MayTree was started in 2000 by the members of the university a cappella club called “Gigahitz” where they created a 6 member group called “Mi wansung (美완성, a pun on the korean word that means incomplete and describes that they are beautifully complete.).” Three members of this original lineup left the group for personal reasons, and three new members Kim Jung-hoon (then baritone) Park Ji-eun (then soprano) and Choi Kyung-young (then tenor) joined the group to form their first lineup as 6-member group Maytree led by Jang Sang-in and Choi Hong-seok and released their first album “Maybe” in 2005. Even during these early days they appeared in commercials in South Korea.
At some point, soprano Park Ji-eun left the group and was replaced with Han Yeon-joo, earliest attestations from 2007 through their ad finding a new high tenor to replace former member Kim Jung-hoon (the lineup originally had a high tenor and second tenor) and Kang Su-kyong seems to have been alto. New member Choi Soo-bin replaced Han Yeon-joo and Chon Song-hyun replaced Choi Kyung-young in 2008. Jung Da-young and Kim Won-jong replaced two members Choi Hong-seok and Choi Soo-bin some time around 2014 to 2015. Lim Soo-yeon became a member some time around 2016. Kwon Young-hoon replaced Chon Song-hyun in 2017.
“When we make regular acapella music, many still wonder how such sounds come from the human mouth. We wanted to raise that sense of amazement and thus produced sounds heard in everyday life,” Soo said. “The world’s oldest musical instrument is the human voice. I think that the music produced by the human voice has an irresistible charm thanks to the warmth and love within human DNA,” S.I. said.
Beginning in 2021, the group began releasing a series of YouTube videos in which it covers sound effects used in computer and mobile phone systems. The first video, released in January 2021, covered Windows sound effects. Others followed, including sound effects for iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones, as well as the Angry Birds and other video games.
The group then released covers of the introductory music for various major film distributors as well as others such as the music for the UEFA Champions League. These covers have generated a significant amount of attention for MayTree. For example, the iPhone covers, released in February 2021, have generated (as of December 23, 2022) nearly 80 million views on YouTube. In October 2021 at the height of the explosion of popularity of the South Korean show Squid Game, which became Netflix’s most popular ever series, Maytree released covers of some of the main themes from the show. As of December 2022, the video has amassed over 260 million views on YouTube.
