Musical career

The duo was formed in late 1998 by SM Entertainment. Brian Joo auditioned while he was attending Holy Spirit High School in New Jersey. Hwang Yoon-Suk, later to be known as Fany, was encouraged to audition by a staff member working for the label at his high school festival. Fly to the Sky officially debuted on November 21, 1999 at the LOG-IN H.O.T. Concert and SM Festival Concert '99.

Soon after, the duo released their debut album Day by Day on December 9, 1999, and made their first official television appearance two days later. Unlike their predecessors on their label, popular teen idols at that time, they shied away from upbeat techno and dance music, opting for mid-tempo ballads. The debut became highly successful selling over 250,000 copies. The duo acquired status as the next-generation stars as they won Best New Artist award in 2000. At the same time, the duo failed to rise to instant stardom unlike their predecessors such as H.O.T., whose album sales have passed the one million mark.

Their popularity slowly climbed with the release of their second album The Promise in 2001, which featured more diverse genres than its predecessor. With more upbeat tracks, it peaked at #2, but quickly disappeared from the charts. In the same year, they held a joint concert with Korean R&B singer Kim Jo-Han.


2002-2004: Musical transition

In April 2002, their third album Sea of Love was released while Joo was in New Jersey attending Rutgers University. As a result, Hwang began to perform by himself until Brian returned to Korea. The lead single from the album was the title track, a poppy ballad, and it became a summer hit. Their second single "Condition of my Heart" was written by American singer Brian McKnight; in contrast to the first single, "Condition" was a heavier ballad. The single signaled the duo's musical transition from bubblegum music to R&B. Along with their music, their image began to change as the duo traded in their "bishounen" look for a more masculine image.

Their 2003 studio album Missing You featured more tracks that departed from bubblegum music and emphasized their vocal skills for an image as serious artists. Performing commercially well, the album gave the duo many awards including "Bonsang" award from SBS Gayo Daejun and Korea Music Awards. This period is remembered for the highly publicized death of their manager, who was also the manager of BoA, another Korean singer. On a variety show, both members recalled this incident as an emotionally hard time for them. Fany was especially shocked, because he was on the same vehicle with his manager just hours before the incident.

In November 2004, the duo released their fifth and last studio album under SM Entertainment, Gravity. The album received little promotion, and became the duo's lowest-selling studio album, selling just below 90,000 copies. Nevertheless, they held their first official concert successfully in Jamsil Arena on December 21, 2004, and received "Best R&B Artist" award from SBS Gayo Daejun. A controversy rose as critics questioned their eligibility for the award, because the album was released only two months before the show. They challenged the credibility and fairness of SBS Gayo Daejun in its entirety as the artists who boycotted SBS such as YG Family or those who were not present did not receive any awards. They scorned the show as "a party for only those who were present."

The release of their Greatest hits album Eternity in 2005 coincided with the release of the soundtrack of Korean drama Fashion 70s which featured the duo. The popular Korean show made their song "가슴 아파도" ("Although My Heart Aches"), the theme song of the show, an unexpected hit. Eternity is the last Fly to the Sky album released by SM Entertainment.


2004-2006: Post-SM Entertainment

After Fly to the Sky's contract with SM Entertainment expired in November 2004, the duo signed on with PFull Entertainment. The duo stated that they wanted a smaller label that was willing to promote them as musicians and focus less on commercial success. Under this label, Fly to the Sky released their sixth studio album Transition after a year-long hiatus in January 2006. The album became massively successful, selling over 160,000 copies.

The duo embarked on their first nationwide tour, "Fly To The Sky: 2006 The Twice Tour". Starting from Jamsil Arena in Seoul in May 2006, they held concerts in Busan, Daegu, Junju, and Kwangju. Including the number of audiences in the encore concert in Seoul, the tour garnered more than 50,000 people.

To commemorate the success of Transition, Fly To The Sky released a special new edition, which included music videos, deleted scenes and the additional tracks "Hwan Sang (Illusion)," "Hot and Cold," and "When I Say."

In 2004 and 2005, the duo's uncertain future after their contract with SM Entertainment led to a speculation that they would disband. Brian Joo publicly addressed the rumours on SBS show "Yah Shim Man Man," which aired on July 10. He admitted that the two had difficulties in the early days of their career and said 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, he felt that he was not given his due or the same amount of attention as Hwang. Eventually he found this difficult to bear, and suggested to him that they pursue their separate paths. Hwang responded angrily and the matter escalated into a serious fight nearly leading to disbandment. The two reconciled soon after, and said they "grew to better understand each other and realized 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 support each other. After reflecting on this incident, Joo's eyes were brimming with tears.

Since 2006, the duo has been seen frequently on variety shows and pursued individual careers. Hwang appeared on Korean television drama "Over the Rainbow" during summer of 2006, and Joo released his solo album The Brian in December 2006. As they appeared more often on non-music programs, the duo saw an increase in their popularity and backlash from critics at the same time as they felt the duo were compromising their image as artists.


2007: No Limitations

The duo's seventh album No Limitations is expected for release on July 4, 2007. Their first television performance to promote the album will be made on June 29, 2007. Confirmed tracks are "Oneuldo Eebbeungul," ("오늘도 이쁜걸" Pretty Today Too) "Geuraedo Sarangipnida," ("그래도 사랑입니다" It's still love) and "Gee-uk Han Joom" ("기억 한 줌" Grain of Memory)



Awards


2000           Best New Artist at SBS Gayo Daejun
2002           Best R&B Artist at SBS Gayo Daejun
2003           Best R&B Music Video at MNET Music Video Festival
                    B est Male Dressers at KOREA
                    Bonsang at 18th Golden Disk Awards
                    Bonsang at SBS Gayo Daejun
                    Bonsang at Seoul Gayo Awards
                    Most Popular R&B Artist at Korea Music Awards
2004          Best R&B Artist at SBS Gayo Daejun
2006          Best R&B Artist at MNET KM Music Festival[33]
                    Best Dressers at The 4th Korea Fashion Awards
                    Bonsang from 2006 Golden Disk Awards[34]
                    Bonsang from SBS Gayo Daejun