Infinite (Korean: 인피니트) is a seven-member South Korean pop boy band, formed in 2010 by Woollim Entertainment. The group comprises seven members: Sungkyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, Hoya, Sungyeol, L, andSungjong. Their most recent mini-album, New Challenge, has sold over 160,000 copies in Korea alone and was one of the best-selling albums of 2013. As of 2014 they released full album titled “Season 2” on May 21.[1]and followed by repackaged album, titled “Be Back” on July 22, with a title song “Back” an Orchestra mix of Ballad & Dance track, which has been garnering attentions for its outstanding musicality.[2]
Career[edit]
2010: First Invasion[edit]
In 2010, Infinite first appeared in the reality show You Are My Oppa introducing the group before making their debut on June 9. They performed songs from their first EP First Invasion with the singles “Come Back Again” and “She’s Back”.[3]
2011: Evolution, Over the Top, and Japanese debut[edit]
Infinite in August 2011
On January 7, 2011, the band returned with the single Before the Dawn (BTD) (Before the Dawn) from their second EP Evolution. Promotions for BTD ended on the February 17, 2011 on Inkigayo where Infinite performed a remix version of the song.
Their first album Over The Top was released on July 21, 2011 along with the MV of their title track Be Mine (내꺼하자). The music video teaser of their title track was first released on their official website at midnight on July 15 followed by an album preview on the 20th. The group subsequently had their comeback on July 23, 2011 on Music Core. They received their First Music Show #1 Award in M! Countdown on September 1, 2011 and received a “Double Crown” for winning two consecutive #1 wins at M! Countdown. Following the success of “Be Mine” Infinite re-released their first album Over the Top as a repackaged album titled Paradise which was released on September 26, 2011. Woollim Entertainment revealed the music video teaser of “Paradise”, the repackaged album’s promotional track on September 22, 2011. On October 9, Infinite came first on Inkigayo for “Paradise.” Infinite then won their second trophy with “Paradise” on October 13 on M! Countdown.
Infinite unofficially debuted in Japan with their first Japanese single To-Ra-Wa[4] on January 26, 2011. Immediately after its release, their Evolution album hit #3 on real-time charts for sales in Korea.[5] The song topped to #1 for ringtones on the daily charts of the K-POP section of Japan’s top mobile website. Infinite released various rental singles song including “She’s Back“, “BTD (Before The Dawn)“, and “Nothing’s Over” before they officially debuted in Japan. Infinite made their official debut with the Japanese version of “BTD“. “BTD” was released on November 19, 2011. The single was released in three versions, a CD+Photobook including a 40-page photobook, CD+DVD that includes their first Japanese showcase at Zepp Tokyo on July 21, 2011 as well as “BTD”‘s music video and making-of, and regular edition. All editions comes with a random (1 out of 7) trading cards. The B-side for the single is “Can U Smile“, a remake from their 2nd Mini Album EVOLUTION found on the 3rd track of their first single album Inspirit.
In December 2011, they digitally released their first Christmas song “White Confession (Lately)”.
2012: Touring, individual activities and Infinitize[edit]
Infinite performing at Cyworld Dream Music Festival in 2011
Infinite performed their very first Korean concert[6] in front of approximately 8,000 fans on February 11–12 at the Seoul Olympic Park in Songpa District, eastern Seoul. The concert was titled Second Invasion, following after the band’s debut album, First Invasion. The tickets for the concert sold out within 10 minutes after being released online on December 14. A teaser for the concert was released.[7]
The group focused on their individual activities with Dongwoo featured in Baby Soul/Yoo Jia’s new single “She’s a Flirt” released on 18 January,[8] L was cast in for the tvN TV drama Shut Up Flower Boy Band which started airing on 30 January,[9] Hoya was cast in Reply 1997 that aired on the 24th of July,[10] Woohyun was cast in The Thousandth Man which started airing on the 17th of August,[11] L was cast in What is Mom that aired on October 8.[12]Infinite sang the sitcom’s OST, Fantasy.[13]
The encore performance also obtained a partnership with YouTube to broadcast parts of it live worldwide. Infinite is now the first K-pop group to ever live stream a concert through YouTube.[14]
“Be Mine” was remade to serve as their 2nd Japanese single. It was released on April 18, 2012 with fourth versions, a CD+DVD limited edition (“SOLID VERSION”), two CD Only limited editions (“POP ART VERSION”/”INNOCENT VERSION”), and a regular CD Only edition. All the limited editions include a different packaging design and 9 photocards (of a total of 15 types). The title track is a Japanese version of their song “Naekkeohaja”, which was the lead track for their Over the Top album. The single also includes the introduction track of the album, and a Japanese version of “Julia”. It peaked at #2 both in Oricon Daily and Weekly Charts.[15] Total reported sales amount to 54,218 copies.
