Artist of the week - Koyote

Dec 05, 2007

PROFILE:

Shinji
Position: Female Vocalist
Real name : Lee Ji Sun
Date of birth : November 18th, 1981
Physique : 165cm, 46kg
Education : Department of Electronic and Digital Music, Kyunggi University
Hobbies : Exercising, driving, playing computer games, playing pocket ball, bowling
Talents : Playing the piano, imitating other singers

Kim Jong Min
Position: Male Vocalist
Date of birth : September 24th, 1979
Physique : 176cm, 62kg
Education : Department of German Language and Literature, Mokwon University
Hobbies : Computer games, basketball, watching movies
Talents : Jazz dance

Bbaekga
Position: Rapper
Real name : Baek Sung Hyun
Date of birth : May 14th, 1981
Physique : 186cm, 74kg
Education : Mokwon University
Talents : Snowboarding, playing the piano, dancing

BIOGRAPHY:

Our featured artiste this week is the ageless pop group Koyote, one of the most consistent hit-makers in k-pop history. Koyote are a pop-dance group made up of 3 members: Shinji, Kim Jong Min, and Bbaekga. Koyote are loved for their cheerful and youthful image and dance music.

The group started out with members Cha Seung-min, Kim Koo and Shinji in 1999. However, after the release of their 2nd album, a member of the group was replaced. Kim Jong Min was recruited to take over the male vocals position formerly held by Cha Seung Min, who had returned to the US. Even with the new member, the group maintained their popularity with their 3rd album. However, when the band were wrapping up their promotional performances, Kim Koo was arrested on charges of illegal drug use. The band went on hiatus for a long period. Later in 2002, Koyote started performing as a duo, with remaining band members Shinji and Kim Jong Min. The response was surprisingly great. Later, Bbaekga joined the band as a rapper.

Koyote have released 9 full studio albums so far, and recently they released a best hit album and Vol. 9.5, which has a few new songs. The song "Love Formula" is currently ranking high on the music charts. Most of their title songs and hits are pop-dance songs. However, they have some very nice ballads in each of their albums as well. They did release a best ballad album in early 2006.

Almost all Koyote albums have produced at least one hit songs. The group’s prime years were in the early 2000s, when all their title songs had reached No. 1 and each album they released was among the top sellers during the year. During that era, Koyote and Cool were the two co-ed groups that everyone loved and they had fans among various age groups. Despite their success, critics were not too enthusiastic about Koyote’s music – perhaps it is too "pop", too "commercial". As a result, Koyote have not won many awards in year-end awards shows even though their songs and albums have been very popular.

Because Koyote have released so many albums, it is a very long list to go through. Instead, I’ll talk about their most successful albums. Their debut song "Pure Love" from their 1st album was one of the most played disco songs in nightclubs during the late 90s and early 2000s, even outside of Korea people who went clubbing knew this song despite the fact that k-pop had not been introduced at that time. Their 3rd album also produced a big hit in "Passion". But in my opinion, their most successful album was their 6th album, which featured two No. 1 songs in "Disco King" and "Flames". The success of that album enabled Koyote to win top-10 singers award in 2004 for one of the few times in their career.

Koyote have stood the test of time and are still going strong after all these years. They are about the only "old skool" k-pop groups that are still active today. We often refer them as veterans in the k-pop industry now, but their members are still only in their mid-twenties because they debuted at a very young age. While it is true that they are not as popular now as in previous years, their songs are still making the top 5 consistently, thus earning them the label of consistent hit-makers.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Pure Love (1st album, 1998) : Pure Love, Forbidden Love, Encounter, Promise

Disappointed Love (2nd album, 1999) : Party Party, Touch Me, Disappointed Love, Endless Love, Cinema, Temptation

Passion (3rd album, 2000) : Rendez Vous, Passion, Dear My…, Blue, Pride

필립(必立) – We Believe We are Heading for a Victory Once Again (4th album, 2002): Sad Dream, Destiny, Over, Y Bobby, Happy Song, Loving You

Emergency (5th album, 2003) : Emergency, Strangers, Plead, Stop, Day, All the Time

Koyote 6 (6th album, 2004) : Line, Flames, Disco King, Drive, Time, Never, Unforgettable, Together, Moon Night

Rainbow (7th album, 2004) : Lover, Walking Slowly, Bingo, Rush, Hey Shy Boy, Happy Virus, Fool, I Love You

必 Up (8th album, 2005) : 1,2,3,4, Like This, Rain is Heaven’s Tears, Tonight, Hurricane

The Koyote In Ballad Special (Best ballad album, 2006) : various ballads from previous albums

London Koyote (9th album, 2006) : I Love Rock & Roll, Play, Sweet, Big Smile, Unexpected Lovers, Love…ing, Blind Love

Koyote Dance Best and 9.5 (9.5 album + best dance hits, 2007) : Love Formula, various dance hits from previous albums