Sechs Kies
| Sechs Kies 젝스키스 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | 6kies, Jekki |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1997- |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Past members | |
Sechs Kies or 6kies (Korean: 젝스키스) was a South Korean male idol pop group popular in the late 1990s formed under Daesung Entertainment. Their name "Sechs Kies" is supposed to mean "six crystals" (representing the six members) in German although "Kies" actually is translated as gravel. They are popularly referred to and remembered by fans as "Jekki" for short. Their official fan club was called Dear Sechskies Friend (DSF) and the group's official fan club color was yellow. Sechs Kies debuted on April 15, 1997 on KBS Music Bank with their first single "학원별곡", and disbanded on May 20, 2000, performing for the last time at the 2000 Dream Concert. However, 16 years after their last performance, the group held a reunion concert on April 14, 2016 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium (also known as Sangam Stadium). The idea for the reunion concert was initiated and organized by Infinite Challenge, a popular South Korean television program. Infinite Challenge aired the filming of the reunion and its preparation on April 16, 23, and 30 on MBC.
Formation
Eun Ji-won, who was studying abroad in Hawaii, was scouted by DSP, along with friend Kang Sung-hoon in a nightclub. The agency had originally planned to debut Eun and Kang in South Korea as a hip-hop duo, but with the success of SM Entertainment’s male idol group H.O.T., the agency shifted gears to instead debut a six-member male idol group.[1]
Kim Jae-duc and Lee Jae-jin at the time were members of a dance crew called ‘’Quicksilvers’’ in their hometown of Busan and had submitted an audition tape to Daesung Entertainment.[2] Jang Su-won was cast during an open audition, and lastly, Ko Ji-yong, a childhood friend of Sung-hoon, was cast as the final member of SechsKies. The group was split into two subgroups of three. "Black Kies" consisting of Ji Won, Jae Jin, & Jae Duc, & "White Kies" consisted of Sung Hoon, Ji Young, & Su Won.
Career
1997: Debut
SechsKies debuted on April 15, 1997 on KBS Music Bank with their first single, "School Song (학원별곡)”. Their debut album 학원별곡, named after the title track, was released on May 15, 1997. In July, the group promoted with a follow-up single “The Way This Guy Lives [사나이 가는길 (폼생폼사)]” until the end of the summer of 1997.
Shortly after, SechsKies made their much anticipated comeback in October 1997 on KMTV’s “Recharge 100% Show” and began promotional activities for their second album release. Their second album titled Welcome to the Sechskies Land, a 20-track album formatted as a fictional amusement park known as “Sechskies Land”, was released on November 15, 1997. They quickly began promoting the album’s title track “Chivalry (기사도)” on various music programs, which gave the group their first #1 spot on SBS Inkigayo on December 7, 1997.
SechsKies were quickly being recognized as rookies of the year and were awarded several awards at music award shows. In December, they took home the SBS Music Awards Bonsang Award, KMTV Korean Music Awards New Artist Award, and the KBS Golden Disk Awards Bonsang Award.
On December 21, 1997, SechsKies held their first ever concert in Seoul at the Sejong Center; tickets were reportedly sold out within five hours.
1998: Rising popularity, Seventeen movie, Roadfighter
SechsKies’ fanbase and general popularity quickly began to grow by the spring of 1998. After wrapping up their second album promotions in February, they began a spring nationwide tour, including concerts in Busan, Ulsan, Gwangju, and Daegu.
SechsKies starred in the children’s musical, Alibata and the 40 Thieves alongside singer, Jinjoo. The musical ran from April 25 to May 5, 1998 at the Sejong Center.
SechsKies began promotions for their third album, returning with “Crying Game” on SBS Inkigayo on July 12, 1998. SechsKies released their third studio album ROADFIGHTER on July 15, 1998, which had more hybridized elements of hip-hop and electronica, as leader Eun Ji-won participated in the production of the album.
On July 17, 1998, SechsKies’ very own film, Seventeen was released nationwide, and the group held promotional fan signing events for the film’s premiere release.
On September 13 and September 20, SechsKies held two consecutive wins for the title track “Roadfighter” on SBS Inkigayo. They also won for the #1 spot on SBS Inkigayo for the follow-up track "Reckless Love (무모한 사랑)" in October.
On October 31, 1998, SechsKies released a soundtrack for Seventeen titled Special Album, which was later referred to as the group’s 3.5 album release. The began promotions for the Special Album on KBS Music Bank, promoting two songs off the album, “Couple” and “As I Let You Go (너를 보내며)”. A special fan photobook was released in conjunction with the album in November.
SechsKies took home several end of the year awards, including the KMTV Korean Music Awards Bonsang Award, SBS Music Awards Bonsang Award, and Golden Disk Awards Bonsang Award.
