Taeyong

Who is Taeyong?

Taeyong is a member of NCT 127, the seven-member group under SM Entertainment. Money Today, writing in July 2020, described him as the leader who heads NCT 127. ORICON NEWS gives his birthday as 1 July 1995.

His name has been in NCT’s credits since its first song. According to Xports News, on NCT U’s first single, ‘일곱 번째 감각 (The 7th Sense)’, released on 9 April 2016, he both sang and worked on the lyrics. SM said in May 2023 that from that song through ‘소방차 (Fire Truck)’, ‘Cherry Bomb’, ‘Regular’ and ‘Sticker’ he had taken part in writing the lyrics and music of more than 50 NCT tracks. The same text says the chorus choreography of NCT 127’s ‘영웅 (Kick It)’ was his own suggestion.

Songs of his own

His first solo song was ‘Long Flight’, the final release of season three of SM’s STATION, on 18 July 2019. SM introduced it as a hip-hop track he co-wrote and co-composed about the feelings of a long flight. That year he also joined SuperM, a team SM formed with the US label group Capitol Music Group, whose first mini album, released on 4 October, reached number one on the Billboard 200, Seoul Shinmun reported. In 2021 he opened a SoundCloud account and began posting songs of his own there.

He made his solo debut on 5 June 2023 with his first mini album, SHALALA, and released his second, TAP, on 26 February 2024. Two days earlier, on 24 and 25 February, his first solo concert, TY TRACK, at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park sold out both nights, according to SM.

From the navy’s touring band to WYLD

He enlisted in the navy on 15 April 2024, served as a cultural promotion soldier in the publicity unit of the Navy Band and Honor Guard, and was discharged on 14 December 2025. In a YouTube interview reported by Star News in May 2026 he recalled, “I was in the publicity unit that visits bases on islands to give performances for the troops,” and said he had played some 40 to 50 shows, mostly around the West Sea. “It was a real nationwide tour. It was a good experience,” he said.

His first concerts after discharge were TY TRACK – REMASTERED at Ticketlink Live Arena in Olympic Park on 24 and 25 January 2026; according to My Daily, both sold out as soon as booking opened. “I missed you so much. I’m happy that now I can see you whenever I want,” he said there. The tour went on to Jakarta, Yokohama, Macau, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. On 29 March came ‘Bitter Sweet’, a tvN drama song he recorded with Haechan.

After the single ‘Rock Solid (Feat. Anderson .Paak)’, his first full-length album, WYLD, came out on 18 May. In a Q&A with Herald Muse he explained that the title is “a name made from the first letters of ‘Wild’, ‘Yell’, ‘Loud’ and ‘Dance’”, and of choosing the songs he said, “If a song didn’t carry enough of the feeling or message I wanted to get across, I boldly let it go.” The title track ‘WYLD’ reached number one on KBS2’s Music Bank on 29 May, which CBS NoCut News reported as his first music-show win since his solo debut.