ILOVE K-POP ;]: Beast

Beast (

/ˈbiːst/; Korean: 비스트; stylized as BEAST or B2ST) is a six-member boy band from South Korea. They were formed in 2009 byCube Entertainment. Their members are Yoon Doo-joon (윤두준), Jang Hyun-seung (장현승), Yong Jun-hyung (용준형), Yang Yo-seob (양요섭), Lee Gi-kwang (이기광) and Son Dong-woon (손동운).

Beast has released one Korean full-length album, four Korean mini-albums, one Japanese full album and various singles. The group debuted in October 2009 with their first mini-album, Beast Is the B2ST. They released their first full-length album, Fiction and Fact, in 2011,receiving their first triple crown on M.net M! Countdown for their lead single "Fiction". Beast made their debut in Japan with the release of their single "Shock (Japanese Version)" in the same year.

The group was originally noted for its members' previous lack of success in the industry, as Doo-joon and Hyun-seung had been eliminated from debuting with popular boy groups 2PM and Big Bang, Jun-hyung had been a member of rotational group Xing, and Gi-kwang had debuted as a solo artist.Musically, Beast is best recognised for its singing ability, with reviews of their Fiction and Fact album describing them as "one of the most vocally talented idol pop bands in Korea."

The group won the Bonsang award at the Seoul Music Awards in 2010, and went on to win the Artist of the Year (Daesang) award at the Melon Music Awards in 2011

History

[edit]2009–2010: Debut and Shock of the New Era

Prior to their debut, Korean news outlets reported that Cube Entertainment would be releasing a new boy group known as "B2ST", pronounced "Beast".This name was changed to "Beast" before their debut, but the group retains the original stylisation in all their promotional material. Beast's fanclub name became "B2uty", pronounced "Beauty", in reference to the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast.

In October 2009, Beast held their debut showcase at the MTV GongGae Hall and made their live performance debut on KBS Music Bank with their debut single, "Bad Girl".A documentary recording the story of the group's debut titled MTV B2ST was filmed during this time, showing the members as they filmed their first music video and bonded with each other.Their debut mini-album,Beast Is the B2ST featured five songs, including the intro track "Beast Is the B2ST", "Mystery" and "Oasis". The song "Yet" (아직은, Ajigeun) was banned from airplay due to swearing in Jun-hyung's rap. Beast won their first award, Rookie of the Month for December, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In early 2010, Beast promoted their second single, "Mystery", from the mini-album, with live performances on the weekly music shows. The members created their own humorous amateur music video for the song, featuring fellow Korean pop singers including members of Girls' Generation and Kara. The mini-album went on to sell 40,000 copies, an unusual feat for a Korean rookie group, with the album's original print run of 20,000 copies selling out in its first month.

In January 2010, Beast and their labelmates, girl group 4minute, signed with world-wide album company Universal Music Group for their international promotions and album launches, and began their first international promotions in Taiwan with 4minute.The group was awarded the Best Newcomer Award alongside girl groups T-ara and After School at the 19th Seoul Music Awards in February 2010.

Beast released their second mini-album Shock of the New Era in March 2010 with the lead single "Shock". The mini album’s release took place a day earlier than scheduled after it was leaked on Youtube.The group achieved their first number-one win on Mnet’s M! Countdown with "Shock".The album quickly sold 20,000 copies in Korea,and was certified into the Gold Disk category in Singapore. Reviews of the title track described it has having both powerful vocals and a rock-influenced strong sound, a departure from the pop feel of their debut single, and praised the complex choreography for the track in live performances.

During the promotion period for "Shock", the group performed an orchestra version of Korean group Noel's ballad "Despite Holding On" (붙잡고도,Butjapgodo), and were recognized as a boy group with outstanding singing ability. A digital single version of their track "Easy" from their Shock of the New Era album was released in April 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.

In August 2010, Beast received the Golden Disk Award from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand at the '2010 Summer CUBE Stars Party' in Seoul.Beast and 4minute also became the first Korean artists to be invited to perform on the Singapore Youth Olympics pre-opening stage. The group was awarded with the Cool Star Award in the 2010 Mnet 20's Choice Awards.American R&B musician Omarion made a surprise appearance as a guest onstage with the group as they received their award. Omarion had earlier invited Beast to perform with him after viewing a YouTube clip of the group delivering a dance performance of his single "Ice Box"

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 KBS Music 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! Countdown stage. The songs were released on December 21, 2010 as the digital mini album My Story