Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality (MBLAQ)
PROFILES
Birth Name: Yang Seung Ho
Stage Name: Seungho
Date of Birth: October 16, 1987
Position: Leader, Lead Vocalist
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 63 kg
Birth Name: Jung Byung Hee
Stage Name: G.O
Date of Birth: November 6, 1987
Position: Main Vocalist
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Birth Name: Lee Chang Sun
Stage Name: Joon
Nick Name: Honey Abs
Date of Birth: February 7, 1988
Position: Vocalist, Main Dancer, Face of The Group
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Birth Name: Park Sang Hyun
Stage Name: Cheondoong (Thunder)
Date of Birth: October 7, 1990
Position: Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocalist
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Birth Name: Bang Cheol Yong
Stage Name: Mir
Date of Birth: March 10, 1991
Position: Main Rapper and Maknae
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 63 kg
HISTORY/HIGHLIGHTS
MBLAQ was first announced on September 21, 2009 with an appearance in Nylon magazine, after having trained for two years. The group appeared alongside Rain, in his Legend of Rainism concert. They performed various songs from their producedEP, Just BLAQ and were met with praise, with many spectators at the concert and fans considering them as the next DBSK.
The group released teasers for their debut song, "Oh Yeah" on October 12, 2009 with the music video being released two days later. Coinciding with the music video, MBLAQ's debut single album "Just BLAQ", was released on the same day, topping various charts in South Korea. The next day, the group made their broadcast debut onM.net's M! Countdown with "Oh Yeah".
In May 2011, Thunder revealed that former member Sang Bae left the group due to his poor health. Thunder also stated that he only joined MBLAQ fifteen days prior to their debut, and that while he sang and rapped live for their performances, his voice is not actually featured on any of the recorded tracks for Just BLAQ due to time constraints. And it has been verified by officials that Sang bae is Moos from MadTown, so he stayed with the JTune Camp family.
On May 17, 2010, the group released their secondsingle album, Y, a track that Rain wrote, composed, produced and choreographed. The music video for the title track, "Y", was released on the same day at midnight with teasers being released from May 6. MBLAQ claimed first place on June 3, 2010 on M! Countdown, and were voted the best Rookie Group for the first half of 2010 through a poll conducted by Korean music site Bugs, obtaining 46% of the votes.
On December 29, 2010, MBLAQ released a teaser music video, featuring their song "Cry", for their upcoming full-length album, BLAQ Style.
On December 30, 2010, J.Tune Entertainment merged with JYP Entertainment. However, as MBLAQ is part of J.Tune Camp, they are not considered as part of JYP Entertainment, or have any ties with the company.
MBLAQ returned to the music scene in January 2011. MBLAQ participated in the production of BLAQ Style, with Seungho composing and playing the piano for the introductory track "Sad Memories" and Mir writing the rap lyrics for "You're my +". On January 3, 2011, J.Tune Camp released MBLAQ's music video for "Cry" on YouTube, an R&B track produced by E-Tribe. The video gained more than 500,000 views within a week. J.Tune Camp announced that MBLAQ would be debuting in Japan in May, signing with Sony Music Japan. On January 10, 2011, MBLAQ released their firststudio album, BLAQ Style. After only one day of the album's release, MBLAQ recorded 25,000 orders forBLAQ Style. The next day J.Tune Camp released the full music video for Stay on YouTube, which gained more than 400,000 in a week. On January 13, MBLAQ performed on M! Countdown, followed by performances on the 14th, 15th and 16th at Music Bank, Music Core, and Inkigayo respectively.
MBLAQ were named Artist of the Month by MTV Korea for the month of February. They then released a repackaged version of their studio album, titled BLAQ Style - 3D Edition on February 22, 2011. The album consists of the 13 tracks from BLAQ Style, as well as three new tracks. Two of the three new tracks included MBLAQ's participation in its production. The track "돌아올 수 없는 (Can't Come Back)" was composed by G.O and the lyrics were written by both G.O and Mir, while the song titled "You" was written and composed by Thunder. When it was released, BLAQ Style 3D reached number one on the Hanteo charts. "Again", their last new song from BLAQ Style - 3D Edition, was used to promoteThe Fighter in South Korea.
The mini-album Mona Lisa was released online in July 2011. On July 14, MBLAQ returned to the stage on Mnet's M! Countdown, followed by performances on the 15th, 16th and 17th at KBS's Music Bank, MBC's Music Core, and SBS's Inkigayorespectively. On July 15, when Mona Lisawas released in stores, it reached number one on the Hanteo Real-time, Daily and Weekly Charts. On July 15, J.Tune Camp stated that since July 8,Mona Lisa had 30,000 pre-orders, with international fans, in particular Japanese fans, requesting more copies. J.Tune Camp stated they would be producing 50,000 more copies to meet the demand. In September, MBLAQ reached the number one position on German music website Viva with their "Mona Lisa" music video by garnering 111,000 views. MBLAQ's "Mona Lisa" had topped Bulgaria's Popcore TV chart for sixty eight consecutive days thus far.
