2017–present: Debut with Stray Kids and solo endeavors In 2017, Seungmin appeared in the JYP survival show
Stray Kids, a show which allowed him to debut as
Stray Kids member. Kim Seungmin officially debuted with
Stray Kids on March 25, 2018, through their debut showcase of the group, Stray Kids Unveil (Op. 01: I Am Not), at
Jangchung Arena. On the next day, Seungmin with Stray Kids released an EP titled
I Am Not and the lead single "District 9" which they showcased during the debut showcase. In this album, he also participated in the lyrics making of song "Mixtape #1". On July 24, 2018, Seungmin was selected as the Regular MC of
After School Club with
Jimin and
Han Hee-jun.
Solo releases After debuting, Stray Kids began a
YouTube-based non-album singles project,
SKZ-Record/Player. As of July 2025, Seungmin is one of the most prolific contributors to the project. This activity, coupled with Stray Kids' win on
Kingdom: Legendary War and Seungmin's individual appearances on shows such as
LeeMujin Service and
King of Masked Singer, has continued to build Seungmin's profile as a singer.
SKZ-Record/Player and original songs On March 25, 2021, "Piece of a Puzzle", a song co-written with Stray Kids members
Bang Chan and
Changbin, was released in celebration of Stray Kids' 3rd Debut Anniversary. On 18 June, 2021, Seungmin, Felix, Changbin and Bang Chan released "Up All Night", to the project with an accompanying music video. Both songs were later included on the
SKZ-Replay album in December 2022. On 27 March 2023, together with Felix and Changbin, Seungmin released the subunit track, "Snain". On August 13, 2023, Seungmin released "Hold On", a song Han wrote about the death of a pet and wanted Seungmin to sing. In June 2024, Seungmin and Han released "Respirator", a duet they had debuted three months prior in a performance on the final day of Stray Kids' fourth fan-meeting, SKZ Magic School, in March. In July 2025, Seungmin released "Goodbye", which was written by
Bang Chan about his experiences moving to South Korea away from his family when young. As of July 2025, all four were yet to see wider platform release. On December 21, 2022, Seungmin's original solo song "Stars and Raindrops" was released and included as part of the compilation album
SKZ-Replay. Seungmin's original solo "As We Are", first performed in August 2024 as part of Stray Kids' DominATE tour in Seoul, was released in December 2024 as part of Stray Kids' special album,
Hop, with an accompanying music video released to the band's
SKZ-Record/Player YouTube project. In March 2025, as part of Stray Kids' digital single album
Mixtape: Dominate, Seungmin released "Cinema", a duet with
Lee Know, with an accompanying music video released on the Stray Kids YouTube channel. As of July 2025, Seungmin was known to have at least one unreleased original song, "Perfume", which was performed during Stray Kids'
5-Star Dome Tour in 2023.
Cover versions As of July 2025, Seungmin had contributed the most cover versions to the
SKZ-Record/Player project: six solo covers (covers of "You Were Beautiful" by
Day6, "
Start Over" by
Gaho, and "Stay As You Are" by
Sandeul in 2020; a cover of "Love Again" by
Baekhyun in 2021; a cover of
Justin Bieber's "
Ghost" in 2022; and a cover of "
Event Horizon" by
Younha in 2023); and two duets with
Han ("Congratulations" and "Zombie", both originally by
Day6).
Song By In 2024, Seungmin began his own mini-series on Stray Kids' YouTube channel, the
Song By project, where he sang a variety of songs which held meaning for him. In the first episode, he covered "
Love Poem" by
IU, a song which he had previously covered in the team-up round of
Kingdom: Legendary War with
Eunkwang of
BTOB and
Jongho of
Ateez, to some acclaim. In subsequent episodes, he covered songs by artists including
2NE1,
Billie Eilish,
Lauv,
Radiohead, and
Yoasobi. The mini-series concluded with its tenth episode in June 2025, where Seungmin performed a cover of "Finale." by Japanese singer-songwriter eill.
Soundtrack appearances On October 10, 2021, Seungmin released his first solo original soundtrack, "
Here Always" for South Korean drama
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. The song debuted at number 13 on
Circle Download Chart issue dated October 10 to 16. On October 19, 2022, Seungmin released his second original soundtrack "Close to You" for
Love in Contract. The song debuted at number 154 on the Circle Download Chart issue dated October 16 to 22. On March 7, 2024,
Genie TV's original
The Midnight Studio announced that Seungmin will participate in the drama's original soundtrack. The drama OST title "Destiny" was revealed and released later on April 9, 2024. "Destiny" was debuted at number 103 on the Circle Download Chart issue dated April 7 to 13. The OST debuted at number 160 at the Circle Download Chart issue dated March 10 to 16. The song, "My Destiny", was released on March 2, 2025. The OST debuted at number 139 at the Circle Download Chart issue dated March 2 to 8. The song, dubbed "Start!", was released on April 12, 2025. On September 30, 2025, it was announced that Seungmin would feature on the soundtrack of
SBS drama,
Would You Marry Me?. The original song, "It Has to Be You", was released on October 10. == Other ventures ==