|
This article, Lee Minhae, is created, written, and owned by JayStev85. Please do not edit this page without his permission. Thank you, and enjoy reading. |
Lee Minhae (Korean: 이민혜, born June 26, 2005), known mononymously as Minhae, is a South Korean dancer, choreographer, rapper, songwriter and television personality. Minhae rose to prominence as a contestant on the reality competition series 7 Tiers. Minhae ultimately placed second in the final lineup which formed the boy group R3THR0, who debuted in May 2022.
Minhae serves as the group's sub rapper, whose unique, high-pitched rapping voice has received praise. He also serves as the group's main dancer and notably choreographs all of R3THR0's performances. Since his first songwriting credit for "On Your Own", Minhae has made frequent contributions to the group's lyrics.
Minhae is R3THR0's most popular member in South Korea. His youthful personality makes him well-liked amongst fans, and his visuals have received praise. From 2023 to 2024, Minhae was a host on SBS Inkigayo. Minhae is also known for raising awareness of bullying and harassment found in schools.
Early Life[]
Minhae was born in Seoul, South Korea, and is the youngest of 4 siblings. He grew up in Imun-dong. Minhae began learning ballet at age 5, before venturing into Ballroom and Latin dancing competitively.
Minhae hasn't disclosed which schools he studied at due to his experiences with bullying, which he claimed stemmed from his interest in dance. Minhae also enjoyed acting and joined a local drama club at the Imun 1-dong community centre.
In 2019, Minhae was scouted by a modelling agency, however he turned the opportunity down to focus on his dance career. In 2020, Minhae broke his ankle and put his dancing on hold in order to recover, during which time the global COVID-19 pandemic hit and Minhae never returned to his dance school which was put out of business. During this time, Minhae began writing poetry as an outlet for his emotions.
Minhae is fluent in Korean, Japanese, Mandarin and English as his parents hired a languages tutor for him when he was a child.
7 Tiers (2022)[]
Minhae was faced with severe bullying at school and wanted to move house, however his parents could not afford to move as they were supporting Minhae's 3 siblings at University. Thus, Minhae discovered the opportunity to audition for 7 Tiers via his school counsellor. Minhae successfully passed the 5 audition stages and became one of 70 contestants on the series.
Minhae's episode 1 performance earnt him a place in Tier 1, albeit being the lowest ranked in the tier. He was made the leader of Group J and drafted TaeTae, Jaesang, Katsuo, Tadao, Takashi and Chung-Ae into his team. Minhae was the group's lead dancer and also performed as a rapper.
Minhae, and by extension Group J, primarily focused on their performances, crafting detailed and challenging choreographies and prioritising dance over vocal prowess. This was met positively in performance-based episodes (for example, Episode 1 where they performed to pre-recorded vocals as opposed to live vocals) but found the group in hot water when it came to vocal-based challenges.
Minhae found himself as a topic of controversy in Episode 8 when he chose to send Group A home, which was led by fan favourite Chuso. Minhae was criticised by some as being a "game-player", whilst others observed Minhae was simply being strategic in order to preserve his team's chance at winning. Minhae was popular with the South Korean general public throughout his run.
Upon Group B and Group J's merger in the series finale, Minhae lost out to fellow Group Leader Jay, occupying the second tier and making it into the final lineup of R3THR0. Bandmates TaeTae and Jaesang also made the final group. Minhae's loss was a surprise to Korean fans who heavily pushed for his win, and Minhae's lack of international support during 7 Tiers is seen to have been the main contributor to his loss.
Career[]
2022-present: R3THR0, SBS Inkigayo, Domestic Recognition[]
Following the airing of 7 Tiers, many South Korean fans viewed Minhae as their winner, prompting Minhae to release a statement asking fans not to invalidate Jay's win and to support him as R3THR0's leader. Minhae appeared on DoReMi Market a week after the finale aired, increasing his popularity in South Korea.
R3THR0 debuted on May 24, 2022, with the digital single "Ring Ring Ring". Minhae's stage presence was heavily praised by fans during promotions for the song. As the face of the group in South Korea, Minhae went on a variety of television programmes on his own to discuss and promote the single.
R3THR0 released their debut extended play Jingle in August 2022 to critical acclaim. Minhae obtained songwriting credits on the songs "Ready, Set, Go!" and "Imagination". Minhae's vocal performance on the record received praise. Minhae also choreographed the dance routine for "Jingle" which became immensely popular on social media.
In October 2022, it was announced Minhae would be making his television acting debut on an untitled project: this was later scrapped. When asked about the loss of the project, Minhae expressed his devotion to his music career and dispelled any rumours that he was simply using R3THR0 as a bridge to an acting career.
In December 2022, R3THR0 released a surprise single: a remake of the 1996 single "Candy" by H.O.T. The song was successful in South Korea, thanks in part to Minhae's performance in it which went viral on social media. Minhae was ranked 1st in a South Korean poll ranking fans' favourite 2022 male rookie idols at the end of the year.
