Uniq (band)

UNIQ

Uniq in Shanghai during a fansign event, June 2015
From left to right: Yixuan, Yibo, Wenhan, Seungyoun and Sungjoo
Background information
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active 2014 (2014)–present
Labels
Website uniqclub.com/uniq/
Members
  • Zhou Yixuan
  • Kim Sungjoo
  • Li Wenhan
  • Cho Seungyoun
  • Wang Yibo

Uniq (Hangul: 유니크; stylized UNIQ) is a five-member Chinese-South Korean boy group formed by Chinese company Yuehua Entertainment in 2014.[1] The group consists of Zhou Yixuan, Kim Sungjoo, Li Wenhan, Cho Seungyoun, and Wang Yibo. Uniq officially debuted on October 20, 2014 with their debut single "Falling In Love" in both China and South Korea.[2]

History

Pre-debut

Prior to the group's debut, Zhou Yixuan traveled to Sydney, Australia and learned dancing techniques. Afterwards, he returned to China and was scouted by Yuehua Entertainment after his appearance at KOD, a large street dance competition in China.

Li Wenhan has a background in classical guitar and swimming, practicing with Chinese Swimming Olympic Medalist, Sun Yang. While attending high school in America, he auditioned for Yuehua Entertainment and passed. Wenhan had previously appeared on television in a diving reality show which aired nationwide on JSTV in April 2013.[3]

Wang Yibo auditioned for Yuehua Entertainment and became a trainee. He had taken part in IBD National HipHop Dance Contest in Luoyang, China in 2011.[4] The three previously trained together for four years before the addition of Cho Seungyoun and Kim Sungjoo.

Seungyoun previously lived in the Philippines, Brazil, and the United States and was a member of the Corinthians Youth soccer team. He later returned to South Korea to pursue his dreams as a singer.

Sungjoo lived in China before moving back to South Korea to pursue his dreams as a singer. There he attended Anyang Arts School. He was previously a trainee under YG Entertainment for many years before signing with Yuehua Entertainment.[5] All five members trained together for 1,400 days before the group's debut.[6]

2014: Debut, Falling in Love

On October 16, they had their first broadcast performance on M Countdown. Their debut single, "Falling In Love", was released on October 20 in both China and South Korea. UNIQ was chosen to participate in the OST for the movies TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Penguins of Madagascar.[7] On October 23, they released the song "Born to Fight" for the Chinese release of TNMT.[8] The group released the English adaptation of "Falling in Love" on November 5.[9] On November 10, they released "Celebrate" for the Chinese release of Penguins of Madagascar. UNIQ made their official debut in China on November 25 with their first Chinese fanmeet in Beijing.[10] On November 27, UNIQ commenced their first promotions in Taiwan and held a press conference on December 1.[11] UNIQ's reality show The Best Debut began airing on December 2 on the Chinese online video platform, iQiyi, for three episodes.[12]

2015: 1st Mini Album, EOEO

In February 2015, Uniq began promoting a Chinese beauty shop, Mix-Box, replacing Ko Chen-tung as the official endorser.[13] Uniq held their first fanmeet in Thailand in Bangkok on March 7.[14] On April 9, Yuehua Entertainment announced UNIQ's comeback with their first mini album titled "EOEO".[15] UNIQ made their official comeback in South Korea on April 22 and held their first comeback broadcast performance on MBC's Show Champion, performing their title track "EOEO" and "Listen to Me". On April 23, UNIQ made their official comeback in China, performing "Listen to Me" at the KU Music Asian Music Awards. They were also awarded with KU Music Asian Music Awards' "Best New Artist" the same day.[16] On April 24, UNIQ released their mini album and the official music video for "EOEO". After the release of "EOEO", the music video reached number 3 on the YinYueTai Weekly MV Chart.[17]

On May 22, UNIQ released the official music video for their follow up track "Luv Again".[18] On the same day, it was announced that UNIQ will hold their first showcase in Japan on July 19 and July 20 in Osaka and Tokyo respectively.[19] UNIQ achieved their first music show award on CCTV's Global Chinese Music on May 23.[20][21] UNIQ holds the record for most wins on Global Chinese Music Chart with Three wins by non-live voting; Three wins by live voting, beating the record previously held by EXO-M in 2014 (Three wins by non-live voting; Two wins by live voting).[22]

