Deux (Korean: 듀스) was a South Korean K-pop duo from the early 1990s, who were among the first to incorporate hip hop into Korean music.[1]
Deux | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Background information | |
Origin | South Korea |
Genres | K-pop, New Jack Swing, Hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Singers, dancers |
Years active | 1993–1995 |
Labels | Jigu Records, K&C Music |
Past members | Lee Hyun Do Kim Sung-jae |
Deux | |
Hangul | 듀스 |
---|---|
Revised Romanization | Dyuseu |
McCune–Reischauer | Tyusŭ |
History
editLee Hyun-do and Kim Sung-jae first met in high school, when a friend of Lee's introduced the two together.[2] Before Deux were formed, Lee and Kim started their careers as members of Wawa, the dance team of singer Hyun Jin-young.[3] The previous members Kang Won-rae and Koo Jun-yup, who were to enlist in the military, suggested Hyun take in Kim Sung-jae, who later brought in Lee Hyun-do.[4][5] Lee and Kim separated from Hyun Jin-young's dance team to form Deux,[4] and on 23 April 1993, Deux made their official debut.[6] Their first album was fully produced by Lee Hyun-do.[7]
At the beginning of 1994, the group released their second album, Deuxism, its lead single the song "We Are".[8] The album sold 300,000 copies a month and a half after its release,[9] and "We Are" topped the charts of the SBS music program TV Gayo 20 for five consecutive weeks.[10] Deux's next album, Rhythm Light Beat Black, included both remixes of their old work and new songs.[11] At the end of 1994, Deux won the SCK Popularity Award at the Golden Disc Awards (then named the Korea Visual and Records Grand Prize Award).[12]
Force Deux, the group's third studio album, was released in April 1995. Seeing over a million pre-orders, the album accumulated 900,000 sales a month and a half after its release. The lead track, "Break Off the Yoke", charted high on the three major Korean broadcasters' (KBS, MBC, and SBS) music programs, almost winning to Roo'ra's "Angel Without Wings" on SBS's TV Gayo 20.[13]
On 7 June 1995, Deux held a press conference announcing their disbandment, citing health issues caused by their busy schedules. The group stated that they would hold a free "goodbye concert" from 7—8 July, and after a TV Gayo 20 performance on 17 July would completely split up.[14][15] In November, Kim Sung-jae released his debut solo album, but he was found dead on 20 November, a day after his first performance.[16] Lee Hyun-do announced his retirement following Kim's death, but returned with a solo album in 1996.[17] The next year, a greatest hits album called Deux Forever was released, which included an unreleased track called "Love, Fear". The song was originally meant for Kim Sung-jae's second solo album; Lee Hyun-do made it a duet by adding his own vocals to the track.[18]
Musical style and legacy
editDeux's music is influenced by various kinds of black music,[7] including hip hop, R&B, and new jack swing.[19][20] Lee Hyun-do produced most of their output, while Kim Sung-jae took charge of the choreography and fashion.[21][22] Along with groups like Seo Taiji and Boys and Noise , they were part of the "rap-dance" trend of the early 1990s.[1][8] Kim Seong-hwan of the Korean Popular Music Institute wrote, "Their intense choreography, which was more faithful to B-boying than other dance groups, and their music, which was closer to overseas black music trends, clearly differentiated them from Seo Taiji and Boys and Hyun Jin-young."[10] They are said to be the first artists in Korea to release a song consisting purely of rapping, with the track "Untitled".[23][24]
In 2013, Mnet included Deux on their Legend 100 Artists list.[25] Deuxism and Force Deux ranked 81st and 35th place respectively on Kyunghyang Shinmun's Top 100 Korean Popular Music Albums list.[1][26] Music critic Han Dong-yoon wrote in a Jugan Kyunghyang article that after Deux, "Korean hip-hop and dance music began to show rapid growth".[7] Naming the group's debut song, "Turn Around and Look at Me", one of the 100 best songs in Korean pop music history, a writer for Rolling Stone stated that "trailblazing duo Deux helped usher in hip-hop — the music, dance, and fashion — to Korea during the early Nineties."[27] For the group's 20th anniversary in 2013, a tribute album project went underway, on which musicians like Brave Brothers, Shinsadong Tiger, and Muzie participated.[28]
Discography
editStudio albums
editTitle | Album details | Tracks |
---|---|---|
Deux |
| |
Deuxism |
| |
Rhythm Light Beat Black |
| |
Force Deux |
|
Other albums
editTitle | Album details | Tracks |
---|---|---|
Live 199507121617 |
|
Year | Award-Giving Body | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Mnet Km Music Video Festival | Mnet PD's Choice Award[29] | Deux | Won |
Year | Song | Awarded date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | 우리는 We are | 22 May | No.1 |
1994 | 우리는 We are | 29 May | No.1(for two weeks) |
1995 | 굴레를 벗어나 Break off the yoke | 11 June | No.1 |
1995 | 굴레를 벗어나 Break off the yoke | 18 June | |
1995 | 굴레를 벗어나 Break off the yoke | 25 June | |
1995 | 굴레를 벗어나 Break off the yoke | 16 July | No1(for 4 weeks) |
Notes
edit- ^ Most of the footage were lost due to poor conservation of videos in respective south korean tv networks. As a result, most of the stuff from the 1950s to the early 1980s footage were lost, and even to the early 90s it was not preserved carefully.. However, some networks offer paid loans of available footage.
