Native name 김종인 Other names Kai Genres K-pop Years active 2012–present | Full Name Kim Jong-in Occupation Singer
Actor Instruments Vocals Height 1.82 m | |
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Born January 14, 1994 (age 23) ( 1994-01-14 ) Suncheon, South Jeolla, South Korea Music groups EXO (Since 2011), EXO-K (Since 2012) Albums XOXO, Ex'Act, Exodus, 2011 Winter SMTown, Exology Chapter 1: The Lost | ||
Kim Jong-in (born (1994-01-14)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.
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Early life
Kai was born on January 14, 1994, 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 while in the third grade. 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.
2011–15: Career beginnings
Kai was the first EXO member to be formally introduced to the public on December 23, 2011. 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. 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. 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.
In August 2014, Kai was featured in the song "Pretty Boy" from SHINee member Taemin's debut album.
2016–present: Acting career
In January 2016, he made his official acting debut as the male lead in the web drama Choco Bank, which achieved record-breaking viewership. In December 2016, he starred in two episodes of the special web drama First Seven Kisses which was produced by Lotte Duty Free.
In January 2017, Kai was announced to be starring as the male lead in the upcoming KBS drama Andante, playing a high school student.
On February 28, it was announced that Kai will be starring in a Japanese drama Spring Has Come based on the original 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.
Personal life
On April 1, 2016, Kai was confirmed to be in a relationship with Krystal, a member of labelmate girl group f(x).
Songs
MonsterEx'Act · 2016
GrowlXOXO · 2013
CALL ME BABYExodus · 2015