U-KISS (Korean: 유키스, Japanese: ユーキス) is a five-member boy group formed by NH Media in 2008. Their breakthrough song was "ManManHani" released in 2009. In 2011, the group made their formal Japanese debut with "Tick Tack" after signing with Avex Trax.
Career
2008: Pre-debut & debut
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. 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, (N-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-serie named You Know U-KISS following the groups debut, then released All About U-KISS later on.
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, ContiUkiss, 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. 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. 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 annouced 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. 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. Alexander denied this was the reason but did not give the real reason as to why he was leaving U-KISS. AJ (ex-Paran member) and Hoon (ex-soloist) was 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. The group signed with Avex Trax after to prepare for a Japanese debut. 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.
U-KISS returned to Japan to officially debut with their first Japanese single, "Tick Tack". The response for the song was extremely well and the single debuted at #5 on the Oricon Singles Chart. They released A Shared Dream, their first full-length Japanese album, and "Forbidden Love", the group's second Japanese single, simultaneously. The single peaked at #6 on the Oricon while the album peaked at #2. 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. 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, Dordora. On May 2012, DoraDora gained first spot on German's Asian Music Chart. 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 AJ.
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. 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. 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. 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. The group was then awarded the 'Special Hallyu Achievement' by the Korean Ministry Of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
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.
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.
The group also announced a Korean comeback in March 2013. They are to hold an South American tour in the mid-year of 2013. Avex also plans to hold a Tokyo Dome concert for U-KISS, announcing if the concert goes well, an arena tour will possibly happen. U-KISS are also rumored to hold a UK concert in Lichfield but the location is not yet certain.
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.
Subunits
- uBEAT
Members
- Soohyun (Shin Soo-hyun) - leader, main vocals (hiatus)
- Kiseop (Lee Ki-seop) - main dancer, vocalist, visual
- Eli (Kim Kyoung-jae) - main rapper, vocalist
- Hoon (Yeo Hoon-min) - lead vocalist
- Jun (Lee Jun-young) - rapper, vocalist, maknae
- Past
- Xander (Alexander Lee Eusebio) - lead rapper
- Kibum (Kim Ki-bum) - vocalist, sub rapper
- Dongho (Shin Dong-ho) - rapper, vocalist
- AJ (Kim Jae-seop) - lead rapper, vocalist, composer, dancer
- Kevin (Woo Sung-hyun) - main vocalist, lead dancer, second visual
Discography
Korean
Studio albums
- Only One (2010)
- Neverland (2011)
- Collage (2013)
Mini albums
- New Generation (2008)
- Bring It Back 2 Old School (2009)
- Conti UKiss (2009)
- Break Time (2010)
- Bran New Kiss (2011)
- DoraDora (2012)
- Stop Girl (2012)
- Moments (2013)
- Mono Scandal (2014)
- Always (2015)
- Stalker (2016)
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)
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)
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)
Filmography
Reality Shows
| Year | Title Of Show |
|---|---|
| 2008 | You Know U-KISS (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2009 | All About U-KISS (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2009 | U-KISS Vampire (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2010 | Chef's Kiss (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2012 | K-POP Tasty Road (Eli) |
| 2013 | U-KISSme (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2013 |
Kanzume!! TV Magazine Show (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2014 | U-KISS no Teatarishidai (All Of U-KISS) |
| 2014 | Go U-KISS (All Of U-KISS) |
Dramas
| Year | Title Of Drama |
|---|---|
| 2010 | I Am Legend (cameo) (Korea) |
| 2010 | Autumn's Destiny (Eli, Kibum) (Thailand) |
| 2011 | Royal Family (Dongho) (Korea) |
| 2011 | Real School (Dongho, Eli, Kiseop) (Korea) |
| 2012 | Holy Land (Dongho, Hoon) (Korea) |
| 2012 | The Strongest K-POP Survivial (cameo) (Korea) |
| 2013 | Beautiful Man (Hoon) (Korea) |
Films
| Year | Title Of Film |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Villain & Widow (Dongho) |
| 2011 | Mr. Idol (cameo) |
| 2011 | My Black Mini Dress (Dongho) |
| 2012 | Don't Cry Mommy (Dongho) |
Gallery
Official links
- Korean
- Japanese