Kai Kamal Huening (born August 14, 2002), known professionally as Hueningkai (Korean: 휴닝카이), is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together, which debuted under Big Hit Entertainment in March 2019. In addition to his work with the group, he has participated in individual fashion campaigns and editorial features.
Early life and education
Hueningkai was born Kai Kamal Huening on August 14, 2002, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a South Korean mother and an American father of German descent.
His siblings are older sister, model Jung Lea, and younger sister, Huening Bahiyyih of Kep1er. His father, Nabil David Huening, was also a singer and television personality in China, where the family lived until his parents separated when Hueningkai was seven. Following the separation, he and his siblings moved to South Korea with their mother.
Hueningkai has perfect pitch and was surrounded by music from an early age, where he took up piano, guitar and drums as a child. At age five, he was inspired to become a performer after watching a street musician play guitar. During his middle school years, he played drums and served as frontman in a school band he formed, an experience he later cited as foundational to his musical identity. Besides drums, he also plays the guitar, piano and flute.
He and his older sister, Lea, originally auditioned together as a singer-songwriter duo, but a talent scout who had seen one of their auditions later invited Hueningkai to audition individually for Big Hit Music, where he performed AKMU's "Give Love" and Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning" and was accepted as a trainee at age 13. He attended Yongmun Middle School and later Lila Art High School, before transferring to and graduating from Hanlim Multi Art School in 2021.
Career
On January 16, 2019, Big Hit Entertainment revealed Hueningkai as the third member of Tomorrow X Together. On March 4, 2019, the group officially debuted with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Dream Chapter: Star.
As a songwriter, Hueningkai co-produced and co-wrote the pop rock track "Dear Sputnik" for TXT's album The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape (2021). He has since continued to contribute to the group's discography, with credits on over 20 songs by 2024. HueningKai co-hosted EBS radio show "Listen" with his bandmate Taehyun from January to May 2021.
Since 2023 to 2025, Hueningkai has performed on special solo stages or collaborative stages at broadcast shows every year. On November 28, 2023, he performed "Endless Rain" by X Japan at the 2023 MAMA Awards in Japan with Yoshiki, Taehyun, Jaehyun of BoyNextDoor, Anton of Riize, Han Yu-jin of Zerobaseone. On April 20, 2024, he performed his first solo stage at the 2024 Music Bank World Tour in Antwerp, Belgium, covering "Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne. On November 22, 2024, he performed as a drummer while covering "Left Hander" by Panic as a collaborative temporary band called Toenze with bandmate Beomgyu, Jay of Enhypen, Kim Tae-rae and Han Yu-jin of Zerobaseone for the 2024 MAMA Awards. On December 25, 2025, he teamed up with Zhang Hao of Zerobaseone, Sohee of Riize, and Shinyu of TWS as the YoungNoblez to cover "You Were Beautiful" by DAY6 for the 2025 SBS Gayo Daejeon.
In June 2024, he starred in the music variety web series, Hueningkai Wants to Start a Band, exploring various instruments and collaborations with university student-led bands across Seoul. A total of 5 episodes were released.
On July 6, 2024, Hueningkai performed a live cover of Yuuri's "Betelgeuse" with Snow Man member Shota Watanabe for NTV's The Music Day 2024 music program and became an overnight sensation in Japan. His cover of "Betelgeuse" led to a revitalized resurregence of the song's popularity in Korea and Japan. Since the broadcast, Hueningkai has been invited to perform on Japanese music programs every year. On August 22, 2024, he covered the song "Tokyo Flash" by Vaundy with Jungwon of Enhypen during the NHK Music Expo 2024. Hueningkai returned on July 5, 2025, for NTV's The Music Day 2025 music program covering "Rusty Nail" by X Japan with bandmate Taehyun and again on July 4, 2026, for NTV's The Music Day 2026 music program to perform a live cover of Kenshi Yonezu's "Lemon" with bandmates Taehyun and Beomgyu.
In June 2025, Hueningkai participated in his first solo overseas schedule in China for fashion event, Harper's Bazaar Gala in Shanghai, where he performed a cover of Ding Yuxi's "Dissipating Dialogue" and accepted the award for Asia's Most Awaited Band on behalf of Tomorrow X Together. On July 21, 2025, Hueningkai released his first solo song, "Dance With You", as part of Tomorrow X Together's album The Star Chapter: Together. An accompanying music video, directed by Lee Jaedon, portraying Hueningkai dancing alone in a bar was filmed in Mexico and released on August 1, 2025. In October 2025, he hosted a new variety web series called HueningKai's Countless Friends, where he interviews and bonds with several notable peers in the K-pop and entertainment industry. A total of six episodes have been released.
Fashion and endorsements
In 2025, Hueningkai was announced as the global brand ambassador for Korean cosmetic company, Dermafirm.
Hueningkai has been featured in a variety of fashion magazines, both domestically and internationally. His first solo pictorial was in the September 2021 issue of GQ Korea and his first cover issue was for the January 2023 issue of Men's Folio. Since then, he has been featured on the cover for the October 2025 issue of Nylon Japan Guys and had a multi-cover feature for the Fall 2025 issue of Maps Korea and Maps Japan. In 2023, he participated in his first joint photoshoot with his sister, Bahiyyih of Kep1er, for the December 2023 issue of GQ Korea. They participated in their second joint photoshoot for the June 2026 issue of Dazed Korea. In 2024, he paired up with bandmate Taehyun, for a joint pictorial for July 2024 issue of Elle Korea. In 2026, he participated in 3 solo pictorials for L'Officiel Korea, GQ Korea and Cosmopolitan Korea.
Since 2023, Hueningkai has also been a fixture at Seoul Fashion Week every year, having attended the fashion show six times, making five appearances to support his sister, Lea, who walks for the Kwak Hyun Joo Collection and in September 2025, he also attended the Andersson Bell show at Seoul Fashion Week.
Philanthropy
On January 3, 2025, Hueningkai donated ₩50 million (US$43,708.2) to support the families of victims of the Jeju Air Flight 2216 plane crash.
Artistry
In an interview with GQ Korea in 2021, Hueningkai discussed his evolving vocal technique, noting that he intentionally used a raspier, more strained delivery for tracks in The Chaos Chapter: Freeze to better convey the emotional weight of the lyrics. He stated his ultimate goal as a musician is to "touch people's emotions through music."
Hueningkai reflected on his creative growth in a 2023 interview with W Korea and his desire to take a more active role in the TXT's musical direction.
Songwriting credits
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless otherwise noted.