Kim Taehyung

Background

Kim Taehyung was born on December 30, 1995, in Daegu, South Korea. He is the son of two farmers and has a younger sister named Kim Eun Jun and a younger brother named Kim Jeon Gyu. Taehyung’s desire to pursue singing began in elementary school, and his father encouraged him and insisted that he take saxophone lessons in his early middle school years. Later, Taehyung auditioned for Big Hit Entertainment and was accepted as a trainee. He was the band’s “hidden member” before making his debut with BTS because the agency wanted to keep him a secret.

In 2013, Taehyung made his debut as a member of BTS on the music program “M Countdown” with the track ‘No More Dream’ from their debut single album, “2 Cool 4 Skool.” In 2015, he was first credited for music composition with the band’s third E.P., “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1,” when he co-wrote and co-produced the song ‘Hold Me Tight,’ as well as contributed to writing lyrics for the song ‘Fun Boyz,’ co-composed by bandmate Suga. That same year, he created the melody for the song ‘Run,’ from the band’s fourth E.P., “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2.” In 2016, the band’s second studio album, titled “Wings,” featured a song called ‘Stigma,’ which Taehyung helped to write and compose. That same year, he saw an opportunity and decided to embark on a solo career while still being a part of the boy group. He first released two covers unofficially, ‘Hug Me,’ with bandmate J-Hope, and Adele’s ‘Someone Like You.’ He then collaborated with bandmate Jin on a duet titled ‘It’s Definitely You,’ which appeared on the soundtrack of the historical drama “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth,” where Taehyung made his acting debut. He also released a single titled ‘4 O’Clock,’ co-produced with bandmate RM, to celebrate B.T.S.’s fourth anniversary.

In 2018, Taehyung released his second solo single, titled ‘Singularity,’ which was well received. However, both singles were related to BTS, making his first complete solo track a single titled ‘Scenery,’ released through SoundCloud in 2019. He then collaborated with Swedish singer Zara Larsson on a song called ‘A Brand New Day,’ with bandmate J-Hope for the soundtrack album of their mobile game, “BTS World.” He released his second solo single and first full English song, titled ‘Winter Bear,’ in August of the same year. In 2020, he produced, wrote, and sang a song titled ‘Sweet Night’ for the soundtrack of the drama “Itaewon Class” and released a solo track titled ‘Snow Flower’ featuring Peakboy. In 2021, Taehyung contributed the song ‘Christmas Tree’ to the original soundtrack for the drama “Our Beloved Summer,” which debuted at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him his first solo entry on the chart.

On June 14, 2022, BTS announced that they would be going on a hiatus in order to pursue solo careers for a while. In 2023, he made his official debut as a solo artist with the release of his debut solo album “Layover” on September 8, which featured the singles ‘Love Me Again,’ ‘Rainy Days,’ and ‘Slow Dancing.’

BTS is the most awarded K-pop group of all time and has received over 700 nominations and over 500 wins, including Grammy nominations, Billboard Music wins, and much more. Additionally, Taehyung has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including the 2022 APAN Star Awards “Best OST” for ‘Christmas Tree,’ and the 2023 Seoul Music Awards “Fan Choice of the Year.”

In terms of his personal life, rumors of him dating BLACKPINK’s Jennie first started in 2021 when he followed — and quickly unfollowed — her on Instagram. He took to WEVERSE to deny the dating rumors. However, the rumor mill once again began working in May and August 2022 when he was reportedly caught driving around Jeju Island with someone who closely resembled her, and when alleged photos of them together were leaked from her phone. Again in May 2023, they were allegedly spotted taking a stroll in Paris. However, neither parties nor their agencies confirmed (or denied) that they are in a relationship.