Lee Tae-yong (; born July 1, 1995), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Taeyong, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is a member and leader of South Korean boy band NCT under

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

, having debuted in the group's first sub-unit,

NCT U NCT (; an acronym for Neo Culture Technology) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment and introduced in January 2016. The group consists of 23 members and divided into four different sub-units: NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, and WayV. I ...

, in 2016 and becoming the leader of its second sub-unit,

NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The current lineup consists of nine active members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwo ...

, later that year. In 2019, he debuted as a member of the South Korean supergroup SuperM, a joint project under SM Entertainment and Capitol Records, and released his first solo single, "Long Flight". As a songwriter, Taeyong has participated in writing over 40 songs in four languages, released mostly by NCT's various units and himself as a soloist.

Life and career

Early life

Lee Taeyong was born on July 1, 1995, in

Gwanak-gu Gwanak District (Gwanak-gu) is an administrative subdivision (''gu'') of Seoul, South Korea. It lies on the southern skirt of Seoul, bordering Anyang of Gyeonggi Province. The southern border of Gwanak-gu, bordering Anyang, consists of the cra ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. He graduated from the

School of Performing Arts Seoul School of Performing Arts Seoul ( ko, 서울공연예술고등학교), colloquially known as (SOPA) in South Korea, is an arts high school in Gung-dong, Guro District, Seoul. History SOPA was founded on March 6, 1966 as Jeonghui High School ...

2012–2016: Pre-debut activities

In 2012, Taeyong was scouted on the street by an

recruiter and joined the company after successfully passing the audition by singing the South Korean national anthem. In the same year, he participated in the poster shooting of the SBS television series ''To the Beautiful You''. On December 2, 2013, Taeyong was introduced as a member of

SM Rookies SM Rookies (, stylized as SMROOKIES) is a pre-debut training team created by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment in 2013, composed of trainees who have yet to join an idol group. From 2013 to 2018, the team officially introduced 30 ...

, a pre-debut team of trainees under SM Entertainment. In 2014, Taeyong appeared in multiple magazines alongside now-NCT member Johnny and now- Red Velvet members

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

and

Seulgi Seul-ki, also spelled Seul-gi or Sul-ki, is a Korean unisex given name, predominantly feminine. It was the 8th-most popular name for baby girls born in South Korea in 1990. Unlike most Korean names, it does not have any Sino-Korean roots, but is ...

. In July 2014, a video of Taeyong performing part of his song "Open the Door" was published on

SMTown SM Town (stylized as SMTOWN) is a musical collective for the recording artists under South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment. SM Town artists have performed at the annual SM Town Live world tours since the SM Town Live '08 Asia tour ...

's YouTube channel. Later that year, he appeared with several future NCT members on the

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

-produced '' Exo 90:2014'', a show starring labelmates

Exo Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...

, where they danced to K-pop songs from the 1990s. Taeyong also participated in the music video remake of

Shinhwa Shinhwa () is a South Korean six-member boy band based in Seoul, composed of Eric Mun, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Shin Hye-sung, Jun Jin, and Andy Lee. Launched by SM Entertainment on March 24, 1998, the group signed with Good Entertainment ...

's "Yo!" and Fly To The Sky's "Missing You". In October 2014, he featured on Red Velvet's song "Be Natural", credited then as SR14B Taeyong.

2016–2018: Debuts with NCT, NCT U, and NCT 127

On April 3, 2016, Taeyong was confirmed as a member of boy group NCT and its first sub-unit, NCT U. He made his official debut with the release of NCT U's digital single "

The 7th Sense "The 7th Sense" () is the debut single by South Korean boy group NCT U, the first sub-unit of NCT. It was released on April 9, 2016, through SM Entertainment. Musically, "The 7th Sense" was described as a future bass genre based on hip-hop groov ...

" on April 8, in which he and

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

participated in songwriting. Later that year, Taeyong was announced as a member and leader of NCT's second sub-unit, the

-based

. On July 6, 2016, he made his debut with NCT 127 with their single "Fire Truck". Three days later, they released their first extended play (EP), '' NCT #127'', for which Taeyong co-wrote three songs. He became the group's main rapper and main dancer despite having no background in dance prior to his training and his dance coach expressing doubts whether he would be able to catch up with his peers. In January 2017, NCT 127 returned with the EP '' Limitless.'' Taeyong participated in writing four songs on the album, with the track "Baby Don't Like It" marking the first time he was credited as a composer. In June, the group released their third EP, ''

Cherry Bomb A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diamet ...

''. All songs on the album, save one, were co-written by Taeyong. The title track, "Cherry Bomb", was later named as one of the best K-pop songs of the year by '' Billboard'' and ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

''. That same year, Taeyong participated in two collaborations with fellow SM Entertainment artists Hitchhiker and

Yoo Young-jin Yoo Young-jin is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and vocal trainer under SM Entertainment. He has produced and written songs for H.O.T., S.E.S, BoA, Shinhwa, TVXQ, CSJH The Grace, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Shinee, ...

