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Choi Jung-hoon (Hangul: 최정훈; born March 10, 1992) is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the Korean indie rock band Jannabi.

Choi Jung-hoon
Choi Jung-hoon in 2022
Born	(1992-03-10) March 10, 1992 (age 30) Bundang, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Education	Kyung Hee University – Business administration
Occupation	Singer songwriter record producer
Musical career
Genres	Indie rock pop rock modern rock ballad
Instrument(s)	Vocals guitar keyboards
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Peponi Music
Musical artist
Korean name
Hangul	최정훈
Hanja	崔正勳
Revised Romanization	Choe Jeong-hun
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Chŏnghun

Early life and education

Choi Jung-hoon was born on March 10, 1992, in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.[1] His family consists of his parents and an older brother. Choi spent his elementary, middle, and high school days in Bundang's academy district called "Dolmaro" (he would go on to write the lyrics of the song Dolmaro in Jannabi's Legend album). He attended Bundang Elementary School, Seohyun Middle School, and Yatap High School.[2]

Choi displayed musical talent and interest from an early age. He often listened to and sang Elton John, Sanulrim, and Ozzy Osbourne songs which are different from the likes of his peers, but gets appreciated by his teachers. This motivated him to continue listening and singing to these types of music.[3][4] He has always liked writing essays and songs since his fifth grade. Having met guitarist Kim Do-hyung, with whom he had the same music interest and attended the same high school, they both performed for school activities and events.[5]

He also devoted himself to his studies when he was a student, following the opinion of his parents that he should study hard first then think about later on if he really wants to make music. He excelled in his studies, reportedly ranking 100th in his first year and 8th in his third year in the entire school.[6] He served as the student council's president and later gained admission to Kyung Hee University to pursue a degree in Business administration, but decided to take a year off from college to focus on music.[7][8][9] He became a trainee at FNC Entertainment, but decided to leave the agency, realizing his creativity was restricted by the company and he had different musical style from N.Flying.[10]

Career

Jannabi

Jannabi was formed in 2012 under an independent label Peponi Music established and headed by Choi's older brother. They started from scratch, performing on clubs and busking on the streets of Hongdae and Insa-dong.[11]

In August 2013, Jannabi auditioned for the fifth season of the survival audition show Superstar K to make their band known. While Kim Do-hyung and Yoo Young-hyun were eliminated, Choi continued to participate as a member of the newly created vocalist group Plan B. However, Plan B was eliminated only making it in the Top 7.[12]

Since their debut in 2014, Jannabi has released three digital singles, including Rocket, November Rain, and Pole Dance, its first extended play See Your Eyes and several sound tracks for Korean television dramas. In August 2016, Jannabi went on to release its first full-length album Monkey Hotel.[13] All members gather to discuss how each instrument will fit into the music. They have written, composed, and arranged all their songs with Choi credited as the lyricist on all their albums.[14]

While the band was known in the Korean indie music scene with the release of their singles and EPs, they gained mainstream popularity after releasing their second full-length album Legend with the title track "For Lovers Who Hesitate" in 2019. The songs in the album and their past singles quickly became a national sensation, entering the K-Pop Hot 100 and Gaon Digital Chart. Following the release of Legend, the band embarked on their first national tour.[13]

In 2020, Jannabi released their second EP Jannabi's Small Pieces 1 with the title song "A thought on an autumn night".[15] Despite two of the members, Jang and Kim, being on a hiatus due to military service,[16] Choi has continued to promote as a one-man band, releasing the third full-length album The Land of Fantasy on July 18, 2021 and communicate with fans through various broadcasts and solo activities.[17]

Solo Ventures

Collaborations

Choi has collaborated with a variety of South Korean artists across multiple genres. In 2018, he participated in the song "Lilac" from Changmo extended play The Moment of Contact.[18] In the same year, Jannabi released the digital single "Made in Christmas" featuring Lee Su-hyun of AKMU.[19]

In 2020, Choi participated in the 28th anniversary project of the fashion magazine Elle Korea called "RECONNECT." It features the song "For the Gone" written and composed by him alongside Code Kunst and Simon Dominic.[20]

In 2021, Choi participated in the song "Next Episode" from AKMU extended play of the same title Next Episode.[21] In the same year, he participated in the 25th anniversary tribute for punk rock band No Brain by remaking their song "Midnight Music," track from No Brain's 5th album That is Youth (2007), in Jannabi's own style.[22]

