Profile and Facts of Nam Tae-hyun
Profile
Name: Nam Tae-hyun (남태현) Date of Birth: May 10th, 1994 Birthplace: Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea Star sign: Taurus Height: 179 cm Blood type: A Instruments: vocals, guitar, bass, piano, and drums Agency: South Buyers Club
Facts
He has a younger brother named Nam Dong-hyun; His hobbies are composing music and writing lyrics; He can speak Japanese; He has a tattoo on his left arm that says “Jean Michel Basquiat,” and one on his left wrist that says “Stay Gold.”
Debut with WINNER
In 2011, Nam Tae-hyun was recruited by YG Entertainment through a private audition. He became a back dancer for the 2011 YG Family Concert. In 2013, he competed in the reality program Win: Who Is Next. The program centered around two teams of YG Entertainment trainees. Team A had five members and Team B had six members. The two teams competed against each other to show off their skills in dancing, rapping, vocal abilities, and stage presence to earn a chance to debut. Nam Tae-hyun was in Team A. He co-composed and co-wrote two songs that were used in the show’s competitions. Ultimately, the winner would be selected by three rounds of public voting. Team A won all three rounds and debuted as the group called Winner. Winner’s official debut showcase was held on August 6th, 2014, with their album 2014 S/S. The album was digitally released on August 12th, and physically on August 14th, 2014. The group won first place on M! Countdown during their debut stage. Nam Tae-hyun co-composed three songs from the album, which were “But,” “Tonight,” and his solo track “Confession.” The album topped several charts, including the Gaon Music Chart as well as the Billboard’s World Album Chart.
Leaving WINNER and Establishing South Club Band
On November 24th, 2016, YG Entertainment announced that Nam Tae-hyun would be leaving Winner and the group would continue without him. The translated message by YG Entertainment is as follows: “WINNER, that had many things planned for them this year, has put all their activities on hold, unfortunately, due to Taehyun’s mental health issues. YG and the other members have put Taehyun’s mental health as the main priority and decided to wait for his recovery. However, due to the fact that the mental issue was one that has been present ever since his childhood, it is impossible to predict when he will recover and when he will be able to return to activities. After many discussions with Taehyun, we have decided that it is not possible for him to continue with activities as a part of WINNER, and as of November 18th, the exclusive contract between YG and Nam Tae-hyun has been terminated. This is mainly due to the fact that Taehyun felt responsible for the fact that the team was put on halt because of him and that WINNER, that is only two years into their debut, can no longer wait to continue their activities. Although Taehyun will no longer be with WINNER, we hope that they will continue to support each other in their musical careers. YG plans to continue promoting WINNER as a 4-member group with no addition of new members. Please show WINNER and Taehyun a lot of support and love as they stand on the start line again.” On November 26th, 2016, Nam Tae-hyun uploaded a handwritten letter to fans on his Instagram account. The letter read: “Hello. This is Nam Tae-hyun. I am sorry that this unfortunate news was received by people who love me. There were a lot of events during that short or long time. I was really happy when I received undeserved love as WINNER’s Nam Tae Hyun. Although this decision was made after a long discussion, my wish to make good music has not changed and I will meet you through other music and projects. Stay healthy in this cold weather and I genuinely thank everyone who is supporting me. From Nam Tae-hyun.” After his departure from Winner, Nam Tae-hyun continued sharing his musical creations and covers on his SoundCloud account. He created a Tumblr site on January 5th, 2017, where he posted announcements and communicated with fans. On January 23rd, 2017, he called for applicants to join his new band via his Tumblr. Eventually, Nam Tae-hyun met his future bandmate Kim Eui-myeong at a church. Kim Eui-myeong later introduced Nam Tae-hyun to his musician friends Kang Kun-ku, Jang Won-young, and Choi Yun-hee. Together they formed a five-member band. Their first performance was announced by Nam Tae-hyun on his social media on March 25th, 2017, along with the band’s name, South Club. The formation of the band was then made official and Nam Tae-hyun established a music company called South Buyers Club under his name. Nam Tae-hyun then became the leader and main composer, while all the members help with the arrangement adding their own style to the songs. South Club debuted with their first single “Hug Me” on May 26th, 2017. The single was also included in their first EP, 90. Their first single received a good response from fans and other fellow artists and from there the band started to perform at many events and festivals. Their first seven-track EP, 90, was released on June 27th, 2017. They released their second single “No” on July 8th, 2017. On September 16th, 2017, Nam Tae-hyun announced that they would continue as a four-member band from then on and that Choi Yun-hee had left the band due to personal reasons. Their third single “Who Is This Song For?” was released on December 5th, 2017. In February 2018, Kim Eui-myeong left the band due to personal reasons and was replaced by Nam Dong-hyun. On March 28th, 2018, South Buyers Club revealed that South Club will be touring in several places in Japan.
