Ok Taecyeon (옥택연), stage name "Taecyeon" (택연), born December 27, 1988 in Busan, South Korea is a South Korean idol singer, rapper, dancer, model, composer, songwriter, and member of the South Korean idol group 2PM who is also active in Japan. In 2008 he took part in Mnet's Hot Blood Men, which followed the extreme training of 13 trainees in order to become a member of the boy band One Day. One Day spawned two boy bands, 2AM and 2PM, the latter of which Taecyeon became a member of. Six months after Hot Blood was aired on TV, 2PM debuted with their first single "10 Points out of 10 Points" ("10점 만점에 10점") from their first EP Hottest Time of the Day, but it wasn't until their second EP, 2:00PM Time For Change that their success in the Korean music industry skyrocketed. So far 2PM has released two studio albums and three EPs. It was his sister, Jihyen, who persuaded Taecyeon to participate in a JYP Entertainment audition, whose promotion she had noticed when surfing on the internet and after his reluctant agreement to participate, both headed for New York City on his 17th birthday. A week later he was chosen for the final 35 and got the call to go to Korea to go further in the competition. At first Taecyeon applied to become a model, but the judges suggested he try dancing and singing. Eventually he was named one of the dozen finalists to compete in the show Superstar Survival, but was the first contestant to leave the show.