Choi Jung-hoon

Choi Jung-hoon (born March 10, 1992) is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the Korean indie rock band Jannabi.

Early life and education
Choi Jung-hoon was born on March 10, 1992, in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. His family consists of his parents and an older brother. He was raised a Buddhist and spent his childhood and school days in Bundang's academy district called "Dolmaro" (he would go on to write the lyrics of the song Dolmaro in Jannabi's Legend album). He attended Bundang Elementary School, Seohyun Middle School, and Yatap High School.

Choi displayed interest and talent in music from an early age. Since fifth grade, he has liked writing essays and lyrics. Under the influence of his mother, he often listened to and performed songs by Sanulrim, Elton John, and The Beatles, which were different from the likes of his peers. Although he was good at music, he dreamed of becoming a professional football player. However, Elton John's concert in South Korea and his poster advertisement that said "the best singer-songwriter in the world" left a deep impression on Choi. He thought that being a singer-songwriter was "the coolest job" after hearing his mother's explanation of the term, which inspired him to become such.

In his middle and high school years, Choi met his future Jannabi bandmates Jang Kyung-joon and Kim Do-hyung, and they would regularly perform at Bundang Central Park. He also served as the student council's president and reportedly ranked 8th in the entire school. Following graduation, he gained admission to Kyung Hee University, where he majored in business administration, but decided to take a year off from college to pursue music. He trained at FNC Entertainment, nearly debuting as a member of N.Flying, but decided to leave after realizing his creativity was restricted by the agency and he had a different musical style from the group.

2012–present: Jannabi
In 2012, Jannabi was formed under an independent record label, Peponi Music, established and headed by Choi Jung-hoon's older brother, Choi Jung-joon. The band started from scratch, performing on clubs and busking on the streets of Hongdae and Insa-dong.

In August 2013, Jannabi auditioned for the fifth season of the survival audition show Superstar K to make their band known. While Kim Do-hyung and Yoo Young-hyun were eliminated, Choi continued to participate as a member of the newly created vocalist group Plan B. Plan B was later eliminated, reaching the Top 7 Qualifying Round.

On April 28, 2014, Choi officially made his debut as a member of Jannabi with the release of the single Rocket. In the same year, the band has continued to release digital singles November Rain and Pole Dance, its first extended play (EP), See Your Eyes, and several original sound tracks for Korean television dramas.

On August 4, 2016, Jannabi released its first studio album, Monkey Hotel. About a year after the band's debut, he wrote the lyrics to the songs with Kim and Yoo. For the following years, Choi performed as the sole lyricist and producer of the band's songs. He has hands-on involvement in the pre-production work of their albums, merchandise, and shows.

In 2019, Jannabi has created an unprecedented sensation after releasing their second studio album Legend with the title track "For Lovers Who Hesitate." Aside from the songs in the album, their past songs simultaneously charted on the Circle Digital Chart and Billboard K-Pop Hot 100.

On November 6, 2020, Choi and Kim continued to record as a duo and released Jannabi's second EP, Jannabi's Small Pieces I, with the title song "A thought on an autumn night." The title track ranked first on various music charts in South Korea, such as Bugs, Genie, and Vibe.

On July 18, 2021, despite Kim and Jang Kyung-joon being on a hiatus due to military service, Choi continued to promote the band with session musicians, releasing their third studio album, The Land of Fantasy.

On May 10, 2022, Choi released Jannabi's third EP, Jannabi's Small Pieces II: Grippin'TheGreen, with all tracks written and produced by him. He revealed that the album was filled with "songs made at home, in the afternoon, mostly while looking out the window," with Choi hoping that listeners would listen to the EP like that as well. The EP's lead single "Grippin'TheGreen," ranked first on the Bugs! and quickly entered the Top 100 of the Genie and Melon music charts.

2018–present: Solo activities
In 2018, Choi Jung-hoon participated in the song "Lilac" from Changmo's EP The Moment of Contact. In December 2018, Choi competed on King of Mask Singer under the name "Ginger Man," appearing in episodes 183 and 184.

In 2019, following Jannabi's rise to fame, Choi appeared on various television shows, including KBS' In Sync, where vocalists try to find their perfect match to do a duet, the social commentary talk show Hello Counselor, and MBC's I Live Alone, where he particularly gained attention by revealing his daily life.

In 2020, Choi participated in the 28th anniversary project of the fashion magazine Elle Korea called "RECONNECT." It features the song "For the Gone," written and composed by him alongside Code Kunst and Simon Dominic.

In March 2021, Choi appeared on Hangout with Yoo. In July 2021, he participated in the song "Next Episode" from AKMU's EP of the same title. In October 2021, he participated in the 25th anniversary tribute for punk rock band No Brain by remaking their song "Midnight Music," a track from No Brain's 5th album That is Youth (2007).

