CN Blue (Korean:
씨엔블루), stylized as
CNBLUE, is a South Korean Band "CN is an abbreviation of ‘Code Name’ while BLUE is an abbreviation of the members’ individual images," said by one of the members. ‘Burning’ represents Lee Jong Hyun ‘Lovely’ represents Kang Minhyuk, ‘Untouchable’ represents Lee Jung Shin, and ‘Emotion’ represents Jeong Yong Hwa. Debuted on August 19, 2009 in Japan with the band's first mini album,
Now or Never. They were coined as the "2nd FT Island". The group released four teasers for their 1st album
Bluetory, starring one member per each of the videos in the sequence of Jonghyun, Minhyuk, Jungshin and lastly,
Yonghwa on the 6th, 8th, 11th and 13 January respectively. On the January 14, CN Blue debuted their first mini-album with lead single "I'm a Loner" (Korean:
외톨이야).
History 2009: Debut, Now or Never, and Voice
In mid-June 2009, CN Blue began to perform on the streets and in live clubs in Japan.As an indie band, they formally debuted on August 19, 2009 with
Now or Never. The mini album was recorded completely in English, and failed to chart on the Japanese national music chart. Later, in November, the second extended play was released entitled
Voice.
Voice peaked at position 227, and stayed on the Oricon for two weeks, and was recorded mostly in English but also in Japanese.
2010: Korean debut, ThankU, and other activities
In January, FNC Music unveiled new teaser pictures for CN Blue's debut in
South Korea. Bluetory was released on January 14, 2010. It stayed at the top of the Gaon Chart for two weeks. "I'm a Loner" (Korean:
외톨이야) was promoted as the title track. The song peaked at number two, solidifying their break into the industry. The group had their first televised live stage on KBS
Music Bank on January 15. Later, on January 29, the group won their first music show chart win on Music Bank.
The group debuted their new reality show on Korean music channel Mnet, titled "CN Bluetory," on February 10. In March, the band started preparations for their first full length album
ThankU. It was released on March 20, 2010, with only one new track. The album peaked at number 90 on the Oricon charts, their highest thus far. Later, in April, their official fanclub name was announced as BOICE, a combination of "blue" and "voice."
CN Blue headed back to Korea in May and released their next promotional single, "Love Light" (
Korean:
사랑 빛), on May 10, 2010. The song peaked at number 10 on the Korean national chart and foreshadowed their upcoming release. On May 19, the second extended play was released, named
Bluelove. It was promoted with the track "Love," which charted at number 2, matching the success the band found earlier with "I'm a Loner."
Bluelove peaked at number 3, but stayed on the chart for many weeks. CN Blue held their comeback stage on M!Countdown the following day.
After success in Korea, the band headed back to Japan. They released their first single "The Way" on June 23. For the first time, they charted within the Oricon top 40 at number 26. The release was followed by "I Don't Know Why" on September 16 the same year. The song reached number eight on the Oricon daily chart, marking the first time the band made it inside the top 10. On the weekly chart, they peaked at number 15. On the Japanese indie top chart, the band reached number one.
The band embarked on a small tour across Japan in order to promote the single.
CN Blue members Kang Min Hyuk and Lee Jong Hyun will star in the Korean movie "Acoustic." They released a song from the OST on October 7 entitled "High Fly" that peaked at number 98 on the Gaon Chart.
2011: Re-maintenance and First Step
On January 9, they released their 3rd Japanese single, Re-maintenance. They started off their 2011 Japanese promotions with a Zepp Tour in 4 cities: Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Tokyo from January 9–16.
FNC Music, their entertainment agency in South Korea, released teasers for a CN Blue comeback for February in 2011 However, it was later changed to a March 21 release date.
The teaser was noted for having a "more of the same departure from their pop rock sound into a heavier concept."
Members
- Yong Hwa
- Full Name: Jeong Yong Hwa (정용화) (ジョン・ヨンファ, 鄭容和)
- Date of Birth: June 22, 1989 (age 21)
- Position: Leader, Main Vocalist, Rapper, Rhythm Guitarist
- Other: Acted in drama "You're Beautiful", Variety Show "We Got Married" with SNSD's Seohyun and upcoming drama "You've Fallen For Me" Also released a digital solo single, "For First Time Lovers" on January 14, 2011
- Jong Hyun
- Full Name: Lee Jong Hyun (이종현) (イ・ジョンヒョン, 李宗泫)
- Date of Birth: May 15, 1990 (age 21)
- Position: Lead Guitarist, Vocalist
- Other: Acted in movie "Acoustic"
- Min Hyuk
- Full Name: Kang Min Hyuk (강민혁) (カン・ミンヒョク, 姜敏赫)
- Date of Birth: June 28, 1991 (age 19)
- Position: Backing Vocalist, Drummer
- Other: Acted in drama "It's Okay, Daddy's Girl", movie "Acoustic" and Orange Caramel's Magic Girl Music Video
- Jung Shin
- Full Name: Lee Jung Shin (이정신) (イ・ジョンシン, 李正信)
- Date of Birth: September 15, 1991 (age 19)
- Position: Backing Vocalist, Rapper, Bassist
- Other: Acted in 4minute's Heart to Heart Music Video
- Former member
- Kwon Kwang Jin (권광진) - Bassist, Backing Vocalist (2009)
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Album details | Peak
positions | Sales |
JPN
| KOR
|
2010 | Thank U - Released: March 20, 2010
- Label: AI Entertainment
- Language: English, Japanese
| 90 | — |
|
2011 | First Step - Released: March 21, 2011
- Label: FNC Music
- Language:Korean
| 16 | 1 | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Extended plays
Year | Album details | Peak
positions | Sales | Certificatons |
JPN
| KOR
|
2009 | Now or Never - Released: August 19, 2009
- Label: AI Entertaiment
- Language: English
| — | — |
|
|
Voice - Released: November 25, 2009
- Label: AI Entertainment
- Language: English, Japanese
| 227 | — |
|
|
2010 |
| Blue love | — | 1 | | |
| — | 3 | | |
2011 | First Step +1 Thank You - Released: April 26, 2011
- Label: FNC Music
- Language: Korean
| — | — |
|
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Singles
Year | Single | Peak
positions | Album |
JPN
[16] | KOR
[10] |
2010 |
"The Way" | 26 | — | First Step |
"I Don't Know Why" | 15 | — |
2011 | "Re-maintenance" | 12 | — |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Promotional singles
Year | Promotional single | Peak
positions | Album |
JPN
| KOR
|
2010 | "I'm a Loner" | — | 2 | Bluetory |
"Love" | — | 2 | Bluelove |
2011 | "Intuition" | — | 1 | First Step |
"Love Girl" | — | 19 |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Videos
Video albums
Year | Album details | Peak positions | Sales |
JPN
|
2011 | Listen to the CN Blue | 5 |
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
Music videos
Year | Music video | Director |
2010 | "I'm a Loner" |
|
"Love" |
|
2011 | "Intuition" |
|
"Love Girl" |
|
Tours
- Listen to the CN Blue (2010)
- Zepp Tour 2011 - "Re-maintenance" (2011)
Awards
Years | Awards |
2010 | - Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Rookie of the Month (January) ("I'm A Loner")
- GaOn Charts Awards: Rookie Award
- Style Icon Awards: New Style Icon, Singer
- M.net Asian Music Awards : Male Rookie Award
- 25th Golden Disk Awards : Digital Music Bonsang ("I’m A Loner")
- 2nd Melon Music Awards: Best New Artist
- 2nd Melon Music Awards: 2010 TOP
|
2011 | - 20th Seoul Music Awards: Best Newcomer Award
|
Music programs