South Korean boy band
Turbo
(
Korean
:
터보
) was a South Korean
dance
-oriented group, mostly popular during the late 1990s to early 2000s. The group was originally a duo consisting of
Kim Jong-kook
and Kim Jung-nam. In early 1997, Kim Jung-nam left the group and Kim Jong-kook later continued promotion with new member
Mikey
. They became one of the biggest stars in the Korean entertainment industry during their active time between 1995 and 2001 and sold millions of albums and records across Asia. In 2015, they made a comeback as a trio after 15 years with "Again".
[1]
Career
[
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]
1995?1996: Formation and early years
[
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]
Prior to Turbo's formation, Kim Jung-nam was a DJ while
Kim Jong-kook
was the vocalist for a high school band. With Jung-nam taking up rap and choreography and Jong-kook in charge of vocals, the group released their first album,
280 km/h Speed
, in August 1995. The album sold over 300,000 copies by December of that year.
[2]
Just a year after their debut, Turbo returned with their second album,
New Sensation
. The album sold 800,000 copies within the first two months. After "Twist King" Turbo performed "Love Is...(3+3=0)" and "어느 재즈 바... (At the Jazz Bar...)". However, during the album's promotions, their company's CEO was revealed to have assaulted its singers and stolen hundreds of millions of won in profits, and Turbo went into seclusion.
[3]
Kim Jung-nam, unable to reconcile his differences with the management, left the group, leaving Kim Jong Kook looking for a new partner.
[4]
1997?2001: Addition of Mikey and disbandment
[
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]
Auditioning against 3,500 other hopefuls, California resident
Mikey
was the one to become part of Turbo.
[5]
With his addition, Turbo returned in October 1997 with their 3rd album,
Born Again...
. During this time, Turbo sang with American singer and movie star
Will Smith
for the Korean version of his fourth single "
Just the Two of Us
".
[6]
In September 1998, while preparing for their 4th album, Kim Jong-kook injured his hip, hampering the album's release.
[7]
After a month-long rest, Kim returned to activities, and the album, entitled
Perfect Love
, was eventually released in October 1998.
[8]
On December 30, 1998, Turbo was invited to participate in the Asia Superconcert to represent South Korea. This concert featured singers from all over Asia including Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan and was to broadcast live to South Korea, China and Japan. Kim Jong-kook received criticism for his lack of effort while lip-syncing and leaving without bowing during Turbo's performance. Due to this incident, Kim Jong-kook and Turbo's company were strictly warned and put under strong sanctions.
[9]
The ban was lifted in October 1999, and 4 months later in 2000, Turbo returned with their 5th album
Email My Heart
.
[10]
On April 7, 2001, Turbo's agency Star Music announced that Kim Jong-kook had left the company due to contract expiration.
[11]
To end their career, Turbo released one last album titled "History" revisiting all their hit songs from previous albums and including 3 new songs. A music video for "History" was also released, featuring transgender model and singer
Harisu
.
Reunion
[
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]
Prior to the reunion, the group performed in many television shows like
MBC
's
Infinite Challenge
"Saturday, Saturday's: I Am a Singer Special" on December 27, 2014, on which they performed "My Childhood Dreams", "Twist King", "Love Is (3+3=0)" and "White Love". However, in this performance Kim Jung-nam is with Kim Jong-kook instead of Mikey. The group then performed again on January 25, 2015, one month after their last performance, on
SBS
's
Inkigayo
800th episode special, performing "December" and "White Love". However, this time Mikey is performing with Kim Jong-kook instead of Kim Jung-nam.
In celebration of the group's 20th anniversary, all three previous members reunited for the first time in nearly 15 years in 2015. The group released their comeback album on December 21, featuring all three members. Their title song track "Again" features comedian
Yoo Jae-suk
, and the music video has many guest appearances, including
Lee Kwang-soo
and
Cha Tae-hyun
. On July 25, 2017, they released their first mini-album
Turbo Splash
, with "Hot Sugar" serving as the album's title track. They also appeared on many television variety shows like
SBS
's
Running Man
and
KBS 2TV
's
Happy Together
. Kim Jung-nam and Mikey also appeared on
KBS 2TV
's
Hello Counselor
.
