I. Get To Know Taeyong
Taeyong (태용) is a K-pop rapper, singer, dancer, and songwriter, born in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul on July 1, 1995.
He is the center, visual, main rapper, main dancer, and leader of NCT and NCT 127. He is also part of NCT U. In 2019, he debuted in the K-pop supergroup SuperM.
II. Taeyong’s Journey
At the age of 18, Taeyong was scouted on the street by an SM Entertainment recruiter and joined the company after successfully passing the audition by singing the national anthem. He was introduced as a member of SM Rookies, a pre-debut idol training team, on December 2, 2013.
Upon debut, he was assigned the roles of main rapper and main dancer, despite having no background in dance prior to his training. In 2014, a video of Taeyong performing a fragment of his song "Open the Door" was published on SMTown's YouTube channel.
Before his debut, in 2014, he was featured in Red Velvet's single "Be Natural".
III. Taeyong’s NCT Debut
In April 2016, TAEYONG officially debuted as a member of NCT, in the unit NCT U, with the single "The 7th Sense".
In July, he was announced to be a member of the 2nd unit, NCT 127.
IV. NCT History
- Made his debut on April 9, 2016, with the sub-unit NCT U with their first digital single, "The 7th Sense".
- Made his debut on July 10, 2016, with the sub-unit NCT 127 with their first mini-album, NCT #127.
- Participated in the project unit NCT 2018 on March 14, 2018, with their first full-scale album, ‘NCT 2018 Empathy’ uniting all the units.
- Participated in the project unit NCT 2020 on October 12, 2020, with the second full album, NCT Resonance Pt. 1.
- Participated in the project unit NCT 2020 on November 23, 2020, with the second full album repackage NCT Resonance Pt. 2.
- Participated in the project unit NCT 2020 on December 4, 2020, with the second full album final single, Resonance.
- Participated in the project unit NCT 2021 on December 14, 2021 with the third full album, NCT Universe
V. First Single & SuperM
In July 2019, Taeyong released his first solo song, "Long Flight", which he had written and co-composed, with an accompanying music video
On August 8, 2019, Taeyong was revealed as a member of SuperM, a K-pop supergroup created by SM Entertainment in collaboration with Capitol Records. The group's promotions began in October and were aimed at the American market.
The group released their first EP, SuperM, for which Taeyong co-wrote the song "No Manners”. The group released their first album in September 2020.
VI. Hosting and Collaborations
In August 2021, Taeyong co-hosted the dance survival show Street Woman Fighter.
In December, he was part of a single, "Zoo" for the SMTOWN Winter 2021 album with NCT Dream's Jeno, WayV's Hendery and YangYang and aespa's Giselle. Taeyong co-choreographed the song with choreographer Bada Lee, which went viral on TikTok after he posted the dance practice.
In March 2022, he launched his own YouTube channel "TY Track," a phrase from his first appearances pre-debut on Red Velvet's "Be Natural."
In April 2022, it was announced he would MC the show Any Body Can Dance, also known in Korean as TikTok's Counter Attack.
VII. Songwriting and Producing
Taeyong has written lyrics for NCT songs since his debut, including some of the group's most well-known songs and title tracks. He also began to write music and produce, with other artists requesting songs from him, like Kangta and Suran. Between his SoundCloud tracks and songs for SM Entertainment, he has written over 50 songs.
VIII. Collaborations & OST
| Collaborations & OST | Year |
|---|---|
| Around (with Hitchhiker) | 2017 |
| Cure (with Yoo Young Jin) | 2017 |
| Love Deluna (with Punch) OST | 2019 |
| City Lights" (夜話) (U-Know featuring Taeyong) | 2018 |
| “Stay in my Life" (with Taeil and Doyoung of NCT) OST | 2017 |
| Rose (with Seulgi from Red Velvet) | 2021 |
| Monroe (with Baekhyun from EXO) | 2021 |
| Zoo (with Jeno from NCT Dream, Hendery and YangYang from WayV, Giselle from aespa) | 2021 |
| Lonely (with Suran) | 2022 |
| Love Theory (with Wonstein) | 2022 |
| Lit (with Mark) | 2022 |
IX. Featuring Artist
| Features | Year |
|---|---|
| Red Velvet “Be Natural” (ft Taeyong) | 2014 |
| “Time" (Hitchhiker featuring Sunny, Hyoyeon from SNSD and Taeyong) | 2018 |
| “Mood" (Marteen featuring Taeyong) | 2019 |
| "Diamonds" (Suran feat. Taeyong of NCT) | 2022 |
| "Skip" (Kangta feat. Taeyong) | 2022 |
X. Songwriting Credits
KOMCA: Searching Works (search 10012932 under Writers & Publishers)
XI. Soundcloud Releases:
| Title | Artist | Credits | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Clouds | Taeyong | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2021 |
| GTA 1 | Taeyong | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2021 |
| GTA 2 | Taeyong | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2021 |
| Blue | Taeyong | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2021 |
| Monroe | Taeyong x Baekhyun | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2021 |
| Rose | Taeyong x Seulgi | Writing (Lyrics) | 2021 |
| Swimming Pool | Taeyong | Writing (Lyrics) | 2021 |
XII. YouTube releases
| Title | Credits | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lonely | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2022 |
| Ghost | Writing (Lyricist, Composer) | 2022 |
| Love Deluna (with Punch) OST | 2019 |
XI. CFs
Taeyong is a popular model for luxury brands and has modeled in special promotions for Celine, Bulgari and Loewe. He appeared at Paris Fashion Week in 2023 for Loewe.
XII. Fun Facts
- He has co-written over 50 songs for NCT.
- His favorite artist is Drake.
- He likes the movie “Howl’s Moving Castle”.
- The song that made him wanna become an artist: Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack”.
- Taeyong stated that the most number of dogs that he raised is 10 dogs. He had a dalmatian dog named Danbi and Danbi had puppies. (NCT Life in Osaka).
- The reason for the mark next to Taeyong’s eye is the Atopy (an eczema-like skin problem).
- Taeyong began co-choreographing songs in September 2021, including the NCT 127 song "Bring the Noize" with Sea Ni and "Zoo" with Bada Lee.
- Taeyong is one of only two members with a public TikTok account and the only member with his own YouTube channel.
- Taeyong is one of five NCT members with visible tattoos. Although he covered them earlier in his career, they have become a distinctive part of his style and appearance and he has continued to add more. He has also often explained the personal meanings behind them.
