Jang Hyun-seung

Biography

Jang Hyun-seung (Korean: 장현승; born September 3, 1989) most often credited as Hyunseung, is a South Korean singer. He is best known as a former member of the boy group Beast. With Beast, he has released singles and albums in both Korean and Japanese. Beast won the Artist of the Year (Daesang) award at the Melon Music Awards in 2011.
Hyunseung was also one half of the duo Trouble Maker with former Cube label mate, Hyuna. In December 2011, the duo released their debut extended play with eponymous lead single Trouble Maker. In October 2013, the duo released their second extended play, Chemistry, of which the title track "Now" was the first song to max out the score on music show Inkigayo with 11,000 points.

Pre-debut

In 2004, at the age of 15, Hyunseung took part in auditions for YG Entertainment. He was eliminated in the second round, but went to see CEO Yang Hyun-suk afterwards out of frustration at being eliminated and was accepted as a trainee.
For a year and four months, Hyunseung trained to debut as part of the boy group Big Bang. During this time, he used the stage name "So-1", a homonym for the Korean word for wish. He first gained media attention when he appeared in the group's pre-debut "Big Bang Documentary", along with members G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri. He appeared in 10 out of 11 episodes, but was cut from the group in a final elimination round against Seungri. Yang Hyun-suk said that Hyunseung's expressiveness and stage presence were underdeveloped at the time. Fellow Beast member Yoon Doo-joon decided to become a singer after watching the Big Bang documentary featuring Hyunseung. Hyunseung refers to his experiences at YG as important to his development as an artist.
Hyunseung later met future fellow band member Yang Yo-seob while they were working as dancers for a show performance team. Yoseob convinced Hyunseung to join Cube Entertainment, which ultimately led to his debut with Beast.

2009–2014: Debut with Beast and Trouble Maker

Hyunseung debuted as part of Beast on October 5, 2009. In December 2010, Hyunseung teamed up with fellow member Lee Gi-kwang in a sub-unit to write and compose an R&B track titled "Let It Snow" as part of the group's digital album, My Story.
In December 2011, Hyunseung formed a unit with label mate Hyuna called Trouble Maker. Trouble Maker debuted with their eponymous lead single and extended play, Trouble Maker. On October 28, 2013, the unit released their second extended play, Chemistry, with the lead single "Now".
Hyunseung made his acting debut in the musical Mozart!. He performed as the lead character from late July 2012 to early August 2012 at the Sejong Center.
In April 2014, Hyunseung was cast in the musical Bonnie & Clyde. He performed as the lead character, Clyde, from April 15 to June 29, 2014 at the BBC Art Center along with other artists, including SHINee's Key, ZE:A's Park Hyung Sik, Kahi, and Oh So Yeon.

2015–2021: Solo debut, departure from Beast

On May 7, 2015, Hyunseung released his debut solo extended play, My. Unlike BEAST's tracks, Hyunseung's album drew more from hip-hop culture and pop culture, such as title track "Ma First" featuring Giriboy and "Break Up With Him" featuring Dok2.
In April 2016, Hyunseung was nominated and won "Best Male Artist (South Korea)" at the 4th Annual V-Chart Music Awards in China. On April 19, 2016, Cube Entertainment announced he officially left Beast to continue as a soloist.
On July 29, 2016, Cube Entertainment announced that Hyunseung would be joining the dance competition program Hit The Stage, his first broadcast appearance since leaving Beast. On December 13, 2016, it was confirmed that Hyunseung had renewed his exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment.
On March 31, 2017, Cube Entertainment announced that Hyunseung would be featuring on singer Oh Ye Ri’s track "This Is Love". On July 27, 2017, Hyunseung released a digital single titled "Home".
On December 17, 2020, Hyunseung released the digital single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You×I Just Can't Stop Loving You17 December 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Just Can't Stop Loving You3:20" (Korean title: 차가운 너의 손을 따스히 감싸주고 싶어, literal translation "I want to wrap your cold hands warmly").
On August 3, 2021, Hyunseung's exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment expired.
In November 2021, Hyunseung confirmed his appearance on the Watcha original web variety show, Double Trouble.

2022–present: ABLE

In September 2022, Hyunseung was signed to label Mine Field under the stage name 'ABLE'. He has released a digital single with a city pop genre under his stage name 'ABLE', titled "Feeling" on October 9, 2022.
Hyunseung released his second extended play, Unparadise, under his stage name 'ABLE' digitally on August 2, 2023. The EP includes three singles: "Paradise", "Ghetto", and "Last Night".
Hyunseung had mentioned through a paid communication platform in end-April 2024 that he had left Mine Field and was working with his new agency on music. MPLIFY Records, a label under Warner Music Korea, announced Hyunseung as a new artist under the label on April 9, 2025 and that he would be making a solo comeback with full-scale activities under his personal name 'Jang Hyunseung (장현승)' instead of his previous stage name 'ABLE'.
Hyunseung has created his official YouTube channel and has included an introduction video on his channel on April 18, 2025. He released a single, titled 'Orbit', on April 29, 2025.

Personal life

Hyunseung was raised in Seoul, South Korea. He has a younger sister named Jang Geu-rim. His father died in 2012 from a sudden heart attack.
In 2010, Hyunseung was reported to be attending Dongshin University under a full scholarship, along with three other members of Beast. He was majoring in Applied Music. In 2019, his university degree was revoked by the Ministry of Education following an investigation into universities' special treatment for celebrities.
Military service
On June 12, 2018, it was confirmed that Hyunseung would be enlisting in the military starting July 24 as an active soldier. He was discharged on March 13, 2020.