B2ST

Beast (South Korean band)

Beast (비스트, stylized as BEAST or B2ST) is a boy group from South Korea that consists of six members, under Cube Entertainment. The group was originally known as B2ST, an acronym for boys to Search for Top. However, their name was changed to BEAST (Boys of the EAst Standing Tall) a few days before debut. They released their first mini-album Beast Is The B2ST on October 14, 2009.

History

2009: Debut

In late 2009, news articles started to surface online about Cube Entertainment's new group, B2ST (pronounced "BEAST") as explained by member, Dong Woon, in episode 8 of their MTV documentary MTV B2ST which showcased their journey leading up to their debut.^k On October 14, the group's first mini-album, Beast Is The B2ST, was released  selling over 20,000 copies in October 2009 and has even further reached 40,000 copies sold in sales to date. A Cube Entertainment representative for BEAST revealed that they have sold all the albums they printed in the first batch and are tentatively planning to produce 5,000 more and also considering reissuing AJ's album in response to strong demand.  On October 16, they made their live debut on KBS Music Bank with their debut track, "Bad Girl".The group became very popular after debuting, following various commercial calls from companies around Asia. On December 2, 2009, BEAST won their first award, Rookie of the Month, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It was later announced by Cube Entertainment that Universal Records would be assisting BEAST and 4minute with international launches of their albums.

2010: Gaining Popularity

On January 23, 2010, BEAST commenced their international promotions in Taiwan. The group was awarded with the Best Newcomer Award at the 19th Seoul Music Awards on February 3, 2010.
The group's second mini-album, Shock Of The New Era, was scheduled for release on March 2, 2010, however it was put forward a day and was released on March 1 due to all of their songs being leaked on Youtube.com.  Despite the leak of their songs, the album climbed various music charts and have already sold 20,000 copies to date. Reviews of the title track "Shock" described it has having both powerful vocals and an overall strong sound, with the live performances incorporating a dynamic VTach dance. On March 25 of 2010 BEAST transformed into Ballad Singers and sang an orchestra version of the sad ballad 'Despite Holding On' by Noel and were recognized as a boy group with singing ability.
 On March 25, 2010, BEAST receive their first win on Mnet’s ‘M! Countdown’ with their new song ‘SHOCK’.  Without the help of any professionals, BEAST gave their fans a special Music Video of ‘Take Care of My Girlfriend’ (Say No) on the 14th of April, 2010. BEAST performed on the 8th Korean Music Festival held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California on May 1, 2010. In the third episode of the MTV show ‘B2ST Almighty’, BEAST members released a Music Video 'Mystery' as a response to the fans wishes.Girls' Generation and Kara also appeared in the Music Video as special guests. A digital single version of ‘Easy’ was officially released on April 29, 2010 and has the title ‘Easy (Sincere Ver.)’ which used strings and piano, enabling BEAST to showcase a new attraction which is totally different from the normal hip-hop and the electronic instruments feel. BEAST was featured in the teaser music video "Who's next" for 4minute.
On the 22nd of May 2010, BEAST performed for ‘2010 I love Korea DREAM CONCERT’ alongside other Korean artists such as Rain, Lee Hyori, Girls' Generation, 2PM, Super Junior, SS501, F(x) and many more. From June 16 to June 20, 2010, BEAST attended the ‘Helping the Single Mom’ concert in the Philippines. BEAST was in Singapore and Malaysia from the 22nd to the 29th of June 2010 and from the 30th to the 5th of July 2010, they held showcases back to back in Japan.
BEAST appeared as special guests in Precious Land, Dance Show in Japan on the July 1st, 2010. BEAST`s album Shock Of The New Era Asia Version that was released in Singapore made it into the Gold Disk category, which the requirements include the sale of 100,000 copies. Even though this had been their first promotional activities in Singapore, their popularity had even won them a spot in the Gold Disk category. BEAST will be appearing at the BRAND NEW CONCERT - THE BURNING DAY on August 20, 2010 together with 2AM, Brown Eyed Girls, KARA and T-ara. BEAST and 4minute were invited to perform on Singapore Youth Olympic pre-opening stage as the first Korean artists on August 13, 2010. BEAST was awarded with the Smoothie King Cool Star Award on 2010 Mnet 20's Choice Awards on August 26, 2010. On August 26, 2010, Omarion made a surprise appearance as a guest when BEAST was receiving their award on Mnet 20’s Choice Awards and he also requested that he perform a special stage with BEAST.

