Kim Hyo-yeon

Kim Hyo-yeon, known professionally as Hyoyeon or DJ Hyo, is a South Korean singer, dancer, rapper, and DJ. She was born in Incheon, South Korea, on September 22, 1989. She officially debuted in August 2007 as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation, which became one of the best-selling music artists in South Korea and a widely known K-pop act worldwide. In addition to her work with Girls' Generation, she has participated in SM Entertainment project groups including Girls' Generation-Oh!GG and Got the Beat, while establishing a career as a solo artist and active DJ.

Hyoyeon grew up with her parents and her younger brother, Kim Min-gu. Her formal dance training began in elementary school at a neighborhood hip-hop school, where she learned hip-hop, jazz, and Latin dance. In 1999, she enrolled at Winners Dance School to specialize in popping, locking, and animation. There, she formed the dance duo Little Winners with Min, performing at various showcases and gaining spotlight coverage from HipHoper.com in 2004. At age 11, Hyoyeon auditioned for SM Entertainment through the SM 2000 Casting System after her mother brought her to the agency's offices hoping to meet H.O.T.

Before her official debut, Hyoyeon was sent to Beijing in 2004 to study Chinese alongside Super Junior's Siwon. She received dance instruction from top choreographers and groups, including the Electric Boogaloos, Kim Hye-rang, Poppin Seen, Kwang Hoo, Poppin DS, Kwon Seok-jin, and Shim Jae-won. Prior to debuting with Girls' Generation, she worked with a choreographer for Janet Jackson, performed as BoA's silhouette dancer at the 2005 M.net KM Music Festival, and was named Korea's No. 1 idol dancer on Star News.

Hyoyeon officially debuted with Girls' Generation in August 2007 with the single "Into the New World," followed by their self-titled debut studio album. The group achieved major success, releasing hits such as the 2009 extended play "Gee," which spent a record nine consecutive weeks at number one on KBS's Music Bank, and the 2010 album "Oh!". Girls' Generation debuted in Japan in 2010 with a Japanese version of "Genie" and released a self-titled Japanese album in 2011 that topped the Oricon Albums Chart. Later in 2011, they released "The Boys," marking their debut album in the United States.

Throughout her career, Hyoyeon has maintained a strong presence on television. She joined the cast of "Invincible Youth 2" in 2011, won second place on "Dancing with the Stars: Season 2" in 2012, and served as a coach on "Dancing 9" in 2013. In 2015, she published a 142-page beauty and lifestyle book titled "Hyo Style" and starred in her own reality show "Hyoyeon's One Million Likes," followed by "Hyoyeon's 10 Million Likes" in 2016. She competed on shows including "Mash Up," "Hit the Stage," and "Good Girl," while releasing her early solo singles "Mystery" in 2016 and "Wannabe" in 2017.

In April 2018, Hyoyeon launched her solo DJ career under the stage name Hyo with the single "Sober" through SM's Scream Records, actively performing in domestic club tours and EDM festivals. Later that year, she debuted in the sub-unit Girls' Generation-Oh!GG. She continued releasing singles under DJ Hyo, including "Punk Right Now," "Badster," "Dessert," and "Second." In 2022, she joined the supergroup Got the Beat, released her first EP titled "Deep," and participated in Girls' Generation's 15th-anniversary album "Forever 1." She subsequently released the single "Retro Romance" in September 2024.