Heo Young-saeng (Korean: 허영생; born: November 3, 1986) is a South Korean entertainer. He is the vocalist of the boy band SS501. He's also the leader of Double S 301. In 2010, Heo left DSP Media, who managed him as part of SS501, and moved to B2M Entertainment, with bandmate Kim Kyu-jong, to pursue his solo career. His debut album as a soloist entitled Let It Go was released in May 2011. He then released several albums more in Korea and Japan, with the hit tracks "Crying", "The Art of Seduction", "Weak Child", and "1.2.3", among others. In 2012, Heo played his first acting role in KBS2's sitcom I Need A Fairy.
Heo has performed in musicals as well: he debuted in The Three Musketeers, playing the role of D'Artagnan during 2011, and appeared in 2013, the Summer Snow musical.
On October 31, 2013, Heo started his mandatory, 21-month military service as a police officer. He completed his military service on July 30, 2015. He also joined CI Entertainment.
In December 2015, Heo returned to theater to play the role of Han Min-ho in the musical Haru. It's together with Kim Hyung-jun. Also, it served as the musical comeback of Heo after 21-month of hiatus due to military service.
In January 2016, Heo reunited with Kim Kyu-jong and Kim Hyung-jun and grouped as Double S 301. CI Entertainment released a photo teaser for their comeback. The group released an album entitled Eternal 5 on February 16, 2016, followed by a Japanese album entitled Eternal S on April 20, 2016.
Heo Young-Saeng was born on November 3, 1986, in Gochang County Jeollabuk-do, South Korea as the only child of his family. He graduated from Hyundai High School and Dong Seoul University. He started as a trainee at SM Entertainment for about 2.5 years. He then joined DSP Media, formerly known as DSP Entertainment and trained for 3 months before debuting. He debuted as a member of SS501 on June 8, 2005.
Heo debuted as a member of SS501 on June 8, 2005, along with their debut album, Warning. Their second mini album, Snow Prince, was released in late 2005, five months after their debut. During this time, the band established their official fan club name, "Triple S", and its color, pearl green. The group earned instant popularity and won many rookie awards following their debut.
Heo hosted SS501's radio program SS501's Youngstreet on SBS along with fellow member Park Jung-min from May 1 to August 21, 2006. He was forced to leave the program due to a throat condition that required laryngeal surgery, and bandmate Kim Kyu-jong took over as DJ.
SS501 soon promoted their first studio album S.T 01 Now. In late 2007, they expanded their activities in the Japanese market to challenge themselves outside Korea with the release of their Japanese single Kokoro, along with the establishment of "Triple S Japan". The single debuted at number 5. They had two more successful releases in Japan entitled Distance and SS501 The band received the Newcomer Award by Japan Gold Disc Award in January 2008; this was the first time Korean artists had received this award.
Having built their foundation as artists in Japan and Korea, SS501 continued to release singles and albums in both Korea and Japan, such as Deja Vu in Korea and Lucky Days in Japan, both released in 2008. However, they stopped their activities as a group for a period of time as Park Jung-Min and Kim Hyun-Joong were given solo projects for the Grease musical and the Boys Over Flowers series, respectively. Nevertheless, the three remaining members, with Heo as lead singer, continued to tour, dubbed as the SS501 Project Group. They released a project album named U R Man in November 2008, with the high-tempo dance title track "UR Man". They also contributed to the Boys Over Flowers soundtrack with "내 머리가 나빠서" (Because I'm Stupid), and appeared as a cameo in episode four, performing their track, "U R Man". The track won Song of the Month for February at the 32nd Cyworld Digital Music Awards on March 28, 2009. as well as the Best OST of the year during the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
In 2009–2010, SS501 released All My Love, Solo Collection, Rebirth, and Destination consecutively before their contracts ended. Heo wrote his solo track "사랑인거죠" (Is it Love?) by himself, which made him the first SS501 member to compose and write the lyrics of the song. "사랑인거죠" (Is it Love?) was written during SS501's activities in Japan in 2007, as well as the lyrics for his part of "완.두.콩." (Green Peas), a song written for their fans. Moreover, Heo composed "영원토록" (Until Forever), which was originally a wedding song, but since he felt sad whenever he heard the song, he did not give it a wedding-themed title.
In 2009, Heo started contributing soundtracks to television dramas, which includes "눈물을 지워가" (I Erase Tears) from Friend, Our Legend and "사랑해요..미안해요.." (I Love You.. I'm Sorry..) from Will It Snow for Christmas?.
2010–2012: Leaving DSP Media, solo and acting debut
In June 2010, upon the expiration of SS501's contract with DSP Media, Heo along with fellow band member Kim Kyu Jong, signed with B2M Entertainment, the agency of former DSP Media songstress Lee Hyori, to embark on his solo career.
He was scheduled to launch his solo singing career on April 28, 2011, but had to postpone because he pulled the ligaments on his right hand during a dance practice. He was also scheduled to guest star on SBS's Good Sunday variety show Running Man, on May 8, 2011, but due to his injury, he appeared only briefly to hand out a mission.
Heo's solo debut mini album, Let It Go, was released on May 12, 2011, which features Spica's Park Ju-hyun on the music video, and Kim Kyu Jong and Hyuna on "Rainy Love" and "Let It Go" tracks respectively. The album peaked at number one on Gaon's album chart for the week starting on May 8.
On November 9, 2011, Heo, along with other Korean and Japanese artists, performed at the Seoul Tokyo Music Festival 2011 at the Saitama Super Arena, Japan. At the same time, Heo made his musical debut in The Three Musketeers, playing the role of D'Artagnan from November 3 to December 18.
In February 2012, KBS confirmed that Heo would be part of KBS2's daily sitcom called I Need A Fairy (also known as Sent From Heaven), playing the role Heo Young Saeng/ Kaki. A month later, he released a soundtrack of the said drama entitled "Love Song".