In February 2022, it was announced that Choi would join JTBC's music entertainment show Hot Singers as a music director alongside Kim Moon-jeong. The show centers on the journey of Korea's famous senior actors in singing songs together while telling the stories of their lives. He created the Korean language version of the song "This Is Me" which was performed by the choir at the 58th Baeksang Arts Awards to conclude the show. From April to May 2022, he led a film photo exhibition called "Days of Future Passed" in collaboration with Allycamera. The exhibition follows Choi's daily life from morning to night, showcasing his point of view and his brother's photographic works. In May 2022, he joined the two-track project of singer-songwriter Jo Dong-hee and composer Jo Dong-Ik by singing the song "Until I love the love." The song has an exquisite blend of understated acoustic melodies and electronic sounds that lead to a calm atmosphere. On September 23, 2022, Choi appeared as an original singer on the seventh season of Hidden Singer. The show's sixth episode introduced Jannabi as "the first place in festival recruitment." The episode ranked first in the same time slot, and Choi took sixth place in the overall ranking of entertainment performers. On September 26, 2022, a song collaboration "Because We Loved" with Kang Min-kyung was released, eventually ranking first on various music charts such as Bugs! and Genie.

In February 2023, Choi became an official member of the Korea Music Copyright Association. In March 2023, Choi starred on SBS' variety show No Math School Trip, directed by Running Man's former director, Choi Bo Pil, alongside Doh Kyung-soo, Zico, Crush, Yang Se-chan, and Lee Yong-jin. From May to August 2023, Choi hosted the second season of KBS late-night music talk show The Seasons: Choi Jung-hoon’s Night Park. Choi received the Excellence Award in Show and Variety Category at the 2023 KBS Entertainment Awards for this.

Musical style and influences
Choi is regarded as one of the "sentimental craftsmen" of his generation. He is an all-round musician who directly participates in writing, composing, arranging, and producing Jannabi's songs and a number of addictive radio logo songs, as well as planning, directing, and making costumes related to Jannabi's performances and albums. He plays various instruments but mainly uses an acoustic guitar and piano.

Choi cited artists he grew up listening to, such as Elton John, Sanulrim, and The Beatles as his biggest musical influences. He explored a wide array of genres, including folk, ballad, progressive rock, and chamber pop, with the intricate use of string orchestra and choir. In addition, he reads a lot of books, particularly poetry collections, as inspirations for his musical style. One of the examples of songs that drew inspiration from a poem was Jannabi's "I Know Where the Rainbow Has Fallen," in which the lyrics 'lonely island romantic' were quoted from Jeong Ji-yong's poem entitled "News of May."

Songwriting
Over 100 registered songs are credited to Choi by the Korea Music Copyright Association. In February 2023, he was promoted to a regular member of the KMCA, recognizing the songs he has produced. The most notable aspect of his songwriting is his ability to incorporate literary rhetoric. Popular music critic Kim Sung-dae praised his lyrics stating: "Based on positivity and harmony, Choi Jung-hoon puts fantasy and imagination, moments of life, people and love, society and era images in the lyrics without distinction between written/colloquial and semi-formal/polite speech style. The inner monologue that only one person knew resonated with many people, and their emotional support ultimately led to who Jannabi is today. Trying to approach listeners somehow without pretense, he has written his own story by destroying his ego more fiercely than anyone else." So Seung-geun of IZM recognized his ability to write warm melody and candid lyrics like a diary. As he shared during his appearance in KBS' Stopping on the Road Once in a While, “When I write lyrics, I felt that it would be really nice if someone could feel it as much as my emotions, so I am grateful (for empathizing).”

Vocal
Choi was known for his vocal range. Popular music critics Jung Min-jae and Kim Seong-hwan noted his unrivaled expressive power with "the charm of dramatic vocals like flowing water." Described as an unlearned vocalist, critics and listeners characterized his voice with a unique husky tone and personality that does not use standard singing methods, possessing a "vintage voice reminiscent of the old times."

Endorsement
In September 2021, Choi was chosen as the model for the fall and winter sneaker collection of Umbro, themed "Heritage of Passion." He later became the ambassador for the clothing brand Customellow by Kolon Industries FnC. It was the first time for the brand to collaborate with an artist in a music project, which included the production of the music video for "King of Romance," one of the tracks from Jannabi's third full-length album The Land of Fantasy (2021) and other advertisement campaigns.

In May 2022, Choi became the endorser of Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds. In July 2022, Choi and Ahn Seul-ki served as the brand ambassadors for the ad campaign "Runners Helping Runners" by Nike. Since September 2022, Choi has been selected by Shinsegae International as the menswear brand ambassador of Studio Tomboy.

Philanthropy
Choi has regularly donated the band's festival appearance fees under the name of Jannabi for the school development and educational environment improvement of Kyung Hee University. In 2022, his donation provided free meals for 1,500 university students.

Personal life
Choi was exempted from mandatory military service due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury caused by a football tackle.