[PIMP POST] LEDApple: metafictionally

metafictionally

[PIMP POST] LEDApple

Jan 28, 2012 17:40

IT'S A LEDAPPLE PIMP POST

So by popular request (and by "popular request" I mean "one person" but lol), this is an introductory guide to LEDApple! I admit I'm not all that familiar with the first gen of members so it might be a little low on info there, but I'll try my best to cover everything \o/

HISTORY & FORMATION

Well, first of all, LEDApple (Hangul: 레드애플) debuted in 2010 under Starkim Entertainment (then called Startory Entertainment). They're a little unique in that instead of being an idol band the way we think of them usually, LEDApple is more in the style of groups like FT ISLAND and CN BLUE-they play their own instruments! Woop.

"LED" in their name has three meanings. The first is the literal: It stands for "Logic, Egoism, Delete," though wtf that means is anyone's best guess. The second meaning is that they have a great deal of respect for classic rock band Led Zeppelin (GOOD TASTE GUYS). And the third meaning is that, like an LED light, they want to shine brightly on stage for their fans. Awww. ♥

However, LEDApple has had some trouble, especially in the area of member changes. They've been playing musical chairs with members practically since debut. But let's start at the beginning!

FIRST GENERATION

The original lineup of LEDApple consisted of Sunghyun, I-OH, Minyong, ZEU/Kwangyeon (first known as ZEU but then became Kwangyeon) and Youngjoon. With this lineup, they released their first single, Logic, Egoism, Delete, on October 7, 2010. The promotional track from their self-titled single was "Dash," originally a song by Baek Jiyoung, which the group promoted on a regular weekend music show rotation beginning on November 11, 2010. However, not long after the release of their debut single, I-OH withdrew from the group after falling ill with tuberculosis (yikes!), and Minyong and Sunghyun left for reasons as yet unknown.

SECOND GENERATION

Before the release of LEDApple's second mini-album 니가 뭔데 (Niga Mwonde/Who do you think you are?) on June 15, 2011, three new members were added to the lineup: Hyoseok, Jaehoon and Kyumin. With this lineup, they promoted the title track "니가 뭔데?", the teaser for which was released on June 13, 2010. However, the teaser featured the members of the band in a club drinking what appeared to be alcohol, and as many of the members of LEDApple were minors at the time, the teaser garnered some public criticism for being a bad influence on youths.

The album dropped on June 15, as well as two music videos, a "Regular Version" and a "Drama Version." The criticism, it seemed, did not stop at the content of the teaser-LEDApple came under fire yet again, this time for supposedly plagiarizing CN BLUE's song "Love." The criticism reached a point at which Starkim Entertainment (then Startory Entertainment) was forced to release a public statement, saying that both songs had been composed by Lee Sang-ho, and as a result sounded similar.

On July 19, 2011, LEDApple began promotions of their followup single, "Birthday Killer." The song, which was written by member Kwangyeon, contained a powerful message-it was written in response to anti-fans who claimed, among other things, that LEDApple "band-synced" their performances and couldn't actually play their instruments. The song begs anti-fans to realize that the comments they leave can be genuinely hurtful to the artists, and the music video shows Kwangyeon committing suicide after being driven to his wits' end by hateful comments. Although the song was praised for being so thoughtful and critical of society, it wasn't a commercial success, and didn't even break the top 100 on the Gaon charts.

Then-leader Jaehoon left the group shortly after the mini-album was released, again for unknown reasons. (See what I mean? They're unlucky like that.) With Jaehoon's departure, the group consisted of Kwangyeon, Youngjoon, Hyoseok and Kyumin.

THIRD GENERATION

Before the release of their single album CODA on November 11, 2011, two new members were added to the group-on October 28, 2011, Startory Entertainment announced that famous composer Park Kwanghyun's son KeonU would be added as a keyboardist/DJ. On November 3, 2011, they announced another member addition-Hanbyul "Jason" Jang, an Australian-born vocalist who would be the new appointed leader of LEDApple. With this lineup, LEDApple released their minialbum "CODA" and promoted 어쩌다 마주친 (Someone Met by Chance), although they didn't have a follow-up single.

