Haechan

2000–2013: Early life and musical beginnings

Lee Dong-hyuck was born on June 6, 2000, in Seoul, South Korea.^[1] His parents, both musicians active in the local music scene, influenced his interest in music.^[2][3] Due to financial reasons, his mother moved to Jeju for work during his childhood, while Lee remained in Seoul with his father and grandparents.^[2] He grew particularly close to his grandmother, whom he credits with raising him until the age of six, when he joined his mother in Jeju.^[2] He initially struggled to adapt to the unfamiliar place and reconnect with his mother, but they later grew close.^[2] A band vocalist who enjoyed artists like Jaurim and Metallica, she influenced his musical taste by often bringing him to the noraebang and introducing him to singers like Michael Jackson.^[2][4] Lee said that he first listened to Jackson's single "Billie Jean" (1983) around the age of 10 and became "obsessed" with his music for a few years afterwards.^[4][5][6] He also admired several artists from SM Entertainment, particularly Taemin of Shinee, a group he first discovered through their debut single "Replay" (2008).^[3] Taemin later inspired him to audition for the label.^[7] In fifth grade, Lee passed the first round of an audition, but he struggled around the time of the second round due to the sudden death of his grandfather.^[2] He said that watching television music programs brought him comfort and happiness in that period.^[2]

Lee's mother initially opposed his ambition to become a singer but encouraged him to attend the SM Saturday Open Auditions in 2013.^[3][8] After passing multiple rounds by performing songs like "Hello" by Huh Gak, "Baby" by Justin Bieber, and "The Ugly Duckling" by Son Seung-yeon, he moved back to Seoul to begin training under the label, having drawn attention due to his high vocal range.^[3][8] At SM, teachers encouraged the trainees to emulate their favorite artists, which sparked Lee's renewed interest in Jackson.^[4] Aspiring to become a well-rounded artist like him, Lee began composing songs on the piano around the age of 15, seeking feedback from his piano teacher.^[4] He then persuaded his mother to buy him a MacBook laptop to explore music production with the software Logic Pro.^[4] Outside of SM, Lee also worked with vocal coach and singer-songwriter Lim Han-byul, who named him among the students he was most proud to have taught.^[9] Being one of the youngest trainees at the time, Lee later said that it saddened him to have missed out on typical experiences like school friendships and trips, but his passion for singing and dancing came first.^[2][3] Meanwhile, he studied in the Applied Music department of the School of Performing Arts Seoul.^[1][10]

2014–2024: SM Rookies and NCT

SM publicly introduced Lee as a member of its official training team, SM Rookies, on July 17, 2014, with a video of him and fellow trainee Mark launching the group's website.^[11] The agency's first program of its kind, SM Rookies allowed trainees to gain experience and public exposure before their debut, often grouping them by gender and concept into distinct units.^[11][12] As part of the team, Lee appeared in the 2014 variety television series Exo 90:2014 with the boy band Exo and the 2015 South Korean revival of The Mickey Mouse Club (1995–1996) with Super Junior's Leeteuk, performing songs, dances, and comedy skits.^[13][14][15] Lee also participated in the concert tours SM Town Live World Tour IV (2014–2015), featuring several SM artists coming together to perform under the musical collective SM Town, and SM Rookies Show (2015–2016), held in South Korea and Thailand, in which the team covered songs by SM artists.^[16][17]

In July 2016, SM announced that Lee would join NCT, a boy band designed with a concept of unlimited members where smaller sub-units would debut independently and occasionally collaborate under the umbrella group NCT U.^[18][19] Lee debuted on July 7 with NCT's second sub-unit, NCT 127, performing their first single "Fire Truck" on the television music program M Countdown.^[19] Upon debuting, Lee adopted the stage name Haechan, chosen by SM founder Lee Soo-man, which means to "shine bright uprightly" in Korean.^[1] Music critics described NCT 127 as the brand's flagship and most experimental unit, as well as the first SM group to base its sound primarily on hip-hop, often blending it with R&B and electronic music subgenres such as industrial and complextro.^[20][21] Later that August, SM announced Haechan's addition to NCT's third sub-unit, NCT Dream, who made their debut with a performance of their single "Chewing Gum" on M Countdown on August 25.^[22] Initially established as NCT's teen unit, all members debuted as minors under a graduation system where they would leave the group upon reaching adulthood; however, the graduation concept was scrapped in 2020.^[10][18] Critics described NCT Dream as the unit with the most compelling narrative, remarking on how their transition from teen pop to a blend of hip-hop and R&B music reflected the members' artistic growth from adolescence to adulthood.^[20][21]