2010: Mastermind and Lights Go On Again

On September 17, 2010, BEAST revealed one of their songs as a single from their 3rd mini album, Mastermind namely ‘Clenching My Fist Tight’ on various music sites. The song had gained anticipation and attention from the public and they gained more attention with emotional acting and their vocal ranges that matched up well with traditional ballad singers. BEAST’s 3rd Mini Album ‘Mastermind’ was revealed on September 28, 2010. BEAST received the 'Asia Influential Artist' award on October 23, 2010. This award is given to those who had the most attention in Asia for the year. BEAST will be entering Japan with a Japan Premium edition that is compiled of the two mini albums ‘BEAST Is The B2ST’ and ‘Shock Of The New Era’ which were both released in Korea with an addition 30 minute documentary video DVD of their first visit to Japan in July. On October 8, 2010, a week after their comeback, BEAST claimed first place on KBS Music Bank with the song 'Breath' off of their mini album Mastermind. On October 14, 2010, BEAST also won a Mutizen award on Mnet! Countdown. On October 12, 2010, KBS Broadcasting systems collaborated with BEAST to make a cheer song for the National Korean Soccer Team.
BEAST will have their first solo concert opening on the December 12, 2010 with the title of ‘WELCOME TO BEAST AIRLINE’. BEAST officially released their first Japanese album, called "BEAST-Japan Premium Edition," on November 24, 2010. It debuted at 6th place on the Oricon daily album charts. On the 27th of November, BEAST held their first Japanese showcase called the 'THE LEGEND OF BEAST VOL.1' at Tokyo Big Site in Ohdaiba, Tokyo. The members were transported to the site of the showcase by helicopter. BEAST was able to see the "human letter" and thanked their fans sincerely for welcoming them. BEAST finished a successful showcase, performing 9 hit tracks from "Bad Girl," "Shock," and "Soom;" they will officially debut in Japan sometime in February 2011.

On November 3, 2010, BEAST opened up the preorder sales on different online sites for the upcoming 4th mini album named Lights Go On Again , and the track list showed a surprise with new type of songs which was later released on November 9, 2010.  BEAST managed to get all top 5 spots on November 8, 2010 with 'Lights Go on Again' on the Mnet charts – their main track, “Beautiful”, debuted at 1st place, while the album’s remaining four tracks nabbed 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively. According to album sales site Hanteo, the group’s album sales showed great success, as their sales figures ranked first.  On November 15, 2010, BEAST had released the first part of the relay music drama from the 4th album on their Official Youtube Channel that is garnering interest from fans as well as overseas promoters and media as attention turned to the concept and the style of the music video that BEAST will bring in. On December 1, 2010, BEAST was awarded as one of 2010 most photogenic figures, on the 11th Korean Visual Arts Festival hosted and organized by the 'Korea Broadcast Camera Directors Association', supported by the Ministry of Culture. On December 9, 2010 , BEAST is awarded with the Yepp Newcomer Award from the 25th Golden Disk Awards.
It was recently revealed that on December 23, 2010, 'Thanks To', the hiphop track from Yoseob and Junhyung, Hyunseung and Kikwang’s R&B track ‘Let It Snow’, and Doojoon and Dongwoon’s ballad track ‘When this Door Closes’. Mnet ‘Mcountdown’ will be the first stage for the duet units of BEAST to officially debut. Each of these songs can be found in My Story as it will be released starting from December 21, 2010.

Image and artistry

BEAST has been chosen as the new models for the Young TD Casual CLRIDE.N to match well with the trendy and casual brand concept. This this will be their first time being clothes models from the 2010 Fall/Winter collection from CLRIDE.N. They will be modelling their clothing in a trendy British vintage style.  On December 3, 2010, BEAST attended the Patricia Field Collection fashion show located in Seoul Chungnamdong MCM Haus and was praised by Patricia Field herself for their “distinctive and modern look”. BEAST had their fashion tastes recognized by the worldly known fashion stylist Patricia Field. For this collection, MCM’s Heritage and Patricia Field worked together to show off a modern New Yorker style with a trendy shopper bag, backpack, clutch, and more items and any money earned from it will be donated to the ‘Korea Disaster Relief’ to benefit the civilians left homeless from the Yeonpyeong incident.