To commemorate UNIQ's one year since debut, UNIQ released their second digital album, "Best Friend", on October 16. [23] On December 7, was launched "Erase Your Little Sadness" for the soundtrack of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.[24] On December 28 UNIQ released "Happy New Year", with labelmate, Cosmic Girls, making a guest appearance in the music video.[25] The song debuted at #4 position in China V Chart.[26]

2016: "My Dream"

On March 24, 2016, the group released the song "My Dream" for the soundtrack of the movie MBA Partners, debuting at #3 position in China V Chart.[27]

Members

Discography

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[28]
EOEO 7
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CHN
V Chart

[30]
US
World Digital

[31]
"Falling In Love" 2014 EOEO
"EOEO" 2015 16
"Luv Again"
"Best Friend" 24 Non-album releases
"Happy New Year" 4
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Soundtracks

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CHN
V Chart

[32]
"Born To Fight" 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles OST
  • Released: October 23, 2014
"Celebrate" Penguins of Madagascar OST
  • Released: November 10, 2014
"Erase Your Little Sadness" 2015 12 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water OST
  • Released: December 7, 2015
"My Dream" 2016 3 MBA Partners OST
  • Released: March 24, 2016
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CHN
V Chart

[33]
"Happy New Year (UNIQ version)" 2015 22 Non-album releases

Music videos

Year Music video Length
2014 "Falling in Love" (Chinese version) 3:40
"Falling in Love" (Korean version) 3:40
"Born To Fight" 3:04
"Falling In Love" (English version) 3:35
"Celebrate" 3:17
"Celebrate" (Dance version) 3:11
2015 "EOEO" (Korean version) 3:12
"EOEO" (Chinese version) 3:12
"EOEO" (Dance version) 3:09
"Luv Again" (Korean version) 3:42
"Luv Again" (Chinese version) 3:42
"Best Friend" (Korean version) 3:06
"Best Friend" (Chinese version) 3:06
"Erase Your Little Sad" 3:38
"Happy New Year" 4:05
"Happy New Year" (UNIQ version) 4:10
2016 "My Dream" 4:05

Guest appearances

Year Artist(s) Music video Album Member(s) Remarks
2015 Park Ji-min "Hopeless Love"[34] Non-album releases Seungyoun Male Lead
2015 Hangeng "I Don't Give a 屑" 《三庚》迷你数字专辑I Seungyoun, Yixuan, Wenhan Guest Appearance
2015 Hangeng "三不管地带" 《三庚》迷你数字专辑I Yixuan Guest Appearance

Filmography

Variety show

Year Channel Title Member(s)
2014 iQiyi The Best Debut All
2015 JTBC Off to School Sungjoo[35]
Arirang TV After School Club All
Hunan Television Happy Camp (variety show) All[36]
MBC Every 1 Weekly Idol All
Hunan Television Day Day Up All
Sichuan Television Let's Go 咱们穿越吧 Sungjoo
KBS Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education - Cool Kiz On The Block Wenhan

Drama

Year Title Member Role Note
2016 Magical Space-Time Sungjoo Peng Zhendong 奇妙的时光之旅

Movie

Year Title Member Role Note
2016 MBA Partners[37] Yibo Lead Role UNIQ makes an appearance
A Chinese Odyssey 3 Yibo Red Boy

Awards

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2014 2015 iQiyi Awards Most Anticipated Award[38] UNIQ Won
2015 Apollo Music Awards Best Movie Soundtrack Born to Fight Won
Asia Billboard Awards Popular Group Award UNIQ Won
Tencent Beijing App Awards Most Promising Group of the Year (Asia) UNIQ Won
KU Music Awards Best New Artist[39] UNIQ Won
MTV Europe Music Awards Best Artist in Mainland China & Hong Kong UNIQ Nominated
2016 iQiyi Awards Award UNIQ Won

Music Program Awards

Global Chinese Music

CCTV's Global Chinese Music is Chinese music show

Year Date Song Recipient
2015 May 23 EOEO[20][21]UNIQ
2015 June 6 Listen to Me[40]UNIQ
2015 June 13 Luv Again[41]UNIQ

