Kim Hyo-yeon

Biography

Kim Hyo-yeon (Korean: 김효연; born September 22, 1989), known professionally as Hyoyeon or DJ Hyo, is a South Korean singer, dancer, rapper, and DJ. She debuted as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one of the most widely known K-pop groups worldwide. She has since participated in other SM Entertainment projects, including Girls' Generation-Oh!GG and Got the Beat. Hyoyeon also released the solo singles "Mystery×Mystery2 December 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Mystery3:022Mystery (inst.)3:02" (2016) and "Wannabe×Wannabe1 June 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Wannabe3:032Wannabe (inst.)3:03" (2017) prior to making her solo debut as Hyo with the single "Sober×Sober18 April 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Sober2:582Sober (English ver.)2:583Sober (Pop ver.)3:32" in 2018.
In South Korean television, Hyoyeon was a part of the main cast of the variety show Invincible Youth 2 (2011–2012), Attraction TV: Season 2 (2017), My English Puberty (2017–2018), Where Is Mr. Kim Season 2 (2018), Secret Unnie (2018), as the contestant of several competition show Dancing with the Stars: Season 2 (2012), Hit the Stage (2016), Good Girl (2020). Kim later had her own reality-show Hyoyeon's One Million Likes (2015) and Hyoyeon's 10 Million Likes (2016).

Early life

Hyoyeon was born in Incheon, South Korea on September 22, 1989. She grew up with her parents and her younger brother, Kim Min-gu. Hyoyeon's formal dance training started in elementary school. At her neighborhood's small hip-hop school, she learned hip hop, jazz and Latin dance. In 1999, she enrolled in Winners Dance School, a famous dance school in South Korea specializing in popping, locking, animation and various other hip-hop styles. At the school she met Miss A's Min, with whom she formed the dance team Little Winners (리틀위너스). The duo performed at various showcases and was spotlighted by HipHoper.com in 2004.
Hyoyeon auditioned for SM Entertainment at the age of 11 through the SM 2000 Casting System. Hyoyeon said she auditioned because her mother brought her to the offices of S.M. Entertainment in the hopes of meeting H.O.T. Hyoyeon then danced in an audition show. In 2004, along with Super Junior's Siwon, she was sent to study Chinese in Beijing. She received dance instruction from the Electric Boogaloos and top choreographers such as Kim Hye-rang, Poppin Seen, Kwang Hoo (aka Crazy Monkey), Poppin DS, Kwon Seok-jin (aka Locking Khan) and Black Beat's Shim Jae-won. She also worked with one of Justin Timberlake's choreographers and a few foreign teachers.
Before debuting with Girls' Generation, she worked with a choreographer for Janet Jackson and was BoA's silhouette dancer during a performance at M.net KM Music Festival 2005. In 2007, she teamed up with Jae Won for a dance collaboration to "Anonymous". Hyoyeon was also picked as Korea's No. 1 idol dancer on Star News.

2007–2017: Girls' Generation, television shows and solo career

Hyoyeon officially debuted as a member of Girls' Generation, a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment, in August 2007. In July 2007, before the official debut Girls' Generation had their first stage performance on Mnet's School of Rock, where the group performed their first single, "Into the New World" (다시 만난 세계; Dasi mannan segye). On August 5, 2007, the group officially made their debut on SBS's Inkigayo, where they performed the same song. Girls' Generation subsequently released their self-titled debut studio album in November 2007, which was preceded by the singles "Girls' Generation" (소녀시대; Sonyeo sidae).
On January 7, 2009, the group released their extended play (EP) Gee, its title track claimed the number-one position on KBS's Music Bank for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks, becoming the longest-running number-one song on Music Bank until 2012, when Psy's "Gangnam Style" claimed the top spot for ten consecutive weeks.
Girls' Generation's second studio album, Oh!, was released in January 2010. On March 7, Hyoyeon and fellow Girls' Generation members Jessica and Sooyoung played cameo roles in episode 7 of the SBS television mini-series Oh! My Lady, starring Chae Rim and labelmate Choi Siwon. In September 2010, Girls' Generation released the Japanese version of "Genie" as their debut single in Japan.
After releasing three singles in Japan, their debut eponymous Japanese studio album was released in June 2011. The album was met with tremendous success in Japan, peaking atop the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart and becoming the first album by a foreign girl group to top the Oricon chart. Girls' Generation's third Korean studio album, The Boys, was released in October 2011. The album was released in the United States by Interscope Records, marking Girls' Generation's debut album in the country. In November 2011, Hyoyeon and fellow Girls' Generation member Sunny became cast members for the second season of Invincible Youth, a South Korean reality television show.

