Kim Hyun-joongLeader
김현중- Name
- Kim Hyun-joong
- Born
- 6 June 1986
Wrote and composed every track on the 2026 FIVE O ONE album Set It Off.
Their story
How it started
SS501 debuted under DSP on 8 June 2005 with Warning. The five members were Kim Hyun-joong as leader, Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong, Park Jung-min and Kim Hyung-jun. SS stands for Super Star, and 5, 0 and 1 for five members united as one. Their first studio album, S.T 01 Now, came out in November 2006, and its title track "Four Chance" won the Mutizen award on Inkigayo in January 2007.
The breakthrough
Japan came early. Their 2007 Japanese debut single "Kokoro" entered the Oricon chart at No. 5, and in 2008 they were named one of the Best 10 New Artists at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. In 2009 Kim Hyun-joong had a main role in the KBS drama Boys Over Flowers, and the group sang the ballad "Because I'm Stupid" for its soundtrack. That November "Love Like This", from the EP Rebirth, gave them their first win on Music Bank, after a 19-month break.
Their sound and style
SS501 moved between upbeat dance pop and ballads. "U R Man" (2008), sung by the unit of Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong and Kim Hyung-jun, later became known as the first "exam-banned song", too catchy to hear before a test. Their last Korean release as five was the EP Destination in May 2010, led by "Love Ya". When the DSP Media contracts ended that June, the members went solo, without officially disbanding. In 2016 the same three members from "U R Man" debuted as SS301 with Eternal 5.
Where they are now
For the 20th anniversary in 2025, Kim Hyun-joong, Heo Young-saeng and Kim Kyu-jong came together as FIVE O ONE and opened a world tour in July. It visited Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong. In March 2026 they released the album Set It Off, with every track written and composed by Kim Hyun-joong, and ended the tour with two encore shows at KBS Arena in Seoul. A Japan tour planned for September 2026 was cancelled by their agency Henecia, which cited problems with the local organiser.