Kai (musician, born 1981)

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Kai
Born
Jung Ki-yeol

(1981-12-05) December 5, 1981 (age 40)
Seoul, South Korea
Alma materSeoul National University
OccupationSinger, musical actor
AgentEA&C
Musical career
Genres
Years active2002–present
Korean name
Hangul
정기열
Revised RomanizationJeong Ki-yeol
McCune–ReischauerChŏng Ki-yŏl
Stage name
Hangul
카이
Revised RomanizationKa-i
McCune–ReischauerKa-i

Jung Ki-yeol (born December 5, 1981), known professionally as Kai, is a South Korean singer and musical theatre actor. He is best known in musical theatre and has starred in Korean productions of A Tale of Two Cities, The Three Musketeers and Phantom. Outside of musical theatre, Kai has appeared as a panelist on singing variety shows such as King of Mask Singer and was host of the classical music show 세상의 모든 음악 (Music of the World) on KBS Classic FM.[1]

Early life and education[]

Kai grew up in a musical home and began singing as a child at a local children's choir. He attended Seoul Arts High School and graduated from Seoul National University where he majored in voice.[1][2] Despite having an academic background in classical music, he decided to pursue a career in the classical crossover genre, which was still relatively new in South Korea at that time.[3]

Career[]

Early career[]

Kai is a baritone and had originally been an opera and classical crossover singer.[4] He gained wider public recognition after featuring as a guest artist at the 2009 nation-wide concert tour of renowned Korean operatic soprano Sumi Jo.[5][6] He had initially performed under the name "Kyul" (결), a portmanteau of his given name, and eventually adopted the stage name "Kai" at Jo's suggestion.[5]

Musical theater[]

Kai made his musical theatre debut in the 2011 production of The Story of My Life. When he first debuted, operatically-trained singers were still relatively uncommon in musical theater as most were either pop singers or trained actors who later received vocal training. He is often cast as authoritarian or "lofty" characters due to his powerful voice[7] and starred as the protagonist in the Korean productions of many notable musicals, including A Tale of Two Cities, Phantom, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo.[8] In 2017, he won critical acclaim and recognition for his roles as the eponymous character in the world premiere of Ben Hur, a Korean musical adaption of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,[9][10] and as Crown Prince Rudolf in Rudolf (promoted in Korea as The Last Kiss).[11][10] He was cast as King Arthur in the 2019 Seoul premiere of the Korean adaptation of Excalibur, which won rave reviews from both critics and audiences and was one of the best-selling musicals that year; due to its popularity, the musical was brought back in 2021 and Kai was one of several original cast members who returned.[12] In late 2020 he was cast in the musical adaptation of The Sorrows of Young Werther and was nominated for Best Lead Actor at the 5th Korean Musical Awards.[13][14]

Other activities[]

From 2010 to 2014, Kai was a DJ on KBS Classic FM's popular classical music show 세상의 모든 음악 (ko) (Music of the World), the South Korean equivalent of BBC Radio 3.[15] He has also participated in singing variety shows such as Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend, the second season of I Am a Singer[16] and King of Mask Singer. From 2017 to 2021 he was a regular panelist on King of Mask Singer as one of five "music specialists".[17]

As a recording artist, Kai had mainly done guest vocals for other artists and released several digital singles. He released his first studio album I AM KAI in March 2011 and it debuted at #92[18] on the Gaon Album Chart and rose to peak at #26 within three weeks.[19]

Discography[]

Albums[]

# Title Album details Peak positions1 Sales
KOR
Weekly 		KOR
Monthly
1 I AM KAI
Track listing
  1. In the Name of Love
  2. I Believe
  3. Break-up Came Beforehand
  4. Did I Not Love You
  5. Punishment
  6. When I Close My Eyes
  7. Love Will Find the Lover
  8. This Is the Moment
  9. Winter Letter
  10. A Thousand Winds
  11. The Way of the Sun (with Kim Jae-hyung)
  12. Nella Fantasia
  13. I Believe (duet with Sohyang)
  14. You Raise Me Up
 26 82
2 Kai in Italy
Track listing
  1. O Sole Mio
  2. Lei (She)
  3. Volare
  4. 'A vucchella
  5. Parla Piu Piano
  6. Non Ti Scordar Di Me
  7. Con Te Partiro
 34 —

Maxi singles[]