On January 1, 2012 a video teaser for MBLAQ's fourth extended play album was released, including their secondary single, “낙서 (Scribble)”. Strangely however the captions on screen were not of the song's lyrics. In the teaser video, Lee Joon is wrestling with Thunder for a woman, and ultimately points his gun to kill. The video was perceived to be very different from previous MBLAQ videos, as this was the first time the group had produced a full-story music video that incorporated acting and action sequences. The captions were later revealed, in the second music video teaser, to be for their lead single "전쟁이야 (This is War)". On January 5, MBLAQ released their teaser of “This is War” on their official YouTube channel, J.Tune Camp. The video reveals the 5 members in their ensemble scene, and some small snippets of the full music video. The teaser ends with the members standing center stage with a string orchestra gathered on either side of them, shooting at the audience and finishes with a violent blood splatter that reveals their lead single's name, "전쟁이야 (This is War)". The full music video of "전쟁이야 (This is War)" was released four days later, on January 10, 2012. Lee Joon reprised his role as the recurring lead image of MBLAQ in the music video as a deadly but warm-hearted assassin. Thunder also appeared as a lead actor in the music video as the assassin's closest friend. Both members' performance in acting, in particular Lee Joon's were positively reviewed by fans and internet browsers alike. 100% Ver. was released on the same day as the music video, containing a total of five songs: "Run", "전쟁이야 (This is War)", “낙서 (Scribble)”, "아찔한 그녀 (She's Breathtaking)", and "Hello My Ex" respectively. It has been revealed that MBLAQ's 100% Ver. had received more than 40,000 pre-orders. The music video of It's War, reached 1 million views within a week. MBLAQ has won M! Countdown for 2 weeks in a row with This is War.
On March 1, MBLAQ started their promotions for Run on M! Countdown, Seungho also injured his back on the pre-recording of M! Countdown, and a video of their dance practice forRun was released online on the same day on J.Tune Camp's original YouTube channel.On March 7, MBLAQ released a compilation album titled MBLAQ Memories - Best in Korea. The album consists of many songs from their Korean releases, and also includes a Japanese version of You're My +. Upon its release, the album landed at #9 on the Oricon Daily chart.
In June, Mir and G.O., as part of MBLAQ's subunit, released a song titled "Wild" for the their Asia tour. In July, Thunder released a self-composed solo song titled "Don't Go".
On June 4, the music video for Smoky Girl was released online and MBLAQ held a comeback showcase on the same day as the release of the music video which was streamed live on various websites such as Mnet's Mwave. Sexy Beat, MBLAQ's fifth extended play was also released on June 4, which consists of six tracks with스모키걸 (Smoky Girl) as their title track. A repackaged special album titled Love Beat was released two months later on August 12, 2013. It consists of three new tracks: I Don't Know, Prayer (기도) and No Love as their title track, together with all six tracks from Sexy Beat. The music video for No Love was uploaded on J. Tune Camp's official YouTube channel on August 12, showing the photoshoot, composing and preparation for Love Beat.
On March 24, 2014, the music video of Be a Man was uploaded and the album which consists of seven tracks which the members actively participated in the writing and composing part. On the same day, MBLAQ also began their comeback promotions for Be a Man by performing at a comeback showcase in WAPOP Hall.
On October 13, 2014, it was rumored that Lee Joon and Thunder would be leaving the group after the expiration of their contract with J. Tune Camp. However, J. Tune Camp released an official announcement stating that this was a rumor and that both Joon and Thunder are in talks with the company regarding their future activities.
On November 20, 2014, J. Tune Camp revealed the tracklist on their official Twitter and the album which appears to be titled "Winter".
On December 16, 2014, it was announced Joon and Thunder had departed from the group and they will focus on individual activities for the time being; Joon focusing on filming his drama, MBC's Mr. Back, and Thunder studying music for a while.
The group released their eighth extended play Mirror on June 9, 2015 as trio.
G.O enlisted for his mandatory military service on February 18, 2016 and made statement saying he may not return as a singer.
"Thank you and I'm sorry. I wanted to meet you more often so I feel very regretful. I may not be promoting as a singer two years from now. If that's the case, I'll try my best to meet you more often. Someone who is able to like someone for a long time is a person who will also be able to be loved for a long time."
Sources
MBLAQ and A+ fighting!
Comments (19)
ANOTHER A+! :sob: :heart:
YEY MBLAQ ON FEATURED :grinning: :grinning:
LOVE THIS POST TY FOR IT :cupid:
Mir :heart: :cupid: :gem: :sob: :heart_eyes: :weary: :100: :kissing_heart: :kissing_heart: :kissing_heart: :blush: :see_no_evil: :see_no_evil:
Thank u for writing about MBLAQ. They were one of the groups I have seen from their debut till Joon's and Thunder's departure. It kind of feels like I grew up watching them like Big Bang. All five members are great as entertainers and artists. They are first boy band to which I actually sat down and listened to an album to. I really hope GO can be on stage again because he has a great voice. FIGHTING SEUNGHO, GO, Lee Joon, Thunder and Mir<3 WHATEVER U GUYS DO, ALL THE BEST
This is sad, I been with MBLAQ since debut is hard to slowly see members leave the group :sob: