Kevin Woo
Kevin Woo | |
---|---|
![]() Woo at KCON 2017 LA in August 2017 | |
Born |
Christopher Thomas Woo[1] November 25, 1991 Danville, California, United States |
Other names | Woo Sung-hyun |
Occupation |
|
Musical career | |
Genres | K-pop |
Instruments |
|
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels |
XING Entertainment (2006–2008) NH Media (2008–2017) Coridel Entertainment (2018–Present) |
Associated acts |
|
Korean name | |
Hangul | 우성현 |
---|---|
Revised Romanization | U Seong-hyeon |
McCune–Reischauer | U Sŏnghyŏn |
Stage Name | |
Hangul | 케빈우 |
---|---|
Revised Romanization | U Kebin |
McCune–Reischauer | U Kebin |
Christopher Thomas Woo (born November 25, 1991),[1] known professionally as Kevin Woo or Kevin, is an American singer, actor and television host currently based in South Korea. Born and raised in California, he was discovered by South Korean entertainment agency XING Entertainment at the age of 15 and subsequently moved to South Korea. After a few months of training, Kevin debuted as a member of boy group XING in 2006 and left the group two years later. In August 2008, he re-debuted as a member of boy group U-KISS. In March 2017, he left U-KISS after his contract expired.[2]
Early life
Kevin was born and raised in Danville, California,[3] where he lived with his parents and elder sister. His father is a CF director while his mother is a fashion model. His paternal uncle is Emmanuel Woo,[4] who is an actor and classical singer in Germany.
After auditioning in Korea during a holiday trip, he was scouted and thus decided to be a singer. At the age of 15, Kevin moved to South Korea with his mother to pursue his dream.
Career
![](../I/m/U-Kiss_Dream_Concert_2013_Source-K-Soul_Magazine.jpg)
XING (2006 to 2008)
Kevin made his debut in the four-member group XING alongside Marumir (now also known as Kim Kibum), Yume and Cheon Hyesung. The group's first single, "In Your Hands," was released on December 14, 2006. Their popularity quickly rose and they were dubbed the teenage SG Wannabe. After the release of T-Express in April 2008, Kevin left the group.
U-Kiss
Kevin redebuted in the six-member group U-KISS. They debuted on August 15, 2008 in Japan at the Power of Atamix. The group released their first mini album, N-Generation, on September 3, 2008.
In December 2009, Kevin and Alexander, a fellow U-KISS member, released the single "Finally." The song was composed by Brave Brothers.
On October 12, 2011, it was revealed that Kevin and Eli of U-KISS would collaborate with Avex artist JAMOSA for her single "Together". The single was released on December 7 and the trio held release events at Lazone Kawasaki Plaza (December 9), Osaka Senri Selcy (December 10) and Asunal Kanayama (December 11).[5] The song "Together" was then selected as the theme song for BeeTV's "sweetTV".[6]
In 2012, Kevin and Soohyun sang "Remember", a song originally by the group UN. It was used in the soundtrack of the drama series Syndrome.[7] On March 1, 2017, it was announced on U-Kiss's official fan cafe by the label that Kevin's contract with them had come to an end and would not be renewed.
On March 1, 2017 NH Media[8] announced that Kevin would officially leave U-KISS when his contract ended on March 31, 2017. However, he continued promotions with U-KISS until mid-April.
uBEAT
In 2013, Kevin and fellow U-KISS members Eli and AJ debuted as uBEAT, the first U-KISS sub-unit. The sub-unit released their debut mini-album I Should Have Treated You Better with a title track of the same name. The title track was composed by hit-maker Brave Brothers, who Kevin had previously collaborated with on "Finally". uBEAT had their debut stage at Mnet M!Countdown's special global edition in Taiwan.[9]
Acting
In July 2010, Kevin alongside his bandmates Soohyun, Kibum, Kiseop and Dongho were announced to be part of the drama I Am Legend,[10] acting as a rock band. This marked their acting debut, where the members would get to show their musical talents by playing instruments rather than just singing; Kevin was to play the guitar. Fans were surprised when they did not appear in the drama. No official report has explained the issue.
On January 5, 2011, Kevin participated in the musical On Air Live as the lead actor. He acted in a total of 26 shows, his last stage coming on February 14, 2011.
