Lee Ji-hoon (; born November 22, 1996), better known by his stage name Woozi (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and record producer. He is a member of the boy band
Seventeen. Aside from his work as a soloist and with Seventeen, Woozi has also written for other
K-pop artists such as
NU'EST W
NU'EST W was the second subunit of South Korean boy band, NU'EST. The group consisted of NU'EST members, JR, Aron, Baekho, and Ren, promoting in the absence of Minhyun, who at the time was promoting with Wanna One. The group disbanded on Dec ...
,
Ailee
Amy Lee (born May 30, 1989), known professionally as Ailee, is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. Amassing digital sales success in South Korea, she has released four studio albums, six extended plays, and twenty one singles ...
,
I.O.I and
Chanyeol.
Early life
From a young age, Woozi studied classical music and learned to play the clarinet and other band instruments. He successfully auditioned for
Pledis Entertainment and met labelmate
Bumzu
Kye Beom-ju (Hangul: 계범주, born November 8, 1991), better known by the stage name Bumzu (Hangul: 범주), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a contestant on ''Superstar K4'' and released his debut album, ''So ...
, a frequent collaborator on music production.
He graduated from
Hanlim Multi Art School
Hanlim Multi Art School ( ko, 한림연예예술고등학교) is an arts high school located in Songpa District in Seoul, South Korea.
History
Hanlim School was founded on 3 March 1962, with Lee Hyeon-man being appointed school principal. In 20 ...
and subsequently enrolled in
Hanyang University
Hanyang University (Korean: 한양대학교) is a private research university in South Korea. The main campus is located in Seoul and its satellite campus, the Education Research Industry Cluster (ERICA campus), is in Ansan. ''Hanyang'' (한양 ...
.
Career
2015–present: Debut with Seventeen and solo activities
On May 26, 2015, Woozi debuted in the self-producing group Seventeen with the single "Adore U". He helped write and produce every track on their 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. (EP) ''
17 Carat
''17 Carat'' is the debut extended play by South Korean boy group Seventeen. It was released on May 29, 2015, by Pledis Entertainment and distributed by LOEN Entertainment. "Adore U" serves as the lead single for the extended play.
Background a ...
''. He has since become Seventeen's main producer, alongside singer and songwriter
Bumzu
Kye Beom-ju (Hangul: 계범주, born November 8, 1991), better known by the stage name Bumzu (Hangul: 범주), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a contestant on ''Superstar K4'' and released his debut album, ''So ...
, and is currently credited for writing over 80% of the group's discography.
Shortly thereafter, Woozi began writing for other artists as well. In 2016, he and
Ailee
Amy Lee (born May 30, 1989), known professionally as Ailee, is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. Amassing digital sales success in South Korea, she has released four studio albums, six extended plays, and twenty one singles ...
wrote lyrics for her collaboration with
Eric Nam
Eric Nam (; born November 17, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality based in South Korea. Since his debut in 2013, he was named ''GQ Koreas Man of the Year in 2016'','' included on ''Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia ...
, "Feelin'". In 2017, Woozi wrote the last single released by the project group
I.O.I, "
Downpour", whose lyrics received praise. Later that year, he gifted the song "지금까지 행복했어요" to South Korean singer
Baekho of boy band
NU'EST W
NU'EST W was the second subunit of South Korean boy band, NU'EST. The group consisted of NU'EST members, JR, Aron, Baekho, and Ren, promoting in the absence of Minhyun, who at the time was promoting with Wanna One. The group disbanded on Dec ...
, which was featured in the group's first EP ''
W, Here''. Woozi became a full member of the
Korea Music Copyright Association
The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...
in 2019. On October 15, 2019, Woozi released the song "Miracle" for the soundtrack of the drama ''
The Tale of Nokdu
''The Tale of Nokdu'' () is a 2019 South Korean television series starring Jang Dong-yoon, Kim So-hyun, Kang Tae-oh, and Jung Joon-ho. It is based on the webtoon by Hye Jin-yang which was published in 2014 on Naver Webtoon. It aired on KBS2 ...
''.
In 2021, he worked with fellow Seventeen member Hoshi on his new song "Spider", which debuted at number five on the ''
Billboard''
World Digital Song Sales
The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific so ...
chart. That year, Woozi won Best Producer at the 6th
Asia Artist Awards
Asia Artist Awards (; abbreviated AAA) is an awards ceremony organized by South Korea-based business newspaper ''Money Today'' and its global media brands StarNews and MTN. It honors outstanding achievements and international contributions of A ...
, becoming the youngest recipient of the accolade in the show's history.
On January 3, 2022, Woozi released his first mixtape, ''Ruby''. Its lead single, the first track he wrote entirely in the English language, reached number one on
iTunes charts in at least 18 different regions, including Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Discography
Singles
Production discography
All song credits are adapted from the
KOMCA
The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it is ...
database.
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
{{Authority control
Living people
1996 births
South Korean composers
South Korean male idols
Japanese-language singers of South Korea
English-language singers from South Korea
21st-century South Korean male singers
Musicians from Busan
Pledis Entertainment artists
Hybe Corporation artists
Hanlim Multi Art School alumni
Hanyang University alumni