Top 10 K-Pop Male Solo Artists (2021)

Author:
Diana
Updated date:
Aug 9, 2021

Diana has been writing on Spinditty for over 3 years. She is a K-pop enthusiast with a deep love for Korean culture.

We love K-pop vocalists for their charisma, for their talent, and for their stunning performances! We are mesmerized by their smooth dance moves and groovy songs. Since there are so many amazing K-pop solo artists that it's hard to choose the best, but these solo artists certainly stand out from the pack.

Top K-Pop Male Solo Artists

Taemin
J-Hope
Agust D (Suga)
G-Dragon
RM
Jay Park
Baekhyun
Chen
Dean
Kang Daniel

1. Taemin

Lee Tae Min, known simply as Taemin, debuted as a vocalist with the group Shinee in 2008. Later, he became one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Korea. He was the first member of Shinee to go solo. He debuted as a soloist in 2014.

Taemin is innovative. He wants to bring different styles of music into the K-pop genre. He challenges himself to try new things, rather than simply repeating sounds that everyone has already used a million times. You can see he is trying to show more of an edge, more power, in his music video for the song “Move.” This song uses retro-sounding R&B, attempting to break stereotypes about what K-pop is. You simply can’t help but enjoy the groovy rhythm of the song and push that “repeat” button to rewatch the hypnotic dance movements in the music video! In his interview with Billboard, the artist said that the aim of the choreography in this music video was to mix both masculine and feminine movements together so that he could break the labels put on male and female performers.

2. J-Hope

Jung Hoseok, better known by his stage name J-Hope, is the main dancer and rapper of BTS. J-Hope debuted as a member of this well-known boy band on their single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. Actually, he was the third member to join the band. Together with BTS, he won numerous awards and became one of the world’s most famous celebrities. But, what was before all this? Prior to his group activities, J-Hope was a member of the underground street dance team Neuron. His dance career made him very popular.

In 2018, the vocalist released his first solo mixtape. He also starred in a music video for its title track! He has an upbeat and energetic tone to his music, which blends a variety of different musical genres!

Agust D (Suga) | Top 10 K-Pop Male Solo Artists

3. Agust D (Suga)

Min Yoon Gi, known mostly as Suga or Agust D, is a Korean rapper, record producer, and songwriter. He first debuted as one of the members of the highly popular Korean pop group BTS. However, apart from performing with BTS, he has also released his own solo mixtape called Agust D! It should be noted that Suga has written and produced lyrics for a large number of tracks on BTS’s albums. And, of course, when it comes to his own tracks, he is the one who writes, composes, arranges, mixes, and masters all his materials. He is also extremely good at playing the piano, which he uses to produce hip-hop and R&B music. Moreover, Suga has written and produced over 70 songs for various artists! Plenty of them won awards from the Korean music industry!

4. G-Dragon

Kwon Ji Yong, known simply as G-Dragon, is truly one of the kings of K-pop! This guy is a singer and songwriter, rapper, entrepreneur, and fashion icon. Is there anything he can’t do? Well, probably not. Interestingly, long before debuting as a member of hip-hop K-pop group Big Bang (back when he was only 12), G-Dragon trained for more than six years at YG Entertainment! Even though he was only twelve-years old, he debuted as a rapper! So, he's been a recognizable Korean entertainer for a long time.

Today, G-Dragon produces the music for both Big Bang and for solo artists. He is not only one of the greatest performers and most popular K-pop figures in South Korea (with a truly incredible list of achievements), but he has also had a big influence on youth culture, music production strategies, and fashion in the country! That’s why he was listed as the most influential person under 30 in the Asian entertainment industry (according to Forbes).

He releases very mature sounding tracks. He even entered military service (a duty which is obligatory for all Korean men).

I think the military service will only enrich his life experience and give his work more depth. I look forward to more great things from him when he ends service in 2020.

