2008–2013: Career beginnings Lee Tae-min was born on July 18, 1993 in
Seoul. He joined
SM Entertainment as a trainee with talent in singing and dancing and was chosen to debut as a member of
Shinee in 2008 at age 14. The group officially debuted on May 25, 2008, performing on the music program
Inkigayo on
SBS. Taemin made his acting debut the following year in
MBC's comedy
Hilarious Housewives as Junsu. In January 2012, he voiced the main character in the Korean version of the animated film
Koala Kid. He also joined the singing competition program
Immortal Songs 2 as a contestant. On September 19, 2012, Taemin released his first
soundtrack song (OST), "U", for the drama
To The Beautiful You. On October 16, it was announced that Taemin, alongside
Super Junior's
Eunhyuk and
Super Junior-M's
Henry,
Girls' Generation's
Hyoyeon, and
Exo's
Kai and
Luhan would participate as a six-member dance team for the Veloster theme song "
Maxstep", the collaboration between SM Entertainment and
Hyundai. A video teaser of the song premiered at the PYL Younique Show on October 17. In April 2013, SM Entertainment revealed that Taemin would be taking part in the reality variety show
We Got Married with
Son Na-eun as his partner, replacing the previous couple
Kwanghee and
Sunhwa. In the same year, Taemin made a three-episode appearance on the drama
Dating Agency: Cyrano as idol singer Yang Ho-yeol with the stage name Ray. In June, he featured in Super Junior-M's Henry solo song "
Trap" alongside Super Junior's
Kyuhyun. In December, Taemin participated in the soundtrack of the series
Prime Minister & I, providing vocals for the track "Footsteps", the first track to be previewed on the series, at the end of its third episode.
2014–2016: Solo debut with Ace, Press It and Sayonara Hitori In May 2014, Taemin appeared in the musical
Goong in Japan. On August 18, 2014, Taemin made his solo debut with the release of his first
extended play (EP)
Ace. The six-song EP peaked at number one on South Korea's
Gaon Album Chart, while its lead single "Danger" reached number five on the
Gaon Digital Chart. The music video for "Danger" was released on August 16, choreographed by American choreographer
Ian Eastwood and SM Entertainment's performance directing team BeatBurger. Taemin traveled to Los Angeles to learn the routine. On February 3, 2015, Taemin was confirmed for the cast of the first season of
Match Made in Heaven Returns. On April 14, Taemin joined
JTBC's program
Off to School as a cast member. On June 1, he released the song "That Name" in collaboration with bandmate
Jonghyun for the soundtrack of
KBS2's
Who Are You: School 2015. The song debuted at number 36 on the Gaon Digital Chart. '' in May 2016 Taemin released his first studio album
Press It on February 23, 2016. The album contained ten songs, including the lead single "Press Your Number", which was co-produced by
Bruno Mars. Taemin told reporters at a media showcase hosted by bandmate
Minho at the SM Town Coex Artium in
Gangnam District, Seoul, "After my EP, I did perform with Shinee but I also spent a lot of time preparing my next solo album, […] I took a lot of private lessons for voice and dance, and looked over my past songs. I want to say that I've become a stronger performer." The album debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart. In June 2016, Taemin's Japanese debut was announced with the EP
Sayonara Hitori and a showcase on his 23rd birthday. The EP was released on July 27 and included four new songs, as well as the Japanese version of "Press Your Number". Later in June, Taemin was confirmed to be part of the cast of
Mnet's dance program
Hit the Stage. He was partnered with
Koharu Sugawara, who choreographed his Japanese debut song "Sayonara Hitori", and placed first in the second episode.
