CNBLUE is a four-member band formed in 2009 under FnC Music.
CN stands for ‘Code Name’ while BLUE stands for the individual images of the members: B for ‘Burning’ Lee Jong Hyun (lead guitar, vocals), L for ‘Lovely’ Kang Min Hyuk (drums, vocals), U for ‘Untouchable’ Lee Jung Shin (bass guitar, rap), and E for ‘Emotional’ Jung Yong Hwa (lead vocals, rhythm guitar). They debuted in Japan on 19 August 2009 with the mini-album Now or Never. For their Korean debut, the group released four teasers, one for each member, in the sequence of Jonghyun, Minhyuk, Jungshin, and Yonghwa on the 6th, 8th, 11th, and 13 January, respectively, before finally debuting with their lead single I’m a Loner on 14 January. 2009: Pre-debut
In the middle of June 2009, CNBLUE began performing in the streets and live clubs of Japan. Then on 19 August 2009, they formally debuted as an indie band with the mini-album Now or Never. The mini album was recorded completely in English. Then later, in November, they released another mini-album entitled Voice, which placed at 227 on the Oricon Chart and stayed there for two weeks. The mini-album was recorded mostly in English and also in Japanese. Also, former bassist Kwon Kang Jin left the group in late September after the release of the first mini-album and was replaced by Lee Jung Shin later that year.
2010: Debut and other activities
On the 6th, 8th, 11th, and 13th of January 2009, FnC released the individual teaser of the boys before finally releasing the full MV on 13 January. Their first Korean mini-album, Bluetory, was released on the 14th and made it to the top of the Gaon Chart and stayed there for two weeks. "I'm A Loner" was promoted as the title track and it peaked as number two, solidifying their break into the industry. CNBLUE had their first stage on KBS Music Bank on the 15th and later, on the 29th, won their first music show chart on the same show.
1st teaser: Burning Jonghyun
2nd teaser: Lovely Minhyuk
3rd teaser: Untouchable Jungshin
4th teaser: Emotional Yonghwa
I'm a Loner Full MV
CNBLUE debut stage
On February 10th, the group debuted their new reality show on Korean music channel Mnet, titled "CN Bluetory" (watch here). In March, they started preparing for their first full-length album ThankU and released it on the 20th with one new track. The album peaked at number 90 at the Oricon Chart, their highest thus far. And later, in April, their official fanclub name was announced as BOICE, a combination of "blue" and "voice". In May, the band went back to Korea to release their next promotional single, entitled "Love Light", on the 10th. It peaked at number 10 on the Korean national chart. On May 19, their second mini-album, Bluelove, was released with the title track "Love" which also charted at number 2. Bluelove peaked at number 3 and stayed on the chart for weeks. They had their comeback stage on M!Countdown the following day.
Love Light
Love
Love Comeback Stage
With their success in Korea, CNBLUE went back to Japan. On June 23, they released their first single "The Way". It charted within the top 40 in Oricon at number 26. It was followed by the release of "I Don't Know Why" on September 16. The song reached number 8 on the Oricon daily chart, making it their first song that made it into the Top 10. They peaked at number 15 on the weekly chart. The band reached number one on the Japanese indie top chart. They had a small tour across Japan to promote the single. Band members Kang Min Hyuk and Lee Jong Hyun starred in a Korean movie entitled "Acoustic" (watch here). They released a song for the OST on October 7 entitled "Fly High" and it peaked at number 98 on the Gaon chart.
Fly High MV
2011: Re-Maintenance, First Step, 392 and In My Head
On January 9, CNBLUE released their 3rd Japanese single, Re-Maintenance. They kicked off their 2011 Japanese promotions with a Zepp Tour in 4 cities: Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Tokyo from January 9-16. The album peaked at number 3 in the Oricon daily chart.
