♪ Official Name: 天上智喜 The Grace (AKA: 천상지희 다 그레이스, Cheon Sang Ji Hee, Tenjochiki, TSZX, CSJH)
♪ Members: Stephanie, Lina, Sunday, DANA
♪ Official Debut: April 31, 2005 (China), May 1, 2005 (Korea), January 25, 2006 (Japan)
♪ Official Fan Club and Color: #pley (Shapley, pronounced shap-ley),
Pearl Pink (Originally Pastel Pink)
♪ Official Websites:
http://thegrace.smtown.com (Korea)
http://rhythmzone.net/tenjo (Japan)
♪ Representation: SM Entertainment (Korea) Rhythm Zone [Avex], SM Japan (Japan)
♪ International Fanbases: http://unspeakable.cjb.net, http://elegance.co.nr
Who is 天上智喜?
First appearing as Dana, Ji Yeon, Stephanie, Sunday on the 04 SMTOWN Summer Album, this group was project girl group created by SM Entertainment. In the summer of 2005, the same group of girls formed the newest girl group of SM entertainment known as 天上智喜, who were an a capella group similar to the male group TVXQ who are also with SM. 天上智喜 roughly translates to Heavenly Wisdom and Happiness. Along with the group name came some new names of the members, Cheon Mu Stephanie, Sang Mi Lina (Ji Yeon), Ji Sung Sunday, and Hee Yeol Dana. The first word in each member’s name spells out the name of the group (in english) Cheon Sang Ji Hee.
* Birth Name: Lee Jiyeon (이지연)
* Stage Name: Shangmei Lina (上美Lina), Sangmi Lina (상미린아), Lina The Grace
* Stage Name Meaning: Beauty from Above (Beauty of Heaven)
* Birth Date: February 18, 1984 (1984-02-18) (age 24)
* Height: 168 cm (5.5 ft)
* Blood Type: A
* Specialty: Singing, Modeling, Acting, Rock, Hip-hop, Piano, Chinese (basic), Korean (fluent), Japanese (fluent)
* Favorite Artists: Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Linkin Park
* Other Works: One album (Tell Me Baby, 2002) as part of IsakNJiyeon; Two music videos as part of IsakNJiyeon ( One and Tell Me Baby); Female part in S' "I Swear", Kangta & Vanness' "Scandal" (KOR | CHN ), The TRAX's "First Rain", Chu Ga Yeol's "Hal Mal Ee Neo Mu Mahna Yo", and Fly to the Sky's "Goodbye" music videos; Modeled for Ed Hardy's Kobe Collection, Uni-Mall and many others.
* Background: Lina (Jiyeon) first showed up on the Korean music scene as member of the girl duo IsakNJiyeon, managed by SM Entertainment. The group, which debuted in 2002, was supposed to be the female version of the popular male duo Fly To The Sky (FTTS), also managed by SM Entertainment. IsakNJiyeon achieved success and was at their peak with their "Tell Me Baby" album, however the duo disbanded soon after the album's release. Many think the disbandment was due to low album sales and lack of popularity, but that wasn't the case. The only problem with the duo was timing: Isak had to go back to her home in southern California because of her family situation (her American father and Korean mother separated). Both girls remained in SM Entertainment and are still close friends to this day. Isak moved on to modeling, DJ and VJ for Arirang TV, MC of many music shows in Korea, and acting roles in network television. Jiyeon also moved on to modeling as well as acting, starring in many music videos from SM artists. SM Entertainment was not about to let this beautiful vocalist go to waste. In 2004, SM casted Jiyeon as a candidate for a female project group which eventually became CSJH The Grace. She was renamed Lina at the group's debut.
* Birth Name: Hong Sungmi (홍성미)
* Stage Name: Xiyue Dana (喜悦Dana), Heeyeol Dana (희열다나), Dana The Grace
* Stage Name Meaning: Happiness (Happiness of Heaven)
* Birth Date: July 17, 1986 (1986-07-17) (age 22)
* Height: 171 cm (5.6 ft)
* Blood Type: O
* Specialty: Singing, Acting, Flute, Dancing, Chinese (conversational), Korean (fluent), Japanese (fluent)
* Favorite Artists: Brandy, Norah Jones, Ashanti, Radiohead, Brian McKnight, Justin Timberlake, MAXWELL
* Other Works: Two albums as a soloist (Until the End of the World, 2001; Maybe, 2003); three music videos as a soloist ( Diamond, What Is Love?, Maybe ), Kangta's "Polaris" music video, H.O.T.'s Age of Peace movie; played a main role in the popular sitcom Nonstop 3.
