YESUNG

As part of K-pop heavyweights <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a>, multi-talented performer Yesung and his bandmates stormed international charts and toured the world. As his star rose in Korea, he branched off into acting -- both onscreen and on-stage -- in the late 2000s. Once <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a> hit a peak in popularity in the early 2010s, the smooth, silky-voiced singer struck out as a solo artist, releasing a series of EPs -- including his debut, 2016's Here I Am -- before finally issuing his first full-length, the Japanese-language Story, in 2019. Sensory Flows, the first full-length in his native Korean, landed in 2023.

Born Kim Jong-woon in Seoul, he grew up singing, competing in singing competitions as a teenager before signing up with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22SM+Entertainment%22">SM Entertainment</a> as a trainee. Adopting the stage name Yesung, he eventually was recruited as part of <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a> in late 2005. The group issued a pair of Top Three albums before exploding in 2009 with the international hit single "Sorry, Sorry." From there, <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a> remained a fixture on the charts in both Korea, China, and Japan. On the side, Yesung was part of subunits <a href="spotify:artist:5Kdp1Iq26eCz7XbPxOgt7F">Super Junior-K.R.Y.</a> and Super Junior-H, as well as a member of S.M. The Ballad. He also added acting to his resumé, appearing in television shows and stage productions.

Outside of <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a>, Yesung collaborated with the likes of Sungmin and Jang Hye Jin before releasing his first official solo single, "Blind," which appeared on 2014's S.M. The Ballad Vol. 2 - Breath. His debut EP, Here I Am, was issued in 2016, and the hit title track peaked outside the Korean Top 40. Spring Falling followed in 2017, yielding another popular single, "Paper Umbrella." <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a>'s eighth album, Play, arrived the same year, their seventh Korean chart-topper. Though Yesung remained relatively quiet in 2018, the next year proved to be a busy one, with the release of another <a href="spotify:artist:6gzXCdfYfFe5XKhPKkYqxV">Super Junior</a> album (Time_Slip) and two efforts joining his solo catalog. First, he made his Japanese debut with Story (<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Avex+Trax%22">Avex Trax</a>), which peaked at number seven on the Japan charts. Months later, he released his third Korean EP, the ballad-heavy Pink Magic.

Yesung's first offering in the 2020s was a follow-up EP, Beautiful Night, which was released in 2021. 2023 was a busy year for the vocalist: he issued Sensory Flows, his first Korean-language LP, that January. Just a month later, a deluxe version -- Floral Sense -- added more smoothed-out ballads to the original collection. Both landed in the Top Four on the Korean charts. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi