Pulling off an all-kill on the real-time charts after more than 15 years in the K-pop business is a pretty awesome feat, so it’s unsurprising that Fly To The Sky were once again hitting headlines earlier this week.
The duo, who have just returned from a five-year hiatus, are Brian Joo and Hwang Yoon-Suk (Hwanhee). After first debuting in 1999 with Day By Day, an album of mid-tempo ballads, they tried out rap, pop and techno tunes before establishing themselves as one of K-pop’s first R&B acts with power ballads that are heard to beat.
They debuted with S.M Entertainment, and released five albums with the label including a greatest hits, Eternity in 2005. After their contract with S.M expired they moved to PFull Entertainment, stating they wanted to work with a smaller label.
Personal troubles between the duo nearly led to the end of Fly To The Sky at this time, as Korean-American Brian later admitted on an SBS show. He went through a period of feeling inferior to Hwanhee, and suggested they explore solo careers, which made Hwanhee angry. They got through the spat, though, and did indeed work on some solo projects while still releasing albums together until 2009. For the last five years, they’ve only been heard on solo albums, and Hwanhee starred in K-drama Over The Rainbow.
Now the guys are back, releasing with a new agency, H2 Media. Their ninth joint album Continuum, and title track You You You has clearly delighted fans both old and new, as it hit the top slots on ten different real-time charts within an hour of release this week.
Recommended playlist
You You You – the latest release
Album recap – a neat 2-minute official compilation showing MVs from all their nine albums
Like a Man/Be With You – A live performance on MBC
Missing You – a track from 2003 that revealed the guys as serious vocal artists
Sea of Love – from their third album, this became a big summer hit of 2002
