Holland

Go Tae-seob (; born March 4, 1996), professionally known as Holland , is a South Korean singer. He made his debut in January 2018, with the release of the single "Neverland".

Name Go chose Holland for his stage name as a tribute to the first country to legalize same-sex marriage.

Career When Holland first decided to pursue music, he attempted to audition to join an entertainment company. However, no entertainment company was willing to work with an openly gay artist, so he worked two part-time jobs in order to fund his own debut single. Holland released his debut single, "Neverland", on January 21, 2018. Its music video accumulated over 1 million views in 20 hours. The music video shows Holland and his male counterpart kissing, and received a 19+ rating in South Korea. His third single, "I'm So Afraid", was released on July 17. On September 6, Holland launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund his first mini-album. He raised US$40,000 in the first 24 hours.

On March 19, 2019, Holland announced his self-titled mini album, Holland, and the tracks "Nar_C" and "Up" on his social media accounts. The album was released on March 31.

On July 8, 2019, Holland announced plans for his first tour via social media. Later on November 1, Holland announced his first tour, "Holland: Invitation from Neverland". The tour was a collaboration with MyMusicTaste where fans voted on concert tour locations. He traveled to five cities in Europe. Months after releasing his debut mini album, Holland started teasing his next single "Loved You Better" on his social media platforms starting December 2, 2019. The song and music video were released on December 11.

On April 24, 2022, Holland released "Ocean like me", his first song in 2 years, for the web drama "Ocean Likes Me" (2022), where he plays the role for Tommy, one of the protagonists. Its full soundtrack was released on July 9, 2022. On December 22 of the same year, he released DAY BY DAY for the soundtrack of "Oh! My Assistant" (2022), a BL Drama.

On March 30, 2023, Holland made a comeback with the synth-pop single "NUMBER BOY". It was released together with its music video. In an interview for the Brazilian magazine Quem, he said: "To be honest, I was fed up with being discriminated against and living underground because I was gay. Along with wanting to live a more honest life, I wanted to be a person who could help my LGBTQIA+ friends and I wanted to prove that to those who bullied me at school. I wanted to show that I was loved as a gay man and that I was successful. It was my own method of revenge!"

Personal life Holland is known as "the first openly gay K-pop idol". He was a photography major at Seoul Institute of Arts, but dropped out after his debut in 2018.

Go decided to make his debut as a singer to speak out based on his experiences with violence inflicted on sexual minorities.

Discography Extended Plays Holland (2019)

Singles

Music videos Title Year Director "Neverland" 2018 Seonjin Lee "I'm Not Afraid" Downy Jung "I'm So Afraid" "Nar_C" 2019 Lee Sangdeok "Loved You Better""Number Boy"2023Shin Hee Won "걔가 그러는데 (bitch he's mine)" 2024 Mirai Mono

Filmography Web series Year Title Role 2022 Ocean Like Me Tommy Roommates of Poongduck 304Ho Cheol

Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Dazed 2018 Dazed 100 1st