WINNER Songs and Lyrics

HISTORY

Pre-debut

Prior to the group's debut, the leader Kang Seung-yoon was a former Superstar K2 contestant who reached the final four. He decided to sign with YG Entertainment in 2011. In the same year, he made his acting debut in the sitcom High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged. In 2013, he had made a solo debut releasing multiple tracks notably "It Rains" which achieved an all-kill.

Lee Seunghoon, the group's main dancer, was also a former reality-show singing contestant. He was a contestant in K-Pop Star Season 1 where he came in fourth place. Yang Hyun-suk recruited Seunghoon. On May 16, YG Entertainment announced they had signed an exclusive contract with Seunghoon. Like Seung-yoon, Seunghoon returned to trainee status under the company.

Song Minho started out underground under the stage name "Mino" or "Hugeboy Mino" with other underground rappers-turned-idols, namely Block B’s Zico, Kyung, P.O and SPEED's Taewoon. Minho was initially a trainee intended for the male group Block B, but left the group before debut for personal reasons. In 2011, he made his debut as a rapper with the ballad group BoM under Y2Y Contents Company, however the group was disbanded two years later due to its lack of popularity with the public. In 2013, he was recruited into YG Entertainment through private auditions after being recognized from his acting debut in the March 2012 cable drama The Strongest K-POP Survival in Channel A.

Kim Jinwoo attended "Joy Dance – Plug In Music Academy". Seungri brought Jinwoo to YG Entertainment after seeing his potential and he was eventually accepted as a trainee in 2010. Jinwoo and Nam Taehyun – who was recruited in 2011 through a private audition – performed as backup dancers at the 2011 YG Family Concert.

Debut: Winner (2013–present)

As a result of "Team A"'s win on the reality show "YG's WIN: WHO IS NEXT" finale on October 25, 2013, the members were promised a debut as 'Winner' under YG Entertainment. At the conclusion of the show it was announced that Winner, along with Team B, would immediately release two self composed songs each on October 28 and then Winner would go on tour with Big Bang. Winner opened for their Japanese dome tour starting November 15. On November 9, 2013, Big Bang's Taeyang released his "Ringa Linga" music video which featured Winner as backup dancers.

Winner's "road to debut" in both Korea and Japan was broadcast in the form of a reality show entitled WINNER TV that began airing on December 13 on Mnet for ten episodes.

During an interview with Star News on January 7, 2014, CEO Yang Hyun Suk revealed to the press that Winner would be making their official debut at the conclusion of Winner TV. Debut album official promotions were slated to start by the end of February but were later delayed. Kang Seung-yoon and Mino participated in a collaborative track for Yoon Jong Shin's March project.

On June 10, 2014, Winner released a teaser called 'The Visitor'. This was followed by a launching campaign plan from June 16 to July 6, entitled "Test Week" and "New York Week" respectively, which featured the release of individual and group teaser images. The final week of the campaign was called "Winner Week" and released the individual members and group teaser videos, with the end of the last group teaser releasing yet another date for the "WINNER Debut Album 2014 S/S" grand launch teaser on August 1. After two months of promotional stints, the said teaser finally confirmed the group's debut date in Korea with a launching showcase held on August 6 and a debut album titled 2014 S/S which was released on August 12 digitally and in physical stores on August 14. Moreover, the group's official fan club named "Inner Circle" was unveiled along with a Korean and Global fan site. Winner's official debut stage was on Inkigayo on August 17.

Following their album release, two music videos were uploaded on their official YouTube account for their alternative rock title track, "Color Ring," and the mid-tempo hiphop track "Empty," with the latter surpassing one million views in less than 24 hours. Further solidifying their "monster rookie" status, the album achieved an all-kill on major music charts immediately after release. It became a certified perfect "all-kill" on Melon. The group also peaked at number one on iTunes in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan and entered the Billboard World Albums Chart ranking at first place. On the day of Winner's debut the stock price of YG Entertainment rose by 6.57%, a sign of investor belief in the debut's strength. They achieved their first music show win on M! Countdown during their debut stage. This makes them the fastest male rookies to achieve a number 1 on a music show. On August 30, a music video for Mino's solo track, "I'm Him" was released with cameo appearances from the members.

On September 10, the group commenced their Japanese promotions for their 2014 S/S: Japan Collection album and embarked on their first Japanese solo concert on September 11.[35] The group successfully wrapped up their tour in Tokyo on October 11, drawing 25,000 fans in total. On December 9, 2014 Fuse announced their 13 Top Breakout Artists of 2014 with Winner being the only South Korean act to be on the list coming in at #11 joining the likes of other breakout stars Sam Smith, Jhene Aiko and Charli XCX. On December 17 Dazed Digital published their top 20 K-pop tracks of 2014 with Winner placing at number 10 with their song "Color Ring".