Kim Jong-hyun (김종현; born April 8, 1990 in Seoul, South Korea, - died on December 18, 2017 in Seoul), better known by the mononym Jonghyun, was a South Korean singer, songwriter, and DJ. He was the main vocalist of the South Korean boy group SHINee, and had further participated in S.M. Entertainment's project group S.M. S.M. The Ballad. Jonghyun debuted as a solo artist on January 12, 2015 with his first EP, titled BASE. In the same year, on September 17, Jonghyun released a compilation album, 이야기 Op.