FIN.K.L stands for Fine Killing Liberty and is one of Korea's hot female singing groups. Their (FinKL) name means that anything that prevents Liberty, they will handle. The first member to be discovered for FIN.K.L (FinKL) was Ock Ju Hyun (and what do you know, she's related to my mom, making her related to me :D). She had won a singing contest on the radio, singing "Hero" by Mariah Carey. Ju Hyun's friend, Jin, was told by Ju Hyun to tryout. Jin got accepted by singing Eco's "Haeng Bok Han Na Reul". The next member was Yuri, who was discovered while her school was on a field trip, made it next. As the 4th member, Annie (now of Tashannie) was accepted, but after 2 short months, left FIN.K.L. The replacement for Annie was Hyori, who was spotted while taking sticker pictures with her friends.
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They released their first album on May 22, 1998 with their debut single, "Blue Rain". Although this song was popular, their next song, "Nae Namja Chingu Ehgeh" (To My Boyfriend) was what brought them to the #1 spot on the charts. Their next song, "Ruby" was also a #1 hitter on the charts.
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In May of 1999, FIN.K.L.(FinKL) realesed their 2nd album "White" with their title song being, "Young Won Han Sa Rang" (Forever Love). The next song FIN.K.L.(FinKL) next performed was "Ja Jon Shim", and after that "Waiting For You". FIN.K.L.'s next album produced was a 2.5 album, with the title song "To My Prince".
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During all of this, FIN.K.L.(FinKL) has also made it big with the addvertisers of the media and have appeared on many commericals. Some comercials including a CF Hello Kitty commericial, a BBQ, and a Ramyun commercial.
(FinKL) Members
(FinKL) first debuted in 1998 with their song "Blue Rain" (and album of the same name). Although just as cute as their rivals S.E.S., they tended to focus more on sweet ballads than catchy tunes. However, they quickly became one of the most popular girl groups in Korea, along with S.E.S. and Baby V.O.X.
Their success continued throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, racking up large sales numbers and even earning a "Daesang" in 1999, the equivalent of the Grammy for "Artist of the year". Unlike other artists, Fin.K.L tended to have many special (".5") albums that were either in limited release (like their 2.5th album "S.P.E.C.I.A.L") or were a concept album (like their 3.5th album "Melodies & Memories" which consisted of remakes).
Their last album was released in 2002 (like S.E.S.), and like their rivals, they decided to go their separate ways, although not officially breaking up. Members Lee Hyori and Ock Ju Hyun have since released two solo albums each, while Lee Jin and Sung Yuri have acted in dramas and hosted various shows. At the end of 2005, they released a digital single titled "Fine Killing Liberty" that had 4 songs (including the title track) and was also accompanied by a sexy music video. However, due to lack of promotion, the single failed to make a dent in the charts. Instead of ignoring the single, though, they have since released a DVD with all of their music videos that also had the "Fine Killing Liberty" single in CD form.
(FinKL) continue to work and stay in the public eye. Sung Yuri has been noticed for her acting work, her first major work being the drama "³ª»Û ¿©ÀÚµé" (Bad Girls). Lee Jin has also worked in television, hosting various shows and even joining a popular comedy show for a season. Both of these girls won "Best Actress" in their respective categories (drama and comedy) at the end-of-year awards in 2002. Ock Ju Hyun has recently become very popular due to her significant weight loss. Crediting it to hard exercise and yoga, she has now become a poster child for yoga in Korea, even launching her own yoga studio. Lee Hyori is the main one in the spotlight currently (as of spring 2006). She has recently encountered some controversy when her songwriters were sued for plagiarism. Apparently, "Get Ya", her first single from her second album "Dark Angel", had elements that were very similar to Britney Spears's "Do Something", so Spears' writers filed a lawsuit against Lee's writers. She has since stopped performances of the single, and is now getting ready to launch a second.
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