CODA was a remarkably successful minialbum-it peaked at #6 on the Gaon charts, and as a result of LEDApple's burgeoning popularity, they were nominated for the "Anticipated Super Rookies of 2012" award at the Wave K Super Rookies Awards. Although they were eventually beaten out by RaNia and B1A4 in the #1 and #2 spots, respectively, LEDApple did manage to achieve the third highest number of votes for the position.

This lineup was the lineup that stuck for the longest time. After CODA, LEDApple released a digital single called Time is Up on February 3, 2012-they promoted it briefly on music shows, but didn't dedicate much serious time to the promotion of the song. Around this time, LEDApple participated in their first solo reality show, titled "LEDApple Entertainment," in which the members broke away from their management and formed their own startup entertainment company to manage themselves. The show began airing in February and ended in late March, airing on SBS MTV.

A month later, on March 9, 2012, they released another digital single, SADNESS, which they promoted much the same way. Around this time, Hanbyul picked up a role as MC/host of a new Kpop show by Arirang TV entitled Simply Kpop, broadcast in 188 countries around the world (as he liked to remind us) and emceed entirely in English.

On March 16th, 2012, LEDApple made their Japanese debut at the "K-Rookies Part, Vol. 1," which took place in Tokyo. Although they have yet to release any Japanese tracks, the band has said that they want to pursue further activities in Japan if the opportunity presents itself.

After finishing promotions for "SADNESS," LEDApple announced their first solo concert-titled "Now Playing - LEDApple in Seoul, Vol. 1," the concert took place at Soundholic City in Hongdae on May 11, 2012, and featured rock band Toxic, winners of KBS2's "Band Survival" and close friends of LEDApple. I was lucky enough to attend, so I know that it's true when they say that the concert was a success-the venue was nearly packed with fans, all showing so much support for LEDApple that Hyoseok and Kwangyeon both cried onstage. (AWW!) It was so successful that LEDApple then went on two have two more solo concerts in Busan and Daegu, on May 18 and 19 respectively.

Around this time, LEDApple also announced a return to Japan, this time with a solo concert. On June 23, 2012, LEDApple headed back to the Shinagawa Prince Stellar Ball in Tokyo to perform their second solo concert-however, due to health issues, KeonU was unable to perform onstage with the rest of the members. (Honestly, I'm not sure he even went to Japan at all!)

FOURTH GENERATION

On July 5, 2012, LEDApple released their third minialbun Run To You. This was about where I, personally, figured out things were going wrong. Arirang's "Simply Kpop," a show that Hanbyul hosts, tapes on Wednesdays, and happened to have a recording the day before the album was released-and, LEDApple being regular stars of the show, performed "Run To You" in a performance to be aired next week. However, KeonU wasn't on stage with them, and for those of us who knew he hadn't been in Japan, this seemed like a big deal.

The next day, the album was released, but so was some other news: Due to health issues, KeonU was withdrawing from the group. There was no specification of what those health issues were; only that they were severe enough to prevent him from fulfilling his role as a member of LEDApple. However, KeonU still appeared on the cover of "Run To You," and his solo song "Something Wrong" remains as a track on the album.

And so LEDApple was back to five: Original members Kwangyeon and Youngjun, second-gen members Kyumin and Hyoseok, and third-gen member Hanbyul. However, KeonU is of course still incredibly close with the other members, and there doesn't seem to be any hard feelings between them.

On October 5, after several months without activities, LEDApple held their second solo concert in Seoul, entitled "LEDApple Live in Seoul Vol. 2."

Now, let's talk about the members a bit! I'll cover the original members a bit as well, but obviously not as much as the current members (except KeonU, since he had a whole bio written before he left LEDApple).

