ziyueism ☻
view his profile page through this link.
Kyler Kim (카일러김) is a Dutch-Korean singer-songwriter and composer based in South Korea. He is currently a member of all-male pop trio Carboncopyluv. He first appeared in the entertainment industry as a member of cancelled pre-debut group Trinity, before participating in survival audition programs Sol Puzzle (2021), Exo Planet 999 (2022), and Star Maker X 101 (2022), the latter of which he ended up in the debut boy group SOLUNEX.
EARLY LIFE[]
Kyler was born in the city of Maastricht, Limburg Province, Netherlands, on July 9, 2000 to a middle class household. His mother was a member of a non-governmental organization that aided refugees from war-stricken areas, while his father worked at a chemical engineering company.
Kyler first had dreams of becoming a musician after watching the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. When he was 13, he opened his personal YouTube channel called "xXKylerXx", where he posted covers of pop and rock songs, as well as releasing his own Dutch-language song called "One and a Half" on the platform and SoundCloud. He later put all of his videos to private sometime before entering the K-pop industry, after passing auditions for a few companies.
CAREER[]
2019-2020[]
In March 2019, Kyler was revealed as a member of pre-debut vocal boy group Trinity under Super Structure Entertainment, founded by a former Star Empire Entertainment employee. The company was evidently on a spare funding, due to their generic photoshoots and low-budget editing in the music video of their pre-debut and only music release "Stuck in the Past". Kyler personally thought it was amusing, but at the same time, was stressed out at how ridiculous the management was.
Nevertheless, despite his sister's advice to leave and seek greener pastures by applying for bigger agencies, he stuck with the group through its rocky ups and downs as he found it as his most stable path at the time. Trinity was later disbanded in October 2019, with their social media accounts being deleted or replaced to be reused for the company's upcoming girl group project.
In December 2019, he left South Korea to momentarily return home to the Netherlands, but that short stay would become an entire year as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its travel restrictions halted any potential plans for him to pursue music abroad. Meanwhile, over the pandemic, he worked part-time at a Makro warehouse club, where he was able to gain enough money to cultivate his hobby of music.
2021[]
In 2021, Kyler was able to successfully audition for boy group talent competition program Sol Puzzle, which envisioned the formation of a five-member supergroup by the end of the show. During one of the early missions of the show, he exhibited poor dynamic with some of the other contestants, whom many suspected he had off-screen beef with (later proven false).
Kyler was also criticized for his stiff movement and lack of self-confidence that reflected in his performances. Due to this, he ended up being eliminated in the first round. He would shrug off these results and was later hired by Bedlam Entertainment to become a songwriter for both artists within and outside the label. He was also responsible for training Star Maker 101 trainees Won Heeun and Hwang Seunghee in vocals due to his professionalism which was attributed to his character growth under the company.
2022-2023[]
Congratulatory post for Kyler Kim's debut in SOLUNEX
Driven by his desire to improve further and newfound dream to become a singer, he continued training in dancing and developing his singing skills for months. He would also work part-time at a coffee shop to afford training and transportation expenses.
In February 2022, he was sent by the company to participate in Exo Planet 999, which began airing in May. During the Demo Stage, he would fail to receive a Planet Top 9 sticker [1]. During the Bond Mission, he performed "Double Bubble Power" by D.IV.ERGENT and won against the other team [2]. In the first ranking ceremony, his cell ranked 22nd, barely escaping elimination. He would also be voted as one of the visual centers of the show by other trainees. In the Fusion Mission, he would perform SOLVIZ's "Fever" as the center of the performance [3]. Despite receiving attention for his talent and charisma, he was eliminated in the second round. Soon after the program, he returned to 24D Arts, where he was given the opportunity to work as a staff.
