F(x) (band)

f(x)
f(x)'s Teaser image for their second album, "Pink Tape". From left to right: Amber, Krystal, Sulli, Victoria and Luna.
Background information
Also known as	에프엑스
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	Pop, K-pop, electropop, dance-pop
Years active	2009–present
Labels	S.M. Entertainment (South Korea) Avex (Japan)[1] Avex Taiwan (Taiwan-R.O.C.) United Asia Management
Associated acts	SM Town
Website	fx.smtown.com fx-jp.jp
Members	Victoria Amber Luna Sulli Krystal

Korean name
Hangul	에프엑스
Revised Romanization	Epeuekseu
McCune–Reischauer	Epŭeksŭ

f(x) (/ˌɛf ˈɛks/; Korean: 에프엑스, rom. epeuekseu) is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2009. The quintet consists of Victoria, Amber, Luna, Sulli, and Krystal. The group made their debut on September 5, 2009, with release of the digital single "LA chA TA". f(x) released their first EP Nu ABO in 2010 to growing popularity. Afterwhich in 2011, they released their first studio album Pinocchio. The lead single off the album "Pinocchio (Danger)" gained their first music program win and was their first song to win the triple crown, which led to its first repackaged album "Hot Summer.

Their second EP Electric Shock was released June 10, 2012. Electric Shock reached the number one spot on both the US and Canadian iTunes electronic albums chart soon after its release.^[2] The lead single off their EP gained significant popularity and acclaim, domestically sweeping digital charts.^[3]

Later March 2013, f(x) gets the honor of being the first Kpop group to perform at 2013 SXSW South By Southwest on March.^[4] Their second album, Pink Tape, released July 29, received critical accalaim & huge success, being described "experimental, steeped in quirky, boundary-pushing electronic sounds with woozy harmonies", thus being the only Kpop album released in 2013 to be ranked as "The Best 40 Albums of 2013", by Fuse TV, an American music channel.^[5] Rum Pum Pum Pum marks f(x)'s first lead single to sweep all 9 Korean charts soon after its release.^[6]

History

Casting and pre-debut

Krystal Jung was first spotted by S.M. Entertainment in 2000 on a family visit to Korea, which earned her a small role in Shinhwa's "Wedding March (Neoui Gyeoteseo 2)" (너의 곁에서 2) music video. Sulli debuted as a child actress in 2005 when she was selected to play young Princess Sun-hwa in the SBS television drama, The Ballad of Seo-dong.^[7] In 2006, the agency recruited Luna after seeing her perform on the television program Truth Game.^[8] Victoria was spotted by one of S.M. Entertainment's agents at a Beijing dance competition in September 2007, and later joined the company. Two months later, Amber was cast through S.M. Global Auditions in Los Angeles, California, where she was one of two selected to become trainees.

2009: Debut, LAchATA, first promotional single & Chu~♡

f(x) was introduced as "Asia's Pop Dance Group" through a YouTube video teaser released on August 24, 2009. For five days, S.M. revealed information about the group through news portals and posted photos of each member on their official website. Their debut single, "LA chA TA", was released on September 1, 2009. Following their first performance at the Samseong-dong Fashion Center on September 2, 2009, the music video for the single was screened and released online the next day. The group's first broadcast performance of "LA chA TA" was held on the Septermber 5, 2009 broadcast of MBC's Show! Music Core.

In October, f(x) promoted the LG Chocolate cellphone alongside label mates Girls' Generation.^[9] Both groups released their own rendition of the song "Chocolate Love", with f(x)'s being an electro-pop version, on October 8, 2009. The group released their first physical single, "Chu~♡", on November 9, 2009, and a month later they appeared as special guests at Girls' Generation's Into the New World concert held at the Olympic Fencing Gymnasium on December 19 and 20, 2009.