References
edit- ^ a b c Kang, Il-gwon (19 June 2008). [대중음악 100대 명반]84위 듀스 (Deux) ‘Deuxism’. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ 이현도,"김성재와 첫 만남,한 눈에 서로를 알아봐". TenAsia (in Korean). 25 August 2013. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ 백댄서 출신 스타 가수들(이경희 기자의 타임클릭). Kukmin Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b 한국 힙합의 뿌리 '듀스' 김성재를 추억하다. Ize (in Korean). 29 September 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ [아카이브K 오리지널] 현진영 2편, 클론 듀스 지누션, 현진영과 와와 멤버 영입 썰 [[Archive K Original] Hyun Jin-young Part 2, Stories About Clon, Deux, and Jinusean's Recruitment Into "Hyun Jin-young & Wawa"] (Video) (in Korean). 24 March 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ [단독] 이현도 “듀스 30주년 맞아 LP 제작”(인터뷰) (in Korean). Star Today. 8 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Daum.
- ^ a b c Han, Dong-yun (17 April 2018). [문화내시경]짧지만 강한 인상 남긴 듀스 25주년. The Jugan Kyunghyang (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b Hong, Ho-pyo (9 March 1994). "랩댄스 열기 듀엣「듀스」 식지 않았다". The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Naver News Library.
- ^ 듀스 새봄 랩선풍 일으킨다. Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 17 March 1994. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Naver News Library.
- ^ a b Kim, Seong-hwan. "DEUXISM". terms.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ 독특한 춤.리듬창조 그룹 듀스. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 12 October 1994. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ 「94 영상음반대상」 시상식/일간스포츠·음반협회 주최. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). 12 December 1994. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Heo, Yeop (1 June 1995). 듀스 음악성 갖춘 댄스그룹 발돋움. The Dong-A Ilbo. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Naver News Library.
- ^ 인기 댄스그룹 `듀스' 전격 해체 선언 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 7 June 1995. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Heo, Yeop (8 June 1995). 「듀스」해체선언. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Naver News Archive.
- ^ 듀스 김성재 죽음에 얽힌 진실을 말하자면…. Hankyoreh 21 (in Korean). 9 January 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ <인터뷰>듀스 前멤버 이현도. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 9 June 1996. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ '듀스'가 돌아왔다. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). 3 March 1997. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Naver News Library.
- ^ Han, Dong-yoon (12 March 2013). 듀스의 추억. The Jugan Kyunghyang (in Korean). No. 1016. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ 깊이있는 음악 듀스. Kiki (in Korean). June 1998. Archived from the original on 16 December 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Song, Cho-rong (28 January 2015). [M+빅매치] 남자 댄스 듀오의 선구자 듀스와 그 길을 따라 걷는 원펀치. MBN (in Korean). Retrieved 29 July 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ [내가 누구게?]이현도·김성재 '듀스' (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Daum.
- ^ [힙합을 만나다⑧] ‘힙합의 신’ 이현도(D.O)가 밝힌 대한민국의 힙합. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kang, Su-jin (28 August 2018). [미스터K의 음악편지]‘너, 나랑 전쟁 할래?’. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved 29 July 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Mnet 선정 ‘국내 가요 레전드’ 100인 공개…명단 보니. Kuki News (in Korean). 10 January 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2024 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Yeong-dae (27 December 2007). [대중음악 100대 명반]35위 듀스 ‘Force Deux’. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music". Rolling Stone. 20 July 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Lee, Su-a (1 August 2013). 듀스 20주년 헌정 프로젝트, 유명 뮤지션 20인 뭉쳤다 (in Korean). TV Report. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Daum.
- ^ "MAMA Museum: 2004 Mnet KM Music Video Festival". Mnet. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.