Wheesung

Choi Whee-sung (Korean: 최휘성; born February 5, 1982), known professionally as Wheesung or by the stage name Realslow, is a South Korean R&B singer, record producer, and musical theatre actor.

Wheesung
Wheesung in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Choi Whee-sung
Also known as	Realslow
Born	February 5, 1982 South Korea
Genres	R&B K-pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter record producer musical theatre actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1999–present
Labels	YG OrangeShock POP/UP YMC Realslow
Korean name
Hangul	최휘성
Hanja	崔輝晟
Revised Romanization	Choe Hwi-seong
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Hwisŏng

Career

1982: Early life and education

Wheesung was born on February 5, 1982.[1] He was an avid dancer in high school, where he was part of a rock band. He began singing in his senior year.[2]

He initially attended the Sun Moon University, under the journalism major but dropped out. Wheesung subsequently attended the Gukje Digital University and Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Communication.[3]

1997–1999: Dance Team and Group Debut

He started his career in 1997 as a member of a back dancing team ING.[4] Wheesung began his career in 1999 with the short lived Korean boy group, A4. He left after the band's first album debut, citing musical differences between himself and the other members of the band. After that, He joined a rock band, MAME, as vocalist for a short while. And, he participated the MBC College Music Festival (MBC 강변가요제) in 2000.[5]

2000–2006: Solo Debut and YG Entertainment

In 2000, he signed onto M Boat, a former sister company to YG Entertainment. He underwent a few years of vocal training under the label and released his first solo album Like A Movie in 2002.[2] The album became very popular after receiving praise from many well-known artists, including Seo Taiji and Shin Seung Hun. In 2003, he released his second album, It's Real. It proved to be as popular as his first, making him the best selling artist of 2003 in Korea. Unlike his debut album, It's Real wasn't restricted to R&B and it included different musical elements like pop and hip-hop.

2006–2009: Orange Shock Agency

Wheesung left YG Entertainment after his contract expired in March 2006. He signed a new contract that is reportedly worth 1.5 million won with his new company Orange Shock Agency.

Wheesung has collaborated with many artists. In late 2008, Wheesung has collaborated once again with Lee Hyori who featured as his girlfriend in his music video of "별이 지다.." (Fading Star) in the "With All My Heart and Soul" album. In 2009, Wheesung seeks help from producer Lee Hyun-do, they will collaborate to produce the new album which the release date has been set in August 2009.

2009–2011: POP/UP Entertainment

In April 2009, Wheesung is the MC/host of a new Mnet TV show called "Pre Star-1 Show. This show gives opportunities for new talented singers to introduce themselves, a platform for them to reach out to more fans. Every month about nine or ten teams will be introduced on Mnet.com and the team which receives most response from the netizens will be chosen onto the show. The chosen team/singer will also be given the chance to perform with popular stars.[6] Wheesung's Pre-Show 1 Show’ started airing on April 24 on Mnet Cable Channel.

Wheesung had participated in several Kpop concerts in Los Angeles, California, which include the Hollywood Bowl, and the Victory Concert. On June 19, 2009, Wheesung and Lena Park held a concert in Los Angeles Disney Concert Hall.[7] After the concert, Wheesung planned to stay in Los Angeles for a month to work on his new album with producer Lee Hyun-do. The new album will go back to the r&b/hiphop style similar to "With Me" and "Incurable Disease". The new album is set to be released in August 2009. Wheesung also claimed in an interview that he wants to visit Pink's Hot Dogs while in LA. On June 27 and July 4, Wheesung performed at "Insomnia Concert" and club Le Cercle in LA. On July 11, he performed at the HALO nightclub in Hollywood.

In June 2009, Wheesung changed his label again from Orange Shock to POP/UP Entertainment, which houses stars like JK Kim Dong Wook and group M to M.[8] Wheesung has decided to change his label because former producer, Park Gun Tae, concentrated more on producing and working by himself. Wheesung gave thanks to Park Gun Tae for his growth as an artist and hopes to learn from him as a little brother, no longer as an artist under a producer.

