2PM


2PM is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The current members are Jun. K, Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho and Chansung. Former leader Jaebeom officially left the band in early 2010.
The history of 2PM started when Korean musician Park Jin-young formed an eleven-member band known as One Day. Eventually the band was split into 2PM and a similar but independent group known as 2AM. 2PM debuted with the song "10 Jeom Manjeome 10 Jeom", which showcased their acrobatic dance styles. They achieved their first number 1 single with "Again & Again". Both singles featured on their first studio album, , released in 2009. The band went on to release another Korean album, known as Hands Up, in 2011. They made their Japanese debut later that year with Republic of 2PM. After more than a year, the group returned in 2013 with their third studio album Grown. In early September 2014, 2PM returned with their fourth studio album Go Crazy. On 15 June 2015, 2PM made a comeback with their fifth studio album No.5. After much anticipation 2PM returned on 13 September 2016 with their sixth studio album Gentlemen's Game.
Since July 2017, the group has been on an official hiatus.

History

Pre-debut

The members of 2PM all auditioned to become part of JYP Entertainment. Some members already had experience in the entertainment industry, including Jun. K, who had won several singing competitions. Ok Taecyeon, Lee Junho and Hwang Chansung had participated in the show SuperStar Survival. Some of the members had previously lived in the U.S., former leader Jaebeom in the Seattle area, Nichkhun in Southern California, while Taecyeon spent seven years in Massachusetts before returning to Korea.
Originally, the members of 2PM were part of a larger group known as One Day. A documentary called Hot Blood Men captured the group's training days. In this documentary, former member Jaebeom finished at the top spot and received the most fan votes. It also featured the elimination of three trainees from the group: Lee Swichi, Jeong Jinwoon, and Yoon Doo-joon were all cut. However, Jinwoon replaced Im Daehun upon the latter's withdrawal. By the end of the training process, One Day had been reduced to an eleven-member group. The band was then split into four-member ballad group 2AM and seven-member hip-hop group 2PM.

2008–10: Debut, ''01:59PM'', ''Don't Stop Can't Stop'', rise to prominence and reformation as 6 members

