Lee Gi-kwang

Early life and career

Lee Gi-kwang was born on March 30, 1990 in Gwangju, South Korea. Gi-kwang found interest in hip hop and had particular liking to many classic hip hop acts. At first he was backed by his family to pursue a musical career but eventually he passed an audition and became a trainee. He was trained under JYP Entertainment for four years before being eliminated. He was asked by the former president of Cube Entertainment to join the agency without auditioning, making him the company's first trainee.

He was known as the solo singer AJ or Ace Junior when he debuted and released a mini-album First Episode: A New Hero on April 4, 2009. He made his debut on April 2, 2009 on Mnet M!Countdown, and dubbed by Korean media as the next Rain. However he met controversies when his name created dispute among netizens for having a similar name with Paran's AJ (who later became a U-KISS member). He now goes with his original name when he re-debuted with Beast. On June 17, 2009, AJ opened for Lady Gaga's Korean showcase. Fellow Beast members Yoon Doo-joon, Yong Jun-hyung, Jang Hyun-seung and Yang Yo-seob participated as backup dancers for AJ before debuting in Beast. AJ also featured in reality show, Diary of AJ, which was hosted by MTV. The show ran on two episodes on May 9, 2009 with a total of two episodes showcasing his journey on his debut as AJ.

Career

2009–2016: Debut with Beast and solo activities

Six months after debuting as soloist, Gi-kwang was chosen to debut as member of Beast, originally known as B2ST, an acronym for "Boys 2 Search the Top". However, their name was changed to BEAST (acronym for "Boys of East Asia Standing Tall"). The group debuted in October 2009. Gi-kwang made his acting debut in the MBC sitcom High Kick Through the Roof, which aired in 2009 and 2010.

In 2010, Gi-kwang featured in K.Will's music video for the song, "Present". He was also selected as the MC for MBC's Sunday Sunday Night segment Hot Brothers and the KBS talk show Win Win. In May, Gi-kwang was chosen as the model for the 'Ice Tea Tio' from DongSuh Foods. In August, Gi-kwang featured on Ahn Jinkyung's single "Love is Pathetic" from the mini album Be the Voice as a rapper. He, Yoon Doojoon and IU appeared as special hosts on Music Core on August 21, 2010. On December 29, Gi-kwang was awarded with Popularity Award from the 2010 MBC Entertainment Awards.

Gi-kwang, together with IU, were selected to be new MCs of Inkigayo in replacement of CNBlue's Jung Yonghwa from March 20, 2011. The two were paired with the existing MCs, 2AM's Jo Kwon, and f(x)'s Sulli. He was also chosen as the leading man in A Pink's music video, "I Don't Know" Sunny Hill's music video for "Midnight Circus". In July, Gi-kwang was featured on Brave Brothers' song "Break Up" alongside Electroboyz, as a part of Brave Brother's sixth project album on July 12, 2011.

Also in 2011, Gi-kwang was cast in the romantic comedy drama My Princess starring Song Seung-hun and Kim Tae-hee; and played Lee Ji-ah's patrol partner in the drama Me Too, Flower!. Gi-kwang won the Best New Actor award at the SBS Drama Awards for his performance in My Princess.

On February 8, 2012 Gi-kwang appeared in Ailee's debut music video, "Heaven". Gi-kwang also hosted SBS K-Pop Super Concert in America on November 10 alongside Tiffany Hwang and Jung Yong-hwa and Melon Music Awards with Infinite's Woohyun, Moon Hee-jun, and Danny Ahn.

In 2013, Gi-kwang had a role as a terminally ill patient with leukemia on KBS Drama Special My Friend is Still Alive. In 2014, he starred in the mobile drama 20's (Twenty Years Old).

In 2015, Gi-kwang was cast in SBS's drama Mrs. Cop as the youngest detective on the team. He next starred as the younger version of Kang Ji-hwan's character in the 2016 MBC drama Monster, and the web drama Momin's Room.

2017–present: Return to solo music career

In September 2017, Gi-kwang returned as a soloist with his first mini album One. The lead single was a future R&B single titled "What You Like". Gi-kwang reportedly participated in 6 out of 8 tracks on the album. He held his first solo concert Lee Gikwang Mini Live 2018 One in January 2018.

Also in 2017, Gi-kwang was cast in tvN's science fiction drama Circle. In 2018, Gi-kwang was cast in KBS' horror romance drama Lovely Horribly.

On April 18, 2019, Gi-kwang began his mandatory military service as a conscripted police officer. He was discharged on November 18, 2020.

