Winner (band)

WINNER
Background information
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres K-pop
Years active 2014 (2014)–present
Labels YG Entertainment
Associated acts
Website yg-winner.co.kr
Members

Winner (Korean: 위너; stylized as WINNER) is a South Korean idol group formed in 2014 by YG Entertainment. The group's five members are Kang Seung-yoon, Song Mino, Lee Seunghoon. Kim Jin Woo and Nam Tae Hyun

The group was first introduced in the reality survival program called "Who is Next: WIN" as "Team A." Team A and their adversaries Team B (now known as iKon) were both formed from trainees within YG Entertainment. The teams competed against each other in order to debut as the first YG boy K-Pop group in eight years, after Big Bang. At the conclusion of the program the title of "WINNER" was given to Team A after they won all three rounds of public voting.[1]

After several delays, the group made their Korean debut on August 15 at YG Family Concert and following their broadcast debut on August 17 with their first official stage on Inkigayo. On September 10, the group debuted in Japan.[2] Their debut is considered one of the best K-pop debuts of 2014.[3]

History

Pre-debut

Prior to the group's debut, the leader Kang Seung-yoon was a former Superstar K2 contestant who reached the final four. He decided to sign with YG Entertainment in 2011.[4] In the same year, he made his acting debut in the sitcom High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged.[5] In 2013, he had made a solo debut releasing multiple tracks notably "It Rains" which achieved an all-kill.[6]

Lee Seunghoon, the group's main dancer, was also a former reality-show singing contestant. He was a contestant in K-Pop Star Season 1 where he came in fourth place. Yang Hyun-suk recruited Seunghoon.[7] On May 16, YG Entertainment announced they had signed an exclusive contract with Seunghoon.[8] Like Seung-yoon, Seunghoon returned to trainee status under the company.

Song Minho started out underground under the stage name "Mino" or "Hugeboy Mino" with other underground rappers-turned-idols, namely Block B’s Zico, Kyung, P.O and SPEED's Taewoon. Minho was initially a trainee intended for the male group Block B, but left the group before debut for personal reasons.[9] In 2011, he made his debut as a rapper with the ballad group BoM under Y2Y Contents Company, however the group was disbanded two years later. In 2013, he was recruited into YG Entertainment through private auditions after being recognized from his acting debut in the March 2012 cable drama The Strongest K-POP Survival in Channel A.[10]

Kim Jinwoo attended "Joy Dance – Plug In Music Academy". Seungri brought Jinwoo to YG Entertainment after seeing his potential and he was eventually accepted as a trainee in 2010.[11] Jinwoo and Nam Taehyun – who was recruited in 2011 through a private audition – performed as backup dancers at the 2011 YG Family Concert.

2013-2014: Debut and breakthrough success

As a result of "Team A"'s win on the reality show "YG's Win: Who Is Next" finale on October 25, 2013, the members were promised a debut as 'Winner' under YG Entertainment. At the conclusion of the show it was announced that Winner, along with Team B, would immediately release two self composed songs each on October 28 and then Winner would go on tour with Big Bang. Winner opened for their Japanese dome tour starting November 15.[12] On November 9, 2013, Big Bang's Taeyang released his "Ringa Linga" music video which featured Winner as backup dancers.[13]

Winner's "road to debut" in both Korea and Japan was broadcast in the form of a reality show entitled WINNER TV that began airing on December 13 on Mnet for ten episodes.[14] At the conclusion of the show and before the debut of the group, two members Kang Seung-yoon and Mino participated in a collaborative track for Yoon Jong Shin's March project.[15] From June–August 2014, the group was re-introduced to the public through a series of teaser images and videos.[16][17][18][19] Winner official debuted in a showcase on August 6. Their debut album, 2014 S/S, was released digitally on August 12 and physically on August 14. Winner's official debut stage was on Inkigayo on August 17,[20][21] and the group's official fan club was named "Inner Circle".[22][23]

Following their album release, two music videos were uploaded on their official YouTube account for their alternative rock title track, "Color Ring," and the mid-tempo hiphop track "Empty," with the latter surpassing one million views in less than 24 hours.[24][25][26] Further solidifying their "monster rookie" status, the album achieved an all-kill on major music charts immediately after release.[27][28] It became a certified perfect "all-kill" on Melon.[29] The group also peaked at number one on iTunes in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan and entered the Billboard World Albums Chart ranking at first place.[30][31][32] On the day of Winner's debut the stock price of YG Entertainment rose by 6.57%, a sign of investor belief in the debut's strength.[33] They achieved their first music show win on M! Countdown during their debut stage. This makes them the fastest male rookies to achieve a number 1 on a music show.[34] On August 30, a music video for Mino's solo track, "I'm Him" was released with cameo appearances from the members.[35]