Later in March 7th, the group released the first teaser for their upcoming first full-length album, First Step, followed by the second teaser on the 14th. 3 days to the release of the second teaser, FnC Music has received 100,000 units in pre-orders for the album. Finally, on the 21st, the album was released. The release was accompanied by a guerilla concert with over 500 fans in attendance. The album, less than 24 hours to its release, was already an "all-kill". It has claimed the top spots in both online and offline music charts. Mnet even aired a special episode for the band's comeback. They also released a Special Limited Edition of the album, all the while sweeping off the charts, even winning triple crowns, with "Intuition", the album's carrier track. Aside from the domestic success that the group was getting, CNBLUE has also topped music charts in both Japan and Taiwan. First Step was the top-selling album on the online pre-order sales charts of Japan's Tower Records, the country's largest record store. CNBLUE even surpassed the pre-order sales of AKB48, Japan's most popular idol group. Aside from this, First Step was also the number 1 album in one of Taiwan's music chart, despite the fact that the album was not actually released in the country and no promotions were done for it. To thank their fans, the group released a third version of the album, First Step + 1. With First Step, CNBLUE became the third artist in Korea to reach the 100,000 milestone in album sales this year, next to Big Bang and TVXQ. They furthered the promotions of the album with the song "LOVE Girl".
Intuition Full MV
Later in March 7th, the group released the first teaser for their upcoming first full-length album, First Step, followed by the second teaser on the 14th. 3 days to the release of the second teaser, FnC Music has received 100,000 units in pre-orders for the album. Finally, on the 21st, the album was released. The release was accompanied by a guerilla concert with over 500 fans in attendance. The album, less than 24 hours to its release, was already an "all-kill". It has claimed the top spots in both online and offline music charts. Mnet even aired a special episode for the band's comeback. They also released a Special Limited Edition of the album, all the while sweeping off the charts, even winning triple crowns, with "Intuition", the album's carrier track. Aside from the domestic success that the group was getting, CNBLUE has also topped music charts in both Japan and Taiwan. First Step was the top-selling album on the online pre-order sales charts of Japan's Tower Records, the country's largest record store. CNBLUE even surpassed the pre-order sales of AKB48, Japan's most popular idol group. Aside from this, First Step was also the number 1 album in one of Taiwan's music chart, despite the fact that the album was not actually released in the country and no promotions were done for it. To thank their fans, the group released a third version of the album, First Step + 1. With First Step, CNBLUE became the third artist in Korea to reach the 100,000 milestone in album sales this year, next to Big Bang and TVXQ. They furthered the promotions of the album with the song "LOVE Girl".
1st Teaser
2nd Teaser
Intuition Full MV
LOVE Girl Full MV
With the announcement of FnC Music that CNBLUE would be signing under a major Japanese label, it was also announced that the group will be releasing their last indie album. It was called 392 (Thank U2). The album peaked at number 1 on the Japanese billboard chart for indie music. During the promotions of the album, CNBLUE was chosen by the international rock band Linkin Park to be the front act for their concert in Japan. And as the cherry on top, the band concluded the promotions with a sold-out concert at Yokohama Arena, holding 15,000 seats. The tickets for the show were sold out the moment the sales were open, causing the servers to crash.
The major Japanese label that CNBLUE has signed under was Warner Music Japan. In My Head, their first single under the label, sparked the excitement of the fans, given the success of their previous albums. True enough, the band did not disappoint. The title song "In My Head", composed by Jung Yong Hwa himself, immediately rose to the number 3 spot on the Oricon daily chart on the day of its release. The group's album sales were marvelous, surpassing that of other popular Korean groups like Kara. Their sales even surpassed that of T-ara and MBLAQ put together, when both groups reached the number 1 spot. The album's success was preceded by the announcement that the title track will be used as ending theme to the anime "Supernatural: The Animation". To celebrate their major debut, CNBLUE held a guerilla concert at Shinjuku Alta in Tokyo. Despite the lack of prior announcement, more than 7,000 fans flocked to the venue causing the band to actually stop the show with only one song due to safety reasons. In the recently released results of the Oricon chart, CNBLUE has placed on the 4th spot in the weekly chart. So far, they were able to sell 71, 200 copies of the album.
In My Head Full MV
In My Head in "Supernatural: The Animation" ending
Stay tuned for more updates on this explosive band, CNBLUE!
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