In June 2022, he was confirmed to become a participant of Star Maker X 101 as a trainee of 24D Arts, alongside SOLVIZ's Yul, & former Project SOL contestants Ji Byeonghwi and Won Kyungjun [4]. He also revealed during a Q&A on Twitter that it would be his last attempt to debut as an idol, before continuing his studies. On the introductory episode of the show (Episode 0), he placed 1st out of 101 trainees in the current rankings. He received an A grade during the company evaluations and maintained his position in the top 10 until Episode 9. This time, he would receive more popularity than he received in his previous shows, becoming known as both a contender for center and main vocalist, whose expressive and husky tone was compared to those of Iz*One member Jo Yuri. In the end, he would finish at 5th place in the final episode, debuting in project boy group SOLUNEX.
While a member of SOLUNEX, Kyler would continue working as a lyricist and sometimes a composer for other solo artists. Prior to his participation in the show, Kyler already had contributions to monster rookie girl group LE SSERAFIM's 2022 debut single "Fearless", as well as a B-side to Solviz's first single album The Fever Realm titled "Will You Save Me From The Dark?".
In October 2022, he contributed to the lyrics of "The Boat of Love (Sail and Sink)", a B-side from Yong Hwa's first extended play (EP) Troublesome!. He played an even more significant role in singer-songwriter Yoon Jihan's 2023 debut record Heartborne, lending his pen for the tracks "Mad Boy / Gone Boy" and "Agitation".
In August 2023, he co-wrote the lyrics of "Intro: Badge Farmer" and "Smile and Groove" for Charlie Kwon's debut record K-Fanon.
In December 2023, Kyler made his debut as a composer after participating in the production and arrangement of Ryumin, Kozue, and Yu Yan's 2023 collaborative single "Leave It To The Flow".
2024[]
Kyler in March 2024
Following the disbandment of SOLUNEX in the first half of 2024, Kyler announced his intention to retire from the Korean entertainment industry, citing personal mental health issues and realizing that he was the type to prefer working in the background. However, he clarified that he wasn't going to leave music behind, considering pursuing music school in Europe and still contributing to songwriting for other artists. This made him the 2nd SOLUNEX member to leave the idol industry after his groupmate Kwon Aheon, who had also quit his career to pursue a career related to his passion of paleontology.
Following a month of no posts, Kyler deleted his departure posts across social media in July and uploaded a cover of Ben & Ben & Young K's "Leaves", leading fans to suspect that he had reversed his decision. In October, he co-wrote and co-produced Won Taehyun's debut single album Primé. In December, Kyler was revealed as a member of all-male trio Carboncopyluv, alongside Shin Wooseong and Isaiah Myung.
In February 2025, Kyler made his official solo debut with "Pinned By The Monster" featuring South Korean rapper Park Junmi. Upon release, the song was met with positive reviews from music critics for the duo's vocal/rap chemistry as well as both artists' blatantly honest lyricism about their experiences as a K-pop idol during the past few years. The song peaked within the top 10 of the national charts in South Korea.
PERSONAL LIFE[]
Advocacies[]
Kyler is an open advocate against car-centric urban planning in cities, a position he explicitly found himself strongly rooting for after visiting the United States as part of SOLUNEX's international promotions.
Personality and skills[]
Promotional poster for Kyler Kim during Star Maker X 101
Described as the "spokesperson" and "soulful vocalist" of the group, Kyler is someone who is the epitome of a musician that is passionate about his craft, and is happy to share his talent with others whether through performing on stage or lending his creative pen for the songs of other K-pop artists or the very own bands that he is a part of. Whether it be his own music or not, he is great at trying to convey the emotions of a song through his voice, which has been described by some to be one of 4th generation's finest. Nonetheless, he remains humble about his exceptional talents, refraining from assigning himself honorable titles and rarely discussing his own strengths, even if it sometimes comes across as low confidence. As a power vocalist, it is no surprise that he looks up to other talented singers, as he has previously identified Yoo Yeon-jung as his ultimate role model. [5]
Based on his debut attempts alone, one can also deduce that Kyler is a competitive hustler, continuously figuring out how to work his way into success in the music industry and subsequently adapting to it. However, this should not be confused with being hungry for fame and trying to achieve it whatever it takes; he is aware of the exploitive nature of the showbiz world, which has even led him to contemplate quitting at multiple points in his lives, though chose to stay out of his own desire to turn his love for making art into a long-term career choice. As a public figure, Kyler is known for being articulate and well-spoken, often taking the most questions in interviews as he is good at getting the point across. This is also partly due to his past interest for reading, which has led to become an individual with an open-minded and sensitive perspective on things.
