Kim Jong-hyun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kim Jong-hyun
Jonghyun at SM Town Live in July 2017
Born	(1990-04-08)April 8, 1990 Seoul, South Korea
Died	December 18, 2017(2017-12-18) (aged 27) Seoul, South Korea
Occupation	Singer songwriter radio host author
Musical career
Genres	K-pop R&B
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2008–2017
Labels	SM
Korean name
Hangul	김종현
Hanja	金鐘鉉
Revised Romanization	Gim Jong-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Chonghyŏn
Signature

Kim Jong-hyun (born April 8, 1990 – died December 18, 2017), known simply as Jonghyun, was a talented singer, songwriter, and radio host from South Korea. He was a main singer in the popular K-pop boy band Shinee for nine years. With Shinee, he released many albums in both Korean and Japanese. He also joined another music group called SM the Ballad, releasing two mini-albums with them.

Jonghyun also had a very successful solo career, starting in January 2015. His first mini-album, Base, quickly reached number one on the Billboard World Albums Chart. It also topped the Gaon Album Chart in South Korea. He released a collection of songs called Story Op.1 in September 2015.

His first full studio album, She Is, came out in May 2016. He then released another collection, Story Op.2, in April 2017. Jonghyun started his first solo concert tour, "The Story by Jonghyun," in October 2015. He was known as one of the best singers in South Korea. People also praised him for being very involved in creating his own music.

Jonghyun continued to make music with Shinee and as a solo artist. His last album, Poet | Artist, came out after he passed away in January 2018. Before its release, it was announced that all money from the album would go to his mother. This money was used to start a charity foundation. In September 2018, the Shiny Foundation was created by Jonghyun's family to help young artists who are struggling.

Early Life and Education

Jonghyun was born in Seoul, South Korea. When he was in middle school, he joined a school band. He went to Seoul Practical Music High School but left in 10th grade to focus on his music career.

Later, he attended Chungwoon University. He then moved to Myongji University, where he earned a master's degree in film and musical studies.

Career Highlights

Early Career: 2005–2014

In 2005, when Jonghyun was 15, SM Entertainment discovered him. This happened after he performed at a song festival with his band at school. Jonghyun officially started his career as part of the five-member boy group Shinee on May 25, 2008. Their first performance was on SBS' Inkigayo.

In 2009, Jonghyun began writing lyrics for Shinee's songs. He wrote the words for their fourth Korean single, "Juliette." This song was part of the group's second mini-album, Romeo. Jonghyun shared that he was inspired by the 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet. He wanted to write a love story that would interest everyone and be relatable.

In October 2010, Jonghyun was one of twenty K-pop idols who recorded the song "Let's Go." This song helped promote the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. He sang along with other famous artists like Sungmin from Super Junior and Seohyun from Girls' Generation. In November 2010, Jonghyun joined SM the Ballad. This was a special group created by SM Entertainment to focus on slow, emotional songs. The group released their first mini-album, Miss You, in November 2010.

In June 2011, Jonghyun appeared on KBS' Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend. This TV show is a competition where singers perform new versions of old songs. Jonghyun won the first round but had to leave the show because he was very busy.

In October 2013, Jonghyun started composing music. He created the song "A Gloomy Clock" for IU's album, Modern Times. Jonghyun gave the song to IU as a friend. He also helped write the lyrics, and they sang it together as a duet. Two months later, Son Dam-bi released "Red Candle," which Jonghyun also composed and wrote.

In February 2014, Jonghyun became a radio host for the MBC radio show Blue Night [ko]. MBC chose him because of his strong passion for music. After a break, SM the Ballad returned in February 2014 with new members. They released their second mini-album, Breath. Jonghyun sang the main song "Breath" with Taeyeon from Girls' Generation. In August 2014, Jonghyun wrote the song "Pretty Boy" for his Shinee bandmate Taemin's first mini-album, Ace.

Solo Success: 2015–2016

Jonghyun performing at the showcase for his debut album, Base, in January 2015.

