Meet SG Wannabe: South Korea’s Amazing Ballad Trio!
I’m confident you’ve heard about SG Wannabe. They are the vocal voices behind the OSTs of Descendants of the Sun, Scarlet Heart, Chicago Typewriter, and many more! However, their voices were more than that!
Meet the SG Wannabe Members
The group is a three-piece ballad group. Known for their K-Pop, R&B, and ballad hits, the group slowly rose to the top as one of Korea’s most-loved ballad groups.
- Kim Yongjun
- Kim Jinho
- Lee Seokhoon
Past:
- Chae Dong-ha
Career beginnings
SG Wannabe debuted shrouded in mystery. The reason for this is that the members did not show themselves to the public. They did not even join their music videos, which featured actors and actresses instead. They debuted in 2004 with the album, SG Wannabe + where they received wide recognition with their star-studded music videos.
Despite not showing their faces to the public, the group had a very successful debut. They were able to sell 90,000 copies and have received multiple awards for their song “Timeless.” The group even won the “Best New Male Artist” award at the Golden Disc Awards. Their group has continued to rise and has won the hearts of the general public with the release of their succeeding albums.
Korea’s favorite ballad group
Soon after their successful debut, the group continued releasing hit songs one after another. Upon debuting, the group won the “Best New Artist” award and has received multiple Daesang for their albums: Saldaga, The 3rd Masterpiece, and The Sentimental Chord. The group has received multiple Best Male Group, Best Ballad Performance, and several Best Song awards from the Golden Disc Awards, Seoul Music Awards, Mnet Asian Music Awards, and SBS Gayo Daejeon.
Despite their continued success, the group had their fair share of ups and downs. Chae Dong-ha departed the group to pursue his solo career. Lee Seok-hoon fills in for the group and promotes La La La. The group went on hiatus after the sudden death of their former member, Chae Dong-ha, SG Wannabe decided to go on hiatus to fulfill their military enlistment and to focus on their respective solo careers.
They returned in 2015 with the release of their album, The Voice, which received positive reviews from their fans. With years ahead of them, the trio continued to enchant their fans with heartfelt songs one after the other.
Timeless is definitely timeless.
Even though the song was released almost two decades ago, a lot of people are still in love with this hit. Thanks to Hangout With Yoo’s MSG Wannabe arc, I was able to stumble upon this group. Timeless indeed hits differently, the song event went back to the charts after being featured. During this phase, I was surprised that I only got to hear them recently, but nevertheless, listening to them a little bit late doesn’t change the fact that they are indeed one of the best male groups out there.
Take a listen to their most recent version of Timeless back in 2021. Seems like it was 2004 all over again! Except, the members grew up to be amazing guys later on!
Apart from Timeless, some of their popular hits such as Crime and Punishment and Gwang (Craze) are a must-listen for new listeners of them too.
Chart-topping OSTs
As mentioned at the start of this article, the group has lent their wonderful voices to some of the most popular Korean dramas. Notably, in Descendant of the Sun’s By My Side, most fans can recount the romantic love story of the second couple, Jin Goo and Kim Ji Won. They also joined Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’s OST with “I Confess.” Their most recent OST hit was Writing Our Stories for the hit drama Chicago Typewriter.
For sure, the titles I’ve mentioned above rang bells in your ears, and I’m hoping that by mentioning them here, you’ll try to listen to some of their songs more.
Member Updates
The members are busy with their solo careers at the moment.
Kim Yong-jun has successfully wrapped promotions for his first mini-album, Suddenly. He currently hosts the show La La Radio with Kim Yong Jun on Naver Now.
Lee Seok Hoon, a happy dad, continues to share his happy married life on Instagram and has shared his recent album, Alive released this November.
Meanwhile, the youngest, Kim Jin-ho, recently got married last October. Prior to his wedding, he shared a special handwritten note, wherein he mentioned that the wedding song he’ll be singing will be released on selected platforms for fans to enjoy and feel like they’re part of the wedding too.
Show your love to SG Wannabe!
Now that you were introduced to SG Wannabe, I hope that you continue supporting their careers as group and individual singers too! Their influence in the Korean music industry is surely not to be ignored. Their musical craftsmanship and vocal execution truly prove that they are indeed one of Korea’s best balladeers.
Take a listen to their most recent song release here:
