Son Sue-Kyung (

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 let ...

: ), better known by her stage name Sue Son, is a South Korean classical and crossover violinist, raised in the United Kingdom and based in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. She studied at London's

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

and debuted in South Korea with her album ''I Am'' in August 2012 on

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

. She first became known after appearing as a contestant on ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' in 2009, placing in the semi-finals.

Biography

Background

Born in Seoul, Son Sue-Kyung began playing violin at the age of six, in order to be different from her piano playing elder sister, Hee Kyung. She moved to

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, England with her family at age 9, during the third year of elementary school, and went on to study, at the prestigious,

Purcell School The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal i ...

and London's

, but left as she found it too traditional, preferring to explore other styles of music. She transferred to the

Guildhall School of Music & Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

due to her wish to combine her violin work with DJ music, graduating in 2009.

Professional career

Sue Son first came to public attention after auditioning for the third series of UK talent show

, helmed by

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

. She performed as a duo called Addicted with keyboardist and former friend Janine Khalil, but were initially rejected. Invited back to perform solo, she gave a performance of

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

's ''

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

'' on

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

, impressing judges

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

and

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

as well as Simon Cowell himself, who described her performance as "phenomenal." Appearances on popular British national TV shows

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

and This Morning followed. At the semi-finals Son performed ''Explosive'' by

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

and met her idol,

Vanessa Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...

, subsequently being eliminated then. Son then made a number of TV appearances in South Korea, including on

Arirang "Arirang" (; ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "''Arirang, arirang, arariyo'' ()". It is estimated the song is more than 600 years old. ...

's ''Heart to Heart'' talk show, KBS show ''Every Morning'' and on 15 August 2009, on SBS's popular TV Show Star King alongside

Jo Kwon Jo Kwon ( born on August 28, 1989) is a South Korean singer, television host, actor, entertainer and the leader of South Korean boy band 2AM. He has starred in multiple musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' playing the role of King Her ...

of 2AM. Son was then chosen as an ambassador for the

Seoul Tourism Organization The Seoul Tourism Organization (STO; ko, 서울관광재단) is a public interest corporation established by local governments in Seoul, South Korea. It's also called a Seoul Tourism Foundation. The organization was established on May 1, 2018. Th ...

, performing at the Annual Association Congress 2010 at London's Riverbank and at the Seoul MICE Industry Networking Concert 'Seoul on the Move' in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand. She would go on to perform again for the Seoul Tourism Organization in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for 'Seoul Style' in October 2012. After a year of performing at various events around the UK, Son then returned to the South Korea permanently to work on her debut material. In July 2011 her first single ''I Wish'' topped the country's crossover charts. She also became a frequent guest on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

's music show, ''Yoon Do-hyun's Must''. On 23 July 2011, Sue Son appeared on stage as a special guest of YB at their show at the Olympic Hall. She would go on to perform throughout their tour of 13 cities in South Korea. Son performed live at the opening of the

Mnet Asian Music Awards The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...

, MAMA 2011 on 29 November at

Singapore Indoor Stadium The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...

. Her performance of ''It Burns'' was a collaboration with

Dynamic Duo Dynamic duo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups *Dúo Dinámico (Spanish for Dynamic Duo), a Spanish musical duo formed in 1958 and one of the main precursors of pop music in Spain *Dynamic Duo (South Korean duo), a South Ko ...

, Simon-D and YB. Son has appeared twice on popular MBC TV show

I Am a Singer ''I Am a Singer'' () is a popular South Korean singing competition program; a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' lineup. Seven talented, veteran Korean singers perform for a selected audience, which votes to eliminate one singer after each week's ...

, on 17 July 2011 with YB performing a cover of 크게 라디오를 켜고 by

Sinawe Sinawe ( ko, 시나위) is a heavy metal/rock band from South Korea. Led by guitarist and sole constant member Shin Daechul, they are credited as being the first heavy metal band in South Korea. During its golden age in the late 1980s and mid 199 ...

, and August 2012 with opera singer KAI. Sue Son's debut album ''I Am Son Sue Kyung'' was released on 29 August 2012, featuring a range of classical, rock and pop music. Guest artists included Son Seung Yeon, Hip-Hop act

and Hip-Hop trio

Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...

. In November 2012 Sue Son's collaboration on the song ''Still You'' with

Yoon Do-hyun Yoon Do-hyun (born February 3, 1972) is a South Korean hard rock/folk rock singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the Yoon Do-hyun Band (YB) since 1996. Yoon is also an MC on TV variety programs (notably ''Yoo ...

of popular South Korean rock group YB was released as a video and single. Sue Son made her acting debut as Sara Han in the 2015 film ''

Seoul Searching ''Seoul Searching'' is a 2016 South Korean comedy-drama film written and directed by Benson Lee and starring Justin Chon, Jessika Van, Cha In-Pyo and Teo Yoo. Premise Seoul, 1986. A raucous gaggle of Korean teenagers spill out of the Gimpo air ...

''.

Discography

Singles

*I Wish (2011)

Albums

* I AM (2012)

References

External links

Official Management Site
*
Sue Son's Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Son, Sue Musicians from Seoul Living people 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century South Korean actresses South Korean classical violinists Britain's Got Talent contestants South Korean film actresses 1985 births South Korean women violinists 21st-century women musicians Musicians from Colchester