FORMER MEMBERS

SUNGHYUN

NAME: Lee Sunghyun (이성현)
BIRTHDATE: August 3, 1988
BLOOD TYPE: A
BORN IN: Seoul
SPECIALTY: Drums

I-OH

NAME: Jun Ki-wook (전기욱)
BIRTHDATE: January 22, 1991
BLOOD TYPE: B
BORN IN: Busan
SPECIALTY: Vocals

MINYONG

NAME: Lee Minyong (이민용)
BIRTHDATE: September 1, 1989
BLOOD TYPE: B
BORN IN: Incheon
SPECIALTY: Piano, vocals

JAEHOON

NAME: Choi Jaehoon (최재훈)
BIRTHDATE: November 22, 1989
BLOOD TYPE: B
BORN IN: Incheon
SPECIALTY: Vocals, design

KEON U

NAME: Park Gunwoo (박건우) / KeonU
BIRTHDATE: January 18, 1991
BLOOD TYPE: O
BORN IN: Seoul
SPECIALTY: DJ

KeonU is basically a badass. Even before joining LEDApple, he'd already had plenty of experience with music-his father, Park Kwanghyun, was a famous composer, and KeonU is credited in two separate films ("Two Women," starring Shin Eunkyung, and "I Saw the Devil," starring Lee Byunghun) as music director. He has a talent for DJ, certainly, but he also plays piano, guitar, bass, drums, and I believe the violin. He has also apparently composed more than 100 different songs.

One might think that this insane musical talent, plus the fact that KeonU was a latecomer to LEDApple, would have made his transition into band life a bit awkward. But not so! KeonU was apparently easily welcomed into the group, and mingled easily with the members, who say that they think he's someone they can definitely talk to about music. He is also apparently a really good cook, which is surprising considering his manly image. (His manly image also means he really sucks at aegyo.) KeonU is the member other than Hanbyul who speaks the best English of LEDApple-he's not quite fluent, but he's definitely more than passably proficient.

KeonU left LEDApple in July 2012, after recurring health issues that made him unable to continue promoting with the group. However, he says that he plans to continue his composing and production work in the future.

CURRENT MEMBERS

ZEU/KWANGYEON

NAME: Kim Kwangyeon (김광연)
BIRTHDATE: June 13, 1993
BLOOD TYPE: A
BORN IN: Paju, Gyeonggi-do
SPECIALTY: Bass

Kwangyeon (known as ZEU during first generation promos) is one of the two remaining original members of LEDApple. He's part of the maknae line, and is definitely LEDApple's "vitamin". He's cheerful, cute, and bubbly, and always keeps the mood of the group high-his smile and unique laugh have made him into LEDApple's mascot of sorts. But that's not to say that Kwangyeon doesn't have a serious side-he wrote the song "Birthday Killer," from their first mini-album CODA, in response to hateful comments that LEDApple had received from antis on the internet.

He was originally noticed by Startory Entertainment because of his participation in a song/music video by his senior Kim Jongseo, where he acted and played bass. He still plays bass, but his part in the music video for "어쩌다 마주친/Meeting You By Chance" (their title track from their second single album CODA) was his first acting challenge since Kim Jongseo's video.

YOUNGJOON

NAME: Seo Youngjun (서영준)
BIRTHDATE: May 11, 1990
BLOOD TYPE: B
BORN IN: Seoul
SPECIALTY: Guitar, leader

The second of the two remaining original LEDApple members. However, unlike Kwangyeon, Youngjun is more like the dad of the group. He's fairly quiet and reserved, and is more of a responsible leader figure than a bubbly charming person. Because of this, Youngjun is LEDApple's spokesperson; he's very calm and has no difficulty expressing his thoughts, making him seem very articulate and charismatic. (It also means he rarely makes mistakes onstage.)