In the span of ten years, Haechan released over 30 studio albums and extended plays while participating in nine concert tours with the group. He contributed to the band's first full-group album, NCT 2018 Empathy (2018), and made his first appearance under NCT U with the single "Coming Home", released on December 13, 2019.^[23][24][25] Grammy.com stated that NCT became one of the most influential K-pop acts, achieving commercial success, with units like NCT Dream recording ten consecutive million-seller albums.^[21][26] Alongside rapper Mark, who later departed the group in 2026, Haechan was the only NCT member to maintain a permanent position in two separate sub-units, resulting in a dense schedule.^[18] Dispatch [ko] remarked that they participated in an uncommonly high number of promotional cycles, notably releasing five albums per year in both 2021 and 2023 while switching units at roughly two-month intervals.^[18] Critics described their overlapping participation across multiple units as a "painful" side effect of the NCT system.^[18] Haechan stepped back from promotional activities thrice due to medical reasons: from December 2018 to March 2019 for a fractured tibia,^[27] in January 2023 for heart palpitations,^[28] and in January 2024 for severe tonsillitis.^[29]

After debuting, Haechan continued pursuing songwriting and began asking the SM artists and repertoire (A&R) team for spare demos to practice writing top lines.^[4] He started collaborating with songwriter and producer Deez [ko] after working together on NCT 127's third studio album, Neo Zone (2020).^[4] The creative partnership led to the R&B tracks "Love Sign" and "N.Y.C.T", which Haechan and former bandmate Taeil performed at NCT 127's second concert tour, Neo City – The Link (2021–2022).^[30][31][32] In March 2022, Haechan released a remake of Toy's 2001 track "Good Person" for the soundtrack of Playlist Studio's web series Ply Friends: Seoyeon University Class of '22.^[33] The following year, "N.Y.C.T" was officially released under NCT U on September 7 via the NCT Lab project.^[32] An R&B-pop track featuring guitar, bass, and brass over a piano melody, it depicts the emotions felt in moments with fans, likening the experience to walking together along the streets of New York City under the moonlight.^[32]

2025–present: Taste

In March 2025, Haechan featured on "+82 Pressin'", the third single from Mark's first studio album, The Firstfruit (2025).^[34] Referencing South Korea's country calling code, the hip-hop track features lyrics written by Mark that express the duo's confidence in their capabilities, as they alternate roles with Haechan rapping and Mark singing.^[34] They first performed the song on M Countdown and later at the Tokyo dates of the SM Town Live 2025: The Culture, the Future tour.^[35][36] Later that May, Haechan released "A Thousand Reasons" for the soundtrack of the television series Second Shot at Love (2025).^[37] He then held a fan meeting at the Yes24 Live Hall [ko] on June 11, to commemorate his birthday.^[38] In July, Maeil Business Newspaper confirmed that he would make his solo debut in September, scheduled to follow the conclusion of group activities for NCT 127's fourth concert tour, Neo City – The Momentum, and NCT Dream's fifth studio album, Go Back to the Future, while he would continue participating in the latter's fourth concert tour, the Dream Show 4: Dream the Future (2025–2026).^[39]

In August, Haechan announced that he would release his first studio album, Taste, on September 8, along its lead single "Crzy".^[40] He had begun developing the record in 2024 in collaboration with Deez, who worked on nine of the album's 11 tracks.^[4][41] With Taste, Haechan aimed to showcase his personal musical preferences and explore different styles of vocal delivery.^[4][42] Ahead of the launch, SM released teasers featuring song snippets, and Haechan hosted a listening event in Seoul.^[43][44] He then promoted the album with performances on television music programs in South Korea in September and fan meetings in Japan in October.^[45][46] In the first week of release, Taste topped Circle's Album and Retail Album charts, while "Crzy" peaked atop the Download and BGM charts and reached number 11 on the Digital chart.^[45][47] The album sold over 400,000 copies and received a platinum certification in South Korea, while it entered the top five of the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan.^[48][49][50] Taste received positive reviews, with critics praising its cohesive musical narrative and Haechan's vocal performance.^[4][51][52] It earned a nomination for Millions Top 10 at the 2025 Melon Music Awards.^[53]

In March 2026, Haechan and bandmate Taeyong released the funk song "Bitter Sweet (Addiction)" for the soundtrack of the thriller television series Mad Concrete Dreams (2026).^[54] Later that May, Haechan performed several songs from Taste live at the Seoul Jazz Festival.^[55]

