Eric Nam (; born November 17, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality based in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Since his debut in 2013, he was named ''GQ Korea'''s Man of the Year in 2016'','' included on ''Forbes''' 30 Under 30 Asia in 2017'','' and named as one of YouTube Music's Global Trending Artists on the Rise in 2019.

Early life and education

Eric Nam was born and raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He graduated from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 2011 with a major in

International Studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and a minor in

Asian Studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...

. Nam accepted a position as a

business analyst A business analyst (BA) is a person who processes, interprets and documents business processes, products, services and software through analysis of data. The role of a business analyst is to ensure business efficiency increases through their kno ...

Deloitte Consulting Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wit ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, deferring the opportunity to participate in microfinance initiatives in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He subsequently decided to pursue a career in entertainment.

Career

2011–2012: Career beginnings

After a cover Nam posted on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

gained media attention, South Korean broadcasting company MBC invited Nam to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

to compete on the program ''Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2'', a show similar to the music competition television series ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''. His final placement within the top five contestants jump-started his career in

. On September 25, 2012, Nam signed with

B2M Entertainment B2M Entertainment () was a South Korean record label founded in 2010 by Gil Jong-hwa. History B2M Entertainment was originally founded as Gil Entertainment. The company changed its name to B2M Entertainment right after Lee Hyori joined it. The c ...

as a solo artist.

2013–2015: Debut with ''Cloud 9'' and hosting

On January 23, 2013, Nam made his debut with the release of his first extended play (EP) ''Cloud 9'' with lead single "Heaven's Door". That year, Nam also joined Arirang TV's interactive show ''

After School Club ''After School Club'', often shortened to ''ASC'', is a South Korean interactive music talk show that primarily airs on Arirang TV. Premiering on April 17, 2013, the show is currently co-hosted by Allen and Taeyoung of Cravity and Aaron Kwak. ...

'' and its spin-off, ''The ASC After Show'', as MC. He left the program in 2016 to focus on his music career. His appearances on ''After School Club'' and MBC's ''Section TV Entertainment Relay'' were positively received and helped established Nam as one of the "go-to" personalities for international celebrity interviews in South Korea. In April 2014, Nam released his first digital single, "우우 (Ooh Ooh)", and performed at the Seoul Jazz Festival alongside artists such as

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album Impressions ...

Damien Rice Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper (band), Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate succe ...

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-u ...

, and

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

. That December, Nam released his second digital single, "Melt My Heart". In February 2015, Nam featured on Amber Liu's song "I Just Wanna" from her EP ''Beautiful''. In March, he released the single "I'm OK" and its accompanying music video. In May, Nam released the single "Dream", featuring 15&'s

Park Ji-min Park Ji-min may refer to: * Jimin (born Park Ji-min, 1995), South Korean singer, dancer, and member of the boy band BTS * Jamie (singer) Park Ji-min (; born July 5, 1997), professionally known as Jamie or Jamie Park, and formerly Jimin Park, ...

, for charity. In December, Nam signed an exclusive contract with

CJ E&M CJ ENM Entertainment Division (), formerly known as CJ E&M, is a South Korean entertainment and mass media division (formerly company) of CJ ENM. In July 2018, the company merged with the parent company's subsidiary CJ O Shopping, with the latte ...

2016–2017: ''Interview'' and first US releases

Nam released his second EP, ''Interview'', with the lead single "Good For You" on March 24, 2016. That same month, he also took part in

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

's digital music channel

SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. It ...

, releasing the duet "

Spring Love ''Spring Love'' () is a 2013 Taiwanese idol television drama series. The show was produced and filmed by Gala Television, GTV and stars Mike He as the main male lead with :zh:林盈臻, DaYuan Lin from Taiwanese girl group Popu Lady as the main f ...

" with Red Velvet's

Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...

. On April 16, Nam hosted and performed on ''

Saturday Night Live Korea ''Saturday Night Live Korea'' (; abbreviated as ''SNL Korea'' () or simply as ''SNLK'') is a South Korean late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show. It is adapted from the long-running American TV show ''Saturday Night Live'' by ...

'', receiving one of the highest ratings of the season. Later that month, Nam joined the virtual marriage show ''

We Got Married ''We Got Married'' () was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and i ...

'' with

Mamamoo Mamamoo (; commonly stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed and managed by RBW (company), RBW. The group is composed of four members: Solar (singer), Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein, and Hwasa. Known for their strong live vocals, Harm ...

Solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

as his partner. On June 10, Nam released his first US single, "Into You", a collaboration with electronic band KOLAJ. "Into You" premiered worldwide on Beats 1 Radio and ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'', charting at a number one on

Hype Machine Hype Machine is a music blog aggregator created by Anthony Volodkin. History Hype Machine was originally a music database created in 2005 by Anthony Volodkin, then a sophomore computer science major at Hunter College.Heilemann, JohCapturing the ...

. Later that month, Nam headlined KCON NY 2016 and performed five songs, including "Into You", to a sold-out crowd at

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

. He then released his digital single "Can't Help Myself" in July 2016, with lyrics written by

Epik High Epik High () is a South Korean hip-hop trio formed in 2001, composed of rapper and songwriter Tablo, rapper and lyricist Mithra Jin, and DJ and record producer DJ Tukutz. Based in Seoul, the trio first met in 2001 before signing with Woollim ...

Tablo Daniel Armand Lee (; born July 22, 1980), better known by his stage name Tablo (), is a South Korean-Canadian rapper, songwriter and record producer based in South Korea. Tablo is best known as the leader and producer of South Korean hip-hop gr ...

and featuring rapper Loco. Nam also headlined KCON LA 2016 and performed "Can't Help Myself" and "Into You" with KOLAJ to a sold-out

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

. Nam became the host of the new

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

talk show ''Yang and Nam Show'' alongside comedian

Yang Se-hyung Yang Se-hyung (born August 18, 1985), is a South Korean comedian and entertainer. He is most known for his work on the tvN sketch comedy show '' Comedy Big League'' and MBC's ''Infinite Challenge''. His younger brother, Yang Se-chan, is al ...

in November 2016. Additionally, he premiered his collaboration with producer

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, "Body", at the

2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. The ceremony was the seventh consecutive Mnet Asian Music Awards to be hosted outside of South Korea a ...

. In 2017, Nam collaborated with singer Gallant and rapper

on the single "Cave Me In". The song premiered worldwide on Beats 1 Radio and trended globally on YouTube and Facebook for over 72 hours after its release. The music video was shot in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Nam also featured on

Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...

's "Hello" from her EP '' Don't Say No'' and collaborated with

Jeon Somi Ennik Somi Douma (born March 9, 2001), known professionally by her Korean name Jeon Somi (), is a South Korean and Canadian singer signed under The Black Label. Born in Canada to a South Korean mother and a Dutch-Canadian father, she moved to ...

on the single "You, Who?". Furthermore, Nam featured on DJ and record producer Arty's single "Idea of You". Nam performed three sold-out shows in

and

in August 2017 with singer

Alec Benjamin Alec Shane Benjamin (born May 28, 1994) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, his 2018 breakthrough " Let Me Down Slowly" from his album '' Narrated for You'' reached the top 40 in over 25 countries ...

as his opening act. The shows sold out in one minute during presale; due to overwhelming demand, Nam added the date in Atlanta and increased the venue size in New York City.

2018: ''Honestly'' and North American tour

At the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

in South Korea, Nam was named an Honorary Ambassador. He appeared on the primetime Olympic broadcast of American television network

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, providing an in-depth look at K-pop with interviewers

Johnny Weir John Garvin Weir (; born July 2, 1984) is an American television commentator and retired figure skater. He is a two-time Olympian (2006 Winter Olympics, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics), the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, 2008 World ...

and

Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 Worl ...

. On April 11, 2018, Nam released his third EP, ''Honestly''. Led by singles "Honestly" and "Potion", the latter of which featured rapper Woodie GoChild and was released ahead of the album on April 9. ''Honestly'' leaned into synth and electropop while including some dancehall and reggaeton influences. Nam worked with numerous songwriters on the EP, including Brian Lee, Tablo, and Jake Torrey. Additionally, Nam stated that the members of

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

helped provide him with feedback as he was creating the record. ''Honestly'' debuted at number six on the ''Billboard'' World Album charts. In June, Nam embarked on the Honestly Tour, which encompassed 15 shows in 14 cities across North America and featured pop duo

Loote Loote is an American pop duo based in New York City consisting of Jackson Foote and Emma Lov Block. They released their debut single, "High Without Your Love", in May 2017 through Island Records. Background Block's career began by writing jin ...

as special guest. On July 21, Nam performed at We The Fest in Jakarta, Indonesia, the only Korean act in the lineup. Later that summer, Nam released the song "Float", which he co-wrote with producer

Kool Kojak Allan Peter Grigg, better known by his stage name Kool Kojak and stylized as "KoOoLkOjAk," is an American songwriter and record producer notable for music in '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', co-writing and co-producing Flo Rida's #1 ''Bil ...

