Early career Prior to appearing on
Produce 101 Season 2, Kang had trained for two years and one month. He initially started as a trainee under
B2M Entertainment until the company's acquisition and then became a trainee under
MMO Entertainment. Throughout this training period, Kang did not receive dance or singing lessons due to both company's financial instability. One of the most notable moments during his time as a trainee was his appearance on
Her Secret Weapon, performing "Invitation" by
Uhm Jung-hwa, where he served as a backup dancer to
Fiestar's
Cao Lu and
Spica's Sihyun.
2017–2018: Produce 101 and Wanna One In 2017, Kang was one of the five contestants who represented MMO Entertainment on the second season of
Mnet's
Produce series. He is known for finishing first in the final episode of the survival show and becoming the center of the temporary boy group Wanna One that was initially managed by
YMC Entertainment and later managed by
Swing Entertainment. He officially debuted with Wanna One during
Wanna One Premier Show-Con on August 7, at the
Gocheok Sky Dome, with the debut
extended play (EP)
1×1=1 (To Be One). During the preparation for this debut, Kang was confirmed to join the pilot season of MBC's ''
It's Dangerous Beyond The Blankets which premiered on August 27. In the same month, he was featured on the cover of Weekly Chosun magazine, one of the major news and current events publications in South Korea, with an article focusing on his popularity among the general public. Following the conclusion of promotions for the EP, Kang was chosen as the first male celebrity to appear on the cover of InStyle Korea'' fashion magazine in its 14-year history for its October 2017 issue. He was also signed as a cast member for
SBS's newly launched variety show
Master Key, for which he was awarded the variety rookie award at the
2017 SBS Entertainment Awards. Kang was involved in several prominent solo activities the following year, most notably as the main model for
Davichi's "
Days Without You" () music video and as a continuing cast member on the second season of MBC's ''It's Dangerous Beyond the Blankets''. He was later awarded the variety rookie award at the
2018 MBC Entertainment Awards for his work at the respective show. He also continued to promote with Wanna One, including as a part of Wanna One's unit "
Triple Position" which won the Best Unit Award at the
2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards for the single "Kangaroo". Although he concluded his contract with Wanna One on December 31, he still appeared with the group until its official farewell concerts that were held at the Gocheok Sky Dome between January 24 to 27 of the following year.
2019: Solo debut with Color on Me On January 31, 2019, it was reported that Kang would move to
LM Entertainment after the end of his activities with Wanna One. On March 21, it was further reported that Kang submitted an application to suspend his exclusive contract with LM. His legal representative revealed that LM Entertainment had signed joint business contracts that sold Kang's exclusive contract rights to third parties without his prior consent. On May 10, the
Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Kang, allowing the suspension of his contract and his pursuit of individual activities as a celebrity without any interference from the company. The following month, Kang was reported to have established his own agency
Konnect Entertainment for his future activities. LM Entertainment's first
appeal regarding the contract suspension was rejected by the Seoul Central District Court on July 11. Kang officially debuted as a solo artist on July 25 with the debut EP,
Color on Me. As reflected on Hanteo Chart, the EP set records for both the highest first-day and first-week physical sales for a solo artist since the chart's inception at the time. Its lead single "
What Are You Up To" gave Kang his first-ever solo
music show win on
KBS2's
Music Bank on August 9. He kicked off promotions for the EP with six different fan-sign events held across Korea between July 31 and August 3. Following this, Kang embarked on the first fan meet tour of his solo career, touring six different cities: Singapore,
Bangkok,
Taipei,
Kuala Lumpur, and
Manila, before ending in
Seoul on November 24. In the midst of touring, he also hosted his own radio show on
NOW.,
Naver's online audio streaming service. The
Kang Daniel Show aired on
Chuseok holiday with a total of four episodes released each day from September 11 to 14; with
Gray making a guest appearance on the third episode. In the same month, it was announced that Kang's contract with LM was officially terminated as both sides came to a mutual agreement. Unlike his solo debut, Kang was able to promote "Touchin'" by performing the song on several Korean music shows and won a trophy on
SBS MTV's
The Show on December 3. However, after a week of promoting, Konnect announced that Kang would take a break to focus on his health.