Other activities

BEAST was the topic of a short-lived reality show, MTV B2ST, which was hosted by MTV. The show ran on a weekly basis from August 23, 2009 to October 9, 2009, with a total of ten episodes. The program was to showcase their journey to debut.  It was announced in March 2010 that BEAST will be hosting a second season of MTV B2ST entitled MTV BEAST Almighty. After last year's broadcast debut, season 2 will have fans and viewers' wishes as the concept of the program. BEAST members will have to pick one wish for every episode. The show ran on a weekly basis from April 10, 2010 to May 29, 2010.  BEAST has become the protagonists of variety show 'Idol Maid' running on a weekly basis from July 21, 2010 to October 13, 2010. BEAST will be having a cameo on More Charming by the Day.
On November 25, 2009, it was announced that the group would release the song "Crazy" in promotion for the film, Attack the Gas Station 2. On January 25, 2010, the group participated in the God of Study official soundtrack, with the song "Ready Go", which topped various charts.
Shin Sae Kyung and BEAST were chosen as the models for BBQ Chicken after the Wonder Girls, and they will be filming the commercial for BBQ Crispy Chicken.  BEAST appeared together as a group with DooJoon on one episode of reality-variety series Danbi, a segment part of MBC's Sunday Sunday Night line-up. Beast was chosen as ambassadors for ‘Seoul Character•Rising Licensing Fair 2010’ co-hosted by both Korean Contents Promotions & Co-Ex on July 12, 2010. 4minute and Beast have been chosen as the mains for Signal Music and they will be appearing before the living room audience through Signal Music in SBS’s ‘People Looking for Laughter’ and it will be commencing on 10 July 2010.
On November 26, 2010, BEAST members Yoon Doojoon, Lee Kikwang, Jang Hyunseung, and Yong Junhyung will be creating the theme song for the ‘University Music Festival’ with a self-written song. However, it was just a congratulation stage performance that they had accepted due to request as they are attending their studies in Dongshin University. On December 2, 2010, it was announced that the group would release the song "Loving U" in promotion for the sitcom, All My Love On January 5, 2011, it was announced that the group would be releasing the song "너 때문인걸 (Because Of You)" in promotion for the mini drama, My Princess^.

Member profiles

 Yoon Doo Joon

• Birth name: Yoon Doo Joon (Hangul: 윤두준)
• Date of birth: July 4, 1989 (1989-07-04) (age 21)
• Position: Leader, Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer

Doo Joon is the leader of BEAST. He was a trainee from JYP Entertainment. He was featured in the Mnet documentary Yeolhyeolnama (Korean: 열혈남아, Hot Blooded Men) with 2AM and 2PM but was eliminated.  He was then transferred to JYP Entertainment's sister company, Cube Entertainment. Before his debut with BEAST, he auditioned for High Kick Through the Roof and was offered a role in the sitcom but turned it down to focus on his music career. He became a member of reality-variety series Danbi, a segment part of MBC's Sunday Sunday Night line-up. It ended with the last broadcast on August 15, 2010.  Doo Joon was featured in AJ's music video for "Nunmureul Dakko" (Korean: "눈물을 닦고", "Wipe the Tears") as a rapper along with Jun Hyung before they debuted as part of BEAST.  He was also a rapper for Gavy NJ's song "Sun Flower". Doo Joon worked with Shin Saekyung on an ad for premium jeans brand, Buckaroo^.
As Girls' Generation member Taeyeon will be leaving MBC Radio FM4U 91.9Mhz ‘Chin Chin Radio’ , he was chosen as the temporary DJs for two weeks together with solo singer IU. Doo Joon was featured for G.Na's album title song ‘I’ll Back Off So You Can Live Better’ music video along with the other Beast member, Jun Hyung. Doojoon, Kikwang and IU appeared as special hosts on Music Core on August 21, 2010. DooJoon was cast to appear in MBC daily sitcom ‘All My Love.’ and 'More Charming By The Day'. On December 29, 2010, DooJoon was awarded with Rookie Comedy Award from the 2010 MBC Entertainment Awards for the cast in 'All My Love' and 'More Charming By The Day'.