On September 10, the group commenced their Japanese promotions for their 2014 S/S: Japan Collection album and embarked on their first Japanese solo concert on September 11.[36] The group successfully wrapped up their tour in Tokyo on October 11, drawing 25,000 fans in total.[37] On December 9, 2014 Fuse announced their 13 Top Breakout Artists of 2014 with Winner being the only South Korean act to be on the list coming in at #11 joining the likes of other breakout stars Sam Smith, Jhene Aiko and Charli XCX.[38] On December 17 Dazed Digital published their top 20 K-pop tracks of 2014 with Winner placing at number 10 with their song "Color Ring".[39]

2015-present: Solo activities and EXIT

After their debut promotions, the group went on break on 2015 while the members took on solo endeavours. Nam Taehyun pursued acting and was cast in numerous projects, namely MBC's web drama "Midnight's Girl",[40] SBS's "Late Night Restaurant"[41] and the joint Chinese-Korean production "Under the Black Moonlight".[42] Likewise, Kang Seungyoon returned to acting via the highly successful CJ E&M web drama "We Broke Up" which garnered over 16 million views.[43][44] Kim Jinwoo also challenged acting through the Chinese-Korean drama "The Magical Cell Phone".[45] While the group's vocalists pursued acting, the band's main rapper Song Minho continued with music by joining the fourth season of Mnet's "Show Me the Money".[46] Numerous of his releases through the show topped Korean charts namely "Fear" which became the show's most downloaded single with over one million digital sales.[47]

In December 2015, YG Entertainment announced the band will release new materials in 2016. The comeback is spread over 5 "project releases" which began with a warm-up duet between members Song Minho and Nam Taehyun titled "Pricked". Despite not being promoted, the sub-unit's single managed to debut at number 2 on Melon and number 1 on iTunes in multiple countries namely Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and six other countries.[48] This was followed by a series of pre-release covers by popular artists such as Taeyang and G-Dragon as promotional teasers for the band's official comeback.[49][50] The mini album titled "EXIT:E" is set to be released on February 1 and serves as the group's first comeback after their debut 18 months ago. It is headlined by double title tracks "Baby Baby" and "Sentimental".

Members

Discography

Main article: Winner discography

Korean discography

Studio albums

Japanese discography

Studio albums

  • 2014 S/S: Japan Collection (2014)

Tours

Headlining
Joint tours
Supporting act

Awards and nominations

Winner immediately achieved status within the Korean entertainment industry by being the fastest male group to win on a music show, winning on their debut stage.[51] They won their first major award, a Bonsang award, for earning a place in the "Top 10 Artists" and "Best New Artist" categories at the 2014 Melon Music Awards.[52] In addition, they earned the "Best New Artist" award at 2014 MAMAs, SBS Awards Festival, Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards and Golden Disk Awards.

