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U-KISS (Korean: 유키스, Japanese: ユーキス) is a six-member boy group under Tango Music. They debuted under NH Media on September 3, 2008 with their first mini album New Generation.

Career[]

2008: Pre-debut, debut with New Generation[]

U-KISS was formed as a six member boy-group in 2008. Kevin and Kibum were part of the group XING but left the group in 2008.[1] The other 4 members were selected through auditions by NH Media. U-KISS debuted in Japan on August 15, 2008 at the Power of Atamix 08. The group debuted in South Korea on August 28, 2008 with a release of their first mini album, New Generation, on September 3, 2008 and a live performance of their first song "Not Young" on Mnet's M-Countdown. They also released a web-series named You Know U-KISS following the groups debut, then released All About U-KISS later on.[citation needed]

2009–2010: Rise in popularity[]

In 2009, U-KISS released their second mini album, Bring It Back 2 Old School, promoting "I Like You" as the album's title song. The third mini album, Conti UKiss, was released that introduced Kiseop as their 7th member. The title track, "Man Man Hani", rose their popularity in Korea. To promote the album, they appeared on their own reality show named U-KISS Vampire.

The group then released their 1st full length album, Only One, with "Bingeul Bingeul," as its title track. The album rose their popularity in the Philippines, so the group went to promote the album through a series of mall shows.[2] They were said to have sold more than 1,000 copies in 1 day alone. due to the success, U-KISS had their first concert in the Philippine dubbed as 'First Kiss In Manila', it was released as a DVD, making U-KISS the first international artist to release a DVD from a concert in the Philippines.[2] The group aired their reality show called Chef's Kiss to promote in Korea.

U-KISS released their fourth mini album, Break Time, during the beginning of October 2010. It was the group's final mini album with Alexander and Kibum.

2011–2012: Korean and Japanese promotions[]

NH Media announced that U-KISS would debut in the US soon, however this was cancelled due to the termination of member contracts. Alexander and Kibum announced that they would be leaving U-KISS for personal reasons.[3] Kibum was revealed to be "kicked" out of the group because the company felt he was lacking, while NH Media stated that Alexander would leave to focus on his studies.[4] Alexander denied this was the reason but did not give the real reason as to why he was leaving U-KISS. Siyoon (ex-Paran member) and Hoon (ex-soloist) were revealed to be the 2 replacements to the group. They made their comeback on March 30, 2011 with Bran New Kiss, their fifth mini album. The title track, "0330", was a hip-hop ballad that showed a change in the group's regular tough image.[5]

The group later signed with Avex Trax to prepare for a Japanese debut.[6] They released a Japanese version of "0330" and promoted it in Japan for a month.

U-KISS returned to Korea and released their second full-length album, Neverland, with the title track "Neverland" and promotional track "Someday". "Neverland" was an electro-pop dance track while "Someday" was a ballad track that showcased the group's vocal talent.[7]

U-KISS went back to Japan to officially debut with their first Japanese single, "Tick Tack".[8] The response for the song was extremely positive and the single debuted at #5 on the Oricon's Singles Chart.[9] They released A Shared Dream, their first full-length Japanese album, and "Forbidden Love", the group's second Japanese single, simultaneously.[10][11] The single peaked at #6 on Oricon, while the album peaked at #2.[12] To further promote the release, they went to hold their sold out tour dubbed as U-KISS 1st Japan Live Tour on March 2012, held at Zepp Hall.[13] The tour finished with U-KISS performing for a total of 25,000+ people.

After 8 months in Japan, U-KISS announced they would return to Korea with their sixth mini album, DoraDora.[14] On May 2012, DoraDora gained first spot on German's Asian Music Chart.[15] The group released a special album titled The Special To KissMe', and album entirely dedicated to their fans, KissMes. The title track, "Believe", was composed by Siyoon.[16]

U-KISS returned to Japan to release their third Japanese single, "Dear My Friend". The song was used for a Japanese anime titled, Stormy Night Friends. Their follow-up track, "Beautiful", was used for a commercial.[17] The group released ther fourth Japanese single titled "One Of You" soon after. U-KISS held another Japanese tour and ended the tour with a concert in Budokan.[18] They performed for 14,000+ fans, their largest to date, while the whole tour sold out 80,000+ tickets. Budokan is the second most prestigious concert arena, second to Tokyo Dome which holds 55,000+ people.