The group made their comeback with their third mini album INFINITIZE with the title track “The Chaser”. Before the official release, they released a prologue single “Only Tears” on May 7, 2012.
Infinite was awarded a “Triple Crown” for winning #1 in a week at all Music Programs. On June 14, 2012, Infinite won their first triple crown on M! Countdown for the “The Chaser” which achieved top spot on the charts for three consecutive weeks.[16]
On November 2012, Sungkyu debuted as a solo artist, under his own name Kim SungKyu. Pre-releasing his song, Shine is on Nov 6th and releasing his first album, Another Me is on Nov 19th.[17] L is featured in Sunggyu’s title track song 60 sec MV. His album topped the Hanteo chart on November 2012. The album sales record 70,552 copies until the end of year 2012. In 2013, the album sales always manage to be in Top 100 Gaon album sales each month and at the end of the year record 13,283 copies. In total, as of May 2014 the album has sold 87,047 copies.
2013: Infinite H, New Challenge, Koi ni Ochiru Toki, Destiny, Request and World Tour[edit]
Infinite in 2013 at the K-POP World Festival in Changwon
Dongwoo and Hoya made their debut as Infinite H on January 10, 2013 with the mini album Fly High[18] and on March 21, the group released their fourth mini album, titled New Challenge. “Man in Love”, title track of the mini album, has won seven (7) music show awards during the entire promotion.[19]
On March 29, Woollim Entertainment announced that the group will be releasing their debut Japanese album. The details of the album including the release date and prices were also announced on the same day.[20] The group released their Japanese debut album, Koi ni Ochiru Toki, on June 6.[21] It took the #1 place on the Oricon’s album chart for the week of June 3–9 with 69,647 copies sold.
After successful promotions with their fourth EP, New Challenge, the group released their second single, Destiny, on July 16.[22] The group first performed “Destiny” at the 2013 Mnet 20’s Choice Awards on July 18 and began promotional performances on MBC‘s July 20 episode of Show! Music Core and various music programs.[23]
Infinite began their 1st World Tour named One Great Step on August 9 in Seoul. The tour included 31 shows in Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Dubai. The group concluded their world tour with an encore concert, “One Great Step Returns” in Seoul on February 2014.
On September 26, they released a non-album single, “Request” as an endorsement for Samsung’s Galaxy series of electronics. On November 22, 2013, INFINITE won the best male group on MAMA (Mnet Asia Music Award) 2013 and additionally received the SONY MDR WORLD WIDE PERFORMER award.
