Lee Seung Gi (Hangul: 이승기, Hanja: 李昇基), born 13 January 1987, is a South Korean singer, actor and MC. Lee is well known as a member of the first season of weekend variety show 1 Night 2 Days from November 2007 to February 2012, and the MC of talk showStrong Heart from October 2009 to April 2012.
Singer (2004–present)
Scouted by singer Lee Sun Hee, Lee Seung Gi trained for 2 years before debuting on 5 June 2004 at the age of 17. Because You're My Girl, his debut song from his first album The Dream Of A Moth, was a popular ballad which created a "liking older women" syndrome in South Korea. With this song, he won the "Best Newcomer" award in various music awards ceremonies in 2004 such as the M.net KM Music Festival and Seoul Music Awards. In 2007, he also won the "Best Male Solo Artist" award in the M.net KM Music Festival with his song White Lie from his third album Story Of Separation.
Lee released a digital single Will You Marry Me in 2009, which became a big hit in South Korea although there was no official promotion. With this single, he received the "Digital Single Bonsang" award in the 24th Golden Disk Awards. In 2010, he recorded a duet version of his 2007 song Smile Boy with South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna, and the song was the official 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial song in South Korea. He also received the "Digital Single Bonsang" award for the second consecutive time in the 25thGolden Disk Awards with his song Love Taught Me To Drink even though it was not promoted actively.
On 6 March 2012, Lee Seung Gi officially debuted in Japan by releasing his First Japan Debut Album Time for Love (also translated as Alone in Love, Generation of Love, and Era of Love) and a single of the same title which was ranked number one on Oricon Daily Chart. He held a concert at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, on 1 June 2012, three months after his debut and became the fastest singer who holds a concert there after debuting.
On 22 November 2012, Lee Seung Gi released his 5.5 Mini Album Forest. The songs dominated the music charts right after their release. The title song Return (also translated asLooking Back) became number one in music charts, such as Instiz, Gaon Chart, and Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 for weeks. It was number one for the month of December onGaon Chart and it even set a record for being number one for sixth straight week on Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100.[9][10]
[edit]Actor (2006–present)
In 2005, Lee Seung Gi guest-starred in MBC's sitcom Nonstop 5. He then officially debuted as an actor in KBS's 2006 weekend drama The Infamous Chil Sisters.
In 2008, he was offered the lead role in MBC's historical drama The Return of Iljimae, but was forced to turn down the offer due to his tight schedule.
He was cast as the main male character in SBS's weekend drama Brilliant Legacy in 2009, starring with Korean actresses Han Hyo Joo and Moon Chae Won. The drama maintained its top spot in viewer ratings for ten consecutive weeks and ended on 26 July 2009 with its 28th episode attaining a high viewer rating of 47.1%.[11] The huge success boosted Lee's popularity as an actor both locally and internationally. With this drama, he received the "Excellence in Acting" award, the "Top 10 Stars" award and the "Best Couple" award with Han Hyo Joo in the 2009 SBS Drama Awards.[12]
His performance in 2010 SBS's Wednesday-Thursday drama My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox earned him his second "Excellence in Acting" award, "Top 10 Stars" award and "Best Couple" award with his co-star Shin Min Ah in the SBS Drama Awards.[13]
In 2012, Lee starred in MBC's Wednesday-Thursday drama The King 2 Hearts alongside actress Ha Ji Won.
In October 2012, Lee's agency announced that he will star in a fantasy historical drama tentatively titled The Gu Family Book (구가의 서), which is slated for an early 2013 broadcast.[14]
[edit]MC (2007–present)
Lee Seung Gi was a permanent member of the first season of 1 Night 2 Days, a segment of KBS’s weekend variety show Happy Sunday, from November 2007 to February 2012. In 2008, he received the "Best Popularity" award in the KBS Entertainment Awards for his high popularity in 1 Night 2 Days. His efforts and contributions in making 1 Night 2 Days one of the most loved and long-lasting variety shows in South Korea earned him the "Top Excellence MC" award in the 2010 KBS Entertainment Awards[15] and the "Daesang" award with the other members of the first season in the 2011 KBS Entertainment Awards.[16]
Lee took up another MC role in SBS’s Tuesday night talk show Strong Heart in October 2009, co-hosting with Kang Ho Dong, who is one of the top MCs in South Korea. Although it was a relatively new variety show on SBS, Strong Heart was recognized as the "Best Program" at the 2009 SBS Entertainment Awards and Lee was awarded the "Netizens’ Popularity" award[17] after receiving the most number of votes in the online poll. After the departure of Kang Ho Dong from the show in September 2011, Lee took on sole MC responsibility and his performance earned positive comments from the viewers.[18] Lee was recognized for his talent as an MC and received the "Top Excellence MC" award for two consecutive years in the 2010[19] and 2011[20] SBS Entertainment Awards. In March 2012, Lee announced his departure from Strong Heart in order to focus on his singing career. He recorded his last episode on 15 March, which was broadcast on 3 April.[21]
[edit]Other Activities
Being a popular and versatile entertainer with a clean and positive image, Lee Seung Gi is one of the most likable commercial models and celebrity endorsers in South Korea. He currently endorses a wide variety of products and services, from banking services (KB Group), clothing (Heritory), food (Pizza Hut) and household electronics (Samsung Zipel refrigerators). He has also been ranked number one[22][23] in the monthly CF (Commercial Film) Model Preference Ranking survey of the Korea Advertisers Association numerous times in recent years.
On 23 June 2012, Lee Seung Gi was one of the torchbearers in the 2012 London Summer Olympics Torch Relay chosen by Samsung, one of the worldwide partners of thesaid event. [1]. He carried the torch from Rochdale Stratford Avenue to Manchester Road.[24][25]
On 30 October 2012, the National Election Commission of South Korea appointed Lee as the Honorary Online Ambassador of the nation's campaign for a fair and clean presidential election.[26]
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