Kai (entertainer, born 1994)

Kai

Kai in November 2016
Native name 김종인
Born Kim Jong-in
(1994-01-14) January 14, 1994
Suncheon, South Jeolla, South Korea
Other names Kai
Occupation
Musical career
Genres K-pop
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2012–present
Labels S.M. Entertainment
Associated acts
Korean name
Hangul 김종인
Hanja 金鍾仁
Revised Romanization Gim Jong-in
McCune–Reischauer Kim Chong-in
Stage name
Hangul 카이
Revised Romanization Kai
McCune–Reischauer K'ai

Kim Jong-in (born January 14, 1994), better known as Kai, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO and its sub unit EXO-K.

Early life

Kai was born on January 14, 1994,[1] in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. He began dancing when he was eight years old. He originally did jazz dance, but after watching The Nutcracker he began to train in ballet[2] while in the third grade.[3] He stated that his parents initially wanted him to learn Taekwondo and the piano. He began training in hip-hop after joining S.M. Entertainment.

Kai graduated from School of Performing Arts Seoul in February 2012.

In 2014, during EXO 90:2014 show, Kai stated that he wanted to become a singer after watching Shinhwa.[4]

Career

2011–15: Career beginnings

Kai was the first EXO member to be formally introduced to the public on December 23, 2011.[5] He made first televised performance alongside fellow EXO members Luhan, Chen and Tao as well as other S.M. Entertainment artists at the year-end music program SBS Gayo Daejeon 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, Henry, Hyoyeon, Taemin and Luhan. The group released a single titled "Maxstep" as part of the collaboration between S.M. Entertainment and Hyundai.[6] Later in December 2012, he joined the dance group S.M. The Performance, along with fellow member Lay, TVXQ's Yunho, Super Junior's Eunhyuk and Donghae, SHINee's Minho and Taemin.[7] The group first made its appearance at the event SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 29, and performed their single "Spectrum". The single was officially released the next day.[8]

In August 2014, Kai was featured in the song "Pretty Boy" from SHINee member Taemin's debut album.[9]

2016–present: Acting career

In January 2016, he made his official acting debut as the male lead in the web drama Choco Bank,[10] which achieved record-breaking viewership.[11] In December 2016, he starred in two episodes of the special web drama First Seven Kisses which was produced by Lotte Duty Free.[12]

In January 2017, Kai was announced to be starring as the male lead in the upcoming KBS drama Andante, playing a high school student.[13] In February 2017, he was cast in the upcoming 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.[14]

Personal life

On April 1, 2016, Kai was confirmed to be in a relationship with Krystal, a member of labelmate girl group f(x).[15] On June 1, 2017, SM Entertainment confirmed that the couple had broken up.[16]

Discography

Songs

Title Year Peak charts
positions		 Sales
(DL)		 Album
KOR
Gaon
[17]		 US
World
[18]
As lead artist
"Deep Breath" 2014 — — Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet
Collaborations
"Maxstep"
(as part of Younique Unit)		 2012 228 — N/A PYL Younique Volume 1
As featured artist
"Pretty Boy"
(Taemin featuring Kai)		 2014 33 15 Ace
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Filmography

Dramas

Title Year Role Network Notes
To the Beautiful You 2012 Himself SBS Cameo
Exo Next Door 2015 Himself Naver TV Cast Recurring; Fictional version of himself
Choco Bank 2016 Kim Eun-haeng Web drama; lead role
First Seven Kisses Kai Main role; ep. 4 and 5
Andante 2017 Lee Shi-kyung KBS2 Lead role
Spring Has Come TBA Lee Ji-won WOWOW Lead role; Japanese drama

Music videos

Title Year Ref.
"Maxstep" (as part of Younique Unit) 2012 [21]
Guest appearances
"In Summer" (remake; Deux) 2014 [22]

References

  1. ↑ Hwang Hyo-jin (1 May 2012). "EXO-K: My name is 카이, 세훈" [EXO-K: My name is Kai, Sehun]. TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  2. ↑ deedeegii. "EXO's Kai Transforms into a Ballerino for The Celebrity". Soompi. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  3. ↑ "Kai discusses his friend in HOTSHOT and learning ballet". allkpop. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  4. ↑ "EXO's Kai proves to be a fan boy of Shinhwa + S.M.ROOKIES perform Shinhwa's 'Wild Eyes'". allkpop. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  5. ↑ "SM unveils first member, Kai, of mysterious rookie group". Newsen (in Korean). 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
  6. ↑ "SM Entertainment's dance unit 'Younique' releases "MAXSTEP" MV". allkpop. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  7. ↑ "Group SM The Performance". Jpopasia. 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  8. ↑ "DANCE UNIT SM ENTERTAINMENT 'SM THE PERFORMANCE' MERILIS "SPECTRUM"". Wordpress. 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  9. ↑ "Taemin reveals track list for solo debut album 'Ace'". 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  10. ↑ crystalcove. "EXO's Kai Makes Official Acting Debut With Lead Role in Web Drama". Soompi. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  11. ↑ "EXO Kai and Park Eun Bin's web drama 'Choco Bank' achieves record-breaking views". allkpop. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  12. ↑ "[단독]이종석·이준기·지창욱·박해진 뭉쳤다…'첫키스만 여섯번째' 출연". Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  13. ↑ "엑소 카이, KBS '안단테' 남주 발탁..본격 '연기돌' 도전". Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  14. ↑ "엑소 카이, 일본드라마 '봄이 왔다'로 첫 주연…넓혀가는 연기돌 행보" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  15. ↑ Bahk Eun-ji (April 1, 2016). "Romance blooms for EXO's Kai, f(x)'s Krystal". The Korea Times. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  16. ↑ "EXO's Kai and f(x)'s Krystal end one-year relationship". Yonhap News.
  17. ↑ Peak positions on Gaon Digital Chart:
  18. ↑ "World Digital Songs : Page 1". Billboard.
  19. ↑ 2015년 01주차 Download Chart [1st Week of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  20. ↑ "2014년 35주차 Download Chart (see #29)". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  21. ↑ SMTOWN (2012-10-30), YOUNIQUE UNIT_MAXSTEP_Music Video, retrieved 2017-04-22
  22. ↑ Mnet K-POP (2014-10-31), Mnet [EXO 902014] 엑소 카이가 재해석한 '듀스-여름안에서' 뮤비/EXO KAI's 'In Summer' M/V Remake, retrieved 2017-04-22
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