You likely won’t know WOODZ by any of his other names, but here’s the brief lowdown:

Born Cho Seung-youn in Korea, he grew up wanting to be a soccer player with no real interest in music. He played under the Portuguese name Luizinho in Brazil for a bit, but eventually — to prove he could do it — returned to Korea and auditioned some-odd 50 times to be a K-Pop idol. His persistence paid off and he was in a couple of boy bands for about five years as a rapper under the stage name Luizy. It’s when he reinvented himself, his solo career as WOODZ began, and his sound really started to evolve.

Today, WOODZ is known internationally for his powerful voice, genre versatility and state presence.When he goes the R&B route he sounds incredible. Here’s his tribute to the songs of the 70s and 80s with “Bloodline” off his first full album Archive. 1:

Archive. 1 has some other great R&B and rock influenced songs:

Before his latest album, he tossed out this rock tune about eight months ago right out of the military.

So don’t let labels or appearances fool you, just enjoy the music and the tenacity of those who want to perform it with all their soul for the Jams.