Eric Nam is the most multi-hyphenate player in the Traitors Season 4 cast: a singer who built a career in Seoul, a broadcaster who hosted K-pop’s biggest English-language shows, a podcaster, and a mental health advocate, all before he ever entered the castle.
He finished third, cut loose one step from the end by the two people he refused to turn on. He has spent the months since proving the loyalty cost him nothing: a new album, a world tour coming, and two films on the way.
The Atlanta Kid Who Sang His Way to Seoul
Eric Nam was born November 17, 1988, in Atlanta, to Korean immigrant parents Sue Nam and Nam Beom-jin, the eldest of three brothers (Eddie and Brian). He started piano at 4, cello around 9, and sang in the Atlanta Boy Choir, including a performance at St. Peter’s Basilica, while attending Lovett School.
As the only Asian American student at his private school, he faced racism from classmates who spat in his face, pulled their eyes into slits, and mocked him, in a recent YouTube interview reported by RadarKPop in October 2026. His parents stretched resources to place him there.
He studied International Studies at Boston College with an Asian Studies minor, graduated cum laude in 2011, and studied abroad at Peking University in Beijing. He accepted a Deloitte Consulting business analyst role in New York, deferred it to work on microfinance initiatives in India, then pivoted to entertainment.
A YouTube cover in 2011 led MBC to invite him to Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2 in 2012, where he finished in the Top 5. He signed with B2M Entertainment in September 2012 and debuted on January 23, 2013, with the EP Cloud 9 and lead single “Heaven’s Door.”
From After School Club to the Daebak Show
Nam hosted Arirang TV’s After School Club from 2013 to 2016 plus the ASC After Show, and worked on Section TV Entertainment Relay. His 2014 single “Ooh Ooh” reached the Top 10 on the Billboard World chart.
His Interview EP in 2016 reached No. 12 on the Circle Chart with “Good For You.” “Into You” featuring KOLAJ in 2016 hit No. 1 on Hype Machine. “Spring Love” with Red Velvet’s Wendy in 2016 reached the top 10 on Gaon.
Honestly EP in 2018 reached No. 6 on Billboard World Albums, followed by his first North American tour in 2018. Before We Begin in 2019 was his first English album, with a world tour canceled due to COVID. There and Back Again in 2022 was his first album as an independent artist, reaching No. 3 on US Spotify, No. 7 on UK Spotify, and No. 22 on Billboard albums sold.
House on a Hill in 2023 came with a Grammy Museum spotlight interview built around an existential crisis while writing it, and a world tour in 2023-2024 spanning 73 shows in 70 cities across North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. He performed at Lollapalooza India on January 28, 2024, in Mumbai.
He co-founded DIVE Studios with his brothers and serves as its Creative Director. The K-Pop Daebak podcast launched in 2019, was named one of Apple Podcasts’ Best Listens of 2019, and became the No. 1 K-pop podcast. He launched I Think You’re Dope in 2020 and hosts the Daebak Show.
The Advocate Behind the Microphone
Nam launched the Mindset self-care app in 2021 with his brothers, a mental health and wellness platform with celebrity video and audio collections. He has spoken publicly about panic disorder and physical paralysis during intense work.
In an album Q&A round in October 2026, he clarified panic disorder rumors, saying “I’m doing well now.”
His advocacy honors include GQ Korea Men of the Year 2016, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2017, the TIME100 Impact Award 2023, the Jed Foundation Voice of Mental Health Award in June 2024, and the ADCOLOR Catalyst Award 2024 for DIVE Studios, plus YouTube Global Trending Artist on the Rise. He has spoken at the White House, the Milken Institute, the JED Foundation, UNESCO, Cornell, the Korea Society, and NYU. His fandom is called Nam Nation.
Cut Loose One Step From the End
Nam finished third on The Traitors Season 4. The final three were Rob Rausch, Maura Higgins, and Eric Nam. Rob and Maura voted to banish Eric.
He was recruited by Rob Rausch in the Join or Die twist in Episode 8, late in the season, not midway as the old page said. He worked with Rausch to the final three.
He refused to turn on Rob, and he explained why in terms that became the season’s most quoted loyalty stance: “I didn’t want my introduction to America to be a conniving, backstabbing liar. That was the one thing I was very cognizant about.”
He added: “If I had done that, I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself in that way. It’s just a different line in the sand that we have. Money is great, but I think relationships are more important.”
He also said: “People are like, ‘Rob played a great game.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but also, if it wasn’t for me, there’s a world in which he wouldn’t have won.'” He described the game as “three and a half weeks, and mentally and physically just really exhausting to constantly be on edge and constantly paranoid.”
Afterward he said: “It took a day or two for me to be like, ‘Wow, that was a crazy experience. And I can’t believe that I once again trusted somebody and I got completely stabbed in the back.'” But he closed the loop: “At the end of the day, it’s a game, and I can’t be mad at him for playing a really good game. We’re friends, we’ve remained friends, we will stay friends. And I’m really happy for him.” He wished he had been “a little more wary” of Rausch. Rausch said: “We’re cool” and “Me and Eric are cool. Eric understands it’s a game.”
The post-show reconciliation played out in music. On February 28 he gave Rausch a shout-out on Instagram for giving his new song “How the Fire Started” a whole new meaning. The music video features Higgins, Rausch, Natalie Anderson, Ron Funches, and Yam Yam Arocho. The song was released on March 3, 2026, about betrayal. He joked that “if Maura gets a Birkin then he wants a Rolex.” Rausch’s DM “My fault, G” was opened but not answered immediately, later followed by “All good, man.” He said: “Rob and I were out until like 6 a.m. the other night… we’re good. But for the purposes of this song, I hate him.”
