K.Will South Korean Singer From Gwangju

Early life

K.Will, whose real name is Kim Hyung-soo, was born on 30 December 1981 in Gwangju, South Korea. His stage name joins the initial of his surname, Kim, with the English word "will". Before his debut he spent five years training as a singer under the producer Bang Si-hyuk. During that period he also worked as a "guide vocal", recording demonstration versions of songs that other artists, among them TVXQ, g.o.d and Rain, later recorded. A video of him singing songs by Mariah Carey circulated widely on Korean websites and earned him the nickname "male Mariah Carey".

Career

He released his first album, Left Heart, on 6 March 2007 through Big Hit Entertainment. Its title song was composed by Park Jin-young and reached number three on the Melon digital chart shortly after release. In January 2008 he left Big Hit and joined Starship Entertainment, the new company of his agent Kim Shi-dae. His single "Love 119", with the rapper MC Mong, came out on 2 December 2008 and rose to number one on several online charts.

In 2009 he released the extended play Dropping the Tears, whose title track topped online charts the day after release, and in November the album Missing You. He gave his first solo concert at Yonsei University in Seoul on 25 December 2009, which sold out. The 2010 single "Present", featuring Eun Ji-won, also led the real-time charts, and he held concerts in Tokyo and Osaka that year as well as two sold-out shows in Seoul. In 2011 the single "Amazed" (with Simon D and Hyolyn of Sistar) rose to the top of several charts, and the lead single of the mini album My Heart Beating produced an "all-kill", topping all major real-time charts simultaneously. It was his first number one on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart and brought his first win on a music programme, on Inkigayo on 3 April. Later that year he joined the television programme Immortal Songs 2, which he left in January 2012 after a record of five straight wins.

K.Will continued to place songs near the top of the Gaon charts through the following years. The title song of the mini album I Need You, released on 14 February 2012, reached number one, and "I Hate Myself" from the same project reached number two. The 3rd Album, Part 1 came out on 11 October 2012 with the title track "Please Don't...", and Part 2 followed on 4 April 2013 with "Love Blossom", which debuted at number two. His mini album Will in Fall, released on 18 October 2013, gave him a third Gaon number one with "You Don't Know Love". The mini album One Fine Day appeared on 25 June 2014 with the lead single "Day 1", and [Re:] followed on 25 March 2015 with "Growing", which also did well on Chinese digital charts. In 2016 his digital single "You Call It Romance", with Davichi, reached number two, and "Talk Love", from the soundtrack of the television series Descendants of the Sun, reached number one on the Gaon chart. Another of his releases from that period is the single "The Day" (2016).

He released The 4th Album Part 1 [Nonfiction] on 26 September 2017 with a video for the title track "Nonfiction", and Part 2 [Mood Indigo] on 6 November 2018, co-producing every song. In February 2020 he renewed his contract with Starship Entertainment, and in October 2022 he began a nationwide tour called Here and Now. His recordings are classed as sentimental ballads. Because of his frequent contributions to drama soundtracks, he has been nicknamed the "Prince of OST".

Recognition

The records kept for this profile list no formal award wins or nominations for K.Will. His standing rests largely on his chart record, including number-one placings on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart for "My Heart Beating", "I Need You", "You Don't Know Love" and "Talk Love", and the record of five consecutive wins on Immortal Songs 2.