Jo Kwon

Born in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on August 28, 1989, the South Korean singer Jo Kwon launched his music career with the boy band 2am. The group formed in Seoul released its first single, "This Song," in 2008. One year later, "Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" became 2am's first Number 1 single, followed by subsequent chart-topping hits like "You Wouldn't Answer My Calls" and "I Wonder If You Hurt Like Me." Concurrently, Jo Kwon began his own hit singles, beginning with 2009's "We Fell In Love." A duet with Brown Eyed Girls' Gain, "We Fell In Love" peaked at Number 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart and was followed by Jo Kwon's first solo single,"The Day I Confessed," one year later. His debut album, I'm Da One, was released in 2012 and climbed to Number 1 in South Korea, thanks in part to the success of the single "Animal." After 2am embarked upon an indefinite hiatus in 2014, Jo Kwon continued releasing non-album singles as a solo artist, while also appearing in a string of television series, variety shows, and original soundtracks. One year after duetting with Sunye on the 2020 single "First Page," Jo Kwon earned an unexpected hit in Peru and Saudi Arabia, where "Animal" — his 2012 single featuring BTS's J-Hope — became a Number 1 digital single.