BM

Background

Matthew Kim, a rapper best known by his stage name BM, was born on October 20, 1992. He was raised in Southern California with his two younger siblings after being born there to Korean parents. His parents had a dancewear manufacturing company, and his mother designed clothes. Dancing and rapping were just pastimes. To become a counselor, he majored in psychology at California State Polytechnic University. His mother witnessed his choreography abilities at the “World of Dance” competition. She registered him for the Los Angeles version of the reality competition series “Kpop Star.” BM was hesitant because his Korean wasn’t very good. He passed the audition somehow.

He moved to Korea in 2011 and on the first season of the S.B.S. show; he was in the top 50 contestants. BM forgot the lyrics to songs, struggling with the language. Female K-pop idol BoA saved him three times before he was eventually eliminated. Fortunately, D.S.P. Media found him and spent four and a half years training him to become a K-pop idol. He had an appearance on the song “La La La” from Goo Hara’s debut E.P., “Alohara (Can You Feel It?),” which was released in 2015. BM also danced with her in the music video and live performances for the album’s first track, “Chocolate Chip Cookies.” He was chosen to be a member of the four-person, co-ed KARD group, which had a card game concept. The name stood for King, Ace, JokeR, and HiDen. The “King,” a powerful and trustworthy character who provides a strong foundation for their squad, was BM’s card.

The group released “Oh NaNa,” their pre-debut song, on December 13, 2016, “Don’t Recall,” on February 16, 2017, and “Rumor,” on April 24, 2017. They made their official debut on July 19, 2017, with the “Hola Hola” mini-album. BM has been busy with individual endeavors besides KARD. He posted “Better Myself,” a self-penned song, on SoundCloud in November 2018. He also appeared on the album’s first song, “I’m On My Wave,” by Zsun. As a guest on the JTBC variety show “Shall We Trek Together,” he took part in the Camino de Santiago walk. In May 2019, he appeared on the cover of “Men’s Health Korea.” On June 13, he also began acting in the S.B.S. television program “Law of the Jungle.”