Leo (singer)

This is a Korean name; the family name is Jung.
Leo

Leo at Inkigayo in June 2013
Native name 정택운
Born Jung Taek-woon[1]
(1990-11-10) November 10, 1990
Seoul, South Korea
Education Howon University
Occupation

Musical career

Genres
Instruments
Years active 2012–present
Labels Jellyfish Entertainment
Associated acts

Jung Taek-woon (Hangul: 정택운, born November 10, 1990),[1] better known by his stage name Leo (Hangul: 레오), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical theatre actor, signed under Jellyfish Entertainment. Known for his high-pitched, sharp, and clear vocals,[2][3] Leo debuted as a main vocalist of the South Korean boy group VIXX in May 2012,[4] and began his acting career in 2014 in the musical Full House as Lee Young-jae.[5] In 2015 he began his songwriting career,[6] and with VIXX member Ravi formed VIXX's first official sub-unit VIXX LR.[7]

Early life

Born in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, South Korea, his family consists of himself, his parents and three older sisters. Leo studied music composition at Howon University and was a member of the National Youth Soccer Players from 2004 to 2007. Growing up, Leo was actively involved in swimming, boxing, taekwondo, and soccer.[8] While recovering from an injury, he developed an interest in becoming a singer after listening to Wheesung's "Walking in the Sky".[9]

Career

2012-2013: Debut with VIXX

Main article: VIXX

Leo passed his audition to Jellyfish Entertainment on his vocal talent and was one of ten trainees who were contestants in Mnet's survival reality show MyDOL and was chosen to be a part of the final line-up and the 6-member boy group finally debuted with "Super Hero"[10] on May 24, 2012[4] on M! Countdown.[11][12] During MyDOL; Leo was featured in Brian Joo's "Let This Die" and Seo In-guk's "Shake It Up" music videos.[13][14] After his debut with VIXX, Leo appeared in episode 4 of SBS's television drama The Heirs alongside his group members.

2014: Blossom Tears and musical theatre debut

An avid sports fan, Leo has appeared in several athletic variety shows with other idols such as Dream Team and Idol Athletics Championship.[15][16] He even appeared in a special episode of Running Man where he was a member of a soccer team.[17]

In 2014, Leo had a small cameo role in SBS's television drama Glorious Day alongside Hyuk and was cast in the musical Full House in the lead role of Lee Young-jae from April to June at the Hongik Daehakro Art Center, Grand Theater in Seoul.[5] Later that year, Leo also participated in the Y.Bird from Jellyfish Island project created by Jellyfish Entertainment CEO Hwang Se-jun by collaborating with LYn on her self-composed single "Blossom Tears" (Hangul: 꽃잎놀이); their single Y.BIRD from Jellyfish with LYn X Leo was the fourth in the series. In the haunting music video, he played a psychopath who killed the women he loved so that he could keep them.[6]

2015: Composing and debut with sub-unit: VIXX LR

Main article: VIXX LR

The singer has expressed an interest in composing and in 2015, Leo, himself, composed the song "On a Cold Night" (Hangul: 차가운 밤에) from VIXX's fifth single album Boys' Record. Originally written as a duet between him and Ken, a studio version was released with the rest of the members performing for that album.[6]

On August 7, 2015, Jellyfish Entertainment released a video trailer on VIXX’s official website after a mysterious countdown with a silhouette of VIXX’s last special album Boys' Record. As time went by, members of VIXX disappeared until finally only Leo and Ravi were left behind, which caused fans to speculate that it meant another comeback for all six members. A video trailer of VIXX LR was then revealed.[18]

VIXX LR was confirmed by Jellyfish Entertainment to be VIXX’s first official sub-unit composed of rapper Ravi and vocalist Leo. Their debut mini album, Beautiful Liar, was released on August 17, 2015.[19][20][21] On the same day VIXX LR held their first showcase for Beautiful Liar at Yes24 Muv Hall in Seoul′s Mapo-gu.[22][23]

On November 10th, 2015, (also Leo's Birthday) VIXX's second studio album; Chained Up was released. Upon its release, the title song was ranked number one on Mnet, Genie, Monkey3 and Naver Music, while the remaining songs also ranked taking over the charts.[24]

2016–Present: Mata Hari

Leo was cast in the musical Mata Hari in the lead role of Armand from March 25 to June 12 at the Blue Square in Seoul. It was confirmed that he would be shedding his stage name and using his birth name Jung Taek Woon for the role instead unlike his previous musical role in Full House where he was credited as Leo. [25][26]

Discography

For Leo's works with VIXX and VIXX LR, see VIXX discography and VIXX LR § Discography.

Singles

As collaborating artist

Title Year Peak chart position Sales Album
KOR
Gaon
[27]
"Blossom Tears" (Hangul: 꽃잎놀이)
with LYn		 2014 11
  • KOR (DL): 170,273+[28]
 Y.BIRD from Jellyfish with LYn X Leo

Songwriting credits

The credits for the Korean releases are adapted from the official homepage of his group VIXX.

