Byun Baek-hyun (born May 6, 1992), better known by the mononym Baekhyun, 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.
Baekhyun was born on May 6, 1992 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. He has a brother named Byun 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 black belt in Hapkido.
Baekhyun was spotted by an S.M. Entertainment agent while he was studying for the entrance exams to the Seoul Institute of the Arts. He later joined S.M. Entertainment in 2011 through the S.M. Casting System. Along with fellow Exo members Chanyeol and Suho, Baekhyun attended Kyung Hee Cyber University and took online classes for Culture and Arts Department of Business Administration.
Baekhyun was officially revealed to be the group’s ninth member on January 30, 2012.[8] The group official debuted on April 8, 2012.
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 by SM C&C of the musical Singin’ in the Rain.
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 November 2015, Baekhyun was confirmed to be playing a supporting role in SBS’s periodical television drama series Scarlet Heart: Ryeo, a South Korean adaptation of the 2011 Chinese television series Scarlet Heart, alongside Lee Joon-gi, Kang Ha-neul, IU and label-mate Seohyun. Filming for the series began 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’s year-end music program Gayo Daejeon. The studio recording of his rendition was later released digitally.
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 S.M. Entertainment’s music project Station. In August, 2016, it was announced that Baekhyun will be singing the ending theme song of Scarlet Heart: Ryeo, titled “For You”, with his fellow group mates Chen and Xiumin. The song was released on August 24.
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