Today’s Weekly Idol is about NH Media‘s very popular male group U-KISS
The original line up for U-KISS consisted of Hong Kong born Korean/Macanese Alexander, Korean Americans Kevin and Eli plus native Koreans Dongho, Kiseop and Soohyun. Officially debuting near the end of August 2008, U-KISS ‘s first song Not Young was performed on Mnet in September 2008.
Their breakthrough hit was “Man Man Ha Ni” from their mini album ContinUKiss and their growing success since debuting continued to expand through their mini albums and first full length albums Only One and Neverland. In 2011, news about Xander and Kibum‘s contracts with NH Media surfaced and their final contribution to U-KISS was on the fourth album Break Time. Both members were soon replaced by Hoon and former Paran member AJ.
Later in the same year, U-KISS began promoting in Japan, releasing Japanese versions of their albums as well as original Japanese material, gaining a wider fanbase in said country. Further lineup alterations occurred when Dongho decided to leave in 2013, despite receiving praise for his acting in films and dramas, opting for a normal life when realising his health condition could not keep up with his idol career. He did not join the rest of the group for promotions on their album Moments.
Due to university studies in America, AJ has been inactive with U-KISS and in May 2014, NH Media introduced the newest if not youngest member Jun. After the addition of the newest member, U-KISS made a music comeback with their mini album Mono Scandal which contains the track “Quit Playing”. Said song’s MV is of a 19+ rating. In June 2014, AJ updated his Twitter to inform his fans that he is making a recovery from heart surgery, which surprised and shocked many people who assumed he was still in New York, completing his first year at university since his last update in the previous month.
Popular Songs
Bingeul Bingeul
Man Man Ha Ni
0330
The first song to feature new members AJ and Hoon
Tick Tack
One of U-KISS‘s Japanese singles
Believe
Standing Still
She’s Mine
Stop Girl
There is also a black and white version of this song.
Quit Playing
The song which introduced the fans to new member/current Maknae Jun and caused music shows to put up a ban on live performances due to the choreography.
Why I chose U-KISS as Weekly Idol
After an encounter with Kevin‘s occasional MC work on After School Club and random Youtube video browsing that focused on Xander I got curious and finally sat down to listen to U-KISS. A foolish belief that these guys were simply flower boys disappeared as I listened to the music from past to present and watched their MVs.
U-KISS is one of those male groups who evolved over the years and went from super cute to presenting a masculinity in terms of music and styling. Despite the member changes and continuing to promote their music as a six-member group rather than seven, U-KISS‘s charisma has not faltered and they have proven they are still a force to be reckoned with. The members’ varied linguistic abilities provides a boost to promotions and participating in various projects or special events across the globe, going beyond Korea.
