U-KISS

U-KISS was formed in 2008 by the label NH Media. The initial lineup included six musicians. The vocalists Kibum and Kevin came from another band, XING, which they performed with until 2007. The rest of the members had to go through grueling auditions. The band’s lineup changed several times. Today, it includes Kiseop, Hoon, Soohyun, Eli, and Jun.

The group debuted in September 2008. They released the first EP, New Generation. Even though the label tried hard to promote the album, it didn’t make it into the charts. The same problem occurred with two new EPs, Bring It Back 2 Old School and ContiUKiss, which the band released in 2009. However, the former became popular in Taiwan.

The fourth EP, Break Time, appeared in October 2010. For the first time, the group’s album made it into the charts. It climbed to the 3rd spot of South Korea Gaon Album Chart. The album featured such popular songs as "Light It Up", "Rock Ya' Body", and "Avatar". The single “Shut Up” reached the 70th spot of the South Korean chart.

In 2010, the group presented its debut LP, Only One, which came in second on South Korea Gaon Weekly Album Chart. The album featured such hits as "Without You", "Mworago", "Man Man Ha Ni", and "OK!." The single "Bingeul Bingeul" turned out to be very popular, climbing to high spots on the charts. At that time, many fans wanted to book U-KISS for their private events, but the musicians very usually busy recording albums.

In 2011, U-KISS presented a new LP, Neverland. It climbed to the 6th position of South Korea Gaon Album Chart. Singles "For Kiss Me" and "Neverland" turned into hits and sold millions of copies in South Korea. More than 23 000 copies of the album were sold as well.

The same year, the artists recorded another EP, Bran New Kiss. The album reached the 2nd spot of the national chart and sold 20,000 copies. For the first time, the group’s work earned high scores abroad. It reached the 3rd spot of Japan Oricon Daily Albums Chart. An album with the same name was released for Japanese fans in August 2011. It climbed to the 7th spot of the Japanese chart.

In February 2012, the band recorded the first LP for the Japanese audience, A Shared Dream. It came in 5th on Japan Oricon Albums Chart. Singles “Tick Tack” and “Forbidden Love” became hits in Japan.

The same year, the musicians recorded three EPs, which they called DoraDora, The Special To Kiss Me, and Stop Girl. All of them were recorded for the Korean audience, but only the second one made it into the national chart. The albums reached 79th, 82nd, and 76th spot on Japan Oricon Albums Chart accordingly. They also climbed to the top-20 of Billboard’s World Albums Chart. For the Japanese audience, the group released a special compilation album, DoraDora + The Special To Kiss Me.

In 2013, the group recorded 3 EPs, Moments (for Korean fans) and Neverland and Stop Girl (for Japanese fans). The first one was the most successful of the three. It came in 3rd on the national chart and sold 13,000 copies. The same year, the band released two LPs, Collage and Inside Of Me (for Japan). The first one wasn’t too successful while the second one appeared on the 8th position of Japan Oricon Albums Chart.

Since 2014, the artists are mostly working on albums for the Japanese audience. They recorded LPs Memories in 2014 and Action in 2015. Several more EPs came out between 2014 and 2018. All of them made it into top-15 of the Japanese Oricon Chart.

Between 2014 and 2016, U-KISS recorded just 3 EPs for the Korean fans. They were Mono Scandal, Always, and Stalker. All of them reached the top-5 of South Korea Gaon Album Chart.

In 2018, the group presented a non-album single for the Japanese audience called “Scandal”. It turned into the band’s new hit

The group continues recording new songs and performing live.