Hoya (singer)

South Korean singer, actor, and dancer (born 1991)

In this Korean name, the family name is  Lee.

Hoya

Hoya in January 2015

Born|

Lee Ho-dong[1]

(1991-03-28) March 28, 1991 (age 34)

Busan, South Korea

Other names|

* Hoya
* Lee Ho-won

Alma mater| Daekyung University
Occupations|

* Singer
* rapper
* songwriter
* dancer
* actor

Years active| 2010–present
Agent| Initial
Musical career
Genres|

* K-pop
* dance-pop
* hip hop
* R&B

Instrument| Vocals
Labels|

* Woollim
* Glorious
* Illusion
* WakeOne[A]

Member of| Mbitious
Formerly of|

* Infinite
* Infinite H

Musical artist

Korean name
Hangul|

Revised Romanization| Hoya
McCune–Reischauer| Hoya
Birth name
Hangul|

이호동

Hanja|

李浩東

Revised Romanization| I Hodong
McCune–Reischauer| I Hotong
Autonym
Hangul|

이호원

Hanja|

李浩沅

Revised Romanization| I Howon
McCune–Reischauer| I Howŏn

Lee Ho-dong (Korean: 이호동; born (1991-03-28)March 28, 1991[2]), better known by his stage name Hoya or Lee Ho-won, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, actor, and dancer, currently a member of the dance crew Mbitious. He is known to have been a rapper and vocalist in boy band Infinite (and later its sub-group Infinite H) from 2010 until his departure from Woollim Entertainment in 2017.[3][4][5] In 2018, Hoya made his solo debut on March 28 with his first EP Shower.

Hoya made his acting debut in the drama Reply 1997 (2012) and went on to star in the dramas My Lovely Girl (2014), Mask (2015), Radiant Office (2017), and Two Cops (2017), Devilish Charm (2018).

## Biography

[edit]

Hoya was born in Busan, South Korea. He dropped out of high school during his first year to pursue his dream as a singer. His father was against the decision thus Hoya had to leave home. He then took the high school qualification exam and passed. Later his father accepted him and now supports Infinite whole heartedly. Hoya auditioned after he dropped out and ended up in his current agency, Woollim Entertainment. He was a former JYP Entertainment trainee.[6]

On March 10, 2014, he announced that his real birth name is Lee Hodong, not Howon as he had previously told the public, and that he changed it in order not to share a name with comedian Kang Hodong.[7]

Hoya graduated from Daekyeung University, majoring in Applied Music.[8][9]

Hoya at K-Pop World Festival 2013.

## Career

[edit]

### 2010: Debut with Infinite

[edit]

Main article: Infinite (band)

Hoya debuted as rapper, vocal and main dancer of South Korean boyband Infinite in 2010. The group officially debuted on June 9, 2010.

### 2012–2014: Infinite H's debut and acting roles

[edit]

Main article: Infinite H

Hoya made his acting debut in the tvN drama Reply 1997. The drama was a major hit and raised his popularity.[10]

In September 2012, Hoya and fellow Infinite member Dongwoo formed a subgroup called Infinite H.[11][12] The subgroup released their first mini-album, titled Fly High, in January 2013.[13]

In 2014, Hoya starred in SBS' music romance drama, My Lovely Girl; which co-stars his fellow Infinite member Kim Myung-soo.[14]

On September 24, 2014, Hoya was cast as the lead role in the film Hiya. He played a high school student who only dreams of becoming a singer. The film premiered on March 10, 2015.[15][16]

### 2015–2017: Departure from Infinite, solo activities

[edit]

In 2015, Hoya starred in SBS's melodrama Mask, acting as Soo Ae's brother.[17]

In June 2016, Hoya became a contestant in Mnet's dance survival show, Hit The Stage.[18] In December, it was announced that Hoya has been cast in the sitcom Strong Family 2017, which started airing in February 2017.[19]

Hoya was a supporting role in MBC's office drama, Radiant Office.[20] On August 30, it was confirmed that Hoya would not be renewing his contract (which expired June 9, 2017) and would be leaving Infinite as well as Woollim Entertainment.[21] In September, he made his musical debut in Hourglass, a play based on the mega hit Korean drama Sandglass.[22] He then starred in MBC's cop drama, Two Cops.[23]

### 2018–present: Solo debut

[edit]

In 2018, Lee made his solo debut on March 28 with his first mini album Shower.[24] He was then cast in the romance comedy drama Devilish Charm.[25] In the midst of all, Lee also went to Immortal Song 2 that was broadcast on August 4 and eventually won the episode by getting the highest scores there. Lee also became a dance coach/mentor in KBS variety program, Dancing High that focuses on teaching and mentoring the teens in Korea about dance. On September 12, Lee also released a digital single titled, 'Baby U' featuring Kriesha Chu in the music video.