 Jang Hyun Seung

• Birth name: Jang Hyun Seung (Hangul: 장현승)
• Date of birth: September 3, 1989 (1989-09-03) (age 21)
• Position: Vocalist, Lead Dancer

Hyun Seung first received media attention as a trainee under YG Entertainment with nickname So-1, when he was preparing to debut as a member of Big Bang. He appeared in 10 out of 11 episodes of the Big Bang Documentary, but wasn't chosen to be a part of the final group formation by YG's president. He received a lot of concerns from Cube's management when BEAST was being formed, as the first thing the members were instructed to do was to have Hyun Seung gain weight. On August 23, 2010, a video of Prepix ILL with Jang Hyunseung dancing was released, revealing swift dance to song Money Right by RnB Musiq Soulchild.

 Yong Jun Hyung

• Real Birth Name: Yong Jae Soon(Hangul: 용준형)l
• Date of birth: December 19, 1989 (1989-12-19) (age 21)
•  Position: Main Rapper, Dancer

Noted by his unique hairstyles and exceptional talent in rapmaking, Jun Hyung was featured in AJ's music video "눈물을 닦고" ("Wiping the Tears") as a rapper with Doo Joon. Along with fellow BEAST member Yo Seob, MC and comedian Lee Hyukjae, Moon Hee Jun (formerly of H.O.T.) and Kim Sook, they welcomed Japanese tourists for "Visit Seoul 2010" campaign, where Korean celebrities and Japanese tourists explored Seoul in MBC's Star Guide Doshiraku to raise awareness of Seoul's famous areas as well as its delicious cuisine. Jun Hyung also featured in Hyuna's solo debut single "Change". Jun Hyung along with 4minute were also featured in "Heard 'Em All" for Amerie's Asian version of the album In Love & War.  He was also a guest rapper for K.Wills song "Present". He also starred in MBC High Kick Through the Roof as a cameo in one of its episodes. He was also involved in the rap making and featuring for 4minute’s album "Hit Your Heart" where his composing skills were dutifully noted. Jun Hyung was featured for G.NA’s album title song ‘I’ll Back Off So You Can Live Better’ music video, his appearance giving an opposite vibe from Doo Joon's.^[80] Currently, Jun Hyung is featured for FADDY ROBOT FOUNDATION together with 4minute`s Hyunah, Outsider, Verbal Jint, Mighty Mouth’s Ssangchu, Vasco and Jico; all profit from this album has been promised to be given out to charity.  In order to encourage the public participation in commemorating Seoul Summit Asia Bridge Contents (Representative Choi Jin) had announced that the G20 summit held in Seoul have created campaign song ‘Let’s Go’ composed by Shinsadong Tiger, Lim Sanghyuk, Eddie, and BEAST`s Yong Junhyung. Junhyung will also be rapping for the song. Junhyung will be a guest rapper for chaeyeon song namely 'Ma Lover' on SBS inkigayo on October 31, 2010. In November 23, 2010, Young Jee released a single named "Crazy, that's what love is" featuring Junhyung in rap making and the rapping.

 Yang Yo Seob

• Birth name: Yang Yo Seob (Hangul: 양요섭)^[
• Date of birth: January 5, 1990 (1990-01-05) (age 21)
•  Position: Main Vocalist, Dancer