The Show

Year Date Song Recipient
2015 May 26 EOEO[42][43]UNIQ

References

  1. "Yuehua Artists List". May 14, 2015.
  2. "5-member Chinese Korean boy group Uniq to make their debut on the 20th with 'Falling In Love'". Allkpop. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  3. "Stars in Danger: The High Dive": Li WenHan - Part 1(Chinese) 14 April 2013
  4. IBD National HipHop Dance Contest: Wang YiBo (Chinese) 2011
  5. "(UPDATE) #UNIQ: YG’s New Korean-Chinese Boy Group To Debut Under Yuehua Entertainment". Hype Malaysia. September 9, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  6. 유니크, 한국과 중국의 원 디렉션을 꿈꾸다(인터뷰)". News1 (in Korean). November 11, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  7. "UNIQ 'Celebrate' in OST MV for animation film 'Penguins of Madagascar'". Allkpop. November 10, 2014.
  8. "UNIQ are 'Born To Fight' in OST MV for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'". Allkpop. October 23, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  9. "UNIQ continue to leave fans 'Falling In Love' with jacket making film featuring the English version of the song". Allkpop. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  10. 偶像男团UNIQ宣布正式出道 进军中国首秀落幕. NetEase (in Chinese). November 26, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  11. "UNIQ Makes A Big Splash In Taiwan With 30 Appearances In 1 Week". Kpopstarz. December 4, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  12. "我爱大牌 :《奔跑吧》撕裆大战 李晨念杨颖好身材‍". iQiyi. November 11, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2015. zero width joiner character in |title= at position 25 (help)
  13. "UNIQ顶替柯震东代言MIXBOX美爆妆扮形象代言人". HNBTV (in Chinese). February 15, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  14. "UNIQ แจกไฮทัชทุกที่นั่ง UNIQ 1st Fan Meeting in Bangkok 2015". MThai (in Thai). Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  15. 유니크, 스타쉽과 손잡고 4월 국내 컴백. News1 (in Korean). April 9, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  16. "UNIQ garner 'Best rookie of the Year' during 'Ku Music Asia Awards'". Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  17. "2015年第18期".
  18. "UNIQ are in 'Luv Again', letting loose with their youthful charms in follow-up MV!". Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  19. "UNIQ SHOWCASE in Japan". Risecom (in Japanese). May 22, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  20. 1 2 http://tv.cntv.cn/video/VSET100188787553/a06b180f22d14d67939b58179ada67cf.
  21. 1 2 "CCTV music channel special program "Global Chinese music charts list"". weibo. 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  22. http://www.wzaobao.com/p/g889OY.html
  23. "UNIQ Release 'Best Friend' To Commemorate 1-Year Anniversary". Kpopstarz. October 20, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  24. "Erase Your Little Sad by UNIQ on iTunes". iTunes.
  25. "Happy New Year by UNIQ on iTunes". iTunes.
  26. "China V Chart Weekly Ranking (April 9, 2016)". Billboard chart.
  27. "China V Chart Weekly Ranking (April 9, 2016)". Billboard chart.
  28. Gaon Weekly Album Chart
  29. "Gaon Album Ranking Monthly (5/2015)". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  30. China V Chart Weekly Ranking
  31. "EOEO - World Digital Songs (May 9, 2015)". Billboard chart.
  32. China V Chart Weekly Ranking
  33. China V Chart Weekly Ranking
  34. 박지민, ′호프리스 러브′ 뮤직비디오 촬영 인증샷 공개…유니크 승연과 9종 셀카 ′귀요미′ (in Korean). Newspim. April 6, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  35. http://www.bntnews.co.uk/app/news.php?nid=19990
  36. http://www.hunantv.com/v/1/1/f/1085907.html
  37. "《商学院合伙人》开机 姚晨唐嫣郝蕾齐上市" ["Business School Partner" Power Yao Chen Tang Yan Hao Lei listing]. Nate.com (in sanbengzi.com). 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
  38. "UNIQ wins 'Most Anticipated Award' at the '2015 iQiyi's Night' + perform 'Born to Fight'". Allkpop. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  39. UNIQ won the "Best Rookie of the Year" award at the KU Music Asia Awards Retrieved on April 26, 2015.
  40. "CCTV music channel special program "Global Chinese music charts list"". weibo. 2015-06-06. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  41. "CCTV music channel special program "Global Chinese music charts list"". weibo. 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  42. "Uniq, 'deosyo' first half 'Chinatown' Choice Award ... Rookie proven trend". joongang joins (in Korean). 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  43. "UNIQ Wins "The Show" China’s Choice Award - Soompi". Soompi.

External links

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