Kim Jong-in is best known as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO and its subgroup EXO-K under the stage name Kai. As a member of the boy band, he has recorded four studio albums, five extended plays, and twenty-one singles, selling over 30 million copies in South Korea alone. He was the second band member to sign with S.M. Entertainment and is the group’s lead dancer. In 2016, he debuted in the web series Choco Bank, which garnered record-breaking viewership. He also appeared in “First Seven Kisses,” “Andante,” and “Spring Has Come,” a Japanese drama. He appears on the cover of the December 2016 issue of “The Big Issue,” a publication that provides homeless people with employment opportunities. The issue sold more than 20,000 copies in two days and holds the record for the most copies sold since its launch in July 2016.
Kai’s Achieve Stardom
Kai claimed during the 2014 EXO 90:2014 event that witnessing the South Korean boy band Shinhwa encouraged him to become a vocalist. After winning the 10th ‘S.M. Youth Best Contest’ at the age of 13, he joined S.M. Entertainment in 2007. The following year, he appeared briefly in TVXQ’s ‘HaHaHa Song’ music video.
Lee Soo-man, who wanted to promote the same music concurrently in South Korea and China by playing songs in both Korean and Mandarin, selected him to be a member of a new boy band around the middle of 2011. The group was named EXO after the word exoplanet and was divided into EXO-K and EXO-M sections.
On December 23, 2011, Kai was the first of twelve band members to be formally presented to the public via teaser videos. On December 29, 2011, he performed alongside fellow EXO members Luhan, Chen, and Tao, as well as other artists, signed to S.M. Entertainment, at the important annual end-of-year music event ‘SBS Gayo Daejeon,’ televised on the SBS television network.
The prologue single ‘What Is Love’ by EXO-K and EXO-M was released in mainland China and South Korea on January 30, 2012. It reached No.88 on the Gaon Single Chart in South Korea. The group’s second prologue single “History,” released on March 9, peaked at No. 68 on the “Gaon Single Chart” and No. 6 on the “Sina Music Chart” in China.
The band released their debut single “Mama” on April 8, followed by an EP of the same name the following day. The Korean version of the album peaked at No.1 on the ‘Gaon Album Chart, while the Chinese version peaked at No.2 on the ‘Sina Album Chart; both versions peaked at No.8 and No.12 on the ‘Billboard World Albums Chart, respectively.
The next week, both editions of the group’s debut studio album, ‘XOXO’ (2013), topped the ‘Billboard World Album Chart’ at No. 1. Within twenty-four hours, pre-orders for their second studio album, ‘Exodus’ (2015), surpassed half a million. The pre-order records for their following two studio albums, ‘Ex’Act’ (2016) and ‘The War’ (2017), were broken twice.
Kai’s Acting Profession
In January 2016, Kai made his acting debut in the lead role of the web drama series Choco Bank. In December 2016, he starred in two of eight episodes of the web drama ‘First Seven Kisses as the lead character. In January of 2017, he was cast as high school student Lee Shi-Kyung in the television series Andante.
He was cast as the protagonist in the Japanese drama ‘Spring Has Come’ the following month, making him the first non-Japanese actor to portray the lead in a WOWOW drama production.
His Personal Life
Kai or Kim Jong-in was born in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, South Korea on January 14, 1994. According to him, his parents first wished for him to study Taekwondo, a Korean martial art method. Additionally, they wanted him to learn the piano.
However, he swiftly lost interest in both and, around age eight, developed an interest in jazz dance. After viewing “The Nutcracker” when he was in the third grade, he chose to train in ballet dancing. He gained technical expertise in hip hop, popping, and locking after joining S.M. Entertainment. He graduated in 2012 from the School of Performing Arts Seoul, where he studied.
In April 2016, he revealed his relationship with Krystal, a fellow S.M. Entertainment artist and member of the girl group f(x). Midway through 2017, S.M. Entertainment confirmed that the celebrity couple had decided to separate. According to one source, their conflicting schedules caused them to drift apart.
Estimated Net Worth
Xu Kai is one of the wealthiest and most popular actors in the world. According to our research, Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Xu Kai has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.