Yo Seob is the main vocalist of BEAST. Noted to be the "cute" member of BEAST, his various hairstyles have received much attention, being compared to that of a Fairy Pitta and a Shih Tzu among other things. Yo Seob was a former JYP Entertainment trainee. He moved agencies, to M Boat Entertainment (a former sister company of YG Entertainment) then to Cube Entertainment. He was also known for his self-created videos and parodies. He was a backup dancer for AJ's music video "Wiping the Tears" and "Dancing Shoes". Along with fellow BEAST member Jun Hyung, MC Lee Hyukjae, Moon Hee Jun (formerly of H.O.T.) and Kim Sook, Yo Seob welcomed Japanese tourists for "Visit Seoul 2010" campaign, where Korean celebrities and Japanese tourists explored Seoul in MBC's Star Guide Doshiraku to raise awareness of Seoul's famous areas as well as its delicious cuisine. On July 16, 2010, Yo Seob participated in the More Charming by the Day official soundtrack in promotion for the film with the song "Happy Birthday". On November 29, 2010 , Yoseob will be releasing a digital single together with Dalmatian`s Daniel, namely "First Snow and First Kiss". Starting from when they were trainees, they were coined 'soulmates0115'. The two had an intimate relationship, prior to their debut, they released a UCC series, "To Pick On Mr. Daniel" which even succeeded to rise up as a hot topic when selected as #1 amongst the weekly TOP 5 UCC's by a sports newspaper.

 Lee Gi Kwang

Main article: Lee Gi Kwang

• Birth name: Lee Gi Kwang (Hangul: 이기광)
• Date of birth: March 30, 1990 (1990-03-30) (age 20) Position: Vocalist, Main Dancer

Ki Kwang was initially a trainee under JYP Entertainment. He later transferred to sister entertainment company, Cube Entertainment where he originally debuted as a solo singer by the stagename, "AJ". Cube Entertainment then decided to have him join BEAST where he redebuted under his given name.  He is known as SaeHo in MBC High Kick Through the Roof, and was selected as MC for MBC's Sunday Sunday Night segment Hot Brothers.  Lee Kikwang was chosen as the new MC for the KBS show 'Win Win'.
Gi Kwang is featured in K.Will's music video for the song, Present. He was also chosen as the model for the ‘Ice Tea Tio’ from DongSuh Foods. Lee Kikwang will be featuring in Ahn Jinkyung’s title song ‘Love is Pathetic’ off of her second mini album ‘BE THE VOICE’ this will be his first project that he will be rapping in.  Doojoon, Kikwang and IU appeared as special hosts on Music Core on August 21, 2010. KiKwang will be doing CF filming of LG Tromm cf with model Lee Nayoung. Kikwang was casted as the comical role in the drama ‘My Princess’ starring Song Seunghun and Kim Taehee. On December 29, 2010, KiKwang was awarded with Popularity Award from the 2010 MBC Entertainment Awards.

 Son Dong Woon

• Birth name: Son Dong Woon (Hangul: 손동운) Date of birth: June 6, 1991 (1991-06-06) (age 19)
• Position: Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer

Dong Woon was a trainee from JYP Entertainment for 2 years, and was the last member chosen to join BEAST. He is the maknae (youngest) of the group. Dong Woon is known for his Western look from the other members. In December 2010, Dong Woon released a digital single album "Udon" together with Davichi’s Kang Min Kyung. After it`s release, the song quickly rose up to the top of the charts, bringing in immense popularity and it is expected to start another trend. However, it is said that by the composers of ‘Udon' that the title of the song is in Japanese, hence the main 3 broadcasting networks confirmed that they will not be showing on television.

SHINee

SHINee

Shinee (샤이니, stylized as SHINee, pronounced /ˈʃaɪniː/ "shiny") is a contemporary R&B South Korean boy band. Formed by SM Entertainment in 2008, they made their debut on May 25, 2008 on SBS's Inkigayo with their promotional single, "Noona Neomu Yeppeo (Replay)" ("누난 너무 예뻐 (Replay)", lit. "Older Girl, You're So Pretty (Replay)"). The group consists of Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho and Taemin. Since their debut, Shinee has won numerous awards. They have also starred in their own reality show based on their song, "Noona Neomu Yeppeo (Replay)". Shinee is considered to be a fashion icon having started the "Shinee Trend".

On May 23, 2008, the group's first mini-album, Replay was released from Label company, SM Entertainment. The mini-album debuted at #10 on the Korean music charts and peaked at #8, selling 17,957 copies in the first half of 2008.

