Beast (비스트, stylized as BEAST or B2ST) is a boy band from South Korea that consists of six members, under Cube Entertainment. The members are Yoon Doo-joon, Jang Hyun-seung, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang and Son Dong-woon. The group was originally known as B2ST, an acronym for Boys 2 Search for Top. However, their name was changed to BEAST (Boys of East Standing Tall). They released their first mini-album Beast Is The B2ST on October 14, 2009.
History
2009: Debut
In late 2009, news articles started to surface online about Cube Entertainment's new group, B2ST (pronounced as "Beast"), which was later renamed as BEAST (Boys of East Standing Tall). Their journey leading up to debut was showcased in their MTV documentary MTV B2ST. On October 14, 2009, the group's first mini-album, Beast Is the B2ST, was released, selling over 20,000 copies in October 2009. Cube Entertainment revealed that they had sold all the albums they printed in the first batch and was able to produce 5,000 more. It went on to sell for an overall 40,000 copies. This brought the music industry's attention to the group considering a success for rookie artists is usually defined when they reach 10,000 copies in sales. On October 15, 2009, Beast held a debut showcase at the MTV GongGae Hall and on the following day, October 16, the group made their live debut on KBS Music Bank with their debut track, "Bad Girl". Beast won their first award, Rookie of the Month for December, on December 2, 2009, which was awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
2010: Shock of the New Era
Cube Entertainment announced on January 4, 2010 that Beast, along with labelmate 4minute, had concluded a mutual signing ceremony with world-wide album company Universal Music Group for their international promotions and album launches. On January 23, 2010, Beast commenced their first international promotions in Taiwan with 4minute. Beast attended the 19th Seoul Music Awards on February 3, 2010 and was awarded with the Best Newcomer Award alongside T-ara and After School.
After their first ever appearance in Singapore, the Shock of the New Era album was certified into the Gold Disk category. On August 10, 2010, Beast received the Golden Disk Award from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand at the '2010 Summer CUBE Stars Party' at Seoul, Samseongdong in the Samyu Center Event Hall. Beast and 4minute became the first Korean artists to be invited to perform on Singapore Youth Olympic pre-opening stage on August 13, 2010. On August 26, 2010, Beast was awarded with the Cool Star Award on the 2010 Mnet 20's Choice Awards, where American R&B musician Omarion made a surprise appearance as a guest onstage when Beast received their award. Omarion had also performed a special showcase with Beast after seeing their performances. The group's second mini-album, Shock of the New Era, was scheduled for release on March 2, 2010 but was released a day earlier after being leaked on Youtube. Despite the leak, the album climbed the Korean music charts and quickly sold 20,000 copies. Their title song “Shock” introduced a new genre called Rocktronic which is a combination of rock and electronic music. Reviews of the title track "Shock" described it has having both powerful vocals and an overall strong sound, with the live performances incorporating a complex VTach dance routine. On March 25, 2010, Beast presented a different image by singing an orchestra version of the sad ballad "Butjapgodo” (붙잡고도, lit. Despite Holding On) by Korean group Noel, and were subsequently recognized as a boy group with outstanding singing ability. On the same day, Beast received their first number-one win on Mnet’s M! Countdown with "Shock". A digital single version of their track "Easy" was released on April 29, 2010 with the title "Easy (Sincere Ver.)". The track used strings and piano as opposed to the hip-hop feel and electronic instruments of the original.
2010: Mastermind, Lights Go On Again, and My Story
On September 17, 2010, Beast released the song "Jumeogeul Kkwak Jwigo” (주먹을 꽉 쥐고, lit. Clenching a Tight Fist) as a single from their 3rd mini-album, Mastermind. The song gained anticipation and attention from the public for the excellent vocal ability they displayed. Mastermind was released on September 28, 2010. On October 8, 2010, a week after their comeback, Beast claimed first place on KBSMusic Bank with the song "Soom” (숨, lit. Breath) from Mastermind. The song was noted for its original sound and distinctive choreography. On October 23, 2010, Beast is one of the recipient of the Asia Influential Artist Award which is given to those who had gained the most attention in Asia for the year.
