An Introduction: Seventeen, the Vocal Team

Welcome to the final unit breakdown in my series “An Introduction, Seventeen.”  After my previous post which delved deeper into the members and general role of the Performance team, this post will detail some of the background and basic information on the members and roles of the Vocal Team.  The Vocal Team is comprised of the main and lead vocalists in Seventeen: Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, Dokyeom, and Seungkwan.

The Vocal Team are responsible for the main vocals and ad libs in Seventeen song.  Vocal team leader Woozi is also the main producer and composer for the group, with credits on nearly every single Seventeen song ever released.  The team consistently releases unit ballads, songs, and covers on official albums as well as between album releases.  The vocal styles of this unit range from intense belting to soft acoustic and the vocalists are known for being able to suit a wide range of music genres.  In addition to their powerful vocals, the vocal unit are also known for their chaotic and mischievous sense of humor.

Note: The words “unit” and “team” can be exchanged.  These are the official sub-groups Seventeen are divided into based on their roles: vocal, hip hop, and performance.

Lee Ji-Hoon – Woozi (Leader), 11/22/1996

Vocal team unit leader Woozi is not only a lead vocalist and member of the leader line, but also acts as a dancer and the primary composer, lyricist, and producer of the group.  He joined Pledis as a trainee in 2011 and was originally in the line up to debut with fellow Seventeen leader S.Coups in Tempest.  Once joining Seventeen, he underwent long debates about whether he would end up in the Performance Team or the Vocal Team due to his immense skills in both singing and dancing.  After joining the Vocal Team, he has worked as a writer, composer, and arranger for almost every Seventeen song in addition to songs for other artists such as I.O.I, Ailee, Bumzu, Chanyeol, NU’EST, fromis_9, and more.  He has since been dubbed the “genius composer” and at the age of 25, became the youngest idol to surpass over 100 song copyright credits.  Woozi is also classically trained in clarinet and plays the piano, guitar, and drums.  His music studio is known as the “Universe Factory” and he is known to spend the majority of his time working there.

Yoon Jeong-Han – Jeonghan, 10/4/1995

The second eldest member of Seventeen is Jeonghan, who also takes on the roles of lead vocalist and visual.  After being cast while he was a student in an acting academy, Jeonghan trained under Pledis for about 2 years and 2 months once entering around the same time as fellow 95-liner and vocalist, Joshua.  He recently released his first official solo song, “Dream,” in both Korean and Japanese versions, and became an ambassador for Banila Co earlier this year.  Outside of his work writing and singing for Seventeen, he also frequently MCs for various popular music shows and models for many professional modeling campaigns, including a highly successful Guess perfume campaign.  He is widely known in and out of the industry for his strong and angelic visuals, and is often looked up to as one of the most beautiful idols.  On the streaming app VLIVE, he also hosts his own series called “윤정한의 따뜻한 우유 한 잔,” which roughly translates to “A Glass of Warm Milk,” (the very reference of this blog’s name), made to comfort and support Seventeen’s fans, Carats.

Joshua Hong – Joshua, 12/30/1995

Joshua, Korean name Hong Ji-Soo, is a lead vocalist and visual for Seventeen.  He is also the only member raised in America (although Vernon was technically born in New York, he was raised in South Korea), as he attended school and was cast in Los Angeles.  He became a Pledis trainee around the same time as Jeonghan, and the two immediately formed a close relationship.  In addition to his work as a writer and vocalist for Seventeen, Joshua has appeared as a cameo on the K-drama, A-TEEN 2 (a series for which Seventeen has contributed numerous OSTs).  Joshua is also a frequent MC for KCON and M Countdown, and he appeared alongside fellow Seventeen member Vernon as contestants on the Chinese show, Idol Hits.  He and Vernon have also collaborated to release songs such as Rocket, which has both a Korean and an English version, and 2 Minus 1, a digital only single from their most recent album, Attacca, and the first official English single from Seventeen.  While he is most fluent in Korean and English, he is also known for communicating in Japanese, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese.

Lee Seok-Min – Dokyeom/DK, 2/18/1997

Dokyeom, also often called DK, is one of the two main vocalists in Seventeen and works as the leader of the official sub-unit, BooSeokSoon (BSS).  Dokyeom auditioned and joined Pledis as a trainee, working for about 2 years and 7 months before debuting in Seventeen.  Known for his powerful and smooth vocal tone, it was said that when he practiced in the basement of the Pledis building, the CEO could hear him from 4 floors up.  He is frequently honored and named as one of the strongest singers in the K-pop industry and ranked 2nd as the best K-pop vocalist out of 100 idols from 21 groups for two years in a row.  Dokyeom made his musical debut in 2019 as he was cast in the lead role of King Arthur in the musical, Xcalibur.  After a break, he was re-cast in this role in the 2021 production of Xcalibur and recently ended his run with the show.  On Idol Star Athletics Championships, he recorded the high score in archery with a perfect round of all 10s, including a camera lens shot.  Dokyeom is also a member of the highly popular 97-line of K-pop, along with fellow Seventeen members Mingyu and The8.

Boo Seung-Kwan – Seungkwan, 1/16/1998

The youngest member of the vocal team is Seungkwan, a main vocalist alongside Dokyeom and a fellow member of the sub-unit, BooSeokSoon.  He was scouted by Pledis after representatives heard him singing covers online and worked as a trainee for about 3 years and 2 months.  Known for his vocal technique and emotional ballads, Seungkwan is regarded as one of the top vocalists in the K-pop industry.  He is also known for his immense knowledge of the K-pop industry’s history and music, earning him the nickname of “Professor of K-pop.”  Outside of his work in music, Seungkwan is also a frequent and popular cast member on Korean variety shows.  After joining the main cast of the show, Unexpected Q, he was awarded the Rookie (Music and Talk) award at the 2018 MBC Entertainment Awards.  In 2019, he was cast in the shows Prison Life of Fools and Five Cranky Brothers, and in 2021, he became a host for the show Job Estate and was cast in Amazing Saturday Spin Off: Idol Dictation Test and Racket Boys.  He is also known for creating many OSTs for K-dramas such as Record of Youth and Lovestruck in the City (for which he has 3 OSTs).

Vocal Unit Song Recommendations:

1. Hug
2. Pinwheel
3. Second Life
4. 20
5. When I Grow Up
6. Habit
7. Imperfect Love
8. Don’t Listen in Secret
9. Same Dream, Same Mind, Same Night
10. Come to Me