Choi Seung-cheol (; born August 8, 1995), professionally known by his stage name S.Coups (), is a South Korean rapper, singer and songwriter. Managed by
Pledis Entertainment
Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to actress Nana, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, and K-pop groups Seventeen and Fromis 9. Its name originates from the pleiades, a star ...
, he is the leader of the boy group
Seventeen, and also the leader of its hip hop team.
Early life
Choi Seung-cheol was born in
Daegu,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. He attended
School of Performing Arts Seoul
School of Performing Arts Seoul ( ko, 서울공연예술고등학교), colloquially known as (SOPA) in South Korea, is an arts high school in Gung-dong, Guro District, Seoul.
History
SOPA was founded on March 6, 1966 as Jeonghui High Schoo ...
and then enrolled in
Hanyang University
Hanyang University (Korean: 한양대학교) is a private research university in South Korea. The main campus is located in Seoul and its satellite campus, the Education Research Industry Cluster (ERICA campus), is in Ansan. ''Hanyang'' (한양, ...
. In 2022, he enrolled in a Master's degree at
Anyang University
Anyang University is a private university in Korea. Courses consist of undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and research programs. The main campus is located in Anyang City, south of Seoul in Gyeonggi province and the second campus is located ...
.
Career
2009–2014: Pre-debut
Choi joined
Pledis Entertainment
Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to actress Nana, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, and K-pop groups Seventeen and Fromis 9. Its name originates from the pleiades, a star ...
in 2009, where he received training for the next 6 years. In 2013, he joined for the second season of ''
Seventeen TV
Seventeen or 17 may refer to:
*17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18
* one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017
Literature
Magazines
* ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine
* ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...
'', an online reality show that introduced Pledis' trainees and showed potential members of the boy group
Seventeen before their official debut. The show was broadcast periodically on
Ustream
IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...
, where the trainees showed themselves training, singing, creating choreographies and playing games. The online show also included participation in concerts, titled ''Like Seventeen''.
As a trainee, he participated in works of other Pledis artists, including featuring on
Orange Caramel
Orange Caramel () is the first subgroup of South Korean girl group After School. The subgroup was formed in 2010 with the third generation After School members Nana, Raina, and Lizzy. As of December 2019, Orange Caramel only has one member u ...
's debut album and appearing in
Nu'est
NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single t ...
,
Hello Venus
Hello Venus (; often stylized as HELLOVENUS) was a South Korean girl group formed by Tricell Media (formerly a joint venture between Pledis Entertainment and Fantagio). The group originally consisted of: Alice, Nara, Lime, Yooara, Yoonjo and ...
, and
After School
After School may refer to:
Film and television
* ''After School'' (1972 film), a Chinese animated short film
* ''After School'' (2003 film), a Singaporean film
* ''After School'', a 2023 film directed by Lan Cheng-lung
* ''Afterschool'', a 2009 ...
music videos.
2015–present: Seventeen and solo activities
In 2015, S.Coups debuted as a member and the leader of the South Korean boy group
Seventeen with the
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. ''
17 Carat
''17 Carat'' is the debut extended play by South Korean boy group Seventeen. It was released on May 29, 2015, by Pledis Entertainment and distributed by LOEN Entertainment. "Adore U" serves as the lead single for the extended play.
Background an ...
'' on May 26. Since debuting, S.Coups has participated in the songwriting of over 70 Seventeen songs.
In 2019, it was announced that S.Coups would be taking a break due to symptoms of
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil
Turmoil may refer to:
* ''Turmoil'' (1984 video game), a 1984 video game released by Bug-Byte
* ''Turmoil'' (2016 video game), a 2016 indie oil tycoon video ...
, missing parts of Seventeen's ''
Ode to You World Tour''. Following recovery, S.Coups returned to activities in March 2020.
In 2023, it was announced that S.Coups would be halting activities in order to recover from
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
surgery. During his hiatus, he missed parts of Seventeen's ''
Follow Tour
The Follow Tour (stylized as Seventeen Tour Follow, in all caps) was the third Asia concert tour headlined by South Korean boy group Seventeen. The tour began on July 21, 2023, at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, and concluded on May ...
