Baekhyun


Byun Baek-hyun, better known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. He debuted in 2012 as a member of the South Korean–Chinese boy group Exo, and its sub-group Exo-K and sub-unit Exo-CBX. He debuted as a soloist in July 2019 with the release of his debut EP, City Lights. Baekhyun is also a member of the South Korean supergroup SuperM.
Baekhyun's debut EP City Lights sold more than half-a-million copies in 2019, and was the best-selling album by a solo artist of the 2010s in South Korea. His second EP, Delight sold more than 1 million copies, and was the first album by a solo artist in South Korea to do so in 19 years.

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 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 a main 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.
, December 2017
In August 2016, Baekhyun made his small screen debut in the SBS historical drama , 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 12 on the Gaon Digital Chart. In August, 2018, Baekhyun and rapper Loco releases a collaboration track titled "Young" for the Station project.

2019–present: Solo activities and SuperM

On June 10, 2019, it was announced that Baekhyun will debut as a solo artist in July 2019, becoming the third soloist among Exo members. It was later revealed that he would debut with the EP titled City Lights, which was released on July 10. The EP went on to sell over 550,000 copies in 2019, and recorded the highest sales by any solo artist in the history of South Korea's Gaon Music Chart chart. It topped the Gaon weekly and monthly chart and placed sixth on the year-end chart, as well as becoming the best-selling solo album of South Korea in the 2010s. It also topped the Itunes album chart in 66 countries.
On August 7, 2019, Baekhyun was confirmed 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 are aimed at the American market. SuperM debuted with their self-titled debut EP on October 4, 2019.
On December 4, 2019, Baekhyun was awarded Best Male Artist at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards following the success of his debut EP City Lights, and its lead single "UN Village".
On April 22, 2020, it was announced that Baekhyun will return with the release of his second solo album in late May. It was later revealed that he would return with his second EP titled Delight, which is set to be released on May 25, 2020. Before his comeback, Baekhyun collaborated with Bolbbalgan4, featuring on their single "Leo", released May 7.
On May 25, Baekhyun released Delight, featuring the lead single "Candy". The EP garnered over 732,000 pre-orders, making it the most pre-ordered album by a soloist in South Korean history. On July 1, it was announced that the album had sold more than 1,000,000 copies, making it the first soloist album in South Korea to do since Another Days by Kim Gun-mo.

Fashion

In May 2018, Vogue magazine revealed that Baekhyun collaborated with Privé, and would be launching his own brand, "Privé by BBH", a street-wear brand, on July 1. Baekhyun is now the co-creative director of the brand.

Personal life

Along with fellow Exo members Chanyeol and Suho, Baekhyun attends Kyung Hee Cyber University and take online classes for Culture and Arts Department of Business Administration.

Discography

Extended plays

Dramas

Television shows

Music videos

Theatre

Songwriting

All credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association, unless stated otherwise.
YearSongAlbumLyrics
2013"Lucky" XOXO
2017"Ko Ko Bop"The War

Ambassadorship

Awards and nominations

YearAwardsCategoryNominated workResult
20164th YinYueTai V-Chart AwardsMost Popular Singer rowspan="2"
20161st Asia Artist AwardsPopularity Award -
20161st Asia Artist AwardsBest Rookie Award
20168th Melon Music AwardsBest R&B/Soul with Suzy
Dream
20168th Melon Music AwardsSong of the Year with Suzy
Dream
201618th Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Collaboration with Suzy
Dream
201618th Mnet Asian Music AwardsHotelsCombined – Song of the Year with Suzy
Dream
2016SBS Drama AwardsNew Star Award
'
201731st Golden Disc AwardsDigital Bonsang with Suzy
Dream
201731st Golden Disc AwardsAsian Choice Popularity Award with Suzy
Dream
20176th Gaon Chart K-Pop AwardsArtist of the Year – January with Suzy
Dream
201753rd Baeksang Arts AwardsMost Popular Actor '
201719th Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Collaboration with Soyou
Rain
201719th Mnet Asian Music AwardsQoo10 Song of the Year with Soyou
Rain
20182017 Fandom School AwardsIndividual Popularity Awardrowspan="2"
2018BreakTudo AwardsK-pop Male Artist-
20182018 Melon Music AwardsHot Trend Award with Loco
Young
201934th Golden Disc AwardsDisc Bonsang
City Lights
201934th Golden Disc AwardsDisc Daesang
City Lights
201921st Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Male Artist
UN Village
201921st Mnet Asian Music AwardsArtist of the Year
Baekhyun
201929th Seoul Music AwardsPopularity Award
Baekhyun
201929th Seoul Music AwardsHallyu Special Award
Baekhyun
201929th Seoul Music AwardsBonsang Award
Baekhyun
201929th Seoul Music AwardsQQ Music Most Popular K-Pop Artist Award
Baekhyun