Choi Seung-hyun better known by his stage name T.O.P, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. He is a member of the South Korean K-Pop group Big Bang and has also participated in various dramas and films, such as I Am Sam (2007), Iris (2009), Nineteen (2009), 71: Into the Fire (2010), Commitment (2013) and Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014).
“I had an extremely sensitive personality, and I snuck out (of school) to go home everyday. Because I kept coming home from school, my teacher and my mom decided to hide my shoes, but then I started going home barefoot. It was hard to work with others. I couldn’t adhere to the structured and organized activities. I wasn’t a delinquent, but I just couldn’t sit in class with all the other kids. It was so hard for me. In retrospect, those were things I needed to experience but I kept leaving to come home.”
Jeff Benjamin of Billboard K-Town columnist noted that T.O.P is well known for his low-bass timbre rapping. |
TOP’s first kiss was near Han River when he was in 7th Grade, he shared the story on the YG Special of ‘SBS’s Strong Heart’:
“I’m not sure exactly how old I was, but I do remember the scene. When I was young, I wanted to show my mom my first kiss with a girl, so I asked my mom to come outside of the house for a moment. When she stepped outside, I beckoned my girlfriend who was hiding from behind the trash cans and confidently kissed her in front of my mom.”
Pre-debut
Seunghyun seems to have always had a strong relationship with his mother ever since he was young. He now has his mother on No.1 speed dial and she lives with him in his own villa. During an episode of ‘Come to play’, he showed his strong affection for his parents by crying after reading a letter from his mother as he felt regretful for not being a better son. He also does not like it when people post up pictures of his family on the internet as he wants to defend them as even though he does not have a private life, he wants them to.
Later, when YG was looking for members for his new boy band (who would later become Big Bang), Jiyong contacted Seunghyun again and they recorded demos together, sending them to the CEO of YG entertainment, Yang Hyun Suk. YG called him in for an audition but rejected him as he was deemed ‘too chubby’ for the image of an idol. Because Seunghyun wanted to join YG so badly, he reportedly lost 20kg in only 40 days. He returned again to audition and was accepted into YG. When Seunghyun joined YG entertainment, YG couldn’t decide what name to give him. He suggested that he should be called Mark after his favourite guitarist, but Se7en suggested the name ‘T.O.P’ and so that was chosen to be his stage name.
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During his childhood, Seunghyun met Jiyong as they were neighbourhood friends from middle school who used to rap and sing together. However, Jiyong moved away and they both lost contact with each other.
In his teenage years, Seunghyun was a popular underground rapper named TEMPO and recorded the song Buckwild featuring NBK gray. His talent was so good that he even won a rap battle contest on a radio program. He was inspired by rap artists such as Notorious B.I.G and would often buy hip-hop clothes. During his trainee days for Big Bang, his rapping techniques were considered exceptional as he had little training compared to the other members. TOP’s main weakness was that he found dancing hard as he mentioned in Episode Seven of Big Bang’s Documentary:
‘I think dancing is really hard for me. Starting with memorising the choreography. It’s all hard for me.’ In 2006, the five members debuted as Big Bang, with the song LA-LA-LA. |
2007–10: Solo career development, move into acting, and GD&TOP
Following the release of the band's albums and singles, T.O.P. began working on his solo career. In April 2007, he was featured with fellow Big Bang members Taeyang and G-Dragon on singer Lexy's single "Super Fly" for her album Rush. Later that summer, he appeared as an actor in Red Roc's "Hello" music video.
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He later became the first member of Big Bang to venture into acting, starring in the KBS2 drama, I Am Sam, portraying the school's top fighter, Chae Musin. He also took the role of MC of MBC's Music Core on November 10, 2007, only to resign in April of the following year. In 2008, he collaborated with R&B artist Gummy on the song "I'm Sorry" for her album Comfort, veteran singer Uhm Jung-hwa for her single "D.I.S.C.O." and ZiA for her single "I Only See You". That same year, he was also admitted to Dankook University, to the theatre department.
T.O.P later put his solo career on hold while he joined Big Bang for their promotional activities. After more than a year of promoting the group's materials, he returned to acting, playing the assassin Vick in the critically acclaimed Korean television drama Iris
His appearance in the 2010 film 71: Into the Fire was well-received, earning him several awards including the Hallyu Popularity Award in the 47th Grand Bell Film Awards. The movie also gained 1 million views in a week, making it the first movie of 2010 to do so South Korea. Simultaneously, T.O.P began to prepare for his solo musical debut. During Big Bang's Big Show concert in January 2010, T.O.P. performed his new single "Turn It Up." They later uploaded an official video, which garnered over a million views within a few minutes. He became the first Korean artist to have his song released worldwide on iTunes.
In November 2010, YG Entertainment announced T.O.P and bandmate G-Dragon would release a collaboration album under the name "GD&T.O.P".
To promote their album, the duo released three singles: "High High," "Oh Yeah," and "Knock out."
All three singles preceded the release of the album. The singles attained commercial successes: "Knock Out" was a chart topper while "Oh Yeah" and "High High" both peaked at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.
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2011–present: Continued acting
In 2012, T.O.P starred in the film Commitment (also known as Alumni), playing the son of a North Korean spy who is falsely accused.
During filming a combat scene for the movie, he injured the back of his hand on a glass fragment and was later admitted to the hospital for surgery. Filming of the movie was delayed for several weeks, though despite his injury he continued to appear with Big Bang throughout their world tour.
During filming a combat scene for the movie, he injured the back of his hand on a glass fragment and was later admitted to the hospital for surgery. Filming of the movie was delayed for several weeks, though despite his injury he continued to appear with Big Bang throughout their world tour.
For his role, he won Rookie Award at the Asia Star Awards, held during the Busan International Film Festival, the only Korean actor who won an award in the ceremony.
T.O.P was named one of the hottest sex symbols in 2013.
In November, he released a digital single, "Doom Dada" which he himself regarded it as strange and weird.
In 2014, T.O.P portrayed the role of main character Ham Dae-Gil in the South Korean gambling film Tazza 2: The Hidden Card, sequel to Tazza: The High Rollers.