. "Around", an experimental song produced by Hitchhiker, was released with an accompanying music video in May through the

SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. Its ...

project. He worked with singer and producer

on the rock ballad "Cure", which was released in August 2017, also through SM Station. Together with NCT 127's vocalists Taeil and Doyoung, Taeyong appeared on the soundtrack for the drama ''

School 2017 ''School 2017'' () is a South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Se-jeong, Jang Dong-yoon, Han Sun-hwa, and Han Joo-wan. It aired on KBS2 from July 17 to September 5, 2017 every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 ( KST) for 16 episode ...

'', featuring as rapper in and songwriter for the R&B ballad "Stay in My Life". In March 2018, NCT released their first studio album as part of a large-scale project uniting all of its sub-units, ''

NCT 2018 Empathy ''NCT 2018 Empathy'' (stylized in uppercase) is the debut studio album by South Korean Boy band NCT, an unlimited group project under the management of SM Entertainment. Containing a total of fourteen tracks with twelve of which were released as ...

''. Taeyong appeared in five of the units featured on the album and participated in writing five songs for ''Empathy''. In May 2018, Taeyong joined the cast of ''Food Diary'', a variety show following a group of celebrities exploring farming and the process of food production, together with labelmate

BoA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

. Taeyong co-wrote four songs for NCT 127's first studio album, ''

Regular-Irregular ''Regular-Irregular'' is the first studio album by South Korean boy band NCT 127, the second sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT. Described as a multi-genre concept album with a total of eleven tracks, the album was released by SM Entertai ...

'', including lead single "Regular". The song was initially released in English and Korean but later also served as the debut single of NCT's Chinese sub-unit,

WayV WayV ( zh, s=威神V, hp=WēiShén V; an initialism for We are your Vision) is a Chinese boy band and the fourth overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, managed by SM Entertainment's Chinese sub-label, Label V. The group is composed o ...

2019–present: Solo activities and debut with SuperM

In April 2019, NCT 127 released their first Japanese studio album, '' Awaken'', for which Taeyong co-wrote the song "Lips". In July 2019, Taeyong released his first solo song, "Long Flight", which he wrote and co-composed, with an accompanying music video. The track served as the finale of the third season of the SM Station project. The song debuted at number six on ''Billboard'' World Digital Song Sales chart. On August 8, 2019, Taeyong was revealed as a member of SuperM, a K-pop supergroup created by SM Entertainment in collaboration with Capitol Records. The group's promotions began in October and were aimed at the American market. They released their first EP, '' SuperM'', for which Taeyong co-wrote and co-produced the song "No Manners". Also in August, Taeyong and

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

collaborated on a soundtrack song for television series ''

Hotel del Luna ''Hotel del Luna'' () is a 2019 South Korean television series, starring Lee Ji-eun and Yeo Jin-goo as the owner and manager, respectively, of the eponymous hotel that caters only to ghosts. Produced by GT:st, written by the Hong sisters and d ...

'', titled "Love del Luna". Later that year, Taeyong featured on

Marteen Marteen Estevez (born April 6, 2001), better known mononymously as Marteen, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has opened for acts like Kehlani, Fifth Harmony, Dua Lipa and NCT 127. Record producer J. R. Rotem discovered Mart ...

's "Mood". In March 2020, NCT 127 released their second studio album, ''

Neo Zone ''Neo Zone'' (also known as ''NCT #127: Neo Zone'') is the second Korean studio album (third overall) by the South Korean boy band NCT 127. Preceded by the music video release for "Dreams Come True" on NCT 127 Day, January 27 (1/27), the 13-trac ...

''. Taeyong participated in co-writing three songs for the album. It was commercially successful and debuted at number five on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling more than one million copies in South Korea together with its repackage, ''Neo Zone: The Final Round''. Later that year, SuperM released their first studio album, '' Super One'', for which Taeyong co-wrote the song "Together At Home". In September 2020, NCT's second group-wide project, '' NCT 2020: Resonance'', was announced, and Taeyong was confirmed as the leader of the group as a whole. On March 15, 2021, Taeyong opened his own SoundCloud account and released a new demo single "Dark Clouds" and its remix. Since then, he has released demo singles such as "GTA1" and "GTA2", "Blue", "Monroe" (featuring

Baekhyun Byun Baek-hyun (; born May 6, 1992), better known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. Baekhyun began training under SM Entertainment in 2011. A few months later, he made his debut in 2012 as a member of the ...

