Lee Dong Kyu, known professionally as David DQ Lee, is a Canadian-South Korean countertenor and member of the crossover group FORTÉNA (포르테나). He was born in South Korea and spent most of his childhood there.

In 1988, he was part of a children's choir, taking the role of a soprano. In 1991, he was forced to graduate from the choir as his voice changed, and a few months later, he moved to Vancouver, Canada, to study abroad. He decided to use Dong Kyu as his middle name, added David as his English name, and then shortened it to DQ, as it was too long to write.

In 1993, his mother's business failed, and he was financially cut off, so he had to work up to 5 part-time jobs to survive on his own in Canada. At age 18, he was exposed to Farinelli and the world of a countertenor/castrato vocalist and immediately began listening to many songs and applied to universities looking for a scholarship. He got one and graduated from the Vancouver Academy of Music with a bachelor's degree in Vocal Music. The North American market was not good for a newcomer opera singer, so he moved to Berlin in 2006 and began winning competitions in many places and appearing in many operas around the world.

In 2013, he appeared in "Star King", showcasing his amazing vocal skills to the South Korean audience and ten years later, he entered the singing competition "Phantom Singer 4" and advanced to the late rounds, where he was grouped with 3 other singers and formed Forténa. The group has an interesting fact that all four members are tenors, but each member is a different type. They ended up in 2nd place and made their official debut in August 2023 with the digital single, "Miracle".

Their contract with ShowPlay Entertainment (쇼플레이입니다) expired in December 2024, and the group has been without representation since then.

(Source: MyDramaList) Edit Biography