2010: Lollipop and First EP, NU ABO

In January 2010, f(x) collaborated with Chinese boy band M.I.C. to promote the LG Cyon cellphone. They released a Chinese cover of "Lollipop", written by Julius Dixson and Beverly Ross, on January 2, 2010. The group released their first extended play, Nu ABO, on May 4, 2010. Consisting of six tracks, the lead single "Nu ABO" topped various online music portal charts in Korea,^[10] and also become one of the Gaon Chart's weekly number-one singles. The group held their first performance of the song on KBS's Music Bank on May 7, 2010.^[11]

Amber went on hiatus in June due to an ankle injury, with remaining group activities of the year carried out without her. The group began performing "Mr. Boogie", from Nu ABO, on music shows starting on July 17, 2010. f(x) participated in the SMTown Live '10 World Tour on August 21, 2010, at the Seoul Jamsil Olympic Stadium. They also performed in Tokyo, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Paris on later dates.^[12] This marks the first time f(x) and their fellow label mates have performed outside of Asia. Avex Entertainment and SM Entertainment Japan released a statement about the renewal of the contracts of S.M. artists who were signed to the label on November 24, 2010. It stated that f(x) is now signed to Avex, and their albums will be released under the label in Japan, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong.^[1]

2011: First full-length album, Pinocchio & first music program win

In early 2011, it was announced by S.M. Entertainment that f(x) were planning to release a studio album in the first half of the year.^[13] Their member Amber had returned from the U.S. after her hiatus as well. The first teaser photo for their full-length studio album Pinocchio was released on April 7, 2011. The music video teaser for their lead single "Pinocchio (Danger)", a remake of Kristine Elezaj's "Razor",^[14] was released on April 15, 2011. The album was released on April 20, 2011, and the group held their performance of the single on the April 22, 2011 broadcast of KBS's Music Bank. f(x) achieved eight wins with "Pinocchio (Danger)" on various music shows.

First repackaged album: Hot Summer & first English single

The group re-released their first full length album on June 14, 2011, under the title Hot Summer. The album came with the eleven original songs and the new track "Hot Summer", a remake of a Monrose song written by Thomas Troelsen and Remee,^[14] and their previous digital singles "La Cha Ta", "Chu~♥" and "Is It Ok?".^[15] In August 2011, f(x) released an OST song called "Garagabana" for the online game Bust-a-Move,^[16] and in December 2011, they released an English song entitled "1, 2, 3" as part of the 2011 Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift album.^[17]

2012: Second EP, Electric Shock & Japanese debut

	Electric Shock A sample of f(x)'s "Electric Shock"
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f(x) released their second EP titled Electric Shock on June 10, 2012,^[18] after releasing a series of teaser images and a music teaser.^[19] f(x) began promotions for "Electric Shock" starting on M! Countdown on June 14, 2012, where they also performed "Jet" as part of the special comeback stage. f(x) ended their promotions on July 15, 2012 achieving 9 musical wins, and began preparing for their Japanese debut. They released a Japanese remake of "Hot Summer" in mid-August, which was also selected as the commercial background song for Uminoie Resort.^[20]

At the press conference for 10th Annual Korean Music Awards on January 29, 2013, it was announced that the songs "Electric Shock" and "Jet", both from their Electric Shock EP were nominated for Best Dance and Electronic Song. In regards to the two songs being nominated in the same category, a representative of the KMAs stated, "This is due to the corresponding songs having excellent music reviews and rather than disregarding them because it is from the same artist, we chose to recognize their excellence".^[21][22]

2013: First Kpop group to perform at SXSW, Second full-length album Pink Tape

On March 6 Sulli hinted on her me2day about f(x)'s comeback.^[23][24] f(x) performed at the 2013 SXSW South By Southwest festival held in Austin, Texas from March 8 to March 17, 2013, being the first K-pop artist to perform at the event.^[25] fuse listed f(x) as one of the "30 Must-See Acts at SXSW 2013."^[26][27] While in the U.S. f(x) flew to Los Angeles from SXSW to practice choreography for their second album with Kevin Maher. Maher and Amber later tweeted pictures of them rehearsing. Maher's dance assistant Sohey Sugihara also posted two pictures of him and Maher with f(x) on Instagram.^[28] On their last day in the U.S. the group filmed a Funny or Die sketch with Anna Kendrick.^[29]

In late May 2013 a S.M. representative said that, "A comeback during this first half of the year appears difficult for f(x). We are at the peak of album production for a comeback during the second half of the year." f(x) are expected to release their second album in late July. They recently performed at the 2013 Hong Kong Dome Festival on July 1, with new hairstyles. On July 17, 2013, f(x) released a promotional video trailer for their second full-length album Pink Tape, which was released on July 29, 2013, coming up with eleven original tracks and Rum Pum Pum Pum as their lead single.

