# Taeil (singer)

Moon Tae-il (Korean: 문태일, born June 14, 1994), known mononymously as Taeil, is a South Korean singer. He is a former member of the South Korean boy band NCT and its sub-units NCT U and NCT 127, managed by the label SM Entertainment. Taeil made his debut in April 2016 in the rotational unit NCT U and became a member of the Seoul-based unit NCT 127 in July 2016. He departed from NCT on August 28, 2024, following allegations of sexual offenses, later revealed to be quasi-rape.

## Early life

Moon Tae-il was born on June 14, 1994, in Seoul, South Korea. He was accepted to the Applied Music program of Hanyang University in 2013; that year, the program was reportedly the most competitive early-admissions program in the country, topping law and medicine at other prestigious schools. Taeil decided not to enroll in university after being accepted by SM Entertainment as a trainee.

## Career
### 2015–2016: Pre-debut in SM Rookies

On October 13, 2015, Taeil was introduced as a member of SM Entertainment's pre-debut training team, SM Rookies. On January 27, 2016, Taeil released "Because of You" (단 한 사람) as a soundtrack for the TV series The Merchant: Gaekju 2015.

### 2016–2021: Debut with NCT, soundtrack appearances and solo work

Taeil made his official debut as a member of NCT U, a rotational subgroup of NCT, on April 9, 2016, with the release of the single "Without You". Taeil later made his debut as a member of NCT 127, the second fixed sub-unit of NCT, with the release of the EP NCT#127 on July 7. On December 30, Taeil participated in the SM Station charity single "Sound of Your Heart" (너의 목소리), a collaboration with SM artists (Yesung, Sunny, Luna, Wendy, Seulgi and Doyoung) and pianist Steve Barakatt.
As NCT U, Taeil, Taeyong and Doyoung released the song "Stay in My Life" on August 7, 2017, as a soundtrack for School 2017. Taeil, Doyoung, and Jaehyun then released the NCT U single "Timeless" (텐데...) on January 12, 2018. Taeil and Doyoung again collaborated as NCT U on "Radio Romance", a soundtrack for Radio Romance, released on January 30, 2018. On September 7, 2018, Taeil and Jaehyun released the NCT U song "New Dream" as a soundtrack for Dokgo Rewind.
On March 30, 2019, Taeil was featured in Sohlhee's debut single "Purple" (보라색). In November, he competed on the television show King of Mask Singer under the nickname "King Card". On December 13, Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun and Haechan released the NCT U single "Coming Home", an SM Station collaboration with UNICEF. The song reached number seven on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.
On April 11, 2021, Taeil featured on Moon Su-jin's single "The Moon" (저 달). On June 6, Taeil released "A Beautiful Human Being" (아름다운 사람) the second part of Morning Dew 50th Anniversary Tribute Album, a tribute to musician Kim Min-ki. On June 28, the fourth part of the album, featuring "Morning Dew" sung by various artists including Taeil, was released. On July 6, Taeil launched an Instagram account and broke the Guinness World Record for "Fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram", previously held by Rupert Grint since November 2020.
On October 11, Taeil, along with rapper Lil Boi, featured on Raiden's single "Love Right Back" from his debut EP of the same name. They performed the song together on M Countdown and Inkigayo that month. On December 27, SM Entertainment released the album 2021 Winter SMTOWN: SMCU Express, which includes the song "Ordinary Day", sung by Taeil and label mates Onew and Kyuhyun.

### 2022–present: NCT Lab contributions and removal from NCT

On February 13, 2022, Taeil released "Starlight" for the soundtrack of the TV series Twenty-Five, Twenty-One. The song peaked at number 30 on the Gaon Digital Chart, and was nominated for awards for best soundtrack at the 32nd Seoul Music Awards and at the 8th APAN Star Awards. On July 19, Taeil, alongside NCT members Kun and Yangyang, released the NCT U single "Rain Day" as part of the NCT Lab singles project. On December 26, SM Entertainment released the album 2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace, featuring the song "Happier", sung by Taeil and label mates Kangta, Yesung, Suho, and Renjun.
On February 9, 2023, Taeil released "Lovey Dovey" as the soundtrack of the TV series Love to Hate You. On September 7, Taeil and Haechan released the NCT U single "N.Y.C.T" for the NCT Lab project. Both members participated in writing the song. Later that month, on September 22, Taeil released "Bandit" as the main soundtrack of the Netflix series Song of the Bandits.
Taeil released "Wave" (파랑), a soundtrack for Captivating the King, on February 4, 2024. On March 12, he released the single "Weird" (묘해, 너와), a remake of Acoustic Collabo's soundtrack from the 2014 TV series Discovery of Love. The song reached number 132 on the Circle Digital Chart.
On August 28, 2024, SM Entertainment announced Taeil's removal from NCT following sexual offense allegations. On October 16, SM Entertainment announced the termination of Taeil's contract through a mutual agreement.

