You Hee-yeol


You Hee-yeol is a South Korean singer-songwriter, radio DJ, and the host of You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook. He is the founder of the record label Antenna Music and the sole member of the project band Toy.

Biography

You Hee-yeol was born in Seoul and attended Kyungbock High School. He graduated from Seoul National University's College of Music with a major in composition. He first appeared in the local pop music scene by winning the grand prize at the fourth You Jae-ha Music Contest held in 1992 with the song "달빛의 노래".
In 1994, he started the band Toy as a duo with Yoon Jeong-oh. But after releasing Toy's first album, Yoon left the band to study overseas and You joined the navy for his mandatory military service. Since 1996, Toy has continued as a one-man band with You as the sole member. After his discharge from military service, Toy's second album Fairy Tales for Adults was released, with the title song "Remember I Was Next to You" sung by Kim Yeon-woo becoming a big hit. Since then, You has rarely sung the songs in his albums and instead features guest vocalists such as Kim Yeon-woo, Kim Hyung-joong, Lee Jang-woo, Yoon Jong-shin, Kim Jang-hoon, Jinu, and Byeon Jae-won.
You has also produced many albums for K-pop musicians including Lee Seung-hwan, Yoon Jong-shin, Lee Sora and Lee Moon-se. In 1997, he founded the record label Antenna Music, then known as Toy Music.
In July 1999, You published a book of illustrations titled In Front of a Familiar House. The album of the same title contained instrumental tracks in a range of genres. Besides songwriting, You has worked as a radio DJ, appearing on MBC FM4U's Yoo Hee-yeol's Music City, MBC FM4U's All That Music, and KBS 2FM's You Hee-yeol's Radio Heaven.
Since 2009, You has hosted the major K-pop live music program You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook on KBS 2TV. He was also a member of the judging panel for K-pop Star 3 and a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live Korea in September 2013. In 2015, he appeared in the music video for Psy's single "Daddy". Since 2015, he became a co-host with Yoo Jae Suk in Two Yoo Project Sugar Man.

Discography

KBS">Korean Broadcasting System">KBS Music Bank">Music Bank (TV series)">Music Bank