JONGHYUN

Jonghyun was a songwriter, producer and super vocalist in the South Korean boy band SHINee. • A teenage Jonghyun was scouted by his future South Korean record label, SM Entertainment, during a school band performance. • While Jonghyun debuted as the main vocalist of the boy band SHINee in 2008, he slowly took on additional creative roles, like co-writing the band's 2009 single “Juliette”. • By 2013, Jonghyun had begun composing and writing songs for other artists, including well-known hits like IU's “A Gloomy Clock”, Son Dam Bi’s “Red Candle” and Lee Hi's “Breathe”. • He won several times at South Korea’s prestigious Golden Disc Awards and picked up the Excellence Award in Radio at the 2015 MBC Entertainment Awards for his work on the program Blue Night, where he premiered self-written and self-produced songs. • In a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ community—rare in the traditional K-pop industry—Jonghyun changed his Twitter profile to a viral photo message written by a transgender student that critiqued South Korea's social norms and discrimination. • Jonghyun died of an apparent suicide on December 18, 2017. He was 27.