JEONG SEWOON

The Changwon, South Korea-born artist Jeong Sewoon performs '80s- and '90s-flavored pop with a 21st century sheen. After signing with Starship Entertainment -- the home of Monsta X and Cosmic Girls -- he placed multiple EPs in the Korean Top Ten from 2017 onward. Sewoon interspersed these releases with songs on TV soundtracks for programs such as 2018's Wok of Love and 2022's Alchemy of Souls.

He was raised in the Masan region of Changwon and educated at Howon University in the west of the country. A 2013 TV appearance on SBS's K-Pop Star caught the attention of Starship who swiftly took him into their fold. However, it was 2017 before they issued his debut EP, Ever. That record included guest spots from two Seoul artists: the singer/songwriter Brother Su and rapper Sik-K. The release was enough to bag him a Rising Star gong at that year's Asia Artist Awards. Sewoon won two further awards in 2018, both for "It's You," a gentle ballad included on the soundtrack to tvN's What's Wrong with Secretary Kim. That same year saw the release of two more EPs, After and Another.

The rap artist Penomeco -- aka Jeong Dong-uk -- joined Sewoon on "Feeling," the upbeat lead track on his March 2019 Plus Minus Zero EP. Following the July standalone single, "When You Call My Name," he issued the lushly produced Day that October. July 2020 saw the release of 24 Pt. 1, the initial segment of what effectively became Sewoon's debut album, while its second part appeared early the following year. 2021 was comparatively quiet, although it did feature the release of duets with You Hee-yeol -- from an appearance on his Sketchbook TV show -- alongside tracks used on the TV dramas The Red Sleeve and My Roommate Is a Gumiho. The middle of 2002 saw Sewoon showcase a stylish sophisti-pop sound on the EP Where is My Garden!, before returning to the acoustic ballad format for "Happy Me from Today," a September single issued on the Micro Universe label. ~ James Wilkinson, Rovi