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Kim Ji-won (Korean: 김지원; born December 21, 1995), known by his stage name Bobby (Korean: 바비) is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and member of iKon.[1] In 2016, he formed a sub-unit with Mino under the name MOBB. He is best known for finishing in first place on Mnet's survival show Show Me The Money 3.[2]
Bobby | |
|---|---|
 Bobby performing in 2018 | |
| Born | Kim Ji-won December 21, 1995 Seoul, South Korea |
| Occupations |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels |
|
| Member of | iKon |
| Formerly of | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김지원 |
| Hanja | 金知元 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Jiwon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chiwŏn |
Kim Ji-won was born on December 21, 1995, in Seoul, South Korea. In 2005, he and his family moved to Fairfax, Virginia,[3] where he auditioned for YG Entertainment and later met Kim Jin-woo of Jinusean in New York City. In January 2011, he was signed as a trainee under the label.[4][5]
After over two years of training, Bobby participated in the 2013 survival show Win: Who Is Next? under Team B. He started using his stage name Bobby, named after his idol, Bob Marley.[6] Because Team A won the program, Bobby continued training under YG Entertainment. In November 2013, while still a trainee, Bobby appeared in the music video for "Ringa Linga" by label-mate Taeyang of Big Bang alongside B.I and Jinhwan from Team B, Winner's Mino and Taehyun, and Blackpink's Lisa.[citation needed]
In May 2014, together with B.I, Bobby competed on Mnet's Show Me The Money 3. He finished in first place under Team Illionaire, mentored by Dok2 and The Quiett.[2][7] Throughout the show, Bobby released the singles "Go", "L4L (Lookin' for Luv)", "YGGR#HipHop", and "Guard Up and Bounce". Following the show's conclusion, he participated in Mix & Match, where filming began in midst of appearance of Show Me The Money. The show resulted in the debut of Team B, alongside trainee Jung Chan-woo, under the group name iKon.[8][9]
In October 2014, Bobby featured in Epik High's single "Born Hater" alongside Beenzino, Verbal Jint, B.I, and Mino,[10] and in November 11, he featured in "I'm Different" by Hi Suhyun, a project unit composed of Lee Hi and Lee Su-hyun of Akdong Musician.[11] In the same month, he also featured with Dok2 in Masta Wu's track "Come Here".[12][full citation needed] He performed "Born Hater" with Epik High at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards, also performing "Come Here" and his single "YGGR" together with Dok2, The Quiett and Masta Wu.[13] He was featured on GQ Korea's 2014 Men of the Year list and on December 4, 2014, he appeared as a guest at GQ Party.[14][unreliable source?]
In September 2015, iKon released the warm-up single "My Type", followed by lead singles "Rhythm Ta" and "Airplane".[15] On October 4, the group attended their first music show, SBS' Inkigayo, receiving their third win for "My Type".[16] The group released their debut album on December 24, 2015.
In March 2016, Bobby featured on Lee Hi's single "Video" from her studio album Seoulite.[17] Bobby also made an appearance on the ninth episode of Show Me the Money 5, featuring in Reddy's song "Like This", which they performed onstage together.[citation needed] In September 2016, Bobby released the single "Holup!" (Korean: 꽐라) as part of a four-track extended play (EP), The MOBB, a collaboration between Bobby and Winner's Mino under the group name MOBB.[18][19] They released the lead singles "Full House" (Korean: 붐벼) and "Hit Me" (Korean: 빨리 전화해) on September 9 alongside the music videos.[20][non-primary source needed]
In March 2017, Bobby and B.I featured in Psy's single "Bomb" from his studio album 4x2=8.[citation needed] Bobby released his first solo studio album, Love and Fall, on September 14, 2017, for which he served producer and participated in writing and composing for all songs on the album.[21][22] Bandmate Donghyuk and Katie Kim featured on the track "Secret", and label-mate Mino featured in the track "Up". On November 29, Bobby released the Japanese version of his debut solo album.[citation needed] He released his second studio album, Lucky Man, on January 25, 2021.[23]
Bobby released his first solo single album S.i.R on March 21, 2023.[24]
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On August 20, 2021, Bobby announced in his Instagram post his upcoming wedding to his fiancée, who was expecting their first child in September.[25] In September 2021, his fiancée gave birth to a son.[26]
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak positions | Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [27] |
FRA [28] |
JPN [29] |
TW [30] |
US World [31] | |||
| Love and Fall |
|
4 | 113 | 39 | 7 | 2 | |
| Lucky Man |
|
4 | — | — | — | — |
|
| Sir.Robert |
|
31 | — | — | — |
| |
Extended plays
Single albums
Collaborative albums
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [45] |
US World [46] | |||||
| "L4L (Lookin' For Luv)" (feat. Dok2 and The Quiett) | 2014 | 7 | — |
|
Show Me the Money 3 | |
| ""YGGR#hiphop" (연결고리#힙합) | 4 | — |
| |||
| "Go" (가) | 16 | — |
| |||
| "Raise Your Guard and Bounce" (가드올리고) | 4 | — |
| |||
| "Anthem" (이리오너라) (with B.I) | 2015 | 6 | — |
|
Welcome Back | |
| "Holup!" (꽐라!) | 2016 | 9 | 3 |
|
The MOBB | |
| "I Love You" (사랑해) | 2017 | 24 | — |
|
Love and Fall | |
| "Runaway" | 63 | — |
| |||
| "U Mad" | 2021 | 150 | — | — | Lucky Man | |
| "Drowning" (feat. Sole) | 2023 | — | — | S.i.R | ||
| "Cherry Blossom" (벚꽃) | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [52] |
US World [46] | ||||
| "Born Hater" (Epik High feat. Beenzino, Verbal Jint, B.I, Mino, Bobby) |
2014 | 3 | 5 |
|
Shoebox |
| "Come Here" (이리와봐) (Masta Wu feat. Dok2 and Bobby) |
8 | 4 |
|
Non-album singles | |
| "I'm Different" (Hi, Suhyun feat. Bobby) |
1 | 3 |
| ||
| "Video" (안봐도 비디) (Lee Hi feat. Bobby) |
2016 | 21 | 6 |
|
Seoulite |
| "Bomb" (Psy feat. B.I and Bobby) |
2017 | 14 | — |
|
4X2=8 |
| "Rise (Remix)" (Mako, The Word Alive & The Glitch Mob feat. Bobby) |
— | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Super Asia" (TPA feat. VaVa and Bobby) |
2019 | — | — | ||
| "Ok Man" (Mino feat Bobby) |
2020 | 4 | — |
|
Take |
| "Lucky!" (개이득) (Kim Jae-hwan feat. Bobby) |
2023 | 152 | — | — | J.A.M. (Journey Above Music) |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||||
Songwriting and production credits
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| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Win: Who Is Next | Contestant | |
| 2014 | Show Me the Money 3 | ||
| Mix & Match | [8] | ||
| 2017 | King of Mask Singer | [59] | |
| Living Together in Empty Room | Cast Member | [60] | |
| 2023 | Boys Planet | Guest Mentor | |
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