Baby V.O.X Follow

Baby V.O.X. standing for "Baby Voices of Xpression.
Although it initially had much internal turmoil, Baby V.O.X. eventually became a cohesive group from 1999 to 2005, releasing hit albums.
However, after the failure of their last album Ride West, it began to unravel again. By the end of that year, all of the members had left the company, with some going solo, and others moving into other entertainment areas.

MEMBERS

Kim E-Z (born as Kim Eiji) (김이지), [Leader, Rapper, Sub-Vocal], born January 21, 1980; member from 1997 to 2006.
Lee Hee-Jin (이희진), [2nd Main Vocal], born February 21, 1980; member from 1997 to 2006.
Shim Eun Jin (심은진), [Vocal], born February 6, 1981; member from 1998 to 2004.
Kan Mi Youn (간미연), [Main Vocal], born February 2, 1982; member from 1998 to 2006.
Yoon Eun Hye (윤은혜), [Sub-Vocal] , born October 3, 1984; member from 1999 to 2005.

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Members That Left
Cha Yu-mi (차유미), from 1997 to 1998. Lead vocal in 1997, left the group because of knee injuries suffered during stage performance.
Jang Hyun-jung (장현정), from 1997 to 1998. Main vocal in 1997, released from the group due to conflicts with the company.
Jung Shi-woon (정시운), from 1997 to 1998. Rapper and sub-vocal in 1997, released from the group due to conflicts with the company.
Lee Gai (이가이), from 1998 to 1999. Sub-vocal and instrumental player in 1998, released from the group due to lying about her age.

HISTORY

The group originally consisted of Cha Yu Mi, Jung Shi Woon, Jang Hyun Jung, Lee Hee Jin and Kim E-Z. They used an edgy style similar to that of the Spice Girls. However, in the strict and conservative Korean culture, their edgy style didn't result in success. Also, there were endless rumors about the conflicts between younger group members (Kim E-Z and Lee Hee Jin) and the older members (Cha Yu Mi, Jung Shi Woon, Jang Hyun Jung). When Cha was injured on stage during performance, she was immediately replaced by Kan Mi Youn. After the first album, Jung and Jang were removed from the group due to conflicts.

After the replacement of three members with Shim Eun Jin, Kan Mi Youn, and Lee Gai, Baby VOX went on a strict training regimen to develop their dancing and singing, which included mental and physical training as well. Baby VOX adopted the cuter and shy style used by S.E.S. and Fin.K.L. Their first single, Ya Ya Ya became a quick success after the release. Ya Ya Ya hit number seven on the Korean pop charts. With their second single, Change the group adopted a more mature and sexy look. However, it was later revealed that Lee Gai lied to her management company about her actual age being 30 instead of her fake age 20, and was removed from the group.

Yoon Eun Hye replaced Lee Gai in the lineup and the group's first single from the album Get Up was soon popular nationwide. For the first time, they reached the number one spot on the Korean music pop charts. Another single 'Killer' also hit the first place on the music charts, with the sexy lady warrior style. With the Killer single, Baby VOX beat H.O.T. in the pop charts and earned the 'Top Excellency Award' in Seoul Music Award in 1999. The ballad single, 'Missing You' was very popular and is considered the group's best ballad single ever.

From 2000-2001, Baby VOX made more appearances in variety shows. After their success of the third album, they started promoting themsevles in China and gained a great popularity and strong fanbase. Their popularity spread to Japan and other Southeast Asian countries.

In spring of 2003, Baby VOX released their sixth album, a feat achieved by very few Korean pop groups. They even released a photo album that was purported to have semi-nude images of the girls (with Eun Hye unable to participate due to her age), causing some controversy, but it faded as the image content was found to be hyped up by the media. Baby VOX topped the Chinese music chart with the Chinese single I'm Still Loving You, 3rd place with 나 어떡해 (What Should I Do) and 4th place with the same single in Thailand as well. However, this was also when the group's fortunes started to change. While 'What Should I Do' hit the number one spot in the Korean music chart, their second single, 바램 (The Wish) wasn't as popular.

In addition, their performances appeared to be lackluster, especially with the latter single, as it was not promoted for a long time period. This may be attributed to the fact that members did not like this album's concept.

The group's seventh and final album Ride West, released in April 2004, featured songs in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, as well as appearances by well-known American hip hop artists, such as Tupac Shakur and Jennifer Lopez, although Tupac's "appearance" was a freestyle rap that he recorded while in prison. Baby VOX attempted a promotion in the United States of America in 2004. However the rights for the sample of Tupac's verse were not cleared, and this resulted in a court case pursued by the late rapper's mother, Afeni Shakur. This album was proclaimed to be what catapulted Baby VOX into the international spotlight, hence their use of English in the single. Meanwhile, the music video for the album's feature song, "Xcstasy", was done in English, featuring expensive luxury vehicles and well-dressed, highly preened divas, apparently in emulation of the "Bling bling" style of hip-hop videos popular in the United States during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group also performed sexy dance moves and wore provocative clothing in the music video, seen as a bit extreme in conservative Korea. This release was accompanied by much controversy. There was first the issue as to whether their managing group, DR Music, could legally use Tupac's material in the recording, with Tupac's representatives claiming that DR did not have authorization. Even though Baby VOX claimed their rights of using the Tupac's music, many different companies in the USA claimed having the authorization and the dispute was not solved. To worsen the situation, a member of Korean hip hop group DJ DOC, offended by their alleged misuse of Tupac Shakur's lyrics, denounced them in the media and referred to the group as prostitutes. The dispute between DJ DOC and Baby VOX was so huge that both parties went to court for arbitration. Although the DJ DOC member later apologized, Baby VOX was still compensated. However, this dispute hurt the group's image, as the group suddenly stopped promotion of the single. A second single, "Play Remix" featuring Jennifer Lopez, was promoted for a short while, but sales were lower than from its previous albums. After 2004, Baby VOX went into hiatus and Shim Eun Jin and Yoon Eun Hye departed the group in 2005. In March, 2006, Baby VOX was officially disbanded. Although Baby VOX had disbanded in 2006, as of 2001, they were the longest running girl band in South Korea, but as of now, Jewelry has taken that position in 2010.

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