In 2013 B2M would hit gold once again, after a year since the debut of their first and only girl group Spica in 2012. Founder and CEO Gil Jong-Hwa took a chance signing a Korean-American singer-songwriter by the name of Eric Nam, an International Studies with Asian Studies graduate from Boston College who had made a name for himself when in 2012 he finished in the top 5 of the Korean show, ‘Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2.’
Debuting with mini album Cloud 9. The soft-spoken baby-faced 24-year-old angelic vocals captured the hearts of the K-pop community with relatable love songs, still loved 10 years later. Making his name known on television, first appearing in part 2 of both the Love in Memory OST and Let’s Eat Part.2. Before making his name known on the idol and K-pop scene appearing on Arirang TV shows After School Club and later The ASC After Show until 2016, where he has become one of the show’s most recognisable and memorable MC’s.
It would take a year for Eric to have his next release. Where he collaborated with Infinite member Hoya. Adapting a Jazz-pop style, Eric showed a different element of his musical ability. Going on to release two more singles, ‘Melt My Heart’ and ‘I’m Ok.’ He reached a new level of success in 2015. As he collaborated alongside fellow ASC MC JAMIE on the single, DREAM and later f(x) member AMBER on a duet style collaboration, impressing so much that he would collaborate with another SM girl group member in Red Velvet’s Wendy as the two dueted on ‘Spring Love’ for SM Station.
Whilst in 2016, his second EP, ‘Interview’ saw him reach a new level of success as he both hosted and performed on Saturday Night Live Korea before reaching International success headlining KCON NY 2016 and KCON LA 2016, where he performed ‘Can’t Help Myself’ a song he released featuring LOCO.
Eric Nam kept up this success in America, selling out in New York City and Atlanta with Alec Benjamin as his opening act. The pair sold out shows within a minute of the presale, resulting in an extra date and an increased venue size for his New York date.
Seeing success outside K-pop, Eric was named an honorary Ambassador, for the Seoul 2018 Winter Olympics. Appearing on the American television network NBC he would talk about the growth of the K-pop and Korean entertainment industry. He built upon his success in America. Through the form of a 15-stop North American tour, ‘Honestly.’ Titled after his 2018 EP, his first to enter the Billboard World Album Charts, Debuting at number 6.
After joining brother Eddie Nam as a talent for EN Management, Eric would host his first-ever Podcast under a new company founded by younger brother Brian Nam DIVE Studios. The brothers collectively provided a platform to not only host and promote Korean artists but give voices to artists through the form of Podcasts and series.
This move to EN Management would also see a new era for Eric Nam in terms of music. After releasing almost exclusively Korean music, his hit 2019 single ‘Runaway’ would see a change in the language used throughout his releases in Korean. Starting out with the single ‘missing you’ alongside Steve James, a singer and DJ who later accompanied him on his European tour. Eric, would once again have to upgrade venues and add extra dates due to demand, with London being one of these.
He later released the album, ‘Before We Begin’ in November. His first full English EP, the album was followed by his first World tour, where he managed to tour Asia and North America. Before the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled his final two LA Shows and South American leg. Instead, Eric released his fourth EP, ‘The Other Side.’ Working with Day6 bassist Young K, who would showcase his songwriting ability, writing four of the songs on the album.
During covid, he would release various singles collaborating with Sarah Barrios on ‘Have We Met Before,’ Echo with Armaan Malik and KSHMR, and Vaultboy on ‘Everything sucks.’ He would then make up for his tour cancellation, announcing another world tour. This time titled, ‘There and Back Again,’ as just a few months after the announcement, he would release his second album under the same name.
So far, his world tour has seen Eric Nam headline 59 shows in 54 cities, with 2 concerts in London and 1 in Manchester, during April 2022. He has recently been rumoured to be touring and releasing a new album soon. Saying to Billboard in an interview, “I have a brand-new album that I’ll be putting out in the summer, I think? And a tour soon after that!”
Across his 10 years in the industry, Eric Nam has become one of K-pop’s most successful solo male artists. His career has seen him help grow his business into a family business, with both brothers owning successful businesses in their respective fields. His transition from a baby-faced musician debuting in Korea to one of the most successful Korean-American artists. And with appearances at the gold gala and New York Fashion Week this year. The skies are the limit for this K-pop star.