Kyler is a polyglot who can speak English, Dutch, French, and Korean, as well as the basics of Thai and Mandarin Chinese. He likes to do travel photography; in 2024, he opened a lifelong Google Drive collection of photos he took in multiple countries including but not limited to South Korea, Japan, Philippines, United States, Turkey, Poland, and Algeria. He also used to be a big football fan and once wanted to be an athlete as a child. During his early teen years, he also had a contemporary world history phase, particularly taking interest in the Cold War period of the 20th century.
Relationships[]
From July 2021 to January 2022, Kyler was in a relationship with producer and Surrealia Sisters member Jessica Zhang. They ended their relationship on good terms and have remained friends.
Interpersonal relationships[]
| Person | Relationship status | Kyler's testimonies |
|---|---|---|
| Shin Wooseong | Close Friend - Colleague | "A talented legend I aspire to be on stage. He's not Beyoncé, but Normani? for sure." |
| Isaiah Myung | Close Friend - Colleague | "Evil little brother. First time I've seen a psychopath in my life. Just kidding! Hehe..." |
| Park Junmi | Close Friend - Colleague | "My Solly brother." |
| Kwon Aheon | Close Friend - Colleague | "My Solly brother. [2]" |
| Kim Jungwon | Close Friend - Colleague | "My Solly brother. [3]" |
| Seo Hyunwon | Close Friend - Colleague | "A dance machine. I could never, to be honest." |
| Lee Yoonhae | Friend - Colleague | |
| Won Kyungjun | Friend - Colleague | |
| Han Yul | Friend - Colleague |
DISCOGRAPHY[]
Singles (1)[]
| Title / Release Date | Label | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinned By The Monster February 2025 |
24D Arts | Download · streaming |
Songwriting and production credits[]
| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Solviz | The Fever Realm | "Will You Save Me The Dark?" | Songwriting |
| LE SSERAFIM | Fearless | "Fearless" | Songwriting | |
| Yong Hwa | Troublesome! | "The Boat of Love (Sail and Sink)" | Songwriting | |
| Solviz | The Back of The Sun | "Fire (Voodoo)" | Songwriting | |
| 2023 | Diavolo and Solviz | Non-album single | "Leather Sprinter" | Songwriting |
| Yoon Jihan | Heartborne | "Mad Boy / Gone Boy" | Songwriting | |
| "Agitation" ft. Kim Sangwoo of QUANTUM | Songwriting | |||
| Charlie Kwon | K-Fanon | "Intro: Badge Farmer" | Songwriting | |
| "Smile and Groove" | Songwriting | |||
| Ryumin, Kozue, Yu Yan | Non-album single | "Leave It To The Flow" | Songwriting, composing | |
| 2024 | Solviz | The Solviz Archive | "Haunted" | Songwriting |
| "Insane About You" | Songwriting | |||
| "Heart Spells, Don't Lead Me On" | Songwriting | |||
| Paek Beomjun & DEC | Non-album single | "I'm Your Boy?" | Songwriting | |
| Won Taehyun | "Primé" ft. Won Kyungjun of MERAVI | Songwriting, composing | ||
| 2025 | Himself | Non-album single | "Pinned By The Monster" ft. Park Junmi | Songwriting, composing |
| Carboncopyluv | Voicemails I Can't Send | "Mayhem Situation" | Songwriting, composing | |
| "Charlie Kwon Eyes" | Songwriting, composing |
FILMOGRAPHY[]
- Sol Puzzle (2021)
- Exo Planet 999 (2022)
- Star Maker X 101 (2022)