On November 3, 2010, Beast opened up the preorder sales for their 4th mini-album named Lights Go On Again. The album took the top 5 spots on the Mnet music charts on November 8, 2010, with their lead track, “Beautiful” debuting at 1st place, while the album’s remaining four tracks placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively. According to album sales site Hanteo, the group’s album sales showed great success, with their sales figures ranked first. On November 15, 2010, Beast released the first part of the relay music drama from the 4th mini-album on their official YouTube channel. It garnered interest from fans as well as overseas promoters and media for the style and concept of the upcoming music videos.
Beast discography entered Japan with the release of their first Japanese album, called Beast - Japan Premium Edition, on November 24, 2010. It debuted at 13th place on the Oricon weekly album charts. On November 27, 2010, Beast held their first Japanese showcase called the 'The Legend of Beast, Vol.1' at Tokyo Big Site in Ohdaiba, Tokyo. The members were transported to the site of the showcase by helicopter, where they were able to see a human formation of the group's name made up of fans as a welcome greeting. The group performed 9 hit tracks, including "Bad Girl," "Shock," and "Soom". They also announced plans to officially debut in Japan in February 2011.
On December 1, 2010, Beast won an award for being one of 2010's most photogenic figures by the 11th Korean Visual Arts Festival, hosted and organized by the Korea Broadcast Camera Directors Association. On December 9, Beast was awarded with the Yepp Newcomer Award at the 25th Golden Disk Awards. According to album sold research site Hanteo Chart on December 11, 2010, Beast have sold 107,006 copies from January - October 2010 with 4 of their released mini-albums, including their first mini-album. This made Beast as the only rookie group out of all the boy/girl groups who have sold over 100,000 copies in 2010. This feat just shows the groups growing popularity. Beast held their first solo concert on December 12, 2010 at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. The concert's official title was 'Welcome to the Beast Airline'.
On December 23, plans for the release of self-composed duets by the members of the group were announced. The tracks released were "Thanks To", a hiphop track from Yoseob and Junhyung, Hyunseung and Kikwang’s R&B track "Let It Snow", and Doojoon and Dongwoon’s ballad track "Muni Dathimyeon" (문이 닫히면, lit. When The Door Closes). The tracks debuted at the Mnet M! Countdownstage. The songs were released on December 21, 2010 as the digital mini album My Story.fvf
2011: Japanese Debut, 1st Studio Album and 1st Asia Fan-meet Tour
The group was awarded with the Bonsang Award at the 20th Seoul Music Awards on January 20, 2011 where they performed their hit songs “Shock” and “Soom”. Beast was also listed as the No. 40 Power Celebrity according to the list released by Forbes Korea on February 24, 2011.
Beast started off their Japanese venture with the release of the music video for their first Japanese single "Shock (Japanese Version)" on February 27, 2011 and made their official debut with its release on March 16, 2011. The single debuted at number 2 on Oricon’s weekly chart, which became as the highest ranking debut single by a non-Japanese artist in Japan since Big Bang's “My Heaven” at no. 3 in 2009. However, due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, all scheduled Japanese promotions for their single were cancelled.
On May 6, Beast announced that they will be holding a fan-meet tour across Asia in July. Thanks to the explosive support they’ve been receiving from the Asian market since their debut, Cube Entertainment decided to go ahead with a large-scale promotion plan all across Asia. Representatives stated, “Fans all over Asia have been making unending requests for an international fan-meeting, which is why we’ve decided to set up one now. Fans can consider this fan-meet as an Asian tour concert.”
Beast released their first full length Korean album on May 17, 2011 titled Fiction and Fact, which contains 10 songs: 8 new songs, an Unplugged Version of their song "Lightless" and an Orchestra Version of their lead song "Fiction". There have been generally positive reviews about Beast’s new album, saying the group has utilized their full color that has been built up over their past mini-albums. Their track “Biga Oneun Naren" (비가 오는 날엔, lit. On Rainy Days), which was released as a digital single prior to the release of their album, rose up the charts at the moment of its release. It won first place on KBS Music Bank’s May 27, 2011 episode instead of their heavily promoted lead song “Fiction”.
On May 19, 2011, while in the midst of their Fiction and Fact album promotions in Korea, Beast announced the release of their 2nd Japanese single, "Bad Girl". The music video was released on May 26, 2011 but the single was released in stores on June 15, 2011. As opposed to their debut single, “Bad Girl” is described as a cute pop love song. The group held a two-day mini-concert titled Beast Night on June 22, 2011 at Studio Coast in Tokyo, Japan as a celebration for the release of their single. They also announced during this event that they'll be releasing their first regular Japanese album in August.
