So!YoON!

Known for her smoky voice and stylish alt-pop as a solo artist, So!YoON! is also the leader of acclaimed Korean indie rock outfit SE SO NEON. After her band won Rookie of the Year at the Korean Music Awards in 2018 with the success of their first EP, Summer Plummage, So!YoON! presented her solo debut album, 2019's collaboration-heavy So!YoON!, which wrangled funk, rock, rap, and synth pop stylings. With her band still active, she followed up with the more seductive Episode 1: Love in 2023, which included the single "Smoke Sprite," a duet with BTS' RM. Born Hwang So Yoon in 1997, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist formed SE SO NEON in Seoul with drummer Gangto as a teenager in 2016. They soon added bass player Fancy Moon to the lineup. On the strength of their sophisticated, bossa- and blues-inflected debut EP, 2017's Summer Plummage, SE SO NEON took home the awards for Rookie of the Year and Best Rock Song ("The Wave") at the 2018 Korean Music Awards. Later in 2018, Gangto and Fancy Moon left the group for their required military service. In the meantime, Hwang went the solo route, releasing her eclectic eponymous So!YoON! debut on SE SO NEON's label, Magic Strawberry Sound, in May of 2019. It included collaborations with Sumin, Jvcki Wai, Mid-Air Thief, and Sam Kim in addition to an appearance by SE SO NEON. Her band -- now with Park Hyun-jin on bass and U-su on drums -- returned with a second EP, Nonadaptation, in early 2020. It was later named one of the best rock albums of the year by Pitchfork. The So!YoON! single "Wings," a non-album collaboration with Phum Viphurit, followed in October. U-su parted ways with SE SO NEON in 2022 to focus on his solo work. Fusing '80s pop, contemporary R&B, and more, So!YoON! returned with her second solo album, Episode 1: Love, in March of 2023. It included collaborations with members of BTS (RM) and Y2K92 (Jibin).
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