2020–2021: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and MC ventures In 2020, Kang returned to scheduled activities with travel reality show
Hello, Daniel which premiered on March 4. Twenty days later, he released his second EP
Cyan as the first installment of his "color trilogy" project. Its lead single "
2U" gave Kang his first top ten track in Korea along with several trophies on music shows:
The Show,
Music Bank,
Show! Music Core,
Show Champion, and
M Countdown. Prior to the release of
Cyan, it was revealed that Kang and
Zico would release a song together as part of the
Pepsi and
Starship Entertainment collaboration project named "For the Love of Korea". Their joint single "Refresh" was co-produced by
Steve Aoki and released on April 23. The following month, he participated in
88rising's Asia Rising Forever and the
TikTok Stage online concert. On June 19, Kang released his first-ever drama
OST titled "Something" through SBS's romantic comedy
Backstreet Rookie. He also joined the lineup for
KCON:TACT 2020 Summer and the Pepsi Online Showcase, for which he hosted the opening and later performed as Pepsi's global K-pop partner. To celebrate the first anniversary of his solo debut, Kang held an online fan meeting on July 25 via ten streaming platforms worldwide. This made him the first Korean celebrity to have a fan meeting broadcast live through China's local platform since the
country's ban on Korean culture began in 2016. The second installment of his "color trilogy" project and third EP
Magenta was released on August 3. With this release, Kang surpassed one million cumulative albums sold within 13 months of debuting as a solo artist. The lead single "Who U Are" peaked at number 12 in Korea and won trophies on SBS MTV's
The Show, KBS2's
Music Bank, and MBC's
Show! Music Core. Two months later, Kang performed on a special episode of MBC's
I Live Alone for the 2021 Summer/Spring
Seoul Fashion Week. In November, Konnect opened pre-orders for Kang's first
artbook ''Never Standing Still - It's Time to Shine'' in collaboration with
Paul McCartney's personal photographer, MJ Kim. As his first American collaboration, Kang was featured on "State of Wonder" by Inverness alongside Anthony Russo. The single was released by
Monstercat on January 15, 2021. He then released the digital single "
Paranoia" on February 16 which gave Kang his first top five track that peaked at number two in Korea and won trophies on several music shows including:
The Show,
Show Champion,
M Countdown, and
Show! Music Core. It also marked his first solo appearance on
Billboard's
World Digital Song Sales chart with the single debuting at number five. Leading up to his next EP, Kang was featured on YouTube Originals seven-episode documentary series
K-Pop Evolution which premiered on March 31. He then released his fourth overall EP
Yellow on April 13 as the final installment of his three-part project aimed to find his true colors as a solo artist. Its lead single "
Antidote" gave Kang his first number one track in Korea along with several trophies on music shows:
The Show,
Show Champion,
Music Bank,
Show! Music Core, and
Inkigayo. Discussing what this project represents, Kang said "The color series is really about sharing the different stages of self-discovery as an artist with my fans". On May 13, Kang released the
promotional single "Outerspace" featuring
Loco through
Universe Music for the mobile application,
Universe. In celebration of his second anniversary as a solo artist, Kang held a
virtual reality (VR) fan meeting on July 25. In the same month, Kang was selected as the fixed
MC for
Mnet's first-ever female dance crew competition show
Street Woman Fighter. His background in
breakdancing and first-hand knowledge of
street dance culture were qualifications cited by the show's
producer for selecting him as the official host. In September 2021, Kang was featured on Japanese musician
Miyavi's "Hush Hush" from the studio album
Imaginary. He also joined the lineup for "Cyworld BGM 2021", a large-scale project to remake the top 100
BGM songs that were most popular on the
Cyworld platform in the 2000s. As the 14th track of the project, Kang and his labelmate
Chancellor released a remake of
Epik High's "Fly" on November 16. That same month, Kang was re-selected as the fixed MC for the
spin-off show
Street Dance Girls Fighter. In December, he reunited with nine other members of Wanna One for a special performance at the
2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards that included a new single by the group titled "Beautiful (Part.3)".
