Lee Sun-mi (; born Sun Mi, May 2, 1992), known mononymously as Sunmi, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and record producer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group
Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony (Wonder Girls song), Irony" and 5 members: Park Ye-eun, Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Ahn So-hee, Sohee. Aft ...
and left the group in 2010 to pursue her studies. After a three-year hiatus, Sunmi resumed her career as a soloist with her 2013 debut extended play,
''Full Moon'', spawning the number two singles "
24 Hours" and "
Full Moon" on the national
Gaon Digital 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 ...
.
In 2015, Sunmi was announced to be resuming promotion with the Wonder Girls and remained with the group until their disbandment in 2017. She subsequently left
JYP Entertainment
JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...
and joined Makeus Entertainment (now known as Abyss Company), releasing the hit single "
Gashina". Her second extended play,
''Warning'', was released in 2018 and produced two other hit singles: "
Heroine
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
" and "
Siren".
Early life
Sunmi was born on May 2, 1992, in
Iksan
Iksan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, South Korea.
The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan County (''Iksan-gun'') in 19 ...
,
North Jeolla
North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...
, South Korea. She attended Hwangnam Elementary School, Chungdam Middle School and
Chungdam High School, and majored in musical theater at
Dongguk University.
Sunmi revealed on a 2018 episode of ''
Talkmon'' that she first decided to become a celebrity when she was 12 after her father was admitted to hospital due to complications of
pulmonary tuberculosis. She was inspired by
BoA, who debuted at the age of 13, and it was for her "the fastest way to make money" in order to take care of her mother and two younger brothers. She went to
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
to audition and became a
JYP Entertainment
JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...
trainee at 14, though her father died three months before her debut with
Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony (Wonder Girls song), Irony" and 5 members: Park Ye-eun, Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Ahn So-hee, Sohee. Aft ...
. She later adopted her stepfather's surname Lee while in university and merged her original given name and surname, becoming Lee Sun-mi.
Career
2006–2012: Debut with Wonder Girls, hiatus
In May 2006, Sunmi was revealed as the fourth member of
Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony (Wonder Girls song), Irony" and 5 members: Park Ye-eun, Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Ahn So-hee, Sohee. Aft ...
, a girl group managed by
JYP Entertainment
JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...
. The group debuted with the single "
Irony
Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...
", on February 10, 2007, and quickly rose to stardom with their hits "
Tell Me Tell Me may refer to:
* ''Tell Me...'', a 1979 album by Jimmy Knepper
* Tell me (advertisement), a 2005 Chinese-language newspaper ad calling for universal suffrage in Hong Kong
* Tell Me (TV series), ''Tell Me'' (TV series), a 2019 South Korean qu ...
", "
So Hot" and "
Nobody" within two years of debuting. Sunmi participated with the group in American activities, touring alongside the
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...
, under the nickname Mimi.
In January 2010, JYP announced that Sunmi would be postponing her musical career to pursue her studies, but would continue until February in order to complete scheduled events. On January 13, 2012, a JYP representative stated that "Sunmi has remained within the company and continues to sharpen her musical talents." JYP Entertainment later stated that there were no plans for Sunmi to return and comeback as a member of Wonder Girls.
2013–2016: Solo debut with ''Full Moon'', Wonder Girls return
In August 2013, Sunmi was announced to be returning to her music career, debuting as a solo artist. Sunmi made her official debut stage on August 22, on
Mnet's ''
M! Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leete ...
''. Her debut single "
24 Hours" was released on August 26, 2013, and subsequently achieved an
all-kill on music charts. Subsequently, her debut
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
''
Full Moon'' was released on February 17, 2014, along with the promotional single of the same name. The latter peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number three on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
's K-pop Hot 100. "
Full Moon" was praised for being innovative, and Sunmi was said to have delivered a classy rendition of "sexy".
On June 24, 2015, JYP Entertainment announced that Sunmi would be re-joining Wonder Girls, after withdrawing in 2010, for their comeback after the group's two-year hiatus. The group returned with a band concept, with Sunmi playing the
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
. In August, the group's album ''
Reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
'' was released, with Sunmi co-writing and co-producing three of its tracks. In 2016, Sunmi once again received songwriting and producing credits for a Wonder Girls release, this time for two songs present on the band's single release "Why So Lonely", including the
title track of the same name.