), "Rose" (featuring

of Red Velvet) and "Swimming Pool" on the platform. "Dark Clouds" won the Top Comments Award at the SoundCloud 2021 Playback Awards, with the most fan comments in a single week on the platform in 2021. In August, Taeyong served as a judge on the dance survival show '' Street Woman Fighter'', which gained significant popularity nationwide. He later appeared as a guest judge on the program's spin-off, '' Street Dance Girls Fighter'', together with fellow NCT member Mark. Taeyong co-wrote the title track for NCT 127's third studio album '' Sticker'', which went on to become the best-selling album in SM Entertainment history. He was credited as a choreographer and lyricist on the special album '' 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express'', having worked on the track "Zoo". On March 11, 2022, Taeyong was announced to be featuring in Suran's song "Diamond" from her upcoming EP ''Flyin' Part 1''. Taeyong later announced the opening of his YouTube channel TY Track on March 14 and released the performance video for his new song "Lonely" featuring Suran the following day. On April 14, Taeyong released the single "Love Theory" in collaboration with

Wonstein Jeong Ji-won (), better known by the stage name Wonstein () is a South Korean rapper and singer. He debuted in 2018 with the single "Spider Web" under the label Beautiful Noise. He achieved mainstream popularity after participating on the hip-hop ...

through SM Station. On April 28, Taeyong was announced to be the MC of Mnet's upcoming dance show ''Any Body Can Dance'', where he would reunite with the leaders of ''Street Woman Fighter''. On June 2, he released a second performance video on his YouTube channel for his new song "Ghost".

Discography

Singles

Non-commercial releases

Filmography

Television appearances

Music videos

Songwriting credits

All credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...

, unless stated otherwise. , , , , - , "City 127" , rowspan="6", NCT 127 , rowspan="6", ''

'' , , , , , , - , style="background-color:#D8BFD8", "Regular" , , , , , , - , "My Van" , , , , , , - , " Come Back" , , , , , , - , "Regular" , , , , , , - , "Welcome to My Playground" , , , , , , - , "City Lights" ,

U-Know Jung Yun-ho (; born February 6, 1986), also known by his stage name U-Know Yunho () or simply U-Know, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Gwangju, South Korea, Yunho started his musi ...

(feat. Taeyong) , '' New Chapter No. 2: The Truth of Love'' , , , , , , - , "What We Talkin’ Bout" , NCT 127 (feat.

) , ''Up Next Session: NCT 127'' , , , , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4", 2019 , "Lips" , NCT 127 , '' Awaken'' , , , , , , - , style="background-color:#D8BFD8", "Long Flight" , Taeyong , , , , , , , - , "No Manners" , SuperM , '' SuperM'' , , , , , , - , "Mood" , Marteen (feat. Taeyong) , ''8'' , , , , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="4", 2020 , "Pandora Box" , rowspan="3", NCT 127 , rowspan="3", ''

'' , , , , , , - , "Mad Dog" , , , , , , - , "Love Song" , , , , , , - , "Together at Home" , SuperM , '' Super One'' , , , , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="13", 2021 , "Dark Clouds" , rowspan="5", Taeyong , , , , , , rowspan="2", , - , "Dark Clouds (Remix)" , , , , , , - , "GTA 1" , , , , , , , - , "GTA 2" , , , , , , , - , "Blue" , , , , , , , - , "Monroe" , Taeyong x

, , , , , , , - , "Rose" , Taeyong x

, , , , , , , - , "Swimming Pool" , Taeyong , , , , , , , - , style="background-color:#D8BFD8", " Sticker" , NCT 127 , '' Sticker'' , , , , , , - , "New Axis" , NCT U , rowspan="2", ''

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. ...

'' , , , , , , - , style="background-color:#D8BFD8", "Beautiful" , NCT 2021 , , , , , , - , "Amino Acid" , NCT 127 , , , , , , , - , "Zoo" , Taeyong, Jeno, Hendery, Yangyang, Giselle , '' 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express'' , , , , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="8", 2022 , style="background-color:#D8BFD8", "Diamonds" , Suran (feat. Taeyong) , ''Flyin' Part 1'' , , , , , , - , "Lonely" , Taeyong (feat. Suran) , , , , , , , - , style="background-color:#D8BFD8", "Love Theory" , Taeyong x

, , , , , , , - , "Skip" , Kangta (feat. Taeyong) , ''Eyes On You'' , , , , , , - , "Time Lapse" , rowspan="2", NCT 127 , rowspan="2", ''

2 Baddies ''2 Baddies'' () is the fourth Korean-language studio album (fifth overall) by South Korean boy band NCT 127. It was released on September 16, 2022, by SM Entertainment, and contains 12 tracks in a variety of genres, including the lead single ...

'' , , , , , , - , "Designer" , , , , , , - , "Lit (Prod. Czaer)" , Taeyong, Mark , ''Street Man Fighter Vol.4 (Crew Song)'' , , , , , , - , "Fine" , Taeyong , , , , , ,

Notes

References

External links

Tae-yong
at

SM Town SM Town (stylized as SMTOWN) is a musical collective for the recording artists under South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment. SM Town artists have performed at the annual SM Town Live world tours since the SM Town Live '08 Asia tour ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Tae-yong NCT (band) members 1995 births Living people SuperM members SM Rookies members School of Performing Arts Seoul alumni SM Entertainment artists South Korean songwriters South Korean male dancers South Korean male singers K-pop singers South Korean pop singers South Korean dance musicians South Korean male idols 21st-century South Korean singers South Korean electronic music singers Japanese-language singers of South Korea People from Seoul Singers from Seoul Rappers from Seoul