Hoya enlisted for military service on February 7, 2019, by announcing it through a post two days before the date; he was discharged on December 6, 2020.[26]

On June 9, 2021, Hoya made his comeback with the new digital single album 1AM.[27]

On April 1, 2022, Hoya signed an exclusive contract with Initial Entertainment.[28]

## Discography

[edit]

Main articles: Infinite discography and Infinite H § discography

### Extended plays

[edit]

Title  | Album details  | Peak chart positions  | Sales

|
|
|

KOR
[29]
Shower |

* Released: March 28, 2018
* Label: Glorious Entertainment, Genie Music
* Formats: CD, digital download

Track listing

1. Shower (Intro)
2. Angel
3. All Eyes On Me
4. Reply (점)
5. Sigh (한숨)
6. Dance (춤) (Outro)

| 9  |

* KOR: 10,818[30]

### Single albums

[edit]

Title  | Album details  | Peak chart positions  | Sales

|
|
|

KOR
[29]
1AM |

* Released: June 9, 2021
* Label: Glorious Entertainment, Genie Music
* Formats: Digital download

Track listing

1. Someday
2. Stay With Me
3. I Don't Give A

| —  | —

### Singles

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Sales
(DL) | Album

|
|
|
|

KOR
[31] | KOR Hot
[32]
As lead artist
"Pretending I'm Okay"  | 2014  | — | —  | —  | Non album-singles
"Angel"  | 2018  | — | —  | Shower
"All Eyes On Me"  | — | —
"Baby U"  | — | —  | Non-album singles
"Stay With Me"  | 2021  | — | —  | 1AM
As featured artist
"Ooh Ooh"
(Eric Nam ft. Hoya) | 2014  | 48 | —  |

* KOR: 34,194[33]

| Non-album singles
"Need You Now"
(Henry ft. Hoya)[34] | — | —  |

* KOR: 13,756

| Fantastic
Soundtrack appearances
"About To Explode"
(as Road King) | 2016  | — | —  | —  | Hiya OST
"May I Love You"  | 2017  | — | —  | Hourglass OST
Collaboration
"Yesterday"
(as Dynamic Black) | 2012  | 9 | —  |

* KOR: 269,507[35]

| 2012 SBS Gayo Daejun The Colors Of K-Pop
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

### Songwriting credits

[edit]

Year  | Album  | Artist  | Song  | Lyrics  | Music  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

Credited  | With  | Credited  | With
2014  | Season 2 | Infinite | "Last Romeo"  | Yes  | Song Sooyoon, Dongwoo  | No  | —  |
Infinite H | "Alone"  | Yes  | Rphabet, Dongwoo  | No  | —  |
Non album-single  | Hoya  | "Pretending I'm Okay"  | Yes  | —  | Yes  | —  |
2015  | Fly Again | Infinite H | "Pretty"  | Yes  | 9999, Dongwoo  | Yes  | 9999  | [36]
2016  | Infinite Only | Infinite | "One Day"  | Yes  | Rphabet's Razer & Dongwoo  | Yes  | Rphabet's Razer  |
"True Love"  | Rap  | Dongwoo  | No  | —  |
2018  | Shower | Hoya  | "Angel"  | Yes  | NiiHWA  | No  | —  |
"All Eyes On Me"  | Yes  | NiiHWA  | No  | —  |
"Reply"  | Yes  | NiiHWA  | No  | —  |
"Sigh"  | Yes  | NiiHWA  | No  | —  |

## Filmography

[edit]

See also: Infinite (band) § Filmography

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2016  | Hiya | Lee Jin-ho  |  |
2022  | Urban Myths | Choong-jae  | Segment: "Tooth Worms"  | [37]
Birth | Choi Yang-eop  |  | [38]

### Television series

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2012  | Reply 1997 | Kang Joon-hee  |  |
2013  | Reply 1994 | Cameo  | [39]
2014  | My Lovely Girl | Kang Rae-hoon  |  |
2015  | Mask | Byun Ji-hyuk  |  |
2017  | Strong Family 2017 | Lee Gwi-nam  |  |
Radiant Office | Jang Kang-ho  |  |
Two Cops | Dok Go Sun-hyeok  |  |
2018  | Devilish Charm | Sung Ki-joon  |  |
2019  | Hip Hop King – Nassna Street |  |  |
2024–2025  | Check-in Hanyang |  |  | [40]

