Tony An (; born June 7, 1978) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, best known as a member of boy band H.O.T. After H.O.T. disbanded in 2001, its ex-members Tony An, Jang Woo-hyuk and Lee Jae-won formed the dance music trio

jtL JTL (제이티엘) were a South Korean dance music group, consisting of the former H.O.T. members who left SM Entertainment – Jang Woo-hyuk, Tony Ahn and Lee Jae-won (singer), Lee Jae-won. The group was named after the initials of the members' ...

. Eventually, JTL unofficially disbanded as each member, including An, released their solo material.

Biography

He is the CEO of TN Nation Entertainment, a music entertainment company; Skoolooks, a school uniform company; and Shinenihs, an undergarment company. Popular comedians

Jung Hyung-don Jung Hyung-don (; born March 15, 1978) is a South Korean comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles on the variety shows ''Infinite Challenge'' and ''Weekly Idol''. Early life and education Jung was born in Gimcheon in North ...

and Jo Hye-ryun were both part of TN Nation Entertainment. In 1997, An was admitted to Dongguk University. He majored in stage performance and graduated in 2003.

Career

Solo

An changed his genre to fast-paced soft rock songs and gave a speech, telling about his views on his former H.O.T. members, and how he tried to contact them. He also released a music video title "Melody" featuring

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

from his special album, "Untold Story". On April 28, 2008, An came back with a new special album entitled "Look Blank", with its principal song "Wallet". In September 2010, An completed his 2-year army duty and released a new song, "Going To Meet You Now". He released an EP titled 'Top Star' in February 2011, and after leaving as MC for the popular No. 1 Kpop chart show Mcountdown! in 2012 he released a single called "Beautiful girl" which also features Hyun Jun of SMASH.

jtL

When JTL was created, An was the lead vocal for the group and not just a back-up vocal and English rapper. H.O.T. fans had mixed feelings for jtL. Many of jtL's music videos were boycotted. However, things changed around when jtL held a 'Guerilla Concert' in front of 12,133 fans.

TN Nation Entertainment

After An wanted to pursue a solo career during his

days, he created his own label, TN Nation Entertainment. Artists under this label are An and former Click-B member Yoo Ho-suk, going under the name "Evan", along with Jung Ju-ri, Shin Bong-sun, 어썸베이비 (Awe5omeBaby), and others. South Korean comedian and entertainer

was the member of this company. TN Nation Entertainment also debuted a boy band named SMASH, who released a music video for their debut song, "비상 mergency, on August 14, 2008. An collaborated with SMASH in February 2012 with 'Get Your Swag On'. They promoted the song together on various live music shows. SMASH later disbanded at the end of 2014. On June 19, 2015, the company debuted their first girl group, a five-member beatpella (beatbox + a cappella) group called 어썸베이비 (literally Awesome Baby, stylized as Awe5omeBaby). The members include June, Sumin, Yechan, Dahee, and Lina. Their debut single was '내가 왜?' or 'Why Should I?'.

Personal life

In November 2013, An was investigated for illegal online sports gambling alongside South Korean comedian Lee Soo Geun and South Korean entertainer Tak Jae-hoon. Reportedly, he gambled a total of 400,000,000 KRW (approximately $376,000

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) between May 2009 and March 2012. He had his first hearing on December 6 and received a six-month prison sentence with one year probation on December 27. On February 13, 2014, in light of An's illegal gambling incident, KBS revealed they had imposed a ban on all of H.O.T.'s songs and prevented his show appearances on their media outlets while MBC simultaneously announced a temporary ban on An's show appearances on their channels as well. As of 2016, all the major stations lifted the ban on An. An is currently housemates with Sechs Kies's member Kim Jae-duck. The arrangement had caused a stir amongst their contemporaries as both groups were regarded as one another's fiercest industry rivals during the late 1990s and largely avoided any contact with one another despite crossing paths many times. They had met and befriended one another during their mandatory military service.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Variety show

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:An, Tony 1978 births Living people 20th-century South Korean male singers 21st-century South Korean male singers 21st-century South Korean businesspeople Businesspeople from California Businesspeople from Seoul Businesspeople in fashion Businesspeople in textiles Dongguk University alumni English-language singers from South Korea H.O.T. (band) members People from Yongsan District Singers from California Singers from Seoul South Korean baritones South Korean chief executives South Korean company founders South Korean composers South Korean expatriates in the United States South Korean lyricists South Korean male idols South Korean male pop singers South Korean male singer-songwriters South Korean singer-songwriters South Korean music industry executives South Korean music managers South Korean pop rock singers South Korean record producers South Korean restaurateurs South Korean rhythm and blues singers South Korean television presenters Tony