Samuel Arredondo Kim (born January 17, 2002), better known by his stage name Samuel (), is an American singer based in South Korea. He was a part of the short-lived hip hop duo
1Punch in 2015. He participated in the reality television series
season 2 Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014
* ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008
* "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu
''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...
of ''
Produce 101
''Produce 101'' () is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges ...
'' during the first half of 2017. In the final episode, he ranked 18th and was not able to join the show's project group. One month after the show ended, he began his solo career, with the release of his debut
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP) ''Sixteen'' on August 2, 2017.
Early life
Samuel was born in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, to a Mexican father (José Arredondo) and a South Korean mother.
Career
2012–2013: Pre-debut
Samuel made his first appearances to the public at the age of eleven, when he appeared in the live broadcast series ''
Seventeen TV'' as a trainee under
Pledis Entertainment
Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to Bumzu, Hwang Min-hyun, and groups Seventeen and TWS. Its name originates from the Pleiades, a star cluster in the constellat ...
. In 2013, he left the agency.
2015–2016: 1Punch and collaboration with Silentó
In 2015, Samuel debuted as a part of hip-hop duo named
1Punch (with rapper
One
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
) under a collaboration between
Brave Entertainment and D-Business Entertainment, taking "Punch" as his stage name. They debuted on January 23 with the release of "Turn Me Back", which is the title track of their album, ''The Anthem''.
Eight months later, One was scouted by
YG Entertainment
YG Entertainment () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and conce ...
, leading to the disbandment of the duo. Under the name Punch, Samuel collaborated with
Silentó
Richard Lamar "Ricky" Hawk (born January 23, 1998), known professionally as Silentó (), is an American former rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Hawk is best known for his 2015 debut single " Watch ...
to release the single "Spotlight" in 2016, for which they won the
26th Seoul Music Award for Global Collaboration. He later joined Silentó on tour in the US.
2017–2021: ''Produce 101'', solo debut and lawsuit
In April 2017, Samuel participated in the second season of the popular survival show ''
Produce 101
''Produce 101'' () is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges ...
'' under his own name, representing Brave Entertainment. During the first elimination, he was ranked 2nd, but did not make the final cut for the 11-member team, finally ranking 18th overall. The result was met with surprise from many viewers, who had expected Samuel to become part of the lineup of
Wanna One
Wanna One () was a South Korean boy band formed by CJ E&M through the second season of '' Produce 101''. The group was composed of eleven members: Kang Daniel, Park Ji-hoon, Lee Dae-hwi, Kim Jae-hwan, Ong Seong-wu, Park Woo-jin, Lai Kuan-li ...
.
Samuel debuted as a solo artist on August 2. His debut mini album, ''Sixteen'', was released on August 2, with the title track "Sixteen" featuring rapper
Changmo
Ku Chang-mo (; born May 31, 1994), known Mononymous person, mononymously as Changmo (창모; stylized in all caps), is a South Korean rapper and music producer. He released his debut album ''M O T O W N'' on March 18, 2016. In October 2016 he ...
.
Samuel's first full-length album, ''Eye Candy'', was released on November 16, 2017, with a total of ten tracks including the lead single "Candy".
In December 2017, it was announced that Samuel had signed a contract with 'Pony Canyon' for his Japanese promotions.
Samuel officially debuted in Japan on February 7, 2018, with his first Japanese single, "Sixteen (Japanese Ver.)". The music video of "Sixteen (Japanese Ver.)" was released on January 18.
In March 2018, Samuel released his second mini album, ''One'', with the title track "One" featuring
BtoB
B2B, B to B, or B-to-B may refer to: Sports
* B2B, a controversial and short lived class in the 1979 Sidecar World Championship
* Bay to Breakers, an annual footrace in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May
* Budapest-Bamako, now t ...
member
Jung Il-hoon
Jung Il-hoon (; born October 4, 1994), simply known as Ilhoon or Illhoon, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, record producer, host, actor and entertainer. He was the rapper of the South Korean boy band BtoB. He is well known for his coll ...
.
In April 2018, Samuel released his second Japanese single, "Candy (Japanese Ver.)", on May 16. The music video of the track was released on May 2.
On May 30, 2018, Samuel released his repackaged album, ''Teenager'', featuring Lee Ro Han, who was a runner-up to MNet's "School Rapper Season 2".
In the course of 2018, Samuel, together with Chinese singer
Zhou Zhennan
Zhou Zhennan ( Chinese: 周震南; born 22 June 2000) is a Chinese rapper, singer, songwriter and dancer. He is best known as being a former member of boy group R1SE, after finishing first in Tencent's '' Produce Camp 2019''.
Early life
Born o ...
, collaborated and participated in
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
's ''The Collaboration Season 2''. The duo eventually placed first and won the competition.
In June 2019, Samuel announced to work independently onwards, filed a name trademark, and set-up a one-man agency.
On November 17, 2021, Samuel won a lawsuit against Brave Entertainment to terminate his contract.
2024–present: ''Now''
On April 21, Samuel made his comeback after five years and released his new self-produced EP ''Now'', along with its lead single titled "YEH YEH!".
Personal life
On July 16, 2019, Samuel's father José Arredondo was found dead at his condo in
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas (, "Luke the Evangelist, Saint Luke Cape (geography), Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a Resort town, resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Baja ...
, Mexico. He died from blunt force trauma and stab wounds. Later in July 2019, Mexican authorities arrested a suspect who was a family acquaintance and "friend of
rredondofor 20 years."
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Soundtracks
Other appearances
Filmography
Reality shows
Television series
Radio shows
Awards and nominations
References
{{Authority control
2002 births
Asian-American–Hispanic and Latino American relations
Brave Entertainment artists
Living people
American K-pop singers
21st-century South Korean singers
South Korean child singers
21st-century South Korean male singers
South Korean hip-hop singers
South Korean hip-hop dancers
South Korean male idols
South Korean male pop singers
South Korean people of Mexican descent
Produce 101 contestants
American expatriates in South Korea
American musicians of Mexican descent
American musicians of Korean descent
American male pop singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American male singers
Hanlim Multi Art School alumni
Singers from Los Angeles