Hoya (singer)

Summary

Lee Ho-dong (Korean이호동; born (1991-03-28)March 28, 1991[2]), better known by his stage name Hoya or Lee Ho-won, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, dancer, actor and currently a member of dance crew MBITIOUS. He is known served as a rapper and vocalist in boy band Infinite (and later its sub-group Infinite H) from 2010 until his departure from Woollim Entertainment in 2017.[3][4][5] In 2018, Hoya made his solo debut on March 28 with his first EP Shower.

Hoya
이호동
Hoya at the Infinite H showcase, 2015
Born
Lee Ho-dong[1]

(1991-03-28) March 28, 1991 (age 32)
Busan, South Korea
Other names
  • Hoya
  • Lee Ho-won
Alma materDaekyung University
Occupations
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
  • dancer
  • actor
Years active2010–present
AgentInitial Entertainment
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
Labels
Member ofMBITIOUS
Formerly of
Korean name
Hangul
호야
Revised RomanizationHoya
McCune–ReischauerHoya
Birth name
Hangul
이호동
Hanja
李浩東
Revised RomanizationI Ho-dong
McCune–ReischauerI Ho-tong
Autonym
Hangul
이호원
Hanja
李浩沅
Revised RomanizationI Ho-won
McCune–ReischauerI Ho-wŏn

Hoya made his acting debut in the drama Reply 1997 (2012) and went on to star in the dramas My Lovely Girl (2014), Mask (2015), Radiant Office (2017), and Two Cops (2017), Devilish Charm (2018).

Biography edit

Hoya was born in Busan, South Korea. He dropped out of high school during his first year to pursue his dream as a singer. His father was against the decision thus Hoya had to leave home. He then took the high school qualification exam and passed. Later his father accepted him and now supports Infinite whole heartedly. Hoya auditioned after he dropped out and ended up in his current agency, Woollim Entertainment. He was a former JYP Entertainment trainee.[6]

On March 10, 2014, he announced that his real birth name is Lee Hodong, not Howon as he had previously told the public, and that he changed it in order not to share a name with comedian Kang Hodong.[7]

Hoya graduated from Daekyeung University, majoring in Applied Music.[8][9]

 
Hoya at K-Pop World Festival 2013.

Career edit

2010: Debut with Infinite edit

Hoya debuted as rapper, vocal and main dancer of South Korean boyband Infinite in 2010. The group officially debuted on June 9, 2010.

2012–2014: Infinite H's debut and acting roles edit

Hoya made his acting debut in the tvN drama Reply 1997. The drama was a major hit and raised his popularity.[10]

In September 2012, Hoya and fellow Infinite member Dongwoo formed a subgroup called Infinite H.[11][12] The subgroup released their first mini-album, titled Fly High, in January 2013.[13]

In 2014, Hoya starred in SBS' music romance drama, My Lovely Girl; which co-stars his fellow Infinite member Kim Myung-soo.[14]

On September 24, 2014, Hoya was cast as the lead role in the film Hiya. He played a high school student who only dreams of becoming a singer. The film premiered on March 10, 2015.[15][16]

2015–2017: Departure from Infinite, solo activities edit

In 2015, Hoya starred in SBS's melodrama Mask, acting as Soo Ae's brother.[17]

In June 2016, Hoya became a contestant in Mnet's dance survival show, Hit The Stage.[18] In December, it was announced that Hoya has been cast in the sitcom Strong Family 2017, which started airing in February 2017.[19]

Hoya was a supporting role in MBC's office drama, Radiant Office.[20] On August 30, it was confirmed that Hoya would not be renewing his contract (which expired June 9, 2017) and would be leaving Infinite as well as Woollim Entertainment.[21] In September, he made his musical debut in Hourglass, a play based on the mega hit Korean drama Sandglass.[22] He then starred in MBC's cop drama, Two Cops.[23]

2018–present: Solo debut edit

In 2018, Lee made his solo debut on March 28 with his first mini album Shower.[24] He was then cast in the romance comedy drama Devilish Charm.[25] In the midst of all, Lee also went to Immortal Song 2 that was broadcast on August 4 and eventually won the episode by getting the highest scores there. Lee also became a dance coach/mentor in KBS variety program, Dancing High that focuses on teaching and mentoring the teens in Korea about dance. On September 12, Lee also released a digital single titled, 'Baby U' featuring Kriesha Chu in the music video.

