Eric Nam built an international music and broadcasting career that started with a viral YouTube cover, and Season 4 of The Traitors gave him a final-three finish built on an alliance he never fully trusted.
His path to fame started thousands of miles from Atlanta, where he grew up, in the middle of a Korean television competition.
From Boston College to Korean Television
Nam, a Boston College graduate born and raised in Atlanta, broke into entertainment after a cover song he posted on YouTube went viral, earning him a spot on the Korean talent competition “Birth of a Great Star 2” in 2012. That appearance led to a recording contract with B2M Entertainment and a genuine solo music career, including the EP “Honestly,” which reached the top ten of Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Broadcaster and Mental Health Advocate
Beyond music, Nam built a career as a broadcaster, hosting Arirang TV’s “After School Club,” and became a vocal mental health advocate, launching the self-care app Mindset in 2021. His advocacy and entertainment work earned him a Time100 Impact Award and a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list.
An Ultimatum That Led to the Final Three
Nam played Season 4 as a Faithful until Rob Rausch gave him a direct ultimatum midway through the game: join him as a Traitor or be murdered. Nam accepted, and the alliance between the two carried both of them all the way to the show’s final three, a genuine strategic partnership built on Nam’s forced recruitment rather than any pre-existing trust.
Cut Loose One Step From the End
That partnership ended in the finale when Rausch and Maura Higgins voted to banish Nam rather than let the game end as a three-way split. Nam tried to convince Higgins that Rausch was the bigger threat and the one she should actually be worried about, but he couldn’t shake her loyalty to Rausch, and he was eliminated one step before the final vote that decided the season’s winner.