2017–2021: Group final disbandment, ''Warning'', tour, and ''1/6''
On January 26, 2017, it was announced that Wonder Girls were to disband after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiation with members Yeeun and Sunmi. The group released their final single "
Draw Me" on February 10, 2017, which also served as a celebration for their tenth anniversary. In March, Sunmi signed with Makeus Entertainment. In August, she released her single "
Gashina", produced by
Teddy Park
Teddy Park (born Park Hong-jun on September 14, 1978) is a Korean Americans, Korean–American Rapping, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Park moved to the United States with his family as a young child. Wh ...
of
The Black Label. The song debuted at number 2 on the
Gaon Digital 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 ...
before topping the chart the following week, and was named the Third Best K-pop Song of 2017 by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''.
Sunmi returned with a single titled "
Heroine
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
" on January 18, 2018. She described the single as a prequel to "Gashina". On September 4, Sunmi released her second EP, titled ''
Warning'', along with the lead single, "
Siren". "Siren" received an all-kill on six local music charts. ''Warning'' was named the third best k-pop album of 2018 by ''Billboard'' and ''
Bravo''. "Addict" was named the eighth best k-pop b-side of the year by
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
.
From February to June 2019, Sunmi held her first world tour, titled Warning. Tickets for the Seoul concert reportedly sold out in five seconds after opening. She performed in 18 cities across Asia, America and Europe. In the midst of the tour, on March 4, 2019, Sunmi released a single titled "
Noir". After completing the world tour she released her single "
Lalalay
"Lalalay" (, stylized in all caps) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Sunmi, released on August 27, 2019, by Makeus Entertainment as a single. Sunmi wrote and co-produced the song with Frants.
Background and composition
The song was a ...
" on August 27, 2019.
On February 6, 2020, Sunmi released the single "
Gotta Go" along with its instrumental as part of the original sound track of the web series ''
XX'' in which she made a
cameo. Two days later, a dance performance for the song was released which later became the channel's most popular video after reaching over 4 million views. On May 21, it was revealed that Sunmi would be making a comeback in late June. Her single "
Pporappippam" was released on June 29.
On July 22, she was selected as the exclusive model of ''요괴미식가'' (the Korean version of ''Yokai Kitchen'') created by FriendTimes; in the TV commercial of the game, she played a gourmet who enjoyed cooking in the mysterious spirit realm restaurant.
On August 12, she and
J. Y. Park released the duet "
When We Disco". She also featured on label mate Park Won's song "Oh Yeah" from his album ''My Fuxxxxx Romance''.
Sunmi released her new single release
"Tail" on February 23, 2021, with the
lead single of the same name. Sunmi released her third EP ''
1/6'' (One Sixth) on August 6, 2021, with the lead single "
You Can't Sit with Us
"You Can't Sit with Us" is a song recorded by South Korean singer Sunmi. It was released on August 6, 2021, through Abyss Company, as the lead single from the singer's third extended play, ''1/6 (EP), 1/6''. The song was written by Sunmi and w ...
". On October 11, Sunmi released the new digital single "Go or Stop?". The single was released as part of a collaboration with
DWG KIA, a ''
League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...
''
esports
Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
team who won the
2020 World Championship.
2022–present: "Heart Burn" and tour
On June 8, 2022, Sunmi's agency announced that she was preparing for a comeback with a single titled "
Heart Burn" on June 29. On June 30, 2022, the agency announced Sunmi's world tour '2022 Sunmi Tour 'Good Girl Gone Mad' through its official SNS channel. It was held in Europe and America.
Artistry
Musical style and themes: "Sunmi-pop"
Sunmi is known in the
K-pop
K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...
industry to have created her own musical style called "Sunmi-pop".
It maintains K-pop's core influences such as
pop,
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
,
rock,
traditional Korean music
Korea has produced music () for thousands of years, into the modern day. After the division of Korea in 1945, both North and South Korea have produced their own styles of music.
Traditional music () produced by Korea includes Korean court music, ...
plus
retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture.
Definition
The term ...
and
city pop elements mixed with Sunmi's own defined music identity.
The concept of "Sunmi-pop" was first mentioned by Sunmi herself on ''
You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook'' at the start of 2018. Later in the year, in an interview for
''1TheK'''s
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel published in September 2018, she revealed that her personal goal was to create her own music style named after herself.