— cultural critic Kim

5. RM

Kim Nam-Joon, known as RM (Rap Monster), is a Korean rapper, record producer, and songwriter. RM began rapping at 13 (!) and very soon successfully auditioned for an agency and became the first member of BTS! Although BTS got popular in the pop world, RM didn’t want to forget about hip-hop. The first solo mixtape he released in 2015, RM, is a real rap mixtape.

RM has an important place in Korean hip-hop history. There has been a constant tension between idol acts and hip-hop artists in Korea, where the hip-hop community would look askance at idol acts for being overproduced. But because RM established his identity as an artist through hip-hop, he was able to pull the two communities together and find legitimacy as both an idol and a rapper.

— DJBooth

Jay Park | Top 10 K-Pop Male Solo Artists

6. Jay Park

Jay Park is a Korean American ‘90s hip-hop and R&B influenced singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, choreographer, dancer, actor, entrepreneur, member of Art of Movement (the Seattle-based b-boy crew), and founder / CEO of two independent hip hop record labels. God, what this boy can’t do? Inspired by Michael Jackson, Usher, and Chris Brown, Park did so that his love spanned into his career. Jay started his path as a b-boy, a dancer. Charismatic, with great stage presence, he was described as a “born entertainer”. Born in Washington, he was a fan of hip hop from his childhood, especially rap.

In his teens, he decides to move to South Korea, where his career in the entertainment industry begins. First, he was one of the members in boy group 2PM, but re-debuted as a solo artist in 2011.

Byun Baekhyun | Top 10 K-Pop Male Solo Artists

7. Byun Baekhyun

Byun Baekhyun, better known simply as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of the K-pop Chinese boy group EXO and K-pop supergroup SuperM. The lead singer in EXO, he shows his strong vocals and stage presence. However, Baekhyun is successful beyond the group too. He made his debut as a solo artist in 2019 with the release of his first EP, City Lights! Not to mention his career as an actor! Back in 2015, he debuted as an actor in highly popular and beloved by everyone Korean drama Moon Lovers, where he starred alongside his fellow singer IU!

I look younger than my age most of the time. The EXO members are all in their mid-20s. These days, many [K-pop] groups that start off [are] in their teens, but when we made our debut we weren’t all that young

— Byun Baekhyun

8. Chen

Kim Jong Dae, mostly known as Chen, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He is the lead dancer and one of the best vocalists in EXO. Kim became a trainee thanks to S.M. Entertainment’s Casting System when he was only 18. In 2011, he was officially introduced as the fourth member of the K-pop group. Apart from the group activities, Kim wrote and also sang several songs for some Korean dramas! To name a few, "Best Luck" for It's Okay, That's Love, "Everytime" for Descendants of the Sun, and ‘For You‘ for the SBS drama ‘Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo’. Moreover, in 2019, Chen debuted as a solo artist with the EP April and a Flower.

9. Dean

Kwon Hyuk, better known as Dean (because he’s a huge fan of the late American actor James Dean), has established himself as South Korean R&B King of K-Pop, songwriter, record producer, and rapper. It feels like he is rebelling against the mainstream K-pop climate: he is known for his unique style and vocals. Dean started when he was only 16 (!), and by the time when he was 20, he was already writing songs for K-pop groups like EXO! He made his debut as an artist in America first, though it’s quite rare for Korean artists to start their path in America first, not in Korea.

Kang Daniel | Top 10 K-Pop Male Solo Artists

10. Kang Daniel

Kang Daniel is a South Korean singer and songwriter, who won famous idol reality contest Produce 101 (season 2) in 2017. As a result, he became a member of the project K-pop boy group Wanna One until their very disbandment. He made his debut as a soloist in 2019, releasing his first album Color On Me.

I think the stage is much bigger when you're an individual artist instead of being a member of a group. I have to do more to fill the stage up. I'm also looking forward to penning songs that are filled with only my voice and my colors - my style, my personality.

