Kim Jong-in (; born January 14, 1994), better known by his stage name Kai (), is a South Korean singer, actor, and dancer. He is a member of the South Korean boy band

Exo Exo (; 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 Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

, its subunit Exo-K, and South Korean supergroup

SuperM SuperM () was a South Korean Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in 2019 by SM Entertainment and Capitol Music Group. The group consisted of seven members from four SM Entertainment boy bands: Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai (entertainer, ...

. He debuted as a soloist on November 30, 2020, with his first

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) '' Kai''. Apart from his musical career, Kai has also starred in various television dramas such as '' Choco Bank'' (2016), '' Andante'' (2017), and '' Spring Has Come'' (2018). He is recognized for his dancing in South Korea and K-pop, and is regarded by various publications as a fashion icon.

Early life

Kai was born on January 14, 1994, in

Suncheon Suncheon (; ) is the largest city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, with a population of 280,719 as of 2022. It is located in the southeast of the province and is a scenic agricultural and industrial city, known for tourist attractions, suc ...

, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, as the youngest member of his family, with two older sisters. Despite his parents initially wanting him to learn

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

and the piano, Kai began to train in ballet while in third grade after watching ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', and started jazz dancing when he was eight years old in the fourth grade of elementary school. His father, now deceased, was the most important benefactor of his encounter with dance, which was of great significance to his life, according to a film about his growth story featured in

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

's 2019 project "The Performers". Kai attended high school at

School of Performing Arts Seoul School of Performing Arts Seoul (SOPA; / ) is an arts high school located in Gung-dong, Guro District, in Seoul, South Korea. History SOPA was founded on March 6, 1966 as Jeonghui High School (). On February 28, 2002, Park Jae-ryeon was app ...

, from which he graduated in 2012.

Career

2011–15: Debut and career beginnings

In 2007, encouraged by his father, Kai participated in and won

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

's Youth Best Contest and signed with the company at the age of thirteen years old. He then began training in

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop, hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture, hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made po ...

. On December 23, 2011, SM announced Kai as the first member of the company's upcoming boy group,

. He made his first televised performance alongside fellow Exo members Luhan, Chen and

Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

as well as other SM artists at the year-end music program ''

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

'' on December 29, 2011. The group officially debuted in April 2012 and has since gained significant popularity and commercial success. In October 2012, Kai participated in the promotional group Younique Unit alongside labelmates

Eunhyuk Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T an ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Hyoyeon Kim Hyo-yeon (; born September 22, 1989), known professionally as Hyoyeon or DJ Hyo, is a South Korean singer, dancer, and DJ. She debuted as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-s ...

Taemin Lee Tae-min (; born July 18, 1993), better known mononymously as Taemin, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor. He debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band Shinee in May 2008 and the supergroup SuperM in 2019, both un ...

and Luhan. The group released a single titled "Maxstep" as part of the collaboration between SM Entertainment and

Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...

. Later in December 2012, he joined the dance group SM The Performance, along with fellow member

Lay Lay or LAY may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France * Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Lay Dam, Alaba ...

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!; , ), known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is a South Korean pop duo formed by SM Entertainment, composed of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. Originally a five-member boy band which also consisted of members Kim Jae-joong, Hero ...

Yunho Jung Yunho (; born February 6, 1986), better 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 ...

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band. The group is composed of Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun. Han Geng, Kibum, and ...

and Donghae,

Shinee Shinee ( ; ; ; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of four members: Onew, Key (entertainer), Key, Choi Min-ho, Minho, and Taemin. Originally a five-piece band, Jonghyun died on ...

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

and

. The group first made its appearance at the event ''SBS Gayo Daejeon ''on December 29, and performed their single "

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

". The single was officially released the next day. In August 2014, Kai was featured in the song "Pretty Boy" from Shinee member Taemin's debut album.

2016–2019: Acting career and SuperM

In January 2016, Kai made his acting debut as the male lead in the web drama '' Choco Bank'', which achieved record-breaking viewership. In December 2016, he starred in two episodes of the special web drama '' 7 First Kisses'' which was produced by Lotte Duty Free. In January 2017, Kai was announced to be starring as the male lead in the KBS teen drama '' Andante'', playing a high school student. In February 2017, he was cast in the Japanese drama '' Spring Has Come'', based on the Japanese novel of the same name. The drama marks the first time a non-Japanese actor taking a lead role on a drama produced by the broadcasting station Wowow. In December 2017, Kai was chosen as the cover model for December's issue of ''

The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a United Kingdom–based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer ho ...

