Shinhwa
Shinhwa is a South Korean six-member boy band based in Seoul, composed of Eric Mun, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Shin Hye-sung, Jun Jin, and Andy Lee. Launched by SM Entertainment on March 24, 1998, the group signed with Good Entertainment in 2004 before creating their to manage their career as a band. The band struggled initially with their first album before finding commercial success with their sophomore album T.O.P.. When their contract with SM Entertainment expired in July 2003, all six members signed with Good Entertainment and assumed creative control with the release of Brand New. That same year, members began to pursue individual careers.
After a four-year hiatus due to majority of the members completing their mandatory military service, the sextet established the Shinhwa Company to facilitate their group career. The release of their tenth album The Return made them the first Korean boy band to continue performing after the members' mandatory military services. Shinhwa is also the first K-pop idol group to lead a successful career after leaving its original agency, despite being embroiled in legal battles with SM Entertainment over the name "Shinhwa" for several years. Over the course of their twenty-year career, Shinhwa have released thirteen Korean studio albums, one Japanese album, and various compilation albums.
The group is the longest-running boy band in the history of K-pop and is often referred to as part of the "First Generation of K-pop", alongside H.O.T., S.E.S., g.o.d, Fin.K.L, among others. Their work and longevity have served as influences to future generations of K-pop idol groups, leading many to describe the band itself as "legendary".
History
1998–2001: Formation, commercial struggles, and mainstream breakthrough
With the already established acts of H.O.T. and S.E.S., SM Entertainment sought to release another group to capitalize on the two formers' successes. Composed of members Mun Eric, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Jun Jin, Shin Hye-Sung, and Lee Andy, the group was named Shinhwa, the Korean word for myth or legend, and made their debut with Resolver on May 9, 1998. The album was supported by three singles: the titled track, "Eusha! Eusha!", and "Sharing Forever". ResolverShinhwa's found mainstream success with their next few albums. Their sophomore album, T.O.P., was met with positive reviews for its title song and the group's edgier concept. A second single, "Yo", was promoted but did not fare as well. The album debuted at No. 4 and peaked at No. 3, selling 377,500 copies and charting for 24 weeks on the Korean monthly chart. The group received the Best Music Video from a New Male Pop Group award from the Mnet Asian Music Awards.
Only One became their first to debut at the top of the chart. Buoyed by three singles, "Only One", "All Your Dreams", and "First Love", it sold over 423,000 copies, and Shinhwa won three awards that year: the SBS Gayo Popularity Award, the KMTV song Bonsang Award, and the Popular Singers Award. That January, Shinhwa held their first concert, First Mythology. Shinhwa's fourth album, Hey, Come On!'', was released on June 8, 2001, debuting at No. 3 and was promoted with two singles: "Hey, Come On!" and "Wild Eyes", the latter of which spawned various dance covers due to its choreography incorporating the use of chairs. The album was a commercial success, selling over 430,700 copies and ranked No. 11 on the 2001 year-end chart. Shinhwa was also associated with several controversies at the time, including scrutiny over the absence of member Andy and the alleged copying of Shinhwa's popular single, "Hey, Come On!" by Taiwanese boy band, Energy.
2002–2003: Making history, change in management, and solo activities
Their first compilation album, My Choice, featured some of the members' favorite songs and some of their most popular tracks. In contrast to Hey, Come On!'s strong sales, My Choice was met with moderate success, selling more than 171,300 copies while debuting and peaking at No. 4 before it dropped from the Korean monthly Chart. On the Year-End Chart, My Choice ranked No. 31, selling a total of 183,000 copies. A few months after the release of My Choice, Shinhwa released their fifth studio album, Perfect Man, on March 29, 2002. The album marked the return of member Andy. Perfect Man debuted atop the Korean monthly chart, becoming Shinhwa's second chart-topping album. Along with the title track, the group promoted the album with the second single "I Pray 4 U". Final sales were over 355,000 copies and the album was ranked No. 14 on the year end Top 100 Albums in 2002 Chart, with over 362,00 copies sold.Shinhwa made history in the Korean music industry by becoming the longest-running Korean boy band with the release of its sixth album, Wedding. The album debuted and peaked at No. 3 and sold over 273,700 copies. Wedding also marked the expiration of their contract with SM Entertainment, who offered all the members except Dongwan a second contract. The group collectively chose to sign with Good Entertainment, resulting in a court battle to retain the use of their name, which they won. Because the contract with Good Entertainment would not begin until 2004, members pursued solo activities in 2003: Min-woo went solo under the name "M," releasing his first album entitled Un-touch-able, while Hye-sung collaborated with Kangta and Lee Ji-hoon for a project group S. Jun Jin branched out into acting with the drama Forbidden Love alongside actress Kim Tae-hee. Andy and Jun Jin participated in a Korean sitcom Nonstop 4 as well as Banjun Drama. Eric began acting in dramas soon after acting in several CFs. Shinhwa is the first to have its members promote as solo artists while still continuing group activities. The members too strived in the solo activities.
The members regrouped and released the compilation album Winter Story 2003–2004 on December 30, 2003, which sold over 100,000 copies. They held their second concert The Everlasting Mythology from April 18 to 20, 2003, and also embarked on the Winter Story Tour, traveling to six cities: Seoul, Pusan, Daejeon, Incheon, Daegu, and Kwangju. They later traveled to Japan for the Shinhwa First Live in Tokyo, holding a Japanese fan meeting called Have Fun With Shinhwa On M.Net Tour''.''
2004–2006: Creative control, commercial success, and first Asia Tour
Shinhwa's first album with Good Entertainment, Brand New, debuted at No. 3 on the monthly Korean chart, peaking at No.1 in November and selling over 320,000 copies. The album saw increased creative control by the members, with Eric and Min-woo contributing to its production and Jun Jin with the choreography, leading to more dance songs being included in the final release instead of their usual pop music. The album was promoted with four singles: "Angel", "Oh!", "Crazy", and title track, and ranked No. 4 on the 2004 year-end chart. It won several accolades for the group, including Best Artist of The Year for the first time at the Seoul Gayo Daesang Awards. Several weeks later, on December 29, Shinhwa was awarded their second daesang at the 2004 SBS Gayo Daejun Awards, winning two of the possible four daesang in that year with Rain and Lee Soo Young receiving the other two. In 2004, of all musical artists and groups, Shinhwa received the most awards, totaling thirteen or more, from various places: the m.net KMTV Music Video Festival, Seoul Gayo Daesang, Golden Disc Awards and MBC, KBS, SBS Gayo Awards. The awards other than Best Artist of the Year included Best Male Artist, Best Dance Artist, and Overseas Choice Award.After the success of Brand New, Shinhwa embarked on a tour, holding a Korea-China-Japan summer camp called Shinhwa Summer Story 2004. The camp was dedicated entirely for their non-Korean fans. Although, Shinhwa was mostly on hiatus throughout 2005, they released two popular singles, "How Do I Say" and "Hey Dude!" and held the Tropical Summer Story Festival concert. For a majority of 2005, Shinhwa hosted a reality show called Let's Coke Play Battle Shinhwa!, a competition to find the next Shinhwa, with the winning group debuting as the short-lived boy band Battle under Good Entertainment. To end the year, Shinhwa released Winter Story 2004-2005, which sold over 102,300 copies.
After renewing their contract with Good Entertainment for another 3 years, the group's State of the Art was released on May 11, 2006. The album debuted atop the chart and sold over 215,600 copies domestically. Brand New and State Of The Art became their first consecutive No. 1 albums, with the latter becoming the third best selling album in 2006, behind SG Wannabe's The 3rd Masterpiece and TVXQ's "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap.. Following a performance at Tokyo's Budokan Hall to celebrate the founding of Mnet Japan, their Japanese language album Inspiration #1 and the lead single, "This is the Sun in Our Hearts" released on June 14, 2006. The album released in Japan on August 16 peaked at No. 4 on Oricon Chart, selling in excess of 100,000 copies each. Shinhwa later embarked on their first Asia tour, Shinhwa 2006 Tour: State of the Art, kicking off with two concerts at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul and visiting Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and other countries. They also performed at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, and Osaka-jo Hall on September 24 and 26, as part of the 2006 Japan Tour Inspiration#1.