H.O.T.
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| H.O.T. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin | South Korea | |
| Genre(s) | Pop, dance, bubblegum, Hip Hop | |
| Years active | 1996 - 2001 | |
| Label(s) | SM Entertainment | |
| Website | H.O.T. official web site (Korean) | |
| Members | ||
| Lee Jae Won Ahn Chil Hyun An Seung Ho Moon Hee Jun Jang Woo Hyuk |
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H.O.T. was a popular five-member K-pop boy band of more or less the late nineties. A five member boy band group who played various instruments, they enjoyed massive success alongside the likes of Sechs Kies, Fin. K.L., S.E.S. and Shinhwa. Like many Korean bands, their name is an acronym - H.O.T. standing for "High-five Of Teenagers". They were formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2001. Now all the members are pursuing solo careers, and have released at least one solo album.
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[edit] Members
- Kangta (Real name Ahn Chil Hyun, 안칠현; 安七炫) - backup rapper, Lead Vocal ; Candy Number/Color: 27 / Green. The vast majority of H.O.T.'s refrains are sung by Kangta; he has arguably the best singing voice. He is a decent rapper, but the weakest of the five, though he can be heard rapping in one or two of H.O.T's well known songs. He is also known for his boy next door good looks especially during the earlier days of H.O.T.
- Moon Hee Jun (문희준; 文熙俊) - Rapper, Leader and Singer ; Candy Number/Color: 23 / Yellow. A decent singer and wicked dancer, Hee Jun is best known for his boyish good looks, his over-the-top hairstyles, and his penchant for Freddy Krueger-style razor-clawed gloves.
- Tony An (korean name An Seung Ho, 안승호; 安勝浩) - Rapper, Singer and Backup ; Candy Number/Color: 07 / Red. Tony performs most of the English rap lyrics as well. Although he mostly raps, he also sings the main parts of certain songs. He has a reptuation of being cute during the earlier days of H.O.T. He graduated from a high school in California.
- Jang Woo Hyuk (장우혁; 張佑赫) - Lead Korean Rapper; Candy Number/Color: 35 / Blue. The most talented rapper of the five, with an abrasive delivery inspired by American hip-hop artists. Along with Hee Jun, he is among H.O.T's best dancers. Most of the time that he raps, he is known to scream out the lyrics in most of their songs.
- Lee Jae Won (이재원; 李在元) - Korean Rapper and Backup singer; Candy Number/Color: 48 / Orange. Jae Won is the youngest of the members. His's rap style is smooth and subtle, sometimes delivered almost at a whisper. He is also a relatively good dancer [1], though he didn't receive as much recognition in his dancing as Hee Jun or Woo Hyuk. Though Jae Won is both a singer and a rapper of the group, he is stronger in rapping and raps more than he sings in H.O.T. Jae Won is also recognized for his height compared to the other band members, his spiky hair, and his good looks.
[edit] History
H.O.T. was formed by producer Lee Soo Man of SM Entertainment. Their songs are a mixture of rap, Backstreet Boys-esque ballads, dance, and by 1999 Rock, with singer Kangta providing most of the ballad vocals.
The first member to join was Ahn Chil Hyun aka Kangta, while hanging around Lotte World. The manager saw him dancing and singing, and was impressed. Second was Moon Hee Jun, after auditioning, he got in. Hee Jun then offered his friend, Lee Jae Won to audition, and Jae Won got in. Then the fourth to join was Woo Hyuk, after winning first place in a dancing contest. He was asked to try out and became the fourth member to join. SM Entertainment traveled to LA to hold auditions, and Tony An and his close friend Andy Lee got in. But later Andy's parents withdrew support, and Andy dropped out of H.O.T and in 1998, joined Shinhwa.
While they were remembered as simply as a boy band aimed at teenage girls, the members made a fair amount of contribution to their albums by writing and composing their own songs. By the release of their third album Resurrection, they had written most of their own lyrics. For their last two albums, I yah! and Outside Castle, they also began to compose the music for most of their songs.
The members, Moon Hee Jun and Jang Woo Hyuk in particular, also choreographed all their dance moves to their songs, adding an exciting dimension to the band's music videos.
They were the first K-pop group to ever hold a concert in the Seoul Olympic Stadium because of the magnitude of their fanbase. Because of their popularity, they were seen frequently in advertisements. At one point, they even had their own soda brand with a catch phrase "I only drink H.O.T."
