Lee Gi-kwang
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Lee Ki-Kwang | |
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Born | Gwangju, South Korea |
March 30, 1990
Occupation | |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 이기광 |
---|---|
Hanja | 李起光 |
Revised Romanization | I Gi-gwang |
McCune–Reischauer | Yi Kigwang |
Lee Gi-kwang (Korean: 이기광, Hanja: 李起光; born on March 30, 1990) is a South Korean idol, singer, dancer and actor. He was a solo singer under Cube Entertainment, also known by his stage name as "Ace Junior" (AJ) when he debuted. He released his first Mini Album "First Episode A New Hero"[1][2] which features the works of the famous composer Brave Brothers. He is the main dancer, lead vocalist and visual of Beast.
Contents
Early life
Lee Gi-kwang was born on March 30, 1990[3] in Naju, South Korea. Gi-kwang found interest in hip hop and had particular liking to many classic hip hop acts. At first he was backed by his family to pursue a musical career but eventually he passed an audition and became a trainee. However he got eliminated from the previous agency and was asked by the former president of his current agency to join the agency without auditioning making him the company's first trainee (and debuted under the stage name 'AJ'). He was known as the solo singer AJ or Ace Junior when he debuted and released a mini-album "First Episode: A New Hero” on April 4, 2009.[4] He met controversies when his name created dispute among netizens for having a similar name with Paran’s AJ(Later became the new U-KISS member). He now goes with his original name when he redebuted with Beast.[5] He debuted as an actor through High Kick Through the Roof[6] and was also cast in a role for My Princess.[7] He also became an MC for different shows such as Hot Brothers,[8] Win Win[9] and SBS Inkigayo.
Career
Debut: 2009
Lee Gi-kwang was trained under JYP Entertainment for four years before transferring to Cube Entertainment. He made his debut on April 2, 2009 on Mnet M!Countdown.[10] He was dubbed by Korean media as the next Rain.[11] On June 17, 2009, AJ opened for Lady Gaga's Korean showcase.[12]
Gi-kwang has now switched from a solo artist to a group member of Beast. The group debuted on October 16, 2009 on KBS Music Bank with their single "Bad Girl". He serves as the main dancer and lead vocalist in Beast. Band members Yoon Doo-joon, Yong Jun-hyung, Jang Hyun-seung and Yang Yo-seob were once backup dancers for Gi-kwang when he was still performing as AJ.[13] Ace Junior was the topic of a short-lived reality show, Diary of AJ, which was hosted by MTV. The show ran on two episodes on May 9, 2009 with a total of two episodes showcasing his Journey on his debut as AJ.
Controversy
The name "AJ", which is common not only in Korea but also overseas, has created disputes among netizens since many expressed their dissatisfaction over him having the same name as Paran's AJ. Cube Entertainment responded by saying that AJ’s name is different from that of Paran AJ’s for his (Cube's AJ) name is short for ‘Ace Junior’. The company later announced that he would continue activities under a different name, but no changes were made until it was revealed that AJ would no longer continue activities, as he will have been preparing to debut as a member of Beast. Since the group's debut, he is known as Gi Kwang, or Kikwang.[14]
Beast
Beast (비스트, stylized as BEAST or B2ST) is a boy band from South Korea that consists of six members, under Cube Entertainment. Originally known as B2ST, an acronym for Boys 2 Search the Top. However, their name was changed to BEAST (Boys of East Asia Standing Tall). They released their first mini-album Beast Is The B2ST on October 14, 2009, and made their first live performance on KBS's Music Bank 2 days later. The group has released a total of 8 mini-albums, "Beast is the B2ST", "Shock of the New Era", "Mastermind", "Lights Go On Again", "Midnight Sun", "Good Luck", "Time", "Ordinary" and 2 full-length albums called "Fiction and Fact" and "Hard to Love How to Love".
