Lee Ayumi (born August 25, 1984), professionally known as Ayumi (previously Ahyoomee) in South Korea and Yumi Itō (previously ICONIQ) in Japan, is a Japanese-born South Korean singer, actress and entertainer based in Japan and South Korea. She debuted under the stage name Ahyoomee in 2001, as the leader and lead vocalist of South Korean girl group

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, a position she served in until the group's disbandment in 2006. Following the disbandment, Lee embarked on a solo career in South Korea under SM, releasing two digital singles. In 2008, she returned to Japan and began an acting career under the Japanese

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Yumi Itō. In 2009, she debuted as a singer in Japan, under Avex's Rhythm Zone, taking the stage name Iconiq, and released a studio album, an EP, and seven digital singles.

Early life

Lee Ayumi was born in Tottori, Japan on August 25, 1984 to a Korean mother from Chungcheong and a second-generation

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

father. She lived in Japan until the age of 15 before moving to South Korea, later attending the Korea Kent Foreign School ( ko).

Career

2001–2006: Sugar

Ahyoomee was scouted by the entertainment company Starworld at a

H.O.T. H.O.T. (; pronounced "H. O. T.", acronym for Highfive Of Teenagers) was a South Korean boy band that was created by SM Entertainment in 1996. They are considered to be the first K-pop ''idol group'' and their successful formula became the model ...

concert, later debuting as a part of Korean

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

in 2001. The band released two albums in Japan and three in South Korea, to moderate commercial success. During her career in Sugar, she and Park Soo-jin had a guest appearance on the ''

Gag Concert ''Gag Concert'' ( ko, 개그콘서트) was a South Korean sketch-comedy television show more commonly known as ''Gag Con'' ( ko, 개콘). It began airing on September 4, 1999 and aired its last episode on June 26, 2020, making it South Korea's ...

'' 200th episode special, in the sketch ''Poncho Siblings'' (우비 삼남매), making them the first girl group to appear on the program. In December 2006, Starworld announced they would not offer Sugar new contracts, thus disbanding the group following the expiration of their contracts.

2006–2012: solo career

On July 13, 2006, Ayumi released her first digital single under SM Entertainment, titled "Cutie Honey", a cover of the theme song to the ''

Cutie Honey is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champions 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who trans ...

'' anime series. Her second single, a cover of

Kim Gun Mo Kim Gun-mo (; born January 13, 1968) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, who is considered the country's most successful musical artist of the 1990s. His 1995 album, ''Wrongful Meeting,'' previously held the Guinness World Record for the best- ...

's song, "Jalmotdoen Mannam" ("Wrongful Meeting"), was released on November 7, 2006. In February 2007, following her contract expiration with Starworld, she switched labels, moving to the parent label

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

. Under SM Entertainment, Ayumi started collaborating with SM Town on their summer and winter albums that year. However, she did not release any solo material at this time. In 2008, she made her acting debut in Japan as Itō Yumi. Afterwards, she travelled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to study dance, and find new inspiration as a musician. In 2009, she returned to Japan and made her solo debut as Iconiq under Avex label Rhythm Zone. Her first activities under Avex were for

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and ...

's ''Maquillage'' cosmetics line, where her song "

I'm Lovin' You "I'm Lovin' You" (stylised as "I'm lovin' you") is Japanese/Korean musician Iconiq's debut Japanese solo single, a duet with Exile vocalist Atsushi. It was released on January 27, 2010 as a digital download to cellphones, as well as a special rel ...

" (a duet with

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

vocalist Atsushi) was used in commercials, and Lee's image was used in billboards for the promotion of the line. Iconiq was marketed around her buzz cut hair-style. On March 10, 2010 she released her debut album, ''

Change Myself ''Change Myself'' is Japanese pop musician Iconiq's debut album, released on March 10, 2010. The album was initially planned for a February 24 release, which was postponed for two weeks. Background Iconiq originally released music in Japan and ...

'', which included the promotional singles "

" and "

Bye Now! "Bye Now!" (stylised as BYE NOW!) is a song by Japanese/Korean musician Iconiq, and the lead promotional track from her debut album, ''Change Myself'', released in March 2010. It was widely played at radio stations during the album's release, peak ...

", which were used for advertising the ''Maquillage'' cosmetic line once more. The album debuted at #3 on

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

's albums chart, the highest position for a debut album since Yui Aragaki's ''Sora'' in late 2007. On August 11, 2010, she released her debut single " Tokyo Lady", which was later included in her first EP '' Light Ahead'' in September. The EP was promoted with three music videos directed by Diane Martel. After a two year hiatus from releasing music, Lee released two digital singles on March 14, 2012, titled ''LADIES'' and ''MAKE IT RIGHT''.

2015–present: acting career and departure from Avex

In 2015, Lee returned to South Korea, appearing on the JTBC program Witch Hunt, marking her first television appearance in South Korea after nine years. In August 2016, in an interview with SENSE ( ja) magazine, Lee stated she would be going back to being an actress, using the name Itō Yumi. In September of the same year, she starred as Michiru Saiki in the stage play adaption of the manga

ReLIFE is a Japanese manga series in webtoon format written and illustrated by Yayoiso. The individual chapters were released by NHN Japan on the Comico website from October 12, 2013, to March 16, 2018, for a total of 15 compiled ''tankōbon'' vo ...

. In May 2017, Lee was cast in a Fuji TV drama, ''Code Blue Season 3''. In August 2017, Lee was confirmed as a cast member of MBN's new South Korean variety show ''Flying Girl''. In March 2019, Lee announced that she had signed a contract with the South Korean agency BONBOO Entertainment. On January 20, 2020, Lee announced on her blog that, after eleven years, she would be leaving Avex, after the expiration of her contract.

Personal life

In September 2022, Lee released a pre-wedding photo revealing that she would marry her non-celebrity foreign boyfriend who is two years older than her on October 30.

Discography

Studio album

Extended play

Singles

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Exile Atsushi , known as Atsushi or Exile Atsushi (stylized as ATSUSHI and EXILE ATSUSHI) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and part-time producer. Debuting as a member of the band Exile (Japanese band), EXILE in 2001, Atsushi is currently one of the main vocalis ...

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Filmography

Film

Television drama

Television shows

Awards

Korean Music Awards

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Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ahyumi 1984 births Living people South Korean women pop singers Japanese women pop singers Japanese-language singers of South Korea Avex Group artists Zainichi Korean people South Korean female idols Musicians from Tottori Prefecture