Lee Hi

Korean singer/songwriter Lee Hi puts a throwback spin on K-pop with her soulful, R&B-indebted vocals, which she unveiled to Korean audiences in the early 2010s. Like many other contemporaries, she competed for a part on a K-pop reality show, finishing in second place in late 2011. Soon after, she signed with YG Entertainment and issued her debut single, "1, 2, 3, 4." Debut effort First Love landed in 2013 and a follow-up, Seoulite, arrived in 2016. After years focusing on collaborations, soundtracks, and other duties, Lee made a comeback in 2019 with 24°C. Born Lee Ha-yi in Bucheon, South Korea, Lee Hi made her first steps into the K-pop industry via reality television competition, K-pop Star. Although she finished as a runner-up, she signed with YG and released her first single ("1, 2, 3, 4") and album (First Love). Released in two parts, First Love rose to number three in Korea and on the U.S. World Albums charts in 2013. That same year, she teamed with 2NE1's Park Bom for the one-off BOM&HI project, which released a cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," a Korean Top 20 hit. She also joined with Lee Su-hyun to form Hi Suhyun, another side duo that reached number one with their 2014 single "I'm Different" Two years later, Lee issued her sophomore set, Seoulite, another collection of nostalgic, soul- and R&B-inflected pop. The album included the single "Breathe" and peaked in the Korean Top 10 (performing better in the U.S. at number three on the World Albums chart). Over the coming years, she contributed to a handful of soundtracks for television dramas and collaborated with the likes of Epik High, Gill, Dok2, and Code Kunst. In 2018, she attempted to break into the Japanese market with the aptly titled Lee Hi Japan Debut Album. After three years without an album in her home country, she made a comeback in 2019 with 24°C. The EP was warmly received, entering the Billboard World Album chart at number seven and debuting just outside the Korean Top 10.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo