Kim Seo-hyeon (born December 10, 1993), known professionally as KATIE, is a South Korean-born American singer who finished first in ''

K-pop Star 4 The fourth season of the South Korean reality television competition show ''K-pop Star'' premiered on SBS on November 23, 2014, airing Sunday evenings at 4:50 pm KST as part of the ''Good Sunday'' lineup. Yang Hyun-suk, Park Jin-young, and You ...

''. Her breakthrough performance of "Where You Need To Be" reached 4 million views on South Korea's leading video-sharing site, Naver TV Cast, in the shortest amount of time in ''K-pop Star'' history. After winning the show, she decided to sign with

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...

. In May 2018, Katie joined AXIS, a new company founded by former YG creative director SINXITY. With a change of label, YG Entertainment would continue to help with the distribution of her debut album. Her debut extended play, ''Log'', was released on May 22, 2019.

Early life

Kim Seo-hyeon was born on December 10, 1993 in

Bucheon Bucheon () is a administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite town, satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul. Bucheon is the second ...

. She immigrated to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

at the age of 10. Her mother would play classical music when she was a child, and she realized that she wanted to be a singer in her high school years. She studied jazz at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, but had to drop out due to financial difficulties burdening her family.

Career

Katie applied for ''

'' to further her career back in South Korea. She emerged as the winner for the season, and she opted to sign with

, and she became a trainee under the agency. After winning she performed live for the first time with hip-hop duo,

Jinusean Jinusean (Hangul: 지누션; stylized as JINUSEAN) was a South Korean hip hop duo signed to YG Entertainment. The duo, which is made up of Kim Jin-woo (also known as Jinu) and Noh Seung-hwan (also known as Sean), debuted in 1997 and rose to fame ...

, with their latest hit, "Tell Me One More Time", which she performed at SBS ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...

''. She spent three years under YG, where she recorded several songs and produced music videos, and YG noticed her preference for American music. She also visited the United States to participate in songwriting camps, where she wrote most of her songs for her album. Despite this, development for her solo album stagnated and was repeatedly delayed. Producer SJ "SINXITY" Shin, who oversaw Katie's album, eventually left YG to create his own label, AXIS, which complicated the schedule of her debut. SINXITY wanted Katie to join AXIS, and after consulting with YG founder

Yang Hyun-suk Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...

, she decided to leave YG to join AXIS in May 2018, with YG Plus continuing to distribute her album. She became the label's first artist, and she gained more creative control with her music under AXIS. She debuted with the single "Remember" from her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''Log'', on June 6, 2018. The music video was uploaded on YG's official YouTube channel, and has since received over 10 million views on the platform. A second single was supposed to be released on August 8, with the release of ''Log'' by October 10. The positive reception to the song resulted in her delaying her EP due to newfound interest from record labels, and she ultimately partnered with

AWAL AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...

for distribution. She released a

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Singles EP in October 2018, which included live versions of "Remember" and a cover of

India Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Award ...

's "Beautiful Surprise". She moved to Los Angeles in April 2019. "Remember" was re-released on April 17, with

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

as a featured artist; her manager previously managed Ty Dolla Sign, and he contacted him for the collaboration. She released her second single, "Thinkin Bout You", on May 21, with ''Log'' releasing a day later. Katie performed at the

Seoul Jazz Festival The Seoul Jazz Festival ( ko, 서울재즈페스티벌) is an annual jazz festival which takes place in the city of Seoul, South Korea. The festival spans across two or three days. Famous jazz artists from all around the world gather in Seoul eve ...

on May 25.

Artistry

Kim's primary influences include jazz, soul, funk, and R&B musicians such as

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

, Nao,

D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, and

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

, most of which she listened to as a student in Berklee.

Discography

Extended play

Singles

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Music Video

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Katie Kim's videography
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Official Fan Cafe (Katie Is Love)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katie K-pop singers South Korean soul singers South Korean jazz singers South Korean contemporary R&B singers South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers English-language singers from South Korea Berklee College of Music alumni YG Entertainment artists K-pop Star winners 1993 births Living people 21st-century South Korean singers People from Bucheon 21st-century South Korean women singers