Big Bang T.O.P 2013 Picture and Profile

Choi Seung-hyun (Korean: 최승현; born November 4, 1987), better known by his stage name Big Bang T.O.P (Korean: 탑 - "tap"), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actor. Best known as a lead rapper of the hip hop Korean boy band Big Bang, he has branched out to act in various dramas and films, including I Am Sam, Iris, Nineteen,71: Into the Fire and his upcoming movie, Alumni.

Full Name: Choi Seung Hyun
Nickname: Tempo
Position: Rapper
Birthday: November 4, 1987
Height: 180 cm (5’11)
Weight: 65 ft (142 lbs)
Blood Type: B
Education: Seoul Art College, Dangook University in Theater & Film
Languages: Korean, Japanese
Hobbies: Reading, swimming, writing lyrics

Fun Facts:
•Despite his rapper image, T.O.P is EXTREMELY playful.
•He was childhood friends with G-Dragon, but once GD moved away the two became distant.  But once YG was looking for candidates for the creation of BIGBANG, GD called him and recorded several demos to be sent to YG. He was latered contacted to audition.

•When auditioning for YG, he was turned down because he was overweight. A month later he auditioned again with a slimmer and more toned body and got in (It is said that he lost 20 kg in 40 days).
•After the members of BIGBANG were finalized, Yang Hyun Suk gave each of the members pendants. T.O.P‘s was a hand holding a megaphone. It means: “To inspire people with his voice and become big”.
•Acted in the drama “Iris“ and  ”I Am Sam“.
•Acted in the movie “19“ along side Seungri and also in “71: Into the Fire“.
•He won the Hallyu Popularity Award in the 47th Grand Bell Film Awards.

•In 2010 he won “Best Newcomer Award“ in the Blue Dragon Awards (To which he says he was shocked but also a little bit embarrassed to go on stage since he had just dyed his hair white for his GD&TOP promotions and it was the first time revealing his new hairstyle to the public).
•He along side G-Dragon formed a sub unit titled “GD&TOP“
•Wrote the song “Oh Mom“ on the GD&TOP album about a fan who had cancer and died.
•Has an older sister.
•He is the first Korean artist to have his song release worldwide on iTunes with “Turn It Up Loud“.
•Some musicians he admires are Usher, Omarion, Jay-Z, and B2K.
•Yang Guk Suk originally gave him the stage name “Mark“, but it was thrown away once label mate SE7EN came up with the name “T.O.P“.
•In 2011 it was reported that he had purchased a 3 million dollar villa located in Seoul, South Korea.

In 2010, T.O.P and bandmate, G-Dragon collaborated to record and release the album GD & TOP (2010). The album saw the release of three singles: "High High," "Oh Yeah," and "Knock Out," all of which have charted within the top three positions of the Gaon chart, with "High High" becoming a chart-topper. Jeff Benjamin from the American music magazine Billboard noted that T.O.P is well known for his low-bass timbre rapping.[2] On an episode of Korean variety show Family Outing, BIGBANG bandmate Daesung revealed T.O.P's nickname, Bingu TOP. Daesung explained that "Bingu" was referring to T.O.P's foolishness around other people.

2005 - 2006: Big Bang debut.
Prior to his involvement with YG Entertainment, Seunghyun was an underground rapper under the name of Tempo, and a childhood friend of G-Dragon, another member and leader of Big Bang. G-Dragon stated that the two were "neighborhood friend[s] from middle school" and would often dance and rap together. Although G-Dragon later moved away and the two "became distant", he contacted Seunghyun again when YG Entertainment was scouting for candidates to create a boy band. The pair recorded several demos and sent them to Yang Hyun Suk, CEO of YG Entertainment, who later asked Seunghyun to audition. Seunghyun was initially rejected by the record label, which deemed him too "chubby" to fit the "idealistic version" of an idol. Seunghyun later stated that he "went home and exercised really hard because I wanted to join YG Entertainment." Six months later, he returned for another audition and was signed on. He reportedly lost 20 kg in 40 days.