References

  1. ↑ 이지영 기자 (October 25, 2013). "'WIN' 강승윤 속한 A팀, 최종 우승...'WINNER'로 데뷔" ['WIN' Member Kang Seung yoon's A team won the final ... Debut as 'WINNER']. My Daily via Nate News (in Korean). My Daily via Nate News. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  2. ↑ "YG Entertainment's Winner set to debut in Japan". Kpopstarz.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "가요전문가 28인 선정, 올 최고 신인은(연말설문)". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Kang Seung Yoon Opens Up About Why He Chose Record Label YG Entertainment: They Insisted That He Got Better". Kpopstarz.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "New pictures of Krystal and Kang Seung Yoon from 'High Kick 3'". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Kang Seung yoon to dominate daily music charts with his new single "It Rains"". My.entertainment.yahoo.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  7. ↑ ""K-Pop Star" Contestant Lee Seung Hoon to Debut as Member of New YG Group". Soompi.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "'K-Pop Star' contestants Lee Ha Yi, Lee Michelle, and Lee Seung Hoon sign with YG Entertainment". Allkpop. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "MTV Match Up – Block B with Mino". Twitter.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Mino CUT in Strongest Kpop survival drama". Youtube.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  11. ↑ Seungri: "You have to surpass BIGBANG to debut in YG
  12. ↑ "Team A to release 4 songs and open up for Big Bang's Japanese Tour". Translated by allkpop. allkpop. October 25, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Ringa Linga – Taeyang MV". Youtube.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "WINNER to Follow YG’s Star Making System... On ‘Winner TV’". Kpopstarz.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  15. ↑ 한국경제TV 김지원 기자 (Kim JiWon) (March 20, 2014). 강승윤 윤종신 콜라보 기대감 폭발, 인증샷만 봐도 `두근 두근` [Yoon Jong Shin's Collaboration with Kang seung Yoon Explosive expectations, 'Excited' after certification Shot]. 한국경제TV (Korea Economic TV) (in Korean). WowTV. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  16. ↑ "[Video] YG Makes a Surprise Attack with Teaser for Winner". CJ E&M enewsWorld. Mwave. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "YG Entertainment release their 'launching campaign plan' for new group WINNER". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "YG Entertainment gears up for WINNER debut". Hellokpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "WINNER to tease all this week as revealed through 'WINNER Week' schedule". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "WINNER to Hold a Launching Show for Their Awaited Debut". Soompi.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "WINNER to hold launching show on August 6". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  22. ↑ Korean Inner Circle fansite
  23. ↑ "Wonderful Union". Wonderful Union. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "WINNER's 'Empty' surpasses 1 million views". Daebakkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  25. ↑ "WINNER finally make their big debut with 'Empty' MV + '2014 S/S' album sampler". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  26. ↑ "Winner Drops MV For Second Title Track "Color Ring"". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  27. ↑ "WINNER dominates charts + achieve an all-kill with their album '2014 S/S'". Allkpop.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  28. ↑ "Winner‘s debut album sweeps music charts". Koreaherald.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  29. ↑ "WINNER achieves perfect all-kill". Melon.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  30. ↑ "WINNER's debut album ranks no. 1 in iTunes for five countries". Ygunited.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Winner’s Debut Album Ranks No.1 on Billboard’s World Album Chart". Mwave.interest.me. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  32. ↑ "WINNER debut #1 on Billboard World Album Chart". Ph.celebrity.yahoo.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  33. ↑ "Entertainment Stock Hits 15 Daily Limit On news Of Louis Vuitton Investment". Koreabizwire.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  34. ↑ "WINNER Grabs First Music Show Win on "M!Countdown" - Soompi". Soompi. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  35. ↑ "WINNER's Mino is Suave in Teaser for Solo MV "I'm Him" - Soompi". Soompi. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  36. ↑ "Winner to Officially Debut in Japan and Launch 1st Japanese Tour". mwave.interest.me. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  37. ↑ "위너, 첫 日 투어... :: 네이버 뉴스". M.news.naver.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  38. ↑ "13 Top Breakout Artists of 2014". Fuse. December 2014. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  39. ↑ "The top 20 K-pop tracks of 2014". Dazed. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  40. ↑ "Nam Tae Hyun to debut as an actor!". Allkpop. March 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  41. ↑ "WINNER's Nam Tae Hyun will be a foodie in his first-ever TV drama". AllKPop. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  42. ↑ "WINNER's Nam Tae Hyun cast as one of the main leads in new drama". AllKPop. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  43. ↑ "2NE1's Dara and WINNER's Kang Seung Yoon to be in a loveline on upcoming web drama 'We Broke Up'". AllKPop. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  44. ↑ "지난해 최고 인기 웹드는 '도전에 반하다'<컨스TV> (2015's Most Watched Web-Dramas)". Naver. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  45. ↑ "WINNER's Kim Jinwoo to be in Chinese-Korean drama "The Magical Cell Phone"?work=Soompie". Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  46. ↑ "WINNER's Mino to compete in 'Show Me the Money' Season 4!". AllKPop. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  47. ↑ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  48. ↑ WINNER回归先行曲《PRICKED》登各大榜单No1
  49. ↑ WINNER unveils pre-release song on the 11 this month and a mini-album on February 1… Yearly plan
  50. ↑ The Real “monster” WINNER is Set to Make a Comeback
  51. ↑ "WINNER grab 1st win at M!Countdown with just 5 days since debut stage". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  52. ↑ "2014 MelOn Music Awards: WINNER Nabs Best New Artist Award, Block B Takes Home Best Dance Artist Male Award". KpopStarz. Retrieved 11 March 2015.

External links

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