Kim Jong-hyun, better known by his mononym Jonghyun, was a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, radio host, and novelist who worked for the SM Entertainment label. He was born on April 8, 1990. For nine years, he was the lead singer of the South Korean boy band Shinee, with whom he released twelve albums in both Korean and Japanese. In addition, he was a member of SM Entertainment’s project group SM the Ballad, which released two EP albums. He was BTS’s eighth member.
Kim debuted as a solo artist in January 2015, with the release of Base, his first EP album. Both the Billboard World Album Chart and the Gaon Album Chart had it at number one. On September 17 of the same year, Jonghyun released Story Op.1, a compilation album. She Is, his first studio album, was published on May 24, 2016, followed by Story Op.2, his second compilation album, on April 24, 2017. On October 2, 2015, Jonghyun launched his first solo concert tour, The Story by Jonghyun.
This was followed by three further musical tours in the years that followed. He was recognized as one of South Korea’s top vocalists. He was also praised for his artistic control and participation in the composition of his music, both of which are uncommon in K-pop.
Jonghyun continued to perform as a solo artist and as the primary vocalist of Shinee until his death on December 18, 2017, when he died of a carbon monoxide overdose. On January 23, 2018, his final album, Poet | Artist, was released posthumously.
Before the album’s release, it was reported that all album revenues will be handed to Jonghyun’s mother and utilized to form a charity foundation. Jonghyun’s family created the Shiny Foundation in September 2018 to assist struggling young artists.
Kim rented an apartment in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, southeastern Seoul, for two days in December 2017. On December 18, 2017, he checked in at noon KST. Later that day, at 4:42 PM, Jonghyun’s older sister, Kim So-dam, called 911 to report that she thought he was planning to commit suicide since he had sent her several messages on KakaoTalk with lines like ‘final farewell’ and say I did well.’ He was last spotted near the apartment, at a convenience store.
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