Tony An

Tony An
Birth name An Seung-ho
Also known as Tony
Born June 7, 1978
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres K-pop, R&B, dance
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1996–present
Labels TN Entertainment
Associated acts SMTown, H.O.T., jtL, SMASH
Website Official Site
Stage name
Hangul 토니안
Revised Romanization Toni An
McCune–Reischauer Toni An
Birth name
Hangul 안승호
Hanja 安勝浩
Revised Romanization An Seung-ho
McCune–Reischauer An Sŭng-ho

Tony An (토니안) (born June 7, 1978) is a South Korean singer best known for being part of the popular K-pop boy band H.O.T..

After H.O.T. disbanded in 2001, its ex-members Tony An, Jang Woo-hyuk and Lee Jae-won formed the dance music trio jtL. Eventually, jtL unofficially disbanded as each member, including Tony, released their solo material.

Biography

He is the CEO of TN Entertainment, a music entertainment company; Skoolooks, a school uniform company; and Shinenihs, an undergarment company. Popular comedians Jeong Hyeong-don and Jo Hye-ryun were both part of TN Entertainment.[1][2]

In 1997, Tony was admitted to Dongguk University. He majored in stage performance and graduated in 2003.[3]

Career

Solo

Recently, Tony made his hair shorter like in his late H.O.T - JTL days and changed his genre to fast paced soft rock songs and gave a speech, telling about his views on his former H.O.T. members, and how he tried to contact them. He also released a music video title "Melody" featuring SAT from his special album, "Untold Story".

On April 28, 2008 Tony came back with a new special album entitled "Look Blank", with its principle song "Wallet". In September 2010, Tony completed his 2-year army duty and released a new song, "Going To Meet You Now". He released an EP titled 'Top Star' in February 2011 and after leaving as MC for the popular #1 Kpop chart show Mcountdown! in 2012 he released a single called "Beautiful girl" which also features Hyun Jun of SMASH.

jtL

Main article: jtL

When JTL was created, Tony was the lead vocal for the group and not just a back-up vocal and English rapper. H.O.T. fans had mixed feelings for jtL. Many of jtL's music videos were boycotted. However, things changed around when jtL held a 'Guerilla Concert' in front of 12,133 fans.[4]

Tn Entertainment

After Tony wanted to pursue a solo career during his jtL days, he created his own label, Tn Entertainment. Artists under this label are Tony and former Click-B member Yoo Ho-suk, going under the name "Evan", along with Jung Ju-ri, Shin Bong-sun and others. South Korean comedian and entertainer Jeong Hyeong-don was the member of this company.

TN Entertainment also debuted a boyband named SMASH, who released a PV for their debut song "비상[Emergency]" on August 14, 2008. Tony collaborated with SMASH in February 2012 with 'Get Your Swag On'. They promoted the song together on various live music shows.[5]

Personal life

In March 2013, Tony entered a relationship with South Korean group Girl's Day member, Hyeri as confirmed by both parties' agencies. The relationship attracted attention owing to the 16-year age gap between the two. After 8 months, the couple split due to busy work schedules.[6][7]

In November 2013, Tony was investigated for illegal online sports gambling alongside South Korean comedian Lee Soo Geun and South Korean entertainer Tak Jae Hoon. Reportedly, he gambled a total of 400,000,000 KRW (approximately $376,000 USD) between May 2009 and March 2012. He had his first hearing on December 6 and received a six-month prison sentence with one year probation on December 27.[8][9][10]

On February 13 2014 in light of Tony's illegal gambling incident, KBS revealed they had imposed a ban on all of H.O.T.'s songs and prevented his show appearances on their media outlets while MBC simultaneously announced a temporary ban on Tony's show appearances on their channels as well.[11][12]

Discography

jtL

Main article: jtL § Discography

Digital singles

Singles

Extended Plays

Top star

  • Released: April 4, 2011
  • Tracks:
  1. Top Star
  2. Thank U (Feat. Simon.D)
  3. Trouble Maker
  4. 변해 (Change)
  5. 지금 만나러 갑니다 (I'm Going To Meet You Now) (Junjaman Bottoms Up Remix)
  6. Top Star (Inst.)

Albums

Volume 1 - Believe

  • Released: October 19, 2004
  • Label: Yejeon Media
  • Tracks:
  1. Intro
  2. 사랑은 가질 수 없을 때 더 아름답다 (Love Is More Beautiful When You Can't Have It)
  3. Caught My Eye
  4. 부탁해... (I Request)
  5. 혼자 남겨지는건... (Being Left Alone)
  6. Round And Round
  7. Blue Sky
  8. Somewhere Someone
  9. TKO Skit
  10. She Is The One (ft. Seven(Da Crew), Hyunmoo(Trespass) & TKO)
  11. 어떻게 내가 (How Can I) (feat. Kim Jo Han)
  12. Up Front
  13. 사랑은 가질 수 없을 때 더 아름답다 (Love Is More Beautiful When You Can't Have It) (Instrumental)

Volume 2 - Yutzpracachia's Love

  • Released: April 14, 2006
  • Label: TN Entertainment
  • Tracks:
  1. 유추프라카치아 (Yutzpracachia's Love)
  2. Yutzpracachia
  3. Aisha
  4. 기억해... 사랑해... (I Remember You... I Love You...)
  5. I Am Sad (Matsunaga Mastering Version)
  6. Lady, Enough To cry
  7. Player
  8. 함께 있어 좋은 사람 (Someone I Like Because We're Together) (ft. May)
  9. 어디선가 나의 노랠 듣고 있을 (To You, Who's Probably Somewhere Listening to My Song)
  10. Automatic
  11. 그녀 내게 걸어오네 (She's Walking to Me)
  12. 내 안에 그녈 기다리며 (Waiting For Her In Me)
  13. 촌스럽게 (Matsunaga Mastering Version)
  14. I Am Sad (Instrumental Version)

Fan club

References

  1. ↑ "Entry on Nate.com". Nate. Archived from the original on 2014-02-05.
  2. ↑ "Artist Profile on KBS". KBS. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  3. ↑ Cho, Hyeji (2012-11-05). 가수 토니 안 동문, 모교 찾아 후배 격려 (in Korean). Dongguk University. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  4. ↑ "Artist Profile on KBS World". KBS. Archived from the original on 2007-01-14.
  5. ↑ Sunwoo, Carla (2012-04-10). "Tony An wraps up performing with his boy band". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  6. ↑ "[Breaking] Tony An (H.O.T) and Girl's Day's Hyeri reported to be dating". allkpop. 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  7. ↑ "Girl's Day's Hyeri & Tony An revealed to have broken up". allkpop. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  8. ↑ "Celebrities Indicted for Illegal Gambling (Tony Ahn, Lee Soo Geun, Andy, and More) Receive Their Sentences". soompi. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  9. ↑ "Tony Ahn, Lee Soo-geun, & Tak Jae-hoon To Have First Hearing Dec. 6th". KBS. 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  10. ↑ "Tony An, Lee Soo Geun, and Tak Jae Hoon receive suspended 6 month prison sentence for illegal gambling". allkpop. 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  11. ↑ "KBS to no longer broadcast any of H.O.T's songs due to Tony An's gambling controversy". allkpop. 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  12. ↑ "'도박' 이수근·탁재훈·토니·붐·앤디, MBC 출연금지" (in Korean). Star News. 2014-02-11. Retrieved 2014-10-31.

External links