Infinite (band)

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Infinite (인피니트)
(Left to right) Sungyeol, Woohyun, L, Dongwoo, Hoya, Sunggyu, Sungjong.
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	Pop, R&B, dance
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Woollim Entertainment
Associated acts	Epik High Nell
Website	ifnt7.com infinite7.jp
Members
Sunggyu Dongwoo Woohyun Hoya Sungyeol L Sungjong

Korean name
Hangul	인피니트
Revised Romanization	Inpiniteu
McCune–Reischauer	Inp'init'ŭ

Infinite (Korean: 인피니트, Japanese: インフィニット; stylized as INFINITE) is a seven member South Korean pop boy group under Woollim Entertainment, which is also home to other talents such as Epik High and Nell. The group consists of 7 members: Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Woohyun, Hoya, Sungyeol, L, and Sungjong. The group is known for their highly synchronized dancing as well as the 'Scorpion Dance' in their "Before The Dawn" MV. With 2011 being their breakout year, Infinite continues to become successful and gain more popularity amongst other idol groups in both South Korea and Japan.

2010: First Invasion

In 2010, Infinite first appeared in the reality show "You Are My Oppa" introducing the group before making their debut in June (9th). They performed songs from their first EP First Invasion with the singles "Come Back Again" and "She's Back"^[1]

2011: Evolution, Over the Top, and Japanese debut

On January 7, 2011, the band debuted the single Before the Dawn (BTD) from their second EP Evolution. Promotions for BTD (Before the Dawn) ended on the February 17, 2011 on Inkigayo where Infinite performed a remix version of the song. The MV teaser for their next title song Nothing's Over, off their first single album Inspirit, was released on March 7, 2011. The full version was later released on March 16, 2011 ahead of their comeback stage on M! Countdown on March 17, 2011 where they performed both Nothing's Over and part of Shot. Infinite then continued promotions with their follow-up track Can U Smile on May 12 on Mnet’s "M! Countdown".
Their first album Over The Top was released on July 21, 2011 together with the MV of their title track Be Mine (내꺼하자). The MV teaser of their title track was first released on their official website at midnight of July 15 followed by an album preview on the 20th. The group then had their comeback on July 23, 2011 on Music Core. They received their First Music Show #1 Award in M! Countdown on September 1, 2011. They've received a "Double Crown" for winning two consecutive #1 wins at M! Countdown. Infinite re-release their First Album "Over the Top" as a Repackaged Album. This repackaged album was titled "Paradise". Paradise released on September 26, 2011. Woollim Entertainment revealed the music video teaser of Paradise, the repackaged album's promotional track on September 22, 2011. On 9th of October, Infinite came first on Inkigayo for Paradise. Infinite then won their second trophy with Paradise on October 13 on M! Countdown.
Infinite members' Sungyeol and L walked the runway in Fashion Week in Seoul.
In November 2011, INFINITE participated in "Birth of a Family" where they had to take care of three dogs.^[2]
Infinite unofficially debuted in Japan with their first Japanese single To-Ra-Wa^[3] on January 26, 2011. Immediately after its release, their Evolution album hit #3 on real-time charts for sales in Korea.^[4] The song topped to #1 for ringtones on the daily charts of the K-POP section of Japan’s top mobile website. Infinite released various rental singles song including "She's Back", "BTD (Before The Dawn)", and "Nothing's Over" before they officially debuted in Japan. Infinite made their official debut with the Japanese version of BTD. BTD was released on November 19, 2011. The single was released in three versions, a CD+Photobook including a 40-page photobook, CD+DVD that includes their first Japanese showcase at Zepp Tokyo on July 21, 2011 as well as "BTD"'s music video and making-of, and regular edition. All editions comes with a random (1 out of 7) trading cards. The B-side for the single is "Can U Smile", a remake from their 2nd Mini Album EVOLUTION found at their 1st Single Album "Inspirit", track #3.
On December 2011, they released their first Christmas song "White Confession (Lately)". It was released digitally.

2012: Touring, individual activities and comeback

Infinite performed their very first Korean concert ^[5] in front of approximately 8,000 fans on February 11–12 at the Seoul Olympic Park in Songpa District, eastern Seoul. The concert was titled Second Invasion, following after the band's debut album, First Invasion. The tickets for the concert sold out within 10 minutes after being released online on December 14. A teaser for the concert was released.^[6]
Dongwoo was featured on Baby Soul/Yoo Jia's new single "She's a Flirt" released on the 18th of January.^[7]
L was cast in for the tvN TV drama "Shut Up Flower Boy Band" which started airing on the 30th of January.^[8]
Sunggyu and Woohyun made their musical debuts in "Gwanghwamun Sonata" on the 7th of February to the 11th of March at the LG Arts Center.^[9]
On April 1, an encore performance of Infinite's first concert "Second Invasion" was held, once again at the Seoul Olympic Park. The performance was titled "Second Invasion - Evolution". Ticket sales for the concert began on February 28, and instantly sold out all 10 000 seats.^[10]
The encore performance also obtained a partnership with Youtube to broadcast parts of it live worldwide. Infinite is now the first K-pop group to ever live stream a concert through Youtube.^[11]
"Be Mine" was remade to serve as their 2nd Japanese Single. It was released on April 18th 2012 with fourth versions, a CD+DVD limited edition ("SOLID VERSION"), two CD Only limited editions ("POP ART VERSION"/"INNOCENT VERSION"), and a regular CD Only edition. All the limited editions include a different packaging design and 9 photocards (of a total of 15 types). The title track is a Japanese version of their song "Naekkeohaja", which was the lead track for their Over the Top album. The single also includes the introduction track of the album, and a Japanese version of "Julia". Be Mine peaked at #2 both in Oricon Daily and Weekly Charts.^[12] Total reported sales amount to 54,218 copies.
Infinite made their comeback with their 3rd Mini Album "INFINITIZE" with the title track "The Chaser". Before the official release, they released a prologue single "Only Tears" on May 07, 2012.
Infinite was awarded a "Triple Crown" for winning #1 in a week at all Music Programs.