Hoya enlisted for military service on February 7, 2019, by announcing it through a post two days before the date; he was discharged on December 6, 2020.[26]

On June 9, 2021, Hoya made his comeback with the new digital single album 1AM.[27]

On April 1, 2022, Hoya signed an exclusive contract with Initial Entertainment.[28]

Discography edit

Extended plays edit

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[29]
Shower
  • Released: March 28, 2018
  • Label: Glorious Entertainment, Genie Music
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Track listing
  1. Shower (Intro)
  2. Angel
  3. All Eyes On Me
  4. Reply (점)
  5. Sigh (한숨)
  6. Dance (춤) (Outro)
9

Single albums edit

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[29]
1AM
  • Released: June 9, 2021
  • Label: Glorious Entertainment, Genie Music
  • Formats: Digital download
Track listing
  1. Someday
  2. Stay With Me
  3. I Don't Give A

Singles edit

Title Year Peak chart positions Sales
(DL)
Album
KOR
[31]
KOR Hot
[32]
As lead artist
"Pretending I'm Okay" 2014 Non album-singles
"Angel" 2018 Shower
"All Eyes On Me"
"Baby U" Non-album singles
"Stay With Me" 2021 1AM
As featured artist
"Ooh Ooh"
(Eric Nam ft. Hoya)
2014 48 Non-album singles
"Need You Now"
(Henry ft. Hoya)[34]
  • KOR: 13,756
Fantastic
Soundtrack appearances
"About To Explode"
(as Road King)
2016 Hiya OST
"May I Love You" 2017 Hourglass OST
Collaboration
"Yesterday"
(as Dynamic Black)
2012 9 2012 SBS Gayo Daejun The Colors Of K-Pop
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Songwriting credits edit

Year Album Artist Song Lyrics Music Notes
Credited With Credited With
2014 Season 2 Infinite "Last Romeo" Yes Song Sooyoon, Dongwoo No
Infinite H "Alone" Yes Rphabet, Dongwoo No
Non album-single Hoya "Pretending I'm Okay" Yes Yes
2015 Fly Again Infinite H "Pretty" Yes 9999, Dongwoo Yes 9999 [36]
2016 Infinite Only Infinite "One Day" Yes Rphabet's Razer & Dongwoo Yes Rphabet's Razer
"True Love" Rap Dongwoo No
2018 Shower Hoya "Angel" Yes NiiHWA No
"All Eyes On Me" Yes NiiHWA No
"Reply" Yes NiiHWA No
"Sigh" Yes NiiHWA No

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Hiya Lee Jin-ho
2022 Urban Myths Choong-jae Segment: "Tooth Worms" [37]
Birth Choi Yang-eop [38]

Television series edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 Reply 1997 Kang Joon-hee
2013 Reply 1994 Cameo [39]
2014 My Lovely Girl Kang Rae-hoon
2015 Mask Byun Ji-hyuk
2017 Strong Family 2017 Lee Gwi-nam
Radiant Office Jang Kang-ho
Two Cops Dok Go Sun-hyeok
2018 Devilish Charm Sung Ki-joon
2019 Hip Hop King – Nassna Street

Television shows edit

Year Title Role Ref.
2016 Hit the Stage Contestant
2018 Dancing High Dance coach [40]
2022 Street Man Fighter Contestant

Musical theatre edit

Title Year Role Ref.
2017–2018 Hourglass Baek Jae-hee
2022 Secretly, Greatly: THE LAST Won Ryu-hwan [41]

Awards and nominations edit

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2016 36th Golden Cinema Festival Best New Actor Hiya Won [42]
2017 MBC Drama Awards Best New Actor Radiant Office Nominated [43]

Notes edit

  1. ^ As a member of MBITIOUS only.

