Who is Song Min-gi?

Born on August 9, 1999 in South Korea, Song Min-gi is a rapper as well as a dancer, best known as a member of the K-pop boy band ATEEZ. The group debuted in 2018 and performed in several South Korean music shows. They have also released several extended plays.

The wealth of Song Min-gi

As of mid-2020, Song Min-gi’s net worth is estimated to be over $1 million, earned through a successful career in the South Korean boy band. Ateez’s releases and performances have helped him gain wealth along with his contract with an entertainment company. The group also earns revenue through multiple channels, including online platforms such as YouTube.

Early life and career beginnings

At a young age, Song was very interested in a career in the entertainment industry, with ambitions to make it big. He thought about being part of a K-pop group and with the support of his parents, he started training at Joy Dance and Plug In Music Academy in Incheon. The school is known for providing various dance classes to aspiring K-pop trainees.

He also started looking for auditions to hopefully get signed by one of the many companies in his country. He was signed to Maroo Entertainment, a private company that has been operating since 2010 and is known for managing artists such as Park Ji-hoon and Norazo.

He trained with the company for several years and did not attract much attention, but rose to prominence in the reality survival show “MIX NINEin 2017. The competition is sponsored by YG Entertainment and numerous emerging K-pop stars from different companies are auditioned. Then, a team of nine boys and nine girls is formed to compete against each other, with the winner getting a chance to debut as part of a new idol group.

Path to ATEEZ

“MIXNINE” was very competitive with a total of 170 participants. The show tracked their training and evaluation for about seven episodes, before cutting the contestants.

He was one of the first guys to be dropped from the show during the seventh episode and was ranked 117th overall, meaning he did not score high enough to advance to the next round. Although this was unfortunate, it all turned out to be okay in the end. “MIXNINE” had the boy group win at the season finale, but due to numerous complications, the group never debuted, and many of its winners never got a chance at K-pop stardom.

Min-gi eventually left his contract with Maroo, looking for better opportunities. He signed with KQ Entertainment and didn’t need much training due to his varied experience.

Eventually, he was selected to be part of an emerging group called the KQ Fellaz, which would eventually become Ateez. He joined Hongjoong, Seonghwa, San, Yeosang, Yunho Jongho and Wooyoung to form the group, adopting the mononym Mingi to make it easier for him to be identified, as is the trend for many K-pop artists.

Rise to fame – Ateez

While initially called K. Q. Fellaz, the group briefly lived in Los Angeles, California to train, which was documented through a YouTube series – “KQ Fellaz American Training”. Trained at the Millennium Dance Complex and Movement Lifestyle, they worked on one of their first releases called “From”, which officially debuted in 2018.

After the YouTube series, the group then announced a reality show and renamed itself as Ateez, leading to the creation of “Code Name is Ateez”, which aired on Mnet.

Later in the year, they started teasing their debut online and finally made their debut at Yes24 Livehall a few weeks later. They also announced their debut extended play (EP) “Treasure EP.1: All to Zero”, featuring singles such as “Treasure” and “Pirate King”; the EP reached seventh place on the Gaon Albums Chart. They also held their first music show appearance on an episode of “M Countdown”. The following year, they began work on a follow-up “Treasure EP.2: Zero to One”, which included songs such as “Say My Name”.

After its release, they embarked on their first US tour.

Recent projects

Following their US tour, Song and Ateez toured Europe before heading to Chiba, Japan, where they performed at KCON 2019 Japan. They then held their first tour of Australia, before working on their third EP – “Treasure EP.3: One to All” – which included the title track “Wave”. After its release, they had their first music show to win on “M Countdown” in the middle of the year.

They also later won on “The Show” and won 1st place The Show Choice Winner award.

A few months later, they performed in New York City at KCON 2019 NY, before holding a concert in Los Angeles. After a few months break, they then worked on “Treasure EP.Fin: All to Action” which led them to perform at Thailand’s KCON. They went on to tour Asia, performing in Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, and performed at the Mnet Asian Music Awards that year. One of their recent projects is their fourth EP – “Treasure Epilogue: Action to Answer”.

They were ready to embark on another European tour, but that was about it postponed due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.

Private life

Min-gi is single and still young, so he is most likely focused on continuing his career with Ateez. Relationships within K-pop groups are very rare due to the nature of their work, and management often discourages them from entering into relationships that could tarnish their public image. He is considered the youngest boy in the group mainly because of his personality. He also has an ongoing back problem that he doesn’t exacerbate, especially with their busy schedules.