Jang Seong-eun (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...
: 장성은; born November 18, 1991), known professionally as Stella Jang ( ko, 스텔라장), is a South Korean singer-songwriter.
She graduated from
Lycée Henri-IV
The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France.
The school educates more than ...
and
AgroParisTech. She got her name from her French teacher who thought her Korean name would be hard to pronounce for French people.
Life and career
Pre-debut
Jang moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
at the age of 12 and graduated from a ''
grande école
A ''grande école'' () is a specialised university that is separate from, but parallel and often connected to, the main framework of the French public university system. The grandes écoles offer teaching, research and professional training in s ...
''.
She produced songs at a hip-hop platform, Jungle Radio, where
Zico and
RM were working. She participated in some of the songs from the album ''Backpack'' by the South Korean hip-hop duo
Geeks
The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, it had a generall ...
.
2014–2015: Debut and early songs
She then returned to Korea, where she made her first attempt to become a singer in the
K-pop genre. Unlike some performers in the genre, she had not trained under one of the various management agencies that typically produce
K-pop idols. Her first single, "Dumped Yesterday", was released in 2014, and was described as a song with bright sounding guitar strings.
However, it drew little attention.
In March 2015, Stella released her second single, "It’s Raining" featuring rapper
Verbal Jint
Kim Jin-tae (Hangul: 김진태; born December 19, 1980), better known by his stage name Verbal Jint (Hangul: 버벌진트), is a South Korean rapper, record producer and musician who is known for his groundbreaking innovations in Korean hip hop ...
. In a 2015 interview with BNT News (where she was described as a female hip hop musician), she said her music was influenced by the 90s sound and tried to reflect elements that would bring relatability with her audiences. In September 2015, she released her third single "뒷모습(Portrait of you)", a song about her parents.
2016: First EP ''Colors''
In 2016, she released her first EP ''Colors'' and was described as an artist loved by
hipsters. The album was described as "emotional music mixed with rhythmical raps".
2017: Appearance on ''Problematic Men'' and mainstream breakthrough
She attracted significant interest in 2017 after an appearance on the Korean TV show ''
Problematic Men
''Problematic Men'' () is a South Korean television program that airs on tvN, and currently stars Jun Hyun-moo, Kim Ji-seok, (Peppertones), Ha Seok-jin, Joo Woo-jae and . It currently airs on Thursdays at 20:00 (KST).
The program went on hia ...
''.
Stella debuted as a radio DJ for
Gyeonggi Broadcasting on April 22. On April 30, she released the single "Vanishing Paycheck" that criticizes the reality of office workers. In June 2017, she performed her first solo concert "ddokddok (Knock Knock)" at Hyundaicard Understage.
2018–2019: ''Staples'' and ''Substances Dangereuses''
She released her project album ''Staples'' in January 2018, which was produced by Pleyne and featured a hip hop and R&B sound. In March 2019, she released ''Substances Dangereuses'', an album that uses fine dust as a metaphor for harsh realities.
2019–present: TikTok fame, ''STELLA I'' and ''Stairs''
From late 2019, her song "Colors" — which contained the lyrics ‘I could be red or I could be yellow I could be blue or I could be purple I could be green or pink or black or white I could be every color you like’ — from her 2016 eponymous EP newly gained global popularity around the world through
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version o ...
and boosted the popularity in South Korea.
The challenge was followed by
Jessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...
.
In 2020, Stella released her first studio album ''STELLA I''.
Stella Jang co-wrote the song "Friends" by
BTS
BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-pr ...
for
''Map of the Soul: 7''.
In 2021, she released her EP ''Stairs''.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Filmography
Web shows
Personal life
Stella Jang is fluent in four languages, which are
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
** ...
,
French, Spanish, and English.
In 2021, she revealed she was suffering from a rare disease called
rhabdomyolysis.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, Stella
1991 births
Living people
21st-century South Korean women singers
K-pop singers
South Korean women pop singers
South Korean women singer-songwriters
South Korean rhythm and blues singers
South Korean hip hop singers
French-language singers
Indie pop musicians
South Korean expatriates in France
Lycée Henri-IV alumni