H.O.T (High-Five Of Teenagers)
H.O.T was a South Korean 5 member boy band active from the years 1996 to 2001 with the record label SM Entertainment.
Discovery:
H.O.T. was initially formed by the
producer of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man.
The first member that Lee Soo-man
picked was Kangta, as the manager saw
him dancing and singing in public. The next
member was Moon Hee-joon, when after
auditioning was accepted into the band,
then Lee Jae-won was also admitted into
the band. Woo-Hyuk, the fourth to join the
band after winning first place in a dancing
contest, was asked to try out and
eventually became the fourth member. SM
Entertainment held auditions in LA and
Tony An with his close friend Andy
Lee joined the band, however with Lee's
parents who later withdrew support,
caused him to leave the band and join the
band Shinhwa in 1998.
Musical Styles:
The comprise of a mixture of rap, ballads,
dance, and later rock, with singer Kangta
providing most of the ballad vocals.
Name:
Due to the boy band being made up of
teenagers, and their target audience being
teenagers of the same around of age, they
came up with the name of ‘High-Five Of
Teenagers’.
Collaborations:
Being one of the first boy bands around
the late 90’s there were few collaborations
due to the start of the K-Pop industry,
however they did make a few
collaborations with bands such as jtL and
SM Town
Success:
Being one of South Koreas first boy bands,
they have a huge success as they have been
the first million seller in the K-Pop industry as
well as influencing Korean girl bands. H.O.T
have been credited as they have successfully
turned mainstream Korean music into music
for the younger generation
Awards:
Being one of the first boy bands there were
not many music awards in South Korea,
however they did win 4 out of 7 nominations
from the years 1999 to 2000.
Image:
Being teenagers of the late 90’s they did not
really have an image, however as they
specifically targeted teenagers, therefore
being their teenage selves and making
themselves look good for the other teenage
people in Korea to buy their music.
OLD:
Influences:
You could say that they do not take influence
from anyone, as they are one of the first K-Pop
groups who formed, however they are
influential to other boy bands in South Korea.

G-Dragon
G-Dragon is a rapper, singer, song writer, producer and model under the record label YG Entertainment.
Discovery:
G-Dragon began his career at age five as
part of the group called ‘Little Lula’, however
after the release of a Christmas album, the
group's contract was terminated by their
record company. Then scouted by SM
Entertainment while on a ski trip with his
family, and was then a trainee under the
record label from the age of 8–13 years old,
specialising in dance before he left. He was
then interested in rapping from a young age
and started to have lessons, eventually
becoming the youngest Korean rapper at
the age of 13. After signing a contract with
the record label, YG Entertainment, he spent
the first year cleaning and fetching other
recording artists water bottles during dance
practice After six years of training, he made
his official debut as the leader of the
group Big Bang in 2006, with the other 4
members
Musical Styles:
Being inspired by music from Wu-Tang Clan,
G-Dragon participated in the annual hip hop
Flex album in 2001 at the age of 12. From
previous experience of music genres with Big
Bang, G-Dragon incorporated a mix of dance,
hip-hop, and R&B songs into his
album ’Heartbreaker’. With the production of
a collaboration album, (GD & TOP), G-Dragon
opened his idea of a hip-hop sound, though
acknowledging that R&B, acoustic, and
electronic music heavily influenced it.
Name:
Initially, when training, him and another
trainee planned a hip-hop debut. G-Dragon’s
original name being Kwon Ji Yong, therefore
choosing this stage name ‘G-Dragon’, the ‘G’
pronounced as ‘Ji’ and ‘Yong’ meaning
‘Dragon’ in Korean.
Collaborations:
Being a solo artist as well as the lead
singer for Big Bang, G-Dragon has
collaborated with many artists such as Cl
and Bom from the girl group 2NE1, as well
as other American artist such as Flo Rida,
Missy Elliot, Skrillex and many more which
has made him become very popular
around the world.
Success:
His Korean and Japanese discovery lead him
to have altogether 3 studio albums, 1 EP, 2
digital singles, 1 collaboration album and 1
collaboration single.
Awards:
G-Dragon has won many awards from the
‘Most Fashionable’ to the ‘World Music
Awards’. Altogether he has won 26 awards
and there are still more to come.
CONTEMPORARY:
Images and Influences:
G-Dragon has been know to be the ‘most
fashionable’ person in the group Big Bang.
With this he has won awards for his sense of
fashion as well as inspiring and influencing
fashion trends in South Korea, therefore also
being known as a ‘fashionista’.

2NE1
2NE1 is a South Korean girl group, who formed in 2009 by the record label YG Entertainment.
Band Members (left to right):
Bom, Minzy, Dara and CL
Discovery:
2NE1 was mentioned by YG Entertainment in
late 2004. In early 2009, the group was
formally announced by the record label, and
this was because they were training for 4
years and would eventually present their
debut album.
Musical Styles:
Initially the group was categorized as ‘pop’
with their first debut single ‘Fire’ even though
it was influenced by hip-hop and another song
‘I Don’t Care’ intending to have a reggae feel.
However with their comeback album ‘To
Anyone’ mas marked strongly to electronic
music. Their most promotional single, ‘Go
Away’ is classified as dance. 2NE1’s music
explores female empowerment and
independence even though they are seen as
the girl version of the Korean boy band ‘Big
Bang’.
Name:
Initially the name of the band was ‘21’ but
due to the discovery of another singer of the
same name they quickly renamed the band
‘2NE1’.
Collaborations:
They have collaborated with many artists
such as Big Bang (a Korean boy band),
Will.I.Am, Teddy and YG Family, which has
helped them to be successful in thee last 6
years.
Success:
Their Korean and Japanese discovery lead
them to have altogether 4 studio albums, 3
EPs, 4 singles and 4 headlining tours in Japan
and around the world.
Awards:
They have won many music awards on
weekly music shows, ‘Song of the Month’
and Rookie of the Month’ with their biggest
award in MAMA history with 2 Songs of the
Year 1 Album of the Year and 1 Artist of the
Year after the year 2011.
Images and Influences:
2NE1 are known for their ‘unique and edgier
style’ with their wide variety of clothes as well
as wigs and coloured hair, they are
characterized as ‘bold, bright outfits and big,
catchy hooks’- Zack Greenburg (American
Business Magazine).
The groups individual influences vary due to
their representation in the group itself,
however as a band they record R&B songs
which incorporate style of urban,
contemporary and dance-pop, together
stating that Destiny’s Child, the Spice Girls and
TLC are their main girl group influences.
CONTEMPORARY: