Kim Woo-sung

Kim Woosung (; born February 25, 1993), also known as Woosung and Sammy, is a Korean-American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the South Korean indie-rock band The Rose. He also made his solo debut in 2019 with the extended play Wolf.

Early life Woosung was born in Wonju in South Korea before moving to the United States in his early childhood. Growing up he aspired to play American football, but when a shoulder injury in ninth grade derailed those plans, Woosung redirected his passion toward music.

Career

In 2011, he auditioned for the South Korean reality TV competition series K-pop Star. Woosung was the last member to join the band. Woosung officially left the show on December 31, 2019, due to his busy schedule.

From April 12 – July 12, 2019, Woosung participated in the music talent show Superband, produced by JTBC. The show invited indie musicians to perform and form new bands, competing against each other. Woosung entered the competition with his band members, but he was the only one to advance to the next round. Temporarily forming the band Moné with other participants, including Isaac Hong, they ultimately placed fourth in the finale. During his time on the show, Woosung co-wrote three songs as part of Moné: "Take Me Away;" "Wooing;" and "idc."

Woosung's solo pre-release single "Lonely" came out on July 19, 2019. His first extended play Wolf was released the following week on July 25, along with the title track "Face". The EP peaked at number 19 on the Gaon Album Chart.

On November 15, 2019, Woosung released "Beautiful Girl" featuring BtoB's Peniel.

In December 2019, Woosung worked on another original soundtrack, "Wanna Be Bad", for the K-Drama series Psychopath Diaries. In 2020, Woosung lent his vocals to the original soundtrack of the award-winning K-drama series, Itaewon Class, for a track titled "You Make Me Back". The collection, composed of 12 episodes, was released on September 8, 2021. It is available on all Mindset platforms, providing listeners with insights into Woosung's life and professional experiences and his unique and compelling perspective.

Woosung's first full-length album Genre was released under his self-owned indie label, Woolfpack, on December 9, 2021. It included collaborations with KARD's BM on 'CWS' and Ladies' Code's Ashley on 'Oh', alongside previously released songs "Dimples" (September 2021) and "Lazy" (July 2021).

From March 1, 2022 through April 12 of that same year, Woosung opened for Epik High on their North American tour.

In 2022, Woosung signed with Transparent Arts and released his second EP Moth on May 13, 2022, which featured the title track, "Phase Me," that Woosung debuted during his tour with Epik High. Just three days after the Epik High tour ended, on April 15, 2022, Woosung started his own tour in Europe, the USA, and Canada. Titled the "Moth EP Showcase", the mini solo tour ended on May 26, 2022, in Seoul, with a special appearance by the rest of The Rose members, Dojoon, Hajoon and Jaehyeong, who had just recently been discharged from their mandatory military service.

In July 2022, The Attire, a Los Angeles-based duo, released 'Sriracha' featuring Woosung. He also features prominently in the music video for the song.

On April 21, 2023, Woosung featured on the track "Snooze" from Agust D's (also known as Suga of BTS) album D-Day. The track would also feature Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the song would become the legendary composer's last work as he died shortly after its completion. The song has received great critical acclaim and commercial success and quickly became a fan favorite, with all three artists' contributions being highly praised.

On March 29, 2023, the cast for Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld, a Netflix original animated series led and produced by Ali Wong, was revealed, announcing Woosung as one of the voice stars. The series was released in December 2024.

Woosung updated his official website on May 16, 2024, hinting at a possible new EP in the works, cryptically titled "4444". Fans immediately began speculating about the significance of "4444" and what it might mean for Woosung's upcoming music and artistic projects. Woosung later released "4444" on October 4, the album includes 8 songs. He noted that 4444 was a way for him to explore the personal connection to the number 4 that has been a special guiding force in his life. It is also a way to break the superstition around the number 4 being unlucky in Asian culture.

Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KOR GenreReleased: December 9, 2021 Label: Woolfpack Formats: Digital download — 4444 Released: October 4, 2024 Label: Transparent Arts, Woolfpack Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download 19 KOR: 11,505

Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions Sales KOR WolfReleased: July 25, 2019 Label: J&Star Company Formats: CD, digital download 19KOR: 5,998 MothReleased: May 13, 2022 Label: Woolfpack Formats: CD, digital download 18KOR: 9,075

Singles Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumUS World As lead artist "Lonely" 2019 — Wolf "Face" 21 "Beautiful Girl" — "Lazy" 2021 — Genre "Dimples" — "Phase Me" 2022 — Moth "Day That I Died" 2024 — 4444 "44 (Forget Forever)" —Collaborations "Sign of the Times" 2019 — JTBC SuperBand Episode 5 "ILYSB" — JTBC SuperBand Episode 7 "Cake by the Ocean" — JTBC SuperBand Episode 10Soundtrack appearances "Feel My Heart" 2019 — Catch the Ghost OST Part 1 "Wanna Be Bad" — Psychopath Diary OST Part 1 "You Make Me Back" 2020 — Itaewon Class OST Part 5 "You Are My Star" 2021 — Idol: The Coup Original Television Soundtrack

Songwriting and composing credits Note: all songs released by The Rose are written and composed by the band, and are thus credited as such.

Filmography Television Year Title Network Note(s) 2011–12 K-pop Star (season 1) SBS Contestant 2019 After School Club Arirang TV Host with Jamie and Heejun 2019 Superband JTBC Contestant; his team ranked 4th during the finals 2020 Immortal Songs KBS Contestant; Woosung and band members from The Rose won 1st place 2024 Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld Netflix Voiceover actor

Music videos Year Title Director 2019 "Face" ITCHCOCK "Beautiful Girl" Kim JW Andy 2021 "Lazy" Valentina Vee 2021 "Dimples" HYEYA 2021 "CWS" (feat. BM of KARD) Valentina Vee 2022 "Phase Me" Jonathan Chou 2022 "ComE dOWn" (Visualizer)

Tours and concerts Opening Act Epik High US Tour 2022 (Solo)

Headlining concerts in Seoul The Black Rose Day (2017) The Rose Day: Long Drive (2018) Home Coming (2018)

Headlining tours Paint it Rose Tour in Europe (2018) Paint it Rose Tour in USA (2018) Paint it Rose Tour in Mexico/South America (2018) We Rose You Live Tour (2019) Heal Together World Tour (2022) Dawn To Dusk Tour (2023)

Festivals WavyBaby Festival (Jan 2023) - Philippines Festival Estéreo Picnic (March 2023) - Colombia Lollapalooza Argentina (March 2023) - Argentina Lollapalooza Chile (March 2023) - Chile Lollapalooza Brazil (March 2023) - Brazil CONQuest Festival (June 2023) - Philippines Lollapalooza Stockholm (June 2023) - Sweden Main Square Festival (July 2023) - France BST Hyde Park (July 2023) - UK Montreux Jazz Festival (July 2023) - Switzerland Mad Cool Festival (July 2023) - Spain Lollapalooza Chicago (August 2023) - United States LMAC Music For All Fest (Sept 2023) - Indonesia Life is Beautiful Music & Arts Festival (Sept 2023) - United States Music Midtown (Sept 2023) - United States Lollapalooza Mumbai (January 2024) - India Coachella (April 2024) - United States