### Television shows

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2016  | Hit the Stage | Contestant  |  |
2018  | Dancing High | Dance coach  |  | [41]
2022  | Be Mbitious | Contestant  | Final member of Mbitious  |
Street Man Fighter | As a member of Mbitious  |

## Musical theatre

[edit]

Title  | Year  | Role  | Ref.

|
|
|

2017–2018  | Hourglass | Baek Jae-hee  |
2022  | Secretly, Greatly: THE LAST | Won Ryu-hwan  | [42]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Nominated work  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2016  | 36th Golden Cinema Festival  | Best New Actor  | Hiya | Won  | [43]
2017  | MBC Drama Awards | Best New Actor  | Radiant Office | Nominated  | [44]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ As a member of Mbitious only.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "'예체능' 호야 개명 "본명 이호동, 강호동 때문에 놀림 받아 개명"". Chosun News. March 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
2. ^ Mark Russell (April 29, 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 63\. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
3. ^ "Infinite biography". Woollim Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
4. ^ "Infinite H biography". Woollim Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
5. ^ Ha, Na-yeong (August 30, 2017). 인피니트 호야, 전속계약 종료..."6인 체제로 그룹 재정비"(공식). The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo Company. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
6. ^ "호야 자퇴 심경고백, "교복 못 입은 아쉬움...'응답'으로 보상받아"". Naver News. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
7. ^ "Infinite's Hoya Changed His Name Because of Kang Ho Dong". Mnet. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
8. ^ "인피니트 5명, 오늘 같은 대학 동시 졸업..수상도".
9. ^ "5 Infinite Members to Graduate from University Together". enewsWorld. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
10. ^ "[Interview] Hoya is More Popular Because of ′Reply 1997′ Than Infinite". enewsWorld. January 27, 2013. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
11. ^ "[INTERVIEW] INFINITE H – Part 1". 10Asia. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
12. ^ "[INTERVIEW] INFINITE H – Part 2". 10Asia. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
13. ^ "INFINITE H new album coming soon". Kpop Herald. January 20, 2015. Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
14. ^ "Infinite's L and Hoya Confirmed for Drama 'My Lovely Girl'". enewsWorld. August 5, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
15. ^ "Singer Hoya is getting serious about acting". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 29, 2016. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
16. ^ "Hoya touched by Infinite members' response to 'Hiya'". Kpop Herald. March 16, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
17. ^ "'Mask' reveals Hoya transformed into an armed bank robber". HanCinema. SBS funE. May 25, 2015. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
18. ^ "Infinite's Hoya wins 'Hit the Stage' (video)". Kpop Herald. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
19. ^ "INFINITE's Hoya To Star in New SBS Sitcom 'Super Family'". Koogle. January 4, 2017. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
20. ^ "Lee Dong-hwi, Kim Dong-wook, Hoya to star in new MBC drama "Radiant Office"". HanCinema. Asiae. January 30, 2017. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
21. ^ "Hoya exits Infinite, does not renew contract". Korea JoongAng Daily. August 31, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
22. ^ "Former Infinite Hoya to star in musical "Hourglass"". HanCinema. September 25, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
23. ^ "Hoya to star in 'Two Cops'". HanCinema. Star Money. September 27, 2017. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
24. ^ "[공식입장] 인피니트 출신 호야, 28일 첫 솔로앨범 'Shower' 발표..정식 데뷔". Osen (in Korean). March 15, 2018. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
25. ^ "호야 측 "'마성의 기쁨' 출연 확정...5월 중 첫 촬영"(공식)". Herald Corporation (in Korean). May 7, 2018.
26. ^ Hwang, Hyejin (December 6, 2020). "엑소 시우민·인피니트 출신 이호원, 오늘(6일) 전역 '군필돌 컴백'". Newsen (in Korean). Daum. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
27. ^ Lee, Seul (June 4, 2021). "호야, 9일 디지털 싱글 '아이엠' 발매...전곡 프로듀싱→MV 연출". Xports News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
28. ^ Gong, Mina (April 1, 2022). "인피니트 출신 이호원, 이니셜엔터 전속계약..이선빈 한솥밥[공식]". Star News (in Korean). Daum. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
29. ^ a b "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
* "Shower". November 12–18, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
30. ^ Culmulative sales for Shower:
* "2018년 03월 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
* "2018년 04월 Album Chart (See #50)". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
31. ^ Peak Gaon Chart Digital Chart Ranking
32. ^ Billboard Korea K-pop 100 Chart
33. ^ Cumulative weekly sales of "Ooh Ooh":
* "Gaon Download Chart – Week 16, 2014 (see #48)". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
34. ^ "SUJU-M Henry's New Album 'Fantastic' to Feature EXO's Chan Yeol, Infinite's Hoya and More". Yahoo. enewsWorld. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
35. ^ Cumulative sales for "Yesterday:
* "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 1". Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
* "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 2". Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
* "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 3". Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
* "2013 Gaon Download Chart – Week 4". Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
36. ^ "Infinite's Hoya Wrote ′Pretty′ with His Mom in Mind". Mnet. January 26, 2015. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
37. ^ Lee Yu-na (May 3, 2021). "K호러 '괴담' 크랭크업...김도윤·서지수·아린·셔누·주학년 등 출연" [K-horror 'Ghost Story' crank-up ... Kim Do-yoon, Seo Ji-soo, Arin, Shownu, Ju Hak-hak, etc.]. YTN (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
38. ^ Jung Yu-jin (October 7, 2021). "김대건 신부 다룬 최초 영화 '탄생', 여주인공 공개 오디션" [The first movie 'Birth' about Father Kim Dae-geon, the female lead auditioned for public]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2021 - via Naver.
* Kang Min-kyung (October 5, 2022). "[공식] "韓 최초 김대건 신부 극영화" 윤시윤→안성기 '탄생', 11월 30일 개봉 확정" [[Official] "Korea's first drama film by Kim Dae-geon" Yoon Si-yoon → Ahn Seong-ki 'Birth' confirmed for release on November 30th] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2022 - via Naver.
39. ^ "Cast members reunite for 'Respond'". Korea JoongAng Daily. December 11, 2013. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
40. ^ Lee, Ye-ji (June 24, 2024). "이호원, 채널A 새 드라마 '체크인 한양' 합류" [Lee Ho-won joins Channel A's new drama 'Check-in Hanyang'] (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024 - via Naver.
41. ^ "'Dancing High' ready to welcome dancers". Kpop Herald. July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
42. ^ Kang Jin-ah (March 15, 2022). "오종혁·이호원·유태양, '은밀하게 위대하게:더 라스트' 출연" [Jonghyuk Oh, Howon Lee, and Taeyang Yoo to appear in 'Secretly, Greatly: The Last'] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022 - via Naver.
43. ^ "Yoo Ah-in, Hoya win at 36th Golden Cinema Film Festival". Manila Bulletin. May 30, 2016. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
44. ^ Jang, Woo-young (December 30, 2017). "[MBC연기대상]김선호·김정현·서주현·이선빈, 신인상 수상 영광" [[MBC Acting Awards] Kim Seon-ho, Kim Jung-hyun, Seo Joo-hyun, Lee Seon-bin, Glory of Rookie of the Year Award] (in Korean). Herald Pop. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022 - via Naver.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hoya (vocalist).

