KYUHYUN

South Korean singer, stage actor, and television personality Cho Kyuhyun delivers heartfelt, multilingual ballads as a solo artist, but he is best known for his role as a member of K-pop group Super Junior. Starting in the mid-2000s, Kyuhyun and his bandmates were Korean chart kings for a decade, notching seven number one albums in their home country and branching out into Asia and the U.S. The first Super Junior member to go solo, he debuted in 2014 with At Gwanghwamun. Born in northeast Seoul, Kyuhyun discovered his love of music in high school, joining SM Entertainment soon after graduating. He became a member of Super Junior in 2006, later splintering off into subgroups Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-M. Altogether, the Super Junior efforts topped charts in Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S., hitting sales peaks with 2011's Mr. Simple and 2012's Sexy, Free & Single. In the midst of the Super Junior mania, Kyuhyun became the first member to embark on a solo career, recording 2009's "7 Years of Love" and 2010's "Listen to You" and "Hope, a dream that never sleeps." He also joined the first incarnation of his label's supergroup SM the Ballad. Outside of music, he starred in various stage productions -- including Korean versions of The Three Musketeers, Catch Me If You Can, and Singin' in the Rain -- and even found time to graduate from college. In 2014, months after the release of Super Junior's seventh full-length, Kyuhyun issued his first solo EP, At Gwanghwamun. Continuing in his Super Junior-M model, he also recorded a Mandarin version of the hit single. He followed with 2015's Fall, Once Again and 2016's Waiting, Still. Comprised of strictly ballads, the touching collections both topped Korean charts and produced a pair of Top 20 singles. In 2017, Kyuhyun kicked off his year with the release of his chart-topping Japanese debut, One Voice (Avex Trax). That spring, he began his mandatory military service, bidding fans farewell with the single "Goodbye for Now" b/w "The Parting." After completion of his service in 2019, he made a swift return to the music scene, issuing the single "Time with You" and the short EP The Day We Meet Again. In addition to his solo material, Kyuhyun also reunited with Super Junior, just in time for their comeback. ~ Neil Z. Yeung