Artist of the week - Sung Shi Kyung

Jan 08, 2007

Our featured artiste of the week is Sung Shi Kyung. Ever since he debuted in 2001 he’s been one of the top male artistes in Korea. With his magical voice, he’s able to convert ordinary songs into masterpieces. He is mainly a ballad artiste, but has also tried more up-tempo songs in the past, like "Smiling Angel" on his debut album, and also "Who Do You Love" on his current album. His songs are unique to an extent that they have certain "folk" styles in it. Like many good artistes, I think he’s still underrated despite the fact that his albums are always good sellers and his songs are regular chart-toppers. He should deserve more credit. The title song in his latest (5th album) release "거리에서" (On The Street) spent a record 6 weeks as No. 1 on our soompi music chart, and is also ranked No. 1 on our staff recommendation songs of 2006. Let’s find out more about him:

PROFILE:

Born: April 17, 1979
Blood Type: A
Nick Name: Winnie the Pooh
Hobbies: Basketball, playing the piano, listening to music
#1 Prized Possession: His miniature 슈나우저
Favorite Movie: Love Letter
Favorite Food: Sashimi, pork BBQ
Favorite Artist: Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, George Kim
Favorite Music Genre: R&B, Ballad, Soul
Favorite Song: Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry”

BIOGRAPHY:

Male vocalist Sung Si-kyung is well-known for his warm and soft voice color that matches perfectly to sweet love songs. Utilizing his soft and gentle image, Sung has also performing actively in overall showbiz, including acting. As an undergraduate student at the Department of Humanities of Korea University, Sung participated in a cyber song festival and won the grand prize. The winners of the song festival released a compilation album and “The Road that Leads to Me,” the song by Sung recorded a great hit. That was how Sung made his debut in the pop music world. Thanks to the popularity of Sung’s song, the compilation album by the prize winners of the song festival, even though it was a promotional album, sold nearly 100,000 copies and Sung was put on top of stardom. Sung’s attraction is in his soft and relaxing image. Being tall and giving a favorable impression – not to mention his soft and relaxing voice – Sung appeals to everyone, young and old, men and women alike.

Sung’s official debut was in 2001 when he released his first album, “Like the First Time.” Mainly consisting of ballads, Sung’s debut album recorded three hits and made him the best rookie singer of the year. Participating as a guest singer in the album by Yoo Hee-yeol of Toy also contributed to achieving popularity for Sung. Sung’s second album released in 2002 was also a big hit and more than 650,000 copies were sold. However, Sung did not stop at just being a singer. He appeared in television dramas and sitcoms, gaining favorable responses from the public. Sung also joined in the so-called “Korean Wave” by participating in various performances and planning to hold a solo concert in Japan. With each new album released, Sung is firmly entrenched as the new "prince of ballads" in Korea.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Like the First Time (1st album, 2001) : Like the First Time, Smiling Angel, For U, Show Me Your Love

Melodie D’Amour (2nd album, 2002) : You Were , Cactus, Love Letter, We Get Along Very Well, It Would Be Nice, Happy Birthday to You

Try to Remember (Remake album, 2003) : Try to Remember, Hee Jae

Double Life : The Other Side (3rd album, 2003) : The Memory, When it Snows in October, Shall We Kiss, First Date, Since that Day, Doing Alright, Forever With You

Dream of Blue Night (Remake Album, 2004) : The Blue Night of JeJu Island

I Want to Dream Again (4th album, 2005) : Can We Start Again, How Are You, About the Things We Forget, Don’t Regret, There’s Something Special About You

The Ballads (5th album, 2006) : On The Street, Who Do You Love