H.O.T was a South Korean 5 member boy band active from the years 1996 to 2001 with the record label SM Entertainment.

H.O.T (High-Five Of Teenagers)Discovery:H.O.T. was initially formed by the producer of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man. The first member that Lee Soo-man picked was Kangta, as the manager saw him dancing and singing in public. The next member was Moon Hee-joon, when after auditioning was accepted into the band, then Lee Jae-won was also admitted into the band. Woo-Hyuk, the fourth to join the band after winning first place in a dancing contest, was asked to try out and eventually became the fourth member. SM Entertainment held auditions in LA and Tony An with his close friend Andy Lee joined the band, however with Lee's parents who later withdrew support, caused him to leave the band and join the band Shinhwa in 1998.

Musical Styles:The comprise of a mixture of rap, ballads, dance, and later rock, with singer Kangta providing most of the ballad vocals.

Name:Due to the boy band being made up of teenagers, and their target audience being teenagers of the same around of age, they came up with the name of ‘High-Five Of Teenagers’.

Collaborations:Being one of the first boy bands around the late 90’s there were few collaborations due to the start of the K-Pop industry, however they did make a few collaborations with bands such as jtL and SM Town

Success:Being one of South Koreas first boy bands, they have a huge success as they have been the first million seller in the K-Pop industry as well as influencing Korean girl bands. H.O.T have been credited as they have successfully turned mainstream Korean music into music for the younger generationAwards:Being one of the first boy bands there were not many music awards in South Korea, however they did win 4 out of 7 nominations from the years 1999 to 2000.

Image:Being teenagers of the late 90’s they did not really have an image, however as they specifically targeted teenagers, therefore being their teenage selves and making themselves look good for the other teenage people in Korea to buy their music.

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Influences:You could say that they do not take influence from anyone, as they are one of the first K-Pop groups who formed, however they are influential to other boy bands in South Korea.

G-Dragon is a rapper, singer, song writer, producer and model under the record label YG Entertainment.

G-DragonDiscovery:G-Dragon began his career at age five as part of the group called ‘Little Lula’, however after the release of a Christmas album, the group's contract was terminated by their record company. Then scouted by SM Entertainment while on a ski trip with his family, and was then a trainee under the record label from the age of 8–13 years old, specialising in dance before he left. He was then interested in rapping from a young age and started to have lessons, eventually becoming the youngest Korean rapper at the age of 13. After signing a contract with the record label, YG Entertainment, he spent the first year cleaning and fetching other recording artists water bottles during dance practice After six years of training, he made his official debut as the leader of the group Big Bang in 2006, with the other 4 members

Musical Styles:Being inspired by music from Wu-Tang Clan, G-Dragon participated in the annual hip hop Flex album in 2001 at the age of 12. From previous experience of music genres with Big Bang, G-Dragon incorporated a mix of dance, hip-hop, and R&B songs into his album ’Heartbreaker’. With the production of a collaboration album, (GD & TOP), G-Dragon opened his idea of a hip-hop sound, though acknowledging that R&B, acoustic, and electronic music heavily influenced it.

Name:Initially, when training, him and another trainee planned a hip-hop debut. G-Dragon’s original name being Kwon Ji Yong, therefore choosing this stage name ‘G-Dragon’, the ‘G’ pronounced as ‘Ji’ and ‘Yong’ meaning ‘Dragon’ in Korean.

Collaborations:Being a solo artist as well as the lead singer for Big Bang, G-Dragon has collaborated with many artists such as Cl and Bom from the girl group 2NE1, as well as other American artist such as Flo Rida, Missy Elliot, Skrillex and many more which has made him become very popular around the world.

Success:His Korean and Japanese discovery lead him to have altogether 3 studio albums, 1 EP, 2 digital singles, 1 collaboration album and 1 collaboration single.Awards:G-Dragon has won many awards from the ‘Most Fashionable’ to the ‘World Music Awards’. Altogether he has won 26 awards and there are still more to come.

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Images and Influences:G-Dragon has been know to be the ‘most fashionable’ person in the group Big Bang. With this he has won awards for his sense of fashion as well as inspiring and influencing fashion trends in South Korea, therefore also being known as a ‘fashionista’.

2NE1 is a South Korean girl group, who formed in 2009 by the record label YG Entertainment.

2NE1

Band Members (left to right):Bom, Minzy, Dara and CL

Discovery:2NE1 was mentioned by YG Entertainment in late 2004. In early 2009, the group was formally announced by the record label, and this was because they were training for 4 years and would eventually present their debut album.

Musical Styles:Initially the group was categorized as ‘pop’ with their first debut single ‘Fire’ even though it was influenced by hip-hop and another song ‘I Don’t Care’ intending to have a reggae feel. However with their comeback album ‘To Anyone’ mas marked strongly to electronic music. Their most promotional single, ‘Go Away’ is classified as dance. 2NE1’s music explores female empowerment and independence even though they are seen as the girl version of the Korean boy band ‘Big Bang’.

Name:Initially the name of the band was ‘21’ but due to the discovery of another singer of the same name they quickly renamed the band ‘2NE1’. Collaborations:They have collaborated with many artists such as Big Bang (a Korean boy band), Will.I.Am, Teddy and YG Family, which has helped them to be successful in thee last 6 years.Success:Their Korean and Japanese discovery lead them to have altogether 4 studio albums, 3 EPs, 4 singles and 4 headlining tours in Japan and around the world. Awards:They have won many music awards on weekly music shows, ‘Song of the Month’ and Rookie of the Month’ with their biggest award in MAMA history with 2 Songs of the Year 1 Album of the Year and 1 Artist of the Year after the year 2011.

Images and Influences:2NE1 are known for their ‘unique and edgier style’ with their wide variety of clothes as well as wigs and coloured hair, they are characterized as ‘bold, bright outfits and big, catchy hooks’- Zack Greenburg (American Business Magazine). The groups individual influences vary due to their representation in the group itself, however as a band they record R&B songs which incorporate style of urban, contemporary and dance-pop, together stating that Destiny’s Child, the Spice Girls and TLC are their main girl group influences.

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