The interview was published at a time coinciding with the release of
''Warning'' (her first
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
since her renewal as a
solo artist) and she referred to the newly published EP as "a stepping stone from which
hecan build
erown music style".
One week ahead of the release of her single "
Noir", she mentioned her main goal during a detailed interview for ''
Billboard Korea'', hoping that her musical style would become something that could inspire other artists.
K-pop fans around the world started to acknowledge Sunmi's own musical identity by using for the first time the word "''Sunmi-pop''" in a few tweets, although the term became common on
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
only after her fans used it to reply to a tweet posted by Sunmi herself. Even though the tweet itself didn't mention the term, Korean
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
and industry players started to officially recognize the word "''Sunmi-pop''" and implement it in articles and
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...
s for the first time to describe Sunmi's music, reporting that she created her own style by applying her abilities in
self-writing,
self-composing and ideating performances.
On May 30, 2019, in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, right before going up on the stage of the ''Warning'' World Tour, an interviewer of the Korean media agency
Yonhap News
Yonhap News Agency (; ) is a major news agency in South Korea. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures, and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea.
History
Yonhap was esta ...
made known to Sunmi that a term to describe her musical style had been coined already as "''Sunmi-pop''". Thus the word "''Sunmi-pop''" gained its officiality, and on August 21, 2019, her agency Abyss Company (then known as Makeus Entertainment) also recognized the newly coined word by sharing an article from
Naver News
Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment.
History
Naver was the first Korean web provide ...
which dedicated a section to "Sunmi genre, Sunmi-pop" in anticipation of her comeback with "
Lalalay
"Lalalay" (, stylized in all caps) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Sunmi, released on August 27, 2019, by Makeus Entertainment as a single. Sunmi wrote and co-produced the song with Frants.
Background and composition
The song was a ...
".
Characteristics of "Sunmi-pop"
The main characteristic of "Sunmi-pop" is defined by the emotions that the songs convey and provoke in the listener. According to Sunmi: "there's always a slightly sad emotion that permeates
y musicno matter how excitingly I sing the song" and "it's energetic and happy but with a sense of sadness". "Sunmi-pop" songs feature
upbeat dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
rhythms with lyrics marked by
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
s and double meanings that slightly conceal a sense of
cynicism.
Since "
Gashina", Sunmi's
title tracks have featured double meanings and wordplays in the song title such as "
Siren", expressing both the meaning of the
warning sound and the
myth
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
ological figure of the
siren,
and "
Lalalay
"Lalalay" (, stylized in all caps) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Sunmi, released on August 27, 2019, by Makeus Entertainment as a single. Sunmi wrote and co-produced the song with Frants.
Background and composition
The song was a ...
" which both refers to the act of flying
ike a butterfly">butterfly.html" ;"title="ike a butterfly">ike a butterflyand the word ''nallari'' (날라리) meaning 'punk' or 'party-goer' in Korean.
Additionally, the songs "Gashina", "
Heroine
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
", "Siren", "Black Pearl", "Curve", "Lalalay" and "Tail (song)">Tail
The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...
" all present metaphors in the lyrics thus defining Sunmi's style of expression.
Although "Sunmi-pop" songs mostly present an exciting and happy beat, Sunmi shared that her lyrics are often imbued with a sense of cynicism due to the fact that, in her real life, as a celebrity, she can't always express her true feelings.
Metaphors, wordplays and double meanings are often expressed through Choreography, choreographies that complement her work.
and retro elements are often associated with Sunmi's songs. The reason why these elements emerge is to be found in Sunmi's roots as a member of the
. Sunmi said in a recent interview that producer
understanding of the different music styles of different eras" focusing especially on retro concepts and
artists, which she ended up liking.
In a ''Billboard'' interview she revealed: "Personally, I like music from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, so I try to find
s and sounds that evoke those periods and work them into my music".
"Sunmi-pop" is also considered by Sunmi to be a combination of popularity and identity.
'', Sunmi explained: "I always try to come up with fun and easy ways to approach a range of people, while keeping the original emotions in myself". While her aesthetic or themes are considered to be
.
Another key element of "Sunmi-pop" is dynamism: Sunmi shared her wish of wanting to try new ideas every time, like working with other producers, and explore new genres by showing a different range of themes, aesthetics and sounds through the years.
", released in August 2021.