'', however he still made appearances at the
2023 MAMA Awards
The 2023 MAMA Awards was an awards ceremony held on November 28 and 29, 2023 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. It was organized by CJ ENM, and broadcast through its music channel Mnet.
Background
On September 21, 2023, CJ ENM announced that the event ...
and the
38th Golden Disc Awards
The 38th Golden Disc Awards () was a award ceremony held on January 6, 2024, at the Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia. It honors the best in South Korean music released between mid-November 2022 and early-November 2023. The ev ...
as Seventeen won Daesangs (Grand Prizes) at each award show for their 2023 album ''
FML''. His injury resulted in him being classified as
Grade 5 under the South Korean military fitness classification, resulting in him being exempt from military service during peacetime.
On December 31, 2023, S.Coups released a digital song named "Me", written and produced by himself and regular ''Seventeen'' collaborator
Bumzu
Kye Beom-ju (Hangul: 계범주, born November 8, 1991), better known by the stage name Bumzu (Hangul: 범주), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a contestant on ''Superstar K4'' and released his debut album, ''So ...
.
In February 2024, Pledis announced that he, alongside bandmate Jeonghan, who was also on a health-related hiatus, would be returning to activities in March 2024.
Other ventures
Philanthropy
In February 2023, S.Coups donated million () to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association for relief efforts for the
2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies ...
.
In October, he donated million () to Weact, a shelter for rescued dogs, and named one of their rescue dogs "Carat", after the name of Seventeen's official fanclub. In December, he donated million () to the non-profit organization 'Angels' Nest', a shelter for abandoned animals.
In August 2024, to commemorate his 29th birthday, S.Coups donated another million () to Weact, again in the name of Seventeen's fanclub.
Endorsements
In July 2022, S.Coups was announced as Korean skincare brand Some By Mi's new global advertising model, starting in August of that year. Over the next two years, S.Coups participated in a number of pictorials for the brand's new product releases. In June, S.Coups, alongside Seventeen members
Wonwoo
Seventeen (; stylized in all caps or as SVT) is a South Korean boy band formed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consists of thirteen members: S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and D ...
and
Vernon
Vernon may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Vernon County, New South Wales
Canada
*Vernon, British Columbia, a city
*Vernon, Ontario
France
* Vernon, Ardèche
*Vernon, Eure
United States
* Vernon, Alabama
* Vernon, Arizona
* Vernon, California
* ...
, became the new global brand ambassador for Chitato, an Indonesian snack brand under
Indofood
PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk is a major Indonesian company involved in the food industry. The company's headquarters are located in South Jakarta, Jakarta.
History
Indofood was founded in 1968 as Lambang Insan Makmur, an instant noodles busi ...
. In August 2024, he was announced as the new brand model for Korean skincare brand Neogen, and as the new South Korean ambassador for French cosmetics company
NARS Cosmetics
NARS Cosmetics is a French cosmetics and skin care company founded by make-up artist and photographer François Nars in 1994. The cosmetics line began with twelve lipsticks sold at Barneys New York. Since then, NARS has created various multi- ...
alongside bandmate
Hoshi.
Personal life
S.Coups lives in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
, with his older brother and a
Coton De Tulear
The Coton de Tuléar is a breed of small dog named for the city of Tuléar (also known as Toliara) in Madagascar. This breed is thought to have originated from a group of small white dogs that swam across the Malagasy channel following a shipwr ...
named ''Goguma'' (), or ''Kkuma'' for short ().
On March 1, 2024, S.Coups was ruled exempt from
mandatory military service
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...
in a recent physical examination due to a rupture of the
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
in his left knee joint.
Discography
Features, Collaborations and Unofficial Releases
Composition credits
All credits are adapted from the
Korea Music Copyright Association
The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Seventeen (South Korean band) members
Pledis Entertainment artists
South Korean male idols
School of Performing Arts Seoul alumni
People from Daegu
21st-century South Korean male singers
Musicians from Daegu
1995 births
Living people