Way Back Wednesday: Shinhwa
The Breakout In and with the release of their third and fourth albums respectively, Shinhwa's popularity and place in the K-pop mainstream took off to another level. At that point, they went from another Korean boy band to K-pop superstars as they began building an enormous fan base. This increasing fan base made itself known, as the sales from these albums helped them to become the group's biggest sellers. Come On " are among Shinhwa's most loved songs by fans and also showcased the increased intricacies and creativity with their performances.
The performance for "Wild Eyes" for example is considered not just a classic for the group, but a classic performance in K-pop. Their growing popularity also was evident on the music shows as "Only One" and "Hey! Come On" each claimed the top ranking for multiple weeks on the music charts. Man Down Even with this tremendous success, the group wasn't without its share of controversies. It was during the promotions of the fourth album as Andy took time off from the group to return to the United States to be with family and study.
In recent interviews, Andy admitted that this was a difficult time for him as there were rumors about the real reasons for taking a break and possibilities of bad blood among the group. But ultimately, Andy returned and joined the group for their remaining albums, reinforcing the bond among the members. The group also made even more news in as they became the first idol group ever to pose for nude pictures and were shocking to many in the industry.
The pictures were groundbreaking to say the least, and didn't leave much to the imagination. The Boys are Back Shinhwa's fifth and sixth studio albums, ' Perfect Man ' and ' Wedding ', were both released in and continued their string of hit songs. With the release of 'Wedding', Shinhwa officially became the longest running K-pop boy band in history but that streak faced a major obstacle as it would the last album produced under SM Entertainment.
End of an Era As their contract with SM reached its expiration in , there were some serious decisions to be made. SM offered contract extensions to specific members of the group but was willing to let others walk away. This was a seminal moment for the group.
Did they stick together, leave SM, and face uncertainty? Or did they acknowledge their successes but decide it was time to move on to the next journey?
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No one would have blamed them for ending their run and moving on, but the group decided that remaining united was the priority and so they fought SM in court to retain the rights to their name and ended their memorable run with the company. New Beginnings Beginning in , Shinhwa's new home would become Good Entertainment but with some time off, the members took some time out to participate in solo activities. Andy and Jun Jin went the acting route with appearances in dramas and sitcoms while Shin Hye Sung partnered with his two closest friends Lee Ji Hoon and Kangta to form a project group called Group S , releasing their album 'Fr.
Cl ' Friends in Classic which did very well in its own right. Eric Mun participated in his breakout acting role in the drama " The Phoenix " which was the most watched drama on MBC that year. It wouldn't be long before the six members got back in the studio and began recording their first album under their new company. In August of , Shinhwa released their seventh album entitled ' Brand New '. The title alone expressed what the group was feeling and the notion of turning the page.
Their title single hit 1 in the charts for two weeks, making it their first hit in over two years, justifying the risk that they took by moving companies and holding their ground as a group. For the remainder of and , Shinhwa toured, held fan events, and released digital singles but really were able to promote themselves as a group again. The winners eventually became the group Battle , which was signed under the same company.
Shinhwa had experienced their first taste of international success, but it was in that the group was swept up by the hallyu wave and began working on their first Japanese album. Simultaneously, the group also went to work on their eighth studio album ' State of the Art '. The song was a soaring ballad which held onto the 1 spot for two weeks and is also well-known for featuring After School's UEE and the Wonder Girl's Yubin in the music video who were trainees with the company at the time.
The tour and the album were a triumph for the group and their popularity grew to enough that when they landed in Shanghai for a concert, fans mobbed the airport and members had to be escorted one-by-one to avoid pandemonium. Remember, this is before the current hallyu wave craze so was a unique situation for everyone involved. Shinhwa took another break in and again each member pursued their individual projects. It was also in that Shinhwa officially ended their relationship with Good Entertainment to create or join their own, individual management companies.
Eric returned to the small screen while Andy released solo albums and tried his hand at musical acting. Duty calls As approached and each member focused on their own projects, they were able to get back in the studio to release their ninth album that coincided with their tenth anniversary, a truly remarkable achievement.
The album ' Shinhwa 9th ' featured new music from the group but was also the final performance for the group before they would have to take a two year break from the spotlight as each member excluding Shin Hye Sung because of a previous injury began to serve their mandatory 2 year military service. The members were each called over a fourteen month period and the waiting began as fans could only wait and hope that the six would eventually reunite under the name Shinhwa.
Through this company, each member although with separate companies would reunite as Shinhwa and once all members were discharged from the military, would return to the studios for a tenth album. After months of waiting, Shinhwa made their official return on March 25, with their tenth full studio album, ' The Return '.
