K-pop star Eric Nam (Yoon-do Nam) makes expertly constructed songs that range from tenderly yearning ballads to hook-filled, R&B-informed mainstream pop. Along with achieving significant fame as an actor and television personality, Nam's music became a huge facet of his celebrity as releases like his 2019 debut Before We Begin and its 2022 follow-up, There and Back Again, consistently doing well in terms of both commercial performance and artistic growth.

Nam was born and raised in the U.S. but after graduating from Boston College in 2011 -- where he majored in international studies and minored in Asian studies -- the Atlanta native headed to India to work for a nonprofit. While there, he wound up auditioning for a television singing competition in Korea, landing in the Top Five. In late 2012, he signed with B2M Entertainment and swiftly issued his debut EP, Cloud 9, at the start of 2013. His heartfelt ballads and sweet midtempo numbers helped grow a sizable fan base in both Asia and North America, which he spun onto the small screen, hosting shows and conducting bilingual celebrity interviews. In 2014, he released a pair of pop singles, "Ooh Ooh" and "Melt My Heart," following in 2015 with "I'm OK" and "Dream" with Park Jimin. After switching to the CJ EM label late that year, he kicked off 2016 with the sweet acoustic "Spring Love" with Red Velvet's Wendy. His sophomore EP, Interview, arrived weeks later. The set peaked outside the Top Ten of Billboard's World Albums chart. He continued a busy year with his first English-language song -- a collaboration with EDM group KOLAJ titled "Into You" -- and closed 2016 with a tropical-influenced track with producer Timbaland, "Body." Collaborative efforts continued into 2017, including "Cave Me In" with R&B singer Gallant and Epik High's Tablo; "You, Who?" with Jeon So-mi; "Idea of You" with Russian producer Arty; and "Like You" with AOBeats. That year, as his presence grew, he was ranked on Forbes' "30 Under 30" list. In 2018, he embarked on a North American headlining tour with the duo Loote, selling out multiple dates on the trek. His third EP, Honestly, arrived that April, including the single "Potion" featuring rapper Woodie Gochild. Nam's first full-length album, Before We Begin, was released in November of 2019 and peaked at the number 23 position on the Goan chart. The next year he issued fourth EP The Other Side, which climbed even higher to the number 14 position. Nam's second studio album, There and Back Again, was preceded by singles "I Don't Know You Anymore" and "Any Other Way," and was released in January of 2022. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi