Jung Taek-woon (Korean: 정택운; born on November 10, 1990),[1] better known by his stage name Leo (Korean: 레오), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical theatre actor, formerly signed under Jellyfish Entertainment. Leo debuted as a member of the South Korean boy groupVIXX in May 2012,[2] and began his acting career in 2014 in the musical Full House as Lee Young-jae.[3] In 2015 he began his songwriting career,[4] and with VIXX member Ravi formed the group's first official sub-unit VIXX LR.[5]
Early life
Born in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, South Korea, his family consists of himself, his parents and three older sisters. Leo studied music composition at Baekseok University and was a member of the National Youth Soccer Players from 2004 to 2007. Growing up, Leo was actively involved in swimming, boxing, taekwondo (blue belt), and soccer.[6][7] While recovering from an injury, he developed an interest in becoming a singer after listening to Wheesung's "Walking in the Sky".[8]
Leo was one of ten trainees who were contestants in Mnet's survival reality show MyDOL. Leo was one of the six contestants who were chosen to be a part of the final line-up of the new boy group VIXX.[9] The group debuted with "Super Hero"[10] on May 24, 2012[2] on M! Countdown.[11][12] During MyDOL, Leo was featured in Brian Joo's "Let This Die" and Seo In-guk's "Shake It Up" music videos.[13][14] After his debut with VIXX, Leo appeared in episode 4 of SBS' television drama The Heirs alongside his group members.
As an avid sports fan, Leo has appeared in several athletic variety shows with other idols such as Dream Team and Idol Athletics Championship.[15][16]
In 2014, Leo had a cameo role in SBS' television drama Glorious Day alongside Hyuk and was cast in the musical Full House in the lead role of Lee Young-jae from April to June at the Hongik Daehakro Art Center, Grand Theater in Seoul.[3] Later that year, Leo also participated in the Y.Bird from Jellyfish Island project created by Jellyfish Entertainment CEO Hwang Se-jun by collaborating with Lyn on her self-composed single "Blossom Tears" (Korean: 꽃잎놀이); their single Y.BIRD from Jellyfish with LYn X Leo was the fourth in the series. In the haunting music video, he played a psychopath who killed the women he loved so that he could keep them.[4]
In 2015, Leo composed the song "On a Cold Night" (Korean: 차가운 밤에) for VIXX's fifth single album Boys' Record. Originally written as a duet between him and Ken, a studio version was released with the rest of the members performing for that album.[4]
On August 7, 2015, Jellyfish Entertainment released a video trailer on VIXX's official website after a mysterious countdown with a silhouette of VIXX's last special album Boys' Record. As time went by, members of VIXX disappeared until finally only Leo and Ravi were left behind, which caused fans to speculate that it meant another comeback for all six members. A video trailer of VIXX LR was then revealed.[17]
VIXX LR was confirmed by Jellyfish Entertainment to be VIXX's first official sub-unit composed of rapper Ravi and vocalist Leo. Their debut EP, Beautiful Liar, was released on August 17, 2015.[18][19][20] On the same day VIXX LR held their first showcase for Beautiful Liar at Yes24 Muv Hall in Seoul′s Mapo-gu.[21][22]
In 2016 Leo was cast in the musical Mata Hari in the lead role of Armand from March 25 to June 12 at the Blue Square in Seoul. It was confirmed that he would be shedding his stage name and using his birth name Jung Taek Woon for the role instead, unlike his previous musical role in Full House where he was credited as Leo.[23][24]
On September 20, 2016, Leo collaborated with actress and DJ Park So-hyun to celebrate SBS Power FM’s 20th Anniversary and released the song "That's All" (Korean: 그뿐야) as part of SBS Power FM's 20th Anniversary song project.[25]
Leo was cast in the musical Monte Cristo in the supporting role of Albert from November 19, 2016, to February 12, 2017, at the Chungmu Arts Center Grand Theater.[26][27]
2017–present: Solo debut
On October 16, 2017, it was announced that Leo had been cast in the musical The Last Kiss as Crown Prince Rudolf.[28]
On July 21, 2018, it was announced that Leo will be releasing his first solo EP titled Canvas on July 31, 2018.[29]
From August 31 to September 2, Leo had his first ever solo concert "LEO 1st SOLO CONCERT [CANVAS]" which was held at Blue Square Eye Market Hall[30]
On May 14, 2019, Leo announced about his "2nd Solo Concert [MUSE]" which was in June 2019.[31] Leo's second EP Muse was released on June 17.[32]
On August 3, 2022, Leo released a teaser video of Coming Soon through his official YouTube and SNS channels.[33]
On March 3, 2024, Jellyfish Entertainment announced that Leo and fellow VIXX member Ken were leaving the agency, but intended to continue their activities with VIXX.[34]
Personal life
Leo enlisted for his mandatory military service on December 2, 2019, serving as a public service worker due to severe panic disorder and depression.[35][36] He was discharged on September 9, 2021.[37]
^Lee, Se-bin (August 3, 2022). "빅스 레오, 9개월 만 기습 컴백…커밍순 티저 공개" [VIXX's Leo makes a surprise comeback after 9 months... Coming Soon teaser released] (in Korean). Ilgan Sports. Retrieved August 3, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jellyfish Ent. "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved May 18, 2024.
^"FIVE-MUSIC Korea-Japan Album Chart" (in Chinese). Five Music. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
To access, select the indicated week and year in the bottom-left corner:
^Park Ah-reum (April 4, 2022). "빅스 레오 '펜스 밖은 해피엔딩' 주연 발탁 "데뷔 후 첫 연기" [Leo of VIXX selected as the lead in ‘Happy Ending Outside the Fence’ “First Acting After Debut] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved April 4, 2022 – via Naver.