. The song was selected by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

for the official soundtrack for the film '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation'', which reached number one at the US box office upon release. Nam also featured on a remix for "Your Side of the Bed" with Loote.

2019–2020: ''Before We Begin'', world tour, and ''The Other Side''

On May 8, 2019, Nam released the digital single "Runaway". On April 17, he debuted his weekly podcast show, ''K-Pop Daebak w/ Eric Nam''. The show was named "New & Noteworthy" and "Best Listens of 2019" by Apple Podcasts, as well as "Top 10 Music Podcasts" by Spotify in 2019. On November 14, Nam released his first English album ''Before We Begin'', which marked the start of a new sound and "his transition from K-pop star to global pop singer-songwriter." He noted in an interview with ''

Highsnobiety ''Highsnobiety'' is a global fashion and lifestyle media brand founded in 2005 by David Fischer. The youth-focused company is difficult to pigeonhole, as it straddles the line between a media company that reviews fashion and lifestyle products, ...

'' that he felt "much more expressive in English" since he believed that his previous process of translating English lyrics to Korean caused his music to "lose so much of hesentiment" he intended to convey''.'' Nam released his second podcast show, ''I Think You're Dope w/ Eric Nam'', on December 10. The show reached number one on the Music Podcast Charts in over 25 countries, including the US, UK, and South Korea. On January 9, 2020, Nam embarked on his first official world tour, the Before We Begin World Tour. The tour was set to visit 34 cities across Asia, North America, and Latin America; however, in March 2020, Nam announced the cancellation of the final two Los Angeles shows and Latin American leg due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On July 30, 2020, Nam released his fourth Korean EP, ''The Other Side''. In an interview, he described the record as "a little more playful, a little more upbeat, a little brighter" than his previous releases. The title track "The Other Side" and lead single "Paradise" saw success in South Korea and other Asian countries.

Day6 Day6 (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean pop rock band under the label JYP Entertainment. The group debuted on September 7, 2015, with the EP '' The Day,'' which peaked at No.2 on '' Billboard''s World Album Chart a week following its r ...

vocalist

Young K Kang Young-hyun (; born December 19, 1993), known professionally as Young K, is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter, and rapper. He is best known as the bassist and vocalist of South Korean pop rock band Day6. Early life Kang Younghyu ...

co-wrote four of the songs with Nam.

2021–present: ''There and Back Again''

On May 21, 2021, Nam released the single "Echo", a collaboration with Indian singer and composer

Armaan Malik Armaan Malik (born 22 July 1995) is an Indian playback singer, songwriter, record producer, voice-over artist, and actor. He is known for his singing in multiple Indian languages. He is the brother of music composer Amaal Mallik. Previously ...

and Indian-American composer

Kshmr Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988), known professionally as Kshmr (pronounced "Kashmir" and stylized in all caps), is an American musician, DJ, songwriter, record producer, former rapper, and singer. He was ranked 23rd on ''DJ Mag''s 20 ...

. On June 4, it was confirmed that Nam's contract with CJ E&M had expired. On October 15, Nam released the digital single "I Don't Know You Anymore", his first independent release. On October 19, Nam announced his There and Back Again World Tour 2022 and released the digital single "Any Other Way" on November 12. On January 7, 2022, Nam released his second English album ''There and Back Again'', which included the previously-released singles "I Don't Know You Anymore" and "Any Other Way". Nam commenced the There And Back Again World Tour in Phoenix, on January 24, visiting cities throughout North America, Europe, and the South Pacific. He will embark on an Asia tour extension that includes six cities across Southeast Asia, concluding on November 20 in Seoul. Nam is set to make his acting debut in the

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film ''Transplant.'' On September 8, 2023, Nam released his third English album, ''House on a Hill'', which includes a short film based on the album.

Discography

* ''Before We Begin'' (2019) * ''There and Back Again'' (2022) * ''House on a Hill'' (2023)

Concert tours

* Honestly Tour (2018–2019) * Before We Begin World Tour (2020) * There And Back Again World Tour (2022) * House on a Hill World Tour (2023–2024)

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Listicles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nam, Eric 1988 births Living people American expatriates in South Korea American male pop singers American musicians of Korean descent American contemporary R&B singers American television hosts B2M Entertainment artists Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Korean-language singers of the United States American K-pop singers Singers from Atlanta Uiryeong Nam clan 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Lovett School alumni Peking University alumni American people of South Korean descent YouTubers from Atlanta