Hong Kyung-min
Hong Kyung-Min (Korean: 홍경민; born February 9, 1976) is a South Korean pop rock singer known for his versatility. He is one of a few singers in Korea that excels at many different styles of music, from rock to dance to ballad. He has also proven himself a talented musician and a well rounded entertainer.
Hong Kyung-Min | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | 홍경민 |
| Born | February 9, 1976 |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | Pop rock, Latin dance |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor, dj |
| Instruments | Guitar, keyboard, drums, saxophone, harmonica |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | hongkyungmin |
| Stage name | |
| Hangul | 홍경민 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Hong Gyeong-min |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hong Kyŏng-min |
Music career
1997–2000
He made his debut as a rock-ballad singer in 1997 with the song "Now" ("이제는"). Hong Kyung Min's style of rock was much unlike any other rock singer. Different from rock singers with loud high-pitched tones, Hong Kyung Min's mid-to-low voice color and stable tone approached listeners with a more comforting sensation.
Although he was acknowledged as a talented singer with his strong husky voice appealing to many music lovers, his place in the pop music market was not significant. However, in 2000, the single "Shaky Friendship" ("흔들린 우정") was released from his third album and became a strong success. The single's release marked a change of style, as Hong broke away from his previous rock-styled songs and moved into the Latin music genre. His third album was a strong success and the best-selling album of Hong's career, with 280,422 copies sold in its release year.[1] As his new style of music continued to increase his popularity, Hong Kyung Min was nicknamed affectionately as "Korea's Ricky Martin".
2001–2002
Hong Kyung Min's success continued on into 2001, as he released his fourth album, with the hit track "Take It" ("가져가"), a single that blended rock and dance music. His fifth album, Forever and A Day, saw a brief return to his pop ballad roots with the title track "After" ("후").
2002 marked the five-year milestone in Hong Kyung Min's career. To celebrate he released a two disc compilation entitled The Hong Kyung Min Best 1997–2002 History which featured a new disco themed track "Her Charm" ("그녀의 매력"). One disc dubbed "Passion" showcased upbeat dance tracks, while the other disc ("Mood") contained ballads, showcasing Hong's diversity as a singer.
2002 also marked Hong Kyung Min's entrance into the army, putting the singer on hiatus for the next two years.
2004–present
Having finished full military service at the end of 2004, Hong Kyung Min returned with his sixth album, Listen and Repeat, with a hit rock song "Tonight". Also featured on this album is "To My Friend", the music video for which had appearances by Hong's real life friends Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Jong-kook.
In September 2006 the singer released his seventh album, Evolution of Rhythm, which marked Hong's return to the rock genre. With the promotion of his new album, 2006 saw an increase of guest appearances on celebrity talk and game shows. A guest appearance on SBS game show New X-Man saw Hong demonstrate his talent of imitating other singers by singing Shin Seung-hun's "I Believe" in eight different celebrity voices.
The following year marked the ten-year anniversary of Hong Kyung Min's career. On August 28, 2007 he released his eighth album Music for My Life, Life for My Music, a pop ballad album reflecting on the last decade. Close friend and composer Jo Young Soo composed the title song "Fool" ("못난이"), a ballad featuring a harmonica. The sixth track of the album, "Neighbour People, Fighting!!" ("동네 사람들, Fighting!!"), was personally composed and written by Hong Kyung Min himself.
On June 28, 2008 he released his ninth album titled Keep Going. Hong Kyung Min once again changes gears, this time putting more focus into upbeat dance tracks. The album's main track "Come Back, Come Back" ("돌아와 돌아와") features hip-hop duo Mighty Mouth. This marks the first time in six years that Hong Kyung Min has released a dance song as the lead single of his album.
Acting career
In July 2002 Hong made his film debut, starring as himself in the lead role of the satirical comedy Emergency Act 19 (긴급조치 19호). While the film featured many Korean entertainers as guests, the film received largely negative reviews. During an appearance on New X-Man, Hong mentioned the film as something that he was embarrassed about, but remarked that it was hard not to watch it simply because it was so bad.
Hong eventually moved onto dramas, as he starred opposite actress Lee Young-ah on the MBC romantic comedy series Love Can't Wait (사랑은 아무도 못말려) which aired from January 2, 2006 to June 30, 2006. He then starred in Fugitive, Lee Doo-young (도망자 이두용), a KBS2 miniseries which ran from September 27, 2006 to October 5, 2006.
