Shin Ji-min (; born January 8, 1991), better known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean rapper and singer. She was the leader and main rapper of the girl group AOA, which debuted in 2012 under

FNC Entertainment FNC Entertainment (; stands for "fish and cake") is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2006 by South Korean singer and record producer Han Seong-ho. The label operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, ev ...

. In 2015, Jimin was a semi-finalist in the first season of ''

Unpretty Rapstar ''Unpretty Rapstar'' (Hangul: 언프리티 랩스타) is a South Korean rap competition TV show that airs on Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. T ...

''. During the show, she released several successful collaboration singles, most notably "Good Start" (with

Seulong Lim Seul-ong (Hangul: 임슬옹; born 11 May 1987), also known by the mononym Seulong, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 2008 as a member of the K-pop boyband 2AM. He made his acting debut in 2010 in the Korean dram ...

) and "Puss" (with

Iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

). Following allegations of bullying by former bandmate

Kwon Mina Kwon Mina (born September 21, 1993) mononymously known as Mina'','' is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a former member of the girl group AOA. Kwon has acted in television dramas, including '' Modern Farmer'' (2014) and ...

, Jimin left the group and retired from the entertainment industry in July 2020. She returned to the entertainment industry in July 2022.

Early life

Jimin was born on January 8, 1991, in

Seongnam Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential cit ...

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, South Korea. She learned how to play the guitar, harmonica, and piano as a child. From her second year of middle school to her first year of high school, she studied abroad at a Chinese language school for two years. While in China, she also attended a practical music school.

Career

2012–2013: Debut with AOA

On July 30, 2012, Jimin made her debut as a leader of AOA on Mnet's ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'' with the song "Elvis" from their debut single album, ''

Angels' Story ''Angels' Story'' is the debut single album and first physical single by South Korean girl group AOA. It was released on July 30, 2012 through FNC Entertainment. Release The album consists of 3 songs, the title track "Elvis", "Love is Only You" ...

''. She is also part of band unit AOA Black, established in 2013.

2014–2016: Solo activities and Unpretty Rapstar

In early 2015, Jimin was part of the variety show ''

'', a spin-off of '' Show Me The Money''. ''Unpretty Rapstar'' is a female rappers survival program. The show consists of a single-elimination competition through rap performances. During the show, Jimin released a few collaboration singles, such as "T4SA" with MC Meta and Nuck. Her song with

, "Good Start", was produced by

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 ...

and peaked at number two on the

Gaon Singles Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

. "Puss", her rap battle song with rapper

during the semi-finals, peaked at number one on the Gaon Singles Chart. She was also a cast member of the variety show ''

Off to School ''Welcome Back to School'' (also known as ''Off to School'', ''I'm Going to School''; ''Oh, I'll Go to School''; and ''Going to School''; Romanization: Hakgyo danyeo ogesseubnida) was a 2014 South Korean variety program where celebrities attended ...

'' for four episodes, beginning March 17, 2015. On April 28, Jimin and J.Don released the collaboration single "God". The song was produced by Rhymer of

Brand New Music Brand New Music (Hangul: 브랜뉴 뮤직, also stylized as BrandNew Music and initialized as BNM) is a South Korean hip hop company founded in 2011 by rapper . History 2003–2012: Founding and first-generation artists Kim Se-hwan (Hangul: � ...

as part of FNC Entertainment's N Project. The song's music video was based on ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

''. Jimin debuted as a soloist on March 3, 2016, with the single "Call You Bae", featuring

Exo Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...

Xiumin Kim Min-seok (; born March 26, 1990), better known by his stage name Xiumin (; ), is a South Korean singer and actor. He is best known as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its sub-group Exo-M and its sub-unit Exo-CBX. He debute ...

. The single is the first release of Jimin's solo project #OOTD (Outfit of the Day).

2017–2020: Solo activities, bullying allegations and retirement from industry

In October 2017, Jimin released the single "Hallelujah", a

Latin-pop Latin pop (in Spanish and in Portuguese: Pop latino) is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. Originating in Spanish-speaking musicians, Latin p ...

influenced dance track, a collaboration with magazine W Korea. Jimin sung the OST for tvN's ''

A Korean Odyssey ''A Korean Odyssey'' () is a South Korean fantasy television series starring Lee Seung-gi, Cha Seung-won, Oh Yeon-seo, Lee Hong-gi, and Jang Gwang. Written by the Hong sisters, the drama is a modern spin-off of the Chinese classic 16th-century n ...

'' together with

Seo Yu-na Seo Yu-na (Hangul: 서유나; born December 30, 1992), better known by the mononym Yuna, is a South Korean singer, actress and yoga instructor. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group AOA and its sub-groups, AOA Black and AOA ...

, the song is called "If You Were Me" and it was released on January 28, 2018. On July 3, 2020, former AOA member

alleged in an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post that Jimin had bullied her for a decade, which led to Kwon's withdrawal from the group in May 2019. She posted a photo of her scarred wrist and claimed to have attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

as a result of the bullying. Jimin reportedly responded to the accusations by posting the word "fiction" to her

Instagram Stories Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can be ...

before deleting it shortly after. Kwon criticized the post, stating, "Fiction? It's too scary to say it's fiction." The allegations led to Jimin's departure from the group and the halt of all her activities in the entertainment industry. On January 13, 2022, FNC Entertainment announced that Jimin's contract with the company has expired.

2022–present: Return to the industry

After a three-year hiatus from the entertainment industry, it was announced on July 14, 2022, that Jimin had signed an exclusive contract with Alo Malo Entertainment, and will be making her return to the entertainment industry. In August 2022, Jimin joined the cast of JTBC's '' The Second World'', a survival show for girl-group rappers.

Discography

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Filmography

Television shows

Awards and nominations

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin, Ji-min AOA (group) members 1991 births Living people People from Seongnam K-pop singers South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers FNC Entertainment artists Japanese-language singers of South Korea Mandarin-language singers of South Korea South Korean female models South Korean television personalities South Korean women rappers South Korean hip hop singers South Korean singer-songwriters Unpretty Rapstar contestants 21st-century South Korean women singers Weekly Idol members South Korean women singer-songwriters