Artist of the week - Kim Gun Mo

PROFILE

Born: January 13, 1968 in Busan
Religion: Christian
Debut Year/Debut Song: 1992/Sleepless on a Rainy Night
Instruments: Vocals, piano, composer
Official Website: www.gunmo.com
Hobbies: Fishing, computer games, piano

BIOGRAPHY

Kim Gun-mo debuted in 1992 with his first album, ‘Sleepless on a Rainy Night’. Kim’s love for composing music goes back decades to his childhood. It was during his final year in middle school that he became interested in popular music. He studied traditional Korean music at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and began his music career while serving his military duties in the navy.

After his military service, Kim met music director Kim Chang-wan, who opened the road to Kim’s official debut. Kim’s debut album, ‘Sleepless on a Rainy Night’, was released in 1992, which sold a million copies, and his next album, ‘Excuses’, brought about a reggae boom in Korea. His third

album, ‘Wrongful Meeting’, sold a record 3.3 million copies and set a record in the local music industry. The album also earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was around this time that Koreans began referring to Kim as a ‘national singer’.

Kim’s 4th studio album, ‘Exchange (1996)’, was another success, the result of Kim’s relentless effort to experiment with different styles of music. His follow-up album, ‘Myself(1998)’, also sold a million copies even amid the recession in the music industry caused by the economic crisis. Kim’s 6th album, ‘Growing(1999)’, was, surprisingly, a flop. Its lack of success didn’t stop Kim from producing another album two years later, entitled ‘Another Days’, which was a success among a wide range of age groups. Kim has sold over 487,000 copies of his 8th album ‘Hestory (2003)’, making it the most popular record of that year.

After several sub-par albums (by Kim’s standard), he is back successfully in 2008 with the 12th studio album. The album demonstrates the star’s musical versatility, covering a vast range of genres that includes pop, soul, reggae, house, blues, ballad, electronics, and slow jam.  This time Kim collaborated with producer Kim Chang Hwan again and recaptured their past glories.  The title song, "Kiss", was a top-5 hit.

Not many singers in k-pop have released more than 10 studio albums and still remain active.  Kim Gun Mo is one of the very few who fit into this category.  He has proved that he can stand the test of time.

DISCOGRAPHY

* Sleepless on a Rainy Night (1st album, 1992)

* Excuses (2nd album, 1993)

* Wrongful Meeting (3th album. 1995)

* Exchange (4th album, 1996)

* Myself (5th album, 1998)

* Growing (6th album, 1999)

* Another Days (7th album, 2001)

* Hestory (8th album, 2003)

*
Kim Gun-mo 9 (9th album, 2004) : Women Are, Time, Small Talk, Auction, When Love Makes Me Sad, Like a Flowing River, Rose, Mr. Big Man, Family, Farewell

* Be Like… (10th album, 2005) : Mind Your Own Business, The Moon Over Seoul, Habit, Toes, Toad, I Feel Good
PURCHASE THE ALBUM
* A Scarecrow (11th album, 2007) : Scarecrow, Toy, Words of Reflection, Singer etc

* Soul Groove (12th album, 2008) :

Music Video: KISS
Soompi Thread: HERE

credits to: KBS World, YesAsia

written by: adikkeluangman, edward1849