| Group Name: | CNBLUE (씨엔블루) |
| Agency: | FNC Entertainment |
| Debut Date: | August 19, 2009 |
| Members: | Yonghwa Jonghyun Minhyuk Jungshin Kwangjin (former member) |
| Twitter: | @cnblue_4 |
| Facebook: | CNBLUEOfficial |
About CN Blue
Code Name BLUE is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. They debuted in Japan on August 19 of that year with Now or Never, a mini album recorded in English that failed to chart. The original bassist, Kwon Kwang-jin, left the band soon after, and was replaced by Lee Jung-shin.
They then released a second album, Voice, which charted for two weeks, peaking at 227. They made their debut in Korea on January 14, 2010, with the release of the mini album Bluetory, followed by a live, televised performance on KBS on the 15th. The album topped the charts in Korea and stayed there for two weeks.
The single, “I’m a Loner”, from that album peaked at number two on the charts. The band was an immediate success, setting a record for the shortest time between a debut and achieving number on South Korea’s music charts.
They released their first full length album, Thank U, in Japan on March 20, 2010, which hit number 90 on the Oricon Album Chart.
They continued to have success throughout 2010 and 2011, releasing several singles and full-length albums in Korea and Japan with FNC Entertainment, and a reality TV show, CNBLUEtory.
After a four city tour of Japan in January 2011, FNC began releasing teasers for a comeback in February, which was moved to March. At that time the band began transitioning away from their original pop rock into a heavier sound. On March 21 they released First Step, with the title track “Intuition” winning twenty-one awards.
They experienced several years of success, performing in Korea, Japan, the US and the UK. Yonghwa and Minhyuk were cast in the drama Heartstrings, beginning their acting careers together. All four band members would receive recognition for their acting abilities by the end of 2012.
The band is involved in periodic charity, donating money and rice to the poor. They use a portion of the band’s income, and the money they make from the Bluemoon World Tour, and use t to build schools all over the world.
They’ve built them in Africa and the Philippines so far. They can accommodate a little over a thousand students each and the first school opened in 2012. Jungshin has been involved in project with LOVE FNC to distribute bags of rice to families in need, and has created a scholarship fund in Myanmar.
CNBLUE and FNC Entertainment were sued by the band Crying Nut in 2010 for using their song “Pilsal Off-Side” without authorization. CNBLUE counter sued, claiming that they had accused CNBLUE of copyright infringement, and that Crying Nut had been posting their accusations online.
They also claimed that intellectual propert theft was the responsibility of the networks that distributed it, and the band wasn’t at fault. CNBLUE lost the lawsuit, and FNC Entertainment was fined 15 million won.
2018 was a year of upheaval for the band, as all four members enlisted for their mandatory military service. While they’re serving, the band is not touring or creating music.
After enlisting, Jonghyun announced that he would be leaving the band because of his connections with the Burning Sun Scandal. The band, minus Jonghyun, is expected to be back together again in 2020.
Yonghwa
Birth Name:
Jung Yong Hwa
Stage Name:
Yonghwa
Position:
Main Vocals, Guitarist, Rapper, face of the group
Birthday:
June 22, 1989
Zodiac sign:
Cancer
Height:
180cm (5’11”)
Weight:
63kg (139 lbs)
Blood Type:
A
Twitter:
@jyheffect
Yonghwa was born in Seoul, but was raised in Busan. He began composing music in high school, because he felt that he could express himself better when writing song lyrics than he could verbally.
He moved back to Seoul after high school and joined FNC Music. In 2009 he moved to Japan to continue studying music, and his bandmates began doing street performances and releasing independent albums before releasing their debut album, Now or Never.
He’s composed many of CNBLUE’s songs, and writes most of their lyrics. Growing up, his favorite bands were NSYNC and Backstreet Boys.
Yonghwa has acted in several dramas, including “You’re Beautiful,” “Heartstrings,” “Gentleman’s Dignity,” “Marry Him If You Dare,” “The Three Musketeers,” and “The Package.”
He also made an appearance on the reality show “We Got Married,” where he was “married” to Seohyun of Girls’ Generation. That show featured his first solo single, “For First Time Lovers”, which topped South Korean charts upon it’s release.
He released his first solo album, One Fine Day, in January 2015.
His bandmates and friends have described him as a very kind and generous person; he’s been known to take them shopping and pay for their items, and to take care of his bandmates when they’re sick.
He was top 10 in his class, even though he was bad at math. His high grades in English and Gym likely helped him.
He’s known for his philanthropy as well. He released a song titled “You, My Star” in December 2013, dedicating it to his fans. All the money he makes from that song is donated to FNC’s charity, Love FNC.
He’s helped in a campaign for children with hearing disabilities in China, and donated 50 million won to the Miral Welfare Foundation to be used for the living expenses and medical costs of disabled children.
He established a scholarship program at his high school in Busan, which awarded six scholarship to graduates in 2019.
2016 Yongwha was investigated for insider trading. It was alleged that he earned over three hundred thousand dollars buying stocks at FNC Entertainment after hearing that they would be signing a major celebrity. The investigation only lasted two days, and he was declared innocent.
He hates bees, goldfish, and cockroaches.
He began his mandatory military service on March 5, 2018. On April 13 that year he volunteered to be assigned to the 702nd Special Assault Regiment.
Jonghyun
Birth Name:
Lee Jong Hyun
Stage Name:
Jonghyun
Position:
Vocalist, guitarist, bassist
Birthday:
May 15, 1990
Zodiac Sign:
Taurus
Height:
182cm (6’0″)
Weight:
64kg (141lbs)
Blood Type:
O
Jonghyun was born in Busan, the youngest of three children. His family moved to Japan when he was four, but moved back to Busan before he finished elementary school.
Jonghyun was discovered by a talent scout who was in Busan to see Yonghwa, and happened to see Jonghyun performing in the street. He was impressed enough to invite him to audition.
Before he was a musician, Jonghyun was a talented athlete, having won medals in judo competitions against other high school athletes in his hometown.
He chose to focus on music after suffering an embarrassing defeat in Judo. He mastered signing and the piano, but was inspired to learn the guitar after watching Eric Clapton play.
He’s helped Yonghwa to compose many of CNBLUE’s songs, including “Blind Love,” “Lie,” “My Miracle,” “No More,” “These Days,” and more. All of the songs he’s helped to compose have received positive feedback.
He released his first solo single, “My Love,” in 2012. It was featured on the soundtrack for “A Gentleman’s Dignity,” which he starred in at the time. It was an immediate success, with over 2 million digital downloads.
His first solo album, “Sparkling Night,” was released in 2016 in Japan, where it placed number 7 on the charts.
He’s acted in several films and TV shows, such as “Orange Marmalade,” “We Got Married,” “My Only Love Song,” and “That Man Oh Soo.”
In 2019 it was discovered that Jonghyun had been part of the Burning Sun scandal, and had engaged in inappropriate conduct in online chat rooms. As a result of backlash from Burning Sun and a separate controversy over his conduct with a YouTuber, he left CNBLUE in August 2019.
Minhyuk
Birth Name:
Kang Min Hyuk
Stage Name:
Minhyuk
Position:
Drummer, vocalist
Birthday:
June 28, 1991
Zodiac Sign:
Cancer
Height:
184 cm (6’0″)
Weight:
60kg (132lbs)
Blood Type:
A
Instagram:
@mr_kanggun
Minhyuk was born in Goyang. He discovered his interest in band music after listening to Maroon5. His father, a drum teacher, is the one who taught Minhyuk to play. He considers himself a very romantic person, and an expert on the best places to take a date. He’s the clean person in the band; he was always the one tidying up the room when CNBLUE were in Japan.
In addition to music, Minhyuk played soccer when he was younger, and spent every summer training.
He’s been with CNBLUE since the beginning, debuting with them in Japan in 2009. His acting career began with the film “Acoustic,” in which he starred alongside his band mate Jonghyun.
He’s also starred alongside Yonghwa in “Heartstrings.” He first gained major recognition as an actor for his role in the drama “My Husband Got a Family,” and continued to gain popularity for his role in “The Heirs.”
He’s also acted in “It’s Okay, Daddy’s Girl,” “Brave Family,” “Entertainer,” “Hospital Ship,” and “The Princess and the Matchmaker.” In addition to acting, he’s hosted “Music Bank” and “Mum is Watching.”
He released two Japanese singles in 2019, “Moontalk” and “On the Cheek.” He followed those up with a mini album containing them and three new tracks in March.
He enlisted in the military for his mandatory service on July 31, 2018.
Jungshin
Birth Name:
Lee Jung Shin
Stage Name:
Jungshin
Postion:
Main rapper, bassist, vocalist
Birthday:
September 15, 1991
Zodiac Sign:
Virgo
Height:
188cm (6’2″)
Weight:
66kg (145lbs)
Blood Type:
A
Instagram:
@leejungshin91
Jungshin was born in Seoul, the youngest of two children. He trained at FNC Entertainment in 2009, and joined CNBLUE as a bassist to replace Kwon Kwang Jin, who left the band for personal reasons. In addition to playing base, he also sings backup vocals and is the main rapper.
Like the other band members, Jungshin has had a successful acting career. He acted first on “Seoyoung, My Daughter,” the highest rated Korean drama in 2013. He was nominated for several Best New Actor awards for his performance.
He also had roles in “The Blade and Petal” and “Temptation” by 2014.
His first leading role came in 2015, in the drama “Thank You, My Son”. He’s also appeard in “Cinderella with Four Knights” and “My Sassy Girl.”
After he appeard on the show “We Got Married” his name was the most searched word on several Korean search engine, and he was nicknamed “Goddess.”
He’s very close to Minhyuk, because they’re the same age. He’s the tallest member of the band, but he used to be very short. In high school, he grew 10cm each year and that changed.
He’s close to his parents, as well, and sends them messages every day. All of the money he makes from the band goes to his mother. His mother monitors his work and keeps track of all of his activity.
Often when he writes a song, he composes the music first, and then writes lyrics to fit the music. Sometimes the song just doesn’t come together, and he’ll stop writing and go out to eat instead of trying to force things.
In addition to singing and acting, he’s also interested in fashion and modeling. He’s attended the Seoul Fashion Week twice. He also likes photography, and hopes to study it more. He’s said that he’d be a photographer if he wasn’t a singer.
Fans are known to give him bottles of vitamins and medicines as gifts, and his room is often full of them.
He considers himself the peacemaker of the group, and believes that his charm and humor can resolve any conflict between band members.
He enlisted in the military for his mandatory service on July 31st, 2018.
Kwangjin
Birth Name:
Kwon Kwang Jin
Stage Name:
Kwangjin
Position:
Basist, vocalist
Birthday:
August 12, 1992
Zodiac Sign:
Leo
Kwangjin was born in Seoul, and was the first bassist for CNBLUE. He left the band in 2009 after their first album debuted in Japan. He was replaced by Jungshin.
Although it’s not clear as to the reasons why he was replaced so suddenly, Kwangjin stated that there were too many musical differences.
