Broken Valentine

Broken Valentine is a Korean alternative rock band notable for their 2011 appearance on the Korean television program Top Band.

Broken Valentine
Also known as	6. August B. August
Origin	Seoul, Korea
Genres	Alternative rock, post-grunge
Years active	2002 (2002)–2013 (hiatus)
Labels	Rolling Cultureone YDCT Music
Website	www.brokenvalentine.com
Members	Byun G Sunghwan Koopa
Past members	Van Ansu

Members

• Sunghwan — Bass
• Byun G — Lead guitar
• Koopa — Drums

Past

• Van — Lead vocals
• Ansu — Lead guitar

History

Broken Valentine was formed in 2002 under the name "6. August", but renamed themselves "B. August" in 2004 before finally settling on "Broken Valentine" in 2007.

Band membership fluctuated throughout the years as members have gone off for mandatory military service, however by 2007, the current five member lineup was solidified.

In December 2008, the reunited band participated in the "Asian Beat" band competition (Korean round) sponsored by YAMAHA, and became the finalist to represent Korea in the following year's Asian Beat Grand Finale held in Hong Kong. In February 2009, Broken Valentine won the Grand Prize and the Best Composer Award (Byun G) with the song "Answer me", which became their most popular track. Broken Valentine thus became the first team in Asian Beat's history to ever win two awards in the same year.

In 2009, Broken Valentine released their first EP album, the self-produced Calling You. To celebrate this release, the performed a showcase concert, and continued to perform at local gigs and in support of other bands throughout South Korea. However, due to the nature of the South Korean music scene, with limited outlets for independent bands, they found difficulty achieving nationwide recognition, so in 2011, they tried out for the television program Top Band broadcast by the Korean Broadcasting System, a Survivor-like reality show wherein bands compete against each other. Broken Valentine was considered an early favorite, and made it to the round of 16 on the show, but was eliminated at this round by the band "Toxic."[1]

Following their elimination, Broken Valentine held their fourth exclusive concert "Royal Straight Flush" on October 14, 2011 to a crowd of more than 500 people. In 2012, they released their first full album, Shade, before going on an indefinite hiatus.

On August 3, 2015, it was reported that Broken Valentine's vocal, Van (Kim Kyung Min), had died from drowning, after he went to play in the waters with his friends. Van's funeral procession was held on August 5, 2015.[2]

Style

Broken Valentine writes and composes their own songs, mostly written by Byun G and Van. Their music style can be categorized as alternative rock and post-grunge.

Discography

Full-length album

• Shade (2012)

1. Royal Straight Flush
2. Shade (Title)
3. M.K. Dance
4. This Time
5. Noname
6. You Never Mind
7. Down
8. Dual-log
9. L I F E
10. What U Need
11. Noname(Piano Ver.)

EP

Songs captured with "" is translated title.

• Alien (as B.August) (Digital Single, 2005)

1. Alien
2. "Just like that as is"
3. Run

• Answer Me!! Is This What You NEED?? Self-produced EP (2007)

1. What You NEED (Vocal Sunghwan ver.)
2. L I F E (Vocal Sunghwan ver.)
3. "If I open my eyes" (Vocal Sunghwan ver.)
4. Answer Me (Vocal Sunghwan ver.)
5. Alien (Vocal Van ver.)
6. "Just like this as is" (Vocal Van ver.)
7. Run (Vocal Van ver.)

• Calling You (2009)

1. This time reprise
2. "The sea in my old drawer" (cover of song by the band Panic)
3. M.K. Dance
4. "Song of the fossil"
5. Answer me

• Down (2011)

1. Down
2. Noname

• RIDE (Digital Single, 2013)

1. Ride

Awards

• August 2006, received 2nd Prize at Music Contest for National University Students sponsored by Suwon City
• November 2008, won Grand Prize at YAMAHA Asian Beat Korea Final
• February 28, 2009, won Grand Prize and Best Composer Award at YAMAHA Asianbeat Grand Final (in Hong Kong)

References

1. Surh Jung-min (20 September 2011). "'Top Band' concert draws diverse audience". The Hankyoreh.
2. "[경인포토]`브로큰 발렌타인` 보컬 반, `이제는 들을 수 없는 목소리`". 경인일보 (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-04-05.