T-Max began with three members:
Kim Joon, Shin Min Chul and Park Yun Hwa, formed under 2Step Entertainment. Shin was a former member of the boy band
B.O.K. and sang on soundtrack songs "Dan Nyum" (''
Sang Doo! Let's Go to School) and "Tears" (Strange Woman Strange Men
). Park Yun Hwa was a former contestant in Battle Shinhwa'', a 2005 television contest to create a new boy band. T-Max's first single, "Blooming", was released on July 19, 2007. The group performed on music shows such as
MNet's
M! Countdown,
Show Music Tank and
Music Bank. A second single, "Lion Heart", followed on November 30. On December 29, 2008, the group released a third single,
Run To You, which featured the track "Neol Saranghae" (, My Love). The members of T-max got involved in television projects for 2009. Park Yun Hwa was on a
SBS show called “Mak Ban Shi” (
Idol Maknae Rebellion), which showcased the youngest members of various idol groups: participants included Dongho of
U-Kiss, Seunghyun of
FT Island, Jinwoon of
2AM and Shorry of
Mighty Mouth. Shin sang "Last Hero" for the historical drama series
The Return of Iljimae. When Kim landed a starring role as high school "prince" Song Woo Bin in the
Korean live-action adaptation of Boys Over Flowers, T-Max was selected to do the theme song "Paradise", which brought the group fame. On July 15, T-Max released an EP
Single Collection, which featured three solo tracks; each of which was sung by a different member. The group released the digital single
Love Parade on September 3, which featured the track "Wonhae" (, Want). In 2010, T-Max contributed original soundtrack (OST) singles for
Master of Study and
Fuyu No Sonata. Park Yun Hwa also collaborated with
4Minute member
Hyuna on the song "Last Winter" which is found on a different
Love Parade single released in February 2010. With Park Yun Hwa's plan to leave the group to
fulfill his military service, T-Max added two new members to the group: Joo Chan Yang was a former
Superstar K contestant, and Park Han Bi was new to the music scene. The group released the studio album
Born to the MAX in June. T-Max contributed to soundtrack singles "Believe" and "Sesangkkeuteseo" for the
Detectives in Trouble series in 2011. On September 29, Kim departed from the group for his military service. Prior to Kim’s enlistment, T-Max released one last single "Geunyeoga Ureo" (, She Was Crying), a ballad which tells of a man’s confession and seeking forgiveness, and describes the pain of farewell from his lover. Yoon Jung Soo, the CEO of Planet 905, said, “They’re a group like real brothers to me, and I truly did all I could for them, so I wanted to take in whatever decision they chose. I told them that they could return as T-Max whenever they wanted to.” ==Influence==