Holland is singlehandedly breaking down the stringent barriers of K-pop — as the first openly gay idol in the entire industry, he has created a musical safe space for LGBTQ+ people in the K-pop scene. Keep reading to learn more about Holland, where he’s from and more.
Who Is Holland?
Holland, whose real name is Go Tae-sup, was born in South Korea on March 4, 1996 (a Pisces!). When Holland first decided to pursue music, he attempted to audition in order to join an entertainment company where he could train. However, no entertainment companies were willing to work with an openly gay artist, which led him to work two part-time jobs in order to fund his own debut single.
The Korean singer made his debut in January 2018, with the release of the single “Neverland.” Holland is a self-funded musician, as he launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund his first mini-album, which was later released in March 2019.
“There are no examples [of gay idols] in Korea,” he told HighsNobiety in 2022. “I’m in a position to have to pave the way myself, so it’s a bit challenging. I could not have come this far with just the title of being the first gay K-pop idol. I came this far because of the support of the fashion industry.”
He explained that fashion is “one of the most supportive industries for the LGBTQ community,” as it became a market that Holland can most appeal to as a character.
When Is Holland Releasing New Music?
The singer-songwriter’s most recent musical release was a single titled “NUMBER BOY,” dropping in March 2023, which he described during his HighsNobiety interview.
“NUMBER BOY is about numbers — how many Instagram followers I have, how many people listen to me on Spotify, how many fans I have, how many tickets I’ve sold,” he shard. “They’re all numbers. But instead of lamenting that, I’m saying if you’re going to judge me by numbers, then I will become someone with bigger numbers. It’s a resolute song.”
The K-pop artist also revealed that his recent song is inspired by an ex-relationship.
“What led me to write this was my ex-boyfriend. When we first met last year, he didn’t know I was Holland. When he found out, I couldn’t tell if he liked me for me, or because I was someone famous. But I think I loved him so much that rather than being disheartened by that, it made me want to try harder. I wanted to succeed more. That’s what inspired ‘NUMBER BOY.'”
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