Artist Highlight: Johnny Suh

Get to know NCT’s lead dancer, sub-vocalist, and sub-rapper Johnny. 

Pre-debut

Johnny Suh, born and raised in Chicago, trained for around eight years at SM Entertainment. He joined the company after being accepted through the 2007 Chicago SM Global Audition where he auditioned with a praise song. He continued to live in America until his highschool graduation, and trained in Korea during the summer. He trained alongside EXO for many years, and was allegedly supposed to debut with the group's sub-unit EXO-M. After five years of being a trainee, Johnny graduated from highschool in 2013, and moved to Korea. Later that year, he was revealed as an SMROOKIES member along with NCT members Yuta and Ten. 

NCT

Johnny made his debut on January 6, 2017 with NCT 127’s second mini-album NCT#127 LIMITLESS. Despite his long training period and popularity, Johnny is not featured on many songs outside of NCT 127. He did not make his NCT U debut until 2020 with the song “Music, Dance.” Johnny is the second oldest in the group making him the oldest out of all of the foreign members.

Fashion

Johnny made his New York Fashion Week debut in February 2023 sporting Thom Browne. At the event he sat in the first row among world-renowned celebrities such as Lil Nas X, Pusha T, and Queen Latifah. This outing was not his first appearance at a fashion event in New York, as he attended the Met Gala in 2022. Korean celebrities are no strangers to fashion in America, but after attending both events, he certainly stood out and became one of the most talked about guests, catching the attention of K-Pop fans and non-fans alike.

Johnny’s Communication Center

Johnny has his own series on the NCT YouTube channel known as JCC (Johnny’s Communication Center) . In these vlogs, Johnny takes fans along on small adventures like visiting a fortune teller, rock climbing, sledding, pole dancing, baking, and much more. These episodes often feature other NCT members and give fans a chance to see Johnny's personality and learn more about his dynamic with the other members. Luckily for English-speaking fans, Johnny speaks English in many of the episodes, which adds to the laid-back energy of the vlogs.

Edited by Lacey Diluvio