* Hoya at HanCinema

* v
* t
* e

Woollim Entertainment

Artists|

| Solo|

* Lee Su-jeong
* Kwon Eun-bi

|

Group|

* Golden Child
* Rocket Punch
* Drippin

Former|

* Epik High
* Kim Dong-ryool
* Kang Kyun-sung
* Tasty
* Nell
* Hoya
* Kim Min-seok
* Oh Hyun-min
* Kim Myung-soo
* Joo
* Kim Sung-kyu
* Jang Dong-woo
* Lee Sung-yeol
* Lovelyz
* Mijoo
* Kim Ji-yeon
* Ryu Su-jeong
* Lee Sung-jong
* Kim Chaewon
* Infinite
* Infinite H
* Infinite F
* Toheart
* Nam Woo-hyun
* Choi Bo-min

* Discography

* v
* t
* e

Infinite

* Sungkyu
* Dongwoo
* Woohyun
* Sungyeol
* L
* Seongjong

* Hoya

Subgroups|

* Infinite H
* Infinite F

Studio albums|

| Korean|

* Over the Top / Paradise
* Season 2 / Be Back
* Top Seed

|

Japanese|

* Koi ni Ochiru Toki

Extended plays|

| Korean|

* First Invasion
* Evolution
* Infinitize
* New Challenge
* Reality
* Infinite Only

|

Infinite H|

* Fly High
* Fly Again

Single albums|

* Inspirit
* Destiny
* Flower

Singles|

| Korean|

* "She's Back"
* "BTD (Before the Dawn)"
* "Be Mine"
* "The Chaser"

|

Japanese|

* "BTD (Before the Dawn)"
* "Be Mine"
* "She's Back"

Tours|

One Great Step

* Discography
* Awards

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

|

*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template