His melodic voice and charming visual appearance have warmed their way into the hearts of millions of women. So are you curious about his charms and his career path? Or his involvement with a relatively vast number of women? Let’s take a deeper look in Shin Hye-sung’s career as an idol!
Profile
Born as Jung Pil-kyo on November 27, 1979, in Seoul, South Korea, Shin Hye-sung is the eldest of two sons in his family. There is not much that is known about his early childhood and family, but it has been revealed that he has spent the majority of his childhood years in his hometown. Growing up, he didn’t have any particular interests which would direct him to become an idol. That is until he goes on a student exchange program in America with his younger brother, during middle school. The student exchange program was supposed to last for 2 years, and he lived under the name of Steve Jung then. The two brothers lived in America, enjoying the culture that is unique to the Asian-American community, such as the Korean Festival held in Los Angeles every year. It is then and there that he was scouted by casting agents from SM Entertainment, one of the most world-renowned entertainment companies to date. They were interested in both his singing talents and physical appearance. This is where his career as an idol begins to originate.
Career
In 1998, Shinhwa debuted with their first album Resolver. Their lineup includes Shin Hye-sung. He himself, as the main vocalist, became a part of the group through street casting in Los Angeles and marked the creation of Shinhwa by being the first member included in the group. The group consisted of 5 other members and was set to follow the success of other SM groups, such as H.O.T and S.E.S. However, the response of the fans is less than stellar, with quite low digital sales and accusations of copying their seniors. Shinhwa hit their peak with their third release, Only One and followed up with their fourth album, Hey, Come On! The tracks included hits, such as “First Love” and “Wild Eyes.” With “Wild Eyes,” in particular, the hype was definitely infectious, as it sprouted lots of dance covers that focused on the iconic chair-centric choreography. By 2002, they had released their fifth album with “Perfect Man” as the title track, another hit that had been added to their list of successes. Sadly, their next release marks the last under SM Entertainment. In 2003, along with the release of their sixth album Wedding, the group left the agency and signed a contract with Good Entertainment. After their switch of agencies, the members started individual projects and collaborations with other artists. Shin Hye-sung in particular, made both a solo debut and in a unit with members of other groups. The aforementioned group is S, a unit he made with Kangta and Lee Ji-hoon while he was still with his previous agency, SM Entertainment. The group introduced two different albums, in 2003 and 2014 respectively. Shin Hye-sung followed up the group activities with his solo debut in 2005, with the album titled Love of May. The album was well received but it is not until his second release titled The Beginning, New Days in 2007, that he ranked no.1 on K-Pop charts all around. This marked his success as a solo artist, something that proved his singing abilities are way beyond those needed to be part of a group and the reason why he was Shinhwa’s first member. Following their solo activities, the 10th anniversary and the members’ military service announcements, Shin Hye-sung included, Shinhwa took a hiatus for four years in 2008. In 2012, after a four-year hiatus, Shinhwa returned as a full group, along with Shin Hye-sung. They make comebacks every now and then, the most recent one was with All Your Dreams and Heart, commemorating their 20th anniversary. In terms of his solo career, Shin Hye-sung mostly focused on drama soundtracks and a full album that was released in 2017, titled Serenity.