H E A V E N L Y - S E N T . N E T \ \ \ \ \ A FLY TO THE SKY FANSITE

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Have a Happy 2009.

Fly to the Sky (hangul:플라이 투 더 스카이) is a popular South Korean R&B duo. Its members are U.S.-born Brian Joo (Korean: 브라이언) and South Korean native Fany (also known as Hwanhee; Korean: 환희 Hanja: 歡喜; meaning "delight"). Since their debut in 1999 with the single Day by Day, they have enjoyed consistent success with hits including The Promise, Sea of Love, and Missing You. They are often credited as the first R&B duo of South Korea.

The duo was formed in late 1998 by SM Entertainment. Brian auditioned while he was attending Holy Spirit High School in New Jersey, and Fany was encouraged to audition by a staff member working for the label at his high school festival. FTTS officially debuted on November 12, 1999 at the LOG-IN H.O.T. show and the SM Festival Concert '99.

They released their debut album Day by Day, not long after, on December 9, and made their first official television appearance two days later. Unlike their predecessors on their label, who were popular teen idols at that time, they shied away from upbeat techno dance music, and sang smooth mid-tempo ballads. They have achieved some degree of popularity within the U.S., China, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea. While the album did not become an instant hit, the duo gained decent publicity, and acquired a status as the next-generation stars.

After the release of their debut album, they consistently released new studio albums usually on an annual basis. Their popularity slowly climbed with the release of their sophomore album 약속 (The Promise), this time featuring more upbeat tracks. The album fared well in the charts.

In April 2001, their third album Sea of Love was released while Brian was in New Jersey attending Rutgers University. Until he returned to South Korea, Fany performed by himself. Sea of Love became another summer hit. The album also featured the second single Condition of my Heart, which was written by American R&B singer Brian McKnight. From this point on, their music and style began to mature and gradually lean closer towards R&B and away from bubblegum pop. This change gave them greater success, and an image as serious artists as their title song hit the #1 spot on many music programs.

Their popularity rose with the success of each album, Missing You (their fourth), and Gravity (their fifth and last album under SM Entertainment), both albums featuring heavy R&B music infused with pop. Although both albums were fairly successful, they were criticized for being very similar to each other, having a heavy focus on dramatic ballads that showed off their vocal skills.

During their career, Fly To The Sky have been awarded several accolades. These include MTV Asia's "Artist of the Month" in 1999, M.NET Music Video "Festival's Best R&B Artist" in 2003, and SBS Gayo Daejun's "Best R&B Artist" in 2004.

However, they have suffered hardships at times. Right before Fly To The Sky's comeback with their album "Missing You", their manager died in a car accident. On a Korean variety show both members recalled this incident as an emotionally hard time for them. Fany was especially shocked, because he was on the same van with his manager just hours before the incident.

Brian has also suffered from controversy in 2003 when he was misquoted during his radio interview. During this time, anti-American sentiment was very high due to the fact that an American soldier had murdered two teenage girls. He stated in the interview that while the American soldier should be brought to justice, he did not want relations between Korea and the United States, his home country, to become strained. What he said was reported as "Don't insult the United States, because I am an American." He has denied this and said that he had a strict Korean upbringing, and that he was taught to speak Korean at home at all times

The members of Fly To The Sky have also participated in business outside of the duo. This includes making use of Brian Joo's native English skills by having him conduct formal MTV (and other music channel) interviews with American pop celebrities. These singers include Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Transition was Fly to the Sky's first album in about a year and a half.After the group's contract with SM Entertainment expired in November 2004, Fly to the Sky signed on with PFull Entertainment. This company also produces the work of the former member of S.E.S., Eugene. Under their new record label, they released their sixth album Transition.

The duo performed their second concert, "Fly To The Sky: 2006 The Twice Tour" at Jamsil, Seoul on January 29, 2006.

When their sixth album became a success, Fly To The Sky released a special new edition of their sixth album Transition, which included additional tracks, music videos, and deleted scenes. The new additional tracks include Hwan Sang (Illusion), Hot and Cold, and When I Say, which are considerably lighter and less dramatic than the original tracks.

Throughout their career, rumours had been circulating that the duo had a rocky relationship and, as a result, would split up when their first contract with SM Entertainment expired. However, these rumours proved to be false as Brian publicly stated that Fly To The Sky was not disbanding. Brian admitted to experiencing some problems early on in their career on the popular SBS show "Yah Shim Man Man," which aired on July 10. He confessed that he had been troubled by feelings of inferiority to Fany, because he received more attention and praise than him. Despite their status as a duo, Brian felt that he was never given his due or the same amount of attention as Fany. Eventually he found this difficult to bear, and suggested to Fany that they pursue their separate paths. Fany responded angrily and the matter escalated into a serious fight. The two resolved their conflict soon after, growing to better understand each other and realizing that they both needed each other. Afterwards, the pair decided to try to better understand each other in order to solve their problems together and to always support each other. After a reflecting on this incident, Brian's eyes were brimming with tears.

Fany starred in a an MBC drama entitled Over the Rainbow with co-stars Kim Ok-Bin and Ji Hyun Woo. The series aired on July 26, 2006 and ended with sixteen episodes on September 14, 2006. Fany starred as a cocky rock star named Rex. His acting was met with mixed reviews, while they have remained mostly positive. The drama had struggled with low viewership well below 10% throughout its airing. The finale aired meager ratings of 9.3% and was criticized for its predictable ending.

Unlike their days under SM Entertainment, when the duo seldom appeared on televisions for reasons other than to perform, the duo, Brian in particular, has appeared frequently on variety shows, such as Happy Sunday, Heroine 6, Love Letter, X-Man, and Star Golden Bell. Additionally, Brian became one of two MCs for MBC's "Music Core" on May 6, 2006. This helped Brian gain publicity and expand his fanbase in ways he could not have in the early days of his career. Brian continues to appear on variety shows such as Love Letter, and is still the MC of Music Core.

In September 2006, Brian has announced that he will release his very first solo album. On his upcoming solo album, he will distance himself from collaborations with Fany, and will showcase classic pop music instead. The album is expected to release in November 2006. Fly to the Sky's seventh album is due for release in the winter of the same year.

When visiting Korea to promote Beautiful Awakening, American singer Stacie Orrico has expressed desire to collaborate with Brian.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.org