Kai (entertainer, born 1994)

Kai at a fansigning event, August 2013

Kai was the first Exo member to be formally introduced to the public on December 23, 2011.[8] He made his first televised performance alongside fellow EXO members Luhan, Chen and Tao as well as other SM Entertainment artists at the year-end music program SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 29, 2011.[9] 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 SM Entertainment and Hyundai.[10] Later in December 2012, he joined the dance group SM The Performance, along with fellow member Lay, TVXQ's Yunho, Super Junior's Eunhyuk and Donghae, Shinee's Minho and Taemin.[11] 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.[12] In August 2014, Kai was featured in the song "Pretty Boy" from Shinee member Taemin's debut album.[13]

Kai at the Lotte Family Concert in Seoul, June 2018

In January 2016, he made his official acting debut as the male lead in the web drama Choco Bank,[14][15] which achieved record-breaking viewership.[16] In December 2016, he starred in two episodes of the special web drama 7 First Kisses which was produced by Lotte Duty Free.[17]

In January 2017, Kai was announced to be starring as the male lead in the KBS teen drama Andante, playing a high school student.[18][19] In February 2017, he was cast in the Japanese drama Spring Has Come, based on the Japanese novel of the same name.[20] The drama marks the first time a non-Japanese actor taking a lead role on a drama produced by the broadcasting station Wowow.[21]

In December 2017, Kai was chosen as the cover model for December's issue of The Big Issue, a magazine known for helping the homeless. The magazine sold out 20,000 copies within the first two days, and until now, 80,000 copies have been sold, which records the highest number of copies sold since the magazine's start in July 2010.[22] In 2018, Kai was cast in KBS' melodrama The Miracle We Met.[23]

On August 7, 2019, Kai was confirmed to be a member of SuperM, a "K-pop supergroup" created by SM Entertainment in collaboration with Capitol Records. The group's promotions are scheduled to begin in October and are aimed at the American market.[24][25] Kai has been selected as the first Gucci Eyewear Men Global Ambassador in Korea.[26] SuperM debuted with the group’s self-titled debut EP on October 4, 2019.[27]

On July 3, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that Kai's first solo album was currently under production with the goal of being released in the second half of 2020.[28] On October 12, he was announced to have become the first ever male muse of the cosmetics brand Bobbi Brown.[29] On November 1, Kai appeared in the online showcase "TUCSON Beyond Drive", a collaboration between Hyundai Motors and SM Entertainment, where he presented a music performance titled "Follow Your Hidden Light" that combines K-pop and AR technology.[30]

On November 30, Kai released his debut extended play Kai (开) and its lead single "Mmmh", becoming the fifth Exo member to have debuted as a solo singer.[31]