Native name: 장현승
Also Known as: Hyunseung
Nationality: South Korean
Gender: Male
Born: September 3, 1989
In 2004, at the age of 15, Hyunseung took part in auditions for YG Entertainment. He was eliminated in the second round, but went to see CEO Yang Hyun-suk afterwards out of frustration at being eliminated and was accepted as a trainee.[9]
For a year and four months, Hyunseung was a trainee for the boy group Big Bang. During this time, he used the stage name "So-1," a homonym for the Korean word for wish. He first gained media attention when he appeared in the group's pre-debut "Big Bang Documentary," along with members G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri. He appeared in 10 out of 11 episodes, but was cut from the group in a final elimination round with Seungri. Yang Hyun-suk said that Hyunseung's expressiveness and stage presence were underdeveloped at the time. Fellow Beast member, Yoon Doo-joon decided to become a singer after watching the Big Bang documentary featuring Hyunseung.[10] Hyunseung refers to his experiences at YG as important to his development as an artist.[9]
Hyunseung later met future fellow band member Yang Yo-seob while they were working as dancers for a show performance team. Yoseob convinced Hyunseung to join Cube Entertainment, leading to him debuting with Beast.
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