Lee Jong-hyun

Lee Jong-hyun

Lee at MOKO
Born (1990-05-15) May 15, 1990
Busan, South Korea
Occupation
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
Years active 2009–present
Labels FNC Entertainment
Associated acts CNBLUE
Website fncent.com
Korean name
Hangul 이종현
Hanja
Revised Romanization I Jong-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer Yi Jonghyŏn

Lee Jong-hyun (Hangul: 이종현; pronounced [iː dʑoːŋ hjəːn]; born on May 15, 1990) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE.

He made his acting debut in an omnibus movie Acoustic in 2010, followed by his television debut in the Korean drama A Gentleman's Dignity in 2012. He has since appeared in television dramas Orange Marmalade (2015).

Life and career

Early life

Lee Jong-hyun was born on May 15, 1990,[1] in Busan, South Korea. His family consists of his parents and two older sisters. He lived in Busan before his family moved to Japan when he was four years old. His family moved back to Busan and he finished his elementary school and middle school there.

He was an ulzzang at "BESTNINE" alongside Mblaq's Lee Joon, fellow member Jung Yong-hwa, and Block B's Jaehyo before debut.

The talent scouter from FNC Music (currently known as FNC Entertainment) who visited Busan to see Jung, came across Lee in the street, and suggested him to audition at the company. On his way to his audition, he met his current fellow CNBLUE member Jung at the Seoul Station. They then met Kang Min-hyuk, also a current fellow member of CNBLUE, at FNC Music where they auditioned. Eventually, only the three of them passed the auditions and Lee began training in bass technology at FNC Academy.

Before Lee embarked on his musical career, he was a judo athlete who won a gold medal in a judo championship amongst athletes in his hometown when he was in high school. However, he decided to give up on sports upon realizing that this was not the field that he would excel in after losing in a match in just a few seconds. He then started to focus on music. At first, he learned singing, then piano. Then, upon watching English singer-songwriter and guitarist Eric Clapton playing the guitar, he was inspired to learn to play the guitar.

Music career

Lee debuted with CNBLUE in South Korea on January 14, 2010 with their lead single "I'm a Loner". Before their Korean debut, they debuted as an indie band, with Lee being the leader, in Japan in August 2009. Jung Yong-hwa then took over his place following the band's Korean debut. They made their major debut in Japan in October 2011.

Lee, together with Jung, has composed many of the band's released songs, such as "Blind Love", "Lie", "Rain of Blessing", "Kimio", "My Miracle", "Come On", "No More", "These Days" etc., which all gained positive feedback. "Come On" ranked number 5 on Oricon's Weekly singles chart while "Blind Love" ranked number 4. "Get Away", one of his compositions, was used as the ending theme song for the Japanese broadcast of American TV series Gossip Girl.[2]

Lee released his first solo single "My Love" in 2012, as part of the soundtrack for SBS drama A Gentleman's Dignity, which he starred in. The song was written by Lee himself. "My Love" debuted at number four on the Gaon Digital Chart.[3] It eventually became the 34th best-selling song in South Korea that year with 2,187,150 digital downloads.[4] The song earned Lee five award nominations, ultimately winning "Best OST" at the 2013 Seoul Music Awards.[5]

In December 2013, Lee and his fellow label-mate Juniel formed a duo called "Romantic J" and released a digital single album titled "Love Falls".[6] Inspired by the movie Music and Lyrics, the song was compose by Lee, with lyrics written by Juniel. The single peaked at #27 on the Melon Chart. The duo subsequently promoted the song through Mnet's M Countdown and SBS MTV's The Show.

On August 2, 2015, Lee held his first solo fan meeting in Japan at the Tokyo International Forum and met with 10,000 fans.

