Jeon Jung-Kook, professionally known as Jung Kook, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer, born on September 1, 1997. He gained fame as a vocalist in the renowned South Korean boy band BTS. Throughout BTS' career, Jung Kook has contributed three solo tracks to their discography: "Begin" in 2016, "Euphoria" in 2018, and "My Time" in 2020, all of which achieved chart success on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. Additionally, he recorded the soundtrack song "Stay Alive" for the BTS-based webtoon 7Fates: Chakho.
In 2022, Jung Kook collaborated with American singer Charlie Puth on the single "Left and Right," which reached number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100. During the same year, he made history as the first South Korean artist to release an official song for the FIFA World Cup soundtrack titled "Dreamers." Jung Kook performed this song at the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In 2023, he ventured into his solo career with the release of his debut single "Seven," featuring Latto. This track achieved remarkable success by debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the Global 200, and the Global Excl. U.S. charts, marking Jung Kook as the first Korean solo artist to accomplish this feat.
Following this success, Jung Kook released his follow-up single "3D," featuring Jack Harlow, which debuted at number five on both the Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. With this achievement, Jungkook became the first South Korean solo artist to secure two consecutive top-five entries on the latter chart.
In September 2015, Jung Kook participated in the "One Dream, One Korea" campaign, joining forces with various Korean artists to create a collaborative song in remembrance of the Korean War. This song was released on September 24 and showcased at the One K Concert in Seoul on October 15. The following year, Jung Kook made appearances in the pilot episode of Flower Crew, as well as on Celebrity Bromance. He also showcased his vocal talents by competing on King of Mask Singer under the pseudonym "Fencing Man," in episode 72.
On November 6, 2018, Jung Kook had a special duet performance with American singer Charlie Puth, singing Puth's single "We Don't Talk Anymore" at the MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards. Additionally, on June 4, 2020, Jung Kook gifted fans with the self-produced song "Still With You" on SoundCloud, as part of BTS' annual debut anniversary celebrations.
In February 2022, Jung Kook lent his vocals to the soundtrack of 7Fates: Chakho, a new webtoon based on BTS. The song, titled "Stay Alive" and produced by his bandmate SUGA, marked Jung Kook's debut as a solo artist on the Hot 100, entering at number 95. It also secured his first solo top-ten entry on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S chart, peaking at number eight. Furthermore, "Stay Alive" made history as the first Korean soundtrack to debut on the UK Singles Chart, entering at number 89.
Jung Kook was announced as the newest global ambassador for Calvin Klein in March 2023
Continuing his musical endeavors, Jung Kook released another self-produced track, "My You," as a free gift to fans on June 12, commemorating BTS' ninth anniversary. He also collaborated as a featured artist on the single "Left and Right" by Puth later that same month. On November 20, Jung Kook released the single "Dreamers" in anticipation of his performance at the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The song, included in the tournament's official soundtrack album, showcased Jung Kook's groundbreaking achievement as the first Korean artist to sing an official theme for the World Cup and perform at its opening ceremony, where he captivated audiences at Al Bayt Stadium alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi.
Jung Kook made waves with his debut solo single "Seven," featuring American rapper Latto, which dropped on July 14. The track soared to the top spot on the Hot 100, the Global 200, and the Global Excl. US charts, marking him as the first Korean solo artist to simultaneously lead all three charts. Additionally, he became the second artist, following Jimin, to debut at number one on the Hot 100.
"Seven" set a record as the fastest song in history to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Jung Kook showcased his star power as a headliner at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, New York City, on September 23. Following this success, he released his second solo single, "3D," featuring Jack Harlow, on September 29. "3D" debuted impressively at number five on both the Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, solidifying Jungkook's position as the first Korean solo artist to achieve two top-five singles on the latter chart.
Jung Kook's "Seven" debuted atop the daily Global Spotify Chart with almost 16 million streams, recording the most opening-day streams for a male artist and collaboration in history and the biggest debut in 2023. Jung kook became the first K-pop act to reach number one the U.S. Spotify chart and the first Korean solo artist to debut atop the global chart. Jung kook and Latto also achieved new peaks on the Artist 100, at numbers five and eleven respectively. "Seven" ended the year as the seventh best-selling digital single of 2023 overall in the US, with 228,000 copies sold.
"Seven" made an impressive debut by topping the July 29 issue of the Billboard Global 200 chart. During the week of July 14 through July 20, 2023, the song sold 269,000 downloads and accumulated 217.1 million streams worldwide. This achievement surpassed Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" (from the week of February 4, 2023), marking the biggest week for a song by a solo artist since the chart's inception.
Keeping the momentum going, he collaborated on the single "Too Much" with the Kid Laroi and Central Cee in October. "Too Much" made history by debuting at number 10 in the UK, making Jung Kook the first Korean solo artist to achieve three top-10 singles in UK chart history. Jung Kook's highly anticipated debut solo album, "Golden," along with his third single, "Standing Next to You," dropped on November 3, marking yet another milestone in his solo career.
