WOODZ

Cho Seung-youn (Korean: 조승연, born August 5, 1996), better known by the stage name Woodz (stylized in all caps), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and record producer. He first rose to fame as the main rapper and sub-vocalist of South Korean-Chinese boy band Uniq, formed by Yuehua Entertainment in 2014. He co-founded the musical collectives M.O.L.A in 2015 and Drinkcolor in 2016. In 2018, he co-founded his personal production team Team HOW. Following an appearance on the fifth season of the South Korean rap competition show Show Me the Money, Cho debuted as a solo artist under the stage name Luizy in July 2016, with the release of the collaborative hip-hop single "Recipe". Cho subsequently changed his stage name to Woodz in 2018, reflecting changes in musical direction. His releases as Woodz, including the singles "Pool", "Different", and "meaningless", delved into alternative R&B, and featured Cho transitioning from rap to vocals. In addition to his solo work, he has written and produced songs for artists in both his native Korea and China, as well as for the shows The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project and Idol Producer. In 2019, Cho participated in the South Korean survival show Produce X 101. He finished in fifth place, making him a member of the show's derivative boy band, X1. He debuted with X1 under Swing Entertainment in August 2019. Following the group's disbandment on January 6, 2020, in the aftermath of the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, he resumed his solo career as Woodz, releasing his first EP Equal on June 29, 2020, with the title track "Love Me Harder" (파랗게).