On January 12, 2015, Jonghyun officially started his solo career with his first mini-album, Base. The main song was "Crazy (Guilty Pleasure)," which Jonghyun wrote the lyrics for. Another song, "Déjà-Boo," became a second main track because it was very popular. "Déjà-Boo" was co-composed by Zion.T. Jonghyun's first solo album was praised by critics. People noticed how much he was involved in creating the album. He also worked with artists from outside his company, like Younha and Wheesung. The album reached number one on both the Billboard World Albums Chart and the Gaon Album Chart.

In March 2015, Jonghyun composed and wrote "Playboy" for the group Exo. A month later, he also composed and wrote "No More" for Lim Kim's mini-album. He also helped direct the vocals for these songs. In October of that year, Jonghyun appeared on a TV show called Monthly Live Connection. This show brought together two artists to create one song. Jonghyun released the song "Elevator" as part of this show. He also worked with other musicians to create more singles.

Jonghyun at 2016 Korean Popular Culture And Arts Awards

Jonghyun released a new collection of songs from his radio show, MBC Blue Night. This album, Story Op.1, came out on September 17, 2015. The next month, he held his first solo concert series, "The Story by Jonghyun." He performed 12 sold-out shows. Each concert featured a different guest artist, including other Shinee members and famous singers.

Jonghyun also published a book in September called Skeleton Flower: Things That Have Been Released and Set Free. This book shared his experiences and inspirations for songwriting. In October 2015, a survey of 40 music industry experts named Jonghyun one of the top five K-pop idol singers.

Jonghyun composed and wrote "Already" for Taemin's first studio album, Press It, in February 2016. He also wrote "Breathe" for Lee Hi's album Seoulite in March 2016. On March 18, 2016, Jonghyun released a song called "Your Voice" with the group Heritage. This was part of SM Entertainment's SM Station project.

On May 24, 2016, SM Entertainment released Jonghyun's first studio album, She Is. It had nine songs, and Jonghyun wrote and composed most of them. The album included different music styles like electronic and R&B. Jonghyun said that She Is showed his passion as a singer-songwriter the most.

Later Works: 2017–2018

On March 9, 2017, MBC announced that Jonghyun would leave his job as a radio host for Blue Night. He made this decision after talking with the show's staff. He needed to focus on Shinee's tours in Japan and North America. In an interview, he said that hosting the radio show was a big turning point in his life. It helped him explore new things and connect with people. He also liked the regular schedule of the midnight radio show, which brought stability to his busy life.

He released his second collection album, Story Op.2, on April 24, 2017. Jonghyun held 20 concerts called "The Agit (The Letter)" between May and July 2017 in Seoul. They originally planned only 12 concerts, but Jonghyun added eight more because fans wanted to see more performances. These concerts featured songs from Story Op.2 and attracted 14,000 fans.

On December 9–10, 2017, Jonghyun held a concert called "Inspired" in Seoul. Around the same time, he was also working on a new album. This album was planned to be released in January 2018, and he had already finished filming the music video for the main song. The album, Poet | Artist, was released after he passed away on January 23, 2018. All the money from the album sales was given to Jonghyun's mother. It also helped start a foundation to help artists who are facing difficulties. Poet | Artist reached number 177 on the Billboard 200 chart. This made Jonghyun the fourth Korean solo artist to appear on that chart.

Personal Life

In April 2013, Jonghyun was in a car accident and hurt his nose. SM Entertainment said he had surgery after the accident. He missed most of Shinee's activities for their third album, but he joined them for the last week of promotions.

Legacy and Influence

Jonghyun was one of the first artists at SM Entertainment to be very involved in writing, organizing, and composing his own albums. This company was known for usually limiting how much control artists had over their music. Kim Da-hee from The Korea Times named Jonghyun as one of four K-pop musicians who stood out from other idol singers. She praised his "exceptional talent in songwriting, producing and dancing."

Jonghyun's musical style was seen as very unique. He received a lot of praise for writing and composing most of his solo songs. Insight Korea listed him as one of seven idol group members who seemed to be "born to make music."

Discography

• She Is (2016)
• Poet | Artist (2018)

Filmography

Film

Radio

Concerts

Headlining

• The Story by Jonghyun (2015)
• Jonghyun – X – Inspiration (2016)
• The Agit (The Letter) (2017)
• Inspired (2017)

Achievements

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

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  Fans mourn at Asan Medical Center Funeral Hall, December 20, 2017

See also

In Spanish: Kim Jong-hyun para niños