2010 - present
After he was switched from a solo artist to a group member of Beast, their journey to debut was the topic of a reality show, MTV B2ST, which was hosted by MTV. Later, there's another Beast show - Beast Almighty, also hosted by MTV.
Acting
Gi-kwang had an acting role as Kang Sae-ho on MBC's "High Kick Through the Roof".[6] He was cast as the comical role in the drama My Princess starring Song Seung-hun and Kim Tae-hee on 2011.[7] He also played Lee Ji-ah's patrol partner in 2011 drama Me Too, Flower!, where his character was Jo Ma-roo. He also had an acting role as himself as the lead actor in "20's (Twenty Years Old)" and a role as Kyung Sook who is terminally ill with leukimia on KBS Drama Special "My Friend is Still Alive".
On August 3, 2015, Lee Gi-kwang made a comeback appearance on small screen as Lee Se-won on SBS's Monday-Tuesday Drama "Mrs.cop". His role was as the youngest detective on the team along with Kim Hee-Ae as Choi Young-Jin, the captain of the team.
MC Activity
He was selected as MC for MBC's Sunday Sunday Night segment Hot Brothers.[15] Gi-kwang was chosen as the new MC for the KBS show 'Win Win'.[16]
Yoon Doojoon, Gi-kwang and IU appeared as special hosts on Music Core on August 21, 2010.[17]
Gi-kwang, together with IU, were selected to be new MCs of Inkigayo in replacement of CNBlue’s Jung Yonghwa from 20 March. The two were paired with the existing MCs, 2AM’s Jo Kwon, and f(x)’s Sulli.
Gi-kwang, SNSD's Tiffany, and CNBlue's Yonghwa were also MC for SBS K-Pop Super Concert in America on November 10, 2012.
He also being MC on December 14, 2012 along with Infinite's Woohyun, Moon Hee-jun, and Danny Ahn for 2012 Melon Music Awards
Featuring
Gi-kwang was featured in K.Will's music video for the song, Present.[18]
Gi-kwang was featured in Ahn Jinkyung’s title song, ‘Love is Pathetic’ off of her second mini album ‘BE THE VOICE’. This will be his first project that he will be rapping in.[19]
Gi-kwang was featured in Sunny Hill's 'Midnight Circus'.
He was also chosen as the leading man in A Pink's MV, "I Don't Know".[20]
On July 12, 2011, it has been announced that Gi-kwang will be taking part in producer Brave Brother’s sixth project album, in a song called "Break Up" featuring Gi-kwang and Electro Boys. Fans were especially excited because this was Gi-kwang’s first solo song since his original debut days as ‘AJ‘ before he joined Beast.[21]
On February 8, 2012 Gi-kwang also appeared in Ailee's debut music video, "Heaven".
CF
He was also chosen as the model for the ‘Ice Tea Tio’ from DongSuh Foods.[22] Gi-kwang will be doing CF filming of LG Tromm with model Lee Nayoung.[23]
Awards
On December 29, 2010, Gi-kwang was awarded with Popularity Award from the 2010 MBC Entertainment Awards.[24]
Discography
Mini-Albums
Album # | Album information | Tracklisting |
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1st | First Episode: A New Hero
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Music video appearances
These are a collection of the different members' appearances in other artists' music videos as well as notable acting performances in music videos.