2011–2016: YMC Entertainment and Military service

In 2011, he transferred to Tae Jin Ah's YMC Entertainment.[9] Soon after joining YMC Entertainment, he recruited female singer Ailee. On November 7, 2011, he enlisted for mandatory military service. He served 21 months of active service after completing five-week of basic training course at a boot camp in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province.[10]

On July 11, 2012, Wheesung was granted a 9 nights, 10 days temporary leave from the army to undergo surgery for a herniated disc as well as other medical conditions such as bilateral shoulders dislocation, psoriasis and alopecia.[11]

August 9, 2013, Wheesung was discharged from the military.[12]

2017–present: Realslow Company and new stage name

In 2017, Wheesung parted ways with YMC Entertainment after his contract with the agency came to an end. He set up an independent label called Realslow Company, and he will now be promoting under the stage name Realslow.[13]

Realslow is a stage name used by Wheesung when he was an underground singer. Wheesung gained attention in the early 2000s as an underground musician before he debuted in 2002. The name references his love and passion for R&B music, which still struggles to have much popularity in Korea. Through this new name and label, Wheesung aims to return to his roots and produce some soulful R&B music.[14][15]

Discography

Studio albums

• Like a Movie (2002)
• It's Real (2003)
• For the Moment (2004)
• Love... Love...? Love...! (2005)
• Eternal Essence of Music (2007)
• Vocolate (2009)

Mini albums

• With All My Heart and Soul (2008)
• They Are Coming (2011)
• The Best Man (2014)
• Transformation (2016)
• In Space (2018)

Lyrics and compositions

Filmography

Musical

• 2014: Zorro as Zorro
• 2016: All Shook Up as Elvis
• 2017–2018: All Shook Up as Elvis

Variety shows

• 2009: Mnet & tvN, Wheesung's Pre Star 1Show, MC
• 2017–2018: tvN, My English Puberty, (나의영어 사춘기), E1-E8
• 2018: Channel A, Galaxy, (우주를줄게), E1-10
• 2018: Mnet & tvN, The Call , E1-5、8
• 2018: tvN, A Battle of One Voice: 300, (하나의 목소리 전쟁: 300), E3、5
• 2018: MBC plus, New Music God (창작의신)
• 2018: TV Chosun, Neighbour Album (동네앨범)

Concert

Year	Name	[16][17][18][19]
2003	Wheesung It's Real Movement
2004	Wheesung It's Real Movement II
	Wheesung Theater Concert Like his Diary
	솔트레인 2004 Concert	Gummy SE7EN BIGMAMA
	2004 JTN Live Concert 4th Wheesung & Gummy	Gummy
2005	Good Friends Concert	Gummy SE7EN BIGMAMA
	2005 4Color Story Concert	Kim Jang-hoon Fly to the Sky M To M
2006	Wheesung Concert Poison
	Love Love Love Wheesung Birthday
	BIG4 Concert	FT Island M To M SG Wannabe
2007	2007 Whee Show Welcome to Realslow World
	26th Happy Whee's day
	BIG4 Concert	SG Wannabe Vibe SeeYa
2008	2008 Whee Show
	Happy Whee's Day Birthday Party
	2008 JTN Live Concert 9th Wheesung & MC THE MAX	MC THE MAX
	2008 The Soul Concert	Gummy Park Hyo Shin Jung Yup
2009	2009 Wheesung Concert The Man
	2009 The Soul The Vocalist Concert	Bobby Kim Kim Bum Soo
	2009 Dream Concert
2010	Wheesung Real Slow is Back Concert
	2010 The Soul The Vocalist Concert	Bobby Kim Gummy[20]
	The Great Moment Season 1	Leessang Jeong In Gummy Lee Young Hyun
	2010 JTN Live Concert 7
2011	Wheesung & Kim Tae Woo 2011 Two Men Show Soul Twins & Encore	Kim Tae Woo[21][22]
	Wheesung & Kim Tae Woo 2011 Two Men Show Soul Twins Encore	Kim Tae Woo
2013	Wheesung & Gummy Do It Live Tour Concert	Gummy
2014	Wheesung Live Tour Concert 2014 Whee Show	[23]
	2014 JTN Live Concert 3月
	2014 Valentine's Day Kiss Concert	Gummy
	2014 Someday Concert 3rd	Ailee
	2014 Someday Concert 4th	Shin Yong Jae
	The Voice Concert	Ailee Kim Bum Soo Shin Yong Jae Yoon Jong Shin
	JTBC Hidden Singer Concert
2015	Wheesung Live Tour Concert 2015 Whee Show	[24]
	2015 Wheesung & Ailee Concert Back to School	Ailee[25]
	Wheesung & Gummy US Soulmate Concert	Gummy
	Legend Concert Wheesung
	2015 The Plaza Countdown Party
	Someday Festival 2015
2016	2016 Wheesung Live Concert On Air
	WHEESUNG CONCERT in TOKYO 2016
	Seong Nam Concert with Wheesung
	Wheesung & K.Will Bromance Show	K.Will[26]
	Wheesung & Yoon Min-soo Concert	Yoon Min-soo
	Wheesung & Zion.T Voice II Men Concert	Zion.T
	Wheesung & Bada Peoplegate The Best Emotion of Concert	Bada
	Wheesung x Gummy x Kim Kyung-ho Summer Dream Concert	Gummy Kim Kyung-ho
	Wheesung & ALi Concert Cantare Festa	ALi
	2016 JTN Live Concert Wheesung & Lucky J	Lucky J
	젊은외침 통일 콘서트	Bada San.E Verbal.J Sool J
	신사들의 품격	Yoon Hyung-Ryul Lee Chang-min Han Ji-sang
2017	2017 Wheesung Live Concert On Air
	2017 Wheesung National Tour Concert Get Sexxy
	Insomnia with Wheesung Concert
	Wheesung & Kim Tae-woo Voice II Men Concert	Kim Tae-woo (singer)
2018	Wheesung Concert Get Sexxy Encore
	Wheesung Concert
	Wheesung & Gummy Concert	Gummy
	Star Pack Concert 5	K.Will Ailee
	2018 Dream Concert
	Wheesung Real Healing Concert
	Wheesung & Lyn Summer Concert	Lyn
	2018 DMC Festival Super Concert
	Wheesung & Jung in Forest Live (TV Chosun)	Jung In
	Wheesung & Fany Concert	Fany
	2018 Realslow Wheesung Fan Meeting
	Mini K-Pop Concert by WheeSung	National Theater, Abu Dhabi
	2018 Wheesung Realslow Concert Get Sexxy Season 2 & 2019 Encore

