Mark Lee (born August 2, 1999), known mononymously as Mark, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the South Korean boy band NCT and its fixed sub-units NCT 127 and NCT Dream, as well as the South Korean supergroupSuperM.
Career
2012–2016: Pre-debut
In 2012, Mark joined SM Entertainment as a trainee after passing the SM Global Audition in Vancouver, Canada.
On December 16, 2013, he was introduced as a member of SM Rookies, a pre-debut team of trainees under SM Entertainment.[1] As a part of the SM Rookies program, in October 2014, he and several of his co-members appeared on the Mnet-produced Exo 90:2014, a show starring labelmates Exo, where they perform dances to K-pop songs from the 1990s.[2]
In 2015, Mark and other SM Rookies members starred as Mouseketeers in a Korean revival of The Mickey Mouse Club, which aired on Disney Channel Korea. The show included musical performances, games, and skits, similar to the original American show.[3] It aired from July 23 to December 17, 2015, hosted by Leeteuk of Super Junior.[4]
2016–2018: NCT and solo endeavors
In April 2016, SM Entertainment confirmed that Mark and four other members of SM Rookies—Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten and Jaehyun—would debut as members of NCT's first sub-unit, NCT U. They released their first digital single on April 9, titled "The 7th Sense", in which he and Taeyong participated in songwriting.[5] Three months later, SM Entertainment announced that Mark would become a member of NCT's second sub-unit, NCT 127, along with Taeyong, Taeil, Yuta, Jaehyun, Winwin and Haechan. NCT 127 made their official debut with the extended play NCT #127 and title track "Fire Truck" on July 10, 2016.[6]
Mark joined NCT's third sub-unit, NCT Dream, which consisted of members Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung. The group officially debuted on August 24, 2016, with the single "Chewing Gum". The following month, Mark featured on Henry Lau's "Going Through Your Heart", an original soundtrack for the KBS drama, Sweet Stranger and Me.[7] This marked his first solo endeavour since his debut in NCT.
In January 2017, Mark joined High School Rapper, a survival hip hop reality TV show that aired on Mnet.[8] He advanced to the finals and performed an original song, "Drop" featuring labelmate Seulgi of Red Velvet, and placed seventh overall.[9] In July 2017, Mark collaborated with Exo's Xiumin on single "Young & Free". It was released through Season 2 of SM Entertainment's digital music project SM Station.[10] The same month, Mark appeared in the first season of the music variety show Snowball Project. He teamed up with Parc Jae-jung to release "Lemonade Love" on July 21, also through SM Station, which was produced by former labelmate Henry Lau and Yoon Jong-shin.[11]
Beginning in February 2018, Mark served as one of the main hosts of the music program Show! Music Core, leaving in January 2019 to focus on his activities with NCT 127.[12] In May 2018, he became a regular cast member on the MBC reality TV show It's Dangerous Beyond The Blankets.[13] In October 2018, Mark released the song "Dream Me" with Red Velvet's Joy for the soundtrack of the KBS drama The Ghost Detective. Mark was the first member to officially graduate from NCT Dream on December 31, 2018.[14]
2019–present: SuperM and rejoining NCT Dream
On August 7, 2019, Mark was confirmed as a member of SuperM, a supergroup created by SM Entertainment in collaboration with Capitol Records. The group began promoting in October of that year in the American music market.[15][16] SuperM's self-titled debut EP was released on October 4, 2019, led by the single "Jopping".[17] Mark continued to promote with SuperM throughout 2020, through the release the group's first studio album, Super One. On April 14, SM Entertainment announced through an official statement that Mark would be rejoining NCT Dream, thus abolishing their original age-based graduation system.[18][19][20] His return was affirmed through his participation in the NCT Dream song "Déjà Vu" on the group-wide studio album NCT 2020 Resonance.[21]
On January 28, 2022, it was announced that Mark would release his first single, "Child", on February 4, as part of NCT Lab.[22] "Child", described as an emotional hip-hop track, was commended for its lyrics.[23]