History

2008: Debut and The Shinee World

On June 7, 2008, Shinee participated in the Dream Concert in the Seoul Olympic Stadium along with other South Korean singers and groups. The group won their first award, "Rookie of the Month", at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards on June 22, 2008. Shinee took part in SMTown Live '08, which was held on August 18, 2008 at Seoul Olympic Stadium. On August 23, 2008, they attended MNet's 20's Choice Awards 2008, where they won the "Hot New Star" award.

SHINee released their first full-length album, The SHINee World, on August 28, 2008. The album debuted on the charts at #3, selling 30,000 copies. The first single released from the album was "Sanso Gateun Neo (Love Like Oxygen)" (산소 같은 너 (Love Like Oxygen), lit. You Are Like Oxygen), a cover of "Show the World" by Martin Hoberg Hedegaard, originally written by the Danish songwriting and production team of Thomas Troelsen, Remee and Lucas Secon. On September 18, 2008, SHINee's "Sanso Gateun Neo (Love Like Oxygen)" was the No. 1 song on M! Countdown. A few days later, Shinee received the "Mutizen" award for the same single on SBS's Popular Songs.

SHINee performing at the SMTown Live Tour in Bangkok

SHINee participated in the 5th Asia Song Festival, where they received the "Best New Artist" award with Japanese girl group, Berryz Kobo. The group attended the 2008 Style Icon Awards on October 30, 2008, where they won the "Best Style Icon Award". On the same day, a repackage album of "The SHINee World" titled "A.Mi.Go." was released. The re-packaged album contained three new songs: "Forever or Never", a remix of "Sa. Gye. Han (Love Should Go On)" (사.계.한) and the promotional single "A.Mi.Go" (아.미.고). "A.Mi.Go" is a shortened version of the Korean phrase "Areumdaun Minyeorueljoahamyeon Gosaenghanda" (아름다운 미녀를 좋아하면 고생한다 lit. Heart Aches When You Fall In Love With a Beauty).

On November 15, 2008, SHINee won the "Best Male Rookie" award at the 10th annual MNet's KM Music Festival, beating fellow newcomers U-KISS, 2PM, 2AM and Mighty Mouth. At the 23rd Annual Golden Disk Awards, they performed a medley of their songs, "Noona Neomu Yeppeo (Replay)", "Sanso Gateun Neo (Love Like Oxygen)" and "A.Mi.Go (Amigo)" and won the award for "YEPP Newcomer Album".

In early February, 2009, SHINee won "Best Newcomer" award along with Davichi and Mighty Mouth at the 18th Seoul Music Awards. Later, SM Entertainment announced that SHINee would make their comeback with their second mini album Romeo on May 21, 2009. On May 18, "Juliette", the first single was released, an instrumental remake of Corbin Bleu's "Deal with It". It was later announced that their comeback was going to be delayed due to Onew damaging his teeth and the release of the mini-album was pushed back to May 25, 2009. SHINee eventually had their return performance on June 5, 2009, on KBS's Music Bank, where they received the award for first place.[26]

The group released their third mini-album, 2009, Year Of Us, on October 19, 2009, 5 months after the release of Romeo. SM Entertainment stated that this EP would showcase the group's vocals and demonstrate their unique qualities. The lead single, "Ring Ding Dong", was released digitally on October 14; the group had their comeback stage on October 16, on KBS's Music Bank. In early December, 2009, SHINee won the "Popularity" award along with fellow labelmate group, Super Junior, at the 24th Golden Disk Awards. In February, 2010, the group won the main "BonSang" award at the 19th Seoul Music Awards.

SM Entertainment revealed individual photo teasers of each member for the new album starting with Minho on July 8, 2010 and ending with Key on July 12. The teaser for the music video of lead single was released on July 14, 2010 at the official channel of SM Entertainment on YouTube. The group was originally set to have their comeback stage on KBS Music Bank, July 16, to begin their promotions for the new album, however, due to Minho injuring his ankle during a Dream Team 2 filming on July 8, the comeback was postponed to July 23, 2010.

