XING (씽), formerly known as XING OPERA (씽 오페라), was a boy group under XING Entertainment. Originally as four, they debuted on December 14, 2006 with their first single album "In Your Hands".
The group presumably disbanded in 2009.
Their name is an acronym for "X(cross) In New Genre", expressing their desire to pursue various musical styles. It also means "star (星)" in Chinese, showing their goal to become the star of Asia.[1]
History
Pre-debut
After stepping down from his position as CEO of SM Entertainment in May 2006, Kim Kyung-wook founded XING Entertainment and started recruiting SM Entertainment's trainees, who were tired of waiting for a chance to debut under the agency, for his boy group XING.
2006: First generation & debut with "In Your Hands"
On December 14, 2006, XING made their debut with their first single album "In Your Hands". The lineup consisted of Kevin, Yume, Marumir and Chun Hye Sung.[2]
2007: Second generation & comeback with "My Girl"
On July 13, 2007, Marumir announced his departure from the group. With this, the agency recruited two new members for their second generation lineup: Poppin' Dragon and Zen.
On August 9, 2007, XING made their comeback with their second single album "My Girl".
Chun Hye Sung later left the group on December 6, 2007, citing "creative differences" and "conflicts with the agency" during his appearance on The Voice of Korea in 2012.[3] He was then replaced by Husky.
2008: Third and fourth generation, XING OPERA & XING HARMONY
In January 2008, the group faced another lineup change with the departure of Yume on the 12th and Poppin' Dragon on the 13th. They, along with Chun Hye Sung, later filed a lawsuit against XING Entertainment for their "slave contracts".[4] With this, the agency brought in Gun, White, Yoon and Kipalang, making them a seven-member group for the third generation.
On March 14, 2008, the group released the repackage of their second single album "My Girl", with songs re-recorded by the new lineup. This was followed by the release of "T Express" on the 17th of the same month`, in promotion for Everland Resort's rollercoaster.
On April 3, 2008, Kevin left the group and filed a lawsuit against XING Entertainment regarding his contract.[5] With this, Rising and Soul were recruited and XING was announced to be a rotatory group with sub-units for the fourth generation.
In October 2008, they released the single "Memorize", then under the name XING OPERA. On December 11, 2008, their first sub-unit XING HARMONY, consisting of Soul, Rising, White and Husky, debuted with a new version of their debut song "In Your Hands".
2009-2010: XING ARIA, fifth generation, cancelled comeback & disbandment
On January 7, 2009, their sub-unit XING ARIA, consisting of White, Yoon and Husky, made their debut with the single "Love". On the 23rd of the same month, Yume, Chun Hye Sung and Poppin' Dragon won their lawsuit against XING Entertainment.[4]
On June 19, 2009, the group released the single album "2009 Hi-Five" as XING OPERA, excluding member Zen. Three days later, Zen announced that he had departed from the group to study abroad.[6]
In December 2009, the group reverted to their original name and released a teaser video for "Tears", a re-recorded version of their 2006 song "눈물에 추억에". The video featured an entirely new lineup for the fifth generation, consisting of: Hyun Jin, Jin Wan, Wan Chul, Du Hwan and Dong Geun.[7] However, this lineup ended up not making their debut and XING presumably disbanded silently in 2010.
Aftermath
- Kevin and Marumir re-debuted as members of U-KISS on September 3, 2008 with the mini album New Generation.
- Kevin later won his lawsuit against XING Entertainment on March 21, 2010.[5]
- Poppin' Dragon re-debuted as a member of BEAST on October 16, 2009 with their first mini album Beast Is The B2ST.
- Kipalang, Soul, White, Rising, and Husky re-debuted as members of The Boss on March 4, 2010 with the single album "Admiring Boy", under the stage names and Jay, Injun, Mika, Karam and Hyunmin, respectively.
- Kipalang, Soul, and Rising later re-debuted as members of ASC2NT on May 7, 2024 with the single album "Expecting Tomorrow".
- Hyunjin and Jinwan re-debuted as members of X-5 with the digital single "Xenos" on April 22, 2011, under the stage names Zin and Sulhu, respectively.