Jung Kook gained the nickname "Sold Out King" from media outlets due to the swift sell-out of items he is often seen using. These range from shoes to Downy fabric softener, wine, novels like "I Decided to Live as Me" by Kim Soo-hyun (which became a best-seller in Korea and Japan), and even Hanbok. Jungkook's influence extends to fashion trends as well. He is credited with initiating the "Modern Hanbok" trend in the Korean entertainment industry. After Jungkook was photographed wearing such attire, celebrities like Jun Hyun-moo, Jang Do-yeon, Gong Hyo-jin, MC Oh Seung-hwan, and Park Joo-ho from The Return of Superman followed suit, contributing to its popularity.
Jung Kook's father is Christian, and his mother is Buddhist, but he has stated that he has no particular religious affiliation. In 2017, Jungkook faced health challenges when he collapsed during a BTS concert in Chile. During the Love Yourself World Tour in 2018, he endured a heel injury that hindered his ability to engage in choreography, prompting him to perform seated during the European leg of the tour.
Showing his philanthropic side, Jung Kook donated ₩1 billion (US$874,164.08) to Seoul National University Children's Hospital in April 2023, aiding patients from low-income families and supporting the hospital's integrated care center.
The Hollywood Reporter named Jung Kook in its inaugural "Platinum Players of Music" list, published in September 2023, as one of the top 25 musicians that "defined the year in music. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Jung Kook as 191th on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, calling him "an extremely gifted singer" who "hits high notes with ease and harmonizes with his BTS members effortlessly, always giving his audience new ad-libs and unexpected vocal riffs to keep things interesting".
Seven" achieved two Guinness World Records on a global scale: for the Most streamed track on Spotify in one week (male) and the Fastest time for a music track to reach 100 million streams on Spotify (male). By the end of October, it broke two additional records: Fastest time for a music track to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify (male), previously held jointly by the Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber's "Stay" and Harry Styles' "As It Was" (118 days), and overall, previously held by Cyrus' "Flowers" (112 days)—doing so in just 109 days. Domestically, the song won four consecutive Melon Popularity awards from July 24 to August 14, 2023, and achieved triple crowns on M Countdown, Inkigayo, and Music Core, winning 13 first place trophies altogether on domestic television music shows.
"Seven" garnered several accolades in various award shows. It secured the Song of Summer title at the MTV Video Music Awards. Subsequently, it received nominations for Best Pop Video – International at the UK Music Video Awards and Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The track clinched the International Song of the Year honor at the TikTok Awards Thailand and the Top Global K-pop Song title at the Billboard Music Awards. At the MAMA Awards in November, "Seven" triumphed in the categories of Best Collaboration and Best Dance Performance – Male Solo, while also earning nominations for Best Music Video and Song of the Year. In December, it was honored in the Millions Top 10 category at the Melon Music Awards. In January, "Seven" emerged victorious in the Digital Song (Bonsang) category at the Golden Disc Awards, as well as the Global Streaming and Digital categories at the Circle Chart Music Awards.
Jung Kook debuted "Seven" live on the day of its release, performing it alongside "Euphoria" and "Dynamite" in Central Park as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert series. He showcased the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge segment on July 20, delivering a studio performance along with a cover of Oasis' "Let There Be Love." The following day, he took to the outdoor stage next to the Thames River in London to perform the single on The One Show. Jung Kook also co-headlined the 2023 Global Citizen Festival on September 23 in New York City, where he included "Seven" in his setlist, with Latto making her onstage debut alongside him.
Jung Kook debuted "Standing Next to You" accompanied by a live band at an album release party hosted by iHeartRadio on November 5, 2023, in celebration of GOLDEN. He delivered the song's first US television performance on the November 7 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The following day, he showcased it during his appearance on the Today Show as part of the program's Citi Concert Series. On November 9, Jung Kook surprised fans with a five-song set at the TSX Entertainment stage in Times Square, New York City. The impromptu show was announced just 30 minutes before its start and livestreamed via BTS' YouTube channel and the Xbox channel on Twitch. His sole domestic performance of the song was on the July 30, 2023, episode of Inkigayo.
"Standing next to you" year-end lists, Dazed -Top 50 best K-pop tracks of 2023, Grammy - 15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm and Los Angeles Times - The 100 Best Songs of 2023.
"GOLDEN" album year end lists, Paste ranked the album number nine in their list of The 20 Best K-pop Albums of 2023 while webzine Zenerate ranked in number 12 in their list of the 15 best K-pop albums of the year. GOLDEN has also reportedly made history on the music streaming platform Spotify, boasting an astonishing 39.6M first-day streams.
On November 22, 2023, Big Hit announced through Weverse that Jung Kook, alongside bandmates RM, Jimin, and V, had commenced the enlistment process for their mandatory military service. Jungkook confirmed his enlistment in December and began his military duty on December 12.
January 2024, Jungkook was promoted to a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA)
In February 2024, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) published its annual top-10 charts for the previous year and listed "Seven" as the 10th best-selling digital single of 2023 globally, having amassed 1.24 billion subscription stream equivalents worldwide in less than six months. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)'s Global Music Report for 2023, Golden was the fourteenth most-consumed album across all formats, and the seventh best-selling album worldwide, having sold 2.7 million units in less than two months.
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