In 2022, Choi launched a film photo exhibition called "Days of Future Passed" in collaboration with Allycamera to showcase his point of view and some of his brother's photographic works.[23] The exhibition runs from April 29 to May 5, 2022 at the Hyundai Department Store.[24] On May 18, Choi joined the two-track project of singer-songwriter Jo Dong-hee and composer Jo Dong-Ik by singing their song "Until I love the love." The song has an exquisite blend of understated acoustic melodies and electronic sounds that lead to a calm atmosphere.[25] On September 26, a song collaboration "Because We Loved" by Choi and Kang Min-kyung was released.[26] The song ranked first on various music charts such as Bugs and Genie.[27]

Television appearances

Following Jannabi's rise to fame, Choi appeared on various television shows, including KBS' In Sync where vocalists try to find their perfect match to do a duet,[28] social commentary talk show Hello Counselor,[29] and MBC's I Live Alone where he particularly gained attention by revealing his daily life, peaking on real-time search terms of major portal sites.[30][31]

In February 2022, it was announced that Choi will join JTBC's music entertainment show Hot Singers as a music director alongside Kim Moon-jeong. The show centers on the journey of Korea's famous senior actors in singing songs together while telling the stories of their lives.[32]

Endorsements

Choi has been featured in several fashion and lifestyle publications, including Vogue, Elle, GQ, and Dazed.[33]

In September 2021, Choi was chosen as the model for the Fall/Winter sneaker collection of Umbro, themed "Heritage of Passion."[34][35] He later became the ambassador for the clothing brand Custom Mellow, developed by the Kolon Industries FnC. It was the first time for the brand to collaborate with an artist in a music project which included the production of the music video for "King of Romance," one of the tracks from Jannabi's third full-length album The Land of Fantasy and other advertisement campaigns.[36]

In May 2022, Choi became the endorser of Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds.[37] In July 2022, Choi served as the brand model for the ad campaign "Runners Helping Runners" by Nike.[38][39] In September 2022, Shinsegae International decided to start the menswear business of Studio Tomboy, the first generation of women's wear in Korea, and selected Choi as the model.[40][41]

Artistry

Choi has been referred to as one of the "sentimental craftsman" of his generation by various publications and organizations.[42][43][44] Predominantly described as romantic and old-fashioned, music critics and listeners characterized his voice as something very unusual with high husky and unique tone, possessing a “vintage voice reminiscent of the old times.”[45]

As the lyricist of Jannabi's songs, his personal experiences were a common inspiration, which helped him reflect on the complexities of life.[45] He usually search for "words that don't exist"; those being used depending on the times and become obsolete, followed by a corresponding melody. Choi being an avid reader of poetry, often cites Jeong Ji-yong and Emily Dickinson among his influences in writing lyrics of a song.[46]

Other ventures

Discography

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		KOR [47]	KOR Hot [48]
As lead artist
"For the Gone" (사라진 모든 것들에게) with Code Kunst and Simon Dominic	2020	106	—	Non-album singles
"Midnight Music" (한밤의 뮤직)	2021	—	—
"Until I Love the Love" (사랑을 사랑하게 될 때까지)	2022	—	83
"Because We Loved" (우린 그렇게 사랑해서) with Kang Min-kyung		12	—
As featured artist
"Lilac" Changmo featuring Choi Jung-hoon of Jannabi	2018	—	—	The Moment of Contact
"Next Episode" AKMU featuring Choi Jung-hoon of Jannabi	2021	54	77	Next Episode
Soundtrack appearances
"For the Peace of All Mankind" (비긴어게인 오픈마이크) with Lee Eun-mi	2022	—	—	Begin Again Open Mic
"Long Time Lovers" (아주 오래된 연인들) with Lee Mu-jin		—		You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook
"No One" (누구없소) with Na Moon-hee		—		Hot Singers
"Piano Man" with Kim Moon-jeong		—
"One Fine Spring Day" (봄날은 간다) with Kim Young-ok & Na Moon-hee		—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Filmography

Television shows

Year	Network	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2013	Mnet	Superstar K 5	Contestant	Finished in Top 7 as part of Plan B	[49]
2018	MBC	King of Mask Singer	Contestant	Episodes 183-184 as "Ginger Man"	[50]
2019	KBS2	In Sync	Cast member	Episodes 1-4	[51]
2022	JTBC	Hot Singers	Cast member	Episodes 1-11 as Music Director	[52]
		Hidden Singer	Contestant	Eliminated in Round 3	[53]

Radio

Year	Network	Title	Notes	Ref.
2021	KBS Cool FM	STATION Z	DJ	[54]
	SBS Power FM	This Beautiful Morning, This Is Kim Chang-wan	Special DJ	[55][56]

Hosting

Year	Program	Notes	Ref.
2021	The Stage of Legends - Archive K	Special MC with Sung Si-kyung	[57]
	Leto GV for Marie Claire Film Festival	Talk with Yoo Teo	[58]

References

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