Get Closer With Former Winner Member, Nam Tae-hyun
Nam Tae-hyun is a talented singer, songwriter, producer and actor from South Korea. He was previously the main vocalist, composer and producer of K-pop group Winner. After left the group, he founded his own label South Buyers Club and create a band named South Club. He becomes the leader, vocalist, guitarist and main composer of the band.
Full Profile of Nam Tae-hyun
- Name: Nam Tae-hyun (남태현)
- Birth date: May 10, 1994
- Birth place: Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
- Star sign: Taurus
- Height: 179 cm
- Blood type: A
- Instruments: vocals, guitar, bass, piano and drums
- Agency: South Buyers Club
Interesting Facts About Nam Tae-hyun
- He has a younger brother named Nam Dong-hyun;
- His hobbies are composing music and writing lyrics;
- He can speak Japanese;
- He has a tattoo on his left arm that says “Jean Michel Basquiat”, and one on his left wrist that says “Stay Gold”.
Nam Tae-hyun’s Debut with WINNER
In 2011, Nam Tae-hyun was recruited to YG Entertainment through a private audition. He became a back dancer for the 2011 YG Family Concert. In 2013, he competed in the reality program Win: Who Is Next. The program centered around two teams of YG Entertainment trainees. Team A had five members and Team B had six members. The two teams competed against each other to show off their skills in dance, rap, vocals and stage presence to earn a chance to debut.
Nam Tae-hyun was in Team A. He co-composed and co-wrote two songs that were used to compete on the show. Ultimately, the winner would be selected by three rounds of public voting. Team A won all the three rounds and debuted as group Winner.
Winner’s official debut showcase was held on August 6, 2014, with their album 2014 S/S. The album digitally released on August 12 nd physically on August 14, 2014. The group took first place on M! Countdown during their debut stage. Nam Tae-hyun co-composed three songs from the album, which were “But”, “Tonight” and his solo track “Confession”. The album topped several charts, including the Gaon Music Chart as well as the Billboard’s World Album Chart.
Nam Tae-hyun’s Departed from WINNER and Founded South Club Band
On November 24, 2016, YG Entertainment announced that Nam Tae-hyun would leaving Winner and the group would continue without him. The translated message by YG Entertainment is as below:
“WINNER who had many things planned for them this year had put all their activities on hold unfortunately due to Taehyun’s mental health issues.
YG and the other members have put Taehyun’s mental health as the main priority and decided to wait for his recovery. However, due to the fact that the mental issue was one that has been present ever since his childhood, it is impossible to predict when he will recover and when he will be able to return to activities.
After much discussions with Taehyun, we have decided that it is not possible for him to continue activities as a part of WINNER and as of November 18th the exclusive contract between YG and Nam Tae-hyun has been terminated.
This is mainly due to the fact that Taehyun felt responsible for the fact that the team was put on halt because of him and that WINNER, who is only two years into their debut, can no longer wait to continue their activities.
Although Taehyun will no longer be with WINNER we hope that they will continue to support each other in their musical careers.
YG plans to continue promoting WINNER as a 4 member group with no addition of new members. Please show WINNER and Taehyun much support and love as they stand on the start line again”
On November 26, 2016, Nam Tae-hyun uploaded a handwritten letter to fans on his Instagram account. The letter reads:
“Hello. This is Nam Tae-hyun.
“I am sorry that this unfortunate news was received by people who love me.
“There were a lot of events during that short or long time.
“I was really happy when I received undeserved love as WINNER’s Nam Tae Hyun.
“Although this decision was made after a long discussion, my wish to make good music has not changed and I will meet you through other music and projects.
“Stay healthy in this cold weather and I genuinely thank everyone who is supporting me.
“From Nam Tae-hyun.”
After his departure from Winner, Nam Tae-hyun continues sharing his music creations and covers on his SoundCloud account. He created a Tumblr site on January 5, 2017, where he posted announcements and communicating with fans. On January 23, 2017, he called for applicants to join his new band via his Tumblr.
Eventually, Nam Tae-hyun met his future bandmate Kim Eui-myeong at a church. Kim Eui-myeong later introduced Nam Tae-hyun to his musician friends Kang Kun-ku, Jang Won-young and Choi Yun-hee. Together they formed a five member band. Their first performance was announced by Nam Tae-hyun on his social media on March 25, 2017, along with the band’s name, “South Club”. The formation of the band was then made official and Nam Tae-hyun established a music company called “South Buyers Club” under his name. Nam Tae-hyun then became the leader and main composer, while all the members help with the arrangement adding their own style to the songs.
South Club debuted with their first single “Hug Me” on May 26, 2017. The single was also included in their first EP, 90. Their first single received a good response from fans and other fellow artists and from there the band started to perform at many events and festivals. Their first seven-track EP 90 was released on June 27, 2017. They released their second single “No” on July 8, 2017.
On September 16, 2017, Nam Tae-hyun announced that they would continue as a four member band from then on and that Choi Yun-hee had left the band due to personal reasons. Their third single “Who Is This Song For?” was released on December 5, 2017. In February 2018, Kim Eui-myeong left the band due to personal reasons and replaced by Nam Dong-hyun. On March 28, 2018, South Buyers Club revealed that South Club will be touring in several places in Japan.
