Baek A-yeon is a South Korean singer and songwriter signed under Eden Entertainment. She is best known as the second runner-up contestant of K-pop Star. As soloist she release a total of four extended plays and total of nine singles, after her contract expire in JYP she subsequently join EDEN Entertainment.
Early life and education
Baek was born on March 11, 1993 in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. During her fifth year of elementary school she underwent treatment for cancer. She is currently studying at the Department of Practical Music at Howon University.
Career
2011–2012: ''K-Pop Star''
Baek participated in the first season of competition television showK-pop Star. She was one of the top three contestants, along with Park Ji-min and Lee Hi. After she was eliminated she was approached by a number of entertainment agencies seeking to sign her. Baek eventually signed with JYP Entertainment, the company of K-pop Star judge JYP.
Baek released her debut EP, I'm Baek, on September 10, 2012, with a total of five tracks including the lead single "Sad Song". On September 16, Baek made her official debut stage on the music program Inkigayo with performed "Stay" and "Sad Song". On December 15, Baek released her first original soundtrack "Daddy Long Legs" for the SBS drama Cheongdam-dong Alice. In April 2013, Baek recorded "Introduction to Love," for MBC's drama When a Man Falls in Love. Baek released her second EP, A Good Girl, on June 17, 2013, with the lead single "A Good Boy". One months later, she recorded "Tears Are Also Love", for the MBC's drama Goddess of Fire OST. In May 2014, Baek released track, "The Three Things I Have Left", for the SBS drama Angel Eyes. Two months later, she released another track, "Morning of Canon", for MBC's drama You Are My Destiny.
2015–present: Breakthrough and ''Dear Me''
Baek released her first single and first self-composed song, "Shouldn't Have", on May 20, 2015. The song went on to become a sleeper hit, reaching number one on several Korean music real-time charts a month after its release among fierce competition. Following the success of the song, she began promotions for it on music programs beginning with Show! Music Core on June 13. Later in the year, she contributed her vocals to the song "So We Are" for the SBS drama Yong-pal. In May 2016, Baek released a digital single album, consisting of the lead track "So-so", composed and written by herself, as well as side track "Something to Say". "So-so" followed the success of "Shouldn't Have", securing the top spot on all major Korean music charts within a day of its release. Later that year, she released holiday single, "Just Because", on November 30. Baek's third EP, Bittersweet, was released on May 29, 2017, leading to the media coining the name "May Queen" for her consistency in releasing music during that month. The EP contained six tracks, with the lead single "Sweet Lies" featuring vocal trio The Barberettes. While Bittersweet did not have the same success chart-wise as its predecessors, the album was praised for its quality with Billboard including it among their top five critic's picks of the K-pop albums released that year.
"The album as a whole, is hypnotic in its pop glory, and lives up to Baek's reputation within Korea as one of the country's most captivating young female soloists. As a whole, Bittersweet features a wide array of sounds that blend to create an otherworldly listening experience." - T.H., Billboard
Baek A Yeon's fourth mini album, Dear Me was released on November 21, 2018 with the lead single "Sorry To Myself" along with five other songs. Later that year, she was confirmed to have landed a role in Korea's first virtual reality musical film, "Anna, Mari", which won Korea Creative Content Agency's 2018 "VR Frontier Content Project". On September 16, 2019, it was revealed that Baek A Yeon's contract with JYP Entertainment had come to an end. She chose not to renew her contract, and left the company. On December 7, she formally announced that she had joined Eden Entertainment.
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
Other charted songs
Soundtrack appearances
Concerts and tours
Headlining
Baek A Yeon 1st Concert "Whispering the First Story"
Baek A Yeon 2nd Concert "Whisper, Whisper - The 2nd Story"
