| Babylon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lee Jong-min (; born October 1988), better known by his stage name Babylon, 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.
Babylon was born Lee Jong-min in October 1988.[1] [2] 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.[3] A singer, rapper, and dancer, Babylon trained with Media Line Entertainment for three years prior to starting his career as an idol.[4] [5] Under the stage name Soul J, he debuted as a member of N-Train with "One Last Cry" on May 25, 2011.[6] The group issued three commercially unsuccessful releases, leading to its disbandment two years later.[7]
After completing mandatory military service, Babylon became an independent musician.[1] Inspired by the name of a bar in the film Scarface (1983), he adopted his moniker "Babylon" in July 2014.[8] He began posting mixtapes onto hip-hop websites that year, which led to rappers contacting him to collaborate.[9] He was featured on a string of singles, including Paloalto's "Good Times" and "Cheers" alongside Gaeko, Yankie, and Beenzino.[10] Babylon released his debut solo single "Pray" in June 2015.[11] After being contacted by Zico to collaborate, the pair released "Boys and Girls" in November.[12] The single topped South Korea's national Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 2.5 million downloads domestically.[13] [14] 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.[15] [16] It also established the pair's respective signature sounds.[17]
Babylon signed with KQ Produce, a sub-label of KQ Entertainment, in 2016.[18] He released the song "Real Talk" on SoundCloud in precedence to the release of his first single album.[19] On April 28, Between Us and its lead single "U & Me" featuring rapper Dok2 were released.[20] [21] 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.[22] Babylon released a collaboration with rapper Yezi entitled "Chase" three months later.[23] He released his debut studio album Caelo on October 3, 2018.[24]
Musically, Babylon is a R&B singer-songwriter.[25] Noted for having a "honey voice", he has been widely acclaimed in the hip hop community.[9] [10] Babylon has cited Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, You Hee-yeol, and Kim Sung-jae as his role models.[1] He identifies Brown, Musiq Soulchild, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Kehlani as the influences over his music.[9] [26]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [27] | ||||
| Caelo |
| 74 | ||
| Hardy |
| — | ||
| Ego 90s |
| — | ||
| Ego 90s Part 2 |
| — | ||
| Colors |
| — |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [28] | ||||
| "Pray" | 2015 | — | ||
| "U & Me" | 2016 | 69 |
| Between Us |
| "Crush on You" | 61 |
| Fantasy | |
| "Today I Think of You" | — |
| ||
| "Chase" | — |
| ||
| "Ocean Drive" | 2017 | — | S.S.F.W. | |
| "Lalala" | — | La Vida Loca | ||
| "Everything" | 2018 | — | rowspan="2" | |
| "Everything" | — | |||
| "One More Night" | — | Caelo | ||
| "Karma" | — | |||
| "Remember" | — | rowspan="9" | ||
| "Shadow" | 2019 | — | ||
| "Shadows from the Moon" | — | |||
| "Season of Rain" | — | |||
| "Out of Breath" | — | |||
| "I Will Be Your Warmth" | — | |||
| "Nice Weather" | 2020 | — | ||
| "Automatic" | — | |||
| "Automatic Remix" | — | |||
| "Alone" | 2021 | — | Hardy | |
| "Like Song" | — | |||
| "Empty" | — | |||
| "Beautiful" | 2022 | — | Ego 90s | |
| "Rain" | — | |||
| "Blue Heart" | — | |||
| "Do or Die" | — | |||
| "Missing You" | — | |||
| "Call Me Anytime" | — | |||
| "Fantasy" | — | Ego 90s Part 2 | ||
| "Tonight" | — | |||
| "Think About You" | — | |||
| "Heater" | — | |||
| "Destiny" | 2023 | — | Colors | |
| "Pink Day" | — | |||
| "Empty Canvas" | — |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [32] | ||||
| "Are You Listening?" | 2014 | — | ||
| "Good Times" | — | Cheers | ||
| "Cheers" | 2015 | 26 |
| rowspan="2" |
| "Blu" | 35 |
| ||
| "In the Club" | — | 20 | ||
| "Boys and Girls" | 1 |
| Gallery | |
| "A Year Like a Day" | 65 | 1 Year | ||
| "Out of Time" | 2016 | — | ||
| "You Can Rest" | 2017 | 91 | Maze Garden | |
| "Stand Up" | — | Urban Hymns | ||
| "Beautiful Life" | — | Beatful Life | ||
| "Killin It" | — | Show Me the Money 6 Special | ||
| "Break" | — | No Excuses | ||
| "Casanova" | 2018 | — | Song One | |
| "Spoiler" | 2019 | — | rowspan="3" | |
| "Stay" | — | |||
| "All of My Life" | 2021 | — | ||
| "Night Time Love" | — | Spicy Flower | ||
| "Back in the Day (RnB Version)" | 2022 | — | 12 Years Of Digscvry | |
| "When You Approach" | — | |||
| "Wherewegoing" | 2023 | — | MUSM op.5 | |
| "Blush" | — |
| Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Release | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Be About It" | 2015 | The Quiett | 1 Life 2 Live | |
| "Pathfinder" | 2016 | TK, Nucksal | Tourist | |
| "Yah | " | Kwon Jin-ah | One Strange Night | |
| "I Can't Do Everything" | MC Mong | U.F.O | ||
| "Candy" | Bang Seung-ji | Duet Song Festival Episode 29 | ||
| "Day by Day" | Bang Seung-ji | Duet Song Festival Episode 30 | ||
| "My Reflection on My Mind" | 2017 | P.O, Eden | 30 Years Yoo Jae-ha, Forever as We Are | |
| "Beemer" | 2018 | Han Yo-han | Dragon Bike | |
| "Drive" | Eden, Cho Seung-youn | Eden_Stardust.04 | ||
| "How We Do" | 2019 | Oh Ha-young | Oh! | |
| "Trial and Error" | 2020 | Davii, Minah | Cinema | |
| "Love That Only Heaven Allows" | 2022 | Hidden Singer7 - Episode. 7 |
| Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Release | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "You" | 2017 | Czaer, Far East Movement | Man to Man OST | ||
| "Memories" | 2018 | Lawless Lawyer OST |
| Year | Role | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show Me the Money | 2016 | Himself | Seasons 5 | [33] | |
| King of Mask Singer | 2018 | Himself | Episodes 149–150 | [34] |