Beast will perform as Korea’s representative artists at MTV’s “MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2011" on July 24, 2011 at Malaysia’s Shah Alam. Beast is the only Korean artist to be invited this year, and is the second Korean artist, following the Wonder Girls, to ever perform on MTV’s “World Stage”.
Image and artistry
On December 3, 2010, Beast attended the Patricia Field Collection fashion show located in Seoul Chungnamdong MCM Haus and was praised by Patricia Field herself for their “distinctive and modern look”. For this collection, MCM’s Heritage and Patricia Field worked together to show off a modern New Yorker style with a trendy shopper bag, backpack, clutch, and more items and any money earned from it will be donated to the ‘Korea Disaster Relief’ to benefit the civilians left homeless from the Yeonpyeong incident.
Other activities
Television appearances
Beast was the topic of a short-lived reality show, MTV B2ST, which was hosted by MTV. The show ran on a weekly basis from August 23 - October 9, 2009, with a total of ten episodes. The program showcased their journey leading up to their debut. It was announced in March 2010 that Beast will be hosting a second season of MTV B2ST entitled MTV Beast Almighty. After last year's broadcast debut, season 2 had fans and viewers' wishes as the concept of the program where the members will have to pick out one wish to grant for every episode. The show ran on a weekly basis from April 10 - May 29, 2010. Beast became the protagonists of the variety show Idol Maid running on a weekly basis from July 21 - October 13, 2010. The group also had a cameo on the sitcom More Charming by the Day.
Beast was selected as a PR envoy to promote the audition program Global Super Idol, which will air in November, 2011. Beast will be attending the preliminaries in Korea, Thailand, and China to encourage the contestants and give advice. Global Super Idol is a global audition program that pits finalists from Thailand and China against finalists in Korea. All the finalists will attend the main show in Korea. Since Beast is very popular in Asian countries, including Thailand, Japan, and China, their popularity will help the show become popular too by performing their songs for fans and contestants from all over the world.
Endorsements
Beast has been chosen as the new models for the Young TD Casual CLRIDE.N to match well with the trendy and casual brand concept. This will be their first time being clothes models from the 2010 Fall/Winter collection from CLRIDE.N. They will be modelling their clothing in a trendy British vintage style. Shin Se Kyung and Beast were chosen as the models for BBQ Chicken after the Wonder Girls, and they will be filming the commercial for BBQ Crispy Chicken. Beast was also chosen as ambassadors for ‘Seoul Character Rising Licensing Fair 2010’ co-hosted by both Korean Contents Promotions & Co-Ex on July 12, 2010.
During the “Super Concert Wonderful Jeju” special for SBS’s Inkigayo on April 14, 2011, Cube label mates Beast and 4minute teamed up for a collaboration music video to promote Jeju Island. With the beautiful natural scenery of the island as their backdrop, the two groups sang a song to both raise awareness and promote tourism towards the island.
Beast, alongside 4minute and Supernova, participated on the runway stage of wedding fashion designer Yumi Katsura's '2011 Paris GRAND COLLECTION IN TOKYO' fashion show in Tokyo, Japan. The group showed their aspects as a model and presented the unique Asian feel combined with traditional Japanese culture, keeping with the theme 'Renaissance Japan'.
Beast, 4minute and G.NA were chosen as the official ambassadors by Korean Airports Corporation for their world-class Gimpo International Airport, which handles domestic and international flights alongside Incheon International Airport.
IUCN also known as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, had announced that Beast had become their official endorsement models for 2011 Musilympic, the One. Beast members had also took the time signing the official endorsing t-shirts for Musilympic, the One, which added more importance to the meet up. Also, the t-shirt displayed an image of shouting for help to save the polar bears, which had faced major disruption due to the environmental changes. Beast will be performing for Musilympic, the One concert on the September 30, 2011.
On August 17, 2011, Beast became the first ever Korean celebrity group to model for the American vintage casual brand, Beatoy. Representatives of Beatoy said, “Beast is one of the most popular male idol groups today, and as our brand’s target consumer base is in the age range of teens to 20′s, we’re sure that they’ll direct our brand’s image towards a positive direction.” The director for ‘Beatoy’ added, “Vito’s identity as an American vintage casual brand combined with Beast’s modern, yet free-spirited image is sure to create a synergistic effect.”
