Hansol Vernon Chwe (born February 18, 1998), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

as Vernon (), is a South Korean and American rapper, singer and songwriter. Managed by

Pledis Entertainment Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to Bumzu, Hwang Min-hyun, and groups Seventeen and TWS. Its name originates from the Pleiades, a star cluster in the constellat ...

, he is a member of the South Korean boy band Seventeen and its hip hop team. Vernon made his official solo debut with "Black Eye" on December 27, 2022. Aside from his work with Seventeen and as a soloist, he has written and produced music with and for other artists such as

Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. Traditionally a masculine name, it can be diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names and is of Scottish English origin. It is also given as a name in its own right. Since the mid-20th century it has been used a ...

Bumzu Kye Beom-ju (, born November 8, 1991), better known by the stage name Bumzu (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bumzu is best known for writing and producing much of the discographies of boy bands NU'EST and Seventee ...

, and

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

Early life

Hansol Vernon Chwe was born in Tisch Hospital in

Kips Bay, Manhattan Kips Bay, or Kip's Bay, is a List of Manhattan neighborhoods, neighborhood on the east side of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by 34th Street (Manhattan), 34th Street to the north, the East ...

, on February 18, 1998, to a Korean father and an American mother. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Hongdae, South Korea. He attended Changcheon Middle School but later opted for homeschooling with his parents after being scouted by Pledis, in order to focus on his training. His stage name comes from his middle name, Vernon, which is also his mother's

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

. Both his parents are artists.

Career

2012–2014: Pre-debut

Vernon joined

in 2012, after being scouted on the street, and received training for the next three years. Beginning in 2013, he participated in '' Seventeen TV'', an online reality show that introduced Pledis' trainees and showed potential members of the boy group Seventeen before their official debut. The show was broadcast periodically on

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to the IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest office ...

, where the trainees showed themselves training, singing, creating choreographies, and playing games. The online show also included participation in concerts, such as Like Seventeen. Before his official debut as an idol, Vernon made multiple appearances on South Korean television, including

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11. MBC News Now broadcasts as channel 12. Establish ...

's ', a program about foreigners in South Korea, and

Song Eun-i Song Eun-i (; born January 4, 1973) is a South Korean singer, actress and comedian. She made her debut as a theater actress in 1993. In the same year, she made her debut as a comedian in KBS. She is currently signed under her own management co ...

's ''Eye to Eye'', where he appeared as an elementary school student who was an expert in dating.

2015–present: Seventeen and solo activities

In 2015, Vernon debuted as a member of the South Korean boy group Seventeen with the

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

17 Carat ''17 Carat'' is the debut extended play (EP) by South Korean boy group Seventeen. It was released on May 29, 2015, by Pledis Entertainment and distributed by LOEN Entertainment. " Adore U" serves as the lead single for the EP. Background and ...

'' on May 26, on which he contributed to lyrics for four out of the five songs. Since debuting, Vernon has participated in the songwriting of over 90 songs, making him the Seventeen member with the second-most writing credits after

Woozi Lee Ji-hoon (; born November 22, 1996), known by his stage name Woozi (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and record producer. Managed by Pledis Entertainment, he is a member of the South Korean boy band Seventeen, the leader of its vocal ...

. In November 2021, Vernon released his first solo track since 2015, titled "Bands Boy", written by himself. In February 2022, English singer

reached out to Vernon on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

to collaborate on a remix for " Beg for You". The remix was released February 26, 2022, with a review from ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

s Steffanee Wang describing Vernon's verse as a "grand slam", with "heavy distortion before his silvery falsetto breaks through the digital veil". In December 2022 it was announced that Vernon would release the third mixtape for Seventeen's ''The Thirteen Tapes'' series: a self-composed and self-written single titled "Black Eye". It was released on December 23, 2022. In July 2023, Vernon, alongside bandmate

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

, hosted an

Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), a ...

summer themed radio show titled ''Summer Vacation With Joshua and Vernon of Seventeen.'' He later joined

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician and record producer. He is the co-lead vocalist, co-founder, and bassist for the rock band Blink-182 and the only member to appear on every album. Hoppus became interested in ska ...

' own Apple Music show ''After School Radio'' for episode 169. In 2024, Vernon was promoted to a regular member of the Korean Music Copyright Association (

KOMCA The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it ...

). Later that year he was confirmed to have a cameo appearance in Anderson .Paak's comedy film '' K-Pops!''.

Artistry and image

Influences and musical style

Vernon has cited many influences throughout his career. Key

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

influences include American band

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

and Canadian singer

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

, which have manifested in songs he has produced, such as Seventeen's "2 MINUS 1" and his own "Black Eye". He has also indicated interest in

hyperpop Hyperpop (sometimes called bubblegum bass) is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated during the early 2010s in the United Kingdom. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on p ...

and

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental music, experimental techniques such as m ...

, many times crediting British singer

as an influence, specifically for Seventeen's track "Gam3 Bo1". He has also indicated he is a fan of

Bladee Benjamin Thage Dag Reichwald (born 9 April 1994), known professionally as Bladee, is a Swedish singer and rapper. In 2013, he formed the Drain Gang music collective alongside childhood friends Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor. Bladee ...

100 gecs 100 gecs () is an American musical duo formed in 2015 that consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. They self-released their debut album, '' 1000 gecs'', in 2019 to positive reviews, followed by a companion remix album, '' 1000 gecs and the Tre ...

, and

The Kid Laroi Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born 17 August 2003), known professionally as the Kid Laroi (stylized as The Kid LAROI), is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter. He was first discovered by Triple J Unearthed in 2016 at the age of 13. As ...

Fashion

In 2023, Vernon was announced as the first global ambassador for French fashion house Kenzo. Since the announcement, Vernon has attended multiple shows for the brand at

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

and was the face of the brand's FW23 campaign.

Discography

Singles and collaborations

As lead artist

As featuring artist

Other charted songs

Soundtrack appearances

Composition credits

All credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it ...

unless stated otherwise.

Filmography

Films

TV shows

Web shows

Notes

References

{{Authority control Seventeen (South Korean band) members Pledis Entertainment artists South Korean hip-hop singers South Korean male rappers 21st-century male rappers South Korean hip-hop musicians South Korean male idols 21st-century South Korean male singers 21st-century South Korean rappers Musicians from Manhattan Rappers from Manhattan Singers from New York City South Korean hip-hop record producers 1998 births Living people South Korean people of American descent American K-pop singers