Choi Jung-hoon

Choi Jung-hoon (Hangul: 최정훈; born March 10, 1992) is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the Korean indie rock band Jannabi.

Early life and education

Choi Jung-hoon was born on March 10, 1992, in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. His family consists of his parents and an older brother. He spent his elementary, middle and high school days in Bundang's academy district called "Dolmaro" (he would go on to write the lyrics of the song Dolmaro in Jannabi's ''Legend'' album). He attended Bundang Elementary School, Seohyun Middle School and Yatap High School.

Choi displayed interest and talent on music from an early age. Since his fifth grade, he has liked writing essays and songs. He often sang songs of Elton John, The Beatles and Sanulrim which were different from the likes of his peers. While he was good on music, he dreamed of becoming a professional football player. However, during his sixth grade, he has watched Elton John's concert in South Korea and noticed his poster advertisement that says, "the best singer-songwriter in the world." After asking and hearing his mother's explanation of what a singer-songwriter was, he vowed to become such. Soon after, he met Jannabi's guitarist Kim Do-hyung, with whom he had the same music interest and attended the same high school. They regularly performed for school activities and events.

Choi's mother further encouraged him to study hard and do music, often citing Kim Dong-ryul and Lee Juck as inspirations. He excelled in his studies reportedly ranking 100th in his first year and 8th in his third year in high school. He served as the student council's president and later gained admission to Kyung Hee University to pursue a degree in Business administration, but decided to take a year off from college to focus on music. Choi became a trainee at FNC Entertainment nearly debuting as a member of N.Flying. He decided to leave the agency after realizing his creativity was restricted by the company and he had different musical style from the group.

Career

2012–present: Jannabi

In 2012, Jannabi was formed under an independent record label Peponi Music established and headed by Choi Jung-hoon's older brother, Choi Jung-joon. The band started from scratch, performing on clubs and busking on the streets of Hongdae and Insa-dong.

In August 2013, Jannabi auditioned for the fifth season of the survival audition show ''Superstar K'' to make their band known. While Kim Do-hyung and Yoo Young-hyun were eliminated, Choi continued to participate as a member of the newly created vocalist group Plan B. Plan B was later eliminated, reaching the Top 7 Qualifying Round.

On April 28, 2014, Choi officially made his debut as a member of Jannabi with the release of the single ''Rocket''. In the same year, the band has continued to release digital singles ''November Rain'' and ''Pole Dance'', first extended play (EP) ''See Your Eyes'' and several original sound tracks for Korean television dramas.

On August 4, 2016, Jannabi released its first studio album ''Monkey Hotel''. About a year since the band's debut, he wrote lyrics of the songs with Kim and Yoo. For the following years, Choi performed as the sole lyricist and producer of the band's songs. He has hands-on involvement in the pre-production works of their albums, merchandise and shows.

In 2019, Jannabi has created an unprecedented sensation after releasing their second studio album ''Legend'' with the title track "For Lovers Who Hesitate." Aside from the songs in the album, their past songs simultaneously charted on the Circle Digital Chart and Billboard K-Pop Hot 100.

On November 6, 2020, Choi and Kim continued to record as a duo and released Jannabi's second EP ''Jannabi's Small Pieces I'' with the title song "A thought on an autumn night." The title track ranked first on various music charts in South Korea such as Bugs, Genie and Vibe.

On July 18, 2021, despite Kim and Jang Kyung-joon being on a hiatus due to military service, Choi has continued to promote the band with session musicians, releasing their third studio album ''The Land of Fantasy''.

On May 10, 2022, Choi released Jannabi's third EP ''Jannabi's small pieces II: GRIPPIN'THEGREEN'' with all tracks written and produced by him. He revealed that the album was filled with "songs made at home, in the afternoon, mostly while looking out the window," with Choi hoping that listeners would listen to the EP like that as well. The EP's lead single "GRIPPIN'THEGREEN" ranked first on the Bugs! and quickly entered the Top 100 of Genie and Melon music charts.

2018–present: Solo activities

In 2018, Choi Jung-hoon participated in the song "Lilac" from Changmo's EP ''The Moment of Contact''. In December 2018, Choi competed on ''King of Mask Singer'' under the name "Ginger Man," appearing in episodes 183 and 184.

