Actor and singer Lee Tae-min hails from South Korea. He is better known by his stage name Taemin and has found success both as a solo artist and as a member of the K-pop group Shinee. Taemin, who was raised in Seoul, initially desired to become a pilot. That changed, though, when he developed a passion for dancing. He was greatly influenced by Michael Jackson, and with the help of his parents, he was able to successfully audition for the 2005 SM Open Weekend Casting. He made his Shinee debut at the age of 14 in 2008. The trio went on to create 11 studio albums, 10 video albums, 5 extended plays, 4 live albums, and 1 compilation album throughout the subsequent years. With the EP “Ace,” he made his solo debut in 2014, and since then, he has released two studio albums, two more EPs, and two more EPs. He played his debut acting part in the 2009 television series “Tae Hee, Hye Kyo, Ji Hyun.” Three years later, he made his acting debut, providing the voice of Johnny in the animated movie “The Outback.” Taemin has received multiple honors throughout his ten-year career, including the Performance Star Award at the 2017 Busan One Asia Festival.
Early Childhood & Life
Taemin was born in Seoul, South Korea, on July 18, 1993. The details of his family are obscure. Lee Taesun is the name of his elder brother. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, there are rumors that his father is a history teacher.
Taemin’s family was reputedly the least wealthy of all the Shinee members. When he was younger, he did not own an MP3 player and instead used to stroll the streets wearing a pair of headphones with the connector tucked away in his pocket and unplugged.
He had dreams of becoming a pilot when he was a young boy. He later developed a passion for dancing after being inspired by Michael Jackson. His parents encouraged him to participate in the 2005 SM Open Weekend Audition Casting since they were aware of his talents. He did, and as a result, he was chosen.
Taemin first enrolled in Chungdam High School in Seoul, but left because Hanlim Multi Art School was more appropriate for the demanding schedule he had to keep for Shinee’s progress in Japan. He graduated from Hanlim Multi Art School in February 2012. He was unable to attend the graduation ceremony nonetheless because of group obligations. He is currently pursuing a degree in musical and cinema at Myongji University.
Shinee of Lee Tae-min
Shinee, a K-pop group that SM Entertainment created in 2008 with Taemin, Onew, Key, Minho, and Jonghyun, was promoted as a modern R&B boy band. ‘Replay’, an EP, served as their debut release in May 2008. They eventually published their debut studio album, titled “The Shinee World,” in August 2018, after about five months.
‘Romeo’ and ‘2009, Year of Us’ were the group’s two EPs released in 2009. Their second studio album, “Lucifer,” which debuted at number one on the Korean music chart and garnered over 250 thousand sales in Korea and 30 thousand sales in Taiwan, was then released.
The trio started their first concert tour, Shinee World, on December 26, 2010. This ultimately resulted in their performance on January 1, 2011, in the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul.
Shinee then undertook a tour of Japan and participated in Tokyo’s SMTown Live ’10 World Tour Japan stop. The first Asian band to ever perform in front of a crowd was Shinee on June 19, 2011, at London’s Abbey Road Studios.
The trio made its entrance into the Japanese music scene on June 22, 2011, when the Japanese version of “Replay” was released. With over 100,000 copies sold, it was a huge hit. ‘The First’, the group’s debut Japanese album, was made available in December 2011.
The group released their fourth EP, titled “Sherlock,” in March 2012, and their second Japanese album, “Boys Meet U,” in June 2013. Their first album to be distributed by Universal Music Japan was the latter. They also published their first compilation album, “The Misconceptions of Us,” in August 2013, along with their third Korean album, “The Misconception Series,” which was released the same year.
Since then, Shinee has released five additional albums: three Korean albums (‘Odd’ (2015), ‘1 of 1’ (2016), and ‘The Story of Light’ 2018), three Japanese albums (‘I’m Your Boy’ (2014), ‘DxDxD’ (2016), and ‘Five’ (2017), one compilation album (‘Shinee The Best From Now On’ (2018), and one EP (‘Everybody’)). They released four live concert albums between 2012 and 2016.
