Native name
|
김종국
|
Born
|
Kim Jong-kook
April 25, 1976 Hapcheon, South Korea |
Other names
|
·
The Commander
·
The Tiger
·
Mr. Capable
·
Sparta Kook
·
Kookie
·
The One Man
·
Kim Kook Jong
|
Occupation
|
·
Singer
·
Dancer
·
Entertainer
·
Television personality
|
Musical career
|
|
Genres
|
·
K-pop
·
Dance
·
Hip Hop
·
Ballad
·
Trot
|
Years active
|
1995 – present
|
Labels
|
·
CJ Music (2001–2006)
·
Mnet Media (2007–2008)
·
101 Entertainment (2010–2011)
·
JK Entertainment (2011–2014)
·
Urban Works ENT (2014-2015)
·
Maroo Entertainment (2015-present)
|
Associated acts
|
·
Turbo
·
Mighty Mouth
·
SG Wannabe
·
Running Man Brothers
|
Education Background
·
Elementary Education: Myeong Hak
Elementary School
·
Secondary Education: Shin Seong
Middle and High School
·
Tertiary Education: Hansei University
·
Postgraduate: Dankook University
(Master’s degree from the Pop Culture Performing Arts – School of Arts
Department)
Career
1995–2000: Debut with Turbo
Kim Jong-kook first entered the Korean music industry in
1995 as a member of the duo, Turbo, which became immensely popular for their
catchy music. After the duo disbanded a few years later, he became a solo
singer in 2001, mostly concentrating on ballads. Although his unusually high tone of voice is often joked
about (with many stars jokingly calling it a “mosquito voice”), he had many hit
singles and has also been a frequent guest on many variety shows, most notably X-Man.In addition, his
muscular body is often considered one of the best in K-pop
2001–2005: Solo Artist, 3 Daesang
Winner
Kim Jong-kook had a set back after Turbo as he faced
difficulties settling down as a solo artist. Problems like lack of songs from
composers, less support from his respected agency and also a change of taste
within the fans caused his first album as a solo artist to fail. However he
made a huge comeback with his second album (Evolution). One of the songs in the
second solo album called Han Nam Ja (One Man) was the reason for all his
success. This song became his trademark song and left a very deep impression on
the listeners. Furthermore, a rumor between him and Yoon Eun Hye grabbed a lot
of attention. This rumor started when both of them were permanent members of a
famous variety show called X-Man. This rumor actually brought them close and
they started to act like a couple in X-Man.
On 2005, which was his tenth year in Korean Entertainment
Industry, Kim Jong-kook became one of Korea’s most popular artists when his
third album sold more than 300,000 copies,making it one of the year’s
best-selling albums in Korea. He capped off that year by sweeping the Daesang
(Best Artist of The Year) from all 3 major Korean TV stations, SBS, KBS and
MBC. In doing so, he became the second artist to ever accomplish this feat
since Cho Yong-Pil in the 1980s. The lead single from the album, “Lovable”,
topped many charts. It was also included in Pump It Up and Audition Online.
Apart from that, other songs like “Walking in One Spot” and “Star, Wind,
Sunshine and Love” also topped many charts as well.
2006–2008: KBS Shootdori, Military
Service & Return to Music Industry
On January 21, 2006, Kim Jong-kook, Jeon Hye-bin, and Im
Tae-kyung participated in Thuy Nga’s Paris by Night 81 Vietnamese concert in
California. During the concert, Kim Jong-kook performed one of his song from
his third album entitled “To Her Man”.
Kim Jong-kook was made the leader of the first series of
Shootdori. Shootdori is a show where kids that are interested in soccer take a
test (see if they have the basic knowledge and are involved in a soccer game)
and are chosen by the production team to be involved in the team. Kim Jong-kook
thought that the show would not succeed due to their first game which they lost
21 to 0. But the Shootdori team practiced hard and became a better team and had
gotten lots of love from the viewers. However, Kim Jong-kook had to leave the
team due to his sudden mandatory military service. He wrote and sang a song for
the Shootdori team in his 4th album ‘Volume 4 – Kim Jong-kook’s Fourth Letter’,
which is called ‘Toward A Dream’. On the day before he was enlisted, he spent
his time with the Shootdori kids and telling them that he will no longer be
able to see them for a while. He was devastated because he wanted to end the
season with the kids but had to leave the kids and the show. Kim Jong-kook even
shed tears bidding his goodbye through an interview. After he came back from
his military service he went on the show ‘KBS2TV Immortal Musical Classics’ and
the production team had gathered all of the Season 1 Shootdori members and had
a reunion with Kim Jong-kook. When he saw the kids, he had tears in his eyes,
and they sang their favorite song ‘Lovable’ by Kim Jong-kook together.