On October 20, 2011, Cometic brand A’PIEU has appointed the charismatic boy group BEAST as their newest models. A representative from the brand’s marketing team remarked, “The members of B2ST are multi-talented entertainers; they not only sing, but write and compose their own music, act in dramas and make appearances on variety shows… They possess the sensitive and pure image of young boys, as well as intense masculine charisma at the same time, and it will work will with our own concept.” Also, A’PIEU mainly targets ladies in their late teens to early 20′s with the concept of ‘pure and innocent 20′s’. With this in mind, they’ve chosen the idol group to intensify their brand’s pure and trendy image.
Others
On November 25, 2009, it was announced that the group would release the song "Crazy" in promotion for the film, Attack the Gas Station 2. On January 25, 2010, the group participated in the God of Study official soundtrack, with the song "Ready Go", which topped various charts.
From June 16–20, 2010, Beast participated in the 'K-pop Meets P-pop' concert that took place at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines. They joined in with a charitable foundation that supports single mothers in the Philippines. This concert not only had Beast, but also other Philippine pop stars such as XLR8, etc.
4minute and Beast has been chosen as the mains on July 10, 2010 where they appeared before a living room audience through Signal Music in SBS’s People Looking for Laughter. On October 12, 2010, KBS Broadcasting systems collaborated with Beast to make a soccer anthem for the national football team of Korea. On 23 October the band represented Korea and performed at the 7th Asia Song Festival, organised by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at the Seoul Olympic Stadium.
On November 26, 2010, Beast members had created the theme song for the ‘University Music Festival’ with a self-written song. However, it was just a congratulation stage performance that they had accepted due to request as three of the members are attending in Dongshin University. On December 2, 2010, the group released the song "Loving U" in promotion for the sitcom, All My Love. On January 5, 2011, the group released another OST song titled "Neo Ttaemuningeol” (너 때문인걸, lit. Because Of You) in promotion for the drama, My Princess.
Beast participated in the remake album of Japanese singer-songwriter/actor, Fukuyama Masaharu. Beast’s remake, "Rainbow” which was used as a drama theme song. The addition of Beast's vocals was said to have given the fun song an interesting dynamic.
There is also a planned CUBE UNITED concert being held in Bixton o2 in London where BEAST and labelmates G.NA and 4MINUTE are going to preform. Although the original date is the 6th of December, there is still further planning to be made to secure the date.
B2ST‘s Yoseob, Dongwoon, and Junhyung have teamed up to deliver a smooth R&B track for the OST of MBC’s new drama, “I’m a Flower, Too“. Titled “Dreaming“, the song expresses a man’s longing for his lover, who abandoned him in reality, yet still frequents his dreams. The song was co-composed and penned by Junhyung and Kim Hyun Woo.
Members
There are six members in the band.
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Hangul | Romanized | Hangul | ||
| DooJoon | 두준 | Yoon Doo Joon | 윤두준 | July 4, 1989 | Leader, Vocalist, Rapper |
| Hyunseung | 현승 | Jang Hyun Seung | 장현승 | September 3, 1989 | Lead Vocalist, Main Dancer |
| Junhyung | 준형 | Yong Jun Hyung | 용준형 | December 19, 1989 | Main Rapper |
| Yoseob | 요섭 | Yang Yo seob | 양요섭 | January 5, 1990 | Main Vocalist |
| Gikwang | 기광 | Lee Gi Kwang | 이기광 | March 30, 1990 | Vocalist, Lead Dancer |
| DongWoon | 동운 | Son Dong Woon | 손동운 | June 6, 1991 | Lead Vocalist, Rapper |
Yoon Doo-joon (Hangul: 윤두준), the leader of the group. He was born in Seoul, South Korea on July 4, 1989. Prior to his debut with Beast, he was a trainee at JYP Entertainment and was featured in the Mnet documentary Hot Blooded Men with 2AM and 2PM, but was eliminated along the course of the show. He then moved to Cube Entertainment and was featured as a rapper in AJ’s “Wipe the Tears”. After his debut with the group, he became part of Danbi and debuted as an actor through More Charming by the Day and All My Love.
Jang Hyun-seung (Hangul: 장현승) was born on September 3, 1989. He is a lead vocalist and the lead dancer. He first received media attention as a trainee under YG Entertainment with the nickname So-1 when he was preparing to debut as a member of Big Bang. He appeared in 10 out of 11 episodes of the Big Bang Documentary, but wasn't chosen to be a part of the final group formation by YG's president because his maturity hadn't fully developed yet and was not ready to be a singer.
