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MBLAQ | |
|---|---|
 MBLAQ in 2010 - From left to right: Seungho, Thunder, Joon, Mir, G.O | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2009 (2009)–2015[a] |
| Labels | |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
MBLAQ (Korean:엠블랙,Japanese:エムブラック; an acronym forMusic Boys Live in Absolute Quality) is a South Koreanboy band created by South Korean singerRain underJ. Tune Camp. The group consists ofSeungho,G.O, andMir, and formerlyLee Joon andThunder. The group debuted on October 15, 2009, at Rain's Legend of Rainism concert.
On October 14, 2009, the group released their debut single album,Just BLAQ, which topped various online and offline music charts in South Korea.[1] The group then released their firstextended play albumY on May 19, 2010, and on January 10, 2011, MBLAQ released their first studio album,BLAQ Style.
On December 16, 2014, it was announcedJoon andThunder had departed from the group and they will focus on individual activities for the time being.[2]
On September 21, 2009,J. Tune Camp announced that its new five-member boy group, MBLAQ, would make their first appearance in a photo spread forNylon magazine in October.[3] The group, composed of membersSeungho,G.O,Mir,Lee Joon andThunder, had reportedly trained for two years under the mentorship of singer and music producerRain.[3]
The group made their stage debut on October 9, opening forRain at hisLegend of Rainism concert in Seoul.[4][5] On October 12, MBLAQ released a teaser video for their debut song, "Oh Yeah",[6] which was released two days later as part of their debut extended playJust BLAQ.[7] Upon its release, the extended play topped various music charts in South Korea.[1] The next day, the group made their broadcast debut, performing "Oh Yeah" onM Countdown.[1] Thunder later revealed in 2011 that, while he provided live vocals for the extended play's promotions, his voice does not appear onJust BLAQ, as he had joined the group only 15 days prior to its release.[8]
In November, a reality series about the group, calledMBLAQ - The Art of Seduction (Korean: MBLAQ 작업의 정석), aired onMnet, garnering high viewership ratings.[9]
On December 6, MBLAQ performed at Rain's fan meeting in Tokyo to promote their upcoming Japanese debut.[10] The group began promotions for their second Korean single, "G.O.O.D Luv", on December 11.[11] The group appeared as hosts of season five of the television seriesIdol Show starting on December 16.[12]
On May 17, 2010, the group released their second extended play,Y, featuring a lead single of the same name that was written and produced byRain.[13] "Y" reached number 5 on theGaon Digital Chart,[14] and the song claimed first place onM Countdown on June 3.[15]
MBLAQ was featured on several reality television shows in 2010. The GomTV web seriesMaking the Artist - MBLAQ followed the creation of the group's extended playY.[16] On theMnet seriesCelebrities Go to School (Korean: 연예인 대학가기), the members audited college classes and experienced student life.[17] And the Japanese documentary,Yo! Tokyo, showed the group discovering Japanese culture.[10]
On January 3, 2011, MBLAQ released "Cry", the pre-release single for their first full-length album.[18] The album,BLAQ Style, was released on January 10, 2011, with the title track "Stay".[18] Group memberSeungho composed the album track "Sad Memories", while memberMir contributed lyrics to the track "You're My +".[18] The album reached number 2 on theGaon Album Chart.[19]
A repackaged version of the album, titledBLAQ Style - 3D Edition, was released on February 22, 2011, with the title track "Again". In addition to "Again", the repackage includes the new tracks "Can't Come Back", which was written by Mir andG.O, and "You", which was written byThunder.[20]BLAQ Style - 3D Edition was released in Taiwan on March 18, 2011, and reached number one onG-Music's K-pop and J-pop album chart.[21]
On May 4, 2011, the group released their first Japanese single, "Your Luv", which reached number 2 on Japan's weeklyOricon Singles Chart and sold more than 40,000 copies.[22] They promoted the single with live performances in Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Tokyo.[23]
MBLAQ released their third Korean extended play,Mona Lisa, on July 12, 2011.[24] After the album reached 30,000 pre-order sales, J.Tune Camp announced that it would produce 50,000 more copies of the album to meet demand, particularly among Japanese fans.[25] In South Korea, the album was the group's first number-one entry on theGaon Album Chart,[26] and its lead single, "Mona Lisa", topped online music video charts in Germany and Bulgaria.[27][28]
The group released their second Japanese single, "Baby U!", on October 26, 2011.[29] The song reached number 2 on the weeklyOricon Singles Chart, selling 45,624 copies in the first week of its release.[30] MBLAQ promoted the single in Japan, with 23,000 fans attending a release event in Tokyo.[31]
On January 3, 2012, MBLAQ released the single "Scribble", which topped real-time music charts in South Korea.[32] On January 10, the group released their fourth extended play,100% Ver., which, in addition to "Scribble", includes the single "This Is War".[33] The album sold more than 40,000 pre-ordered copies,[34] and charted at number one on theGaon Album Chart.[35] On March 21, the group releasedBLAQ% Ver., a repackaged version of the album. The group promoted the repackage with the singles "Run" and "100%". Combined, the album and repackage sold more than 80,000 copies in 2012.[36]
On January 19, the group joined the cast of season 5 of the reality showHello Baby, on which they cared for children from multicultural families.[37]
On March 7, MBLAQ released the compilation albumBLAQ Memories in Japan. The album peaked at number 18 on the weeklyOricon Albums Chart. Later that month, the group made a cameo appearance on the television dramaK-Pop Extreme Survival (Korean: K-팝 최강 서바이벌), which stars Mir's sister,Go Eun-ah.[38]
In June, the group embarked on their first Asian tour, making stops in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, in addition to South Korea.[39]
On May 28, a teaser video for스모키걸 (Smoky Girl), the title track of their comeback albumSexy Beat, was uploaded onto J. Tune Camp's official YouTube channel. MBLAQ previously mentioned in behind the scenes video during a photo shot forCosmopolitan Korea that they will be returning with the song Smoky Girl, described by member Mir as an addictive song with sexy choreography. Leader Seungho confirms in the video that MBLAQ will be making their comeback in the first week of June.[40] 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.[41][42]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 titledLove Beat was released two months later on August 12, 2013. It consists of three new tracks:I Don't Know,Prayer (기도) andNo Love as their title track, together with all six tracks fromSexy Beat. The music video forNo Love was uploaded on J. Tune Camp's official YouTube channel on August 12, showing the photoshoot, composing and preparation forLove Beat.
