Hwang Min-hyun (Korean: 황민현; born August 9, 1995), known mononymously as Minhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. He began his career, debuting as a member of the South Korean boy band NU'EST in March 2012. In 2017, he participated in second season of Produce 101 and finished ninth place, becoming a member of Wanna One. Following Wanna One's disbandment, Hwang returned to NU'EST, remaining until the group's disbandment in 2022. He is a solo artist and actor signed under Pledis Entertainment.
Career
Pre-debut
Hwang was scouted by South Korean entertainment agency Pledis Entertainment at the age of fifteen and became a trainee for almost two years. Prior to his debut, he became more well known after appearing in Orange Caramel's music video for their single "Shanghai Romance".[4] He also made appearances in labelmates' music releases as a member of 'Pledis Boys'.[5]
On 15 March 2012, Hwang debuted as a member of NU'EST.[6] He also appeared at the 2012–13 Seoul Fashion Week as a model for designer Park Yoon-soo's fashion show 'Big Park'.[7] In 2015, Hwang was featured in indie artist Fromm's new track, "Aftermath".[8] In 2016, Pledis Entertainment released Minhyun and JR's music video for "Daybreak", which is part of NU'EST's fifth mini album Canvas.[9]
In 2017, NU'EST halted all promotions while JR, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren participated in the second season of the series Produce 101.[10][11][12]
In the third episode of the series, Hwang picked the members for 'Sorry Sorry Team 2', for which he was nicknamed 'producer' and 'CEO Hwang' by online commenters.[13] In the "Position" challenge, he covered I.O.I's "Downpour" and the view count of his fancam reached 1 million within three days.[14] In the "Concept" challenge, he was the center of "Never" team, which charted at number one in multiple music charts.[15] At the end of the program, he ranked 9th, becoming one of the final 11 members to debut in Wanna One. In accordance with the series’ contract, he promoted exclusively as a member of Wanna One for the duration of the group's contract of 1.5 years.[16]
2019–2022: Return to NU'EST, solo projects and Wanna One reunion stage
While his Wanna One contract officially ended on December 31, 2018, Hwang did not officially return to NU'EST until the end of January 2019.[17] This was due to Pledis and Swing Entertainment coming to an agreement that allowed him to attend scheduled year-end shows and award ceremonies throughout January 2019 as a member of Wanna One.[17] His final Wanna One activity before returning to NU'EST was a final concert (titled Therefore) that was held across four days, ending on January 27, 2019.[17]
He, along with the rest of NU'EST, announced their contract renewal with Pledis Entertainment on February 1, 2019.[18][19]
On March 15, Hwang participated in his first song since returning to NU'EST, a special digital single "A Song For You" to celebrate the seventh anniversary of their debut.[20] On April 3, he released a digital solo single "Universe" as the pre-release single from the group's first comeback since 2016, Happily Ever After.[21] The single is accompanied by the music video shot in Budapest and Milan.[22] Later in the year, Hwang made his musical theater debut as Count Axel von Fersen in the Seoul revival of the musical Marie Antoinette, which ran from August until November 2019.[23] On June 26, 2020, Hwang was cast in the lead role of Go Eun-taek in the JTBC drama Live On, which aired from November 2020 to January 2021.[24]
A day after the release of NU'EST's second album Romanticize in April 2021, Pledis Entertainment announced that he was cast in the upcoming tvN drama Alchemy of Souls, written by the Hong Sisters.[25] After days of speculation, it was confirmed on November 15, 2021, that Hwang, alongside the other members of Wanna One (except for Lai Kuan-lin), will reunite for a special stage performance at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards in December 2021.[26] While CJ E&M announced that there are talks of a Wanna One reunion concert and subsequent albums, Pledis Entertainment clarified that Hwang will perform with Wanna One only at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards and will return to NU'EST and his solo projects afterward.[27]
On December 5, 2021, Hwang released the single "I'll Be With You Every Day" (모든 날을 너와 함께 할게), his first solo original soundtrack, for the MBC series The Red Sleeve.[28] It was announced on February 28, 2022, that NU'EST's exclusive contract with Pledis Entertainment will expire on March 14, 2022, and that Hwang and Baekho have renewed their contracts with the agency while members Aron, JR, and Ren chose not to.[29] On March 24, 2022, Hwang confirmed a four-year contract extension with Italian luxury brand Moncler.[30]
2023–present: Solo debut
On January 20, 2023, Pledis confirmed that Hwang would make his solo debut the next month.[31] He released his first mini-album titled Truth or Lie on February 27, 2023.[32] On October 8, 2023, Hwang held his first solo concert in the Philippines at the New Frontier Theater.[33]
^StageTalk Audience's Choice Awards (SACA) is theater and musical award festival that decides the winner based on pure votes from fans of the performance.
