Chen

**Kim Jong-dae** (born September 21, 1992), better known by his stage name **Chen**, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO and its sub-unit EXO-CBX, as well as S.M. Entertainment's ballad group SM the Ballad.

## Career

### 2011–14: Career beginnings

*Main articles: EXO and SM the Ballad*
Chen became a trainee through S.M. Entertainment's Casting System in 2011 when he was 18 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*. The group officially debuted on April 8, 2012.

In 2014, Chen joined the ballad group S.M. the Ballad, initially formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2010. On the group's 2nd album Breath, he sang the Chinese version of the title track "Breath" with Zhang Liyin. He also sang a duet with f(x)'s Krystal titled "When I Was... When U Were...", and "A Day Without You" with SHINee's Jonghyun. Chen performed his duets with Krystal and Jonghyun live at the S.M. The Ballad Joint Recital on February 12.

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. Chen was also invited as a special performer at the 3rd APAN Star Awards on November 11, 2014, where he performed the track live.

### 2015–present: Solo activities and EXO-CBX

*See also: EXO-CBX*
In June 2015, Chen co-wrote the lyrics for "Promise," a song from the reissued edition of EXO's fourth 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&C production *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."

In January 2016, Chen performed John Lennon's song "Imagine" with world-renowned pianist Steve Barakatt at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, as part of UNICEF's "Imagine Project." In February 2016, Chen and South Korean singer Punch released a duet titled "Everytime" as a soundtrack for the KBS drama *Descendants of the Sun*. The song debuted at number one on Gaon's weekly digital chart. In April 2016, Chen and South Korean rapper Heize released "Lil' Something", a song produced by Vibe member Ryu Jae-hyun, as the ninth weekly single of S.M. Entertainment's Station music project. In August 2016, Chen collaborated with fellow Exo members Xiumin and Baekhyun on an original soundtrack titled "For You" for the SBS drama *Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo*. In October 2016, he collaborated with DJ Alesso on another song for the Station project titled "Years". Later in October, together with Baekhyun and Xiumin, Chen became a member of EXO's first official sub unit EXO-CBX. The group made their debut with the extended play *Hey Mama!*.

In January 2017, Chen collaborated with Dynamic Duo in a song titled "Nosedive", becoming the first artist to be featured in the group's collaboration project "Mixxxture". The song reached number two on the Gaon Digital Chart. In February 2017, he released an original soundtrack titled "I'm Not Okay" for the MBC drama *Missing 9* in which his fellow EXO member Chanyeol played a supporting role.

## Personal life

On February 28, it was revealed that Chen has been accepted into the advertisement media MBA program at Hanyang Cyber University.

## Filmography

### Variety shows

 *King of Mask Singer* | 2015
 *Travel without Manager* | 2016

## References

1. ↑ EXO to debut four members at '2011 SBS Gayo Daejun'
2. ↑ More details including tracklist and participating artists for SM The Ballad's 2nd album 'Breath' revealed
3. ↑ EXO's Chen sings 'The Best Luck' in 'It's Okay, That's Love' OST MV featuring scenes from the drama
4. ↑ APAN Star Awards 2014: Winners, Performers & Winning Fashion
5. ↑ SHINee, INFINITE, EXO, and f(x) Members Cast in Musical "In the Heights"
6. ↑ EXO's Chen Shocks Audience On 'King of Mask Singer' As Legendary Guitar Man
7. ↑ EXO's Chen to Perform With World-Renowned Pianist Steve Barakatt for UNICEF
8. ↑ Catch all the romance in full MV for 'Descendants of the Sun' OST Part 2 by Chen x Punch!
9. ↑ Gaon Digital Chart, Week 9 - 2016
10. ↑ EXO's Chen And 'Unpretty Rapstar' Rapper Heize To Collaborate For SM STATION
11. ↑ Watch: EXO’s Chen, Baekhyun, And Xiumin Sing Of Devoted Love For "Scarlet Heart: Goryeo"
12. ↑ (POP스포)엑소 첸XDJ 알레소, 10월 7일 콜라보 'Years' 발표(공식)
13. ↑ 엑소 첸, 스웨덴 유명 DJ 알레소와 콜라보…7일 음원 발표
14. ↑ (Vyrl) SMTOWN\_EN : #EXO's first unit #EXO-CBX 1st mini album 'Hey Mama!' drops Oct 31, 0A
15. ↑ Dynamic Duo Teams Up With EXO's Chen on 'Nosedive'
16. ↑ 엑소 첸, '미씽나인' OST '안녕 못해' 오늘밤 공개..찬열 지원
17. ↑ Jin of BTS, Chen of EXO enter graduate school at Hanyang Cyber University
18. ↑ Charted songs:

	* Breath (Chinese version), A Day Without You, When I Was… When U Were…
	* Best Luck
	* Though I Loved You
	* Everytime
	* Lil' Something
	* If We Love Again
	* For You
	* Nosedive
	* Can't Say Goodbye (I'm Not Okay)

	* Beautiful Accident
20. ↑ World Digital Songs
21. ↑ Gaon Music Chart
22. ↑ Download Chart, Week 1 - 2016
23. ↑ Gaon Download Chart, Week 8 - 2014
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Gaon Download Chart, February 2014
25. ↑ Cumulative sales for "Lil' Something":

	* 2016년 상반기 결산 Download Chart
26. ↑ Cumulative sales for "If We Love Again":

	* Gaon Download Chart, May - 2016
	* Gaon Download Chart, June - 2016
27. ↑ Gaon Download Chart - Week 41
28. ↑ Cumulative sales for "Nosedive":

	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
	* "Nosedive"
29. ↑ Cumulative sales for "The Best Luck":

	* Gaon Download Chart, 2014
	* Gaon Download Chart, 2015
	* Gaon Monthly Download Chart, 2016
30. ↑ Cumulative sales for "Everytime":

	* 2016 Yearly Gaon Download Chart
31. ↑ Cumulative sales for "For You":

	* Gaon Download Chart - August, 2016
	* Gaon Download Chart - September, 2016
	* Gaon Download Chart - October, 2016
	* Gaon Download Chart - November, 2016
32. ↑ Cumulative sales for "I’m Not Okay":

	* "I’m Not Okay"
	* "I’m Not Okay"
	* "I’m Not Okay"
33. ↑ Gaon Chart
34. ↑ Baidu Weekly Music Charts
35. ↑ World Digital Songs
36. ↑ I AM. OST\_Dear My Family\_Music Video
37. ↑ (괜찮아 사랑이야 OST Part 1) 첸 (CHEN) (EXO) - 최고의 행운 (Best Luck) MV
38. ↑ (MV) CHEN(첸)XPunch(펀치) \_ Everytime l 태양의 후예 OST Part.2
39. ↑ (STATION) 바이브 X 첸 X 헤이즈\_썸타 (Lil' Something)\_Music Video
40. ↑ (ENG SUB) 160706 EXO (CHEN & SUHO) - Beautiful Accident OST
41. ↑ Mnet (EXO 902014) 엑소 첸이 재해석한 '보아- No.1' 뮤비/EXO CHEN's 'No.1' M/V Remake