'', a magazine known for helping the homeless. The magazine sold out 20,000 copies within the first two days, and until now, 80,000 copies have been sold, which records the highest number of copies sold since the magazine's start in July 2010. In 2018, Kai was cast in KBS' melodrama '' The Miracle We Met''. On August 7, 2019, Kai was confirmed to be a member of

, a "K-pop supergroup" created by SM Entertainment in collaboration with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. The group's promotions are scheduled to begin in October and are aimed at the American market. Kai has been selected as the first Gucci Eyewear Men Global Ambassador in Korea. SuperM debuted with the group's self-titled debut EP on October 4, 2019.

2020–2023: Solo debut and enlistment

On July 3, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that Kai's first solo album was currently under production with the goal of being released in the second half of 2020. On October 12, he was announced to have become the first ever male muse of the cosmetics brand

Bobbi Brown Bobbi Brown (born April 14, 1957) is an American professional make-up artist, author, and the founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. She created ten natural-shade lipsticks which according to ''Entrepreneur'' "revolutionized the beauty industry". Sh ...

. On November 30, 2020, Kai released his debut extended play '' Kai'' and its lead single " Mmmh". The album peaked at number 2 on the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

and has been

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

Platinum by the KMCA. On November 30, 2021, Kai released his second extended play ''

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

'' and its lead single of the same name. The album peaked at number 3 on the Gaon Album Chart and has also been certified Platinum. In February 2023, SM confirmed that Kai plans to release a new solo album ''

Rover Rover may refer to: People Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...

'' on March 13. On March 13, Kai released his third extended play ''Rover'' and its lead single of the same name. On May 4, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that Kai would have a fan meeting titled, "Kai's aKAIve", at YES24 Live Hall on May 9 at 19:00 ( KST) and also broadcast live on Exo's official YouTube channel, two days before he enlisted to the military.

2025–present: Upcoming album

On February 11, 2025, a day after Kai's discharged from the military, he hosted a special live broadcast on Exo's YouTube, TikTok, and Weverse accounts titled ''Kai: Happily Ever After''. On March 5, it was reported that Kai is set to release his fourth EP in April 2025, with music video scheduled to film next week.

Personal life

Military service

On May 3, 2023, SM Entertainment announced through

's official fan club that Kai would have to fulfill his military mandatory service as a social service worker on May 11. He was officially discharged from service on February 10, 2025.

Fashion and endorsements

In March 2020, Kai became the ambassador for the Italian high-end luxury fashion house

with the Chinese actress

Ni Ni Ni Ni ( zh, c=倪妮, p=Ní Nī, born 8 August 1988) is a Chinese actress. After rising to fame with Zhang Yimou's '' The Flowers of War'' (2011), she starred in the films '' Up in the Wind'' (2013)'', Fleet of Time'' (2014), ''Lost in the Sta ...

. Later that year Kai became the first male Muse for

Cosmetics. On September 14, 2021, the city of Seoul announced that they selected Kai as the face of the brand and a global ambassador for Seoul

Fashion week A fashion week is a week-long fashion industry event where fashion designers, brands, or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media which influences upcoming fashion trends for the current and appro ...

Spring 2022. On November 1, Kai appeared in the online showcase "TUCSON Beyond Drive," a collaboration between Hyundai Motors and SM Entertainment, where he presented a music performance titled "Follow Your Hidden Light" that combines K-pop and AR technology. In January 2022, Charmzone Mask selected Kai as their new model, "hoping that it will deliver a youthful and trendy image of Charmzone's premium mask products". BlackYak Climbing Crew selected Kai as model for The Black Yak BCC collection. Later that year, Kai became the muse for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

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 ...

, unless stated otherwise.

Filmography

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Web shows

Music videos

Concerts

Headlining tour

Online concert

* Kai : KLoor (Beyond LIVE #Cinema) (2021)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kai 1994 births 21st-century South Korean male singers Actors from Suncheon Blue Dragon Series Awards winners Exo members Japanese-language singers of South Korea K-pop singers Living people Male actors from South Jeolla Province Mandarin-language singers of South Korea Musicians from South Jeolla Province School of Performing Arts Seoul alumni SM Entertainment artists South Korean contemporary R&B singers South Korean dance music singers South Korean dance musicians South Korean electronic music singers South Korean male ballet dancers South Korean male dancers South Korean male idols South Korean male pop singers South Korean male television actors South Korean male web series actors South Korean mandopop singers SuperM members