While most Korean boy bands at the time adopted a "pretty boy" image, 2PM constructed a tough and macho beast-like image when they made their debut. By emphasizing their masculine images, 2PM created the "jimseung-dol" phenomenon in 2008.
Jaebeom was chosen to serve as the group's leader, as he was the oldest member and also the one who all the members acknowledged as the most talented one. He played key roles in several of the band's early singles and associated music videos.
2PM debuted with their single "10 Out of 10" on 4 September 2008. In October 2008, they began to promote "Only You", another song from their debut mini album, Hottest Time of the Day. Concurrently, 2PM hosted the third season of Korean variety show Idol Army.
In April 2009, the group released their second mini album, ', which they began promoting that month with the single "Again and Again". In May they won their first Mutizen Song award on M!Countdown, followed by two more and a Music Bank award. On 11 June, 2PM began promotions for "Niga Mipda" on M!Countdown. In July 2PM achieved first place on the M!Countdown and Music Bank charts for the song "Niga Mipda". On 30 July, 2PM won the 'Only One Song' award on M!Countdown. At this time, 2PM also starred in the popular Korean variety show Wild Bunny.
Later that year a controversy regarding Jaebeom emerged. On 4 September 2009, articles surfaced on the internet regarding Jaebeom's posts from 2005 on his personal Myspace account, in which he expressed his dislike for Korea while still a trainee for JYP Entertainment. These posts, leaked by a netizen who hacked his Myspace account, were taken out of context and severely misinterpreted by the Korean media. Jaebeom issued an apology regarding this matter. Although some demanded that Jaebeom should be forced out of 2PM, JYP Entertainment CEO Park Jin-young stated on 7 September lent the singer a vote of confidence, suggesting that he would remain in the group. Yet the following day, Jaebeom announced on his official fancafe that he would leave the group and return to the United States for a while to calm the situation. He planned to return to school and improve his understanding of music. At the same time, he apologized to his fellow band members for not being a good leader and older brother for them. He also promised to come back as a better person. Park Jin-young confirmed that 2PM would continue on as a six-member group. Due to the sensitive topic of Jaebeom's departure, 2PM withdrew for several weeks from their appearances on variety shows.
Despite the controversy, the group went ahead with release of its first studio album. Known as ', the album was released on 10 November 2009. Yet questions about Jaebeom remained. The day after the album's release, Park Jin-young announced that Jaebeom could return to 2PM if he wished to make a comeback, although the singer's return was not imminent. In support of Jaebeom, the six 2PM members decided to equally split their income from their first album with him. The album included tracks voiced by Jaebeom, although his face was excluded from the cover. The group finished re-filming their music video for "Heartbeat", the title song, without Jaebeom in October 2009. The group began promotional activities for the album on a variety of music shows, including M.Net O Good Concert, KBS Music Bank, MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo in November 2009.
A week and a half after the album's release, 2PM performed at and was honored at the M.net Asian Music Awards with awards for Best Male Group and Artist of the Year. The group paid homage to Jaebeom during their performance of "Again & Again". During the performance, a spotlight shone over Jaebeom's usual position in the dance formation, and his vocals played over the speakers without being replaced.
In late November 2009, after two weeks of promotional activities for the 1:59PM, 2PM earned their first #1 on a TV music show since the album's release, with "Heartbeat", which went on to take #1 on the K-Chart for three more weeks. In addition, "Heartbeat" achieved the "Mutizen" song award Triple Crown on SBS Inkigayo by being the #1 song the Inkigayo "Take 7" chart for three weeks, the maximum amount of time for which a nominated song is eligible to win. On 30 December 2009, at Korean Broadcasting System 's end of the year Music Festival, "Again & Again" was recognized as "Song of the Year", winning with 57,060 votes.
2PM's second single from 01:59PM was "Tired of Waiting". The song was performed live for the first time at the SBS Music Festival in December 2009. 2PM's promotion for the album ended with their SBS Inkigayo performance in January 2010.
, August 2010
In February 2010, JYP Entertainment announced that Jaebeom would not return to 2PM, as his contract with the company had been permanently terminated, with the agreement of all 6 members. A combined fan meeting and press conference was held two days later with the six remaining members of 2PM and JYP Entertainment CEO Choi Jungwook in attendance. Various 2PM fansites were shut down immediately after the conference as a protest of Jaebeom's termination. Management announced that although 2PM would move forward with six members, a new leader would not be chosen to replace Jaebeom.
In April 2010, the band released Don't Stop Can't Stop, a mini-album consisting of six tracks. The group intended for the release to illustrate a stronger side of themselves than did their previous releases. The group made their television performance comeback on Mnet's music program M! Countdown in April 2010.
2PM served as the opening act for nine Wonder Girls summer shows in the United States in 2010. 2PM also performed at the eighth annual Korea Times Music Festival in Los Angeles, California in May 2010, and at the Dream Concert in Seoul, South Korea in May 2010.
In May 2010, 2PM released the song "What's Your Celebration?" for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. The song samples K'Naan's Wavin' Flag.
In July 2010, Taecyeon and Wooyoung left their position of MCs at SBS Inkigayo. The next month, Wooyoung also left Winwin to concentrate on 2PM's busy schedule. The 1st concerts took place on 31 July 1 August & 7, 8 August .
More than 12,000 fans attended 2PM's first concerts in Seoul. 2PM performed all their hit-songs since 2008 plus solo performance from each member. 2PM held two encore concerts in Seoul on 4–5 September to celebrate their second anniversary.
In October 2010, 2PM released their fourth EP, , with the lead single "I'll Be Back" staying at number one for two consecutive weeks in the Music Bank. In November 2010, Still 2:00PM'' debuted unexpectedly on the 13th spot of the Billboard's World Album-Chart though no promotions for the album were made in the United States.
2PM was granted the "Most Popular Asian Singer" award at the Mandarin Music Honors 2010 in China. The group attended the event on 18 October at Wukesong Arena; it was the tenth annual MMH. Previously, Rain, Jang Nara, and Shin Seung Hoon have each taken home the "Year’s Best Korean Singer" award, but this is the first time a Korean artist has won the "Most Popular Asian Singer" award. 2PM performed "Heartbeat" and "I’ll Be Back".
2PM officially made their Japanese debut in December 2010 with their first live event in Japan at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Gymnasium, a place well known for sumo games. The platinum showcase was called "2PM 1st Contact in JAPAN" LIVE.

