Kai (musician, born 1981)
Jung Ki-yeol, known professionally as Kai, is a South Korean singer and musical theatre actor. He is best known in musical theatre and has starred in Korean productions of A Tale of Two Cities, The Three Musketeers and Phantom. Outside of musical theatre, Kai has appeared as a panelist on singing variety shows such as King of Mask Singer and was host of the classical music show 세상의 모든 음악 on KBS Classic FM.
Early life and education
Kai grew up in a musical home and began singing as a child at a local children's choir. He attended Seoul Arts High School and graduated from Seoul National University where he majored in voice. Despite having an academic background in classical music, he decided to pursue a career in the classical crossover genre, which was still relatively new in South Korea at that time.Career
Kai was trained as an operatic baritone specializing in European classical music and opera but branched out into musical theatre and classical crossover. He gained wider public recognition after featuring as a guest artist at the 2009 nation-wide concert tour of renowned Korean operatic soprano Sumi Jo. He had initially performed under the name "Kyul", a portmanteau of his given name, and eventually adopted the stage name "Kai" at Jo's suggestion.Kai made his musical theatre debut in the 2011 production of The Story of My Life and has starred as the protagonist in the Korean productions of many notable musicals, including A Tale of Two Cities, Phantom, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. He was often cast as authoritarian or "lofty" characters due to his powerful baritone voice. In 2017, he won critical acclaim and recognition for his roles as the eponymous character in the world premiere of Ben Hur, a Korean musical adaption of ', and as Crown Prince Rudolf in Rudolf.
From 2010 to 2014, Kai was a DJ on KBS Classic FM's popular classical music show 세상의 모든 음악 , the South Korean equivalent of BBC Radio 3. He has also participated in singing variety shows such as ', the second season of I Am a Singer and King of Mask Singer. Since 2017 he has been a regular panelist on King of Mask Singer as one of five "music specialists".
As a recording artist, Kai had mainly done guest vocals for other artists and released several digital singles. He released his first studio album I AM KAI in March 2011 and it debuted at #92 on the Gaon Album Chart and rose to peak at #26 within three weeks.
Discography
Albums
Maxi singles
Soundtrack and singles contributions
| Year | Track | Album | Notes |
| 2009 | 눈물 | :ko:멈출 수 없어|Can't Stop Now OST | |
| 2010 | 운명의 연인에게 | ||
| 2010 | 운명의 연인에게 | With Special Guests | |
| 2010 | 그대 내게 다시 | A-LIVE Vol.1 :ko:김형석 |김형석의 다락방 |