Members

Stage name		Birth name		Date of birth	Position
Romanized	Hangul	Romanized	Hangul
Sunggyu	성규	Kim Sung Gyu	김성규	April 28, 1989 (age 23)	Leader, Main Vocalist
Dongwoo	동우	Jang Dong Woo	장동우	November 22, 1990 (age 21)	Main Rapper, Lead Dancer
Woohyun	우현	Nam Woo Hyun	남우현	February 8, 1991 (age 21)	Main Vocalist
Hoya	호예	Lee Ho Won	이호원	March 28, 1991 (age 21)	Rapper, Vocalist, Main Dancer
Sungyeol	성열	Lee Seong Yeol	이성열	August 27, 1991 (age 20)	Vocalist
L	엘	Kim Myung Soo	김명수	March 13, 1992 (age 20)	Visual, Vocalist
Sungjong	성종	Lee Sung Jong	이성종	September 3, 1993 (age 18)	Vocalist, Maknae

Discography

Main article: Infinite discography

Korean discography

Studio albums

• 2011: Over the Top

Mini-albums

• 2010: First Invasion
• 2011: Evolution
• 2012: Infinitize

Single Albums

• 2011: Inspirit

Digital Singles

• 2011: White Confession (Lately)

Japanese discography

Singles

• 2011: Before the Dawn (BTD)
• 2012: Be Mine

Music Programs

This is a list of awards Infinite has won on music programs.

M! Countdown

Year	Date	Song
2011	Sept 1	Be Mine (내꺼하자)
	Sept 8
	Oct 13	파라다이스 (Paradise)
2012	May 31	추격자 (The Chaser)
	June 7

KBS Music Bank

Year	Date	Song
2012	June 1	추격자 (The Chaser)

SBS Inkigayo

Year	Date	Song
2011	Oct 9	파라다이스 (Paradise)
2012	June 3	추격자 (The Chaser)
	June 10

MBC Show Champion

Year	Date	Song
2012	June 5	추격자 (The Chaser)

Awards and nominations

Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Infinite

Major awards

Golden Disk Awards

Bout	Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
26th [13]	2012	Over the Top
			Disk Bonsang Award[14]	Won
		Be Mine	Most Popular Artist Award[15]	Nominated
			MSN Most Popular Artist Award[16]	Nominated
		Infinite	Hallyu Icon Award[14]	Won

Seoul Music Awards

Bout	Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
20th[17]	2011	Infinite
			Popularity Award	Nominated
21th[18]	2012	Be Mine, Paradise
			Bonsang Award[19]	Nominated
			Popularity Award[20]	Nominated

Mnet Asian Music Awards

Bout	Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
13th	2011	Be Mine
			Song of the Year[21]	Nominated
			Best Dance Performance by a Male Group[21]	Nominated

Korean Music Awards

Bout	Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
9th	2012	Over the Top (Infinite album)	Musician of the Year by Netizens[22]	Won

Melon Music Awards

Bout	Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
3rd	2011	Infinite	2011 Top 10 [23]	Nominated

Other awards and nominations

Year	Award	Nominated work	Result
18th Korean Culture Entertainment Awards[24]
2010	New Generation Popular Music Teen Singer Award		Won
Mnet M! Countdown Idol Dance Competition (with trophy)[25]
2011	Infinite - H (Hoya and Dongwoo)		Won
The Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club (SFCC) PR Awards[26]
2011	Performances Group		Won
Mnet M!Countdown Awards
2011
	Best action of performance	Scorpion Dance - BTD	Won
	Best attractive artist	Infinite	Nominated
	BAD GUY who made fans cry	Infinite	Nominated
	Miracle of 1sec	Sungyeol - Infinite	Nominated
SBS MTV Best of the Best Awards 2011[27]
2011
	Music Video Segment - Best Male	Infinite	Nominated
	Live Segment - Boy Group	Infinite	Nominated
2011 OBS Idol Stars Awards[28]
2011	Idol Growth No.1	Infinite	Won
European K-Pop Awards (So-Loved Awards)[29]
2011
	Best Song	Infinite - Be Mine (내꺼 하자)	Won
	Best Choreography	Infinite - Before the Dawn	Won
	Best Male Group	Infinite	Nominated
	Best Music Video	Infinite - Nothing's Over	Nominated
	Best Album	Infinite - Over the Top	Nominated

References