In April 2012, Hyoyeon became a contestant in the second season of Dancing with the Stars, a competitive ballroom dancing television show. Hyoyeon and her partner, Kim Hyung-seok, ended up winning second place. In October 2012, Hyoyeon participated in S.M. Entertainment's special dance group Younique. The group released a single titled "Maxstep" as part of the collaboration between S.M. and Hyundai.
In January 2013, Hyoyeon made a guest appearance on the television show Blind Test Show 180 Degrees, where she took on the challenge of dancing to various types of club music. In May 2013, Hyoyeon was chosen as an Asian ambassador for the Hong Kong branch of Topshop. In June 2013, Hyoyeon and fellow Girls' Generation member Yuri became coaches for the contestants on Dancing 9, a competitive dancing television show.
On February 12, 2015, Hyoyeon was featured in labelmate Amber's "Shake That Brass" music video, in which she plays a trumpet. On July 1, Hyoyeon became the first Girls' Generation member to publish a book with Hyo Style, in which she shares tips on beauty, fashion and lifestyle. The book contains 142 pages and comes with a DVD. On March 14, Hyoyeon was featured as the rapper in a performance by boyband S on Immortal Songs 2, with which they won with 423 points. In May 2015, she became a cast member of the Korean-Chinese reality television show Star Advent. The show followed 12 Korean and Chinese celebrities tasked with working as office workers in foreign countries and premiered on July 9. In June 2015, Hyoyeon began hosting her own reality television show, Hyoyeon's One Million Likes, broadcast on OnStyle. Before the show was officially announced, an Instagram account was created where Hyoyeon posted pictures and videos with the goal of receiving one million likes from fans. On August 19, Girls' Generation released their fifth Korean studio album, Lion Heart. The album reached number one in South Korea, and at number 11 in Japan. In September 2015, Hyoyeon became a contestant alongside Seo In Young, Mir and Hyejeong, among others, in a television show titled Mash Up, where they competed in DJing. In the same month, Hyoyeon was featured in rapper Vasco's "Whoa Ha!" music video, where guest stars lip-sync along to the song.
On February 3, 2016, Hyoyeon was a special MC on the OnStyle television show Get It Beauty. In June 2016, she became a contestant alongside Taemin, Bora and Hoya, among others, in the Mnet television show Hit The Stage, where they collaborate with professional dancers to compete in different genres of dancing under a given theme. In the same month, Hyoyeon was featured in the song "Up & Down" from fellow Girls' Generation member Taeyeon's second extended play Why. In August 2016, she collaborated with Min and Jo Kwon to form a special group named Triple T and release a single titled "Born to Be Wild", featuring Park Jin-young, as part of S.M. Entertainment's Station music project. In December 2016, Hyoyeon released her first solo song since debut titled "Mystery×Mystery2 December 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Mystery3:022Mystery (inst.)3:02" as another single for SM Station. To accompany her solo release, she performed the song on various Korean music shows.

In June 2017, Hyoyeon released her second single "Wannabe×Wannabe1 June 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Wannabe3:032Wannabe (inst.)3:03", a pop dance song featuring rapper San E. A month later, Girls' Generation announced the release of their sixth Korean-language studio album to commemorate the group's tenth anniversary. The album, titled Holiday Night, was released on August 7.

2018–present: DJ career, Oh!GG and Got the Beat

On April 12, 2018, SM Entertainment announced that Hyoyeon would return with a new single titled "Sober×Sober18 April 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Sober2:582Sober (English ver.)2:583Sober (Pop ver.)3:32" on April 18, with new stage name Hyo (stylized in all uppercase), under SM's electronic dance music label Scream Records. The new single is a tropical-future house song characterized by electric guitar riffs and hook. It was also revealed that she would also be promoting actively as a DJ in domestic club tours and EDM festivals under her new stage name. In August 2018, Hyoyeon was announced to be part of Girls' Generation's second sub-unit, Oh!GG, which consists of the five members of the group who remained under SM Entertainment. The group released their debut single, "Lil' Touch", in September. On November 7, SM Entertainment revealed teaser images with the announcement that Hyoyeon would be releasing her second official track as DJ Hyo with a new single titled "Punk Right Now×Punk Right Now13 November 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Punk Right Now2:582Punk Right Now (English ver.)2:58", which features American DJ 3lau, on November 13.
On July 20, 2019, Hyoyeon released a new single, "Badster×Badster20 July 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Badster3:132Badster (English ver.)3:13", which is a psychedelic trance song she co-produced and co-wrote; an animated music video was released on the same day. It has Korean and English versions. On July 22, 2020, Hyoyeon released a new single, "Dessert", alongside rappers Loopy and Soyeon. It marked her return to music shows after debuting as a DJ.

In May 2020, Hyoyeon joined the competitive reality show Good Girl.
On August 9, 2021, Hyoyeon released the single "Second×Second9 August 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Second3:39", featuring BIBI. The song debuted at position 17 on Billboard World Digital Songs in the chart issue dated August 21, 2021. On December 27, Hyoyeon was revealed as a member of supergroup Got the Beat, alongside Girls' Generation groupmate Taeyeon and other labelmates. The group debuted on January 3, 2022, with single "Step Back".
On May 2, 2022, SM Entertainment announced that Hyoyeon would be releasing her first extended play titled Deep on May 16. It includes the lead single of the same name, an original B-side, and several previous singles, in a total of seven tracks. On May 17, it was announced that Girls' Generation will have a full-group comeback for their fifteenth anniversary in August, ending their five-year hiatus, which will include Hyoyeon. Their seventh Korean-language studio album, Forever 1, was released in August 2022, peaking at number two on the Circle Chart.
On September 26, 2024, Hyoyeon released the single "Retro Romance×Retro Romance26 September 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Retro Romance2:31".

Concert participation

SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express at Kwangya (2022)
SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express (2022)
SM Town Live 2023: SMCU Palace at Kwangya (2023)
SM Town Live 2025: The Culture, the Future (2025)