However, Youngjun can also be a little bit of a derp sometimes. He tends to adopt the personality of whatever member he's with, which can make him be a little silly at times, and although he's very quiet, he definitely has a sense of humor. It's been pointed out that when Youngjun starts laughing, he can't stop, which seems to be true. ♥ He likes to do things like give the members pet names or nicknames to show his affection.

Youngjun became the leader of LEDApple just before the release of "Time is Up," as Hanbyul had to focus on his studies at the time. At this point, as far as I know, he is still the leader of LEDApple.

(Also as a note: Youngjun was inspired to learn guitar because he was a fan of the legendary Japanese rock band X-Japan. GOOD TASTE, PART 2!)

HYOSEOK

NAME: Kim Hyoseok (김효석)
BIRTHDATE: April 27, 1993
BLOOD TYPE: AB
BORN IN: Seoul
SPECIALTY: Drums

Hyoseok is the other cutie of LEDApple, often called "the little prince" because of his short stature (he's 178cm tall-which is 5'10", but apparently he's still shorter than his bandmates). He's somewhat shy, and tends to keep his hood up and his glasses on when they're out and about. Hyoseok also doesn't talk much during interviews, instead just kind of nodding along with whatever the other members are saying. However, other members also agree that Hyoseok is the best at having fun and has the most variety sense-possibly because his father, Kim Eunwoo, is a former gagman.

Originally, Hyoseok wanted to be a professional golfer, having been inspired by seeing Im Jihan on television. But when he played the drums for the first time during a church event, he immediately fell in love with them, and ended up auditioning for Seoul Performing Arts High School, where he developed his drumming talent.

I can tell you from personal experience that Hyoseok is the most willing member of LEDApple to do aegyo for fans, and will sometimes even go so far as to initiate it. He's precious and loves interacting with the people who are there to support them! ♥

KYUMIN

NAME: Lee Kyumin (이규민)
BIRTHDATE: August 10, 1993
BLOOD TYPE: O
BORN IN: Seoul
SPECIALTY: Subvocal, rap

If Kwangyeon is the vitamin of the group, then Kyumin is the energizer. He's "the guy who's always ready to yell 'fighting!'", according to the other members, and he doesn't get tired easily. Kyumin has a very persevering spirit and he likes to see things through to the end, even if it's difficult; he's probably the member most in charge of making sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing.

Kyumin is also really tall. Like, really tall, like 186cm/almost 6'2" tall. Which is why it shouldn't surprise anyone to know that he used to be a model, and still does modeling projects occasionally! Maybe he's the "face" of the group?

HANBYUL

NAME: Jang Hanbyul (장한별) / English name Jason Jang
BIRTHDATE: July 4, 1990
BLOOD TYPE: A
BORN IN: Brisbane, Australia
SPECIALTY: Vocals

Hanbyul is the former leader of the group, and he is really smart. Before moving to Korea to pursue his dream of becoming a singer, Hanbyul studied at the Queensland University of Dentistry (lol), and was a model student all throughout his school career. He has a very hyung-like personality, or at least that's what they say-even though Hanbyul was a last-minute addition to the LEDApple lineup, he was still voted in as leader because of his ability to unite the group and get them all going.

He's fluent in English, obviously, and speaks it with an Australian accent, also obviously. Hanbyul has also studied Latin, Chinese, French and Japanese, although he speaks only basic/conversational Chinese and Japanese. When asked how many languages besides Korean and English he really speaks, he said (verbatim) "I'm trying to speak four?" Basically Hanbyul is the cutest okay ;___; I can tell you from personal knowledge that however perfect you think Hanbyul is, he's actually moreso.

Fun fact: Hanbyul's real name is Hanbyul, not Jason (at least in terms of birth certificate). When he started attending school in Australia, he had to have an English name, so his family gave him the name Jason as well. It doesn't bother him when fans call him Jason, though!

DISCOGRAPHY

SINGLE ALBUMS

Album InfoTracklistLEDApple
Released Oct 7, 2010
Language: Korean