Zion.T

Kim Hae-sol (born April 13, 1989),^[2] known professionally as Zion.T (Korean: 자이언티), is a South Korean hip hop and R&B singer. He has released 2 studio albums, Red Light (2013)^[3] and Zip (2023),^[4] as well as 3 EPs. He has also been featured on tracks by well-known K-pop artists such as G-Dragon, Zico, and Psy.

For other uses, see Zion (disambiguation).

Zion.T 자이언티
Zion.T at the MBC Radio DJ Concert in September 2015
Background information
Birth name	Kim Hae-sol[1]
Born	(1989-04-13) April 13, 1989 (age 35) South Korea
Genres	Hip hop R&B synthpop
Occupations	Singer songwriter rapper
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Amoeba Culture The Black Label Standard Friends

Zion.T
Hangul	김해솔
Revised Romanization	Gim Hae-sol
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Haesol
Stage name
Hangul	자이언티
Revised Romanization	Jaieonti
McCune–Reischauer	Chaiŏnt'i

Personal life

In an interview with Kpopeurope in 2014, Zion.T explained that he chose his stage name because "I am a Christian and so the "T" in my name is representative of the cross."^[5]

In a 2017 CBS No Cut News interview, he said he was influenced by the American musician T-Pain. "There was a time when T-Pain's style of hip hop vocals were in. I really like T-Pain, so I used to emulate him a lot. This is something only my friends know, but I even had the nickname 'Zion.T-Pain'."^[6]

Career

Zion.T made his musical debut in 2011, collaborating with Korean hip hop artists such as Dok2, Crucial Star, Simon D, Primary and Gray. His first single, "Click Me", featuring Dok2, was released in April 2011.

On April 9, 2013, Zion.T's first studio album, Red Light, was released with the title track "Babay", featuring Gaeko.^[3][7]

That year, he featured on tracks by Infinite H, Dynamic Duo, Swings and G-Dragon.^[8] In December, he released the EP Mirrorball ("미러볼") with the title track "Miss Kim" (미스 김).^[9]

In 2014, he released the digital single "Yanghwa BRDG", which became a hit and contributed to his rising mainstream success as an artist in Korea.^[10]

He also appeared on the soundtrack of the television drama series Pinocchio with the song "Kiss Me", and featured on songs by Seo In-young and The Quiett.^{[citation needed]}

On February 1, 2015, he collaborated with the Korean R&B singer Crush on the single "Just" (그냥).^[11] The same year, he released the digital singles "Zero Gravity" (무중력), "Eat" (꺼내 먹어요)^[12] and "No Make Up" (노메이크업) and featured on singles by SHINee's Jonghyun, Yankie and Psy. That July, he participated in the biennial music festival event hosted by the MBC variety show Infinite Challenge, which resulted in a spike in domestic sales of his previously released singles.^[13] For the event, he partnered with the Infinite Challenge cast member Haha to perform under the name Eutteugeottasi (으뜨거따시) with the song "$ponsor", later released in an album of the songs performed at the event.^[14]

Zion.T finished the year with two wins at the annual Mnet Asian Music Awards,: Best Vocal Performance (Male) for "Eat " 꺼내먹어요 and Best Collaboration, with Crush, for the song "Just" 그냥, beating more well-established artistes in an idol-focused industry.^[15]

In 2016, following the end of his contract with the hip hop label Amoeba Culture, he signed with The Black Label, a sub-label of YG Entertainment.^[16][17] On February 1, 2017, he released his first EP under The Black Label, OO.^[18]

In December 2017, he released his collaboration with the veteran singer Lee Moon-se, the song "Snow". It topped all major music charts in South Korea. Lee Moon-se said he listened to Zion.T's song more than 200 times to faithfully represent his song, and showed great affection towards Zion.T and his musical career.^[19]

In August 2022, Zion.T established his own entertainment company, Standard Friends, and signed Wonstein as his first artist. He will still be represented by The Black Label as a singer.^[20][21]

Discography

Main article: Zion.T discography

Studio albums

• Red Light (2013)
• Zip (2023)

Filmography

Television shows

Year	Title		Network	Role	Notes	Ref.
	English	Korean
2016	Show Me The Money 5	쇼미더머니 5	Mnet	Producer	with Kush
2017-2018	Mix Nine	믹스나인	JTBC	Judge
2018	Hidden Singer	히든 싱어		Participant	(Season 5; Episode 11)
2019	My Major is Hip Hop	내 전공은 힙합	V Live YouTube	Cast Member	with Mino	[22]
	Sign Here	사인히어	MBN	Judge	Episode 5
2020	Song Farm!	곡FARM!	Mnet	Producer
	Show Me the Money 9	쇼미더머니 9			with Giriboy
2021	Show Me the Money 10	쇼미더머니 10			with Slom	[23]

Awards and nominations

Year presented, name of the award ceremony, category, nominated work, and the result of the nomination

