H.O.T.

'H.O.T.'was a popular five-member South Korean boy band of the late 1990s. The five-member boy band, who played various instruments, enjoyed massive success alongside the likes of Sechs Kies, Fin. K.L., S.E.S. and Shinhwa. Like many Korean bands, their name is an acronym - H.O.T. standing for "'H'igh-five 'O'f 'T'eenagers". Before their disbandment they dominated the charts, setting the standard for other Kpop boybands. They were formed by SM Entertainment in 1996 and disbanded in 2001.

Contents

Members

An Chil Hyun

Jang Woo Hyuk

An Seung Ho

Moon Hee Jun

Lee Jae Won

History

Disbandment and post-H.O.T.

Discography

Albums

Joint discography

Companies and studios owned by H.O.T. members

The fans

Trivia

External links

Members

An Chil Hyun

Main articles: Kangta

Kangta (강타) (born October 10, 1979) is the lead vocalist and backup rapper for the band. His "candy" number and colour is "27" and green. An Chil Hyun is also known by fans as Kangta, meaning a powerful blast in Korean (He chose the stagename to describe his powerful singing voice). The vast majority of H.O.T.'s refrains are sung by Kangta. He is a decent rapper, but the weakest of the five, though his raps can be heard in one or two of H.O.T's songs, such as "Warrior Descendants", and a part in "Git it Up". In the earlier days of H.O.T., he was famous for his good looks, appealing to many young women. Having been a backup dancer, he is also a decent dancer, though average compared to members such asJang Woo Hyuk or Moon Hee Jun.

Jang Woo Hyuk

Main articles: Jang Woo Hyuk

Jang Woo Hyuk (장우혁) (born May 8, 1978) is the group's bass singer and lead rapper of the five, with an abrasive delivery inspired by American hip-hop artists. His "candy" number and colour is "35" and blue. Along with Hee Jun, he is also one of H.O.T's best dancers. Many girls were attracted to his charismatic appearance and quiet personality. He is known to scream out the lyrics in most of their songs, evident in "We Are The Future", "Git It Up", "Warrior Descendants, and "I Yah". However, he can also rap in a whisper, similar to that of Jae Won, in songs such as "Hwan Hee (It's Been Raining Since You Let Me)".

An Seung Ho

Main articles: Tony An

Tony (토니) (born June 7, 1978) uses his English name rather than his Korean name, An Seung Ho (안승호). He is the English and Korean rapper and vocalist for the group. His "candy" number and colour is "7" and red. He writes and performs most of the English rap lyrics. Tony sings the chorus parts of certain songs. As other members have been in earlier days of H.O.T., he appealed to the young women with his cute baby-face countenance. He graduated from Cerritos High School in California, U.S.. He was discovered by Mr. Boone of Brothers Entertainment.

Moon Hee Jun

Main articles: Moon Hee Jun

Moon Hee Jun (문희준) (born March 14, 1978) is the leader, rapper and singer of the band. His "candy" number and colour is "23" and yellow. Unofficially known as Moon by his English speaking fans, Moon is a decent singer and an outstanding dancer. Moon is best known for his boyishly handsome face, smooth rapping, and his penchant for Freddy Krueger-style razor-clawed gloves (for H.O.T's 4th album). He is also famous for frequently changing his hair color and its style. In their fifth album jacket, he was photographed with a crimson-colored hair that seemed to inspire womanliness. He is also the most hated, out the five H.O.T. members, by non-fans in Korea.

Lee Jae Won

Main articles: Lee Jae Won

Lee Jae Won (이재원) (born April 5, 1980) is the youngest of the members. He is the Korean rapper and backup singer for the group. His "candy" number and color is "48" and orange. His rap style is smooth and subtle, sometimes delivered almost at a whisper. He is also a relatively good dancer, though he did not receive as much recognition in his dancing as Hee Jun or Woo Hyuk did. Although Jae Won is both a singer and a rapper of the group, his forte is in rapping, and so does more rapping than singing. Jae Won is also recognized for his noticeable physical appearances, such as his tall height compared to those of other members, spiky hair, and gentle countenance, which appealed to many young girls.

