Samuel Kim Arredondo, better known by his stage nameSamuel, is an American-born South Korean singer who was a part of the short-lived hip hop duo 1Punch in 2015. In April 2017, he participated in the reality television seriesseason 2 of Produce 101 during the first half of 2017. In the final episode, he ranked 18th and was not able to join the show's project group. One month after the show ended, he began his solo career as Samuel, with the release of his first EP Sixteen on August 2.
In 2015, Samuel debuted as a part of hip-hop duo named 1Punch under a collaboration between Brave Entertainment and D-Business Entertainment, taking 'PUNCH' as his stage name. They debuted on January 23 with the release of "Turn Me Back", which is the title track of their album, The Anthem. Eight months later, One was scouted by YG Entertainment, leading to the disbandment of the duo. Under the name PUNCH, Samuel collaborated with Silentó to release the single "Spotlight" in 2016, for which they won the 26th Seoul Music Award for Global Collaboration. He later joined Silentó on tour in the US.
In April 2017, Samuel participated in the second season of the popular survival show Produce 101 under his own name, representing Brave Entertainment. During the first elimination he was ranked 2nd, but did not make the final cut for the 11-member team, finally ranking 18th overall. The result was met with surprise from many viewers, who had expected Samuel to become part of the lineup of Wanna One. Samuel debuted as a solo artist on August 2. His debut mini album, Sixteen, was released on August 2, with the title track "Sixteen" featuring rapper Changmo. Samuel's first full-length album, Eye Candy, was released on November 16, 2017, with a total of ten tracks including the lead single "Candy". In December 2017, it was announced that Samuel had signed a contract with ‘Pony Canyon’ for his Japanese promotions. Samuel officially debuted in Japan on February 7, 2018, with his first Japanese single, "Sixteen ". The music video of "Sixteen " was released on January 18. In March 2018, Samuel released his second mini album, One, with the title track "One" featuring BtoB member Jung Il-hoon. In April 2018, Samuel released his second Japanese single, "Candy ", on May 16. The music video of the track was released on May 2. On May 30, 2018, Samuel released his repackaged album, Teenager, featuring Lee Ro Han, who was a runner-up to MNet's "School Rapper Season 2".