— Kang

That's It!

Who is your favorite K-pop male soloist? Share with us what you think in the comment section below!

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Comments

Blackpink blink on September 10, 2020:

I love Bts suga rap

SonicSpace on September 07, 2020:

For me Agust D and Kang Daniel’s music sound most relevant in the list and I do feel that there are quite a few more male soloist deserve to be on the list and didn’t make it

Siham on August 30, 2020:

I agree with this , they are the best

Seunghoo Lee on August 28, 2020:

Where is Zion.T?

Agust d faster rapper on August 12, 2020:

For me male soloist

Chen

Jhope

Suga

Baekyun

Taemin

For me they are best male soloist

Lovely on August 04, 2020:

1.Chen

2. Byun baekhyun

3. D.O

Hiya Clare on May 24, 2020:

1 Chen

2 V

3 Baekhyun

4 D.o.

5 Jungkook

kkkk on May 12, 2020:

wait no eric nam and why put 3 group members from the same group and if there is no eris taemin

suga on April 26, 2020:

ok suga is my bias and i stan bts but still plzz put real soloist instead of group member like chen of exo or suga from bts plzz once again put real soloist

Ayerill on April 17, 2020:

Ok fine, but where is zico??

Tae on April 15, 2020:

a lot of soloist could've made the list, must you guys make it so competitive?! Out there there are many actual solo artist who aren't in a group, I'm not saying there aren't solo artist. but they did produce solo songs, a lot of idols in groups out there do. But, you didn't pick a artist who is completely a solo artist, like they aren't in a group. You guys should be more thoughtful and try not to add solo artist who are in groups to be labeled as a solo artist. A lot of people out there are trying to become a solo artist, but you decide to use people who are in actual groups. But, their songs are good. Not going to lie, its just solo songs they produce. As I mentioned before, a lot of people in groups tend to produce solo songs, take Jackson wang for example.

I think its reasonable if you use solos who actually proceed their career as a solo artist.

Thats what I think, but, the songs are wack/amazing!

aaron on April 13, 2020:

this list was hella bias half of them are in groups as we speak—Eric Nam, Zico, DRP Live (or DPR? i always mix it up), Crush, Jiwoo, Dok2, etc. could’ve made this list

Min on March 26, 2020:

It's disappointing that a lot of the artists that you put on the list are not even true solo artists. Doing solo work while being a part of boy group is different from being a male solo artists because boy groups typically have a larger fan base. So when if one member release a solo songs, it not only gets the support of fans that have him has their bias but also the entire group's fandom.

The list would have been more interesting if you included artists like Eric Nam, Dean, Holland, etc.

Kiann on February 29, 2020:

This list is biased. Hello, dear author-nim, ever hear of Zico and MINO???

jara on February 16, 2020:

Agust D is best

Mark B on February 09, 2020:

Poor List haha. This writer probably doesn't even know Zico, Crush, Paul Kim, Sanchez and K. Will hahahaha...

khushboo Prajapati on December 21, 2019:

Taemin is goods

porn hub :P on November 23, 2019:

they are all the best all of them are my fav I can't choose

manisha on November 11, 2019:

G Dragon is on top then chen and baekhyun . this are best singer in kpop industry .

Jessy on September 25, 2019:

Sorry but.... GDRAGON is The King Of Kpop

melody_of_btob on September 11, 2019:

Did you ever try to listen in BTOB's voices? Why is it no one of them is in the list? They are such a great singers. Try it and you will see. That's recommended..

Yejiapsa, BTOB!

Fact on July 30, 2019:

List all their achievements and G-DRAGON will remain on top.

nami on May 20, 2019:

oh i know hoseok did not just get a 7% eye-

(i'm not a bich i swear but like wHY)

exoL on May 09, 2019:

taemintaemintaemintaemin the best

Kei on May 04, 2019:

1. Yesung

2. G-Dragon

3. Taemin