Minho

As the K-pop scene developed from a popular Asian youth craze into a global phenomenon, boyband Shinee were major stars who topped the South Korean charts, influenced fashion trends and built a legion of devoted fans. Their main rapper and vocalist Minho was born Choi Min-ho in the north-western city of Incheon, joining the SM Entertainment company through their casting system in 2006 where he started out as a model. The son of former professional footballer-turned coach Choi Yun-kyum, Minho was selected to be a member of Shinee in 2008 and quickly became a heartthrob to a nation of teenage girls as the group scored hit singles with 'Hello', 'Sherlock', 'Everybody' and 'Dream Girl', with albums 'Lucifer', 'The Misconceptions Series' and '1 of 1' all topping the South Korean charts.

Minho also found success as an actor with lead roles in movies 'Canola' (2016), 'The Princess and the Matchmaker' (2018) and 'Illang: The Wolf Brigade' (2018), but his world changed when Shinee bandmate Jonghyun died in 2017. The remaining four continued with a tour of Japan and returned with three-part album 'The Story of Light', but the band was put on hold in 2019 as Minho released his first solo single 'I'm Home' and began his mandatory military service by joining the South Korean Marine Corps.