KIHYUN'S HAIR (2015-2018)
Yoo Kihyun is a 24-year-old Korean singer. He's been a member of Monsta X since May 2015. An important part of being a K-pop idol is your appearance, which involves group outfits, weight, facial features and, most importantly, hairstyle. We all know hairstyles influence our appearance as a whole, from the length to the color. Kihyun has, in the past three years, tried out a lot of different hairstyles. Most people agree his best hairstyle is the one from Stuck era, but in this essay I will talk about every hairstyle he's ever had and try to choose the best one.
All Korean men have black hair, and so had Kihyun before he debuted as a Monsta X member. However, in the MV for Trespass, aka Monsta X's debut song, he appeared with brown hair. It was wavy and his forehead was visible as it was styled 3:5. It made him appear younger than he was, even though he was only twenty one years old.
Later that year, Monsta X made a comeback with Rush, and even though their concept was 'rebellious boys', Kihyun still managed to look like a baby! His hair fell over his forehead and it was brownish red. It wasn't bright red, it was more distinct, but at the same time obviously red - like copper. It looked good on him and if there wasn't for Minhyuk and Hyungwon's blond hairstyles, it would've been the best look in that era!
Hero era, which happened a few months later, didn't change much - Kihyun dyed his hair brown, but kept it falling over his forehead. If there wasn't a change in color, we wouldn't even notice anything different! Still, he looked as gorgeous as ever and stole hearts of many fans who found Monsta X during that era, which was the one that brought them more fame.
Everything changed during All In era - the group got more fans, due to the amazing song and high-quality music video which portrayed an important message, and Kihyun changed his hairstyle! He looked more mature than ever before, with his hair dyed light brown and - undercuts on both sides! His hair was pushed off his forehead, but a few strands did cover it on the side and the entire styling looked a bit messy, but perfectly messy, as if it was intentional. Combined with the suits and the accessories the stylists made him wear, it's easily one of his best looks.
No one expected him to top All In. No one knew how it'd be possible. However, as soon as the teasers for Stuck were released the fans knew - it was over for them. Staying in their bias' lane? Impossible. Kihyun's still light brown hair was pushed off his forehead and lifted into a quiff that kind of fell on the sides, and the undercuts were still there. It made his face features stand out and he looked extremely attractive. The stylists made it his best look by making him wear all black outfits, mostly with black jeans. They also gave him earrings and chokers, which was a flawless look for Kihyun. A lot of people, including me, agree that was his best era and best hair that suited him the best. He looked mature, attractive, and we all want those undercuts back!
However, he decided to spice things up during Fighter era and try out something he's never tried before. Looking like a baby again, Kihyun's hair was bright pink and back on his forehead. Sometimes his forehead would show, but that mostly wasn't the case. However, as the title track was feisty and powerful, he managed to appear mature, but his hair made him look younger than he was. No one was sure which was the exact shade of his hair though, because he kept changing it almost every single day. One day it'd be bright, the other it'd be light and fading. There was one day during this era when it completely faded and his hair was blonde, which was a heavenly look! He was wearing white that day and the blonde hair made him look as if he was an angel from above. Unfortunately, it has only lasted for a day before he went back to pink again. He's mentioned many times that it's his least favorite hairstyle he's ever tried out, but many fans agree that it's one of his best ones and they wish he'd bring it back. He looked softer than ever, especially combined with the pink eyeshadows that matched the hair color, flower crowns fans often brought to meet-and-greets, or with the children they visited in one of the episodes of their reality show! Of course, he also looked manly when he performed on stage, but it was a mostly soft era.
Unfortunately, Fighter era ended, but we welcomed a new era shortly after and with that a new Kihyun hairstyle! He was back in brown, this time a little darker shade, and it was again falling over his forehead, but in a messier way than before. In the Japanese version of Hero, his hair completely fell over his forehead.
As Summer came, his hair darkened and fell onto his forehead in thicker strands due to the styling for Shine Forever - the repackage album for Beautiful. It was pushed away so his forehead was visible in the teaser pics, but in the music video it falls beautifully over his forehead and makes his features look cute rather than masculine as it was the case in Stuck era. It was pushed off in the music video for Newton, but as it was a happier song than their usual releases, he remained cute as he usually is.
During their second Japanese comeback, which they made with the Japanese version of Beautiful, his hair was black and covering his forehead again. That makes it kind of hard to distinguish pictures of Kihyun from Shine Forever era and this era, but he looked amazing in both. You can't go wrong with black hair, especially when the man rocking it is Yoo Kihyun.
Their first original Japanese release, Spotlight, brought us brown haired Kihyun again, with his forehead visible and his visuals as amazing as always! The 2:4 parting made him look mature, but at the same time really cute, which is one of his best qualities.
