Danny Ahn

In this Korean name, the family name is Ahn.

Danny Ahn (Korean: 데니안; born December 22, 1978) is a South Korean-American entertainer best known as the main rapper of the South Korean pop music group g.o.d. Having made his debut in the entertainment industry as a member of g.o.d in 1999, Ahn has gone into acting and has also been a radio DJ and MC.

Danny Ahn
Ahn Shin-won[1][2]
Born	(1978-12-22) December 22, 1978 (age 45) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Education	Dankook University
Occupations	Actor singer rapper radio DJ host
Agents	Sidus HQ Cuz-9 Entertainment[3]
Musical career
Genres	K-pop R&B
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Sidus HQ Cuz-9
Member of	g.o.d
Korean name
Hangul	안신원
Hanja	安信源
Revised Romanization	An Sin-won
McCune–Reischauer	An Sinwŏn

Early life

Ahn was born in Seattle, Washington, and holds American citizenship,^[4][5] although he later moved to South Korea with his family and spent most of his schooling years there. He and g.o.d bandmate Joon Park are first cousins; Ahn's father is the youngest sibling of Joon's mother.^{[6][better source needed]} When he was in elementary school his parents divorced and he and his older sister went to live with their mother.^[7][8] As a teenager, he began aspiring to become a singer after listening to Seo Taiji and Boys.^[9] He studied Theater and Film at Dankook University.^[10]

Career

Beginnings

Ahn's professional career began with his debut in the K-pop industry as a rapper for singer Uhm Jung-hwa. He was also part of a mixed-gender project group along with his friend Son Ho-young, Shoo and Kim Hwan-sung but it fell through; Kim was later recruited as the final member of NRG and Shoo joined S.M. Entertainment where she would debut as part of girl group S.E.S.^[11]

In 1997 Ahn was recruited by his cousin Joon for a project group he was forming. Between 1997 and 1998, Son, Yoon Kye-sang and Kim Sun-a were recruited through auditions while Park Jin-young joined the group as their producer and mentor.^[12] However, Kim Sun-a left to pursue acting and was replaced with Kim Tae-woo, then still a high school student.^[13] The group eventually became a five-man boy band and named g.o.d, short for "Groove Over Dose".

1999–2005: Success with g.o.d

After a lukewarm response to their debut performance in January 1999, the group went on to become one of the most popular K-pop groups in the 2000s.^{[citation needed]} Ahn occasionally composed his own rap lyrics.^[14] The group later switched from SidusHQ to JYP Entertainment, with two members switching agencies while Ahn and Yoon renewed their individual contracts at SidusHQ.^[15] In 2004, Yoon left the group and g.o.d continued as a quartet until December 2005.

2006–2013: Solo activities and projects

Ahn ventured into the radio industry prior to g.o.d going on hiatus in late December 2005.^[16] He became as a radio DJ on KBS Cool FM and was the first host of Kiss the Radio before taking over Lee Soo-young as host of the long-running afternoon program Music Show.^[17][18][19] He was invited back to be a guest DJ for the "Homecoming Day" special in 2015, in honor of KBS Cool FM's 50th anniversary.^[20]

Ahn released his solo single album on May 28, 2007 "If It Were A Dream", which featured a cappella group Sweet Sorrow. He has since largely done guest vocals for other artists such as Rain, his bandmate Kim Tae-woo, SG Wannabe and Kim Dong-wan of fellow first-generation group Shinhwa.^{[citation needed]} Alongside his music career, Ahn also took roles in TV shows and films. In 2008, he appeared in Crazy Waiting, also known as The Longest 24 Months.^{[citation needed]} He appeared as Baek-ho in the KBS drama, The Slave Hunters. He appeared in KBS Let's Go Dream Team! Season 2, and was the leader of the team. He also appeared as Manager Baek Nam-jung in The Fugitive: Plan B alongside Rain, Lee Jung-jin, Daniel Henney and Lee Na-young, and in The Innocent Man with Song Joong-ki and Moon Chae-won. He was a permanent guest on SBS's talk show Strong Heart.^{[citation needed]}

Despite g.o.d going on hiatus, Ahn has reunited with his bandmates several times for collaborations. Ahn, Son Ho-young and Park Joon-hyung were featured in the song "Memories and Remembrance", from Kim Tae-woo's mini album T-Virus.^{[citation needed]} He also joined Kim and Son to perform their song "Lies" on the Music Bank special celebrating 600 episodes^[21] and at the 2012 Korean Music Festival in Los Angeles.

