Baekhyun is a South Korean pop singer, highly successful solo artist, and member of the boy bands Exo, Exo-CBX, and SuperM. He was born as Byun Baek-hyun on May 6, 1992 in Wonmi-gu, Bucheon. A childhood fan of the South Korean singer Rain, he began training for a career in the arts at 11 years old. He joined Exo's lineup in 2012 and appeared on the band's run of chart-topping releases, with albums like 2013's XOXO, 2015's Exodus, 2017's The War, and 2018's Don't Mess Up My Tempo all climbing to Number 1 not only on the Gaon Album Chart in South Korea, but also the Billboard Global Excl. US Chart in America. While continuing to perform with the group (as well as its successful spinoff, Exo-CBX), he released "Dream," a duet with Miss A's Suzy, in 2016. The song topped the South Korean charts for three weeks and marked his debut as a solo artist, followed by the Number 8 hit "The Day" later that year. Baekhyun had released three additional Top 15 hits by the time his double-platinum debut EP, City Lights, debuted at Number 1 in 2019. That year, he also formed a new group, SuperM, whose lineup featured alumni from various K-pop boy bands. SuperM's self-titled debut EP was released in October 2019 and topped the Billboard 200 in the US, while also cracking the Top 10 in South Korea and Japan. The following year, the group cracked the Top 10 in all three countries once again with the full-length album Super One. Meanwhile, Baekhyun continued releasing successful solo EPs, too, including 2020's Delight (a triple-platinum, Number 1 hit in South Korea), 2021's Baekhyun (a gold-certified number 2 hit in Japan), and 2021's Bambi (a Number 1 smash in Japan, a number 8 success in Japan, and a number 15 hit on Billboard's World charts). In June 2023, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin left SM Entertainment due to payment issues and unfair contracts but later reconciled with the agency. In October 2023, Baekhyun performed as Ezreal in Riot Games' virtual boyband Heartsteel, alongside ØZI, Tobi Lou, and Cal Scruby, releasing their debut song "Paranoia." In January 2024, Baekhyun started his solo activities under his own label, INB100, along with fellow Exo members Xiumin and Chen. EXO activities remain under SM Entertainment's management. In January 2024, INB100 announced a concert tour for Baekhyun named Lonsdaleite, which began on March 16, 2024, in Seoul and traveled throughout Asia. On July 28, 2024, during his encore concert Lonsdaleite[dot], Baekhyun announced his comeback with a new EP, Hello, World, released on September 6, 2024. On May 19, 2025, Baekhyun dropped his fifth mini album, Essence of Reverie. The track “Chocolate” was pre-released on May 15.