In 2007, he had a supporting role in the SBS Drama The Person I Love (사랑하는 사람아). Starring opposite Kim Dong-wan and Han Eun-jung, the series aired from January 5, 2007 to March 27, 2007. In the same year, Hong debuted in Japan with the film 26 Years Diary (あなたを忘れない). The film was released simultaneously in both Japan and Korea. He also performed a song on the movie's soundtrack in both Korean and Japanese languages. The Korean version being penned by Hong himself.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [2][3] | |||
| Dedicate |
|
N/A | N/A |
| Free Throw II Shot |
| ||
| Hong Kyung Min 3 |
|
2 |
|
| Hong Kyung Min 4 |
|
10 |
|
| Forever and a Day |
|
6 |
|
| Listen and Repeat |
|
— | N/A |
| Evolution of Rhythm |
|
— | |
| Music for My Life, Life for My Music |
|
20 |
|
| Keep Going |
|
27 |
|
| Someday |
|
N/A | N/A |
| Special Edition |
|
14 | |
| "—" denotes release did not chart. | |||
Compilations albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [2] | |||
| The Hong Kyung Min Best 1997–2002 History |
|
— | N/A |
| "—" denotes release did not chart. | |||
Remake albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [2][3] | |||
| Emotion in Memory |
|
— | N/A |
| Immortal Song (불후의 명곡) |
|
18 | |
| "—" denotes release did not chart. | |||
Digital singles
| Single # | Single Information |
|---|---|
| 1 | "That time was great..."
|
| 2 | "Cheer Up Song"
|
| 3 | "DaDaDa"
|
| 4 | "Archive People"
|
| 5 | "그대가 그대라서"
|
| 6 | "Good Old Days"
|
| 7 | "Ballad for the Daughter (딸 있는 이를 위한 발라드)"
|
| 8 | "Takedown"
|
Filmography
Film
- 2002: Emergency Act 19
- 2007: 26 Years Diary
Television drama
- 2006: MBC Love Can't Wait
- 2006: KBS2 Fugitive, Lee Doo-young
- 2007: SBS The Person I Love
- 2012: Channel A The Strongest K-Pop Survival
- 2012: MBC I Do, I Do (cameo)
- 2017: KBS2 Hit the Top
Variety show
- 2008: MBC We Got Married (Pilot: "2008 Lunar New Year Special")
- 2017: KBS2 Dragon Club – Childish Bromance (Main cast)
- 2019: MBC King of Mask Singer (Contestant as "Right King", episodes 199–200)[8][9]
- 2019–present: KBS2 The Return of Superman (Cast with his children Ra-won and Ra-im)
Awards
Mnet Asian Music Awards
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Best Artist | "Shaky Friendship"[10][11] | Nominated |
| 2001 | Best Dance Performance | "Take It" (가져가)[12] | Nominated |
TV awards
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 17th KBS Entertainment Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | The Return of Superman | [13] |
References
- 2000 Album Chart Archived February 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Recording Industry Association of Korea. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
- "K-pop Album Sales Volume". Recording Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Hong Kyung Min 3 charting" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Hong Kyung Min 4 charting". Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Forever and a Day charting". Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Music for My Life, Life for My Music charting". Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Keep Going charting". Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Special Edition charting". Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "Immortal Song charting". Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- "2000 K-pop Album Sales Volume". Recording Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "2001 K-pop Album Sales Volume". Recording Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "September 2007 K-pop Album Sales Volume". Recording Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- "July 2008 K-pop Album Sales Volume". Recording Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- Lee So-jin (April 14, 2019). "'복면가왕' 이승협-함소원-우원재- 봉중근 100대 가왕전 1R 탈락(종합)". Herald Pop (in Korean). Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- Shim Eon-kyung (April 21, 2019). "'복면가왕' 걸리버 3연승, 100대 가왕 등극…홍경민·유승우·이상미 탈락[종합]". OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- "2000 MMF part 1". MAMA. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
- "2000 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list" Archived August 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. MAMA. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- "2001 MMF part 1". MAMA. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- "[2019 KBS 연예대상] '슈돌' 아빠들 대상 영광, 박주호 셋째 임신 수상소감 (종합)". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