Year Album Song Lyrics Music Notes
Credited With Credited With
VIXX
2015 Boys' Record "On a Cold Night" Yes Ravi (rap) Yes N/A [29]
2016 Depend on Me "Shadow" Yes N/A Yes N/A Limited Edition A Bonus Track[30]
VIXX LR
2015 Beautiful Liar "Words to Say" Yes N/A Yes N/A [31]
"My Light" Yes Ravi Yes MELODESIGN

Filmography

For Leo's Filmography with VIXX, see VIXX videography.

Variety/Reality shows

Year Network Title Notes
2016 MBC King of Mask Singer 25th Generation Contestant as Heungbu Be Stifled, eliminated in second round.[32][33]

Music video appearances

Year Music video Artist(s)
2011 "Shake It Up" Seo In-guk
2012 "Let This Die" Brian Joo
"Let This Die" (Extended Eng Ver.)
2014 "Blossom Tears" Duet with LYn

Musicals

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Full House Lee Young-jae Lead role.
2016 Mata Hari Armand Lead role, credited as Jung Taek Woon

References

  1. 1 2 Leo Official Profile
  2. ↑ "린X레오, 특급 콜라보 '꽃잎놀이' 리스닝 포인트 셋". Naver (in Korean). 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  3. ↑ "My Dear VIXX" (in Korean). CECI Magazine. Jan 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Upcoming group VIXX releases 3rd video teaser for "Super Hero"". allkpop. 20 May 2012.
  5. 1 2 Hong, Grace Danbi (5 March 2014). "B2ST Yang Yo Seop, A Pink Jung Eun Ji, VIXX Leo, Joo, and More to Star in Musical Full House". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  6. 1 2 3 "A Bitter Serenade". Ceci Magazine (in Korean). September 2014.
  7. ↑ "VIXX’s First Subunit LR Composed of Leo and Ravi, Releases Teasers and More". soompi.com. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "VIXX's Leo revealed to be a sports prodigy". Allkpop. 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  9. ↑ "[My Name is] 빅스(2) 레오텐아시아 | 텐아시아". 10Asia (in Korean). 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  10. ↑ "VIXX to watch the last episode of 'Mydol' with their fans at a movie theater". allkpop. 31 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "VIXX to share download links for their music and teasers on Twitter". allkpop. 20 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Finalists from 'Mydol' reveal official group name, Vixx". allkpop. 10 May 2012.
  13. ↑ Brian Joo (브라이언) - Let This Die (Extended Eng Ver.). 31 Jan 2012.
  14. ↑ Seo In Guk (서인국) "SHAKE IT UP" Music Video. 8 Aug 2011.
  15. ↑ "빅스 레오 '아육대' 부상현장 포착, 깁스후 목발짚고 절뚝절뚝". Nate (in Korean). 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  16. ↑ "Kangin's basketball team defeats Yonghwa's team with Michael Jordan style". Allkpop. 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  17. ↑ "VIXX’s Leo Was Nervous to Be Around His Idol Park Ji Sung on "Running Man"". Soompi. 2014-06-08. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  18. ↑ "VIXX starts a mysterious countdown - perhaps to a comeback?". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
  19. ↑ "VIXX′s First Unit LR to Debut on August 17". mwave.interest.me. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
  20. ↑ "VIXX's sub-unit LR unveils teaser photo for their upcoming debut!". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
  21. ↑ "VIXX's first subunit LR releases tracklist for 'Beautiful Liar' mini album". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
  22. ↑ "VIXX LR Holds Its First Showcase". bntnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  23. ↑ "LR′s Leo and Ravi Reveal Why They Formed VIXX′s First-Ever Unit". mwave.interest.me. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  24. ↑ "VIXX's entire 'Chained Up' album takes over music charts". www.allkpop.com. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  25. ↑ "VIXX’s Leo to Shed His Idol Stage Name for Upcoming Musical Role". soompi.com. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "VIXX Leo to star in musical ‘Mata Hari’". koreaherald.com. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  28. ↑ Chart and Sales reference for Blossom Tears
  29. ↑ "Special Single Album: Boys' Record". Jellyfish Entertainment. February 24, 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
  30. ↑ "VIXX 日本1stオリジナルアルバムのタイトルが「Depend on me」に決定、収録曲も発表". vixx.cjve.jp (Official site). 15 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  31. ↑ "VIXX LR MINI ALBUM: Beautiful Liar". Jellyfish Entertainment. August 17, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  32. ↑ "Male Idol Group Member Charms Listeners With His Sweet Voice on “King of Mask Singer”". soompi. March 13, 2016. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  33. ↑ "'복면가왕' 흥부 빅스 레오, "새로운 숲 하나 점령한 느낌"". nate.com (in Korean). March 13, 2016. Retrieved 2015-03-14.

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