Kim Jong Dae (김종대)
Kim Jong-dae better known by his stage name Chen, is a South Korean singer-songwriter. He debuted in 2012 as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its sub-group Exo-M and its sub-unit Exo-CBX, as well as SM Entertainment's ballad group SM the Ballad. He is predominantly known for his role as the main vocalist in Exo. Apart from his group's activities, Chen also recorded original soundtracks for various TV series, notably "The Best Luck" for It's Okay, That's Love (2014), "Everytime" for Descendants of the Sun (2016) and "Cherry Blossom Love Song" for 100 Days My Prince (2018).
Kim Jong Dae was born on September 21,1992 On February 28, 2017, it was revealed that Chen has been accepted into the advertisement media MBA program at Hanyang Cyber University.
Chen became a trainee through SM Entertainment's Casting System in 2011 when he was 19 years old. On December 29, 2011, he was formally introduced as the fourth member of Exo. He made his first public appearance as an Exo member alongside Luhan, Tao, and Kai at the 2011 SBS Gayo Daejeon. In July 2014, Chen released his first solo song since debut titled "The Best Luck" as an original soundtrack for the SBS drama It's Okay, That's Love, which stars his fellow Exo member D.O.. "The Best Luck" was awarded the "Best OST by a Male Artist" and "Best OST Song" at the 5th So-Loved Awards and the 16th Seoul International Youth Film Festival respectively.
In June 2015, Chen co-wrote the lyrics for "Promise," a song from the reissued edition of Exo's second studio album Exodus, along with fellow members Chanyeol and Lay. In August 2015, he made his musical theatre debut playing the role of Benny in the SM C&Cproduction In the Heights. He also participated in and became the runner-up in the eleventh round of the music television show King of Mask Singer under the alias "Legendary Guitar Man"
On October 16, 2018, Chen released an original soundtrack titled "Cherry Blossom Love Song" for the drama 100 Days My Prince, in which his fellow Exo member D.O. played the lead role. He also revealed that he and Chanyeol had participated in writing lyrics for "Love Shot", the title track from the reissued edition of Exo's fifth studio album, Don't Mess Up My Tempo.
In July 2017, it was revealed that Chen participated in co-writing the lyrics for "Touch It" and "Ko Ko Bop", two songs from Exo's fourth studio album, The War. In November 2017, Chen collaborated with South Korean singer 10cm on a song titled "Bye Babe" for the second season of SM Entertainment's station project.[18] In December 2017, Chen wrote the lyrics for "Lights Out" for Exo's EP Universe, which he performed alongside fellow members Suho, Baekhyun, and D.O..
On October 16, 2018, Chen released an original soundtrack titled "Cherry Blossom Love Song" for the drama 100 Days My Prince, in which his fellow Exo member D.O. played the lead role.[19] He also revealed that he and Chanyeol had participated in writing lyrics for "Love Shot", the title track from the reissued edition of Exo's fifth studio album, Don't Mess Up My Tempo.[20]
On February 7, 2019, Chen released an original soundtrack titled "Make It Count" for the drama Touch Your Heart. On March 8, 2019, SM Entertainment confirmed that Chen is preparing for his first solo album, which is set to be released sometime in April.