In May 2012, Ahn starred opposite Dave K. Wong as Gye Dong-hee, a friend to Ryu's Seung-hyuk in Channel A's Goodbye Dear Wife.^[22] He served as a commentator/host on We Got Married along with Lee Ji-hye, with hosts Park Mi-sun and Kim Jung-min before leaving the show on May 31, 2014.^{[23][unreliable source]} In 2013 he joined Top Gear Korea to host the fourth season.^[24]

Ahn was part of a project group called HOTSechgodRG, which comprises himself and four other members of first-generation idol groups who were born in 1978. The group was first conceived after former H.O.T member Moon Hee-joon invited Ahn, Tony An (H.O.T), Eun Ji-won (Sechs Kies) and Chun Myung-hoon (NRG) to create a reality show version of the television series Reply 1997 in which they would meet up at a rented house to chat and reflect on their heyday.^[25] The show was called Handsome Boys of the 20th Century and also featured special guests, mainly their former bandmates and contemporaries. The group has also launched a music video and performed on Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend.^{[26][unreliable source][27][unreliable source]} The following year, in 2014, they starred in Where is My Superhero? on OnStyle.^{[citation needed]}

2014–present: g.o.d reunion and other activities

Ahn's contract with his previous agency SidusHQ expired, and he signed with Box Media in March 2014.^[28] He reunited with his g.o.d bandmates to prepare for their eighth album to celebrate the fifteen anniversary of their debut. Following the release of the album in July, the group embarked on a nationwide concert tour.^{[citation needed]}

Ahn starred in the SBS drama Witch's Castle, in which he portrayed the antagonist.^[29] His appearances on television are largely on variety shows such as Infinite Challenge, Fantastic Duo,^[30] King of Mask Singer and The Friends in Chiang Mai. He reunited with HOTSechgodRG members Chun Myung-hoon and Tony An on Eun Ji-won's new travel reality show Plan Man.^[31] The group, except Eun, most recently met up at Moon Hee-joon's bachelor party, part of which was shown on My Little Old Boy, the reality show Tony An was participating in.^[32]

In July 2018, Ahn re-signed with former agency SidusHQ. He had joined New Able Entertainment in 2016 but it was acquired by SidusHQ and he was one of several artists who opted to transfer to SidusHQ.^[33]

Since August 2020, Ahn and his g.o.d bandmate Son Ho-young have co-hosted a talk show g.o.d's Lunch Attack which airs on Naver's streaming app Naver NOW. at noon on weekdays.^[34][35]

In June 2022, Ahn renewed his contract with Cuz-9 Entertainment.^[36]

Personal life

He has one older sister.^{[6][better source needed]}

Discography

See also: g.o.d discography

Year	Song	Album
2007	If It Were A Dream (feat. Sweet Sorrow)	Solo Album - Digital Single

Soundtrack contributions

Date	Track	Title	Notes
2012	죽어도 넌 내 사랑 (Danny Ahn with Misty)	Goodbye Dear Wife OST
2014	"One Day" (하루만) (Son Ho-young feat. Danny Ahn)	Marriage, Not Dating OST	Featured artist[37]

As a featured artist

Year	Track	Album	Peak positions1		Notes
			KOR Weekly	KOR Monthly
2002	"What's Love" (Rain feat. Danny, Lexy, Byul and JYP)	Bad Guy
2006	사랑했어요 (SG Wannabe feat. Danny Ahn)	The 3rd Masterpiece
2009	기억과 추억 (Kim Tae-woo feat. Park Joon-hyung, Danny Ahn and Son Ho-young)	T-Virus
2010	"I'm Sorry" (The Film feat. Danny Ahn)	2nd Episode	68	—	[38]
2011	크게 라디오를 켜고 (remake)[39] (The Koxx and KBS Cool FM DJs: Lee Hyun-woo, Choi Kang-hee, Danny Ahn, Leeteuk and Eunhyuk)	Non-album single
2015	"Memories" (Kim Bo-kyung feat. Danny Ahn)	0516
	"Hometown" (뽀레버막내) (Kim Tae-woo feat. Danny Ahn)	T-Road
	"My Friend"[40] (Kim Dong-wan feat. Danny Ahn)	D			[41]