Voice

Haechan's vocal timbre has been described as distinctive and received praise in critical reviews.^[56][57][58] His voice has been characterized as "delicate, high-pitched" and "youthful, bright, yet with a strong core" by IZM and critic Kim Young-dae, respectively.^[4][59] Calling it uncommon in South Korea, Kim initially compared Haechan to a young Michael Jackson from the Jackson 5 era, later placing his "refreshing" vocals in a lineage with a young Whitney Houston and the R&B trio SWV.^[4] Critics found his voice to be particularly suited to R&B across NCT's discography,^[20][60] while Sports Donga praised his handling of soul on Taste.^[57] Haechan's voice has been described as versatile and flexible, with Clash praising his dexterity across harmonies, melismas, falsettos, and ad-libs;^[52][61][62] he has also incorporated rapping into his work.^[59] Critic Choi Seung-in characterized him as a "performance-oriented" singer leading the arrangement, rather than a vocalist "merely [...] layered over the track".^[51]

Kim remarked on Haechan's growth as a vocalist on NCT 127's first studio album, Regular-Irregular (2018), and Neo Zone.^[63] Having worked with Haechan as a vocal director since early in his career, Deez noted in 2020 that he had become stable, well-prepared, and capable of quickly delivering the right take in recording sessions, while he had sometimes lacked tone or pitch precision when he was younger.^[63] He praised Haechan's ability to modify his timbre to best fit the part, adding that he showed flexible responses to direction.^[63] Haechan has emphasized the importance of working with vocal directors who know how to blend his voice with the group for his work with NCT.^[4] He considers Deez the best suited to his style, consequently choosing to work mostly with him on Taste.^[4]

Critics have called Haechan a standout, signature voice in NCT's discography since "Fire Truck",^[52][59][64] prompting The Hollywood Reporter to describe him as one of the group's "most valuable players".^[58] Kim compared his voice to a flavor enhancer that connects the different musical elements and leaves a "powerful" impression through the ad-libs, especially praising his work on Neo Zone.^[4][63] Haechan has been recognized for his ability to shift the mood of a track with his timbre, particularly in the second verses and bridges of songs such as NCT 127's "Kick It" (2020) and "Fact Check" (2023).^[a]

Musical style and influences

Haechan said that he was initially undecided on which genre to pursue, but credited his collaboration with Deez for inspiring his decision to create his own R&B music.^[4] His debut album primarily explores various subgenres of R&B and soul, reminiscent of musical stylings spanning from the 1990s to the 2010s, with Kim noting influences of Motown, Philadelphia soul, and early Chris Brown.^[51][65][68] Haechan's music also incorporates elements of pop,^[61] hip-hop,^[57] dance,^[69] and funk.^[70] He has cited Jackson and Usher among his influences,^[4] and his musical style has also drawn comparisons to early Justin Timberlake.^[59][71]

Performance

Teen Vogue called Haechan's performance "suave" and praised his ability to hold back and exert control and precision over his movements, adding that "that's when you feel the gravitas he carries as a performer".^[71] The Hollywood Reporter and Teen Vogue respectively described it as reminiscent of Timberlake and Jackson.^[58][71]

Artists who have named Haechan as an influence include Drippin's Changuk,^[72] NCT Wish's Ryo,^[73] Xikers' Junmin,^[74] Nowz's Yoon,^[75] and Whib's Wonjun,^[76] with some citing his performance style as a reason.

Endorsements

Haechan appeared on the April 2023 cover of Arena Homme + wearing Louis Vuitton and the December 2025 digital cover of Dazed Korea wearing Yves Saint Laurent.^[77][78] He also featured in the Japanese magazine Spur promoting Dior Beauty.^[79] In October 2025, he became the brand model for the South Korean cosmetics company Naming, appearing in a promotional campaign with advertisements featured mainly in the Seoul Forest area.^[80]

Philanthropy

In February 2023, Haechan donated ₩100 million to the Community Chest of Korea, thus joining its Honor Society, to help victims of the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria that month.^[81] In August 2023, he donated ₩50 million to the Korean Red Cross to support victims and emergency services affected by the wildfires that broke out that month on the island of Maui, Hawaii.^[82] In March 2025, Haechan donated ₩50 million to the Community Chest of Korea to help residents of the Yeongnam region affected by the wildfires that broke out that month.^[83]

Studio albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Writing credits

Music videos

Fan meetings

Festivals

Television shows and specials

Other performances