Lee Min-woo
| Lee Min-woo | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Native name | 이민우 (李玟雨) |
| Also known as | M |
| Born | 28 July 1979 |
| Origin | South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels |
SM Entertainment (1998–2003) Good Entertainment (2004–2007) M Rising Entertainment (2007–2012) Shinhwa Company (2011–present) Liveworks Company (2012–present) |
| Associated acts | Shinhwa |
| Website |
http://www.lworks.co.kr/ http://www.shinhwacompany.co.kr/ |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | I Min-u |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yi Minu |
Lee Min-woo (hangul: 이민우; born 28 July 1979), mononymously credited as M as a solo artist, is a South Korean entertainer, known as a member of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa. Lee was the first Shinhwa member to debut as a solo artist in 2003, and has since released three studio albums.
In 2007, Lee set up his own agency, M Rising Entertainment, to manage his solo activities. Whilst he continued to perform as part of Shinhwa under Good Entertainment, until July 2010 where he became co-CEO with Eric Mun for Shinhwa activities. As of November 2012, he has signed with Liveworks Company.
While dancing for his group, Dicky Ducky, as a student at Jeonju Fine Arts School for the Everland dancing competition, Lee was scouted and was the fourth member to join boy band, Shinhwa. Although he started out as a rapper and a singer, he stopped rapping as Shinhwa continued to release albums. As a skilled dancer, he has choreographed some of Shinhwa's dances.
During the transition from SM Entertainment to Good Entertainment, Lee debut as solo artist in November 2003, under the stage name of "M", being the first Shinhwa member to do so, as well as the first idol to do solo while still being in a group. His first album, Un-Touch-Able, according to the January 2004 chart sold in excess of 100,000 copies, Two lead tracks were released for promotion: "Just One Night", the lead track from the album is a jazzy slow groove song and "Oh Rain". Then in 2004, Lee reunited with Shinhwa to work on their first album with Good Entertainment, Brand New, released in August 2004.
During this time, Lee recorded and released a single, "If You...", in March 2005. Sales did not reach album levels, but the single managed to sell over 30 000 copies. Again, Lee heavily promoted the single, with many performances of the song "If You...", complete with special dance intros performances of other songs. As opposed to the sophisticated image from his first album, Lee promoted this single with a "handsome" image, as the song was a light pop song. However, when fellow Shinhwa member Shin Hye Sung released his solo debut, Lee stopped performing in order to avoid competing with him.
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