Taeyong (NCT 127) Profile

• BIOGRAPHY
• NCT
• SUPERM
• SOLO CAREER
• DISCOGRAPHY
• SONGWRITING CREDITS
• FILMOGRAPHY/ VIDEOGRAPHY
• ILLUSTRATION
• FUN FACTS
• OUR FAVORITE PERFORMANCE

BIOGRAPHY

Taeyong (Korean: 이태용) was born on July 1, 1995 in Seoul, South Korea. He has an older sister. At the age of 17, he was approached on the street and asked to take part in an audition for SM Entertainment. Taeyong passed the audition and trained for his debut for four years. During this time, Taeyong has already modeled for various magazines, appeared in music videos and even had a rap part in the song “Be Natural” by Red Velvet in 2014.

Taeyong graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul.

In 2013, SM Entertainment launched the pre-debut team “SM Rookies”. The team has its own social media channels and publishes performances and song covers. Taeyong was one of the very first members of SM Rookies, along with other future members of NCT and the future members of Red Velvet.

On April 9, 2016, Taeyeong debuted in the first-ever NCT unit “NCT U” with the song “The 7th Sense”. The line-up for the song consisted of Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun and Mark.

NCT

NCT is the largest K-pop group in the world with 26 members! It consists of six different units: NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, NCT DoJaeJung, and NCT Wish. Originally the line-up of the units was supposed to change depending on the concept, but now each unit has a fixed line-up. The only exception is NCT U.

Every few years the units get together to record an album with all members and give concerts together. The concept is unusual, but it works. Over the years, NCT has broken countless records and redefined the K-pop genre. The list of achievements is almost endless, so we have picked out the most interesting facts and milestones for you:

• NCT 127 debuted in 2016 with seven members: Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, Winwin, Mark and Haechan. By 2018, Doyoung, Johnny and Jungwoo were added.
• “NCT 2018 Empathy” is the first NCT album with the entire group. (18 members at the time) It was certified platinum.
• All NCT units together will have sold over 40 million albums by 2024; more than any other SM Entertainment artist.
• The final unit NCT WISH debuted in February 2024, eight years after NCT U.
• With 4.2 million copies sold “ISTJ” by NCT Dream is NCT's best-selling album. The best-selling album by NCT 127 is “Sticker”.

You can find out more about the history of NCT here!

Taeyeong is one of the most prominent members of NCT and has debuted four times to date! In 2016 he not only took the stage as a member of NCT U, but also made his debut on July 6th as the leader of the NCT 127 unit Album “NCT #127” including the title song “Fire Truck”. In 2019 he was introduced as a member of the new supergroup “SuperM” and in 2023 Taeyong debuted solo.

SUPERM

On October 4, 2019, the new boy group SuperM debuted with the mini album “SuperM” and the title song “Jopping”. SuperM is a supergroup that brings together all of SM Entertainment's boy bands that existed at the time. The members include Taemin (SHINee), Baekhyun & Kai (EXO), Taeyong & Mark (NCT 127) and Ten & Lucas (WayV). The group only released a few songs, but they were very successful:

• The debut album “SuperM” was the first debut work by an Asian artist to top the US Billboard 200 chart.
• The title track “Jopping” reached number 1 on the US World Digital Songs Billboard Chart.
• SuperM was the first group from SM Entertainment to hold a live online concert. The concert entitled “Beyond the Future” took place in April 2020.
• The second album “Super One” was released in September 2020 and topped the Billboard World Albums Chart.

You can find out more about SuperM here!

SOLO CAREER

Taeyong is the first member of NCT to debut solo. The charismatic rapper presented on June 5, 2023 his first own album “Shalala”. Taeyong co-wrote every single one of the seven tracks on the album, once again showcasing his talent as a songwriter. The album sold 500 thousand copies and peaked at number 2 on South Korea's Circle Album Chart.

Taeyong celebrated his first comeback on February 26, 2024 with the Mini Album “Tap”, which contains six self-written songs. It topped the iTUnes Top Album charts in 33 different regions around the world.

Before his solo debut, Taeyong also opened a SoundCloud account and published self-written songs like “Dark Clouds” and “Monroe (feat EXO’s Baekhyun)” there.

Taeyong was also on the jury of the dance show “Street Woman Fighter” and gave his first solo concert “TY Track” in 2024.

DISCOGRAPHY

YEAR	SONG
2017	"Around" (ft. Hitchhiker) - SM Station Season 2
2017	"Cure" (ft. Yoo Young-jin) - SM Station Season 2
2017	"Stay in my Life" (ft. Taeil & Doyoung (NCT)) - School 2017 OST Part 4
2019	"Long Flight" - SM Station Season 3
2019	"Love del Luna" (ft. Punch) - Hotel Del Luna OST Part 13
2022	"Love Theory" (ft. Wonstein) - SM Station Season 4
2023	“Shalala” (Mini Album)
2023	"Swipe" (ft. Ten (NCT)) - Street Woman Fighter 2 OST Part 2
2024	“Tap” (Mini Album)

SONGWRITING CREDITS

Taeyeong has written more than 70 songs since his debut in 2016 and co-composed over 30 of them. This of course includes his solo songs, but also songs from NCT as a whole group, NCT U, NCT 127 and SuperM. But Taeyong didn't write songs for his own groups, but also for other artists such as U-Know (TVXQ), Marteen, Suran and Kangta (H.O.T).

FILMOGRAPHY/ VIDEOGRAPHY

Taeyeong appeared in music videos before his debut and later also took part in various shows.

YEAR	TITLE	ROLE
2014	"Be Natural" (ft. Taeyong) - Red Velvet (Music Video)	-
2018	Food Diary (Reality Show)	Regular Member
2021	Street Woman Fighter (Dance Survival Show)	Jury
2022	Any Body Can Dance (Dance Reality Show)	Moderator

ILLUSTRATION

Taeyong is known not only for his talent as a singer, rapper and dancer, but also for his good looks. With his narrow eyes and his pronounced jawline, he is well received by fans. It's no wonder that Taeyong has already taken on several magazine covers. In September 2024, for example, he graced the cover of ELLE and in 2024 he was photographed for the February issue of ARENA HOMME and the June issue of SINGLES, among others.

FUN FACTS

• If Taeyong wasn't an idol, he would like to be a firefighter.
• Taeyong had a dog named Ruby, who unfortunately passed away in 2020. On his solo debut album “Shalala” there is even a song called “Ruby”.
• He has mysophobia. (Fear of contamination and germs.)
• Taeyong has many nicknames. Among others “TY” and “T-Yong”.
• He can cook very well.
• Taeyong has several tattoos, including those of his former dog Ruby. Also the words “UNDER” and “STAND” and a compass with only north and south marked. The “N” stands for NCT and “S” for SuperM.
• His favorite color is pink.

OUR FAVORITE PERFORMANCE

Taeyong is best known for his charismatic rap, but his fans know he has much more to offer. He is very warm-hearted and has a beautiful voice that is also suitable for emotional ballads. Thanks to all his activities, he was able to show what he was made of. But that wasn't all. Taeyong will definitely be on stage for a long time and will be able to show new sides of himself in the future.

MORE NCT 127 PROFILES

• MARK

Sources: Social media channels of NCT, SuperM & Taeyong, SM Town, Youtube, Billboard, Hanteo, kmca, Circle Chart