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2002	Golden Disc Awards	Best New Artist	"Can't I" (안되나요)	Won	[27]
	MBC Ten Singers Song Festival	Best New Artist		Won	[28]
	Mnet Music Video Festival	Best New Male Artist	"Can't I" (안되나요)	Nominated
		Best R&B Performance		Nominated
	SBS Gayo Daejeon	R&B Award		Won
	Seoul Music Awards	Best New Artist		Won
2003	Golden Disc Awards	Main Prize (Bonsang)	"With Me"	Won	[29]
	MBC Ten Singers Song Festival	Top Ten Singer (Bonsang)		Won
	Mnet Music Video Festival	Best Male Artist	"With Me"	Won
		Best R&B Performance		Nominated
	SBS Gayo Daejeon	Main Prize (Bonsang)		Won
	Seoul Music Awards	Main Prize (Bonsang)		Won
2004	Golden Disc Awards	Main Prize (Bonsang)	"Incurable Disease" (불치병)	Won	[30]
	KBS Music Awards	Best Singer (Bonsang)		Won
	Korean Music Awards	Musician of the Year	It's Real	Won
	MBC Ten Singers Song Festival	Top Ten Singer (Bonsang)		Won	[31]
	Mnet Km Music Video Festival	Best Male Video	"Incurable Disease" (불치병)	Nominated
		Best R&B Video		Won
2005	Golden Disc Awards	Main Prize (Bonsang)	"Goodbye Luv"	Won
	KBS Music Awards	Best Singer (Bonsang)		Won
	Korean Music Awards	Best R&B and Soul Album	For the Moment	Nominated	[32]
	Mnet Km Music Video Festival	Best Male Artist	"Goodbye Luv"	Nominated
		Best R&B Performance		Won
	SBS Gayo Daejeon	Main Prize (Bonsang)		Won
2007	Golden Disc Awards	Main Prize (Bonsang)	"Delicious Love" (사랑은 맛있다)	Won
	Mnet Km Music Festival	Best R&B Performance		Nominated
2009	Korean Music Awards	Best R&B and Soul Album	With All My Heart and Soul	Nominated	[33]
		Male Musician of the Year		Nominated	[33]
2010	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Male Solo Artist	"Even Thought of Marriage" (결혼까지 생각했어)	Nominated
		Best Vocal Performance (Solo)		Nominated
2011	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Male Solo Artist	"Heartsore Story" (가슴 시린 이야기)	Nominated
2014	Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards	K-Pop Top Ten Singer Award		Won
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Vocal Performance (Male)	"Night and Day"	Nominated	[34]
	SBS MTV Best of the Best	Best Male Solo		Won
	Seoul Success Awards	Singer Grand Prize		Won	[35]
2018	Soribada Best K-Music Awards	Voice Award		Won	[36]
2019	Korean Arts and Culture Awards	Music Producer Award		Won	[37]

