Lee Gi-kwang

Lee Gi-kwang (; born March 30, 1990), known professionally as Gikwang or Kikwang, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. He originally debuted as solo singer with the stage name AJ (Ace Junior), releasing his first mini album First Episode: A New Hero on April 4, 2009. In October 2009, he debuted as the main dancer, visual and a lead vocalist of boy group Beast, which was renamed Highlight in February 2017.

He began his acting career with a supporting role in the popular television sitcom High Kick Through the Roof (2009–10) and had supporting roles in dramas My Princess (2011), Me Too, Flower! (2011), Mrs. Cop (2015), Monster (2016), Circle (2017), and Lovely Horribly (2018). He also became an MC for various shows such as Hot Brothers and Inkigayo.

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. 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 he ended his duties as a DJ on April 16, 2023.

Discography

Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions SalesKOR JPNDown. Predator Released: April 17, 2023 Label: Around Us Entertainment, RCA Records Formats: CD, digital download 11 94 KOR: 42,242

Single albums Title Album details Released: March 18, 2019 Label: Around Us Entertainment, RCA Records Formats: Digital download

Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions SalesKOR JPN First Episode: A New Hero Released: April 4, 2009 Label: Cube Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download — — KOR: 2,068 ONE Released: September 4, 2017 Label: Around Us Entertainment, RCA Records Formats: CD, digital download 5 171 KOR: 25,570 JPN: 670 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Sales (DL) Album KOR "Dancing Shoes" 2009 — First Episode: A New Hero "Wipe the Tears" — "What You Like" 2017 51 KOR: 31,832 ONE "Don't Close Your Eyes (D.C.Y.E)" 2019 — "Nothing" — Goodbye with a Smile (single) "Predator" 2023 — Predator"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album KOR "Love Is Pathetic" (An Jin-kyung feat. Gikwang) 2010 31Be the Voice

Collaborations Title Year Peak chart positions Sales (DL) Album KOR "Let It Snow" (with Hyunseung) 2010 87My Story "Should I Hug or Not" (with Doojoon, Junhyung) 2011 16 KOR: 404,008 Shinsa Dong Tiger Project: Supermarket – The Half "Break Up" (with Brave Brothers, Electro Boys) 34 KOR: 456,105 "Yesterday" (with Dynamic BLACK) 2012 9 KOR: 269,507 "Baby It's You" (with Doojoon) 2016 66 KOR: 35,265 Highlight "Just Trust Me" (with Park Hyun-bin, Lizzy, Park Kwanghyun) 2017 — Fantastic Duo 2 "Dazzling Dazzling" (with Park Hyun-bin) — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Music videos Year Title 2009 "Dancing Shoes" "Wipe the Tears" 2017 "What You Like" 2019 "D.C.Y.E/Don't Close Your Eyes""Lonely (Feat. Jiselle)""Nothing"

Songwriting credits

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2012A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise Ricky voice-dubbing

Television series Year Title Role 2009High Kick Through the RoofKang Se-ho TBAI Kill YouHo-joong

Television shows

Web shows Year Title Role Notes 2021 MuzieKwang Company Host Fake documentary entertainment Soldier Idol Camp Cast Member 2025 I am Kolmar (나는콜마) Host Interviewing regular people about their use of cosmetics.

Radio show Year Title Role Notes 2022–2023 Gikwang's Song Plaza DJ March 14, 2022– April 16, 2023

Hosting Year Title Notes 2022 KCON 2022 PremiereSpecial MC; May 7, 2022 – May 8, 2022

Concerts Korean tours

LEEGIKWANG Mini LIVE 2018 - Blue Square I Market Hall, Seoul (January 27–28, 2018) LEEGIKWANG LIVE 2019 - 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 in Japan - Toyosu PIT by Team Smile, Tokyo (13 April 2019)

Taiwan tours LEEGIKWANG LIVE 2019 in Taiwan - Taiwan TICC Hall, Taipei (30 March 2019)

Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result I-Magazine Fashion Face Award 2016 Asian Male Lee Gi-kwang 2017 KBS Drama Awards 2018 Best New Actor Lovely Horribly KBS Entertainment Awards 2022 DJ of the Year Award Lee Gi-kwang's Song Plaza MBC Drama Awards 2011 Best New Actor My Princess MBC Entertainment Awards 2010 Popularity Award Hot Brothers