In April 2013, Kevin alongside bandmates Soohyun, Eli and Kiseop participated in the drama KPOP The Ultimate Audition, having small cameo appearances in three episodes as a senior idol group to the main cast.[11]
In April 2013, Kevin and Soohyun were selected to appear in the Korean adaptation of the musical Summer Snow alongside Super Junior's Sungmin, Supernova's Sungjae, SS501's Heo Young-saeng and FT Island's Seunghyun. Their appearances lasted from April 2013 to June 2013. This was Kevin's second musical.[12]
Variety show hosting
Kevin has several MC credits to his name. In February 2009, he joined Arirang TV's[13] radio show Pops in Seoul to host the "All About You" segment alongside co-host Kim Isak. U-KISS bandmate Alexander later joined the duo as a host. U-KISS bandmate Eli joined them as the new co-host in early 2010, replacing Kim Isak. In August 2010, Kevin and Alexander were selected as the new MC's for Arirang TV's music show The M-Wave.[14]
On March 17, 2011, U-KISS' Kevin, Eli, and Alexander quit MCing for Arirang's Radio School due to the loss of U-KISS members Alexander and Kibum from the group. After the release of a U-KISS album in the same year, Arirang replaced Radio School with an alternate program.
In mid-2011, Kevin was selected to MC the Korean Music Wave in Singapore alongside Miss A's Min,[15] as well as Korean Music Wave in Malaysia with fellow U-KISS member Dongho.[16] In November 2011, Kevin and bandmate Eli were selected as MC's for Mnet's English-language version of M!Countdown, US MCountdown.[17]
On May 1, 2014, Kevin was a guest on popular music talk show After School Club and, beginning with episode 43, became a co-host alongside Eric Nam and Park Jimin.
On September 22 and 23, 2017, Kevin was the host and MC for KCON Australia 2017 as part of the pre-show events.[18]
Personal life
In a Japanese survey through popular fortune-telling site Cocoloni, Kevin was ranked as the number one luckiest Hallyu star for 2012. 100 fortune-tellers participated in the survey, predicting the stars' fortunes through zodiac, blood type and other methods. When Kevin received the news, he stated: "I'm honored to be ranked first. I want to make this really happen this year. U-KISS will go on a Japanese tour and we will also release our album. Please keep supporting us and help us rank first on the Oricon chart." [19]
Discography
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales |
---|---|---|---|
JPN [20] | |||
Japanese | |||
"Make me/Out of my life" (feat. K) | 2016 | 7 |
|
Filmography
Television dramas
Year | Title | Network | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | I Am Legend | SBS | Kiss band member | Supporting |
2015 | About Love | Naver TV Cast | Kevin | Web-drama; Main role |
Let's Eat 2 | tvN | Himself | Cameo | |
2016 | One and Only You | TV Chosun | Hong Suk | Main role |
Television shows
Year | Title | Network | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | The M-Wave | Arirang TV | Host | |
2011 | US MCountdown | Mnet | Host | |
2014—2018 | After School Club | Arirang TV | Co-host | Left to focus on music career. |
Musical theatre
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | On Air Live | ||
2013 | Summer Snow | ||
2014 | On Air Live |
References
- 1 2 The Birth of Christopher Thomas Woo
- ↑ KBS World. U-KISS. March 13, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
- ↑ Song Woong-ki (March 30, 2010). "U-Kiss to bring back `80s kitsch". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
- ↑ "Emmanuel Woo". IMDb. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ↑ oricon. JAMOSA, U-KISS First Collaboration. October 12, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
- ↑ musicman-net.com. JAMOSA+KEVIN&ELI(U-KISS), "Together" Selected as BeeTV's Theme Song. December 19, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
- ↑ korea.com. U-Kiss releases a beautiful ballad, “Remember”. February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ "[공식입장 전문] 유키스 측 "케빈, 계약종료로 팀 탈퇴..5인조 재정비"" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-03-02.
- ↑ "유키스 유닛 유비트, 오는 25일 대만서 첫 무대 '기대↑'". m.news.naver.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
- ↑ Nate News. U-KISS become acting idols, 5 members to debut in drama. July 27, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ↑ news.nate.com. "KPOP Ultimate Survival" U-KISS. April 22, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ http://u-kiss.jp/news/20130220.html
- ↑ Arirang. Arirang. February 8, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- ↑ MSN News. Alexander & Kevin chosen to be Arirang TV Music Show's MC's. August 2, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010
- ↑ Kevin's Twitter Kevin's Twitter Update. June 12, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ viki.com Lineup announced for Korean Music Wave 2011 in Malaysia. August 30, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ @US_MCountdown. US_Mcountdown.
- ↑ KCON Australia Post . September 20, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
- ↑ korea.com. Japan predicts luckiest Hallyu stars for 2012. January 18, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Make me/Out of my life". Oricon. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ↑ "2016 Orion Chart - July Week 2". Oricon Chart. Retrieved July 24, 2016.