South Korean boy band Super Junior, also known as SJ or SuJu is one of the pioneers of the 2000s Korean Wave. They are one of the household names in Asia and are known internationally.
Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment formed Super Junior back in 2005. Super Junior is named as the “King of Hallyu Wave” because of their popularity.
The band currently consists of 10 members with leader Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun.
Formerly a 12-piece group before the addition of Kyuhyun in 2006, Han Geng, Kibum and Kangin departed the band in 2011, 2015 and 2019, respectively.
Super Junior is known for their 2009 hit single Sorry, Sorry. Their album of the same name became number one, followed by other number-one albums in Korea as well as breaking into the US market with 2010’s Bonamana and scoring their first US World Albums number one with 2014’s Mamacita.
The group also expanded into the Japanese-language market as well as performing in various subgroups. Last year, they released their tenth full-length Korean-language studio effort The Renaissance.
At first Super Junior was supposed to feature a rotating cast of characters, with the band name changing to mark each year, for example, Super Junior 05 would become Super Junior 06.
Once the first round of rotations was made, an addition to the group, rather than a switch occurred and the group eventually expanded to include a whopping 13 members.
On December 2005, Super Junior released a self-titled album. Miracle, their second single was number one on Asian charts. It was decided then to keep the group (plus one) and drop the year designator from the name.
13th member Kyuhyun was added to the lineup in 2006. The group then released their next single, U. It became an instant hit. A year later, the larger Super Junior broke into several subgroups including Super Junior-K.R.Y., Super Junior-T, and Super Junior-M, their most successful side project.
Don’t Don, Super Junior’s next full-length was delayed due to an accident but upon its release in September 2007, the group had an album debuting at number one.
Super Junior furthered their regional popularity in 2008 with a multi-city Asian tour before the 2009 release of their third effort, Sorry, Sorry.
The album spawned the international hit single of the same name and became a top seller in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and the Philippines.
Kibum, Han Geng and Kang-In left Super Junior following the success of Sorry, Sorry. The group had 10 members during the release of the fourth album, Bonamana.
The next year, Mr. Simple (aka A-CHa) arrived and it topped the Korean charts, peaking at number three on the Billboard World Albums chart.
In the summer of 2012, Sexy, Free & Single (aka Spy) was released and it marked the return of Kang-In.
The group dropped their typical synth-heavy sound after the release of Hero, their first Japanese LP for R&B and funk tones for Mamacita, recruiting American producer Teddy Riley for the title track.
In 2015, their ninth album, Devil was released, followed soon after by reissue Magic, which added tracks like Magic and You Got It.
In 2017, Super Junior returned with PLAY, their fourth Top Three debut on the Billboard World Album chart.
The next April, PLAY was repackaged as REPLAY, spawning the trilingual (Korean, Spanish and English) hit Lo Siento, which made a strong showing on Billboard’s Latin Digital Singles chart.
On October 2018, Super Junior had a Latin crossover with the mini-album One More Time, and it featured the Mexican band Reik performing a version of the title track.
Their ninth set, Time_Slip, arrived in 2019, just months after the departure of Kang-In, who parted ways with Super Junior just days before they performed at a global music festival in Saudi Arabia.
Peaking in the Top Ten on the U.S. World Albums chart, Time_Slip was supported by singles “Show,” “Somebody New,” “The Crown,” and “I Think I.”
In March 2021, they returned with their tenth full-length, the Lee Soo-man-produced The Renaissance. The album marked their seventh consecutive appearance at the top of the South Korean album chart.
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