Urban Zakapa

Urban Zakapa
Origin Seoul
Genres R&B, ballad, K-pop
Years active 2009—present
Labels Fluxus Music
Website www.urbanzakapa.com
Members
  • Park Yong-in (박용인)
  • Jo Hyun-a (조현아)
  • Kwon Sun-il (권순일)
Past members
  • Choi Jae-man
  • Yoon Ji-min
  • Choi Yoon-jeong
  • Lee Ji-ho
  • Baek Ha Hyeong Ki
  • Han Tae-young[1]

Urban Zakapa (Hangul:어반자카파) is a South Korean R&B singer-songwriter group formed in 2009 by Fluxus Music. Originally a 9-member group, in 2012 they became a trio, consisting of Park Yong-in, Jo Hyun-a and Kwon Sun-il. The group's name is an acronym for Urban+Zappy+Kaleidoscopic+Passionate.[2]

Background

Originally the group debuted in 2009 as a nine-piece with four vocalists and five instrumentalists with the song "Café Latte (커피를 마시고)",[1] now there are only three vocalists because of different opinions of their music. Kwon Sun-il and his childhood friends, Jo Hyun-a and Park Yong-in write, compose and produce all of their own music.

Kwon won 1st place (singer) at S.M. Entertainment's first SM Youth Best contest[3] and was a former SM Entertainment trainee with Super Junior and TVXQ.[4] Park was part of the Korean R&B/Soul group Bluewind Soul with Han Won-jong, SG Wannabe's Lee Suk-hoon and others. Jo, the only female member of the group, was the vocalist of the hip-hop crew Overclass.

Career

After releasing their first two EPs (Coffee, Sweety You) in 2009, the group released their first studio album titled 01 in 2011.[5] In the same year, they released the single "Just A Feeling" which debuted at #59 on the Gaon Singles Chart[6] and on December 6, they also released "Snowing" which debuted at #32.[7]

Their third EP, Beautiful Day was released on April 3, 2012, and marks as the group's first album as a trio.[8] "Beautiful Day" debuted at #41 on the charts. Months later, the group released their second studio album on October 30, titled 02. "I Hate You (니가 싫어)" was released on September 5[9] as a single and debuted at #10 on the charts, but was re-released with the album as its lead single. The album also had two other pre-released tracks, "River" and "All the Same (똑같은 사랑 똑같은 이별)". Both songs charted. 02 topped the Gaon Album Chart in its first week,[10] and in January 2013, the album was nominated for Best R&B and Soul album at the 10th Korean Music Awards.[11] "I Hate You (니가 싫어)" also earned the group two nominations at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards, one for Song of the Year and another for Best Vocal Performance by a Group.[12]

On February 12, 2013, Park and Kwon sang "Love Afternoon (사랑오후)" for the soundtrack of the KBS2 drama, Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek.[13] In April, the group also released "Just a Little Bit (그냥 조금)" for the soundtrack of the tvN drama, Nine: Nine Time Travels.[14] On December 3, the group released their 3rd studio album, 03. The album debuted at #11 on the Gaon Album Chart[15] while its lead single, "Walk Backwards (거꾸로 걷는다)" debuted at #8 on the Gaon Singles Chart when it was released on October 23.[16]

In 2014, Urban Zakapa made a comeback with the single "Like a Bird" on May 18.[17] Park and Kwon also collaborated with SISTAR's Soyou for the single "The Space Between (틈)". The song was released on September 26[18] and a day after, it was certified an all-kill by Instiz, topping both the daily and real time charts of all South Korean music portals.[19] It debuted at #3 on the Gaon Singles Chart.[20] On November 4, the group released their fourth album, 04, with the lead single, "Consolation" which also had its music video uploaded on the same day of the album's release. Urban Zakapa held their concert tour, Winter from November 22 until the end of 2014 in Seoul, Incheon, Daegu, Busan, Kwangju, Changwon, Seongnam, and Suwon.[21]

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays

Awards and nominations

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Year Organization Category Nominated Work Result
2012 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards Song of the Year "I Hate You" Nominated
Best Vocal Performance by a Group Nominated
2013 10th Korean Music Awards Best R&B and Soul album 02 Nominated

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "K-Indie Gem: Urban Zakapa". seoulbeats. September 23, 2011. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  2. ↑ "Urban Zakapa-Korean Singer-songwriter Association".
  3. ↑ "KYAA~ Urban Zakapa (Part 1)". go kpop. June 16, 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  4. ↑ "Urban Zakapa’s Kwon Soonil was almost a member of Super Junior". ohkpop. November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  5. ↑ "Urban Zakapa stirs hearts with "The Spring Picture" MV". Allkpop. November 8, 2011. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  6. ↑ South Korea's Gaon Singles Chart (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (August 2011). Archived on October 16, 2014. Retrieved on November 4, 2014.
  7. ↑ South Korea's Gaon Singles Chart (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (December 2011). Archived on October 16, 2014. Retrieved on November 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Urban Zakapa releases the music video for "Beautiful Day"". Allkpop. April 4, 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  9. ↑ "01". iTunes. September 5, 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  10. ↑ South Korea's Gaon Album Chart from October 28 to November 3, 2012 (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (October-November 2012). Archived on November 4, 2014. Retrieved on November 4, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Nominees for the 10th Korean Music Awards Announced". Korean Indie. January 29, 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  12. ↑ "Winners from the '2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards'". Allkpop. November 30, 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  13. ↑ "Urban Zakapa create first subunit for 'Ad Genius Lee Tae Baek' OST". Allkpop. February 25, 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  14. ↑ "Urban Zakapa Releases MV for “Just a Little” from “Nine” OST". Soompi. April 17, 2013. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  15. ↑ South Korea's Gaon Album Chart from December 1 to December 7, 2013 (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (December 2013). Archived on November 4, 2014. Retrieved on November 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ South Korea's Gaon Singles Chart from October 20 to October 26, 2013 (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (October-November 2013). Archived on September 3, 2014. Retrieved on November 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Urban Zakapa sings of early summer freshness in 'Like a Bird'". Allkpop. May 18, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  18. ↑ "Soyu and Urban Zakapa sing about 'The Space Between' in MV teaser starring Ahn Jae Hyun and Nam Bo Ra". Allkpop. September 22, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  19. ↑ "Instiz certifies Soyu and Urban Zakapa's 'The Space Between' as an all-kill". Allkpop. September 27, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-07.
  20. ↑ South Korea's Gaon Album Chart from September 21 to September 27, 2013 (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (December 2013). Archived on October 10, 2014. Retrieved on November 4, 2014.
  21. ↑ Hong, Grace Danbi (November 4, 2014). "[Video] Urban Zakapa Sings Words of ‘Consolation’ with 4th Album Release". M Wave. Retrieved 2014-11-05.

External links