Members
[
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]
- Kim Jung-nam (김정남): 1995?1997, 2015?2017
- Kim Jong-kook
(김종국): 1995?2001, 2015?2017
- Mikey
(Jo Myung-ik) (마이키 (조명익)): 1997?2001, 2015?2017
Discography
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]
Studio albums
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]
Compilation albums
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]
Remix albums
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]
Singles
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]
Awards and nominations
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]
Year
|
Award
|
Category
|
Nominated work
|
Result
|
1996
|
Sports Seoul Music Award
|
Bonsang Award (Main Prize)
|
Turbo 2nd Album
|
Won
|
SBS Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
KBS Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
MBC Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
Golden Disk Awards
|
Turbo 2nd Album: Twist King
|
Won
|
1997
|
Turbo 3rd Album: Goodbye Yesterday
|
Won
|
SBS Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
KBS Music Award
|
Turbo 3rd Album: Born Again
|
Won
|
MBC Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
1998
|
SBS Music Award
|
Turbo 4th Album: Perfect Love
|
Won
|
KBS Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
MBC Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
2000
|
Golden Disk Awards
|
Turbo 5th Album: E-mail My Heart
|
Won
|
SBS Music Award
|
Won
|
KBS Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
MBC Music Award
|
?
|
Won
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Turbo returns after 15 years as trio, tops charts"
.
m.koreaherald.com
. Retrieved
2021-09-27
.
- ^
"神인 댄스듀오「터보」 歌唱力 兼備한「파워댄스」그룹"
.
NAVER Newslibrary
. 1995-12-09
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
"歌謠界 非理도 全面搜査-매니저社 代表 手配"
.
中央日報
(in Korean). 1996-11-29
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
金大領.
"[20年 前 오늘] 김종국, 가요-예능 모두 平定한 터보 엔진"
.
n.news.naver.com
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
엔터팀.
"터보 두 番째 멤버 마이키는 누구?"
.
n.news.naver.com
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
2021-10-15
.
- ^
"美國 音盤社,우리歌手와 '蜜月'
"
.
中央日報
(in Korean). 1998-06-22
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
"댄스歌手는 '춤機械'인가…무리한 練習 負傷 續出"
.
中央日報
(in Korean). 1998-09-22
. Retrieved
2021-10-15
.
- ^
"慢性 디스크 딛고 活動再開 '터보' 김종국"
.
中央日報
(in Korean). 1998-10-15
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
"터보 김종국 不誠實 舞臺매너 制裁"
.
NAVER Newslibrary
(in Korean). 1999-01-22
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
"댄스듀오 터보, 5輯 들고 컴백!"
.
中央日報
(in Korean). 2002-02-25
. Retrieved
2021-10-15
.
- ^
"## [重要公地] 터보 '김종국' 스타뮤직을 떠나고.. ##"
.
스타뮤직
(in Korean). 2004-04-07. Archived from
the original
on 2001-04-17
. Retrieved
2022-08-23
.
- ^
a
b
"K-Pop Album Sales Volume"
(in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from
the original
on July 1, 2018
. Retrieved
June 19,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Gaon Album Chart"
.
Gaon Chart
(in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association
. Retrieved
February 5,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"98年 國內 音盤市場 決算"
[1999 Domestic Music Market Roundup].
Imaeil
. 1998-12-14. Archived from
the original
on February 6, 2015
. Retrieved
June 19,
2018
.
- ^
"January 1999 K-pop Album Sales Volume"
. Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from
the original
on July 18, 2007
. Retrieved
February 5,
2015
.
- ^
"2000 K-pop Album Sales Volume"
. Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from
the original
on June 5, 2008
. Retrieved
February 5,
2015
.
- ^
Again
total album sales:
- ^
"June 2001 K-Pop Album Sales Volume"
(in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from
the original
on 2016-10-21
. Retrieved
June 19,
2018
.
- ^
"January 2016 Album Chart"
.
Gaon Chart
(in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association
. Retrieved
June 19,
2018
.
- ^
"Gaon Digital Chart "터보" Search"
.
Gaon Music Chart
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
September 23,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"2015年 01月 Download Chart"
.
Gaon Music Chart
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
September 23,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"2015年 1週次 Download Chart"
.
Gaon Music Chart
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
September 23,
2020
.
- ^
Cumulative sales of "Twist King":
- ^
Cumulative sales of "Again":
- ^
"2015年 53週次 Download Chart"
.
Gaon Music Chart
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
September 23,
2020
.
- ^
"2017年 30週次 Download Chart"
.
Gaon Music Chart
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
September 23,
2020
.
External links
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