History
2009: Debut
In late 2009, news articles started to surface online about Cube Entertainment's new group, B2ST (pronounced as "Beast"), which was later renamed as BEAST (Boys of East Standing Tall). Their journey leading up to debut was showcased in their MTV documentary MTV B2ST. On October 14, 2009, the group's first mini-album, Beast Is the B2ST, was released, selling over 20,000 copies in October 2009.Cube Entertainment revealed that they had sold all the albums they printed in the first batch and was able to produce 5,000 more. It went on to sell for an overall 40,000 copies. This brought the music industry's attention to the group considering a success for rookie artists is usually defined when they reach 10,000 copies in sales. On October 15, 2009, Beast held a debut showcase at the MTV GongGae Hall and on the following day, October 16, the group made their live debut on KBS Music Bank with their debut track, "Bad Girl".Beast won their first award, Rookie of the Month for December, on December 2, 2009, which was awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
2010: Shock of the New Era
Cube Entertainment announced on January 4, 2010 that Beast, along with labelmate 4minute, had concluded a mutual signing ceremony with world-wide album company Universal Music Group for their international promotions and album launches. On January 23, 2010, Beast commenced their first international promotions in Taiwan with 4minute. Beast attended the 19th Seoul Music Awards on February 3, 2010 and was awarded with the Best Newcomer Award alongside T-ara and After School.[10]
The group's second mini-album, Shock of the New Era, was scheduled for release on March 2, 2010 but was released a day earlier after being leaked on YoutubeDespite the leak, the album climbed the Korean music charts and quickly sold 20,000 copies. Their title song “Shock” introduced a new genre called Rocktronic which is a combination of rock and electronic music. Reviews of the title track "Shock" described it has having both powerful vocals and an overall strong sound,with the live performances incorporating a complex VTach dance routine. On March 25, 2010, Beast presented a different image by singing an orchestra version of the sad ballad "Butjapgodo” (붙잡고도, lit. Despite Holding On) by Korean group Noel, and were subsequently recognized as a boy group with outstanding singing ability. On the same day, Beast received their first number-one win on Mnet’s M! Countdown with "Shock".A digital single version of their track "Easy" was released on April 29, 2010 with the title "Easy (Sincere Ver.)". The track used strings and piano as opposed to the hip-hop feel and electronic instruments of the original. |
After their first ever appearance in Singapore, the Shock of the New Era album was certified into the Gold Disk category. On August 10, 2010, Beast received the Golden Disk Award from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand at the '2010 Summer CUBE Stars Party' at Seoul, Samseongdong in the Samyu Center Event Hall. Beast and 4minute became the first Korean artists to be invited to perform on Singapore Youth Olympic pre-opening stage on August 13, 2010. On August 26, 2010, Beast was awarded with the Cool Star Award on the 2010 Mnet 20's Choice Awards,where American R&B musician Omarion made a surprise appearance as a guest onstage when Beast received their award. Omarion had also performed a special showcase with Beast after seeing their performances.
2010: Mastermind, Lights Go On Again, and My Story
On September 17, 2010, Beast released the song "Jumeogeul Kkwak Jwigo” (주먹을 꽉 쥐고, lit. Clenching a Tight Fist) as a single from their 3rd mini-album, Mastermind. The song gained anticipation and attention from the public for the excellent vocal ability they displayed.Mastermind was released on September 28, 2010.[On October 8, 2010, a week after their comeback, Beast claimed first place on KBSMusic Bank with the song "Soom” (숨, lit. Breath) from Mastermind. The song was noted for its original sound and distinctive choreography. On October 23, 2010, Beast is one of the recipient of the Asia Influential Artist Award which is given to those who had gained the most attention in Asia for the year.
On November 3, 2010, Beast opened up the preorder sales for their 4th mini-album named Lights Go On Again. The album took the top 5 spots on the Mnet music charts on November 8, 2010, with their lead track, “Beautiful” debuting at 1st place, while the album’s remaining four tracks placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively. According to album sales site Hanteo, the group’s album sales showed great success, with their sales figures ranked first. On November 15, 2010, Beast released the first part of the relay music drama from the 4th mini-album on their official YouTube channel. It garnered interest from fans as well as overseas promoters and media for the style and concept of the upcoming music videos.
