So, are you curious and ready to learn more about this K-pop boy group? If that’s the case, scroll down this article below to find out all the details!
HOTSHOT’s Profile
HOTSHOT (핫샷) is a South Korean boy group under the label Star Crew Entertainment (previously KO Sound and Ardor & Able) that consists of six members, namely Sungwoon, Junhyuk, Timoteo, Taehyun, Yoonsan, and Hojung. HOTSHOT debuted on October 31st, 2014, with the release of their first single titled “Take A Shot.” Prior to their debut, a few of the HOTSHOT members had already been known to fans. Timoteo was formerly a trainee under SM Entertainment and was even said to supposedly debut in EXO. Meanwhile, Taehyun was famously known as a krump dancer under the name Kid Monster, and he was even active in a dance group called Monster Woo Fam in 2007–2009. Then, Yoonsan had reportedly been living in France for eight years before he was scouted as a trainee during his vacation in South Korea. HOTSHOT’s first mini-album titled Am I Hotshot was released on April 24th, 2015, with its flagship song “Watch Out,” although prior to the release of this EP they launched a digital single titled “Midnight Sun” on March 25th, 2015. On July 3rd, they made a comeback with the song “I’m A Hotshot” which is a repackage of their first mini-album of the same title. Long unheard of, two HOTSHOT members, namely Sungwoon and Taehyun, surprised the fans with their participation in Produce 101 Season 2 during the first half of 2017. With their participation in the event, their popularity along with the group has increased. Ultimately, Taehyun was eliminated, ranking 25th overall, while Sungwoon made it into the top 11 in the final round of Produce 101 Season 2 and was entitled to a debut with the project group under CJ E&M called Wanna One. As the nature of the contract said Sungwoon couldn’t promote outside of Wanna One until December 2018, he took an absence from promoting as a regular member of HOTSHOT during that time. After Produce 101 Season 2 ended, HOTSHOT finally made a comeback after two years. They released their third single titled “Jelly” on July 15th, 2017. Although, unfortunately, on this comeback, there were only five members of HOTSHOT since Sungwoon had to focus on Wanna One’s debut in August 2017. After seeing the success of the two members’ participation in a survival show program, Timoteo and Hojung then decided to join another survival show, KBS2’s The Unit from October 2017 to February 2018. Hojung finished 3rd in the final show and then promoted together with the top nine members of the line-up for the show’s project boy group UNB for seven months. Meanwhile, Timoteo finished 10th and couldn’t join Hojung in UNB. HOTSHOT was last seen making a comeback together on November 15th, 2018, with the release of their second EP Early Flowering with the lead single “I Hate You.” In the meantime, each of the members also pursued their solo activities in-between group activity.
HOTSHOT’s Stage Performance
HOTSHOT is known for their energetic and strong choreography while maintaining stable vocals.
The debut performance would probably be one of the most memorable performances of the group. Debuted on October 31st, 2014, with the title track “Take A Shot” (that rhymes with their name), HOTSHOT captured the audience’s attention with their unique track and stunning aura. Most fans called this debut ‘underrated’ since according to them, the group deserved much more attention for this amazing debut track. But even so, the group managed to quite successfully shine amidst the saturated K-pop music industry. “I LOVE this song, I freaking love this song, don’t know why this has not enough likes…underrated, the song is great, the choreography too, the vocals, wow….hope I can see more from this group!!!”, said one user. “ONE OF THE BEST DEBUTS DONT @ ME,” said another user. “I’m so proud of my boys! I only want the best for them with any project they have. Soloist or in the group they’re the best for me and I support them with all my heart 🤧 I want only your happiness. Love u,” added another user.
