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 Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000, ...

, 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 Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

mother from

Chungcheong Chungcheong (''Chungcheong-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was located at Gongju, which had been the capital of the kingdom o ...

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. 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 bes ...

'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 SM Town (stylized as SMTOWN) is a musical collective for the recording artists under South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment. SM Town artists have performed at the annual SM Town Live world tours since the SM Town Live '08 Asia tour ...

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's ''Maquillage'' cosmetics line, where her song " I'm Lovin' You" (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 Lovelytheband (stylized in all lowercase) is an American indie pop band that formed in 2016 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The band consists of vocalist Mitchy Collins, guitarist Jordan Greenwald, and drummer Sam Price. The band is ...

hair-style. On March 10, 2010 she released her debut album, '' Change Myself'', which included the promotional singles " Change Myself" and " Bye Now!", 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 is a Ryukyuan Japanese actress, model, singer and occasional radio show host. She has been selected several times as the most desired girlfriend and the most desired female celebrity face in Oricon's yearly survey. Early life She was born on J ...

's ''Sora'' in late 2007. On August 11, 2010, she released her debut single "

Tokyo Lady "Tokyo Lady" (stylized as TOKYO LADY) is a song by Japanese/Korean musician Iconiq, released as her debut single of August 11, 2010. The single was originally planned for a July 28 release, however was postponed. It is currently her last physical ...

", which was later included in her first EP '' Light Ahead'' in September. The EP was promoted with three music videos directed by

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome) is an American music video director and choreographer. Awards Diane Martel was nominated for the Video of the Year for her work in "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. in 2013. Fil ...

. 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'' ...

. 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

}, "Wrongful Meeting") , — , — , , — , , — , - ! scope="row" , " I'm Lovin' You" (Iconiq x Exile Atsushi) , rowspan="5" , 2010 , — , , 47 , , 8 , — , rowspan="3", ''Change Myself'' , - ! scope="row" , " Change Myself" , — , , 73 , , 20 , — , - ! scope="row" , " Bye Now!" , — , , 8 , , 47 , — , - ! scope="row" , "

" , 19 , , 21 , , — , 10,000 , rowspan="2", ''Light Ahead'' , - ! scope="row" , "Light Ahead" , — , , 49 , , 62 , — , - ! scope="row" , "Yeoja" (

: 여자, "Ladies") , rowspan="2" , 2012 , — , , — , , — , — , rowspan="2", "Ladies" , - ! scope="row" , "Make It Right" , — , , — , , — , —

Filmography

Film

Television drama

Television shows

Awards

Korean Music Awards

, - , rowspan=2 align="center", Korean Music Awards 2007 , rowspan=2 align="center", Lee Ah-yoo-mi "Cutie Honey" , Album of the year , , - , Best pop album ,

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