1999: Com'Back
SechsKies spent more of the month of January in 1999, holding concerts throughout Korea. Starting on January 4, 1999 in MokPo Gongyun and ending on January 21, 1999 in Daegu. SechsKies was now a living legend within the gayo industry, breaking the barriers of different genres of music, proving that Korean music is much more than the traditional trot music our parents once forced us to listen to.
On April 5, 1999 SechsKies released their first concert video, recorded from their largest concert to date, the Seoul Concert on February 25, 1999. They also released a concert album that went with the video on April 10, 1999. They performed a song sung by Kang Sung-hoon called "My Love" from this album. On April 18, 1999, SechsKies held a two-year anniversary special official fan club meeting.
After their concert ended, SechsKies returned to the studio to create their fourth album. Released in early September 1999, SechsKies performed a song appropriately titled, "Com' Back," "Yeh Gam," and "Geu Dae Ro Mum Chu." Compared to their previous works, this album had more input from the members of the group, several of them writing and producing tracks for it. The group did not stay in the limelight for long after the release of the fourth album, due to their imminent disbandment.
2000: Disbandment
On May 18, 2000, SechsKies held a sudden press conference announcing their official departure as a group from the music scene. Nearly a decade later, Eun Ji-won said that the members had decided it would be best to disband at the height of their career.[3] SechsKies's final performance was at the 2000 Dream Concert on May 20, 2000. On May 28, 2000, their final release, BLUE NOTE, a "Best Of" compilation, was released. In August of that year, the members of SechsKies self-released one final track and music video titled “Thanks” for their fans, which was uploaded online.
In 2013, Jang Su-won and Kim Jae-duc were preparing for a J-walk comeback.[4]
2016: Reunion
On April 14, 2016, nearly 16 years after the disbandment, SechsKies held a reunion concert at the Seoul World Cup Stadium (also known as Sangam Stadium). The idea for the reunion concert was initiated and organized by Infinite Challenge, a popular South Korean television program. Several months prior to the concert, Infinite Challenge approached the SechsKies members to suggest the reunion concert. Then, five of the six members agreed to it and started preparing for it in secret. Infinite Challenge had originally planned to hold the event the previous week, on April 7, but decided to cancel it because of the numerous spoiler news articles. The following week, on afternoon of the 14th, which also happened to be the day before the 20th anniversary of SechsKies' debut (April 15, 1997), Infinite Challenge announced the pop-up reunion concert through their Twitter feed. The reunion concert was held at 8 pm at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Although it was extremely short notice, almost 6000 fans gathered within a few hours to the stadium to see the reunion concert. Numerous fans donned the official fan club yellow raincoats (which they had used nearly 20 years ago) and brought yellow balloons as the group's official fan club color was yellow.
All six members showed up for the reunion concert. While there was wistful speculation among fans that one day the group would perform together, Ko Ji-yong's participation was always in question. Unlike the other members who continued to work in the entertainment industry by launching their own solo albums and/or appearing on television, Ko left the industry completely. He went to study abroad, and then started his own business when he returned to Korea. Ko also got married and had a son. One could assume that it would be extremely difficult to persuade Ko to participate in the reunion. However, Ko was persuaded by Infinite Challenge to appear at the reunion concert.
On April 16, Infinite Challenge aired the early preparations for the reunion concert: approaching the members and asking for their agreement, preparing and practicing their most well-known repertoires and choreography, etc. On April 23 and 30, Infinite Challenge aired the reunion concert.
Members
Black Kies
- Eun Ji-won (은지원)
- Lee Jae-jin (이재진)
- Kim Jae-duc (김재덕)
White Kies
- Kang Sung-hoon (강성훈)
- Ko Ji-yong (고지용)
- Jang Su-won (장수원)
Discography
Studio albums
|
Other albums
|
Filmography
Music videos
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Song of a School life (학원별곡) |
| 1997 | The Way This Guy Lives (사나이 가는 길/폼생폼사) |
| 1997 | For you |
| 1998 | Road Fighter |
| 1998 | Reckless Love (무모한 사랑) |
| 1998 | Leaving You (너를 보내며) |
| 1998 | Couple (커플) |
| 1998 | Prayer (기도) |
| 1999 | Hunch (예감) |
| 1999 | Summer in love |
| 2000 | Thanks |
Film
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Seventeen |
Variety Shows
| Year | Network | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | MBC | Infinite Challenge - Episode 476, 477, 478 |
Awards
| Year | Awards |
|---|---|
| 1997 |
|
| 1998 |
|
| 1999 |
|
Notes
- ↑ 은지원, 젝키 시절 '학원 별곡' "창피했다" 고백 (in Korean). TvDaily. August 20, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ 이재진, 과거 자서전서 직접 밝힌 ‘생활고(苦)’ (in Korean). Now News. April 9, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ '백점만점' 은지원, '젝키 해체, 내가 먼저 얘기 꺼냈다' 고백 (in Korean). Arts News. January 22, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
- ↑ 젝키출신 장수원, 제이워크 김재덕과 상반기 가수컴백 예정 (in Korean). Newsen. January 30, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