U-KISS once again returned to Korea with their seventh mini album Stop Girl.[19] They promoted the album in both Korea and Japan, however they also used the web to promote in China and Thailand. The group promoted the album on a show in Peru named 1 Queen 2 Frogs. They held a concert in front of 7,000+ fans in Peru due to the great response.[20] The group was then awarded the 'Special Hallyu Achievement' by the Korean Ministry Of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.[21]

They returned to Japan again to release their fifth Japanese single "Distance...". The group promoted the single briefly before announcing the release of their sixth Japanese single "Alone". A teaser trailer of the single was released on Avex's Youtube channel and garnered 100,000+ views in 4 days.[22]

2013: Future plans[]

U-KISS confirmed a new reality show that will air on Mnet Japan dubbed U-KISSme on January 9, 2013. The group will also release their sixth Japanese single on February 13, 2013 and will be used as the main theme for an upcoming NHK drama.[23]

The group also announced a Korean comeback in March 2013. They are to hold an South American tour in the mid-year of 2013.[24] Avex also plans to hold a Tokyo Dome concert for U-KISS, announcing if the concert goes well, an arena tour will possibly happen.[citation needed] U-KISS are also rumored to hold a UK concert in Lichfield but the location was left uncertain.[citation needed]

On October 16, 2013, NH Media released an official statement which informed of Dongho's departure from U-KISS due to health reasons. After a long discussion with his parents, Dongho put his celebrity activities on hold as he did not feel he had the stamina and health to maintain such a lifestyle and wanted to live a normal life.[25]

2014-2016: Addition of Jun, further promotions[]

On May 15, 2014, NH Media introduced new member Jun through U-KISS' official Korean website to replace the positions of Siyoon due to being on hiatus for continued his studies at Columbia University ahead of the group's comeback the following month. They made their return with the release of their ninth mini album, Mono Scandal. The 19+ rated MV of the title track "Quit Playing" made U-KISS the first boy group to be temporarily banned from broadcast in South Korea for "inappropriate choreography", causing them to make changes to the original dance routine.

The group made their return with their 10th mini album Always (U-KISS) on January 23, 2015 before releasing their fourth Japanese full-length Action on March 18.

During a live broadcast on May 19, 2016, the group revealed that they are in the final stage of prepartions for their long-awaited comeback. Then on May 23, a comeback scheduler for their 11th mini album set for June 7 was posted followed by the name of the album revealed to be Stalker on May 27. The album was then released on June 7 with the title track of the same name used as the main promotional track. The album was then promoted between June and early July 2016.

2022: New label, Kiseop's return[]

On January 24, 2022, it was announced that members Soohyun, Hoon, and Kiseop who had rejoined the group, had signed an exclusive contract with Tango Music to continue promoting as U-KISS.[26]

On January 29, 2022, Jun left the group.

2023: 15th anniversary, Play List[]

On May 15, 2023, Tango Music announced that U-KISS will make their comeback in June as a 6-member group with a new mini album, to celebrate the group's 15th anniversary. They also announced that members Hoon and Soohyun will release solo digital singles in the same month, later revealed to be "Mea Rosa" and "Fading Seasons (Prod. by O.WHEN)".[27] On June 1, it was announced that they will release their new mini album Play List on June 28.[28] It was later confirmed that former members Alexander, Eli and Siyoon returned to the group for the upcoming promotions.[29]

Members[]

Name Position(s) Years active
Alexander (알렉산더) Lead Rapper 2008–2011
2023–present
Soohyun (수현) Leader, Main Vocalist 2008–present
Kiseop (이기섭) Main Dancer, Vocalist, Visual 2009–2019[30]
2022–present
Eli (이라이) Main Rapper, Vocalist 2008–2019[30]
2023–present
Siyoon (시윤; formerly AJ) Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Composer 2011–2016
2023–present
Hoon (훈) Main Vocalist, Maknae (2011-2014; 2022-present) 2011–present
Former
Kibum (기범) Vocalist, Rapper 2008–2011
Dongho (동호) Rapper, Vocalist, Maknae (2008-2013) 2008–2013
Kevin (케빈) Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Face of the Group, Center 2008–2017[31]
Jun (준) Main Rapper, Vocalist, Maknae (2014-2022) 2014–2022

Sub-units[]

Discography[]

Korean[]

Studio albums[]

  • Only One (2010)
  • Neverland (2011)
  • Collage (2013)

Mini albums[]

Special albums[]

  • The Special To KissMe (2012)

Digital singles[]

  • "What" (2010)
  • "Someday" (2011)
  • "For Kiss Me" (2011)
  • "Amazing" (2011)
  • "Te Amo" (2012)
  • "Cinderella" (2012)
  • "Gangsta Boy" (2012)
  • "Mysterious Lady" (2013)
  • "Smart Love" (2015)
  • "Ready For U" (2017)
  • "The Wonderful Escape (Rock Ver.)" (2023)

OSTs[]

  • "Call of the Country OST Part.2" (2010)
  • "Real School OST Part.1" (2011)
  • "Manhole OST Part.5" (2017)

Japanese[]

Studio albums[]

  • A Shared Dream (2012)
  • Inside of Me (2013)
  • Memories (2014)
  • Action (2015)
  • One Shot One Kill (2016)
  • Solo & Unit (2017)
  • Link (2018)
  • Glory (2018)

