Lee Chang-sub

Biography

Lee Chang-sub (Korean: 이창섭; born (1991-02-26)February 26, 1991), is a South Korean singer and musical actor. He debuted as the lead vocalist of the South Korean boy group BtoB in March 2012. He debuted as a soloist in 2017, with the release of his debut single "At the End×At the End24 April 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1At the End3:49". The same year he made his theatre debut in the Korean musical adaptation of Boys Over Flowers as Goo Jun-pyo. He has also come to be known for his soundtrack collaborations, most prominently with the release of his cover of Can's "Heavenly Fate" in 2024. In 2023, he founded Chang-Ggo Training Centre vocal academy in Suwon.

Early life and education

Lee Changsub was born in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. He studied Practical Music at Howon University with BTOB group-mate Im Hyunsik. He was admitted despite the 3000:5 acceptance rate at the time.
Prior to his debut as an idol, he won a Daesang at the 16th Suwon Music Festival 2008, and became vice-president of Red Cross Youth Gyeonggi Province in 2009.

2012–2017: Debut with BtoB

Lee debuted as the lead vocalist of BtoB on March 21, 2012. Although primarily a vocalist in the group, Lee has also participated in lyric writing on a few tracks by BtoB including, "Last Day", "Killing Me" and "Melody".
He was a contestant on King of Masked Singer introducing himself as "Mr. Wifi" in 2015. In 2016, he participated in the Mongolia episodes of SBS's reality-documentary show, Law of the Jungle.

2017–2022: Solo career beginnings, unit debut

Lee Changsub released his debut solo EP, bpm 82.5, in Japan. With the title track "At The End×At the End24 April 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1At the End3:49". His Japanese debut in 2017 coincided with the launch of the Piece of BTOB project, which saw each BtoB member releasing solo digital singles during the group's promotional hiatus in the summer of 2017.
He started his career in musicals in 2017. He was cast in the musical adaptation of "Boys Over Flowers" as the lead, Goo Jun-pyo. He also played a role in the Korean production of the musical "Napoleon" as Lucien, Napoleon's little brother. Next, he was cast as the titular main character in the musical "Edgar Allan Poe".
The following year, he landed another leading role as Eddie Birdlace in "Dogfight". His final musical project before military enlistment was "Iron Mask" where he undertook the dual leading role of King Louis XIV as well as his twin brother Philippe
In December 2018, he released his first Korean solo EP titled Mark. He considered it a gift to his fans before his enlistment in January 2019. He held his first solo concert, SPACE, on January 4, 5 and 6, 2019 at the Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, Seoul.
On October 27, 2020, Cube announced that the currently active members of BtoB would form a unit called BtoB 4U consisting of Eunkwang, Minhyuk, Changsub and Peniel. The unit debuted on November 16 with their first mini-album, Inside and title track "Show Your Love".
On September 6, 2022, he released his solo single titled "reissue #001 'SURRENDER".

2023–present: Departure from Cube Entertainment, solo success

In April 2023, he established Chang-Ggo Training Centre vocal academy in Suwon. In November 2023, BtoB members departed from Cube Entertainment following the end of their contracts. On November 23, 2023, it was announced that Lee had signed with Fantagio. Lee has stated his plans to continue BtoB group promotions despite being under a different agency to his members.
On February 21, 2024, Lee released a cover of Can's "Heavenly Fate" as an OST single for the webtoon, A Not So Fairy Tale. The single was one of the most successful singles of 2024, dominating karaoke and streaming charts, and went on to secure nominations for MAMA and the Melon Music Awards. In August, it was announced that Changsub would participate in Universe League as the director for Team Groove. On October 2, Lee released his debut studio album, 1991. Lee commenced his solo concert tour, The Wayfarer Tour, on November 30–December 1 in Seoul at the KBS Arena.
Lee released his debut essay, A Suitable Person, on February 25, 2025, topping the Korean bestseller lists.

Health

Lee developed vocal cord nodules around the time of the recording of Mark, in late 2018. In March 2024, Lee halted activities that involved singing due to his "poor throat condition". Lee later revealed that he was diagnosed with vocal cord polyps, and had had three surgeries to correct it.

Military service

He began his military duty by enlisting as an active duty soldier on January 14, 2019. On July 24, Lee recorded a special single— a new theme song for the ROK Army alongside Shinee's Onew and Key, Exo's Xiumin, Infinite's Sungkyu, 2AM's Jo Kwon and Jinwoon, Yoon Ji-sung and actors Kim Minseok, and Lee Jae-kyoon.
He was officially discharged on August 21, 2020, following the COVID-19 protocol.

Philanthropy

On October 21, 2017, Lee Chang-sub visited his alma mater and delivered a scholarship of ₩10 million to his high school alma-mater, Samil Commercial High School. Changsub said, "I couldn't have imagined this when I was in school. It's an honor to be in a situation where I'm able to deliver this scholarship for the younger generation of students. I've been able to come this far thanks to my teachers and my school who helped me until the end when I was a student".

Songwriting credits

All credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association, unless cited otherwise.