On March 30, 2023, it was announced that Mark would release his new solo song and second single, "Golden Hour", on April 7, as part of NCT Lab.[24]"Golden Hour" described as a hip-hop genre song that combines impactful guitar and drum sounds and flashy rapping and also a self-produced song that based of his bad review from chef Gordon Ramsay for the fried eggs he made in the past.[25]
On May 16, 2024, Mark announced the start of his solo album, set to be released in February 2025, with a digital single titled "200." The new song "200" is a drum & bass track based on rock sounds, featuring a captivating blend of early 2000s electric guitar sounds and lyrical melodies. The lyrics convey the meaning of love, describing how two people make each other shine brighter and how their relationship becomes more perfect when they are together.[26] The album was later delayed to April 2025, with SM stating the reason for the delay was to "ensure better quality".[27]
^Hosted by the Hong Kong Asia Pacific International Group and Sunway Records, the Asian Pop Music Awards bases its winners on the "Asian Pop Music Chart" which opened in September 2019.[53]
^Lee, Deok-haeng (February 28, 2022). "SM 'STATION', NCT 음악 아카이빙 프로젝트 'NCT LAB' 스타트" [SM 'STATION', NCT music archiving project 'NCT LAB' starts]. StarNews (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
^Jeong, Ha-eun (February 9, 2022). "NCT 마크·DAY6 원필, '첫 솔로' 수식어로만 담긴 아깝다[SS뮤직]" [NCT Mark · DAY6 Wonpil, 'first solo' is a waste of only modifiers [SS Music]]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 13, 2022.
^Kim, Min-ji (March 30, 2023). "NCT 마크, 4월7일 두 번째 솔로곡 '골든 아워' 공개" [NCT MARK's second solo song "Golden Hour" will be released on April 7.]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
^Choi, Bo-yoon (October 15, 2022). 랄프 로렌 코리아, NCT 마크 폴로 랄프 로렌 앰버서더로 발탁 [Ralph Lauren Korea, NCT Mark Polo selected as Ralph Lauren Ambassador]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
^Kim, Na-yul (February 15, 2023). "[팝업★]BTS 지민·제이홉→유재석, 지진 피해에 1억 기부‥인성도 월드스타" [[Pop-up★] BTS Jimin and J-Hope → Yoo Jae-seok, donated 100 million to earthquake victims ‥ Inseong is also a world star]. Herald POP (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Naver.
^Myung, Hee-sook (February 13, 2023). "NCT 마크·지니뮤직, 사랑의 열매에 1천만원 기부" [NCT Mark and Genie Music donate 10 million won to the fruit of love]. X-ports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023 – via Naver.
"Drop": "2017년 14주차 Digital Chart" [Week 14 of 2017 Digital Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. April 2–8, 2017. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
"Young & Free": "2017년 27주차 Digital Chart" [Week 27 of 2017 Digital Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. July 2–8, 2017. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
"Child": "Digital Chart – 2022 Weeks 6". Circle Chart (in Korean). February 5, 2022. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
"Golden Hour": "Digital Chart – 2023 Weeks 14". Circle Chart (in Korean). April 8, 2023. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^"RIM Charts Top 20". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. February 18, 2022. Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
"Gaon Download Chart, Week 13". Gaon Music Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
"Gaon Download Chart, Week 14". Gaon Music Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
^2016년 44주차 Download Chart [Week 44 of 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). October 23–29, 2016. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
^2018년 42주차 Download Chart [Week 42 of 2018 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). October 14–20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
^Baek, Ji-eun (November 24, 2021). "[공식] NCT, 신곡 '뷰티풀' 글로벌 힐링송 예고 '위로+긍정 메시지'" [[Official] NCT, New Song 'Beautiful' Global Healing Song Preview 'Comfort + Positive Message']. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 24, 2021.
^"【APMA 2022】亚洲流行音乐大奖2022年度获奖名单" [[APMA 2022] Asian Pop Music Awards 2022 Winners List]. Weibo (in Chinese). December 28, 2022. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