Beast discography entered Japan with the release of their first Japanese album, called Beast - Japan Premium Edition, on November 24, 2010. It debuted at 13th place on the Oricon weekly album charts. On November 27, 2010, Beast held their first Japanese showcase called the 'The Legend of Beast, Vol.1' at Tokyo Big Site in Ohdaiba, Tokyo. The members were transported to the site of the showcase by helicopter, where they were able to see a human formation of the group's name made up of fans as a welcome greeting. The group performed 9 hit tracks, including "Bad Girl," "Shock," and "Soom". They also announced plans to officially debut in Japan in February 2011.
On December 1, 2010, Beast won an award for being one of 2010's most photogenic figures by the 11th Korean Visual Arts Festival, hosted and organized by the Korea Broadcast Camera Directors Association. On December 9, Beast was awarded with the Yepp Newcomer Award at the 25th Golden Disk Awards. According to album sold research site Hanteo Chart on December 11, 2010, Beast have sold 107,006 copies from January - October 2010 with 4 of their released mini-albums, including their first mini-album. This made Beast as the only rookie group out of all the boy/girl groups who have sold over 100,000 copies in 2010. This feat just shows the groups growing popularity. Beast held their first solo concert on December 12, 2010 at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. The concert's official title was 'Welcome to the Beast Airline'.
On December 23, plans for the release of self-composed duets by the members of the group were announced. The tracks released were "Thanks To", a hiphop track from Yoseob and Junhyung, Hyunseung and Kikwang’s R&B track "Let It Snow", and Doojoon and Dongwoon’s ballad track "Muni Dathimyeon" (문이 닫히면, lit. When The Door Closes). The tracks debuted at the Mnet M! Countdownstage. The songs were released on December 21, 2010 as the digital mini album My Story.
2011: Japanese Debut, 1st Studio Album and 1st Asia Fan-meet Tour
The group was awarded with the Bonsang Award at the 20th Seoul Music Awards on January 20, 2011 where they performed their hit songs “Shock” and “Soom”. Beast was also listed as the No. 40 Power Celebrity according to the list released by Forbes Korea on February 24, 2011.
Beast started off their Japanese venture with the release of the music video for their first Japanese single "Shock (Japanese Version)" on February 27, 2011 and made their official debut with its release on March 16, 2011. The single debuted at number 2 on Oricon’s weekly chart, which became as the highest ranking debut single by a non-Japanese artist in Japan since Big Bang's “My Heaven” at no. 3 in 2009.However, due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, all scheduled Japanese promotions for their single were cancelled.
On May 6, Beast announced that they will be holding a fan-meet tour across Asia in July. Thanks to the explosive support they’ve been receiving from the Asian market since their debut, Cube Entertainment decided to go ahead with a large-scale promotion plan all across Asia. Representatives stated, “Fans all over Asia have been making unending requests for an international fan-meeting, which is why we’ve decided to set up one now. Fans can consider this fan-meet as an Asian tour concert.”
Beast released their first full length Korean album on May 17, 2011 titled Fiction and Fact, which contains 10 songs: 8 new songs, an Unplugged Version of their song "Lightless" and an Orchestra Version of their lead song "Fiction". There have been generally positive reviews about Beast’s new album, saying the group has utilized their full color that has been built up over their past mini-albums.Their track “Biga Oneun Naren" (비가 오는 날엔, lit. On Rainy Days), which was released as a digital single prior to the release of their album, rose up the charts at the moment of its release. It won first place on KBS Music Bank’s May 27, 2011 episode instead of their heavily promoted lead song “Fiction”.
On May 19, 2011, while in the midst of their Fiction and Fact album promotions in Korea, Beast announced the release of their 2nd Japanese single, "Bad Girl". The music video was released on May 26, 2011 but the single was released in stores on June 15, 2011. As opposed to their debut single, “Bad Girl” is described as a cute pop love song. The group held a two-day mini-concert titled Beast Night on June 22, 2011 at Studio Coast in Tokyo, Japan as a celebration for the release of their single. They also announced during this event that they'll be releasing their first regular Japanese album in August.
Beast will perform as Korea’s representative artists at MTV’s “MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2011" on July 24, 2011 at Malaysia’s Shah Alam. Beast is the only Korean artist to be invited this year, and is the second Korean artist, following the Wonder Girls, to ever perform on MTV’s “World Stage”.
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