When the teasers for Monsta X's last comeback of the year, Dramarama, came out, his hair was still brown, a lighter shade than during Beautiful, but darker than during All In era. He looked pretty with his forehead covered. However, everything changed when they started promoting their song and it was revealed that his hair was actually - gray and wavy! Rocking the cute eyeshadows again, he looked both cute and manly, especially when his hair was parted 5:5 and still wavy. The fans loved it, especially combined with the mature outfits, and of course the amazing song that brought them their first and long-awaited music show award which they deserved more than anyone, after two and a half years of releasing amazing, quality music. Kihyun himself seemed very happy and confident while rocking this hairstyle and even in private schedules, he wore the best outfits he could.
If we don't count Fighter era, his hairstyles aren't that diverse - they revolve around shades of brown and black. The only different thing was the undercuts during Stuck era, and that's why it remains superior.
However, he decided to spice things up again! A new year came, and with that a new Monsta X comeback and a new Kihyun hairstyle. Hyungwon shook us with his hair change, which no one expected as he said he'd never go back to light colors, so his pink hair made us focus on him so a lot of people wasn't that excited for Kihyun's big change. However, his hair was bright orange! It did look a bit reddish, but it was indeed orange and made him look like a tomato. Cute tomato, though. It was parted in the middle, but it also fell on his forehead in thick strands so only one part of it was visible. It truly made him, alongside Hyungwon, stand out in the comeback, especially because they wore dark suits and the overall colors of the music video were dark. It was wavy and cute, but sometimes the stylists would want it to be straight so they ironed it and he looked more mature that way. Of course, it faded again over time, and at one point it was strawberry blonde, which was one of his best hairstyles! No matter if it was straight or wavy, the strawberry blonde made him look cuter than ever. He dyed it back to bright orange again and that's how it remained until today. It's not sure whether he likes it or not, but he probably likes it more than he liked the pink hair. A lot of people may think it's not a good color and that he looks like a tomato, but it's Yoo Kihyun and it's impossible for him to look bad.
Their latest Japanese release, Puzzle, was filmed before he dyed his hair to orange, so in the music video you can see him with grayish brown hair, parted in the middle.
It's really hard to decide which hairstyle suits him the best and which is the best overall, considering there are many people with many different tastes. The fandom, which is quite big, narrowed it down to Stuck and Fighter era, but a lot of them are ambassadors for Dramarama, All In, even Rush era. So what now?
It's true that the first two Monsta X releases had bad styling. They tried to appear as rebels, "bad boys" who broke the rules and did their own thing. The outfits were horrible and they didn't suit Kihyun's personality, no matter how nice his hairstyles were. Compared to the other members, Hyungwon and Minhyuk owned those two eras, and Wonho's brown hair was our favorite for a long time because it was dyed in bright colors for a long while after that. So Kihyun didn't stand out in those two eras. Even Hero didn't make him stand out - Hyungwon was still blonde, Wonho's hair was still brown.
But Stuck era - that was The One. It made him stand out. His hairstyle was better than any other member's hairstyle. Minhyuk stood out with his almost white hair which made him look like Jack Frost, but Kihyun looked mature. He looked attractive. He had the most lines, they gave him center, the outfits suited him, especially those ripped jeans. He owned Stuck era. The Stuck era hair was the best one.
Others might think Fighter was the best. Sure, he looked soft and the flower crowns made him look even softer. Sure, his eye makeup was better than ever and his makeup artists will never top it. Sure, he stood out in the music video, considering all the other members had dark hair, except for Wonho, but Wonho's wasn't as bright as Kihyun's. It was among the best ones, in the best two, dare I say, but... It's not Stuck era and it will never be Stuck era.
The other eras that stand out are Dramarama and Jealousy, and they're amazing as well. We all agree he looks good, he looks extraordinary as usual. But it's not Stuck era. His gray hair was exceptionally beautiful and he looked attractive, but this hairstyle gets a major minus because of the absence of undercuts. The undercuts make him look more mature and definitely - manlier. The Jealousy hair is the same as the Fighter era, but not as good - it's not as soft and cute as the pink hair and it's impossible to have as good eye makeup as he did when he had pink hair. It's good, but not as good as the other hairstyles that stand out.
If you ask me, he should try out blonde for a longer period than one day. He looked stunning and he could get more fans if he had it in a music video. It doesn't matter if he lets it fall on his forehead or not, but if he combined the blonde with undercuts and a quiff as he did in Stuck era, I think we'd all cry and possibly die. Maybe he could also try some bright colors that aren't pink and orange and maybe dye it purple, as Taemin did in View era. I do hope he keeps it long as he has it now, because he looks really young with short hair which shouldn't happen considering Monsta X's mature concepts.
In conclusion, Kihyun is a visual legend that can't go wrong when it comes to his hairstyles. He's never had a bad era and he probably never will. I hope this essay made you google the pictures and made you fall for him, and if not him, then at least Monsta X's music, which is quality and stands out in today's music industry. Please support Kihyun and Monsta X in their further activities.