Lyrics and composition

Year	Song	Artist	Album	Note
1999	"Say g.o.d"	g.o.d	Chapter 2	lyrics co-written with Park Jin-young, Park Joon-hyung, Yoon Kye-sang, Son Ho-young and Kim Tae-woo
2000	"g.o.d Party"		Chapter 3
	"Sky Blue Balloon"
2001	"Sad Love"		Chapter 4	lyrics co-written with Park Joon-hyung, Yoon Kye-sang, Son Ho-young and Kim Tae-woo
	"134-14"			lyrics and music co-written with Park Joon-hyung, Yoon Kye-sang, Son Ho-young and Kim Tae-woo
2002	"Us"		Chapter 5: Letter	lyrics and music
	"What's Love"	Rain	Bad Guy	lyrics and music
2003	슬픈 이별 뒤로	Cha Tae-hyun	The Book	lyrics
2004	"Familiar Strangers"	g.o.d	An Ordinary Day	Music and arrangement
2014	"Sky Blue Promise"		Chapter 8	lyrics co-written with Duble Sidekick
	"Smile"
	"Stand Up"		lyrics co-written with Black Eyed Pilseung and Son Ho-young
	"I Like It"		lyrics co-written with Kiggen and Hanhae
	"The Lone Duckling"		rap lyrics co-written with Duble Sidekick
	"One Day" (하루만)	Son Ho-young ft. Danny Ahn	Marriage, Not Dating OST	rap lyrics[42] co-written with Kim Won and Jang Jung-woo
2015	뽀레버막내	Kim Tae-woo	T-Road	lyrics[43]
2016	"My Friend"	Kim Dong-wan	K	lyrics co-written with Song Yang-ha, Kim Dong-yeol and Brand Newjiq

Filmography

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Banjun Drama
2008	Innocent You	Kang Eun-hwan
2009	High Kick Through the Roof	Ahn Shin-won	Cameo
2010	The Slave Hunters	Baek-ho
	The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry	Kim Bu-ki's ex-boyfriend	Cameo
	The Fugitive: Plan B	Baek Nam-jung
2011	Real School!		Cameo
	Lie to Me	Hyun Ki-joon's friend	Cameo
	When Women Powder Twice	Han Sun-woo
2012	Goodbye Dear Wife	Gye Dong-hee
	The Innocent Man	Kim Jung-hoon	Cameo (Ep. 2, 15)
2013	Fantasy Tower	Dal-soo
2014	12 Years Promise	Yoo Soo-han
	KBS Drama Special – "Pitch Black"	Park Hyun-tae
2015	Romance of 7 Days	Ahn Jun-seo[44]
	The Three Witches	Baek Eun-yong
2017	Bravo My Life	Audition judge[45]	Cameo
	Justice Team 2[46][47]	Lee Dae-ho
2019	Level Up[48]	Park Gi-woo
2021	Imitation	Ji-hak [49]
2022	O'PENing – "Don't Announce Your Husband's Death"	Yoon Chan-bum[50]
2023	The Escape of the Seven[51]		Cameo

Film

Year	Title	Role
2008	Crazy Waiting	Seo Min-cheol
2011	Head	Kang Seung-wan
2023	Chabak - Night of Murder and Romance	Soo-won[52]

Variety shows

Year	Title	Notes
2009–2010	Let's Go! Dream Team Season 2	Regular cast; 25 episodes
2013	Handsome Boys of the 20th Century	Regular cast; 29 episodes
2014	Where Is My Superhero?[53]	Regular cast
2015	The Friends in Chiang Mai	With Park Joon-hyung and Ryohei Otani

Web shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2017	Travel For Me	Cast Member	With Ryu Seung-soo, Choi Philip and Park Gyu-ri	[54]
2022	Let's Watch Soccer Together	Host		[55]

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist
2015	"Lonely Funk"	Kim Tae-woo

Radio

Year	Name	Network
2004–2006	Danny Ahn's Kiss the Radio	KBS Cool FM
2011–2013[18]	Danny Ahn's Music Show[56]	KBS Cool FM
2020–present	g.o.d's Lunch Attack (with Son Ho-young)	Naver NOW

Awards

Year	Category	Work	Result
2004	KBS Entertainment Awards	Danny Ahn's Kiss the Radio	Won

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External links

• Danny Ahn at HanCinema
• Danny Ahn at the Korean Movie Database
• Danny Ahn at IMDb