References

1. Kim, I-seul (June 21, 2016). [인터뷰] '올슉업' 휘성 "두 번째 도전, 이제는 상대배우가 눈에 보이네요". NewsCulture (in Korean). Herald Corporation. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
2. Kim, Krista (October 29, 2003). [번역]This R&B is for 'real' 휘성, R&B 가수로 변신. The Korea Herald (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
3. 휘성(최휘성) 가수. Naver 인물검색 (in Korean). March 14, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
4. "Artist of the week – Wheesung". soompi. soompi. September 22, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
5. "하늘에서..♬ 휘성, 담담하게 말하는 데뷔 전 가수의 꿈". Channel A.
6. 헤럴드경제. "헤럴드경제". www.heraldbiz.com.
7. "Global Pop: Wheesung & Lena Park at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles) on 19 Jun 2009 – Last.fm". Last.fm.
8. Daum News: Wheesung changes Agency to join JK Kim Dong Wook and M to M
9. "Tae Jin Ah establishes YMC Entertainment to broaden musical genres" Naver News. September 14, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2012 (in Korean)
10. Kim, JiYeon "Wheesung Joins the Army" Mnet News. November 7, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2012
11. Ho, Stewart (July 12, 2012). "Wheesung Receives Temporary Leave From Army to Receive Surgery for Herniated Disc". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
12. "Wheesung Is Discharged from Military Service and Apologizes to His Family and Friends". soompi. soompi. August 8, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
13. "Wheesung Sets Up Independent Label And Changes His Stage Name". soompi. soompi. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
14. "R&B singer Wheesung sets up new music label 'Realslow'". ajudaily. April 12, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
15. "Sensitive singer Wheesung steps out of his shell". koreajoongangdaily. April 12, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
16. "playdb Wheesung Concert Record 공연의 모든 것 플레이DB".
17. "Official Wheesung Concert Record".
18. "Naver Wheesung Concert Record".
19. "Interpark Wheesung Concert Record".
20. "《The Vocalist》製作發佈會 Bobby Kim-GUMMY-輝星出席". koreastardaily. December 6, 2010.
21. "金泰宇-輝星11月安可公演". Kpopn. October 1, 2011.
22. "金泰宇-輝星11月安可公演". Kpopn. November 2, 2011.
23. "眾星擔任輝星演唱會嘉賓". allthatstar. November 1, 2014.
24. "輝星準備情人節演唱會 14~15日「Whee show」隆重召開". allthatstar. February 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019.
25. "Ailee輝星攜手開唱 共同演唱會12月起跑". allthatstar. November 2, 2015. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019.
26. "K.will輝星舉辦全國巡演 4月30日首爾開唱". allthatstar. March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019.
27. "제17회 골든디스크상 대상에 그룹 쿨". The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). December 13, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
28. "[콘서트 인 부산] 컬러 오브 소울 트레인". Busan Ilbo (in Korean). September 9, 2004. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
29. "조성모 '2003 골든디스크' 대상". The Joong Ang Ilbo (in Korean). December 5, 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
30. "제19회 골든디스크 대상에 이수영". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). December 3, 2004. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
31. "한지혜-한예슬, MBC 10대가수 가요제 MC". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2020.
32. "2회 수상식 수상후보". Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2020.
33. "6회 수상식 수상후보". Korean Music Awards (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2020.
34. "'2014 MAMA' 태양 에일리, 男女보컬퍼포먼스상 수상 영예". Newsen (in Korean). December 3, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
35. "서울 석세스 어워드". STV (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2020.
36. Herman, Tamar (August 30, 2018). "BTS, TWICE Win Big at 2018 Soribada Best K-Music Awards". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
37. "휘성, '에이미 논란' 후 예술문화인대상 참석 (대한민국 예술문화인대상)". Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). May 7, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

External links

• Official website