Cho Seung-youn (Korean: 조승연), known professionally as Woodz (Korean: 우즈; stylized in all caps), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and record producer. He rose to fame as a rapper and vocalist in the South Korean-Chinese boy band Uniq, formed by Yuehua Entertainment in 2014, before co-founding the musical collectives M.O.L.A in 2015 and Drinkcolor in 2016. He co-founded his personal production team, Team HOW, in 2018.
Following an appearance on the fifth season of the South Korean rap competition show Show Me the Money, Woodz debuted as a solo artist under the stage name Luizy in July 2016, with the release of the collaborative hip-hop single "Recipe". He changed his stage name to Woodz in 2018 to accommodate shifts in musical direction. His releases as Woodzincluding the singles "Pool", "Different", and "Meaningless"delved into alternative R&B and featured heavier emphasis on vocals. In addition to his solo work, he has written and produced songs for artists in both his native South Korea and China, as well as for the shows The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project and Idol Producer.
In 2019, Woodz participated in the South Korean survival show Produce X 101. Finishing in fifth place, he became a member of the show's project boy band, X1, which debuted under Swing Entertainment in August 2019. Following the group's disbandment on January 6, 2020, in the aftermath of the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, Woodz resumed his solo career by releasing his first EP Equal on June 29, 2020, with the lead single "Love Me Harder" (파랗게).
As a soloist, Woodz has written all of his lyrics and produced most of his music.[fn 3] In the early stages of his career, Woodz's musical style leaned towards hip hop, with his releases under the name Luizy also incorporating pop and electronic music. However, the change of his stage name as a soloist to Woodz in 2018 was accompanied by a change in musical direction, described by Status Magazine as an "[evolution] into a more realized identity". As opposed to his "poppier" approach as Luizy, Woodz characterizes his later production style as "mostly [...] R&B" but states that he is "not picky about the genre". Commentators have also noted his experimentation with genres, with his music as Woodz described as incorporating elements of alternative R&B, atmospheric music, and dream pop while retaining a "signature climatic sound". In a further contrast to his early artistry, during which he was primarily a rapper, his releases as Woodz more heavily feature his vocals.
In retrospect, Woodz described the difference between his personas as a "matter of maturity", with the shift to the more "mature" Woodz identity allowing him to distance himself from his "comparatively young" and immature identity as Luizy.
-Wikipedia
Birth Name: Cho Seung-youn
Also Known As: Luizy
Born: August 5, 1996 (age 28)
From: Seoul, South Korea
Genre(s):
K-pop,
Korean hip hop,
Rock,
alternative R&B,
R&B
Occupation(s):
Singer-songwriter,
record producer,
dancer
Active From: 2014-present
Associated Acts:
Uniq,
X1,
M.O.L.A,
Drinkcolor,
Team HOW