Peakboy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Peakboy in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kwon Sung-hwan |
| Born | (1989-05-27)May 27, 1989 (age 35) Incheon, South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Neuron Music |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 권성환 |
| Revised Romanization | Gwon Seonghwan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kwon Sŏnghwan |
Kwon Sung-hwan (Korean: 권성환[needs IPA]; born May 27, 1989), known professionally asPeakboy (픽보이[needs IPA]), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. He released his debut single "Gin & Tonic" in 2017 viaSoundCloud and first mini-albumPortrait the following year. Since signing with Neuron Music, he has released two additional mini-albums and numerous stand-alone singles.
Peakboy was born Kwon Sung-hwan on May 27, 1989, the older of two sons. He lived inGyeyang District,Incheon, where he attended Annam High School.[1][2] He andPark Yong-in [ko] ofUrban Zakapa attended the samehagwon, and Peakboy took interest in music upon seeing Park use a music program.[3] He joined a company as a trainee and intended to become a vocalist by age 22 before giving up. He enlisted inmandatory military service and was discharged in 2016.[4] After completing his service, he deliberated between being a pop music composer or a self-produced artist.[5]
Peakboy came up with his stage name the day before registering it with theKorea Copyright Commission. "Peak" refers to the peak point which arises when making music, and "boy" was attached due to its regular usage in the monikers of foreign record producers.[6] Early in his career, Peakboy composed music for girl groupHello Venus.[7] He would go on to take part in songwriting and production for other musicians, including on Urban Zakapa's "Another Me" (2015) and Kkal & Maxx's debut recordCaffe in the Morning (2016).[6][8] He also produced tracks for thefifth andsixth seasons of the rap competition seriesShow Me the Money.[6] Peakboy joined the music crew Juicy Wave after having it suggested to him by rapper Kyu Young.[3]
In 2017, Peakboy uploaded his debut single "Gin & Tonic" onto audio sharing websiteSoundCloud and he began receiving contract offers from various companies.[2][6] His first mini-albumPortrait and its lead single "Shame" featuring George were released on March 14, 2018.[9] Peakboy signed an exclusive contract with Neuron Music and released thesingle album05/27 through the record label on August 23, headed by theelectronic hip-hop track "Birthday" withHanhae as its featured guest.[10][11] Peakboy penned the track in four days, which was influenced by his stay in the United States two months earlier.[3][4] He released his second mini-albumUs on April 11, 2019.[12] "Kelly", released from the single albumFrola, samples "Doowap" by labelmatePaul Kim.[13] Its accompanying music video published the following month.[14] By the end of the year, he held his first concert withBibi on Christmas Eve.[15]
Peakboy's third mini-albumLoop, fronted by the lead single "Diet" featuringWheein ofMamamoo, was released on August 18, 2020.[16] From the following month, he hosted three episode of his radio program entitledPeakboy's Arcade onNaver Now.[17] In early 2021, he accompanied Kim toJeju Island for a music video shoot. Peakboy was inspired by the trip and the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic to write "Anywhere".[18] A song about traveling, theR&B digital single was released on April 20.[19][20] On July 25, the electronic hip-hop single "Gyopo Hairstyle" was issued. Its music video features cameos by modelHan Hyun-min, actorsChoi Woo-shik,Park Seo-joon,Park Hyung-sik, and singerV ofBTS.[21]
Peakboy's song lyrics deal with his thoughts and experiences of everyday life.[22] His lyricism has been noted for being blunt and candid, while his music has been described as trendy and original.[3][6] The foundations of his work are classified as electronic andblack music. In terms ofvoice type, he is abaritone.[5] Writing forAtstar1 magazine, editor Hwang Yeon-do described Peakboy as one of the few musicians with a good musical tone, skilled rapping, and talented capabilities as a singer-songwriter.[23] Peakboy citesYou Hee-yeol,Yoon Jong-shin, andYoon Sang as his role models.[24]
| Title[25] | Details |
|---|---|
| Portrait |
|
| Us |
|
| Loop |
|
| Title[25] | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | ||||
| Gaon Digital Chart [26] | K-pop Hot 100 [27] | |||
| "Gin & Tonic" | 2017 | — | — | Juicy Wave |
| "Shame" (featuring George) | 2018 | — | — | Portrait |
| "Birthday" (featuringHanhae) | — | — | 05/27 | |
| "The Same" (여전해;Yeojeonhae) | 2019 | — | — | Us |
| "Kelly" | — | — | Frola | |
| "Tic Tac Toe" (눈치;Nunchi) (withPaul Kim andHeize) | 72 | 53 | Yoo Flash | |
| "MMM" (애매해;Aemaehae) | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Walk" | 2020 | — | — | |
| "Diet" (featuringWheein ofMamamoo) | — | — | Loop | |
| "Late Night" | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Anywhere" | 2021 | — | — | |
| "Gyopo Hairstyle" (교포머리;Gyopo Meori) | — | — | ||
| "She Is" | 2022 | — | — | |
| Title[25] | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Paparazzi" (Mac Curly featuring Peakboy) | 2019 | How Can I Become Famous |
| "Twinkle" (Amin featuring Peakboy) | Non-album single | |
| "Star" (별;Byeol) (El Rune featuring Peakboy) | Shooting Star | |
| "Snow Flower"[28] (V featuring Peakboy) | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "I'm OK" (암오케;Amoke) (Davii featuring Peakboy) | 2021 | |
| "Poom" (품;Pum) (Choi Wook-shik featuring Peakboy) | ||
| "Hands on Me" (Kissxs featuring Peakboy) | ||
| "Chance" (Haan and Chan featuring Peakboy) | 2022 | Haan X Chan : Synergy |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hangout with Yoo | Cast | 4 episodes | [29] |
| 2022 | In the Soop: Friendship Trip | Cast Member | [30] | |
| Listen-Up | Regular Member | [31] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Pickboy's Arcade | Host | 3 episodes | [17] |
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