On March 20, 2014, at 12AM (KST), a teaser video forBe a Man, the title track of their comeback albumBroken, was uploaded onto J. Tune Camp's official YouTube channel. On March 24, 2014, the music video ofBe a Man was uploaded and the album which consists of seven tracks which the members actively participated in the writing and composing part,[43] was subsequently released online at 12PM (KST). On the same day, MBLAQ also began their comeback promotions forBe a Man by performing at a comeback showcase in WAPOP Hall at 8PM (KST).[43][44][45]
On October 13, 2014, it was rumored thatLee Joon andThunder would be leaving the group after the expiration of their contract with J. Tune Camp.[46] 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.[47]
On November 18, 2014, J. Tune Camp revealed a mysterious image on their official Twitter which showed the date November 25, 2014. It turned out to be the release date of their upcoming album which is made up of self-composed songs.[48]
A few days later on November 20, 2014, J. Tune Camp revealed the track list on their official Twitter and the album which appears to be titled"Winter".[49]
On December 16, 2014, it was announcedJoon andThunder had departed from the group and they will focus on individual activities for the time being;Joon focusing on filming his current drama,MBC'sMr. Back andThunder studying music for a while.[50]
The group released their eighth mini albumMirror on June 9, 2015, as a trio.[51]
Initially debuting as a group more focused ondance andpop, MBLAQ have since experimented with different genres. "Oh Yeah" and "Y" weredance/pop tracks, "My Dream", "Last Luv" and "Rust" areballad tracks, "Bang Bang Bang" isrock ballad, "Cry" is anR&B track, and "Stay" is a track infused withhip-hop,electronic androck.[52]
WithRain being their mentor and major influence, he has either written, composed, produced and/or choreographed a few tracks for MBLAQ, including "Oh Yeah", "G.O.O.D Luv", and "Y". For the release ofJust BLAQ andY, MBLAQ focused heavily on their performance with strong choreography. WithBLAQ Style, MBLAQ decided to focus more on the music and melody rather than the choreography.[53]
| Year | Channel | Title | Member(s) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mnet Japan | Yo! Tokyo | MBLAQ | |
| MBC Every 1 | Idol Show | Fifth Season and known as idol army, Co-hosts byShin Bong-sun and Jung Joori. | ||
| 2010 | Mnet | Celebrity Goes To School | Final season of the documentary reality show. | |
| GOMTV | MBLAQ's Making The Artist | MBLAQ's mentor for the documentary isKim Soo-ro. | ||
| 2011 | Mnet | Sesame Player | Mir did not appear much as due to some injury. | |
| 2012 | KBS | MBLAQ's Hello Baby | Fifth season raising three multi-cultural children : Dayoung (Vietnamese-Korean), Lauren (Korean-Canadian) and Leo (French-Korean) | |
| MBC | Idol Manager |
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Jewelry Awards | 2011 | Diamond Award | MBLAQ | Won | [54] |
| Asia Model Awards | 2012 | Popular Singer Award | Won | [55] | |
| Golden Disc Awards | 2011 | Album Bonsang | BLAQ Style | Won | [56] |
| Album of the Year (Album Daesang) | Nominated | ||||
| Digital Bonsang | "Mona Lisa" | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Album Bonsang | 100% Ver. | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Love Beat | Nominated | |||
| Korea Culture Entertainment Awards | 2010 | New Generation Top Ten Singers Award | MBLAQ | Won | [57] |
| 2011 | Idol Music Grand Prize | Won | [58] | ||
| Mnet 20's Choice Awards | 2012 | 20's Performance | Nominated | ||
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2009 | Best New Male Artist | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Best Male Group | Nominated | |||
| Best Dance Performance (Male Group) | "Y" | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | "Mona Lisa" | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | "This Is War" | Nominated | |||
| Republic of Korea Entertainment Arts Awards | 2010 | Group Singer Award | MBLAQ | Won | [59] |