On December 2013, an influential American Music Channel Fuse chose Pink Tape as one of the only K-POP albums for ‘The 41 Best Albums of 2013’. Also, Rum Pum Pum Pum ranked #3 on Billboard's "20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2013".

Members

Stage name		Full name		Date of birth
Name	Hangul	Romanized	Hangul/Hanja
Victoria	빅토리아	Song Qian	송치엔/宋茜	(1987-02-02) February 2, 1987[30]
Amber	엠버	Amber Josephine Liu	유일운/劉逸雲	(1992-09-18) September 18, 1992[31]
Luna	루나	Park Sun-Young	박선영/朴善英	(1993-08-12) August 12, 1993[32]
Sulli	설리	Choi Jin-Ri	최진리/崔雪莉	(1994-03-29) March 29, 1994[33]
Krystal	크리스탈	Jung Soo-Jung/Krystal Jung	정수정/鄭秀晶	(1994-10-24) October 24, 1994[34]

Imagery and Artistry

Musical Style & Choreography

	Electric Shock A sample of f(x)'s "Electric Shock"
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f(x) is known for demonstrating challenging dance moves, thus SHINee's Jonghyun complemented that their first singles' choreography (such as LAchATA, Chu~♡ and NU ABO) were "legendary hard & epic". Later in singles like Pinocchio (Danger), Hot Summer, and Electric Shock, choreography were simplified. Rum Pum Pum Pum marks f(x)'s easiest choreographed song. f(x) is also praised for their consistency in their electronic music.

Artistry

f(x) is known for being multi-national, thus leader Victoria and member Amber are of Chinese descent (although Amber is American), members Luna and Sulli of Korean descent and Krystal of Korean-American descent. Leader Victoria is known for her dancing skills and flexibility, most notably in LAchATA, Chu~♡ and NU ABO, being assigned as the main dancer. Member Amber is known for her raps in singles, with exception of Electric Shock, and lyric composition of their second album's single "Goodbye Summer" thus being the main rapper and sub-vocalist. Member Luna is known for her vocal skills and high notes, demonstrating in singles like "Nu ABO", "Jet" and "Pinocchio" being the main vocalist. Member Sulli is known for her beauty, and a skill in rapping, being the image and sub-rapper. Sulli is also known in the field of acting (since she debuted as a child actress at the age of 11 with The Ballad of Seo-dong), being the tallest and first who debut among all f(x) members. Her high notes is also demonstrated in singles like Electric Shock and Airplane (a single from Pink Tape). Member Krystal is known for her singing skills, and being the sister of Girls' Generation's Jessica.

Discography

Studio albums

• Pinocchio (2011)
• Pink Tape (2013)

EPs

• Nu ABO (2010)
• Electric Shock (2012)

Concert tours

SMTown

• SMTown Live '10 World Tour
• SMTown Live '12 World Tour

Supporting act

• Girls' Generation The 1st Asia Tour: Into the New World
• Super Junior The 3rd Asia Tour: Super Show 3
• Shinee The 1st Concert: Shinee World
• Super Junior The World Tour: Super Show 4

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Notes	Role
2012	"I AM."	Documentary of SMTown Live '11 World Tour in New York	As themselves

Television series

Year	Title	Notes
2010	Hello f(x)	f(x) travel to Africa, Thailand, and Japan.
2010–11	f(x)'s Koala	Amber didn't participate in the series due to an ankle injury.
2010–present	Star King	Members have recurring roles on the show.
2013	Amazing f(x)	f(x) travel to New Zealand to complete their bucket lists.
2013	Go! f(x)	The show highlights f(x)'s trip to Austin, LA, and Hollywood.