2011–12: Japanese debut and ''Hands Up''

In May 2011, 2PM released their Japanese debut-single, "Take Off." The song was featured as an ending song in the Blue Exorcist anime series. 2PM’s first Japanese concert tour, known as the "2PM 1st Japan Tour 2011 Take Off," began in Sapporo on 6 May and ended a week later in Tokyo.
In June 2011, JYP Entertainment released the track list of their upcoming second studio album, which would be known as "Hands Up." The album was released later that month on 20 June 2011. For the first time, the album featured two songs composed by 2PM members: "HOT" by Minjun and "Give it to Me" by Junho. The promotion period for the album was short; it ended just one month after the album's release. This allowed the band to prepare for their Japanese promotions and for their "Hands Up Asia Tour."
The 2PM Show began broadcasting in July 2011 on SBS’s E!TV cable channel and featured all six members. It was the first time 2PM would emcee a program with their name on it.
On 30 November 2011, 2PM released their first studio album in Japanese language, Republic of 2PM. It contains all of their Japanese singles released to date plus the Japanese version of their most recent Korean hit song "Hands Up", as well as a new song composed by Minjun for Japanese fans called "Hanarete Itemo" and 4 other completely new songs. The main point of the album artwork motif is a taste of the 1950s and 1960s.
Oricon released their sales for 2011, announcing that 2PM was the 2nd best selling new artist in Japan, only behind Johnny & Associates's group Kis-My-FT2, with 990 million yen only in singles, albums and DVDs sales.
In April 2012, 2PM announced plans to release a documentary film with 2AM, to be known as Beyond The One Day, in Japan. One Day refers to the group from which 2PM and 2AM both split. On 13 April, they released the trailer for the film.

2013–14: ''Grown'' and ''Go Crazy!''

After more than a year, 2PM made their Korean comeback in 2013 with their third studio album, Grown. A teaser for the music video of "Comeback When You Hear This Song", the lead single of their album, was released on 2 May 2013 on 2PM's official YouTube account. The full music video was released on 6 May 2013 along with 10 songs from the album. This album is a two title track album, the track "A.D.T.O.Y." was released on 11 May 2013.
As part of their promotion activities for the album, from 2 May to 31 July 2013, the group took part in the 2PM G+Star Zone exhibition, at the Apgujeongrodeo Station. It is part of the G+Dream Project by Gangnam-gu Office for disadvantaged youth.
The group made their promotional appearance for the album was on M.net's M! Countdown on 16 May, where they performed "A.D.T.O.Y." and "Comeback When You Hear This Song", along with Shinhwa, for their album The Classic and Seo In-young for her EP Forever Young.
In 2014, during the filming of the music video of the group's upcoming comeback, a fire broke out on the set of the music video. Authorities stated after the fire had been handled that the fire was relatively small and had been controlled by the time the fire team arrived, and apparently started when a spark from some fireworks which were being used in the music video landed on a sponge. All the members and staff present at the time were confirmed to be unharmed.
The long-awaited comeback that was to be in April was postponed by JYP Entertainment and 2PM due to their individual activities, for early June with a possibility that they will return in July at the earliest or even later in the year. According to , JYP Entertainment rep told Newsen on the 14th, "2PM's comeback has been delayed for the time being. It will be in the latter-half of this year but the exact date has not been decided yet."
On 31 August, 2pm released teaser photos for their comeback album GO CRAZY! and revealed that their comeback would be released on 10 September. They then released individual teasers on 2 September before the official release of the song.
On 10 September, the group released their official music video for the dance track "GO CRAZY!" on JYP Entertainment's official YouTube account and garnered over 1 million views in the first 24 hours. They made their comeback performance on m!countdown on the subsequent day.