^The Kpop Hot 100 was launched on August 25, 2011, and was discontinued on July 16, 2014. The chart was re-established on June 4, 2017, but was discontinued on April 30, 2022.
^"Again" did not enter the Circle Digital Chart, but peaked at number 18 and 39 on Circle BGM Chart and Circle Download Chart, respectively.[40][41]
^"I'll Be with You Every Day" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 5 and 33 on Gaon BGM Chart and Gaon Download Chart, respectively.[44][45]
^Kang Nae-ri (March 24, 2022). "황민현, 伊 럭셔리 브랜드 4년 연속 재계약…대표 얼굴로 재리매김" [Hwang Min-hyun, 伊 luxury brand renewed contract for 4 years in a row... Reestablished as a representative face] (in Korean). YTN. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jeong Hyeon-tae (February 6, 2023). "황민현, 27일 솔로 데뷔 확정.."알려지지 않은 이면 담아낸 앨범"[공식]" [Hwang Min-hyun, solo debut confirmed on the 27th.."Album containing the unknown side" [Official]] (in Korean). The Herald Pop. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023 – via Naver.
^Peak chart positions on Billboard's K-pop Hot 100:
"Love Letter". Billboard. December 17, 2011. Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
"Universe". Billboard. April 13, 2019. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
^2017년 25주차 Download Chart [Week 25 of 2017 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). June 18–24, 2017. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
^Cumulative sales figures for "Love Letter" as of December 2011:
2011년 50주차 Download Chart [Week 50 of 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). November 27 – December 3, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
2011년 51주차 Download Chart [Week 51 of 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). December 4–10, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
2011년 52주차 Download Chart [Week 52 of 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). December 11–17, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
^2021년 50주차 Download Chart [Week 50 of 2021 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. December 5–11, 2021. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
^Gu, Min-ji (October 19, 2022). "황민현, '세기말~' OST 가창…"감미롭게 완성한, 예뻐보여" [Hwang Min-hyun sang 'End of Century~' OST... "Sweetly finished, it looks pretty] (in Korean). Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jang Ji-yoon (December 23, 2022). "황민현, '환혼' OST 직접 부른다…'나무' 25일 발매" [Hwang Min-hyun sings the OST for 'Glorious Marriage'... 'Tree' released on the 25th] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Naver.
^Moon Ji-yeon (March 3, 2022). "[공식] 이재욱·정소민·황민현→유준상·오나라, 홍자매 '환혼' 만난다" [[Official] Jae-wook Lee, So-min Jeong, Min-hyun Hwang → Jun-sang Yoo, Nara Oh, Meet the Hong Sisters 'Welcome'] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Min-ji (November 28, 2022). "황민현 '소용없이 거짓말' 출연 확정, 김소현과 호흡 [공식]" [Hwang Min-hyun confirmed to appear in ‘Useless Lies’, breathing with Kim So-hyun [Official]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Naver.
^Choi, Hee-jae (August 10, 2023). "황민현, 차기작은 '스터디그룹'…액션 연기 예고 [공식입장]" [Hwang Min-hyun's next project is 'Study Group'... Action postponement notice [Official position]] (in Korean). Xports News. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Naver.
^Park, Seo-yeon (December 12, 2024). "황민현, 피 튀기는 입시 뛰어든다…공부밖에 모르는 '스터디그룹' 팀장" [Hwang Min-hyun, jumping into the bloody college entrance exam… Team leader of ‘Study Group’ who knows nothing but studying]. My Daily (in Korean) – via Naver.
^Kim, Hyun-sik. "황민현, '보이즈 플래닛' 첫 스타 마스터…연습생들 만난다" [Hwang Min-hyun, the first star master of 'Boys Planet'... meet the trainees] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
^Jo Eun-mi (December 2, 2021). "2021 AAA' 이정재, 2년 연속 대상 영예..임영웅 4관왕·유아인 2관왕[종합]" [2021 AAA' Lee Jung-jae, Grand Prize for 2 consecutive years... Lim Young-woong 4 crowns, Yoo Ah-in 2 crowns [Overall]]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021 – via Naver.
^Han Hyun-jung (December 13, 2022). "최시원·황민현, 배우 부문 뉴웨이브[2022 AAA]" [Choi Si-won · Hwang Min-hyun, new wave actor category [2022 AAA]] (in Korean). Maeil Business Star Today. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim Yoo-rim (December 13, 2022). "황민현·보나·김영대·최시원, 베스트 액팅 퍼포먼스상 [2022 AAA]" [Minhyun Hwang, Bona, Youngdae Kim, Siwon Choi, Best Acting Performance Award [2022 AAA]] (in Korean). Money s. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Naver.