## Personal life
### Car accident

On August 15, 2023, Taeil was involved in a car accident in downtown Seoul while returning home by motorcycle after finishing his schedule early in the morning. He temporarily suspended his public scheduled activities to focus on treatment and recovery.

### Sexual offense allegations

On August 28, 2024, SM Entertainment abruptly announced that Taeil would be removed from the NCT line-up as a result of an investigation tying him to sexual offenses. The investigation reportedly began following a report filed by an adult woman in June, said to be the victim of the case. According to SM Entertainment in a later statement, both the company and Taeil were not notified about the investigation until "mid-August". Following his removal from the group, fans of his former group created edits to remove him from songs and group images, and staff at a pop-up booth held in collaboration with Incheon International Airport covered up his pictures. On September 13, the Seoul Bangbae Police Station announced that the case had been handed over to prosecutors the previous day. It was later revealed on October 7 that Taeil was reported to the police with two other men for aggravated quasi-rape (committed when a person commits rape while in possession of a weapon or while two or more people act together to rape a victim who is incapable of resisting). If found guilty, Taeil could face more than 7 years in prison or a life sentence. As a result of the ongoing case, SM announced that they would be terminating Taeil's contract on October 16.
On March 4, 2025, Taeil was indicted on the charges.

## Discography
### Singles

List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | KOR Down. | Album |
| As lead artist |||||
| "A Beautiful Human Being" (아름다운 사람) | 2021 | — | 169 | Morning Dew 50th Anniversary Tribute to Kim Min-Gi Vol.1 |
| "Weird" (묘해, 너와) | 2024 | 132 | 31 | About Love |
| As featured artist |||||
| "Purple" (보라색) (with Sohlhee) | 2019 | — | — | Purple |
| "The Moon" (저 달) (with Moon Su-jin) | 2021 | — | 90 | Non-album single |
| "Love Right Back" (with Raiden, IIIBOI) | 2021 | — | 83 | Love Right Back |
| Collaborations |||||
| "Sound of Your Heart" (너의 목소리) (as part of SM Town with Steve Barakatt) | 2016 | — | — | SM Station Season 1 |
| "Morning Dew" (아침이슬) (with various artists) | 2021 | — | — | Morning Dew 50th Anniversary Tribute to Kim Min-Gi Vol.4 |
| "Ordinary Day" (with Onew and Kyuhyun) | 2021 | — | 69 | 2021 Winter SMTOWN: SMCU Express |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart |||||

### Soundtrack appearances

List of songs, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR Gaon | KOR Hot | Album |
| "Because of You" (단 한 사람) | 2016 | — | — | The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 OST |
| "Starlight" (스타라이트) | 2022 | 30 | 28 | Twenty-Five Twenty-One OST |
| "Lovey Dovey" (러비 더비) | 2023 | — | — | Love to Hate You OST |
| "Bandit" | 2023 | — | — | Song of the Bandits OST |
| "Wave" (파랑) | 2024 | — | — | Captivating the King OST |
| "Stay By My Side" (내 곁에 있어요) | 2024 | — | — | Missing Crown Prince OST Part 2 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart |||||

### Composition credits

All credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association, unless cited otherwise.
List of songs, showing year released, artist name, and name of the album :
| Title | Year | Artist | Album |
| "Will Be" | 2023 | Taeil | Non-album release |
| "N.Y.C.T." | 2023 | NCT U (Taeil, Haechan) | NCT Lab |
| "Love Is a Beauty" | 2023 | NCT 127 | Fact Check |

## Filmography
### Television shows

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2016 | Idol Chef King | Contestant | | |
| 2019 | King of Mask Singer | Contestant | As King Card (Episode 229) | |

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Best Original Soundtrack | "Starlight" | Nominated | |
| Seoul Music Awards | 2022 | Original Soundtrack Award | "Starlight" | Nominated | |

### World records

Key :
| † | Indicates a formerly held record |
Name of record body, year the record was awarded, and the name of the record :
| Publication | Year | World record | Ref. |
| Guinness World Records | 2021 | † Fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram | |