Choi Dong-wook (; born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name Seven (; stylized as Se7en), is a South Korean singer, who has also advanced into Japan, China and the United States.
Career
2003–2004: Debut with Just Listen, best new artist awards, and Must Listen
Seven began training under the management agency YG Entertainment at the age of fifteen. After four years of training in singing and dancing, he made his debut in 2003 with the album Just Listen, released on March 8. Later that year, he received best new artist awards at the Golden Disc Awards, MBC Gayo Daejejeon, Mnet Music Video Festival, SBS Gayo Daejeon, and Seoul Music Awards.
On July 7, 2004, Seven released his second album, Must Listen, which he described as being more grown-up than his debut album. Must Listen peaked at number one on the monthly Recording Industry Association of Korea album chart. The album's lead single, "Passion", won Best Male Video at the Mnet Km Music Video Festival, as well as bonsang awards at the Golden Disc Awards and MBC Gayo Daejejeon.
2005–2006: Expansion in Asia, 24/Se7en and Se7olution
In April 2005, Seven continued promotions for Must Listen in Thailand, where the album sold over 100,000 copies and the singles "Passion" and "Tattoo" topped the Channel V weekly charts. Later that month, he won the award for Popular Asian Artist at the Channel V Thailand Music Video Awards.
On January 9, 2006, Seven released his first Chinese album, Must Listen (不得不聽), in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. The album includes all of the songs from his 2004 Korean album of the same name, as well as two new songs in Chinese. He went on to win three awards at the China Original Music Pop Chart Awards held that summer, helping to establish his reputation as a "Hallyu star".
On March 8, Seven released his third Korean studio album, 24/Se7en (which includes the lead single "I Know"), as well as his first Japanese studio album, First Se7en. 24/Se7en charted at number one on Hanteo's daily album chart in South Korea, while First Se7en debuted at number eight on Oricon's daily album chart in Japan. He released his fourth Korean studio album, Se7olution, on November 1.
2007–2010: Acting debut and U.S. promotions
Seven made his acting debut in January 2007 as the lead of the TV drama Prince Hours, a spin-off of the 2006 hit series Princess Hours. While viewership ratings for the show were low, Seven said in an interview after the show concluded, "The word 'failure' is used to describe Prince Hours, but, to me, it is a great success that's so precious".
In April 2007, it was reported that Seven's debut English-language single had been leaked on YouTube. The song, titled "This Is My Year", featured rapper Fabolous and was not intended to be released until later that year. As a result of the leak, YG Entertainment announced that it would revise plans for Seven's U.S. debut.
On March 14, 2008, Seven held a preview party in New York City for his upcoming U.S. debut. He played three new songs, which featured collaborations with producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia. He continued promotions in Los Angeles in May, when he announced that he had finished recording 12 songs for his planned U.S. album. On March 10, 2009, Seven released his first English-language single, "Girls," a pop-R&B song that features American rapper Lil' Kim. In June, Seven became the first Asian artist to have his music video played on the U.S. television channel BET, when "Girls" was broadcast on the music video show 106 & Park. Seven's full English-language album was ultimately not released.
2010: Korean comeback
Seven made an official comeback in Korea after a three-year-long hiatus on July 31, 2010 with his first mini-album "Digital Bounce." The album consisted of six songs, including a song from his American debut titled 'Money Can't Buy Me Love'. His 2nd track 'Digital Bounce' featured the rapping skills of BigBang's TOP. Seven began his follow up promotions in October with the song 'I'm Going Crazy' which featured his longtime girlfriend Park Han-byul as the main actress in the music video. Throughout his comeback, Seven attended many variety shows and even featured in fellow labelmate 2NE1's hit reality show 2NE1TV, where he described his hardships in America and his hiatus. Seven ended his promotions on October 30, 2010.