Aron (singer)

Aaron Kwak (born May 21, 1993), also known by the stage name Aron, is an American singer, rapper and former radio host based in South Korea. He debuted in 2012 as a member of the boy band NU'EST. On March 14, 2022, he left Pledis Entertainment after his contract was not renewed, following NU'EST's disbandment.[3][4]

Aron
아론
Aron in July 2019
Born
Aaron Kwak[1]

(1993-05-21) May 21, 1993[2]
Los Angeles, California, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationLoyola High School
Occupation
  • Singer
  • rapper
Musical career
GenresK-pop
Years active2012–present
Labels
Associated acts
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGwak Yeong-min
McCune–ReischauerKwak Yŏngmin
Stage name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationAron
McCune–ReischauerAlon
Signature

Early life

Aron was born on May 21, 1993 in Los Angeles, California.[5] He attended Loyola High School and was on the varsity golf team, earning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2008 from Daniel Murphy High School.[1][6] He tested within the top 0.5% on the SATs with a score of 2180 out of 2400.[7] Aron had been accepted into New York University and intended to major in journalism but ultimately did not attend after choosing to become a singer.[5][7][8]

Career

Pre-debut

While attending the LA Korean Festival in 2009, Aron was invited to take part in the Pledis USA Personal Auditions, where he performed "So Sick" by Ne-Yo and participated in a one-week trial boot camp in South Korea.[9][10] He subsequently signed with Pledis Entertainment.[9] After finishing high school, he returned to South Korea and trained for nine months.[9] Prior to debuting, Aron appeared as a back-up dancer in After School Blue's "Wonder Boy" in 2011. He participated in Pledis Entertainment's Christmas single "Love Letter" and was also featured in an alternate music video for the song as a member of Pledis Boys.[11] He performed with After School with the rest of Pledis Boys, now dubbed "After School Boys", at the SBS Gayo Daejeon.[12]

2012–present: NU'EST and solo activities
Main article: NU'EST

Along with four other Pledis Boys, Aron debuted in the boy band NU'EST in 2012 as a sub-vocalist. From April 8, 2013 to April 19, 2015, he hosted Arirang Radio's Music Access radio program.[5] In 2014, he was featured as a guest artist on the song "Got it Figured Out" by Chad Future.[13][14] From August 14, 2015 to April 24, 2016, he hosted his own radio show, Aron's Hangout, on SBS PopAsia.[15][16]

From 2017 to 2018, Aron promoted with the other NU'EST members as the sub-group NU'EST W in the absence of Minhyun, who was exclusively promoting with Wanna One at the time.[17] During the group's activity, he wrote the lyrics for his solo songs, "Good Love" and "Wi-Fi."[18][19] He was also featured as a guest artist on the song "Loop" by Raina.[20]

From 2020 to 2021, Aron hosted the radio show "To.Night" on Naver NOW with bandmate Ren.[21][22]

It was announced on February 28, 2022 that NU'EST's exclusive contract with Pledis Entertainment will expire on March 14, 2022 and that Aron (alongside members JR and Ren) did not to renew their contract with their agency.[23]

On March 21, 2022, Aron announced he was hosting a podcast titled Korean Cowboys with South Korean television personality Joel Lane, with the first episode releasing on March 22, 2022.

Discography
For Aron's works with NU'EST, see NU'EST discography and NU'EST W.
Title Year Peak chart
positions		 Sales (DL) Album
KOR
[24]
"Got it Figured Out"
(Chad Future feat. NU'EST's Aron)		 2014 — — Chad Future: The First Mini Album
"Loop" (밥 영화 카페)
(Raina feat. Aron of NU'EST)		 2017 55 Loop
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Filmography
See also: NU'EST § Filmography

Radio
Year Title Network Notes Ref.
2013–2015 Music Access Arirang Radio DJ [5]
2015–2016 Aron's Hangout SBS PopAsia [15][16]
2020–2021 To.Night Naver NOW [21][22]

Web shows
Year Title Platform Role Notes Ref.
2022 Korean Cowboys YouTube, Spotify Co-host Podcast [26]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
2018 The Fact Music Awards Fan N Star Hall of Fame Award Aron Won [27]