2015–present: ''No.5'', ''Gentlemen's Game'', and hiatus

2PM's fifth studio album, No.5, was released 15 June 2015. Nine of the twelve songs on the album were written by the members, with the title song "My House" written by Jun. K. On 3 September 2016 Junho posted the group's schedule for the coming week on his Instagram profile hinting at a comeback. On 4 September the group celebrated their eight-year anniversary together. On the same day 2PM began teasing a comeback by posting individual photos of each member on social media. Their sixth studio album was released on 13 September, titled Gentlemen's Game along with the new single "Promise ". Gentlemen's Game was their last album before they began their military enlistment.
On January 31, 2018, five of the six members of 2PM signed their renewal to JYP Entertainment with Taecyeon's renewal to be discussed after he served his military service, and they were named directors of external affairs as they are the most senior group in JYP Entertainment the next day.
Jun.K also entered the military on May 8. Wooyoung enlisted on July 8, serving active duty. On July 25, Taecyeon decided not to re-sign with JYP Entertainment, instead signing with 51K. However, he will continue promoting with 2PM.
Taecyeon was discharged on May 16, 2019. Junho began his military service on May 30 as a public service worker, while Chansung enlisted on June 11. Jun. K completed his military service and was discharged on January 2, 2020. Wooyoung was also discharged on February 25.

Other activities

Television hosting

In December 2008, 2PM began to host the third season of MBC's Idol Show. The segment ran from 4 December 2008 to 26 March 2009, with a total of seventeen episodes.
The group also starred in a reality show on M.net, titled Wild Bunny, in which the members escaped the pressures of stardom by performing ten forbidden activities of idols. The show ran from 21 July 2009 to 1 September 2009, with seven episodes aired; the airing of the final episode, which coincidentally featured the members engaged in a "Leader Olympics" game to select a new leader, was postponed indefinitely due to Jaebeom's internet controversy and his subsequent departure from the group.
In addition, Taecyeon and Wooyoung have been hosting SBS 's weekly music show Inkigayo, while Jaebeom and Chansung have also made regular appearances on 'Introducing Star Friends'. Since Jaebeom was voted off, Nichkhun replaced his position as the guest. Nichkhun and Wooyoung were also frequent guests on SBS's variety talent show Star King between April and October 2009, with the other 2PM members occasionally joining them.

Endorsements

In March 2009, 2PM was selected to model for EXR, a clothing company in Korea. In July 2009, the members of 2PM were selected as the representatives of foreign artists by the Thai government-led tourism campaign, I Love Thailand. Member Nichkhun has also been selected by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as the face of their newest campaign, "Come to Thailand; Let's Take a Break!"
In August 2009, 2PM collaborated with the Body Shop in 'Soft Hands, Kind Heart', a worldwide campaign that calls for the protection of children and teenagers against sex trafficking. The members will act as Korea's spokespeople for the campaign.
In late October 2009, a commercial film of 2PM promoting Hanami was released, which also included Jaebeom; the commercial was said to be filmed prior to his departure in September.
November 2009 saw multiple new endorsement deals for the group, the first of which being a commercial and print campaign for Market O's "Real Brownie" pastry. Shortly thereafter, the group endorsed the Samsung Corby mobile phone, one of the newest mobile devices in Samsung's popular "Anycall" series, both on television and on the Samsung website. 2PM is also currently endorsing Paris-Croissant Food Company's Paris Baguette bakery franchise, for which the group recorded a special Christmas song and are featured in a series of commercials with popular Korean actress Kim Tae-hee.
In 2010, 2PM has signed on to endorse Coca-Cola as well as the clothing company SPRIS. Members Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Minjun and Wooyoung endorse Cass Beer, and Nichkhun has continued advertising for the Suzuki Jelato motorcycle in Thailand. In addition, 2PM now endorses Calvin Klein South Korea, as well as, most recently, It's Skin, a South Korean cosmetics and skin care brand.
In mid-2010, 2PM were chosen along with Girls' Generation to be the spokesperson for Caribbean Bay. Shortly after, the members of 2PM were chosen to sing the song "Fly to Seoul " to support tourism in Korea. Due to renewal of their endorsement deal with Samsung, 2PM recorded the song "Nori For U" for Samsung Anycall NORi.

Discography

Korean albums
Japanese albums'

Works

Tours and concerts

JYP Nation