2017–2018: Flame of Love, Move and Taemin In July 2017, Taemin held his first solo concert in Japan at the
Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, attracting 28,000 fans. His second Japanese EP,
Flame of Love, was released the same month. Taemin held his first Korean concert, Off-Sick, over three days at the end of August, playing to a total of 12,000 people. Encore Off-Sick concerts were announced on September 7 and took place on October 14 and 15 at
Jamsil Gymnasium, attracting 10,000 fans. This was later followed by additional shows in Japan. In August 2017, Taemin's first Japanese drama,
Final Life: Even If You Disappear Tomorrow, was announced. The crime series, directed by Masatoshi Kurakata and Takeshi Maruyama, was an original Japanese work for
Amazon Prime Video and released in September. It starred Taemin and
Shota Matsuda. Taemin also provided vocals for the soundtrack for the drama, "What's This Feeling". His first reality series,
The Taemin: Xtra Cam, was broadcast through
V Live, showing preparations for his upcoming album and behind-the-scenes concert footage. Taemin joined the reality show
The Unit as a mentor in October 2017. His second studio album,
Move, was released the same month. Its lead single
of the same name gained attention for its unique choreography and sparked a trend called "Move Disease" after a performance of the song went viral in South Korea. The album debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart and number three on the
Billboard World Albums Chart. On December 10, a repackaged edition of
Move was released, titled
Move-ing. It added four new songs to the tracklist, including the lead single "Day and Night". That same month, Taemin was scheduled to perform at the annual
KBS Song Festival but pulled out a week after the death of bandmate Jonghyun. Taemin took part in the JTBC program
Why Not? The Dancer in May 2018. The show saw him travel to Los Angeles alongside Eunhyuk and
Highlight member
Lee Gi-kwang in their quest to become choreographers. He later joined the music program
The Call, where he collaborated with artists such as
Bewhy and UV. Beginning on September 21, 2018, Taemin embarked on his first Japanese concert tour, Sirius. It consisted of 32 sold-out shows across 16 cities, attracting 100,000 people. On November 5, Taemin released the self-titled studio album
Taemin, his third overall and first in Japanese.
2019: Want, Famous and debut with SuperM Taemin released his second Korean EP,
Want, on February 11, 2019. The choreography for the title track was created by Koharu Sugawara. He followed the release with his second Korean concert T1001101, which played at the
SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium from March 15 to 17. Fourteen shows were scheduled, with three more added in August to accommodate demand. On August 4, Taemin digitally released his third Japanese EP
Famous, with a physical release on August 28 through
EMI Records and
Universal Music Japan. The lead single and title track "Famous" was released on July 26, 2019, along with a music video. The EP topped the
Oricon Albums Chart, his first release to do so. In August, Taemin debuted as a member of
SuperM, a K-pop supergroup created by SM Entertainment in collaboration with
Capitol Records. The group's promotions began in October and were aimed at the American market. SuperM's
self-titled debut EP was released on October 4, with lead single "
Jopping". Taemin returned to Japan with his T1001101 concerts in December, performing at
Yokohama Arena and
Osaka-jō Hall over three days.
2020–2025: Never Gonna Dance Again, Advice, Guilty and Eternal Taemin was scheduled to hold a concert, Never Gonna Dance Again, in Seoul in March 2020, but it was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of the release of his upcoming album, he starred in the online reality show
Rare-Taem, in which he completed missions based on the results of a board game. Taemin's third Korean studio album,
Never Gonna Dance Again, was released in two parts in September and November 2020, respectively. The project, together with lead singles "
Criminal" and "Idea", was widely recognized by critics as one of the best K-pop releases of the year.Taemin released the song "My Day" for the soundtrack of
tvN drama series
Navillera in March 2021. He released his third Korean EP,
Advice, on May 18. The album featured five songs, including the lead single of the same name. He previewed the single at an online concert called N.G.D.A. (Never Gonna Dance Again), which he held through the
Beyond Live platform on May 2. The concert drew nearly 90,000 viewers across 119 countries. Taemin participated in the theme song for the
2020 Summer Olympics, which he recorded prior to his enlistment. Taemin returned as a soloist with his fourth EP
Guilty on October 30, 2023, two years and five months after
Advice. In December, he held a concert titled
Metamorph at the Inspire Arena in
Incheon. He was the first artist to hold a standalone concert at the venue, which is the first multi-purpose arena in South Korea. Taemin's solo contract with SM Entertainment ended in March 2024, though he continued to conduct group activities with Shinee under the company. He signed a new contract with
BPM Entertainment for his solo promotions. In July he performed at
KCON 2024 at
Crypto.com Arena Los Angeles. He released his fifth EP,
Eternal, on August 19, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his solo debut. On August 31, he embarked on a world tour, titled
Ephemeral Gaze, beginning with concerts in Asia and expanding to the U.S., Europe, and South America. He hosted the Mnet survival show
Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace in September 2024. His tour concluded in April 2025 with encore shows at the
Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. In total, the tour included 29 cities across 20 countries. He staged an additional concert in Las Vegas the following month.
2026–present: New company On February 24, 2026, it was announced that Taemin had terminated his contract with BPM Entertainment, amidst media reports surrounding the company's financial instability. It was alleged that BPM owed Taemin one billion won in financial settlement and that they had signed a contract with an external company without his consent.
Sports Chosun reported that Taemin had personally supported his staff's salaries during this time. On March 11, it was announced that he signed an exclusive contract with Galaxy Corporation. He released his first English digital single shortly after, a pop R&B track titled "Long Way Home". In April, he became the first Korean male soloist to perform at
Coachella. == Public image and musical style ==