Vernon (rapper)

Hansol Vernon Chwe (born February 18, 1998), known mononymously as Vernon (Korean: 버논), is a South Korean^[1] and American^[2] rapper, singer and songwriter. Managed by Pledis Entertainment, he is a member of the South Korean boy band Seventeen and its hip hop team.

Vernon made his official solo debut with "Black Eye" on December 27, 2022. Aside from his work with Seventeen and as a soloist, he has written and produced music with and for other artists such as Jamie, Bumzu, and Charli XCX.

Hansol Vernon Chwe^[3] was born in New York City on February 18, 1998,^[4] to a Korean father and an American mother. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Hongdae, South Korea. He attended Changcheon Middle School but later opted for homeschooling with his parents after being scouted by Pledis, in order to focus on his training.^[3]

His stage name comes from his middle name, Vernon, which is also his mother's maiden name.^[5] Both his parents are artists.^[6]

Vernon joined Pledis Entertainment in 2012, after being scouted on the street, and received training for the next three years. Beginning in 2013, he participated in Seventeen TV, an online reality show that introduced Pledis' trainees and showed potential members of the boy group Seventeen before their official debut. The show was broadcast periodically on Ustream, where the trainees showed themselves training, singing, creating choreographies, and playing games.^[7] The online show also included participation in concerts, such as Like Seventeen.^[8][9]

Before his official debut as an idol, Vernon made multiple appearances on South Korean television, including Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's Hello Stranger!, a program about foreigners in South Korea,^[10] and Song Eun-i's Eye to Eye, where he appeared as an elementary school student who was an expert in dating.^[11]

In 2015, Vernon debuted as a member of the South Korean boy group Seventeen with the extended play 17 Carat on May 26, on which he contributed to lyrics for four out of the five songs.^[12][13] Since debuting, Vernon has participated in the songwriting of over 90 songs, making him the Seventeen member with the second-most writing credits after Woozi.^[14]

In November 2021, Vernon released his first solo track since 2015, titled "Bands Boy", written by himself.^[15] In February 2022, English singer Charli XCX reached out to Vernon on Twitter to collaborate on a remix for "Beg for You". The remix was released February 26, 2022, with a review from Nylon's Steffanee Wang describing Vernon's verse as a "grand slam", with "heavy distortion before his silvery falsetto breaks through the digital veil".^[16]

In December 2022 it was announced that Vernon would release the third mixtape for Seventeen's The Thirteen Tapes series: a self-composed and self-written single titled "Black Eye". It was released on December 23, 2022.^[17]

In July 2023, Vernon, alongside bandmate Joshua, hosted an Apple Music 1 summer themed radio show titled Summer Vacation With Joshua and Vernon of Seventeen.^[18] He later joined Blink-182's Mark Hoppus' own Apple Music show After School Radio for episode 169.^[19] In 2024, Vernon was promoted to a regular member of the Korean Music Copyright Association (KOMCA).^[20] Later that year he was confirmed to have a cameo appearance in Anderson .Paak's comedy film K-Pops!.^[21]

Vernon has cited many influences throughout his career. Key punk rock influences include American band Green Day and Canadian singer Avril Lavigne,^[22] which have manifested in songs he has produced, such as Seventeen's "2 Minus 1" and his own "Black Eye".^[23] He has also indicated interest in hyperpop and experimental pop, many times crediting British singer Charli XCX as an influence,^[24][6] specifically for Seventeen's track "Gam3 Bo1".^[3] He has also indicated he is a fan of Bladee, 100 gecs, and The Kid Laroi.^[6][25]

In 2023, Vernon was announced as the first global ambassador for French fashion house Kenzo.^[26] Since the announcement, Vernon has attended multiple shows for the brand at Paris Fashion Week^[27] and was the face of the brand's FW23 campaign.^[28]

All credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association unless stated otherwise.^[14]