This is Sunmi: one of the greatest solo artists in K-Pop!
K-Pop Blog > Artists > Sunmi
There's hardly a K-pop fan who hasn't heard a cover of the hits "24 Hours," "Full Moon," or "Gashina". They all come from solo artist Sunmi, who has been performing on stage since 2007 and has released countless viral songs both as a member of the girl group Wonder Girls and on her own. Her hits are not only popular in Korea, but also internationally!
In this article, we take a closer look at Sunmi's career to understand how she became the legend she is known as today.
- Wonder Girls (2006 - 2010)
- Solo Debut (2013)
- Wonder Girls Reunion (2015 - 2016)
- 2017 to present
Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls is the first girl group of JYP Entertainment, a label that is known today for many successful stars such as Twice, Stray Kids, ITZY, 2PM or Nmixx. But when the Wonder Girls debuted in 2007, JYP Entertainment was still very young and had celebrated its first big breakthrough only a few years earlier with solo singer Rain.
The label produced a reality show called "MTV Wonder Girls" in December 2006 that featured the members: Sunye, Sohee, Hyuna and most recently Sunmi. She was just 14 years old at the time and had only been a trainee for about a year.
The show gave viewers many exciting glimpses into the lives of the Wonder Girls members, their training, and the production of their debut album. But it wasn't until the middle of the show that they got to meet the fifth member. In fact, JYP held an open audition for the last spot in Wonder Girls just a short time before. Within 10 days, 1,600 young talents applied. The top four participated in the final audition, which was aired on MTV Wonder Girls show. Right after the audition, Park Yeeun was announced as the winner. Just a few days after the audition, the Wonder Girls held their first showcase and performed several covers as well as original songs, such as their debut single "Irony."
On February 13, 2007, the Wonder Girls debuted with the single album "The Wonder Begins".
The title track "Irony" is still one of the most famous songs of the girl group! In addition, the album contains two more tracks: "Bad Boy", "It's Not Love" and a remix of Irony.
Overall, the girl group was very young, as in addition to Sunmi, Hyuna and Sohee were also only 14 years old when they debuted. Yeeun and Sunye were 17. MTV Wonder Girls didn't end until February 23, and even followed the group as they prepared for their first MTV showcase or as they searched for their CD in the store.
In fact, three more seasons were produced until 2010. The second followed already in April, even before the first comeback.
In September 2007, the first studio album "The Wonder Years" was released with a new member.
In July Hyuna had surprisingly left the girl group. Her parents were worried about Hyuna, who was struggling with health problems. These included fainting spells and chronic gastroenteritis. The latter is a common condition that causes diarrhea and vomiting. She debuted in a new girl group called 4Minute in 2009 and also launched an extremely successful solo career in 2010.
Just days before the release of the studio album, the Wonder Girls got a new member named Yubin. However, because Yubin was added on such short notice, she is only featured in the song "Wishing on a Star". Hyuna can still be heard in all the other songs on the CD. The album contains 13 tracks, including the single "Tell Me," which topped several Korean charts!
This was followed by the digital single "So Hot" in May 2008 and the first mini album "The Wonder Years: Trilogy" including the title track "Nobody" in September. Both songs topped the charts and were honored with several awards and music show trophies! The Wonder Girls established themselves as one of the most successful K-pop groups of the time thanks to their continued success!
In 2009, the girl group performed concerts in Asia and the United States as part of their tour. They subsequently released a cover of "Now" (Fin.K.L) with their own music video. JYP Entertainment announced that the group would soon debut in America. To focus on their careers, Sunmi and Sohee even dropped out of school.
The Wonder Girls' success became especially apparent when they were invited by the internationally famous American band Jonas Brothers to join them on their world tour.
Just before the tour began in June, the girl group presented an English version of "Nobody." Until October, they performed regularly as the opening act at the concerts. Meanwhile, Nobody made it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In fact, the Wonder Girls were the first Korean group to ever place on the chart!
No one can deny that the girl group has greatly contributed to the spread of K-pop outside of Asia.
In 2010, the lineup of Wonder Girls changed once again. This time, Sunmi herself led the change. Almost two years after her debut, she decided to pause her music career and go back to school.
JYP Entertainment announced this decision in January, but Sunmi was still active until February to complete all the appointments she had already planned. To replace Sunmi, a JYP trainee named Hyerim subsequently debuted as a new member of Wonder Girls.
It took three years for Sunmi to return to the stage. In the meantime, she graduated from high school and began studying. During this time, the Wonder Girls released three more Korean albums and a Japanese Best Of album. In November 2012, JYP Entertainment announced that Wonder Girls would be going on hiatus after Sunye announced that she would be getting married in January 2013.
In August 2013, Sunmi launched her solo career!
Sunmi had never left JYP Entertainment, so she also made her solo debut under the label. On August 26, 2013, she unveiled her debut single "24 Hours" which topped all Korean charts! To this day, the song is also known for its sexy choreography, which is popularly covered.