2014: Reality show, One Great Step Returns, New subunits, Season 2 and Be Back[edit]
On January 16, Mnet released a preview for the group’s new reality show, “This is INFINITE”, and on February 6, the show aired its first broadcast. This was their first variety show as a group since Ranking King.[24]
After performing in 15 countries for their world tour, “One Great Step”, Infinite held an encore concert titled “One Great Step Returns” to wrap up their world tour.[25] The encore concert was held for 2 days on February 28 and March 1 at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. During the concert, a new sub unit, Infinite F, was announced which consists of members Sungyeol, Sungjong, and L. Infinite F performed a new song, “Heart Is Beating” (translated title from Korean) while their other sub unit, Infinite H, also performed a new song titled “Alone” and “When I Close My Eyes”, a self-composed, written solo track performed by Woohyun.[26] The group also announced that they will be making a comeback in April during the concert.[27]
On February 20 broadcast of “This is INFINITE”, a short prologue video was shown featuring Woohyun and Shinee‘s Key, introducing a new sub unit, Toheart.[28][29] The sub unit made their debut on March 10.[30]
On April 10, Infinite released The Origin, an instrumental album of the band’s most representative songs, and the first album of its kind by a Korean artist.[31] Prior to the release of The Origin, Infinite released the instrumental music video for their song “BTD (Before the Dawn)”, which featured never-before-seen footage from the original “BTD” music video.[32]
On May 12, Woollim Entertainment confirmed in an interview with Newsen that Infinite’s second studio album, Season 2 will be released on May 21.[33] Prior to the release of the album, Infinite will be holding a showcase in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, titled 1.2.3. The group will hold the first showcase in Japan on May 19 and Taiwan on May 20 before performing in South Korea on May 21.[34] On May 21, the music video for “Last Romeo” was released. Infinite will be making their comeback with the repackaged album Be Back, on July 22. Infinite performed their first live performance of the title song, “Back”, on KBS’s Music Bank on July 18. On September, L will be starring in the drama My Lovely Girl along with Hoya, f(x)’s Krystal and Rain. He will be playing as Krystal’s 2nd Love interest and a love rival to Rain.
On September 11, Billboard K-Town announced that Infinite had earned their first Billboard No. 1, with their single “Last Romeo” topping the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart, becoming the first Korean act to do so, and also hitting No. 33 on Billboard Twitter Top Tracks.[35]
Members[edit]
| Infinite’s Members[36] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of Birth | |||
| Romanized | Hangul | Romanized | Hangul | Hanja | |
| Sungkyu | 성규 | Kim Sung-Kyu | 김성규 | 金聖圭 | April 28, 1989 |
| Dongwoo | 동우 | Jang Dong-Woo | 장동우 | 張東雨 | November 22, 1990 |
| Woohyun | 우현 | Nam Woo-Hyun | 남우현 | 南優賢 | February 8, 1991 |
| Hoya | 호야 | Lee Ho-won[37] | 이호원 | 李浩沅 | March 28, 1991 |
| Sungyeol | 성열 | Lee Sung-Yeol | 이성열 | 李成烈 | August 27, 1991 |
| L | 엘 | Kim Myung-Soo | 김명수 | 金明洙 | March 13, 1992 |
| Sungjong | 성종 | Lee Sung-Jong | 이성종 | 李成鍾 | September 3, 1993 |
Discography[edit]
Korean discography[edit]
|