Their latest single " Venus " showed K-pop fans that while they may be a little older than the latest crop of boy bands, they were still able to bring the energy and passion they had when they were younger and that good music doesn't go out of style. The word also means legend. Shinhwa later embarked on their first Asia tour, Shinhwa Tour: Dong-wan also released his first album entitled Kim Dongwan is on July 5, Hye-sung released his second album on August 8, Although their ninth album was set to be released on October , [33] it was ultimately delayed and they released Winter Story on December 6, , [38] which debuted at No.
Celebrating their anniversary, Shinhwa staged a 10th anniversary concert and released their ninth studio album Volume 9. After their 10th anniversary and the release of their 9th album, the members continued to work on their individual activities until their mandatory military service , with Eric enlisting in October and Dong-wan in November at Gongju , Chungcheongnam-do [43] Both served non-active duty, e.
Jun Jin enlisted on October 22, at the Nonsan military camp in Chungcheongnam-do Province for four weeks of basic training and continued as a public service worker. He also served non-active duty after undergoing four weeks of basic training. Hye-sung was exempt from military service due to serious and recurring injuries in his knee sustained during a concert in On 30 October , Eric was discharged from military service. After their contract with Good Entertainment expired, Shinhwa created their own company to manage their activities as a group, with Eric and Min-woo as co-CEOs and the remaining members as shareholders.
Members' individual activities continue to be manage by their respective agencies. The following year, Shinhwa resumed their music activities as a group with the release of their 11th studio album and 15th anniversary concert in March, [64] [65] in addition to the Shinhwa 15th Anniversary Concert: The Classic in support of the album. Their 16th anniversary concert, Here, was held on March 22—23, at the Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium, which sold out its 27, seats and crashed the website server. In commemoration of their 20th anniversary, Shinhwa released a re-recorded darker version of their song "All Your Dreams" from the album Only One , in addition to filming a new music video.
On August 28, they released their album, Heart , with the title track "Kiss Me Like That" and promoted on music shows for three consecutive weeks. Their 20th anniversary concert, Heart Tour in Seoul, which will take place October , sold out within 5 minutes and crashed the website's servers upon ticket release. Shinhwa is the longest-running Korean boy band in existence, [1] [2] [3] [4] and is often labeled as part of the "first generation" of K-pop idol groups alongside H. When they debuted, the trend at the time was for male idol group members to remain "mysterious" and "dark", a concept the group utilized when promoting their early materials.
They rebranded themselves when the "flower boy" concept, which describes "young males with pretty faces and 'unpretentious cuteness'", became popular; they have continue to adjust their images as they age, incorporating suits and polished haircuts into their looks later on. The poll allowed only foreigners to vote, with Shinhwa's songs "Once in a Lifetime" in and "Pretty" in topping the polls. Shinhwa's popularity have also led to the creation of the official fan club, Shinhwa Changjo. These orange-colored cheering tools are used in each member's individual promotion activities as well.
Even so, fans of Shinhwa were angry over that fact.
Way Back Wednesday: Shinhwa | allkpop
The Taiwanese group also covered Shinhwa's "Dark", a song included in Shinhwa's 4th album. In SM Entertainment 's 5-year contract with Shinhwa ended. Choosing to sign with a new agency instead, the choice sparked controversies when Lee denied their permission to use the name Shinhwa with the different company. At the height of the battle in September , the band had to rename the agency Shinhwa Company as ShinCom Entertainment [] to avoid legal issues.
In May , after 12 years of legal battles, Shinhwa finally won the lawsuit over Joon Media and re-renamed their agency as Shinhwa Company. Open World Entertainment CEO, Seok-Woo Jang, holder of the rights to the name of Shinhwa, granted permission to use the name as long as they perform together as a group. Open World held the rights to Shinhwa's overseas concerts with Shinhwa Company, and overseas licensing of the group's albums. The heads of Top Class Entertainment and Liveworks Company, are directors of Shinhwa Company, with the former in charge of promotion and management in general, and the latter provides support regarding albums, concerts and promotions.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. South Korean boy band. This article is about the South Korean boy band. For information about Korean myths, see Korean mythology. Winter Story Winter Story — State of the Art Inspiration 1 In Japan List of awards and nominations received by Shinhwa. Archived from the original on 13 December Retrieved 6 September Archived from the original on 9 November Archived from the original on 17 December Archived from the original on 29 November A guide to all things K-pop". Recording Industry Association Korea in Korean.