Year | Song Title | Artist | Video |
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2010 | Present | K.Will | starshipTV |
Hosting
Year | Title | Roles | TV Network |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | M! Countdown Christmas Special | Co-Hosted along with Son Dong-woon & Yong Jun-hyung | Mnet |
2011 | Inkigayo | Co-Hosted along with IU | SBS |
2012 | Inkigayo Special | Co-Hosted along with Jung Yong-hwa & Tiffany | SBS |
Win Win | Co-Hosted | KBS2 | |
SBS Kpop Concert in America | Co-Hosted along with Jung Yong-hwa & IU | SBS | |
MelOn Music Awards | Co-Hosted along with Nam Woo-hyun & Moon Hee-joon & Danny Ahn | MBC | |
2014 | Style log | Co-Hosted along with Gayoon | OnStyle |
Filmography
Year | Title | Type | Role |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Diary of AJ | TV Documentary (MTV) | Himself as AJ |
High Kick Through the Roof | TV Series (MBC) | Kang Sae Ho (강세호) | |
MTV B2ST | TV Documentary (MTV) | Himself | |
2010 | MTV Beast Almighty | TV Show (MTV) | Himself |
Idol Maid | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
Hot Brothers | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
Win Win | TV Show (KBS) | Himself | |
2010 Idol Star Athletics Championships | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
SHIN PD Variety Show | TV Show (SBS) | Himself | |
2011 | My Princess | TV Series (MBC) | Geon Lee (건이) |
Inkigayo | TV Series (SBS) | Himself | |
Exciting Cube TV | TV Show (Mnet Japan) | Himself | |
Me Too, Flower! | TV Series (MBC) | Jo Ma Roo/ Pink Chicken | |
School Variety | TV Show (KBS) | Himself | |
2012 | Running Man EP 127 | TV Show (SBS) | Himself |
Win Win | TV Show (KBS2) | Himself | |
Sammy Adventures 2 | Movie | Ricky | |
Invincible Youth 2 | TV Show (KBS2) | Himself | |
2013 | Running Man EP 127 | TV Show (SBS) | Himself |
Running Man EP 162 | TV Show (SBS) | Himself | |
2013 Idol Star Athletics Championships | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
Crackle Class | TV Show (tvN) | Himself | |
My Friend Is Still Alive | Drama Special (KBS) | Kyeong-sook | |
Weekly Idol | TV Show (MBC Every1) | Himself | |
Happy Together | TV Show (KBS) | Himself | |
Hello Counselor | TV Show (MBC Every1) | Himself | |
2014 | 20's (Twenty Years Old) | Mobile Drama (tvN) | Himself |
Showtime Burning the Beast | TV Show (MBC Every1) | Himself | |
Running Man EP 199 | TV Show (SBS) | Himself | |
Weekly Idol | (MBC Every1) | Himself | |
Hello Counselor | (KBS) | Himself | |
Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education | TV Show (KBS2) | Himself | |
Cackling Class | TV Online (tvN) | Himself | |
Style log | TV Show (OnStyle) | Himself | |
Family's Dignity Full House | TV Show (KBS2) | Himself | |
Law of the Jungle | TV Show (SBS) | Himself | |
Cool Kiz On The Block | TV Show (KBS) | Himself | |
Witch Hunt | TV Online (JTBC) | Himself | |
2014 Idol Star Athletics Championships | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
2015 | Infinity Challenge | TV Show (MBC) | Himself |
Happy Together | TV Show (KBS2) | Himself | |
2015 Idol Star Athletics Championships | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
One Night TV Appearance | TV Show (SBS) | Himself | |
New Life For Children | TV Show (MBC) | Himself | |
Mrs. Cop | TV Series (SBS) | Lee Se Won |
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | MBC Entertainment Awards | Popularity Award[24] | Hot Brothers | Won |
2011 | MBC Drama Awards | Best New Actor | My Princess | Won |
References
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External links
- (Korean) GiKwang Cyworld
- (Korean) Daum Fancafe
- Official AJ
- GiKwang Twitter
- GiKwang Instagram
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- Articles with hCards
- Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters
- Pages using infobox person with unknown parameters
- Articles containing Korean-language text
- Use of the tablewidth parameter in Infobox Korean name
- Articles with Korean-language external links
- Beast (South Korean band) members
- 1990 births
- K-pop singers
- Living people
- South Korean hip hop musicians
- South Korean male singers
- South Korean pop singers
- South Korean male television actors
- Korean-language singers
- South Korean dance musicians
- South Korean idols
- Running Man (TV series) contestants
- DSP Media artists