Jang Hyun-seung (Korean장현승; born September 3, 1989)[1] most often credited as Hyunseung, is a South Korean singer. He is best known as a former member of the boy group Beast. With Beast, he has released singles and albums in both Korean and Japanese. Beast won the Artist of the Year (Daesang) award at the Melon Music Awards in 2011.[2]

Jang Hyun-seung
장현승
Jang in 2014
Born (1989-09-03) September 3, 1989 (age 34)
Other namesSo-1, ABLE
OccupationSinger
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
Years active2009–present
Labels
Formerly of
Korean name
Hangul
장현승
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJang Hyeon-seung
McCune–ReischauerChang Hyŏnsŭng

Hyunseung was also one half of the duo Trouble Maker with former Cube label mate, Hyuna. In December 2011, the duo released their debut extended play with the lead single, "Trouble Maker."[3]

Family and personal life edit

Hyunseung was raised in Seoul, South Korea. He has a younger sister named Jang Geu-rim.[4] His father died in 2012 from a sudden heart attack.[5][6]

In 2010, Hyunseung was reported to be attending Dongshin University under a full scholarship, along with four other members of Beast. He was majoring in Applied Music.[7][8] In 2019, his university degree was revoked by the Ministry of Education following investigation into universities’ special treatment for celebrities.[9][10]

Career edit

Pre-debut edit

In 2004, at the age of 15, Hyunseung took part in auditions for YG Entertainment. He was eliminated in the second round, but went to see CEO Yang Hyun-suk afterwards out of frustration at being eliminated and was accepted as a trainee.[11]

For a year and four months, Hyunseung was a trainee for the boy group Big Bang. During this time, he used the stage name "So-1," a homonym for the Korean word for wish. He first gained media attention when he appeared in the group's pre-debut "Big Bang Documentary," along with members G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri. He appeared in 10 out of 11 episodes, but was cut from the group in a final elimination round with Seungri. Yang Hyun-suk said that Hyunseung's expressiveness and stage presence were underdeveloped at the time. Fellow Beast member, Yoon Doo-joon decided to become a singer after watching the BigBang documentary featuring Hyunseung.[12] Hyunseung refers to his experiences at YG as important to his development as an artist.[11]

Hyunseung later met future fellow band member Yang Yo-seob while they were working as dancers for a show performance team. Yoseob convinced Hyunseung to join Cube Entertainment, leading to him debuting with Beast.[11]

Beast edit

The group has released 3 Korean albums, 9 Korean extended plays and various singles. In December 2010, Hyunseung teamed up with fellow member Lee Gi-kwang in a sub-unit to write and compose an R&B track as part of the group's digital album, My Story.

Solo activities edit

On May 7, 2015, Hyunseung released his solo debut extended play, My.[13] Other than BEAST's tracks, Hyunseung's album had more influences on hip-hop culture and pop culture in his preference, such as title track "Ma First" featuring Giriboy and "Break Up With Him" featuring Dok2.

Trouble Maker edit

In December 2011, Hyunseung formed a unit with label mate 4Minute's Hyuna called Trouble Maker. Trouble Maker debuted with their self-named lead single and extended play, Trouble Maker.[14] On October 28, 2013, the group released their second extended play, Chemistry.

Musical career edit

Hyunseung made his acting debut in the musical Mozart!. He performed as the main character from late July 2012 to early August 2012 at the Sejong Center.[15]

In April 2014, Hyunseung was cast in the musical Bonnie & Clyde. He performed as the lead character, Clyde, from April 15 to June 29, 2014 at the BBC Art Center along with other artists, including SHINee‘s Key, ZE:A‘s Park Hyung Sik, Kahi, and Oh So Yeon.[16]

In April 2016, Hyunseung was nominated and won "Best Male Artist (South Korea)" at the 4th Annual V-Chart Music Awards in China.[17]

Departure from Beast edit

On April 19, 2016, Cube Entertainment announced he officially left Beast to continue as a soloist.[18][19]

On July 29, 2016, Cube Entertainment announced that Hyunseung would be joining the dance competition program Hit The Stage, making it his first broadcast appearance since leaving Beast.[20]

On December 13, 2016, it was confirmed that Hyunseung had renewed his exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment.[21]

On June 12, 2018, it was confirmed that Hyunseung will enlist in the military on July 24 as an active soldier.[22] He was discharged from the military on 13 March 2020.[23]

In December 2020, Hyunseung is set to release a song digitally, titled "I want to wrap your cold hands warmly". This is his first activity after his discharge in military service in March.[24] On December 17 2020, the song was released on digital charts and YouTube called "I Just Can't Stop Loving You (Korean title: 차가운 너의 손을 따스히 감싸주고 싶어).[25]

On August 3, 2021, Hyunseung's exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment has expired.[26]

Mine Field edit

As of September 2022, Hyunseung is signed to label Mine Field under the stage name 'ABLE'.[27]

Discography edit

Extended plays edit

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[28]
My
Track listing
  1. "It's Me"
  2. "Ma First" (feat. Giriboy)
  3. "Breakup With Him" (feat. Tokki)
  4. "Dirty Jokes"
  5. "Come Out"
  6. "I Said I Love You"
3
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles edit