Yong Jun-hyung (Hangul: 용준형), the main rapper of the group, was originally named as Yong Jae Soon (Hangul: 용재순) but had changed his name during his 6th grade. He was born in Seoul, South Korea on December 19, 1989. He was once a member of the boyband “Xing” along with Kevin from U-KISS and was known as Poppin’ Dragon when he was promoting with them. He featured in various singles as a rapper from different artists such as labelmates Hyunah’s “Change” and G.NA’s “Kkeojyeo Julge Jar Sara” (꺼져 줄게 잘 살아, lit. I’ll Back Off So You Can Live Better), Young Jee’s "Crazy, that's what love is", Navi’s "Go Again" and Wheesung’s “Words That Freeze My Heart”.
Yang Yo-seob (Hangul: 양요섭) was born in Seoul, South Korea on January 5, 1990. He’s the main vocalist of the group and was once a back-up dancer for AJ’s music videos for “Dancing Shoes" and "Wiping the Tears". He released a digital single together with Dalmatian’s Daniel titled “First Snow and First Kiss” and participated in singing OST’s for various Korean dramas such as “Happy Birthday” for More Charming by the Day and “I Cherish That Person” for My Princess. and "Loving You" - for All My Love.He also became a permanent cast member on KBS's Oh! My School (a.k.a. 100 Points out of 100), along with other idols such as MBLAQ's Lee Joon, Secret's Hyosung, T-ara's Soyeon, Miss A's Min, and Simon D. In March 20th to April 10th 2011,BEAST's Yoseob has casted in 'Gwanghwamun Sonata The Musical' as Jiyong,the son of the two leading role. BEAST's Yoseob was featured in Bang Yong Gook's first solo track, "I remember" which was jointly composed by One Way’s Chance and Bang Yong Gook himself. On September 27th, KBS‘s ‘Poseidon‘ released part one of their OST series, which featured the vocal talents of B2ST‘s Yang Yoseob. Yoseob’s new song, “No“, was a collaboration piece between Rado (of Huh Gak‘s “Hello“) and production duo Ji In and Wontag, the men behind MBLAQ’s latest releases. The song features sorrowful lyrics of a man who has no choice but to let go of his lover.
Lee Gi-kwang (Hangul: 이기광) was born on March 30, 1990. He is a lead vocalist and the main dancer. He was known as the solo singer AJ or Ace Junior when he first debuted and released a mini-album "First Episode: A New Hero” on April 4, 2009. He met controversies when his name created dispute among netizens for having a similar name with Paran’s AJ (Later became the new U-KISSmember). He now goes with his original name when he redebuted with Beast. He debuted as an actor through High Kick Through the Roof and was also casted in a role for My Princess. He also became an MC for different shows such as Hot Brothers, Win Win and SBS Inkigayo.
Son Dong-woon (Hangul: 손동운), was born in was born in Seoul, South Korea on June 6, 1991. He is the group's Maknae (youngest member) and a vocalist of the group. Dong Woon was a trainee from JYP Entertainment for 2 years, and was the last member chosen to join Beast. In December 2010, Dong Woon released a digital single "Udon" together with Davichi’s Kang Min Kyung, however, it wasn’t broadcasted in any of South Korea’s 3 main broadcasting stations because the title of the song was in Japanese.
Discography
Korean Discography
| Japanese Discography
|
Concert
- Welcome to Beast Airlines (2010)
- Welcome Back to Beast Airlines (2011)
- United Cube Concert (2011)
Awards
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2009 |
|
| 2010 |
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| 2011 |
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Music Programs
These are a collection of Beast wins on Korea's televised music shows. Inkigayo is aired on SBS, M! Countdown on Korea cable channelM.net and Music Bank on KBS.
M! Countdown
| Year | Date | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | March 25 | Shock |
| October 14 | Breath | |
| 2011 | May 26 | Fiction |
| June 2 | ||
| June 9 |
Music Bank
| Year | Date | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | October 8 | Breath |
| 2011 | May 27 | On Rainy Days |
| June 3 | Fiction | |
| June 10 |
Inkigayo
| Year | Date | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | December 5 | Beautiful |
| 2011 | June 5 | Fiction |
| June 12 |
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