Confessions of a Lonely Heart
Nam released his fourth full-length album, Confessions of a Lonely Heart, on October 16, 2026, at 1 PM KST, a nine-track record running 26 minutes 50 seconds. The tracklist: “Psycho” (title, 2:50), “Reverie,” “Miss Me More,” “Sober Up,” “Make Me Cry,” “How the Fire Started,” “Lighthouse,” “Half As Much,” and “Someday.” It is his first full album since 2023’s House on a Hill.
The theme is longing for love, anxiety in relationships, and regret after breakup, moving from obsession and self-blame to acceptance and hope. The title track’s lyric asks: “If you weren’t crazy, would that really be love?” Pre-release singles from March 2026 were “How the Fire Started,” “Miss Me More,” and “Someday.” His agency is All My Anic Dots.
The Korea Times reported on October 23, 2026, that the album is his fourth full-length and first in about three years, with nine tracks about love, breakups, and loneliness. He said: “These are songs I held on to by myself for a long time… I hope songs that began with my own feelings can come to mean something in someone else’s life, too.”
On the title’s meaning, he said people can feel deeply isolated even as the internet makes connection easier, and “confessions” are things that go unsaid, such as missing someone, needing someone, or being afraid of getting hurt. The album ends on hope. The record is far more intimate than House on a Hill, drawing on fondness for 1980s pop and country.
He signed with United Talent Agency on October 14, 2026, for representation in all areas, also represented by 3 Arts Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham.
The October 2026 rollout included a Zach Sang Show interview on October 16, the “Psycho” official music video release, and a Times Square Spotify New Music Friday billboard.
He chatted with Ha Ji Young on October 21 about the album and being backstabbed, signed at Barnes and Noble 5th Avenue in New York on October 22 at 5 PM ET, performed “Psycho” with a live band on it’s Live on October 25, and performed “Someday” and “Psycho” on For:Rest LIVE on October 27.
Alamo Drafthouse hosted a free screening pairing a Hitchcock classic with his new “Psycho” music video. Five sold-out intimate shows at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles and New York ran in September 2026.
A World Tour, Two Films, and the Next Chapter
Two film projects, kept separate because they are separate. He voiced adult Aang in Paramount’s animated Avatar: The Last Airbender feature, alongside Steven Yeun and Dave Bautista. That film was released on July 25, 2026, on Paramount Plus with a limited theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles, and he appeared at San Diego Comic-Con.
Separately, he leads Paramount and HYBE’s live-action K-Pop: The Debut, alongside Ji-young Yoo (Zoey in KPop Demon Hunters), Kang So-ra, and Yoo Ji-tae, filmed entirely in South Korea (the first major American studio film shot entirely in South Korea), set in the world of K-pop survival shows, in theaters February 26, 2027. He appeared at KCON LA with a teaser featuring an ILLIT cameo.
His other screen work includes the feature debut Transplant as Jonah Yoon (world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 18, 2024), the upcoming Loser (TBA), voice work as Yoon Kwan on The Loud House, and We Got Married with Mamamoo’s Solar in 2016.
He competed on King of Mask Singer as “Hello Mr. Monkey” in 2015 and “Broccoli” in 2019, served as 2018 Winter Olympics Honorary Ambassador with NBC prime time, and guest-hosted Saturday Night Live Korea.
In 2026 he appeared on the Dave Chang Show on April 6, the Kelly Clarkson Show on June 17, Puzzle Room with David Kwong Episode 5 with Kristen Kish, and the Seoul Art Forest Festival on October 3, where he performed “Someday” plus signature songs plus an unrevealed special stage.
He walked the red carpet at the 31st Busan International Film Festival opening ceremony at the Busan Cinema Centre Roof Theater, representing the cast of K-Pop: The Debut.
In 2027 he plans a world tour for Confessions of a Lonely Heart, with an independent film release also upcoming. A Chosun Q&A on October 23, 2026, quoted him: “If music is my hometown, acting and broadcasting are new challenges and growth. In addition to the film K-POP: The Debut produced by Paramount and HYBE America, an independent film release is also upcoming. I enjoyed working with excellent actors such as Yoo Ji-tae, Kang So-ra and Yim Siwan. In 2027 I want to bring this album directly to audiences around the world through a world tour.”
Why Eric Nam Would Not Turn on Rob Rausch
Why did Eric Nam refuse to turn on Rob Rausch?
He said he did not want his introduction to America to be as a conniving, backstabbing liar, and that relationships matter more than money. He said he would not have been able to live with himself if he had turned, though he wished he had been a little more wary of Rausch. The two remain friends; Rausch said “We’re cool” and “Me and Eric are cool. Eric understands it’s a game.”
What is Eric Nam’s new album?
Confessions of a Lonely Heart, released October 16, 2026, a nine-track record led by the title track “Psycho.” It is his fourth full-length album and his first full album since 2023’s House on a Hill. A world tour is planned for 2027.
Is Eric Nam in a movie?
Two separate films, not one. He voiced adult Aang in Paramount’s animated Avatar: The Last Airbender feature, released July 25, 2026. Separately, he leads the live-action K-Pop: The Debut from Paramount and HYBE, in theaters February 26, 2027. The character name “Kevin Park” for K-Pop: The Debut is not verified and is not used in this article.