History

H.O.T. was formed by producer Lee Soo Man of SM Entertainment. Their songs are a mixture of rap, Backstreet Boys-esque ballads, dance, and by 1999, rock, with Kangta providing most of the ballad vocals.
The first member to join was Ahn Chil Hyun (a.k.a. Kangta), while hanging around Lotte World. The manager saw him dancing and singing, and was impressed. Second to join was Moon Hee Jun, after auditioning, he got in. Hee Jun then offered his friend, Lee Jae Won to audition, and Jae Won also made it. The fourth to join was Jang Woo Hyuk, after winning first place in a dancing contest. He was asked to try out and became the fourth member to join. Lastly, Tony An and his close friend Andy Lee were discovered by Brothers Entertainment and placed with SM Entertainment. Andy's parents suddenly withdrew support, and Andy was dropped out of H.O.T. In 1998, he was put in a six-member group, Shinhwa.
While they were remembered simply as a boy band aimed at teenage girls, the members made a fair amount of contribution to their albums by writing and composing their own songs. By the release of their third album "Resurrection", they had written most of their own lyrics. For their last two albums, "Iyah!" and "Outside Castle", they also began to compose the music for most of their songs. The members, Moon Hee Jun and Jang Woo Hyuk in particular, also choreographed all their dance moves to their songs, adding an exciting dimension to the band's music videos. H.O.T also got the image of being angels after the release of their anime music video for their song "Promise of H.O.T.".
They were the first k-pop group to ever hold a concert in the Seoul Olympic Stadium because of the magnitude of their fanbase. Because of their popularity, they were seen frequently in advertisements. At one point, they even had their own soda brand with a catch phrase "I only drink H.O.T.".
Shortly before their disbandment, they starred in a "Space Jam"-like movie "Age of Peace", to which they also released a soundtrack consisting of trance & two vocal songs. "Age of Peace" was showcased in Japan while they were promoting their fourth album. Everything in the film except for the five members were computerized. They produced a soundtrack for this film as well. They won numerous awards from KMTV, and various popular music shows in Korea.
As expected from teen idols, H.O.T. maintained a squeaky-clean image, avoiding things South Korea wouldn't tolerate from singers such as avoiding military time (or skipping the country to do so), dropouts, battery, obscenity, arrest, drugs, and etc.
In 1998, "We Are The Future"'s promo video song earned an American MTV Video Award for Best International Video.
They maintained a friendly rivalry with other K-pop bands such as Shinhwa and Sechs Kies, and were close friends with Kim Hwan Sung of N.R.G., who died tragically from pneumonia a week or two prior to his 20th birthday. Kangta, especially was heartbroken by his friend's death. When N.R.G. released their album after Kim Hwan Sung's death, Kangta wrote the main track of their album.
H.O.T. released their last hit song, "A Song for Lady", which was used in the Korean drama "Autumn in my Heart". Clips from the drama can be seen in the song's music video.

Disbandment and post-H.O.T.

H.O.T. disbanded in May of 2001. As H.O.T.'s neared the end of their contracts with SM Entertainment, it was rumored that financial issues caused the group to split. Each member received royalties equivalent of 1 cent for each copy of their album sold, meaning that each of them would earn roughly $10,000 for selling million copies of their album. When An once complained that they were being underpaid, Lee Soo Man said
"I even pay for your gas, what are you complaining about?" in response. ^[1]
After the split, Kangta and Moon Hee Jun were offered lucrative contracts to SM Entertainment as solo artists and released moderately successful albums. While Kangta's music was usually mainstream pop, Moon Hee Jun in the beginning, like Kangta, started with the mainstream pop, but later attempted to establish a rock music career. However, Hee Jun was overshadowed by his teen idol image and was met with harsh criticism.
The remaining members, Jang Woo Hyuk, Tony An, and Lee Jae Won, formed a three-member group called JTL under another label, and sold moderately successful albums.
Later, Jang Woo Hyuk and a partner created their own dance company with Woo Hyuk leading his own team and school named "''Newest''".
A few years after forming JTL, Tony An released a solo album, created his own entertainment company, Tn Entertainment, and a successful school uniforms company, Skoolooks.
In 2005, Moon Hee Jun left SM Entertainment, creating his own company, PS Entertainment, and releasing one album. Later that year, Hee Jun headed off to military service, a duty required for every male Korean citizen.
Lee Jae Won also left SM Entertainment, and on April 4, 2005, he released his first post-H.O.T. album, "No Pain, No Gain".
On September 12, 2005, Jang Woo Hyuk released his first solo album ''No More Drama'', performing with the renowned American hip-hop group ''Elite Force'', who was also a former dance team for Will Smith. Woo Hyuk was the last member to release a solo album, and earned a reputation as "The Prince of Dance Music".

Discography

Albums

Joint discography

★ ''Christmas In SMTOWN'' (December 15, 1999)

★ ''Christmas Winter Vacation In SMTOWN.com'' (December 8, 2000)

★ ''Christmas Winter Vacation in SMtown.com - Angel Eyes'' (December 4, 2001)

Companies and studios owned by H.O.T. members

'Moon Hee Jun'

★ PS Studio

★ PS Entertainment
'Jang Woo Hyuk'

★ Newest Academy
'Tony An'

★ Tn Entertainment

★ Skoolooks

★ Shineinhs
'Kangta'

★ Kt Studio

★ SM Entertainment ''(Shareholder)''
'Lee Jae Won'

★ T.I. Story

The fans

The fan club of H.O.T. is known as ''Forever The White Angels'', commonly known as Club H.O.T.. H.O.T. was the first group to own "fan color," which is white. Later, other Korean music groups and singers followed this trend, and is still occurring until today. Even after H.O.T.'s disbandment, the fans use the white balloons to cheer for its former members, who are now all acting as solos. While its odds of its reunion remain unclear, if not bleak, the remaining faithful fans still hope to see the former members as one again someday in near future. The group's disbandment has been more than six years.

Trivia

★ Their costumes were from the clothing company Zippy Ziggy.

External links

★ H.O.T.'s Official Site

★ SM Entertainment's Official Site