In 2019, following Jannabi's rise to fame, Choi appeared on various television shows, including KBS' ''In Sync'' where vocalists try to find their perfect match to do a duet, social commentary talk show ''Hello Counselor'', and MBC's '' I Live Alone'' where he particularly gained attention by revealing his daily life.

In 2020, Choi participated in the 28th anniversary project of the fashion magazine Elle Korea called "RECONNECT." It features the song "For the Gone" written and composed by him alongside Code Kunst and Simon Dominic.

In March 2021, Choi appeared on ''Hangout with Yoo''. In July 2021, he participated in the song "Next Episode" from AKMU's EP of the same title '' Next Episode''. In October 2021, he participated in the 25th anniversary tribute for punk rock band No Brain by remaking their song "Midnight Music," track from No Brain's 5th album ''That is Youth'' (2007) in Jannabi's own style.

In February 2022, it was announced that Choi will join JTBC's music entertainment show '' Hot Singers'' as a music director alongside Kim Moon-jeong. The show centers on the journey of Korea's famous senior actors in singing songs together while telling the stories of their lives. He created the Korean language version of the song "This Is Me" which was performed by the choir at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards to conclude the show. From April to May 2022, he led a film photo exhibition called "Days of Future Passed" in collaboration with Allycamera to showcase his point of view and some of his brother's photographic works. In May 2022, he joined the two-track project of singer-songwriter Jo Dong-hee and composer Jo Dong-Ik by singing the song "Until I love the love." The song has an exquisite blend of understated acoustic melodies and electronic sounds that lead to a calm atmosphere. On September 23, 2022, Choi appeared as an original singer on the seventh season of ''Hidden Singer''. The show's sixth episode introduced Jannabi as "the first place in festival recruitment." The episode ranked first in the same time slot and Choi took sixth place in the overall ranking of entertainment performers. On September 26, 2022, a song collaboration "Because We Loved" with Kang Min-kyung was released, eventually ranking first on various music charts such as Bugs! and Genie.

In 2023, Choi is set to star on SBS's new variety show alongside D.O., Zico, Crush, Yang Se-chan and Lee Yong-jin, which will be directed by '' Running Mans former director, Choi Bo Pil.

Artistry

Choi has been referred as one of the "sentimental craftsman" of his generation by various publications and organizations. Predominantly described as romantic and old-fashioned, music critics and listeners characterized his voice as something very unusual with high husky and unique tone, possessing a “vintage voice reminiscent of the old times.”

As the lyricist of Jannabi's songs, his personal experiences and literature were his main inspirations, which helped him reflect on the complexities of life. He usually searches for "words that don't exist"; those being used depending on the times and become obsolete, followed by a corresponding melody. Choi has commonly cited poets Jeong Ji-yong and Emily Dickinson; and musicians Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Beatles and Sanulrim among his musical inspirations.

Other ventures

Endorsement

In September 2021, Choi was chosen as the model for the fall and winter sneaker collection of Umbro, themed "Heritage of Passion." He later became the ambassador for the clothing brand Custom Mellow by the Kolon Industries FnC. It was the first time for the brand to collaborate with an artist in a music project which included the production of the music video for "King of Romance," one of the tracks from Jannabi's third full-length album ''The Land of Fantasy'' (2021) and other advertisement campaigns.

In May 2022, Choi became the endorser of Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds. In July 2022, Choi alongside Ahn Seul-ki served as the brand ambassadors for the ad campaign "Runners Helping Runners" by Nike. In September 2022, Shinsegae International decided to start the menswear business of Studio Tomboy and selected Choi as the model.

Philanthropy

Since 2019, Choi has regularly donated the band's festival appearance fees under the name of Jannabi for the school development and educational environment improvement of Kyung Hee University. In 2022, his donation provided free meals for 1,500 university students.

Personal life

In 2019, it was reported that Choi was exempted from mandatory military service due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury caused by a football tackle.

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Television shows

Radio

Hosting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Jung-hoon
Living people
1992 births
21st-century South Korean male singers
South Korean record producers
South Korean singer-songwriters
Rock songwriters
Indie rock musicians
People from Gyeonggi Province
Kyung Hee University alumni
Superstar K participants