- Jinwan later re-debuted as members of LU:KUS on July 4, 2014 with the digital single "So Into U".
- Du Hwan and Wan Chul re-debuted as members of Apeace in 2011.
- Chun Hye Sung participated in The Voice of Korea in 2012 but wasn't selected.[3]
- Zen became active as a contemporary dancer, under his real name Nam Jin Hyun. He also participated in the dancing audition program Dancing 9 in 2013, where he was a part of the winning team.[8]
- Yume became active as an actor in 2014, under his real name Kim Young Kyung.[9]
- Yoon debuted as a soloist on January 24, 2014 with the digital single "Flower Girl", under the stage name XXXY. He later changed his stage name to Z-SANG.
Sub-units
The group originally had 4 sub-units planned: XING HARMONY, XING ARIA, XING RECITATIVE and XING BEAT. Only XING HARMONY and XING ARIA materialized while XING RECITATIVE and XING BEAT were presumably cancelled.
Members
| Name | Generation | Position(s) | Year(s) active |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin | 1st, 2nd, 3rd | Maknae (2006-2008), Main Vocalist | 2006–2008 |
| Yume (유메) | 1st, 2nd | Main Vocalist | 2006–2008 |
| Marumir (마루미르) | 1st | Main Vocalist | 2006–2007 |
| Chun Hye Sung (천혜성) | 1st, 2nd | Main Vocalist | 2006–2007 |
| Poppin' Dragon (팝핀 드레곤) | 2nd | Vocalist | 2007–2008 |
| Zen (젠) | 2nd, 3rd, 4th | Leader (2007-2006), Vocalist | 2007–2009 |
| Husky (허스키) | 3rd, 4th | Vocalist | 2008–2009 |
| White (화이트) | 3rd, 4th | Leader (2008-2009), Main Vocalist | 2008–2009 |
| Yoon (윤) | 3rd, 4th | Rapper, Vocalist | 2008–2009 |
| Gun (건) | 3rd, 4th | Maknae (2008-2009), Vocalist | 2008–2009 |
| Kipalang (기파랑) | 3rd, 4th | Lead Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist | 2008–2009 |
| Rising (라이징) | 3rd, 4th | Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer | 2008–2009 |
| Soul (소울) | 3rd, 4th | Vocalist | 2008–2009 |
| Hyun Jin (현진) | 5th | Rapper, Vocalist | 2009 |
| Jin Wan (진완) | 5th | Maknae (2009), Rapper | 2009 |
| Wan Chul (완철) | 5th | Main Vocalist | 2009 |
| Du Hwan (두환) | 5th | Main Vocalist | 2009 |
| Dong Geun (동근) | 5th | Vocalist | 2009 |
Discography
Single albums
- "In Your Hands" (2006)
- "My Girl" (2007)
- "My Girl" (repackage) (2008)
- "Memorize" (as XING OPERA) (2008)
- "2009 Hi-Five" (as XING OPERA) (2009)
- "Tears" (unreleased) (2009)
Special singles
- "T Express" (2008)
Collaborations
- "The White Of Winter" (as XING STAR) (2007)
- "2008 XING Star Carol Album" (as XING STAR) (2008)
Trivia
- White, Yoon, Husky and Gun were originally members of Singing In The Rain.
Gallery
References
- ↑ (CH) Sina: 图文：韩国新人组合XING独家做客-帅气Marumir
- ↑ (KR) Yoonhap News: 음악인들의 피 흐르는 신인 그룹 씽 눈길
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 (KR) Star News Korea: '보코', 용준형 前그룹 '씽' 출신 천혜성 '탈락'
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 (KR) Newsen: 아이돌그룹 씽 前멤버, 계약무효 소송 승소
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 (KR) Naver: 법원 "연예인 불공정 노예계약 무효"
- ↑ (KR) Daum Cafe: 남진현 입니다.
- ↑ YouTube: XING 5th Generation - "Tears" MV Teaser
- ↑ (KR) News Cauon: 남진현 현대무용수(무용학과 09학번)
- ↑ (KR) MBN: 아이돌 출신 김우현·김영경, ‘멘탈사수’로 연기 도전
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