Title Year Peak positions Sales Album
KOR
[30]
"Ma First"
(featuring Giriboy)
2015 28 My
"Break up With Him"
(featuring Tokki)
70
"Home" 2017 Non-album singles
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
(차가운 너의 손을 따스히 감싸주고 싶어)
2020
"Feeling" 2022
"Daisy"
(featuring Han Yo Han)
2023
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Other charted songs edit

Title Year Peak positions Sales Album
KOR
[30]
"Dirty Jokes" 2015 100 MY
"I Said I Love You" [A]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Features & OST edit

Year Date Title Artist Album
2011 05.09 “Loving U” Yoon Doojoon, Jang Hyunseung, Yang Yoseob All My Love OST
2012 07.03 “나는 나는 음악” (“I Am, I’m Music”) Jang Hyunseung for Mozart! Musical
2013 01.03 “일년전에” (“One Year Ago”) Jang Hyun-seung, Jung Eun-ji, and Kim Nam-joo ‘A CUBE’ FOR SEASON #WHITE

Filmography edit

Web shows edit

Year Title Network Role Ref.
2021 Double Trouble Watcha Contestant [33]

Awards and nominations edit

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2016
The 4th V Chart Awards
Top Male Artist-Korea Hyunseung[34] Won

Notes edit

  1. ^ "I Said I Love You" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 95 on the Gaon Download Chart.

References edit

  1. ^ Mark Russell (April 29, 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
  2. ^ "Winners from the '2011 Melon Music Awards'". Allkpop. November 24, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  3. ^ Trouble Maker wins Triple Crown #1 + Performances from December 29th’s ‘M! Countdown’. In 2016, he left Beast.
  4. ^ "B2ST's Hyunseung posts a childhood picture with sister".
  5. ^ "B2ST Cancels All Activities After Member Jang Hyun Seung's Father Passes Away - Latest K-pop news, Korean drama & movie - enewsworld". Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  6. ^ "B2ST's Hyunseung's father passes away".
  7. ^ "4 members of 6-member group BEAST enter DongShin University together on March 2". Star News (in Korean). March 1, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  8. ^ "K-pop stars scholarships irk students". The Korea Times. July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  9. ^ "K-pop stars' college diplomas revoked". The Korea Times. January 15, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "K-pop stars' degrees revoked after investigation". University World News. January 16, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "비스트 • BEAST • B2ST Airline Flight No. 1". Soompi Forums. November 17, 2010.
  12. ^ "BEAST's Yoon Doojoon "I want to be a singer after seeing "BIGBANG DOCUMENTARY"". Newsen (in Korean). October 22, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  13. ^ "My – EP by Jang Hyun Seung". iTunes. May 8, 2015.
  14. ^ "HyunA and Hyunseung release project EP, 'Trouble Maker'".
  15. ^ "Jang Hyun-seung to star in 'Mozart'". May 8, 2012.
  16. ^ "BEAST's Jang Hyunseung Cast for "Bonnie and Clyde" Musical". Soompi. April 7, 2014.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Jang Hyun-seung to bolt from BEAST". Yonhap. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  19. ^ "Beast's Jang Hyun-seung angers fans". The Korea Times. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  20. ^ "Hyunseung to make his first broadcast appearance after leaving B2ST on 'Hit the Stage'". Allkpop. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  21. ^ "Cube Entertainment Confirms Contract Renewal With Jang Hyun Seung, Gives Update On BEAST". Soompi. December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  22. ^ Kang, E (July 12, 2018). "Jang Hyunseung Confirms Military Enlistment Date". Soompi.
  23. ^ K, J. (March 13, 2020). "Jang Hyunseung Is Discharged From The Military". Soompi.
  24. ^ Yoo Byung-cheol (December 11, 2020). 장현승, 17일 신곡 ‘차가운 너의 손을 따스히 감싸주고 싶어’ 발표…아트워크 티저 이미지 공개 [Jang Hyun-seung, released a new song'I want to warmly wrap your cold hands' on the 17th... Art teaser image released]. The Korea Economic Daily.
  25. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "[MV] JANG HYUNSEUNG(장현승) _ I Just Can't Stop Loving You(차가운 너의 손을 따스히 감싸주고 싶어)". YouTube.
  26. ^ Lee Seung-rok (August 3, 2021). "[공식입장] 큐브 "장현승 전속계약 종료" [[Official Position] Cube "Exclusive contract with Hyunseung Jang"]. My Daily (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  27. ^ @minefield_official (September 30, 2022). "마인필드(Mine Field) 아티스트 "ABLE (장현승)" 영입" – via Instagram.
  28. ^ Gaon Weekly Album Chart
  29. ^ "Gaon Album Ranking Monthly (5/2015) – see #4". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015.
  30. ^ a b
  31. ^ "2015 Gaon Download Chart – May". Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  32. ^ a b c "2015 Gaon Download Chart – Week 20". Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  33. ^ Jang Jin-ri (November 15, 2021). "[단독]장현승, 왓챠 '더블 트러블' 출연…4년 만에 활동 재개" [[Exclusive] Hyunseung Jang to appear in Watcha's 'Double Trouble'... Resuming activities after 4 years] (in Korean). SPOTV NEWS. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  34. ^ "第四届音悦V榜年度盛典 – 音悦台". vchart.yinyuetai.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.

External links edit