Best albums[]

  • First Kiss (2010)
  • U-KISS Japan Best Collection 2011-2016 (2016)

Mini albums[]

  • The Christmas Album (2015)

Singles[]

  • "Tick Tack" (2011)
  • "Forbidden Love" (2012)
  • "Dear My Friend" (2012)
  • "One of You" (2012)
  • "Distance..." (2012)
  • "Alone" (2013)
  • "Fall in Love / Shape of Your Heart" (2013)
  • "Break Up" (2014)
  • "Love On U" (2014)
  • "Sweetie" (2014)
  • "Stay Gold" (2015)
  • "Kissing to Feel" (2016)
  • "Bokudakeno Hero" (2016)
  • "Panic!" (2016)
  • "Fly" (2017)
  • "Scandal" (2018)
  • "Be Good" (2021)

Digital singles[]

  • "Head Up High / One Call Away" (2014)
  • "Rock Me" (2015)
  • "Only Ever Yours" (2017)
  • "Yozora ni Saku Hana" (2020)

Concerts[]

Japan concerts[]

  • UKISS 15th Anniversary Comeback Concert In Japan <Wish List> (2023)[32]

Filmography[]

Reality shows[]

Year Title Network
2008 You Know U-KISS
2009 All About U-KISS
U-KISS Vampire
2010 Chef's Kiss
2013 U-KISSme
Kanzume!! TV Magazine Show
2014 U-KISS no Teatarishidai
Go U-KISS

Dramas[]

Year Title Role Network Members
2010 I Am Legend Cameo All
Autumn's Destiny Eli & Kibum
2011 Real School Dongho, Eli, Kiseop
2012 Holy Land Dongho, Hoon
The Strongest K-POP Survival Cameo All

Films[]

Year Title Role
2011 Mr. Idol cameo

Variety shows[]

Gallery[]

Main article: U-KISS/Gallery

References[]

  1. Soompi: 10 K-Pop Idols Who Debuted Before Joining Their Current Groups Part 2
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Korea Times: U-Kiss to hold first concert in Philippines
  3. Allkpop: (Updates) Alexander & Kim Kibum to leave U-KISS
  4. Soompi: Kim Ki Bum Clarifies Issue on Leaving U-Kiss Idol Group!
  5. Soompi: (MV) U-Kiss – 0330
  6. Soompi: U-KISS signs with Avex for Japanese debut
  7. Soompi: U-KISS Releases "Neverland" Music Video
  8. TokyoHive: Full audio for U-KISS' debut track "Tick Tack" revealed
  9. TokyoHive: Oricon reveals the weekly charts for December 26th
  10. TokyoHive: Korean group U-KISS' single "Forbidden Love" revealed on the radio
  11. Soompi: U-Kiss Releases MV for "A Shared Dream"
  12. Soompi: U-KISS’ Single and Album Reaches Top 10 on Oricon Chart
  13. Soompi: U-KISS Talks About Japanese Activities and Future Plans
  14. Soompi: U-KISS Releases "DORADORA" Music Video
  15. Star News: U-Kiss ranks first on German Asian Music Chart
  16. Soompi: U-KISS Releases a Special Album for Their Fans “The Special to Kiss Me”
  17. TokyoHive:U-KISS announces new Japanese single, "Dear My Friend"
  18. Soompi: U-KISS to Perform at the Budokan in September
  19. Soompi: U-KISS Releases Comeback MV “Stop Girl”
  20. Soompi: U-KISS to Be South America’s Next Top K-Pop Star
  21. Sports Chosun (KR): 유키스, 19일 문광부장관 한류특별공로상 수상
  22. TokyoHive:U-KISS reveals teaser trailer for upcoming Japanese single "ALONE"
  23. Soompi: U-KISS Releases MV for Sixth Japanese Single “Alone”
  24. Soompi: U-KISS Embarks on Three-Country Concert Tour to Peru, Colombia, and Mexico
  25. Soompi: (Breaking) Dong Ho To Leave U-KISS And To Take A Break From All Entertainment Activities
  26. Soompi: U-KISS’s Soohyun, Kiseop, And Hoon Sign With New Agency
  27. Soompi: U-KISS To Make June Comeback With 6 Members
  28. Allkpop: U-KISS reveal member teaser images for 15th anniversary mini album 'Play List'
  29. @__UKISS_ on Twitter (June 1, 2023)
  30. 30.0 30.1 Soompi: U-KISS’s Agency Announces Departure Of Eli And Kiseop
  31. Soompi: U-KISS’s Kevin To Officially Leave Group And Agency
  32. @__UKISS_ on Twitter (June 2, 2023)
  33. @jtbc_K909 on Twitter (July 4, 2023)

Official links[]

Korean
Japanese

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