Chani is a South Korean entertainer who began his professional career as a child actor before joining the K-pop boy band SF9 in 2016. Born in Daejeon on January 17, 2000, Kang Chan-hee landed his first TV role in 2009, appearing in the MBC series Queen Seondeok at nine years old. His career flourished with appearances in television dramas like The Queen's Classroom and The Innocent Man, the latter of which won five KBS Drama Awards in 2012. Still using his birth name, he starred in his first movie, the South Korean box office hit Familyhood, in 2016. Later that year, he adopted his stage name and launched a parallel music career as a member of SF9. The group's debut release, Feeling Sensation, peaked at Number 6 on South Korea's Gaon Album chart, while singles like "Fanfare," "Mamma Mia," and "RPM" became Top 10 hits in Japan, as well. SF9 released eight EPs between 2017 and 2020, all of which cracked the Top 5 in South Korea. While serving as of the group's rappers and dancers, Chani continued to work as an actor, too, appearing in SKY Castle — the second highest-rated TV drama in Korean history — throughout 2018 and 2019. He also starred in the cable series True Beauty. Following the December 2020 release of Golden Echo, SF9's third album aimed at the Japanese market, he made his solo debut with "Starlight," a song featured on True Beauty's soundtrack.