* Background: Dana debuted in 2001 as SM Entertainment's second solo artist. Personally chosen by founder and CEO Lee SooMan, Dana was expected to rise as the "next BoA". Prior to debut, she received promotion as an actress in popular boy band H.O.T's Age of Peace movie and in Kangta's "Polaris" music video. In 2001, DANA released her fairly successful first single "Seh Sang Kkeut Kka Ji" (Until The End of The World), composed by European songwriter Stefan Aberg. The song was originally titled "Tell Me No More Lies". That same year, she released an album with the same name along with other singles, such as the popular "Diamond", a pop/dance track featuring Jung Yunho (U-Know Yunho, who eventually became a member and leader of TSZX's famous counterpart,TVXQ, in 2003). Her career blossomed and continued with promotions, by appearing on variety shows such as X-MAN, as well as playing a main role in the sitcom, Nonstop 3. Her second album release (Maybe) in 2003, however, was not very popular and sold poorly. From that point on, Dana disappeared from the music industry (aside from SMTOWN collaborations) until the debut of The Grace in 2005. For the group's fourth Japanese single, she composed the music and lyrics to her own solo song "Sayonara No Mukou Ni" (Beyond the Goodbye). Due to her earlier debut in the Korean music industry, Dana is seen as the leader of CSJH The Grace, although she has denied this in an interview, stating that each member has an equal status in the group.
* Birth Name: Jin Bora (진보라), Jin Seoyun (진서윤)
* Stage Name: Zhisheng Sunday (智聲Sunday) , Jisung Sunday (지성선데), Sunday The Grace
* Stage Name Meaning: Wise Voice (Soft Voice of Heaven)
* Birth Date: January 12, 1987 (1987-01-12) (age 21)
* Height: 165 cm (5.4 ft)
* Specialty: Singing, Drawing, Dancing, Acting, Chinese (basic), Korean (fluent), Japanese (fluent)
* Favorite Artists: Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5, Avril Lavinge, Coldplay, Whitney Huston, Jamiroquai
* Other Works: Two Japanese singles as a soloist (リラの片想い Lira no Kataomoi, 2004; ウソツキBOY Usotsuki Boy, 2005); Fly To The Sky's "Maybe God Knows" music video.
* Background: Jin Bora, was first heard of when information was leaked from SM Entertainment in 2002. Initially training to become a solo singer, many people speculated that Bora would be the "second" BoA. SM later changed Bora's name to "Sunday", in an effort to stop the comparisons. Sunday debuted in Japan in the summer of 2004, where she was introduced as BoA's "sister". However, the single (リラの片想い Lira no Kataomoi) was poorly promoted and was not very successful. Sunday was also featured on the 2004 SMTOWN summer album, along with Ji-Yeon, DANA and Stephanie. Sunday's second Japanese single, ウソツキBOY (Usotsuki Boy), was released in April of 2005. The song was produced by M-FLO, but again was not promoted well. Surprisingly, the single received positive response even with the little promotion it had. By that time, Sunday was already casted as the final member of TSZX. Sunday's budding solo career was put on hold when she debuted with TSZX in 2005. Sunday is known as the dorky outgoing one of the group and is often caught trying to make her fellow members and others around her laugh.
* Birth Name: Kim Bokyung (김보경), Stephanie Kim (스테파니 김)
* Stage Name: Tianwu Stephanie (天舞Stephanie), Chunmu Stephanie (천무스테파니), Stephanie The Grace
* Stage Name Meaning: Dance of the Sky (Dance of Heaven)
* Birth Date: October 16, 1987 (1987-10-16) (age 20)
* Height: 168 cm (5.5 ft)
* Blood Type: O
* Specialty: Singing, Ballet, Jazz Dance, Hip-hop, Chinese (basic), Korean (fluent), English (fluent), Japanese (fluent)
* Favorite Artists: Alicia Keys, Beyonce Knowles
* Other Works: Ballet soloist and principal dancer in "Beauty and the Beast", "Copellia","Midsummer Night's Dream" and various other ballets and musicals; modeled for Got Milk?; female part in Kangta & Vanness' "127 Day" (KOR | CHN ) music video.
* Individual Award: Grand Prix and Best Singer at the 7th SM Ent; BEST Competition
* Background: Stephanie Kim, who is called Bo-Kyung in Korean, started studying ballet at the age of 5. One of the main reasons her family moved from South Korea to San Diego, California was to further her ballet training. In the States, Stephanie became a promising ballerina and was a member and principal dancer of a top ballet troupe in California--the Tommy Award winning Southern California Youth Ballet. She was offered a scholarship to the prestigious Boston Ballet University, however she turned it down when the famous SM Entertainment came knocking. She was signed after participating and winning the annual Southern California Teen Best Competition in 2004. Shortly after being signed, she moved back to Korea to train. Stephanie debuted with TSZX in April 2005, after less than a year of training. As an American, she is naturally fluent in English, and is the youngest yet the most mature member of the group.