R3THR0 held the "Back In Time '23" concert in March of 2023, which Minhae partook in. Minhae had his own solo stage for a song titled "Turn Around", written and choreographed by himself. Clips of the performance circulated on social media but the song has yet to be officially released. Minhae also took part in recording the group's second extended play, From Now, featuring the pre-release single "On Your Own". Minhae wrote the lyrics for the song, which discussed the transition from childhood to adolescence, and subsequently adolescence to adulthood. The lyrics received praise as serving as a metaphor for Minhae's transition to an idol, as well as being easily applicable to South Korean youth. Minhae's vocal performances on the song (which featured him singing as well as rapping) received praise as Minhae showed vocal progression from his time on 7 Tiers. His performance on the album's title track, "From Now" was also praised, as was his choreography.
In July 2023, Minhae joined Choi Yeonjun and Park Ji-Hu as a host on SBS Inkigayo. His appearances were initially criticised as feeling "nerve-ridden", however as his stint has progressed he has become more popular with viewers.
In October 2023, R3THR0 collaborated with Pepsi to produce adverts that subsequently aired across Asia. Minhae filmed a solo commercial for Pepsi which aired alongside the main advert in South Korea only. Minhae later performed with R3THR0 at the 2023 MBS Artist Awards, a performance which received positive reception.
In January 2024, R3THR0 released their fourth extended play, Treasure You, which Minhae featured on, as well as choreographing the dance sequence for the album's lead single of the same name. The dance found popularity and Minhae was heavily praised. He later featured on numerous television shows and web interviews whilst promoting the release. That same month, Minhae appeared in the music video for "* DO FLOWER BOYS DREAM OF UTOPIAN CITIES?", a song by Celeztiel which features bandmate Jay.
Minhae's stint as MC on SBS Inkigayo came to an end in March 2024. Retrospective reviews have ranked Minhae in the lower end of the program's hosts despite being fairly popular with younger audiences. Minhae has since described the experience of hosting the program as "challenging". Also in March, he appeared in a PSA about bullying, which was broadcast across the country.
Minhae partook in the writing and recording for R3THR0's first studio album, Playtesting. In addition to the 5 songs written by the entire group, Minhae contributed lyrics to "Humming The Bassline", "A New Day", and "Duel" - the latter of which was hailed as one of the group's best songs. The album's pre-release single, "You Stole My Heart", released on July 1st. Minhae promoted the song for one week along with the rest of the group. The album itself released on July 22nd. Despite receiving criticism for his somewhat unversatile vocal tone, his rapping was nonetheless praised by fans. He promoted the album, its title track "Lights, Camera, Action!", and the B-sides "Humming The Bassline", "A New Day", and "School Days" for a total of three weeks. As part of production for the album, Minhae solely choreographed the dances for every promoted song, including both singles. The choreography for "Lights, Camera, Action!" earnt him significant praise.
Throughout summer 2024, Minhae also appeared as a commentary panelist on MBS's reality series Eviction Order. He performed alongside the group at the "Plug 'N' Play '24" concert in Seoul, where his stage presence, live rapping, and dancing abilities earnt him praise. In November, Minhae partook in the recording and promotion for R3THR0's seventh single, "Give Me That" - it marked the first single where he received the most lines, and his performance on the song was praised. The song was used as the theme song for VESK TV's Sports At Six. On December 1, Minhae performed alongside R3THR0 at the 2024 Hangang Artistry Awards. He also partook in the recording and promotion of R3THR0's Japanese debut single, "Step And Go".
Personal Life[]
Minhae was a victim of bullying throughout his childhood. In a 2023 interview for SBS Eight O'Clock News, Minhae criticised the "institutionalised and protected" bullying networks in schools across South Korea and condemned the lack of support system for victims involved. Minhae is part of the "Stamp Out Bullying" charity in South Korea, aimed at raising awareness towards bullying and the long-standing effects it can cause.
Minhae resides with bandmates Jay and Insujo in the group's dorms. Minhae says he has not returned home to his family since debuting in R3THR0 unlike most of the group's other members.
Minhae has discussed the mental turmoil not winning 7 Tiers had on him. He explained how he felt he had let down his fans and the South Korean general public, especially as some were vocally adamant that Minhae should have won the series. Minhae also said he felt extremely guilty that the spotlight was taken away from Jay's win. Minhae's guilt extended further to the fact that some of his groupmates from Group J did not debut, stating he had envisioned the "7 of us debuting as a team". His struggles with being exposed in the public eye have been explored in the songs "Imagination" and "On Your Own", as well as in poetry Minhae has shared on social media networking site Bubble.
Popularity[]
Minhae's popularity places him as the most known member of the group in South Korea, thanks mostly to his visuals. As Minhae fits the Korean beauty standard moreso than most idols, he is repeatedly praised for his visual appearance. He is currently one of the most sought-after idols for brand deals, which J-Music will allow their idols to agree to in 2024.
Minhae is popular with the press, however unlike bandmate Jay, does not like media attention, often hiding from the paparazzi due to the immense attention he garners. Minhae's family have also been bombarded by the press after his home address was leaked, however J-Music filed a lawsuit prohibiting the press from coming within a certain distance of Minhae's family estate. The suit is still ongoing as of July 2024.
Discography[]
See also: R3THR0 Discography
Composition credits[]
| Title | Year | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Ready, Set, Go!" | 2022 | R3THR0 | Jingle |
| "Imagination" | |||
| "On Your Own" | 2023 | From Now |
Filmography[]
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7 Tiers | Contestant | Formed R3THR0 |
| 2023-2024 | SBS Inkigayo | Host | |
| 2024 | Eviction Order | Commentary panelist |