Japanese discography[edit]
|
Awards and nominations[edit]
Concerts & Tours[edit]
- Infinite First Concert in Korea: Second Invasion (2012)
- Arena Tour in Japan: INFINITE Second Invasion Evolution Plus (2012)
- Infinite 1st World Tour: One Great Step (2013)
- Infinite Concert: That Summer 2 (2014)
Exclusive Reality Shows[edit]
- 2010: “Infinite! You’re My Oppa” EP1-8
- 2010: “Days of Infinite” EP1-13
- 2011: “Infinite’s Sesame Player2” EP1-9
- 2011: “Birth of a Family” EP1-14
- 2012: “Infinite’s Ranking King” EP1-15
- 2013: “Infinite Japan Story” Days 1-7
- 2014: “This(Diss) is INFINITE!” EP1-8 [40]
Filmography[edit]
- 2010: “MBC Infinite Girls“
- 2010: “MNET Secret T”
- 2010: “KBS Big Star! Dance Grand Prix”
- 2010: “Scandal” (Sunggyu + Woohyun)
- 2010: “Star Making Survivor” EP1-7
- 2010: “Midnight Idol” EP1-2
- 2010: “Bouquet” EP8&11
- 2010: “Midnight Idol” (Sunggyu + Sungyeol + Sungjong) EP3-4
- 2011: “INFINITE Tooniverse Mak Irae Show”
- 2011: “Beatles Code”
- 2011: “Director’s Cut” (Sunggyu + Hoya + L)
- 2011: “Weekly Idol” (INFINITE without Sungjong)
- 2011: “Let’s Go Dream Team! Season 2” (Hoya) EP72
- 2011: “Let’s Go Dream Team! Season 2” (Woohyun) EP86
- 2011: “While You Were Sleeping” (Sungyeol) EP1-120
- 2011: “Weekly Idol“
- 2012: “Hello Counselor” (Sunggyu + Sungyeol + Woohyun) EP56
- 2012: “Let’s Go Dream Team” (Dongwoo + Hoya) EP122
- 2012: “Shut Up Flower Boy Band” (L) EP1-16
- 2012: “Strong Heart” (Sunggyu) EP133-134
- 2012: “Weekly Idol” EP47,48,56
- 2012: “Reply 1997” (Hoya) EP1-16
- 2012: “Beatles Code”
- 2012: “Weekly Idol“
- 2012: “Immortal Song 2” (Sunggyu) EP55-63
- 2012: “Weekly Idol” (Sunggyu + Hoya)
- 2012: “Miss & Mr Idol Korea” (Sunggyu + Woohyun + Hoya)
- 2012: “High Society” (Sunggyu + Sungyeol + Dongwoo + Woohyun) EP45-47
- 2012: “Hello Counselor” (Sunggyu + L)
- 2012: “Weekly Idol” (Sunggyu)
- 2012: “Immortal Song 2” (Sunggyu + Woohyun) EP80-81
- 2013: “Beatles Code” (Sunggyu + Dongwoo + Hoya)
- 2013: “Weekly Idol” (Hoya + Dongwoo)
- 2013: “Busan Wish Travel” 2EP
- 2013: “Running Man” (L) EP129
- 2013: “Radio Star” (Sunggyu)
- 2013: “Running Man” (Sunggyu + L) EP162
- 2013: “Happy Together” (Sunggyu) EP285
- 2013: “Beatles Code”
- 2013: “High Society” (Sunggyu) EP62-79
- 2013: “Genius: Rules of The Game” (Sunggyu)
- 2013: “Weekly Idol” 2EP
- 2013: “Infinite Challenge” EP329-330
- 2013: “Mamma Mia” EP10 (Dongwoo + INFINITE as Special Guest)
- 2013: “Infinite Challenge” (Sunggyu) EP341-342
- 2013: “Hello Counselor” (Sunggyu + Woohyun)
- 2013: “Weekly Idol“
- 2013: “Barefooted Friends” EP12-14
- 2013: “Safety First” (Sunggyu)
- 2013: “The Dreaming Sea” (Sunggyu) EP1-3
- 2013: “Law of the Jungle-Carribean & Maya Jungle” (Sungyeol) EP1-10
- 2013-2014: “Elite TV” EP1-4
- 2014: “Running Man” (Sunggyu) EP179-180
- 2014: “Happy Together” (Sunggyu)
- 2014: “Cunning Single Lady” (L) EP1-16
- 2014: “After School Club” (INFINITE without Woohyun)
- 2014: “The King of Food” (Sunggyu) EP5
- 2014: “Running Man” (Sunggyu + Hoya) EP201
- 2014: “Hello Counselor” (Sunggyu + Dongwoo + Sungyeol)
- 2014: “Vitamin – Healing Foods” (Sunggyu + Hoya)
- 2014: “Weekly Idol” (INFINITE without Woohyun) 2EP
- 2014: “Smile People” (Dongwoo, Hoya, L)
- 2014: “Crime Scene” (Sunggyu) EP7
- 2014: “Hi! School-Love On” (Woohyun + Sungyeol)
- 2014: “My Lovely Girl“(L + Hoya)
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
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