See also

• f(x) filmography
• f(x) videography
• List of awards and nominations received by f(x)
• List of f(x) endorsements

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to F(x) (band).

• f(x)'s official Korean website
• f(x)'s official Chinese website (Avex Taiwan)
• f(x)'s official Japanese website
• f(x) on Facebook
• f(x) on YouTube
• Korea Tourism Organization: f(x)

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Girls' Generation	Korean Music Awards: Group Musician of the Year 2011	Succeeded by Infinite
Preceded by Miss A	14th Mnet Asian Music Awards - Best Female Dance Performance 2012	Succeeded by Incumbent

v t e f(x) Victoria Amber Luna Sulli Krystal Studio albums Pinocchio Pink Tape EPs Nu ABO Electric Shock Reality shows Hello f(x) f(x)'s Koala Amazing f(x) Go! f(x) Affiliated tours SMTown Live '10 World Tour SMTown Live '12 World Tour Festival concerts SM Town Week - "Christmas Wonderland" Related topics Discography (songs) Awards and nominations Filmography Videography Endorsements SM Town SM Entertainment Category Website: fx.smtown.com

v t e f(x) songs Discography List of songs Korean Nu ABO "Nu ABO" "Mr. Boogie" "Ice Cream" "ME+U" Pinocchio "Pinocchio (Danger)" "Gangsta Boy" "Lollipop" (feat. Shinee) Hot Summer "La Cha Ta" "Chu~♡" "...Is It OK?" "Hot Summer" Electric Shock "Electric Shock" "Jet" "Zig Zag" "Beautiful Stranger" Pink Tape "Rum Pum Pum Pum" "Shadow" "Step" "Goodbye Summer" (feat. D.O.) "Airplane" "No More" Other songs "Thrill Love" "Chocolate Love" "Oops!" (with Super Junior) Japanese "Hot Summer" Chinese "Lollipop" (with M.I.C) English "1, 2, 3"

v t e S.M. Entertainment Executives Lee Soo-man (chairman) Studio artists Yoo Young-jin Kenzie Kangta Misfit Shim Jaewon Rino Nakasone Razalan Song Kwang-sik Recording Artists Solo BoA Chu Ga-yeoul Henry Iconiq J-Min Kangta Zhang Liyin Duo/Group Exo f(x) Girls' Generation The Grace Shinee Super Junior TRAX TVXQ Sub-group Exo-K Exo-M Girls' Generation-TTS The Grace-Dana & Sunday SJ-Happy SJ-K.R.Y. SJ-M SJ-T SJ-Donghae & Eunhyuk Special unit Kangta & Vanness M&D SM the Ballad SM The Performance SM Town Younique Unit Former The Blue Black Beat Fly to the Sky H.O.T. Han Geng Isak N Jiyeon Kim Jaejoong Kim Junsu M.I.L.K nadia Park Yoochun S S.E.S. Shinhwa Shinvi Actors Go Ara Kim Ian Kim Kibum Kim Min-jong Lee Jae-ryong Lee Yeon-hee Park Heebon Yoo Ho-jeong Yoon Da-hoon SM C&C Woollim Label Solo Baby Soul Jisun Sungkyu Yoo Jia Yoo Jiae Duo/Group Infinite Nell Tasty Subgroup Infinite H Actors Baek Hyun Gong Hyung-jin Han Chae-young Jang Dong-gun Jo Min-seong Jung So-min Kang Ye-won Kim Ha-neul Kim Shi-hoo Kim Su-ro Lee Chae-won Moon Ga-young Song Jae-rim Yoon So-hee MC Hong Rocky Jang Dong-hyuk Jun Hyun-moo Kang Ho-dong Kim Byung-man Kim Kyung-sik Lee Dong-woo Lee Soo-geun Ryu Dam Shin Dong-yup Model Kim Mi-jung Concert tours SMTown Live '08 SMTown Live '10 World Tour SMTown Live World Tour III SM Town Week Discography Category Website Korea Japan