2022–present: Acting debut, The Story, and concert tour Prior to the release of "Paranoia", it was revealed that Kang was offered to star in the first-ever Korean
Disney+ Star original series titled
Rookie Cops. His role as Wi Seung-hyun in the
coming-of-age story marked his official debut as an actor, starring alongside
Chae Soo-bin. Having previously turned down several offers to appear in
Korean dramas, Kang revealed that the idea of working alongside people his age persuaded him to give the show's proposal a try. He released the Korean version of his Japanese collaboration single "Hush Hush" featuring Miyavi on March 9 as part of the series soundtrack. The following month, Kang performed his lead single "Antidote" on
the Recording Academy's
Press Play At Home as the first K-pop solo artist to appear on the series. On April 29, he released the promotional single "Ready to Ride" through Universe Music for the mobile application, Universe. Following the end of his "color trilogy", Kang released his first full-length album
The Story on May 24, 2022. Its lead single "
Upside Down" peaked at number two in Korea and won a trophy on MBC's
Show! Music Core on June 4. Performing the album's fourth track "Parade", Kang made his US television debut on the June 16 episode of
The Kelly Clarkson Show. Following the release of
The Story, it was revealed that Kang would release a song as part of the
Gatorade and Starship Entertainment campaign named "Everyday Athlete" alongside
Yuna Kim and
Ive's
An Yu-jin. Their joint single "Move like This" was released on June 20. Two months later, Kang embarked on the first
concert tour of his solo career, performing in multiple different cities throughout Asia, Europe, and North America between August 2022 and April 2023 before ending off with
encore concerts in Seoul on July 1 and 2. Continuing the series, he initially hosted the one-episode television special
Be the SMF that preceded
Street Man Fighter and was later confirmed as the fixed MC for Mnet's
Street Man Fighter. He released the single "Remember Us" on August 23 as part of the show's soundtrack. He then made his Japanese debut under
Warner Music Japan with the release of his
Joy Ride EP on October 5 supported by the digital single "TPIR" featuring Miyavi. Following this, a repackage of his first full-length album titled
The Story: Retold was released on November 24. Selected by
KBS as a representative of Korea, Kang participated in the 2022
ABU TV Song Festival held in
New Delhi, India. In December, he released an OST titled "Last Forever" through
TVING's comedy
Work Later, Drink Now 2 and also served as a judge on the second season of
Mr. Trot. As his first English-language single, Kang released "Look Where We Are" with
220 Kid and Willim on January 26, 2023. Held in
Las Vegas, Kang performed at the We Bridge Music Festival and participated in the three-day exposition hosted by the
Grammy Museum on April 21. He then released his fifth Korean EP
Realiez on June 19 and performed at the
2023 Summer Sonic Festival on August 19 and 20. In the same month, Kang returned as the fixed MC of
Street Woman Fighter 2. His
documentary film titled
Kang Daniel: My Parade that followed him through his first world tour with concert footage, behind-the-scenes rehearsals, and exclusive interviews was released in movie theaters around the world on August 30 and September 2. In July 2024, after the dissolution of
Konnect Entertainment, Kang announced that he had signed a new exclusive contract with ARA (Artistic Round Alliance). Kang's first project under the new agency, an
EP entitled
Act, was released on September 23. After a performing two concerts in Seoul in October 2024, Kang embarked on his second world tour in 2025, starting with Asia and Europe. On June 16, 2025, Kang released EP
Glow to Haze, which marked the first time he was credited in song composition and production. Ahead of his
enlistment, Kang released an English-language EP
Pulsephase on December 12 and held a fan concert on December 13 and 14. Kang's second documentary film
Kang Daniel: Hold Your Breath followed him throughout his Act tour and was released in domestic
CGV movie theaters in January 2026. ==Personal life==