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2014	11th Korean Music Awards[24]	Best R&B & Soul Album	Red Light	Won
2015	7th MelOn Music Awards	Top 10 Artists	—	Won
		Artist of the Year		Nominated
	17th Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Male Artist		Nominated
		Artist of the Year		Nominated
		Best Vocal Performance - Male[25]	"Eat (꺼내 먹어요)" - Zion.T	Won
		Song of the Year		Nominated
			"Just (그냥)" - Zion.T X Crush	Nominated
		Best Collaboration & Unit		Won
2016	25th Seoul Music Awards[26]	Bonsang Award	—	Won
		Popularity Award		Nominated
		Hallyu Special Award		Nominated
	30th Golden Disk Awards	Digital Daesang	"Eat (꺼내 먹어요)" - Zion.T	Nominated
		Digital Bonsang		Won
		Popularity Award	—	Nominated
		Global Popularity Award		Nominated
	5th Gaon Chart Music Awards	R&B Discovery of the Year		Won
2017	19th Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Male Artist		Nominated
		Best Vocal Performance - Male	"The Song (노래)" - Zion.T	Nominated
	9th MelOn Music Awards	Album of the Year	OO	Nominated
		Top 10 Artists	—	Nominated
		Best R&B/Soul Award	"The Song (노래)" - Zion.T	Nominated
2018	32nd Golden Disk Awards	Digital Bonsang		Nominated
		Global Popularity Award	—	Nominated
	27th Seoul Music Awards	Bonsang Award		Nominated
		Popularity Award		Nominated
		Hallyu Special Award		Nominated
	7th Gaon Chart Music Awards	Song of the Year – February	"The Song (노래)" - Zion.T	Nominated
		Song of the Year – December	"Snow" (눈) (feat. Lee Moon-se)	Nominated

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2016	Korea Power Celebrity	35th	[27]

References

1. "Zion.T". KBS World. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
2. 자이언티 프로필 (in Korean). Naver.
3. "Zion.T Releases New Solo Album with Dynamic Duo and Other Hip-Hop Artists". Mwave. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
4. Lim, Jeong-won (December 6, 2023). "[Interview] R&B artist Zion.T breaks musical silence with Zip". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
5. "Exclusive Interview with Zion.T – Part 1". Kpopeurope. January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
6. "자이언티가 직접 밝힌 개성 강한 창법의 비결" [The secret of unique singing method revealed by Zion.] (in Korean). Naver. February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
7. 네이버 뮤직 :: Zion.T [Red Light] 작업 노트. Naver (in Korean). Retrieved May 5, 2016.
8. "Zion T was Grateful when G-Dragon Sent a Love Call". Mwave. October 4, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
9. "Zion T. Teases Fans with a "Trot-Dub" Comeback". MTV. December 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
10. "Zion.T Gets Emotional And Real With 'Yanghwa BRDG' MV". Mwave. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
11. Oak, Jessica (February 4, 2015). "Zion.T & Crush Drop Silky R&B Jam 'Just'". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
12. Hong, Grace Danbi (May 19, 2015). "Zion.T Tells You to ′Eat′ in New MV". Mwave. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
13. "[뮤직톡톡] '무한도전'이 뒤흔든 음원차트…이건 예고편" [Music chart shaken by 'Infinite Challenge'... this is a preview]. Naver. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
14. "′Infinity Challenge′ Song Festival Team Profile Photos Released". Mwave. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
    - Kim Yu-jin (August 23, 2015). "'Infinite Challenge' songs sweeping charts". Kpop Herald. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
15. "MAMA History Winner 2015". Mwave (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
16. "Zion . T becomes family with BIGBANG at last". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
17. Lee, Eun Jung (March 17, 2016). "자이언티, 아메바컬쳐 떠난다…YG '테디 레이블'로 이적" [Zion.T leaves Amoeba Culture... Transfer to YG 'Teddy Label']. Yonhap News (in Korean).
18. K, J. (January 31, 2017). "Watch: Zion.T Drops Eccentric And Charming MV For Self-Composed Track "The Song"". Soompi. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
19. "이문세, 자이언티와 컬래버.."'눈' 200번 이상 들었다" [Lee Moon-se and Zion.]. Chosun (in Korean). January 14, 2018.
20. Yim, Seung-hye (August 23, 2022). "Korean singer-producer Zion. T starts company for creators, Standard Friends". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
21. Park, Dong-jae (August 26, 2022). "원슈타인 전속계약, 자이언티 크리에이티브 회사 스탠다드프렌즈 합류 '관심↑'". Break News (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2022.
22. Jang, Min-su (January 15, 2020). "V오리지널 새해 라인업 공개...참신+트렌디 예능·드라마 기대 UP - 싱글리스트". Single List (in Korean). Retrieved February 26, 2020.
23. Han Seung-soo (July 27, 2021). "쇼미더머니10' 두 번째 프로듀서는 자이언티·슬롬" [Show Me the Money 10' 2nd Producer Zion T and Slom]. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved July 27, 2021 – via Naver.
24. "자이언티, 최우수 알앤비&소울 음반상.."불참 죄송"". Chosun (in Korean). February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
25. "Zion.T readies new album with YG". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 26, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
26. "EXO wins third consecutive Grand Prize at Seoul Music Awards". Korea Herald. January 15, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
27. Cho, Deuk-jin; Kim, Sun-yeop (February 23, 2016). "SPECIAL EDITION 13th (1) 2016 KOREA POWER CELEBRITY 40 LIST". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2021 – via Joins.

External links