In 2022, Lee became a DJ on Gikwang's Song Plaza, which began in March and will end his duties as a DJ on April 16, 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

Single albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Collaborations

Music videos

Songwriting credits

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television shows

Web shows

Radio show

Hosting

Concerts

Korean tours

• LEEGIKWANG Mini LIVE 2018 - Blue Square I Market Hall, Seoul (January 27–28, 2018)
• LEEGIKWANG LIVE 2019 [I] - Blue Square I Market Hall, Seoul (March 23–24, 2019)

Japan tours

• LEEGIKWANG Mini LIVE 2018 in Japan - Mynavi BLITZ Akasaka, Tokyo (July 22, 2018)
• LEEGIKWANG LIVE 2019 [I] in Japan - Toyosu PIT by Team Smile, Tokyo (13 April 2019)

Taiwan tours

• LEEGIKWANG LIVE 2019 [I] in Taiwan - Taiwan TICC Hall, Taipei (30 March 2019)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

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6. link
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8. (March 10, 2010). "Lee Kikwang "The end of 'High Kick' on the 18th...it's sad to part"". [[Star News (South Korea).
9. (March 8, 2010). "BEAST's Lee Kikwang – UKISS's Dongho – MBLAQ's Thunder, Attention Explosion of the Confessions of Their Ideal Types". Newsen.
10. (March 4, 2010). "Roof Kick Lee Gi kwang selected as MC for Sunday Night Hot Brothers". [[Star News (South Korea).
11. (August 2, 2010). "Kim Sungsoo, Jung Jaeyong, and Lee Ki Gwang, chosen as the new MC for the KBS show 'Win Win'". [[OSEN (newspaper).
12. (May 9, 2010). "Lee KiKwang, chosen as the model for the Ice Tea Tio from DongSuh Foods". [[Newsis]].
13. (August 23, 2010). "BEAST's Lee Gi-kwang collaborates with Ahn Jinkyung… "We will be anticipating the avatar rap"". [[The Asia Business Daily]].
14. (August 18, 2010). "Yoon Doojoon, Lee Kikwang and IU to appear as special hosts on Music Core". Newsen.
15. (December 30, 2010). "Beast's Lee Kikwang, "This is the American Dance"". Newsen.
16. link. (March 9, 2011). Nate]]
17. (April 15, 2011). "Lee Kikwang appears in A Pink's teaser, the meeting of 'fairies' and 'beast'". Sports Today.
18. (July 12, 2011). "B2ST'S Kikwang to participate in Brave Brothers' new project". Newsen.
19. (December 12, 2010). "Lee Kikwang joins the 'My Princess' production team!". Korean Kyungjae.
20. (November 9, 2011). "[HD인터뷰] '나도 꽃' 이기광 "제복 입은 상체킹, 보면 반할걸?"".
21. (February 27, 2012). "BEAST Lee Ki Kwang Appears on Ailee's "Heaven" Music Video".
22. (December 14, 2012). "[PHOTO] INFINITE Woo-hyun, BEAST Lee Gi-kwang Team Up to Host the 2012 Melon Music Awards".
23. (June 10, 2013). "'드라마스페셜' 이기광 "내 연기, 손발이 오글거려 보기 힘들었다"".
24. (December 10, 2013). "BEAST Lee Gi-kwang, Lee Dain to Turn Adorable in Mobile Drama".
25. (July 9, 2015). "Lee Gi-kwang to appear in 'Mrs. Cop'".
26. (August 23, 2015). "'Mrs. Cop' releases behind-the-scenes of Lee Gi-kwang".
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31. (January 8, 2018). "[공식] 이기광, 데뷔 9년만에 첫 단독 콘서트 개최…새해 활동 시작".
32. (June 18, 2017). "Alien sci-fi drama 'Circle' enjoys fandom".
33. (June 5, 2018). "Lee Gi-kwang Confirmed for "Lovely Horribly"".
34. (April 18, 2019). "Update: Highlight's Lee Gikwang Enlists In The Military + Gifts Fans With "Nothing" MV".
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48. Kim. Chae-yeon. (October 25, 2023). link. [[OSEN (newspaper). OSEN]]
49. 조. 지영. (2023-06-23). link. daum]]
50. (December 15, 2014). "Lee Gi-kwang, Gayoon enjoy shopping together".
51. (February 16, 2017). ""은지원 권혁수 이기광 합류"...tvN 새 예능 '공조7' 라인업 완성".
52. (February 8, 2017). "'10살차이' 이기광 "학창시절 여자친구에 도시락 조공"".
53. (May 5, 2018). "D-DAY '더 댄서' 은혁X기광X태민, 와이낫 어벤져스 탄생 비화 공개(Ft. 밀당태민)".
54. (June 1, 2018). ["공식입장] '축구의 신' 6월3일 첫방…'체육돌' 이기광x정진운, 첫 MC 호흡"](http://entertain.naver.com/now/read?oid=421&aid=0003403577).
55. (March 16, 2018). "HIGHLIGHT Yoon Dujun & Lee Gi Kwang in Manchester, England! [Battle Trip]".
56. (July 16, 2018). "'Dancing High' ready to welcome dancers".
57. (2020-10-28). link
58. link. Hwang Hye-jin. Newsen. (September 13, 2021)
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68. (December 31, 2010). "Kang Ho-dong scores grand prize at SBS Entertainment Awards".