H.O.T also got the image if being angels after their release of their anime music video for their song Promise of H.O.T [2][3]
Shortly before their disbandment, they starred in a Space Jam-like movie Age of Peace, to which they also released a soundtrack consisting of trance & 2 vocal songs. Age of Peace was showcased in Japan while they were promoting their fourth album. Everything in the film except for the five members were computerized. They produced a soundtrack for this film as well. They won numerous awards from KMTV, and various popular music shows in Korea.
As expected from teen idols, H.O.T. maintained a squeaky-clean image, avoiding things South Korea wouldn't tolerate from singers such as avoiding military time (or skipping the country to do so), dropouts, battery, obscinity, arrest, drugs, etc.
They maintained a friendly rivalry with other K-pop bands such as Shinhwa and Sechs Kies, and were close friends with Kim Hwan-Sung of N.R.G., who died tragically from pneumonia a week or two shy of his 20th birthday. Kang Ta, especially, was heartbroken by his friend's death. When NRG released their album after Kim Hwan-Sung's death, Kang Ta wrote the main track of their album.
[edit] Disbandment and post-H.O.T.
H.O.T. disbanded in May of 2001. As H.O.T.'s neared the end of their contracts with SM Entertainment, it was rumored that financial issues caused the group to split. However, because the real reasons for the breakup were never officially released to the public, financial contract issues still remain as an unverified rumor to this day.
After the split, Kang Ta and Moon Hee Jun were offered lucrative contracts to SM Entertainment as solo artists and released moderately successful albums. While Kang Ta's music was usually mainstream soul or R&B, Moon Hee Jun in the beginning, like Kangta, started with the mainstream R&B, but later attempted to establish a rock music career. However, Hee Jun was overshadowed by his teen idol image and was met with harsh criticism.
The remaining members, Jang Woo Hyuk, Tony An, and Lee Jae Won, formed a three-member group called JTL under another label, and sold moderately successful albums.
Later, Jang Woo Hyuk and a partner created their own dance company with Woo Hyuk leading his own team and school named "Newest".
A few years after forming JTL, Tony An released a solo album, created his own entertainment company, Tn Entertainment, and a successful school uniforms company, Skoolooks.
In 2005, Moon Hee Jun left SM Entertainment, creating his own company, PS Entertainment, and releasing one album. Later that year, Hee Jun headed off to military service, a duty required for every male Korean citizen.
Lee Jae Won also left SM Entertainment, and on April 4th, 2005, he released his first post-H.O.T album, "No Pain, No Gain".
On September 12 2005, Jang Woo Hyuk released his first solo album No More Drama, performing with the renowned American hip-hop group Elite Force, who was also a former dance team for Will Smith. Woo Hyuk was the last member to release a solo album, and he earned a reputation as "The Prince of Dance Music".
In late 2006, Tony An also went off to military service.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] Singles
- Warrior's Descendants 1996
- Candy 1996
- Wolf And Sheep 1997
- Free to Fly 1997
- Full Of Happiness 1997
- We Are The Future 1997: The promo video for this song earned an American MTV Video Award for Best International Video in 1998.
- Line Up 1998
- Hope 1998
- I yah! 1999
- Git It Up 1999
- It's Been Raining Since You Left Me 1999
- Outside Castle/A Castle Outsider 2000
- We Can Do It 2000
[edit] Companies and studios owned by H.O.T members
- PS Studio: Moon Hee Jun
- PS Entertainment: Moon Hee Jun
- Tn Entertainment: Tony An
- Skoolooks: Tony An
- Shineinhs: Tony An
- T.I. Story: Lee Jae Won
- Newest Academy: Jang Woo Hyuk
- Kt Studio: KangTa
- Sm Entertainment (Shareholder): KangTa
[edit] The fans
The fan club of H.O.T. are known as Forever The White Angels. H.O.T was the first group with their own "fan color". Later, other Korean music groups and singers followed this trend. Even after H.O.T.'s disbandment, the fans use the white balloons to cheer for its former members. While its odds of its reunion remain unclear if not bleak, the fans still hope to see the former members as one again, although it has been five years since its disbandment.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Album # | Album cover | Title of release | Date of release | Tracklist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | We Hate All Kinds of Violence | 1996 |
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| 2nd | Wolf and Sheep | 1997 |
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| 3rd | Resurrection | 1998 |
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| 4th | Iyah! | 1999 |
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| 5th | Outside Castle | 2001 |
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| SM Entertainment | Kiss in Xmass, & Various other albums produced by SM Entertainment | 2001 | ||
| Greatest Hits | Age Of Peace OST | 2001 |
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