So Summi used the fresh start to show a new, more mature side of herself. With success! Her first mini album "Full Moon", which was released on February 17, 2014, also wowed the masses. It contains seven tracks including 24 Hours and the title song, which is called "Full Moon" like the album. The new song was also sexy and elegant at the same time. However, critics especially appreciated its fresh sound.
In 2015, Sunmi did not release any solo music, but surprisingly returned to the Wonder Girls!
The girl group was planning a new album after a two-year break! In the two years, Sunye had had a baby and officially left the entertainment industry. Sohee had also said goodbye to JYP Entertainment and the Wonder Girls back in December 2013. So there were only three members left, Yeeun, Yubin, and Hyerim. Yeeun had also started a solo career in 2014 and is known by the stage name Ha:tfelt.
On June 24, 2015, JYP announced that Sunmi would rejoin the Wonder Girls. As a foursome, the girl group released a new album titled "Reboot" on August 3, 2015.
The change was visible not only in the line-up, but also in the concept. The Wonder Girls performed as a band this time, both in the music video for the title track "I Feel You" and in music show performances. Sunmi played the bass. The album was not as successful on the charts as other Wonder Girls releases, but it still reached high rankings, landing, for example, at No. 1 on Billboard's list of the 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015 and at No. 2 on Billboard's World Album Chart.
And that wasn't the end: on July 5, 2016, the quartet made a comeback with the single album "Why So Lonely".
The single of the same name topped the Gaon Digital Chart, won four different music shows and even two awards in 2017: Song of the Year (Gaon Chart Music Awards) & Best Pop Song (Korean Music Awards).
After the girl group had just celebrated great success, JYP Entertainment's announcement in January 2017 was a big shock to fans worldwide:
The Wonder Girls disbanded because only Yubin and Hyerim had renewed their contracts with the label. Yeeun and Sunmi decided against it. But they didn't leave without a farewell gift. On February 10, the last single "Draw Me" was released just three days before their tenth anniversary.
Thus ended a great period of Sunmi's career that greatly shaped her and the K-pop industry. Fans didn't have to wait too long for something new, though, as the singer turned back to her solo career!
2017 to present
Sunmi signed a contract with Makeus Entertainment for her new start. Her first single album "Gashina" hit like a bomb! The title track of the same name became a viral hit. Whether it was entertainment shows, music shows or awards shows, the song was everywhere and was covered by countless other idols. And no one could get enough of it. Both the song itself and the iconic choreography can undoubtedly be clearly remembered by most K-Pop fans even today!
In 2018, fans not only rejoiced over a new single called "Heroine" (Jan.), but also the new mini album "Warning" (Sept.). It was released about four and a half years after the first mini album "Full Moon". Like 24 Hours, the title track "Siren" topped all Korean charts and earned the singer six Music Show trophies!
Having released one hit after another, Sunmi had hundreds of thousands of fans around the world who were eager to see the icon live. In 2019, they got the chance to do so, as the singer set off on her first world tour in February, visiting 18 cities in Asia, America and Europe until June.
In between, a new single called "Noir" was released, followed by another single in August: "Lalalay".
2019 also saw the spread of the term "Sunmi-pop," which Sunmi herself invented in 2018 to describe her music.
Sunmi-pop is characterized by the emotions that resonate in Sunmi's songs. They always seem a bit melancholic, although they are mostly rhythmic, positive songs.
It took Sunmi almost three years to unveil a new physical single album this time, but she diligently released more singles - "Gotta Go" & "Pporappipam" (2020) - and her second digital single album "Tail" (2021) by then. She also collaborated with her former producer Jinyoung Park, founder of JYP Entertainment, in 2020. Together, they released the single "When We Disco" on August 12, topping the Naver Music and Genie Music charts, among others!
It took Sunmi almost three years to unveil a new physical single album this time, but she diligently released more singles - "Gotta Go" & "Pporappipam" (2020) - and her second digital single album "Tail" (2021) by then. She also collaborated with her former producer Jinyoung Park, founder of JYP Entertainment, in 2020. Together, they released the single "When We Disco" on August 12, topping the Naver Music and Genie Music charts, among others!
The music video was viewed more than 10 million times in just five days! That also set a record for J.Y. Park. This collaboration shows that Sunmi still has a good relationship with her former label. In fact, it appears from previous interviews that J.Y. Park personally congratulated Sunmi on her achievements even after her departure.
Sunmi set a new personal best with her third mini album "⅙" including the title track "You Can't Sit with Us". It was released on August 6, 2021 and sold 16,305 copies in its first week. This broke the singer's previous record of 2,911 copies sold in the first week, set by Warning, by a long shot!
Before the year ended, Sunmi released what is now her fifth digital single, "Go or Stop?".
2022 was again filled with singles and concerts. On March 8, the single "Oh Sorry Ya" was released in collaboration with Spotify, and on June 29, Sunmi presented "Heart Burn." In addition, her wide World Tour 2022 SUNMI TOUR 'GOOD GIRL GONE MAD' started in August with concerts in Europe and America. The last concert was held in Seoul on October 8.
We wish to see more Sunmi-pop in 2023! Hopefully we can tell you about a new album soon.
Sources: Youtube, NME, KPOP HERALD, LIVEJOURNAL
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