“Watch Out” marked the group’s first EP release, Am I Hotshot, on April 24th, 2015. There isn’t much that changed from the group musical style or concept. They still delivered a strong choreography and a heavy trap beat with a lot of rap verses. Fans were smitten by this performance since the group’s passion shone brightly through this song. “This song is freakin awesome, I find it so catchy. They’re all so cute and their dance is on point. Props to cha Cha Cha Malone too XD I’m so proud of Cha Cha to be producing and helping to produce so many chill K-pop songs. If you guys don’t know who Cha Cha Malone is, he’s a Seattle bound dancer and producer with AOMG and is a pretty freakin awesome. And if y’all don’t know AOMG then go and #followthemovement (if you know AOMG you’ll get it lol),” commented one user. “This song so dammmn good and their live is more than good!! Love them,” said another user. “This song is so good!!! I’m addicted!!!” said another.
“I Hate You” was HOTSHOT’s latest comeback as a group up to this year. Different than their prior songs, this song is a ballad song filled with not too many choreography points. The group displayed a more mature image with their new song. Unfortunately, in this comeback, Sungwoon couldn’t join the other five HOTSHOT members since he was still promoting with Wanna One and he was bound by his 1.5-year contract. After the appearance in Produce 101 Season 2, the group has been receiving more love and attention than before. New fans were interested in getting to know the group and the old fans were appreciating the new music style that the group took. “Woah, this is a turn of the genre for HOTSHOT. They seemed like they were receiving more love now, and they deserve it. Their company really wanted this group to be successful and I can personally see that from letting Taehyun and Sungwoon join Produce 101, then Taehyun received a lot of love from JBJ and Sungwoon and Wanna One, as well as Timoteo and Hojeong on The Unit. I can see the perseverance of the company to let them be more renowned, and I commend them for that,” a user thoughtfully commented on their video performance of “I Hate You.” Yes, the group has been working hard to get their name out there. It’s only fair that they receive more love and attention for their incredible talents and hard works.
Interview
In their early days, HOTSHOT introduced themselves and their newest debut track on Arirang’s Pops in Seoul. Here, the members talk about the group’s name meaning, their debut track, and the members’ personalities. Get to know them more in this interview below!
The group also gathered together to talk about their first EP and new track “Watch Out” in the Chinese show, Kugou Music Interview on November 6th, 2015. Although the members seemed a bit awkward due to the language barrier, they still managed to answer all the questions and displayed their aegyo. Check out the full interview below!
Meanwhile, the members also gathered together (although without Sungwoon since he had been a part of Wanna One’s promotion) to talk about their newest track, “I Hate You” for Arirang’s Pops in Seoul. In the interview, the group talked about their newest song’s concept and meaning. Check out their interview below!
YouTube Channel
Meanwhile, since their latest comeback with “I Hate You,” the group hasn’t yet released news regarding their future comeback plan. In their official YouTube channel, with 33.1K followers, the group’s latest video activity was the one from 7 months ago, where they released a Q&A session video and new year’s greetings. The Q&A session video is titled “Ask Me Anything” and stars Yoonsan who greets fans with his fluent French since he once lived in that country for about eight years.
Then, the members were last seen to send a new year’s greeting earlier this year (minus Sungwoon). Check out their individual greeting videos below!
HOTSHOT’s Inactivity
Although the group hasn’t shared any news regarding their future comeback, earlier this year, Star Crew Entertainment (HOTSHOT’s label) announced that HOTSHOT leader Junhyuk would be enlisting in the military. The news was delivered on January 28th, 2020, through the group’s official fan café. The label stated, “HOTSHOT’s leader Junhyuk will be enlisting as an active-duty soldier on January 28th, 2020. Due to Junhyuk’s wishes to enlist quietly after saying farewell to his family, the time and location of his enlistment will be kept private. As a result, we ask for fans’ understanding that there will be no particular event prepared to bid him farewell.” Junhyuk also shared a personal handwritten letter to fans regarding his enlistment news. On top of Junhyuk’s enlistment, it was also revealed this year that Hojung would be the next member to enlist. We guess it will be quite some time until we see the comeback of the full 6-member line-up of HOTSHOT. We will miss them but we will surely support the members’ solo activities. So, those are all the things that you need to know regarding HOTSHOT. What do you think about this group? Let’s chat about them in the comment section below!
