Pre-debut[edit source | editbeta]
Eli (short for Ellison) was born in Washington, D.C. by his Korean parents, but spent most of his years in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has a younger sister named Minah and an older sister named Hannah.[1] He attended Ni River Middle School and Riverbend High School in Virginia.[2] After dropping out of high school, he went alone to Beijing, China at the age of 15 to pursue his studies where he also learned Mandarin. He studied the techniques for Taekwondo and Kung Fu for 12 years, opening an opportunity for him to cast as an extra-artist in a Chinese movie.
Debut[edit source | editbeta]
Eli is the fourth addition to a Korean boyband, U-KISS which was formed by NH Media Entertainment in 2008.[3] They were launched in Power of Atamix in Japan alongside other Korean boybands such as Paran.[4] They also debuted in South Korea days later. They released their first mini-album N-Generation and first music video, Not Young.[5]
Other activities[edit source | editbeta]
On January 2010, Eli and ex-member Kibum starred in a Thai-Korean drama, Autumn Destiny, with Thai actor, Mario Maurer.[6] Eli and Kibum's voices were dubbed since they could not speak Thai.
Eli has appeared on many variety shows. He was one of the hosts for a variety show, Raising Idol along with co-U-KISS member Shin Dongho, MBLAQ's Thunder and Shinee's Key.[7] He appeared on MBC's We Are Dating on December 24, 2010 where he showed his Casanova type of being a man.[8] He also appeared as an emcee at the segment All About You on the show"Pops In Seoul" on Arirang TV, along with fellow U-KISS members, Alexander and Kevin.[9] He also act as an emcee in the new show Fusion with Park Myung-soo under MBC which premiered on April 1.[10]
Eli is also known as The Pigeon because of his good imitation of a bird. This was featured on the groups reality show, UKiss Vampire when he tried to copy how a pigeon eats through its beak.[11]
On April 18, 2011, Eli was injured during a rehearsal.[12] He fractured his right hand,[13] and underwent surgery.[14] The hospital stated that it wouldn't be difficult for Eli to perform, and he managed to perform with a cast on his right arm.[15]
On April 27, 2011, Eli and Kevin went to Hong Kong for a special street date with their Hong Kong fans for their show “Star Date with U-KISS in Hong Kong” special. This was sponsored byBinggrae, which aims to connect the fans all over the world to Hallyu stars to encourage cultural exchanges. The special was aired through Arirang TV on May 3.[16][17]
Eli, with co-members Dongho and Kiseop, were casted in a MBC sitcom titled, Real School.[18] The trio acted in a 40-episode series, transforming into high school students who reside at an ‘English Village’ in an attempt to face and crack their fear of speaking English.[19][20]
In November 2012, Eli along with NS Yoon-G were chosen to host a new weekly English show, "K-POP Tasty Road" on the Olive TV (and on Mnet_(TV_channel) in the United States and various other countries). The show gives K-POP fans a sense of where celebrities of the Hallyu eat, play, work, and shop. The first episode was aired on November 10, 2012.[21]
Mini album and album release[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: U-KISS
Eli is a member of the Korean boyband, U-KISS. The group launched their first mini album, N-Generation with their hit single Not Young in August 2008.[22] They portrayed a cute image. Their second mini album, Bring It Back 2 Old School was released on the 11th of February, 2009 with their carrier single, "I Like You". It features the members sporting old school hairstyles dancing to Korean pop in the late 1990s, which represented the concept of the second mini album.[23] The second track they promoted was "Talk To Me", although it had no links to the Old School concept.
On November 5, 2009, U-KISS returned with a manly get-up on their third mini album, ContiUkiss. The title track Man Man Ha Ni (Am I That Easy?) helped raise their popularity in South Korea.[24]
Their first full length album, Only One, was released on February 3, 2010. This heightened their popularity outside Korea such as Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Promotional tracks include "Bingeul Bingeul (Round and Round)", and "Mworago (What)".[25]
On October 4, 2010, the fourth mini album Break Time further advocated their manly image.[26] It features the title track, "Shut Up!".[27] The group also released their fifth mini album entitled Bran New Kiss in March 30, 2011.[28] On the same day, the music video for their carrier single, "0330" was released and gained positive reviews.[29] This was the first album of the group with the new members, AJ and Hoon, who joined the U-Kiss family after the release of Alexander and Kibum.
Their second full-length album, Neverland, was released on September 1, 2011 along with the music video. It was preceded by the teaser, released on August 25, which was followed by the promotional single Someday the next day, August 26. The majority of the tracks on the album was produced by MARCAN Entertainment, a multi-mega hit producer team.