Lee made his solo debut in July 2016, with the studio album Sparkling Night. The album debuted at number seven on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart and[7] number nine on Billboard Japan magazine's Hot Albums,[8] eventually selling 13,529 copies.[9] Lee then embarked on the "Welcome to Sparkling Night" tour, his first series of solo concerts. The first two concerts took place from August 9–10 at the Osaka International Convention Center in Osaka, followed by a concert on August 13 at the Nagoya Congress Center in Aichi, and two final concerts from August 17–18 at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo.[10][11]

Acting career

In 2010, Lee made his acting debut in the omnibus film Acoustic alongside fellow member Kang Min-hyuk.[12]

On May 27, 2012, Lee made his small screen debut in SBS weekend drama A Gentleman's Dignity.[13][14] He earned positive reception for his debut role and won the "New Star" award at the year-end SBS Drama Awards.[15]

In May 2015, Lee starred in the fantasy high-school drama Orange Marmalade, alongside labelmate Seolhyun from AOA, where he plays a vampire.[16] He also joined the fourth season of the Korean reality show We Got Married, pairing with actress Gong Seung-yeon.[17][18][19]

In 2016, he was cast in the youth historical drama My Only Love Song alongside his We Got Married partner Gong Seung-yeon.

Equipment

Lee primarily uses a range of Marshall and Orange Amplifiers, notably JVM410 and JCM2000 TSL models when on stage. He uses a variety of guitars, including a PRS Artist V, a Paul Reed Smith Custom 22, a Gibson Les Paul Historic Reissue Goldtop, a Carvin Custom, a Martin HD-28V Acoustic, a Tobacco Burst Fender Stratocaster and a Moollon Telecaster.

Filmography

Television series

Year Network Title Role Notes
2012 SBS A Gentleman's Dignity Collin Black
2013 KBS2 Drama Special – Adolescence Medley Yang Yeong-woong Cameo, Ep 2-3
2014 LINE TV One Sunny Day Couple guy Cameo, Ep 4 & 8
2015 KBS2 Orange Marmalade Han Si-hoo
2017 NAVER TVcast, Netflix My Only Love Song On Dal
TBA Our First Romance

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Acoustic Kim Seong-won segment: Bakery Attack
2018 Ikiru Machi Do-Hyun

Variety show

Year Title Network Notes
2015 We Got Married MBC Cast member (with Gong Seung-yeon)
Fluttering India KBS Cast member[20]
Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education KBS2 Regular guest (ep 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131); judo segment
2017 King of Mask Singer MBC Contestant as "All Together Cube One Wheel" (Episodes 101–102)[21]

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
JPN
[22]
Sparkling Night 7

Singles

Year Title Peak positions Sales Album
KOR
Gaon

[23]
KOR
Billboard

[24]
2010 "High Fly" (with Kang Min-hyuk) 102 Acoustic OST
2012 내 사랑아 ("My Love") 4 2
  • KOR (DL): 2,187,150+
A Gentleman's Dignity OST 2
2013 사랑이 내려 ("Love Falls") (with Juniel) 27 52
  • KOR (DL): 112,735+
Romantic J: Winter Special Digital Single Album
2014 사실은 말야 ("Young Love") (with Melody Day) 76[25]
  • KOR (DL): 52,666+
Digital Single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Note – Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Chart was established in August 2011. Releases before this date have no chart data.[26]

Video albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
JPN
DVD

[27]
JPN
Blu-ray

[28]
1st Solo Concert in Japan ~Welcome to SPARKLING NIGHT~ Live at Tokyo International Forum 13 24

Song writing and production credits

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
2012 5th Korea Drama Awards Best OST "My Love" (A Gentleman's Dignity OST) Nominated [33]
14th Mnet Asian Music Awards Nominated [34]
4th MelOn Music Awards TStore Best Song Nominated [35]
Best OST Nominated [36]
SBS Drama Awards New Star Award A Gentleman's Dignity Won [37]
2013 22nd Seoul Music Awards Best OST "My Love" (A Gentleman's Dignity OST) Won [5]