On March 2006, Kim Jong-kook received his mandatory
military service enlistment letter at the height of his popularity and career.
Kim Jong-kook also released his fourth album around that time. Since he was
unable to directly promote it while in the military, he used unorthodox
methods. To comply with the Korean law, the music video was shot so that his
face would never be seen on screen. He asked Yoon Eun-hye, whom he is famous to
have a love-line with, to star in the music video. Though there has been no
direct promotion, his fourth album has sold more than 100,000 copies.
It was announced in late April 2008 that the singer would
end his military service on May 23, 2008. On that day, he was greeted by fans,
and during his interview, he said that he was “relieved”. His fifth studio
album, “Here I am” was released on October 22, 2008 with songs such as “Today
More than Yesterday” and “Thank You.” Proving false the “tradition” of not
being able to rise once again after military service, Kim Jong-kook made a
successful comeback, making one album, one digital single [Happy Virus] and one
trot [Ddajo].
2009–2011: SBS Family Outing & Running Man
Kim Jong-kook also returned to television, becoming a
permanent member of variety show Family Outing, part of SBS’s Good Sunday lineup which earned him much popularity, especially with
the love scandals between Lee Hyori and Park Ye-jin. Kim Jong-kook’s Hoolala CF
with Kim Sooro was released on July 2009. He has also posed for many clothing
advertisements . His sixth album was released on January 27, and a preview of
the album was released with the song “Don’t Be Good to Me.” However the title
song for the album is titled “This is the Person”. The music video for the song
included Park Ye-jin who is famous for the “Family Outing Scandal” between Kim
Jong-kook, Lee Hyori and Park Ye-jin. His sixth album is titled “The Eleventh
Story” because in his music career, he has so far released 11 albums. It
included 3 MV. Right now, he is a regular on SBS’s Running Man.
On August 27, 2010 Kim Jong-kook received a lumbar
microdiscectomy back disk surgery at Seoul’s Kwan Ahk Goo Chung Ryong Dong
Kangnam Choice hospital. Kim Jong-kook’s management company, 101 Entertainment,
stated, “Kim Jong-kook carried on with his daily activities without knowing
that he had a ruptured disk. However, he did feel pain, but didn’t think much
of it, and he endured his condition with painkillers while filming SBS Running
Man.”
Kim Jong-kook’s active participation in SBS Running Man
makes him one of the biggest names in Korean Variety Shows World. He has been
called “SpartaKook” and “Mr.Capable”, throughout the SBS Running Man and he has
received a favorable evaluation leading the mission with his muscular body and
extraordinary intelligence. This was proven when he won SBS 연예대상 (SBS Entertainment Awards) Best TV
Star Award on 2011.
2012–present: Variety shows, 7th
Album & Music Collaborations]
On 1 November 2012, following a pre-release of selected
songs from his new album, Kim Jong-kook made a comeback to the music scene with
the release of his seventh studio album Journey Home after
three years. His fellow Running Man co-stars HaHa and Gary participated in the album as well
as former Running Manmember
Song Joong-ki, who starred in the music video for lead track “Men Are All Like
That”.On 2013, he attended MAMA 2013 as a presenter along with Running Man
co-host Song Ji-hyo.
He also continues his variety and MC activities in Running Man and
Safety First! His performance in these shows was well-received among Korean
fans and he earned himself an Excellence award and Best Entertainer award at
2013 SBS and KBS Entertainment Awards. He proves to be very popular among international fans as
well. He ranked #1 in the list of most searched/googled Korean stars in
Singapore in 2013 (beating the likes of Super Junior, Girls Generation, and
Yoon Eun Hye). His 2013 showcase sold out in Singapore and it was a huge
success with more than 1,700 fans in attendance. In addition, 2,000 fans who
were unable to attend the showcase crowded out the IMM Level 3 Garden Plaza
where his fan signing session was held. He was also voted as #1 Korean
solo singer by Tudou (Chinese equivalent of YouTube) viewers. He received more
than 1.75 million votes and beat popular K-pop idols such as G-Dragon, Kim
Hyun-joong, and Lee Hyori by a surprisingly wide margin.Kim Jong Kook continues
to be successful amongst international fans. His first solo concert in Harbin,
China sold out.
In 2014, he again joined fellow Running Man cast
member Haha, this time as a musical duo, Running Man Brothers, and debuted in a
concert tour in the United States in July and December.
In January 2015, he was a guest on a popular talk show,
Healing Camp, Aren’t You Happy, where he shed light on many personal
controversies, including his choice to work as a public service worker instead
of an active-duty soldier during his mandatory military enlistment.
In September 2015, he left Urban Works ENT as his contract
with them had expired. He later went on to sign an exclusive contract with
Maroo Entertainment in October 2015.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét