Byun Baek-hyun

Biography

Byun Baek-hyun (Korean: 변백현; born May 6, 1992), known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its subgroup Exo-K and its subunit Exo-CBX. In 2019, Baekhyun became a leader of the supergroup SuperM. Following the release of several albums and extended plays with Exo, Baekhyun began pursuing a solo career in 2019 by releasing his debut extended play, City Lights, which sold more than half-a-million copies in 2019 and is the best-selling album by a solo artist of the 2010s in South Korea. City Lights was followed by two million-selling EPs, Delight (2020), the first album by a solo artist in South Korea to have sold over 1 million copies in 19 years, and Bambi (2021). He has been labeled as the "Genius Idol", and won three consecutive Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best Male Artist from 2019 to 2021.

== Early life == Baekhyun was born on May 6, 1992, in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. He has a brother named Baek-beom who is seven years older than him. Baekhyun began training to be a singer when he was 11 years old, influenced by South Korean singer Rain. He attended Jungwon High School in Bucheon, where he was the lead singer in a band called Honsusangtae (lit. "coma") and won a local music festival. He received piano lessons from Kim Hyun-woo, member of South Korean rock band DickPunks. In addition to musical activities, Baekhyun trained as a martial artist in his youth and has a dan 3 black belt in Hapkido. Baekhyun was spotted by an SM Entertainment agent while he was studying for the entrance exams to the Seoul Institute of the Arts. He later joined SM Entertainment in 2011 through the S.M. Casting System.

== Career ==

=== 2012–15: Debut and career beginnings ===

Baekhyun was officially revealed to be Exo's ninth member on January 30, 2012, as the vocalist of Exo. The group officially debuted in April 2012 and has since gained significant popularity and commercial success. In February 2014, Baekhyun and fellow Exo member Suho became regular hosts for the SBS music television show Inkigayo. They left the position in November 2014 to focus on Exo's upcoming comeback. In July 2014, Baekhyun made his musical theatre debut, playing the main role of Don Lockwood in the South Korean production of the musical Singin' in the Rain by SM C&C. In April 2015, Baekhyun released his first solo song since debut titled "Beautiful" as the soundtrack for Exo's web-drama Exo Next Door. The song became the first soundtrack single from a web drama to top digital charts. In May 2015, Baekhyun was announced to be starring in action film Dokgo alongside actor Yeo Jin-goo. However, production of the film was announced to have been cancelled in January 2016. In December 2015, Baekhyun paid tribute to the late South Korean singer Kim Hyun-sik by performing his song "Like Rain Like Music" at SBS' year-end music program Gayo Daejeon. The studio recording of his rendition was later released digitally.

=== 2016–2018: Acting roles and Exo-CBX ===

In January 2016, Baekhyun and Miss A member Suzy released a duet titled "Dream". The song quickly reached the top on online real-time music charts and later debuted at number one on Gaon's weekly digital chart. "Dream" also won first place five times in total on music television programs Music Bank and Inkigayo. In April 2016, Baekhyun received a YinYueTai V-Chart Award for Most Popular Singer in South Korea. In May 2016, Baekhyun and South Korean singer K.Will released a folk-ballad duet titled "The Day" as part of SM Entertainment's music project SM Station.

In August 2016, Baekhyun made his small screen debut in the SBS historical drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, a South Korean adaptation of the Chinese novel Bu Bu Jing Xin. For his performance in the drama he received a New Star Award at the 2016 SBS Drama Awards. He also collaborated with fellow Exo members Chen and Xiumin on an original soundtrack for the series titled "For You". In October 2016, together with Chen and Xiumin, Baekhyun became a member of Exo's first official sub unit Exo-CBX. Their debut extended play, Hey Mama!, was released on October 31. In November 2016, Baekhyun began participating in SM Entertainment's League of Legends tournament "2016 S.M. Super Celeb League", where he and labelmate Heechul played the game with both professional players and fans from South Korea and China. In February 2017, Baekhyun and Sistar member Soyou released a duet titled "Rain". The song reached number one on every South Korean online music chart, an achievement known as "all-kill", making him the first SM Entertainment artist to achieve "all-kill" in both 2016 and 2017 with "Dream" and "Rain" respectively. In April 2017, Baekhyun released a single titled "Take You Home" for the second season of the Station project. The song peaked at number twelve on Gaon's weekly digital chart. On February 5, 2018, Baekhyun performed the South Korean national anthem at the opening ceremony of the 132nd International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in front of Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea, and Lee Hee-beom, the president of the Organizing Committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics. In August 2018, Baekhyun and rapper Loco released a collaboration track titled "Young" for the Station project. The song charted at number four on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.