References

  1. Mark Russell (29 April 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
  2. "CN Blue song gets on ‘Gossip Girl’". Korea JoongAng Daily. 26 April 2012.
  3. "CN Blue’s Lee Jong-hyun sees single success". Korea JoongAng Daily. 18 July 2012.
  4. 2012년 Download Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  5. 1 2 "Psy Wins at the ′Seoul Music Awards′ Despite Absence". enewsWorld. 1 February 2013.
  6. "CN Blue’s Lee Jong Hyun and Juniel to Release Duet Album". enewsWorld. 2 December 2013.
  7. オリコン週間 CDアルバムランキング 2016年07月25日~2016年07月31日. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  8. "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  9. 1 2 オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 -CD・ブルーレイ・DVD・書籍・コミック-. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2016-08-19. (Subscription required (help)).
  10. イ・ジョンヒョン(from CNBLUE)、ソロアルバムヴィジュアル一挙公開&東名阪でソロコンサート今夏開催. Musicman-NET (in Japanese). F.B.Communications, Magnet Company. 15 June 2016.
  11. イ・ジョンヒョン(from CNBLUE) ソロアルバムのヴィジュアルを公開、ソロライブ3公演も開催. Excite (in Japanese). Excite Japan Company. 15 June 2016.
  12. "Acoustic (12)". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  13. "CNBLUE Lee Jong-hyun shoots 1st scene for new SBS TV series" 10 Asia. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  14. "[Interview] Lee Jong Hyun Changed His Mind about Acting through ‘A Gentleman’s Dignity’". enewsWorld. 4 August 2012.
  15. "CNBLUE's Lee Warms to TV Acting Role After Initial Stage Fright". The Chosun Ilbo. 11 August 2012.
  16. "Seolhyun, Jonghyun to star in vampire high school drama". Kpop Herald. 12 May 2015.
  17. Hwang, Hye-jin (3 March 2015). "Ye Won-Henry and Lee Jong Hyun-Gong Seung Yeon Couples to Begin We Got Married Life on March 14". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  18. Sung, So-young (4 March 2015). "2 new couples join Married". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  19. "Lee Jong-hyun and Gong Seung-yeon to leave ‘We Got Married’". Kpop Herald. 18 August 2015.
  20. "SUJU Kyuhyun, TVXQ’s Max Changmin, SHINee’s Minho and More to Head to India for New Variety Show". enewsWorld. 30 January 2015.
  21. Han Ah-reum (12 March 2017). "'복면가왕' 큐브한바퀴의 정체는 씨엔블루 종현..충격 반전". Star News (in Korean).
  22. "SPARKLING NIGHT(初回限定盤)". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  23. "Gaon Singles Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Chart.
  24. "Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
  25. "Gaon Chart 2014 week 34". Gaon Chart (in Korean).
  26. "Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Chart Launches". Billboard.
  27. "イ・ジョンヒョン / 作品 / DVD". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  28. "イ・ジョンヒョン / 作品 / Blu-ray". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  29. "2016 Oricon Chart – December Week 1". Oricon. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  30. "CNBLUE′s Lee Jong Hyun Shares Thoughts on Working on Ailee′s Album". enewsWorld. 30 September 2015.
  31. "CNBLUE′s Lee Jong Hyun Reveals He Wrote ′Hero′ for His Father". enewsWorld. 17 September 2015.
  32. 1 2 "CN Blue′s ′Blind Love′ Kills Charts in Japan for a Month". enewsWorld. 23 May 2013.
  33. Kim, Sung-hee (3 October 2012). "'해품달' 린, 코리아드라마어워즈 최고 OST 수상". Star News (in Korean). Retrieved 2012-11-14.
  34. "Nominees for the 2012 MAMA Announced". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  35. "Nominees Best Song for the 2012 Melon Music Awards". Melon (in Korean). 19 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  36. "Nominees Best OST for the 2012 Melon Music Awards". Melon (in Korean). 19 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  37. 뉴스타상, 이종현. Naver (in Korean). 31 December 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
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