Apparently, you cannot talk about South Korean music today without mentioning Kang Daniel. Handsome, charming and very talented, Kang has risen to become one of the most talked-about singers in South Korea, winning so many fans for himself and establishing his influence as one of the most bankable stars from that country.
Having kickstarted his career in 2017, Kang has only just spent a few years in the business but he has already left a huge mark as a musician especially among young people who follow his every move. Interest in his private life and career has increased over the years as he continues to grow as an artist. We have gathered some facts about this singer for your reading pleasure. Continue to see more about him.
Kang Daniel’s Early Years
Kang Daniel was born in Busan, the second-most populous city in South Korea. The singer was also raised in Busan and happens to be the only child of his family. Daniel was a highly talented person even in his childhood and often attracted attention with his singing ability.
Kang Daniel started singing when he was still just a little kid and even got the attention of his teachers with his talent. One of his teachers eventually advised him to learn dancing as it will spice up his music. This is what he later did and it helped him in his career. It is noteworthy that Kang Daniel was very shy as a child, but dancing helped to build his self-esteem.
Why He Changed His Name
Everyone knows him as Kang Daniel today but the singer’s real name at birth was not really Kang Daniel, it was Kang Eui-geon. However, many people including even family members and some other relatives had serious difficulty pronouncing this birth name of his so he decided to change it.
Kang eventually changed his name from Eui-geon to Daniel to make it easier for people to make reference to him and call him by name. This worked fine.
How He Rose To Stardom
In his teenage years, Kang Daniel’s talent was glaring and it was not too long before he began working record labels in South Korea. At first, he worked as a trainer under B2M Entertainment, a South Korean record label then later worked as a trainee under MMO Entertainment, another South Korean label.
During the time he spent as a trainee under these labels, Kang gained so much experience and got exposed to how things worked in the industry. He even served as a backup dancer to popular figures including Fiestar’s Cao Lu and Spica’s Sihyun.
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The breakthrough
Kang Daniel eventually got his chance to become a widely known figure when he represented MMO Entertainment in Produce 101 Season 2, a boy group reality survival show in South Korea. He displayed his exceptional talent and finally emerged the winner of the show and was thereby introduced to a mainstream music audience.
After winning the Produce 101 Season 2 show, Kang Daniel went on to become the lead singer of Wanna One, a boy band which was formed by CJ E&M. The band was very successful, further making Kang a very appealing figure in South Korean pop culture.
Kang Daniel’s Achievements So Far Are Mouthwatering
Since his debut as a singer, Kang Daniel has risen to become one of the most sought after figures in South Korean entertainment. While with Wanna One, he gained so much fame that in 2017, he became the very first male celebrity to appear on the cover of InStyle Korea fashion magazine. He went on to appear on the cover of several other magazines. He was also awarded the Rookie Award for his involvement in different variety shows.
In 2018, Kang’s activities with the Wanna One group ended so he decided to make bigger plans for himself. He went on to sever ties with his label, LM Entertainment and became a solo artist. He had to go through the court to achieve this as LM Entertainment would not let him go without a fight.
After going solo, Kang formed his own agency called Konnect Entertainment and released his EP, Color on Me. The EP broke records around South Korea, setting new records for both the highest first-day and first-week physical sales for a solo artist since the Hanteo Chart inception. Kang’s EP also topped South Korea’s Gaon Album Chart.
For the records, in 2018, Kang included in Forbes Korea’s annual list of 2030 Power Leaders in entertainment because of his phenomenal rise in the music world. He was also ranked by Forbes as the fourth most powerful celebrity on their 2019 Korea Power Celebrity list. In addition to this, Kang registered his place on the Guinness World Records as the fastest person to gain one million followers on Instagram, having achieved the new record in 11 hours and 36 minutes.
Today, Kang is one of the hottest artists in South Korea and has sold out so many records so far. However, it seems that he has only just started as he has put in place new plans to ensure he gets more people charmed by his appeal.
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How Rich Is He?
It is expected that Kang Daniel has made so much money from his career, having achieved so much success so far. He is even rated as one of the highest valued celebrities in South Korea’s advertisement industry at the moment because he is reported to be making ₩1 billion (US$860,000 every year from contracts.
At the moment, Kang Daniel’s exact net worth is a little vague but different sources have pegged his worth to be about $1 million. Apparently, this figure is expected to rise dramatically in the coming years.
