Seungmin of Stray Kids: how the K-pop singer’s baseball dreams became musical ones, and why he feared growing up
- The main vocalist of Stray Kids, Seungmin is known for his baritone voice and ability to hit low notes
- The singer, who is at the start of his idol career, says he dreams of one day holding a solo concert for his fans
Stray Kids were a “super rookie” nine-member boy band unveiled by K-pop company JYP Entertainment in 2018. After Woojin, one of the original members, left for personal reasons nearly two years after debuting, the group became an eight-piece outfit noteworthy for writing and producing their own music.
Let’s take a look at the group’s main vocalist, Seungmin, who was born Kim Seung-min.
His early life
Seungmin was born in Seoul in 2000 and, inspired by his grandfather’s success as a baseball pitcher during high school, he wanted to become a baseball player. When he was nine, Seungmin was photographed throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a game for the SK Wyverns, a South Korean baseball team. His sporting dreams, however, were crushed when his family’s financial situation took a turn for the worse, he said in an interview with XportsNews.
Seungmin began exploring music while in fourth grade, where he joined nursery rhyme competitions and performed in a choir.