References edit

  1. ^ "'예체능' 호야 개명 "본명 이호동, 강호동 때문에 놀림 받아 개명"". Chosun News. March 12, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  2. ^ Mark Russell (April 29, 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
  3. ^ "Infinite biography". Woollim Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  4. ^ "Infinite H biography". Woollim Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  5. ^ Ha, Na-yeong (August 30, 2017). 인피니트 호야, 전속계약 종료…"6인 체제로 그룹 재정비"(공식). The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo Company. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  6. ^ "호야 자퇴 심경고백, "교복 못 입은 아쉬움...'응답'으로 보상받아"". Naver News. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "Infinite's Hoya Changed His Name Because of Kang Ho Dong". Mnet. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "인피니트 5명, 오늘 같은 대학 동시 졸업..수상도".
  9. ^ "5 Infinite Members to Graduate from University Together". enewsWorld. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  10. ^ "[Interview] Hoya is More Popular Because of ′Reply 1997′ Than Infinite". enewsWorld. January 27, 2013. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ "[INTERVIEW] INFINITE H – Part 1". 10Asia. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  12. ^ "[INTERVIEW] INFINITE H – Part 2". 10Asia. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  13. ^ "INFINITE H new album coming soon". Kpop Herald. January 20, 2015.
  14. ^ "Infinite's L and Hoya Confirmed for Drama 'My Lovely Girl'". enewsWorld. August 5, 2014.
  15. ^ "Singer Hoya is getting serious about acting". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 29, 2016.
  16. ^ "Hoya touched by Infinite members' response to 'Hiya'". Kpop Herald. March 16, 2016.
  17. ^ "'Mask' reveals Hoya transformed into an armed bank robber". HanCinema. SBS funE. May 25, 2015.
  18. ^ "Infinite's Hoya wins 'Hit the Stage' (video)". Kpop Herald. August 18, 2016.
  19. ^ "INFINITE's Hoya To Star in New SBS Sitcom 'Super Family'". Koogle. January 4, 2017.
  20. ^ "Lee Dong-hwi, Kim Dong-wook, Hoya to star in new MBC drama "Radiant Office"". HanCinema. Asiae. January 30, 2017.
  21. ^ "Hoya exits Infinite, does not renew contract". Korea JoongAng Daily. August 31, 2017.
  22. ^ "Former Infinite Hoya to star in musical "Hourglass"". HanCinema. September 25, 2017.
  23. ^ "Hoya to star in 'Two Cops'". HanCinema. Star Money. September 27, 2017.
  24. ^ "[공식입장] 인피니트 출신 호야, 28일 첫 솔로앨범 'Shower' 발표..정식 데뷔". OSEN (in Korean). March 15, 2018.
  25. ^ "호야 측 "'마성의 기쁨' 출연 확정…5월 중 첫 촬영"(공식)". Herald Corporation (in Korean). May 7, 2018.
  26. ^ Hwang, Hyejin (December 6, 2020). "엑소 시우민·인피니트 출신 이호원, 오늘(6일) 전역 '군필돌 컴백'". Newsen (in Korean). Daum. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  27. ^ Lee, Seul (June 4, 2021). "호야, 9일 디지털 싱글 '아이엠' 발매…전곡 프로듀싱→MV 연출". Xports News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  28. ^ Gong, Mina (April 1, 2022). "인피니트 출신 이호원, 이니셜엔터 전속계약..이선빈 한솥밥[공식]". Star News (in Korean). Daum. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved April 5, 2018.
    • "Shower". November 12–18, 2017.
  30. ^ Culmulative sales for Shower:
    • "2018년 03월 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon.
    • "2018년 04월 Album Chart (See #50)". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  31. ^ Peak Gaon Chart Digital Chart Ranking
  32. ^ Billboard Korea K-pop 100 Chart
  33. ^ Cumulative weekly sales of "Ooh Ooh":
    • "Gaon Download Chart – Week 16, 2014 (see #48)". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  34. ^ "SUJU-M Henry's New Album 'Fantastic' to Feature EXO's Chan Yeol, Infinite's Hoya and More". Yahoo. enewsWorld. July 9, 2014.
  35. ^ Cumulative sales for "Yesterday:
    • "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 1". Retrieved August 16, 2017.
    • "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 2". Retrieved August 16, 2017.
    • "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 3". Retrieved August 16, 2017.
    • "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 4". Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  36. ^ "Infinite's Hoya Wrote ′Pretty′ with His Mom in Mind". Mnet. January 26, 2015. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  37. ^ Lee Yu-na (May 3, 2021). "K호러 '괴담' 크랭크업...김도윤·서지수·아린·셔누·주학년 등 출연" [K-horror 'Ghost Story' crank-up ... Kim Do-yoon, Seo Ji-soo, Arin, Shownu, Ju Hak-hak, etc.]. YTN (in Korean). Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  38. ^ Jung Yu-jin (October 7, 2021). "김대건 신부 다룬 최초 영화 '탄생', 여주인공 공개 오디션" [The first movie 'Birth' about Father Kim Dae-geon, the female lead auditioned for public]. News1 (in Korean). Retrieved October 7, 2021 – via Naver.
    • Kang Min-kyung (October 5, 2022). "[공식] "韓 최초 김대건 신부 극영화" 윤시윤→안성기 '탄생', 11월 30일 개봉 확정" [[Official] "Korea's first drama film by Kim Dae-geon" Yoon Si-yoon → Ahn Seong-ki 'Birth' confirmed for release on November 30th] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Naver.
  39. ^ "Cast members reunite for 'Respond'". Korea JoongAng Daily. December 11, 2013.
  40. ^ "'Dancing High' ready to welcome dancers". Kpop Herald. July 16, 2018.
  41. ^ Kang Jin-ah (March 15, 2022). "오종혁·이호원·유태양, '은밀하게 위대하게:더 라스트' 출연" [Jonghyuk Oh, Howon Lee, and Taeyang Yoo to appear in 'Secretly, Greatly: The Last'] (in Korean). Newsis. Retrieved March 15, 2022 – via Naver.
  42. ^ "Yoo Ah-in, Hoya win at 36th Golden Cinema Film Festival". Manila Bulletin. May 30, 2016. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  43. ^ Jang, Woo-young (December 30, 2017). "[MBC연기대상]김선호·김정현·서주현·이선빈, 신인상 수상 영광" [[MBC Acting Awards] Kim Seon-ho, Kim Jung-hyun, Seo Joo-hyun, Lee Seon-bin, Glory of Rookie of the Year Award] (in Korean). Herald Pop. Retrieved September 26, 2022 – via Naver.

External links edit