Lee Jong-min (Korean: 이종민; born October 1988), better known by his stage name Babylon[A] (베이빌론), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, and dancer. He debuted as an idol in the five-member group N-Train under Media Line Entertainment, where he served as a vocalist from 2011 to its dissolution in 2013. He debuted as a soloist in 2015 with "Pray" and released his debut studio album Caelo in 2018.
Life and career
1988–2013: Early life and career beginnings
Babylon was born Lee Jong-min in October 1988.[3][4] After sustaining multiple injuries as a rugby footballer in high school and casting doubt over his career in the sport, he joined a black music club and was influenced to pursue a career as an R&B singer.[2][5] A singer, rapper, and dancer, Babylon trained with Media Line Entertainment for three years prior to starting his career as an idol.[6][7] Under the stage name Soul J, he debuted as a member of N-Train with "One Last Cry" on May 25, 2011.[8] The group issued three commercially unsuccessful releases, leading to its disbandment two years later.[9]
2014–present: As a soloist
After completing mandatory military service, Babylon became an independent musician.[3] Inspired by the name of a bar in the film Scarface (1983), he adopted his moniker "Babylon" in July 2014.[1][10] He began posting mixtapes onto hip-hop websites that year, which led to rappers contacting him to collaborate.[11] He was featured on a string of singles, including Paloalto's "Good Times" and "Cheers" alongside Gaeko, Yankie, and Beenzino.[12] Babylon released his debut solo single "Pray" in June 2015.[13] After being contacted by Zico to collaborate, the pair released "Boys and Girls" in November.[14] The single topped South Korea's national Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 2.5 million downloads domestically.[15][16] The single's success earned Babylon the nicknames "Zico's Man" and the "R&B Rising Trend", and the singer was heralded as a leading figure in R&B along with Zion.T, Crush, and Dean.[17][18] It also established the pair's respective signature sounds.[19]
Babylon signed with KQ Produce, a sub-label of KQ Entertainment, in 2016.[20] He released the song "Real Talk" on SoundCloud in precedence to the release of his first single album.[21] On April 28, Between Us and its lead single "U & Me" featuring rapper Dok2 were released.[22][23] Babylon released his second single album Fantasy and accompanying singles "Crush on You" featuring hip hop musician Lil Boi and "Today I Think of You" with singer Kim Na-young on June 23.[24] Babylon released a collaboration with rapper Yezi entitled "Chase" three months later.[25] He released his debut studio album Caelo on October 3, 2018.[26]
^Pronounced /beɪbiːɑːn/BAY-bee-lahn, it was originally pronounced /bæbɪɑːn/BA-bi-lahn (바빌론). Spelling of the latter overlapped with a savings bank with the same name, which made searches for the singer difficult.[1] He modified his stage name upon signing with KQ Produce.[2]
^Accumulation of "Crush on You" weekly sales: 37,766,[32] 20,785.[33]
^Accumulation of "Cheers" weekly sales: 80,811,[37] 55,305,[38] 16,846.[39]
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