They have garnered 13 Golden Disk Awards, 11 Seoul Music Awards, and four Melon Music Awards among their collective accolades. Two Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards have been given to the group: the Prime Minister Award in 2016 and the Minister of Culture Award in 2012.
Jonghyun, a bandmate of Taemin, had been struggling with depression for some time. After getting a call from his older sister on December 18, 2017, the police rushed to his apartment and discovered him there unconscious. He was then brought into cardiac arrest at the Konkuk University Hospital.
Despite receiving CPR right away, he was pronounced dead after losing consciousness once more. Later, investigators concluded that he may have committed suicide but actually died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Shinee, one of the greatest vocal groups in K-pop history, has carried on even after Jonghyun’s passing. Taemin and the others opted to perform as planned after initially postponing a series of concerts that were slated to take place in Japan in February 2018.
Single Career of Lee Tae-min
Taemin launched his solo career in August 2014 with the release of “Ace,” an extended play with six tracks. It peaked at number two in the United States of America and at the top of the South Korean music charts. Furthermore, in 2015, it brought Taemin two Golden Disk Awards: the Bonsang (primary prize) and the Inkisang (popularity award).
In February 2016, he released his debut studio album, titled “Press It.” He released “Move,” his second studio album, the following year. On the Korean chart, it peaked at number two, and on the US list, it peaked at number three. In December 2017, the reissue album “Move-ing” was published, and it reached its highest point at number three on the Korean list.
‘Sayonara Hitori’ (2016) and ‘Flame of Love’ (2017) are two other extended plays that Taemin has released. ‘Taemin The 1st Stage Nippon Budokan’, his lone video album to date, was released in November 2017.
Career in Acting
In 2009, Taemin made his acting debut as Jun-su in the comedy series “Tae Hee, Hye Kyo, Ji Hyun” on MBC. Later, he was chosen to play Kim Sung-jae in the Moon Night ’90 television series.
He portrayed “Master of Disguise,” a recurrent character in the SBS comedy “Salamander Guru and The Shadows.”
He made three appearances in the romantic comedy “Dating Agency: Cyrano” on tvN in 2013.
He played Son Sion in the 2017 film “Final Life: Even if You Disappear Tomorrow.” It was his first significant television role. Both “Athena: Goddess of War” (2010) and “High Kick! 3” (2011) featured him in his own right.
As Johnny’s voice in the 2012 Guatemalan American Aruban computer-animated action comedy movie “The Outback,” Taemin made his debut on the big screen. In the 2013 short film “The Miracle,” he also had a leading role.
In the movies “I Am” (2012) and “SMTOWN The Stage” (2015), he made two self-portrait appearances. He also performed in musical theater. He played Prince Lee Shin in the 2014 film “Goong,” which was a remake of the 2006 television program “Princess Hours.”
Other Businesses of Lee Tae-min
Numerous Korean television variety shows heavily featured Taemin. In 2010, he appeared in the lead cast of KBS2’s “Dream Team.” He participated in the 2012 season of KBS’ “Immortal Songs 2” as a contestant. In the MBC reality series “We Got Married,” he and singer and actress Son Na-eun teamed up to portray a married couple.
He made appearances in the films “Off to School” and “Match Made in Heaven Returns” in 2015. He was declared the victor of the Mnet program “Hit the Stage’s” first season in 2016. In the KBS2 survival reality series “The Unit,” he served as one of the instructors, and in the 2018 program “Why Not? The Dancer,” he was a main cast member.
Bigger Works of Lee Tae-min
Taemin’s debut studio album, “Press It,” also happens to be his biggest commercial hit to date. It was distributed by SM Entertainment and KT Music, reached at number two on the US World Albums chart, and topped the Korean chart. Additionally, South Korea saw sales of over 116 thousand copies.
Net Worth of Lee Tae-min
The estimated net worth of Lee Tae-min is around $1 million