In an industry that loves it’s flash and bang it’s never easy to make it on soul alone. 10 years in the entertainment industry is a splendid feat for anybody and is well worth pomp and fan fare.
This past September Brown Eyed Soul celebrated their 10th anniversary since their debut, and they certainty deserve some fan fare for doing so.
Brown Eyed Soul consists of 4 members, Naul, Sung Hoon, Young Jun and Jung Yeop. The boys have not only produced albums together but have also taken a turn at going solo. Regardless of that they are still together and going strong. Even now planing to take a new step and jump into the Japanese market under their Japanese agency, Avex Entertainment.
2003 wasn’t the very start for this R&B group. 35 year old Naul was originally part of a group called Brown Eyes with singer Yoon Gun back in 2001. They had their own success before Brown Eyed Soul. Recording “Let’s Get Together” for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan. The song also featured Park Jung Hyun, Japanese group CHEMISTRY and solo singer Sowelu.
It was in 2003 that Brown Eyes disbanded. Though they did have a short reunion in 2008. The album from that reunion sold over 100,000 copies with part of the profits going to Wold Vision. But it was only a temporary reunion and they have not released anything since.
Yoon Gun had left Santa Music in 2003, Brown Eyed Soul’s entertainment agency, but Naul stayed. After a short break for Naul the decision was made to reform Brown Eyes with 3 new members and rename them. Thus the start of Brown Eyed Soul.
Their debut album was called “Soul Free” and was released in 2003. The song “Jeongmal Saranghasseulkka” from the album topped the KBS music chart in October of the same year.
Fans had to wait 4 years before Brown Eyed Soul released another album together. Naul had taken the time to try his hand at a solo album. “Back To The Soul Flight” featured the song “Reason 4 Breathing” and was released in 2005. Naul has released other solo albums since including one this past year. “Principle of My Soul” was a huge success. So much so, it nabbed him the award for ‘Best R&B/Soul Album’ at the 2013 Korean Music Awards.
Brown Eyed Soul’s second album was “The Wind, The Sea, The Rain“. It was released in November 2007 and sold over 100,000 copies. It was this album that won them the R&B award at the 5th Korean Music Awards in 2008.
This album is also where they are getting the song for their Japanese debut. It was due to the interest from Avex Entertainment that they choose the song “My Story” to debut with. It was met with much love in Korea and the hopes are that it will fare the same in Japan.
Jung Yeop took his turn to go solo in 2008 with the album “Thinkin Back On Me“. But it was the 2010 song “You Are My Lady” that won Jung Yeop the award for Best R&B/Soul song at the 2010 Korean Music Awards. As well as winning the Netizen’s Choice award for Male Artist, also that year. The 36 year old has also released a solo album last year entitled “Part 2: We Are No More“.
In 2010 Brown Eyed Soul came together again and released their third album. Both the song’s “Love Ballad” and “I’ll Move” resonated with their fans. Which is probably why they decided to pre-release the Japanese versions of both songs this past September prior to their official Japanese debut.
Sung Hoon released his own solo album in 2011, “Lyric’s Within My Story” . One of the things that caught the fans attention about the promotions for his album was something a little surprising. Kpop fans may be use to their idols having abs and making their fans heart flutter by flashing said abs. But it is unusual for a ballad singer to do so. So when the promotional pictures for 33 year old Sung Hoon’s album came out and he was shirtless he cause quite the stir.
Sung Hoon also participated in the TV show “Immortal Song 2“. It was during the Kim Gunmo tribute that the singer took his first win. He sang “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and beat all 6 singers in that round. Including Taemin of SHINee, Heo Young Saeng from SS501 and Ali. It seems destiny that he would win this round, considering his nickname is “Little Gunmo”.
2012 saw Young Jun take his turn at the solo album game with “Vol. 1 Easy“. Though back in 2011 he had done a duet with Shinwa’s Shin Hye Sung. Probably a highlight though in his career would be when he was chosen to do a duet for Lionel Richie’s special Korean re-make album release in 2012. “Say You, Say Me” was one of Lionel’s hit’s from the 80’s and was part of the OST for the movie “White Nights“.
Stevie Wonder has also approached Naul, and back in February 2012 Naul had flown out to the States to record the three song’s that Stevie had picked out for him. They were released in Korea and Japan.
And than we reach 2013 and ten years have flown by in a blink of an eye. These 4 powerful balladeers have decided to celebrate their 10th anniversary by doing a nation wide tour of Korea to make sure their fans know just how much they appreciate them. They have decided to call the tour “”Thank Your Soul“.
They have also released the digital single “Always Be There“. It’s been 3 years since the group released a song together so the song’s lyrics “Does a long silence mean goodbye?” seem to be talking directly to their fans. With more lyrics like “When I carefully turn around, you always greeted me.” and “Listen carefully to my heart, to my slightly late confession, to this song that will give you sweet sleep after a long day.” the song really does seem to be a direct thank you to their fans.
Billboard has also taken the time to write about this amazing and soulful group’s anniversary. They call the song an “80s-inspired, mellow-pop confection“. They comment on the fact the group doesn’t use their powerful vocals this time but instead keep it soft and mellow to express the feeling of gratitude they have for their fans. You can check out the whole article here .
We do not get to see Brown Eyed Soul often enough but every time these four boys come together you can bet that magic will happen.
Here’s hoping they are around for another 10 years!
Happy anniversary Brown Eyed Soul!
Check out the music video for “Always Be There” here.
Source: Billboard.com / CJ E&M Entertainment YouTube
Article by: Angelspatience
Edited by: Danielle
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