References
  1. "The Brainiacs 뇌섹돌 인.증. 아론, SAT 성적표&영어 공부법 공개!" [The Brainiacs: Aron's SAT score report & English studying method revealed!]. Problematic Men. Episode 170 (in Korean). South Korea. August 28, 2018. Event occurs at 2:00-2:10. TVN. Retrieved January 14, 2020. Jun Hyun-moo: A Catholic boys' school... / Aron: Yes, [my mom] sent me there on purpose. / Text: Loyola High School: Private Catholic boys' high school with 153 years of history in Los Angeles.
  2. "아론 (뉴이스트)" [Aron (NU'EST)]. Genie Music (in Korean). Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. Hong, Hye-min (February 28, 2022). "서하준, "어머니가 작명소에서 지어주신 예명…본명 따로 있어". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  4. Ji, Min-kyung (March 1, 2022). "뉴이스트, 15일 베스트 앨범 발매..10년 활동 총망라 [공식]". OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  5. Hong, Grace Danbi (April 5, 2013). "NU'EST Aron Transforms into a Radio DJ". Mwave. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  6. "The Brainiacs 골프, 수영, 배구까지 섭렵한 아론?! 뇌섹남들도 감탄" [The Brainiacs: Aron, diversively talented in golf, swimming, and basketball?! The Brainiacs admire him]. Problematic Men. Episode 170 (in Korean). South Korea. August 28, 2018. Event occurs at 0:35-0:45. TVN. Retrieved January 14, 2020. Text: Daniel Murphy High School, 2008 Varsity Golf, Rookie of the Year, Aaron Kwak / Aron: Rookie of the year. / Jun Hyun-moo: Award for rookies? / Aron: Yes. / Hyun-moo: In 2008? / Aron: Yes. Freshman in high school, in 2008.
  7. ""출연요청 1위" '문남' 뉴이스트W 아론, 상위 0.5% 성적표 공개". Osen (in Korean). August 28, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  8. "The Brainiacs 문남 역대 최고! 타일러&아론의 잉글리시 타임☆" [The Brainiacs: Munnam Best Ever! Tyler & Aron's English time]. Problematic Men. Episode 170 (in Korean). South Korea. August 28, 2018. Event occurs at 1:15-1:30. TVN. Retrieved January 14, 2020. Aron: So, um... I was accepted into New York University when I was in high school, but it wasn't like, the journalism... that part of the school, but I-I went in as undeclared, and I was going to study journal... journalism... So, I got accepted, but I never went.
  9. "OUR K-POP IDOL JOURNEY". Korean Cowboys. Episode 2. South Korea. April 1, 2022. Event occurs at 3:16-4:20. Retrieved April 17, 2022. Aaron: I was casted in 2009 in LA at a festival called JangTuh. It's a festival that happens in Koreatown every year. I got casted and there and I went to an audition. I sang "So Sick" by Ne-Yo. I'm sure a lot of our listeners already know that, but if you guys didn't, there you go. They asked me to dance for like, 30 seconds in front of the camera and at the time I did not dance. I didn't like dancing, so I literally just clapped my hands for 30 seconds. / Joel: Oh, my gosh. / Aaron: You know, I went back home thinking, "They're not—they're not gonna take me in." You know, like, sure, I was casted, but like, after seeing that audition? No way. But um, they actually called me — very similar to you — like, a week later, saying, "We wanna fly you out to Korea, you know, put you on, like, a training system for a week, and then, you know, like, we'll decide if we wanna sign you or not." So, I think that winter I went to Korea — came to Korea for like a week or two — trained, and I signed my official contract. And then [I] went back to the States, finished high school, came to Korea, trained for nine months, and debuted as a member of the K-pop group NU'EST.
  10. ""러브의 심장 저격"…'주간아' 뉴이스트, 완전체로 돌아와 재미도 5배 [종합]". Xport News (in Korean). May 1, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  11. "애프터스쿨 보이즈, 5인조 연말데뷔..팀명 미정" (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  12. "플레디스 보이즈, 애프터스쿨과 SBS '가요대전' 출격". Naeil (in Korean). December 29, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  13. "Got It Figured Out (Feat. Nu'est Aron)". Genie Music (in Korean). Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  14. "Chad Future(채드 퓨처)". Bugs! (in Korean). Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  15. Aron (August 14, 2015). "NU'EST's Aron to host his own SBS PopAsia radio show". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  16. Aron (April 24, 2016). "NU'EST's Aron's Hangout - The Season Finale". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  17. "NU'EST、Wanna One参加のミンヒョン除き4人組ユニット『NU'EST W』としてデビュー！". TV Report (in Japanese). July 18, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2020 – via KStyle.
  18. "NU'EST W、ニューアルバム「W, HERE」のトラックリストを公開…ソロ曲＆SEVENTEEN ウジがプレゼントした楽曲も". Osen (in Japanese). September 26, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2020 – via KStyle.
  19. "NU'EST W、ニューアルバム「WAKE, N」ハイライトメドレーを公開…4人それぞれのソロ曲にも期待". Osen (in Japanese). November 22, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2020 – via KStyle.
  20. "'투맨쇼' 뉴이스트 아론 "인기 믿기지 않아, 멤버들 자랑스럽다"". Newsen (in Korean). August 2, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  21. Park, Sang-jin. "뉴이스트 아론&렌, 네이버 NOW.'To.Night' 첫 방송" [NU'EST Aaron & Ren, Naver NOW.'To.Night' first broadcast] (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 11, 2021.
  22. Park, Dong-sun. "뉴이스트 아론·렌, 네이버 NOW. '투나잇' 종영소감 전해…"또 다른 소통, 행복한 시간"" [NU'EST Aaron, Ren, Naver NOW. Delivering the end of 'To.night'... "Another communication, happy time"] (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 5, 2021.
  23. Kim, Ye-na (February 28, 2022). "뉴이스트, 10년 활동 마무리…JR·아론·렌, 소속사 떠난다". Yonhap (in Korean). Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  24. "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart.
  25. Total downloads for "Loop":
  26. Kim Na-young (March 28, 2022). "뉴이스트 아론, 자체 제작 팟캐스트 '코리안 카우보이스' 론칭" [NU'EST Aaron launches self-produced podcast 'Korean Cowboys] (in Korean). MK Sports. Retrieved March 28, 2022 – via Naver.
  27. "All the winners & performances from The Fact Music Awards". SBS PopAsia. April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
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