# Title Album details Notes
1 미완(未完)
Track listing
  1. 월하연(月下緣) (feat. 전소영)
  2. 어린사랑
  3. 그대에게로
 [23]
2 Edgewalker
Track listing
  1. 벌
  2. You Raise Me Up
  3. 벌 (instrumental)
  4. You Raise Me Up (instrumental)
 [24]
3 Clad Meets Piano
  • Released: February 2, 2010
  • Label: Universal Music Korea
  • Format: CD, digital download
Track listing
  1. 이별이 먼저 와 있다 (feat. Jeong Jae-il on the piano)
  2. 겨울에 쓰는 편지
  3. 이별이 먼저 와 있다 (instrumental)
  4. 겨울에 쓰는 편지 (instrumental)
 [25]

Soundtrack and singles contributions[]

Year Track Album Notes
2009 눈물 Can't Stop Now OST [26]
2010 운명의 연인에게 (Did I Not Love You)
(Secret Garden ft. Kai) 		Non album single
With Special Guests (Korean Special Edition)
그대 내게 다시
(Jeon Jae-duck with Kai) 		A-LIVE Vol.1 김형석의 다락방

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2012 18th Korea Musical Awards (ko) Best Male Newcomer A Tale of Two Cities Won [27][28]
2017 9th Seoul Success Award Daesang (Grand Prize) / Musical Actor of the Year Ben-Hur Won [10]
2018 2nd Korea Musical Awards (ko) Best Lead Actor Ben-Hur Nominated [29][30]
2021 5th Korea Musical Awards Best Lead Actor Werther Nominated

References[]

  1. ^ a b "[star&] 카이, 나를 규정하려 들지 말라". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). April 14, 2011.
  2. ^ "즐거움으로 쌓아���린 그의 음악 이야기 한 챕터". SNU News (in Korean). Seoul National University. May 27, 2012.
  3. ^ "Crossover Singer Kai Aims to Bridge Gap". The Korea Times. December 27, 2009.
  4. ^ "KAI continues to widen his musical spectrum". Korea.net. November 11, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "카이, 조수미와 김형석 사이 행복한 '비행'". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). November 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "[팝업] 조수미 파트너로 뜬 남자 '카이'". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). November 20, 2009.
  7. ^ "[LIVE TALK] <팬텀> 카이 [No.141]". The Musical (in Korean). June 30, 2015.
  8. ^ "뮤지컬 배우 카이, '팬텀' 매회 레전드 공연…"나에게 가장 잘 맞는 옷 같다"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). May 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "'Ben-Hur' tops nominees for 6th Yegreen Musical Awards". Korea JoongAng Daily. November 7, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c "뮤지컬배우 카이, '서울 석세스 대상' 뮤지컬대상" (in Korean). KBS. November 28, 2017.
  11. ^ "뮤지컬 배우 카이, 황태자 루돌프役 완벽 소화..'호평세례'". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). December 27, 2017.
  12. ^ "[뮤지컬] '엑스칼리버' 카이 "韓뮤지컬 세계적 수준, 브로드웨이서도 못만날 사이즈와 완성도 볼 것"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). August 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "마리 퀴리·썸씽로튼, '제5회 한국뮤지컬어워즈' 최다후보". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). December 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "제5회 한국뮤지컬어워즈 — 수상후보 (배우 부문): 주연상(남자)" (in Korean). Korean Musical Awards.
  15. ^ "카이, 5년만에 '세상의 모든 음악 카이입니다' DJ 하차". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). December 23, 2014.
  16. ^ "<나가수2> 카이, 당신을 '팝페라'의 매력에 빠지게 할 이 멋진 남자!" (in Korean). MBC. August 6, 2012.
  17. ^ "뮤지컬 배우 카이, '복면가왕' 하차 "소중한 경험" 소감" (in Korean). mk.co.kr. April 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "2011년 13주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  19. ^ "2011년 15주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  20. ^ "I Am Kai". Naver. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  21. ^ "2011년 04월 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  22. ^ "Kai in Italy". Naver. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  23. ^ "미완(未完) (Digital Single)". Mnet. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  24. ^ "Edgewalker (Single)". Mnet. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  25. ^ "Clad Meets Piano (Single)". Mnet. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  26. ^ "멈출 수 없어 OST". Mnet. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  27. ^ "[뮤지컬대상] 카이, 남우신인상 수상 "1분 1초도 허투루 보내지 않겠다"". Seoul Broadcasting System. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  28. ^ "Kim Jun-su, Ock Joo-hyun Take Top Honors at Musical Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. October 30, 2012.
  29. ^ "제2회 한국뮤지컬어워즈 후보 발표...벤�� 11개 부문, 레드북 9개부문 후보 올라" (in Korean). Naver. December 28, 2017.
  30. ^ "'벤허', 한국뮤지컬어워즈 대상…홍광호·전미도 남녀주연상 쾌거". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). January 22, 2018.

External links[]

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