The second full length studio album, entitled Lucifer, was released on July 19, 2010 in South Korea. The music video promoting the lead single, also named "Lucifer", was released on the same day. Within hours of the release, the album topped various physical and digital sales charts in South Korea. The songs on the album "were more carefully selected than ever" and the album is said to listeners a great chance to experience the diverse musical characters and more mature vocal skills of the members." The group made their comeback on July 23, 2010 at KBS Music Bank. Choreography of the Lucifer was released on the same YouTube channel on August 3, 2010. The studio album was re-released a repackaged version, entitled Hello, on October 1, 2010. The music video of the promotional single, also named "Hello", was released on October 4, 2010. The re-released version included three new tracks.

Amidst their promotional activities for the second studio album, the group also participated in the SM-Town Live '10 World Tour alongside their label-mates on August 21, 2010 at Seoul Jamsil Olympic Stadium. They also performed at the concerts in Shanghai and Los Angeles on later dates.

SHINee signed a contract with EMI Music Japan for their Japanese debut in 2011.

They have made plans to travel down under to Australia and participate in the Australia-Korea Friendship Tour. They will perform in Sydney on the 12th of January 2011.

SHINee is known for their fashion style, created by designer Ha Sang Baek (하상백), which features high-top sneakers, skinny jeans and colorful sweaters. Their style has created a fashion trend amongst students which the media dubbed the "SHINee Trend". This has led to product endorsements, and the band has promoted Smart, Korean cosmetic company Nana's B, and Reebok.

Members

    * Lee Jinki (이진기), better known by his stage name Onew (온유) was born in the city of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do on December 14, 1989 (1989-12-14) (age 21). The leader, one of the vocalists and eldest member in the group, was discovered at the 2006 S.M. Academy Casting. Onew collaborated with Lee Hyun Ji, former member of project group Banana Girl, for his song "Vanilla Love" and with label-mate, Jessica of Girls' Generation for the song "Il Nyeon Hu (One Year Later)" (Korean: 일년後" (One Year Later)").

    * Kim Jonghyun (김종현), commonly known as Jonghyun, is the main vocalist in the group. He was born on April 8, 1990 (1990-04-08) (age 20) and raised in Seoul. He was discovered at the "2005 S.M. Casting System". Before debuting with SHINee, Jonghyun sang a duet, "Wrongly Given Love" (交错的爱), with Zhang Liyin for her debut Chinese album I Will.

    * Kim Kibum (김기범), better known by his stage name Key (키), is one of the rappers in the group. He was born on September 23, 1991 (1991-09-23) (age 19) and raised in Daegu. He was a gifted varsity water-skier at Dae Gu Young Shin Middle School. He was discovered at the "2005 S.M. National Tour Audition Casting". Before debuting with SHINee, Key appeared in Super Junior's Wonder Boy music video as an extra dancer. Key was featured in label-mate Xiah's solo "Xiahtic" in TVXQ's concert, 2009: The 3rd Asia Tour Mirotic, in Seoul, Korea. In 2010 Key was featured in the song "치유 (Healing)" on label-mates TRAX's first mini album "Trax Mini Album Volume 1". Later, it was also announced that Key would have a small part in Girls' Generation's song "Hwaseongin Virus (Boys & Girls)" (Korean: "화성인 바이러스 (Boys & Girls)") on their second studio album Oh!.[50]

    * Choi Minho (최민호), commonly known as Minho, is the other rapper in the group. He was born on December 9, 1991 (1991-12-09) (age 19) and raised in Incheon. Minho has also written several raps in their songs. He was discovered at the 2006 S.M. Casting System. Before debuting with SHINee, Minho modeled for Ha Sang Baek's "Seoul Collection F/W 08-09" in March. He has appeared in Girls' Generation's music video "Gee" and featured in VNT's debut music video, "Sound". Minho is also a permanent cast member in KBS's Dream Team Season 2. He will also debut as an actor on November 20, 2010 in a KBS Drama Special, entitled Pianist.

    * Lee Taemin (이태민), commonly known as Taemin, is the lead dancer of the group. He was born on July 18, 1993 (1993-07-18) (age 17), and raised in Seoul. He is the youngest member in the group and was discovered at the "2005 S.M. Open Weekend Audition Casting" Taemin debuted as an actor in the sitcom Taehee-Hyegyo-Jihyun! (Korean: "태희혜교지현이!").