starting from August 7–10, 2014 and August 14–16, 2014 respectively.

On September 11, the group had their first ''Billboard'' No. 1, with their single "Last Romeo" topping the ''Billboard'' Twitter Emerging Artists chart, becoming the first Korean act to do so, and also hitting No. 33 on ''Billboard'' Twitter Top Tracks.

On December 18, Infinite released the music video their new Japanese single, "Dilemma", composed by renowned Japanese musician and guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei. The single was subsequently released on December 24 and used as the centerpiece of their upcoming Dilemma Tour in Japan in early 2015.

2015: ''Reality'' and second world tour

Infinite embarked on their third Japan concert tour 2015 Japan Tour - Dilemma on February 1 in Fukuoka, following held in Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi. On April 29, they a revealed promotional video (PV) for ''24 Hours''. ''24 Hours'' came in third on the Oricon Weekly Chart with 56,266 copies sold.

Infinite released ''Reality'', their fifth extended play, on July 13, 2015. It contains seven tracks, with the lead single titled "Bad".

The group announced their second solo world tour 2015 Infinite 2nd World Tour "Infinite Effect" in July 2015. Two concerts were held in Seoul at the Olympic Stadium Arena on August 8 and 9.

Infinite's reality show ''Infinite Showtime'' at '' MBC Every1'' started on December 10.

Infinite released their second Japanese album ''For You'' on December 16.

2016–2018: ''Infinite Only'', Hoya's departure and ''Top Seed''

Infinite concluded the Infinite Effect tour with two concerts titled 2015 Infinite 2nd World Tour "Infinite Effect Advance" in Seoul's Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium from February 20–21. Infinite held their summer concert 2016 Infinite Concert: That Summer 3 in Seoul Samsung Card Hall's Blue Square from August 3–8. Prior to the concert, they released the special digital single "That Summer (The Second Story)" on July 8. Infinite released their first best Japanese album ''Best of Infinite'' on August 31, 2016. Their sixth extended play ''Infinite Only'' was released on September 19. It consists of seven tracks with the lead single "The Eye".

Infinite released their third Japanese album ''Air'' on May 24, 2017. On June 9, 2017, Woollim Entertainment announced that the members of Infinite were discussing renewing their contracts with the label. On June 28, Korean media reported that only 6 out of 7 members had renewed their contracts. On July 14, member L revealed in an interview that the members were still positively discussing the contract. On August 30, it was announced that Hoya had officially left the group after deciding to not renew his contract with Woollim Entertainment.

The remaining six members continued as a group, releasing their third studio album, '' Top Seed'', in January 2018. The album consists of twelve tracks with the lead single "Tell Me". Despite only having a short two-week promotion, "Tell Me" garnered five music show wins. On May 14, 2018, Sungkyu enlisted for his mandatory military service as an active duty soldier.

2019–present: Military enlistments and departures from Woollim

Infinite promoted as five members with release of their single "Clock" on February 13, 2019.

Sungyeol enlisted as an active duty soldier on March 26, 2019, while Dongwoo also enlisted as an active duty soldier on April 15. Sungjong and Woohyun enlisted as public service workers on July 22 and October 24, respectively.

L's exclusive contract with Woollim Entertainment expired on August 18, 2019. He uploaded a handwritten letter the following day onto his Instagram explaining his decision to leave the company "in order to take on new challenges", and that he will continue to be a part of Infinite.

Sungkyu completed his military service on January 8, 2020, and held a small fan meeting following his discharge. On June 9, 2020, Sungkyu and L held a special V Live broadcast together to celebrate Infinite's 10th anniversary. Sungyeol officially completed his military service on October 27, 2020. Dongwoo officially completed his military service on November 15, 2020.

L enlisted into the Republic of Korea Marine Corps on February 22, 2021. Sungkyu left Woollim on March 6, with Dongwoo and Sungyeol also departing Woollim on March 31. Sungjong completed his military service on May 8, and subsequently renewed his contract with Woollim on June 7. Also on June 7, it was confirmed that Sungyeol had signed with Management 2sang, the same agency L is under.

On June 9, Sungkyu, Dongwoo, Sungyeol, and Sungjong gathered on V Live to celebrate Infinite's 11th anniversary. Sungkyu had signed with DoubleH TNE in June 14. Woohyun completed his military service on August 4, and continued under the management of Woollim Entertainment. The active members of Infinite reunited for a special Youtube variety show in celebration of Chuseok, which was uploaded in September. On October 1, it was announced that Dongwoo had signed with Big Boss Entertainment.

On January 24, 2022, it was announced that Sungjong's contract with Woollim Entertainment expired after he decided not to renew it, becoming a free agent. L was discharged from the military on August 21, thus completing Infinite's military service. On September 5, Sungjong signed an exclusive contract with SPK Entertainment. On October 7, it was announced that Woohyun's contract with Woollim Entertainment had expired after deciding not to renew it, thus becoming the final member of Infinite to leave the agency, although he will still participate in group activities.

Members

*Kim Sung-kyu - leader, main vocalist
* Jang Dong-woo – main rapper
* Nam Woo-hyun – main vocalist
* Lee Sung-yeol – vocalist
* L – vocalist
* Lee Sung-jong – vocalist

Former members

* Hoya – rapper, vocalist

Sub-units

*Infinite H – Hoya (former member), Dongwoo
* Infinite F – Lee Sungyeol, L, Lee Sungjong

Discography

Korean albums

* '' Over the Top'' (2011)
* ''Season 2'' (2014)
* '' Top Seed'' (2018)

Japanese albums

* ''Koi ni Ochiru Toki'' (2013)
* ''For You'' (2015)
* ''Air'' (2017)

Tours

Headlining

;World tours
* One Great Step (2013)
* INFINITE EFFECT (2015)

Filmography

Film

* ''Infinite Concert: Second Invasion Evolution the Movie 3D'' (2012)
* ''Grow: Infinite's Real Youth Life'' (2014)

Television series

* Tooniverse '' Wara Store'' (2011)

Television shows

* Mnet ''You're My Oppa'' (2010)
* Mnet ''Japan Days Of Infinite'' (2010)
* Mnet ''Sesame Player'' (2011)
* KBS ''Birth Of A Family'' (2012)
* Mnet ''Ranking King'' (2012)
* TrunQ Korea ''Infinite Busan Wish Travel'' (2012)
* Mnet ''10 Days In Japan Story'' (2013)
* Mnet ''This Is Infinite'' (2014)
* MBC Every1 ''Infinite's Showtime'' (2015-2016)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Infinite

K-pop music groups
Musical groups established in 2010
South Korean boy bands
South Korean dance music groups
Woollim Entertainment artists
Universal Music Japan artists
Japanese-language singers
Musical groups from Seoul
MAMA Award winners
Korean Music Award winners
Melon Music Award winners
2010 establishments in South Korea