Yoo Young-jin

I. Introduction

Yoo Young-Jin (유영진) is a legendary songwriter, vocal trainer and producer at SM Entertainment, who has written and produced multiple hits across his extensive career in K-pop and was named one of the top 50 producers of the 21st century by Rolling Stone. Yoo's musical imprint is a key element of SM's signature sound, including his vocal training and style. He has written for artists including H.O.T., Shinhwa, BoA, Kangta, Super Junior, TVXQ!, U-Know Yunho, Max Changmin, The Grace, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x), Taeyeon, EXO, Baekhyun, Red Velvet, NCT and aespa. Often referred to as the "Father" of SM by artists within SM Entertainment, often in conjunction with Kenzie as the "Mother," Yoo has continued to create chart-topping hits across the years, helping to build the trademark SM sound of massive choruses, complex bridges, powerhouse vocals and intricate vocal layering.

II. Career

Yoo was born on April 10, 1971. He began his career as a R&B singer, debuting as a soloist in September 1993. In 1996, he began to write songs for the group H.O.T. and found success writing and producing for SM's first acts, H.O.T., S.E.S. and Shinhwa.

He created massive hits, writing for the majority of SM's groups and soloists or training them vocally. Yoo's dramatic and vocally-driven songs and production help define SM's sound, including the experimental song structure, R&B-driven style and layered production style. Some of these songs include H.O.T's 전사의 후예 (폭력시대) (Warrior’s Descendant), Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry," Girls' Generation's "The Boys", TVXQ's "Mirotic", SHINee's "Lucifer," EXO's "MAMA", Red Velvet's "Bad Boy," NCT 127's "Regular," NCT Dream's "Hot Sauce" and aespa's "Savage."

Yoo was recognized in Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 50 producers of the 21st century and one of only two Korean producers on the list. His songs have also been in lists like Melon's Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time in 2021, Spin's Greatest K-pop Songs of All Time, Billboard's Greatest K-pop Choruses of the 21st Century and Mnet Legend 100 songs.

He is also frequently cited as the "architect of modern K-pop" or "the godfather of the modern K-pop sound."

Yoo is also a vocal trainer for SM, building the training structure utilized to support the company's emphasis on vocals. He can also be found providing demos, guides or background vocals on the songs he has written. For example, in the video where NCT 127 hears "Sticker" for the first time, it is Yoo's powerful voice they hear on the demo.

Occasionally, he also still records songs, such as his duets with NCT's Taeyong and EXO's D.O. for the 2017 SM Station season.

III. Discography

There are over 300 songs that he has written and/or produced here.

IIII. Performer

IIIII. Songwriter and Producer

Guide: L=Lyricist, C=Composer, A=Arranger, P=Producer

US = Billboard US World Digital Songs Chart

The current Gaon chart came into existence in 2010.

IV. Videography

This is a very long list, so please reference album pages for videos.

References:

KOMCA: Searching Works (search W0187800 under Writers & Publishers)

GAON charts

Billboard charts