Sunmi


Lee Sun-mi, known mononymously as Sunmi, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls and left the group in January 2010 to pursue an academic career. After a three-year long hiatus from the music scene, Sunmi resumed her career as a soloist in August 2013 with her debut extended play Full Moon, which spawned the number two singles "24 Hours" and "Full Moon" on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.
In 2015, Sunmi was announced to be resuming promotion with the Wonder Girls until their disbandment in 2017. She subsequently left JYP Entertainment and joined Makeus Entertainment, releasing the hit single "Gashina". Her second extended play Warning was released in 2018 and produced two other hit singles: "Heroine" and "Siren".

Early life

Sunmi was born on May 2, 1992 in Iksan, North Jeolla, South Korea. She attended Hwangnam Elementary School, Chungdam Middle School and Chungdam High School, and later 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 to audition and became a JYP Entertainment trainee at 14, though her father passed away three months before her debut with Wonder Girls. She later adopted her stepfather's surname Lee while in university and merged her original given name and surname, becoming Lee Sun-mi.

Career

2006–2016: Debut with Wonder Girls, hiatus and ''Full Moon''

In May 2006, Sunmi was revealed as the fourth member of Wonder Girls, a girl group managed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted with the single "Irony", on February 10, 2007 and quickly rose to stardom with their hits "Tell Me", "So Hot" and "Nobody" within two years of debuting. Sunmi participated with the group in American activities, touring alongside the Jonas Brothers, under the nickname Mimi.
In January 2010, JYP announced that Sunmi would be postponing her musical career to pursue her academic career, 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.
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. 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 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'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. In August, the group's album Reboot 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 album Why So Lonely, including the title track of the same name.

2017–present: Departure from JYP Entertainment, ''Warning'' and world tour

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 of The Black Label. The song debuted at number 2 on the Gaon Digital Chart before topping the chart the following week, and was named the third best k-pop song of 2017 by Billboard.
Sunmi returned with a single titled "Heroine" 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.
From February to June 2019, Sunmi held her first world tour titled "Warning". 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" 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.

Discography

Extended plays

Single albums

Singles

Songwriting and composing credits

Filmography

Television series

Variety show

Music videos

Concert and tours

Sunmi the 1st World Tour: ''Warning''

Awards and nominations

Award ceremonyYearCategoryNominee/workResult
Asia Artist Awards 2018Artist of the Year, SingerSunmi
Asia Artist Awards 2018Best Music AwardSunmi
CJ E&M America Awards 2017Female Idol of the YearSunmi
Elle Style Awards 2018Best Music IconSunmi
Fashionista Awards 2016Best Dresser – FemaleSunmi
Fashionista Awards 2017Best Fashionista – SNS DivisionSunmi
Gaon Chart Music Awards 2015Song of the Year – February"Full Moon"
Gaon Chart Music Awards 2018Song of the Year – August"Gashina"
Gaon Chart Music Awards 2019Song of the Year – January"Heroine"
Gaon Chart Music Awards 2019Song of the Year – September"Siren"
Gaon Chart Music Awards 2020Song of the Year – August"Lalalay"
Genie Music Awards2019The Female Solo ArtistSunmi
Genie Music Awards2019Performing Artist Sunmi
Golden Disc Awards2018Digital Bonsang"Gashina"
Golden Disc Awards2018Global Popularity AwardSunmi
Golden Disc Awards2019Digital Daesang"Heroine"
Golden Disc Awards2019Popularity AwardSunmi
Korea First Brand Awards 2018Most Anticipated Female Solo SingerSunmi
Korea Popular Music Awards2018Best ArtistSunmi
Korea Popular Music Awards2018Popularity AwardSunmi
Korea Popular Music Awards2018Best Digital Song"Siren"
Korea Popular Music Awards2018Best Solo Dance Track"Siren"
Korean Brand of the Year Awards2019Female Solo ArtistSunmi
Korean Music Awards2018Best Pop Song"Gashina"
MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards 2018Artist of the YearSunmi
MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards 2018Female Artist AwardSunmi
MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards 2018Genie Music Popularity AwardSunmi
Melon Music Awards2017Best Dance – Female"Gashina"
Melon Music Awards2018Top 10 ArtistsSunmi
Mnet Asian Music Awards2013Best Female ArtistSunmi
Mnet Asian Music Awards2013Best Dance Performance – Female Solo"24 Hours"
Mnet Asian Music Awards2014Best Female ArtistSunmi
Mnet Asian Music Awards2014Best Dance Performance – Solo"Full Moon"
Mnet Asian Music Awards2017Best Female ArtistSunmi
Mnet Asian Music Awards2017Style in MusicSunmi
Mnet Asian Music Awards2017Best Dance Performance – Solo"Gashina"
Mnet Asian Music Awards2018Best Female ArtistSunmi
Mnet Asian Music Awards2018Best Dance Performance – Female Solo"Siren"
Mnet Asian Music Awards2019Best Dance Performance – Solo"Lalalay"
Mnet Asian Music Awards2019Song of the Year"Lalalay"
Mnet Asian Music Awards2019Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10Sunmi
SBS MTV Best of the Best 2014Best Female SoloSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2014Bonsang Award"24 Hours"
Seoul Music Awards2014Popularity AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2015Bonsang Award"Full Moon"
Seoul Music Awards2015Popularity AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2015Hallyu Special AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2018Bonsang Award"Gashina"
Seoul Music Awards2018Popularity AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2018Hallyu Special AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2019Bonsang Award"Siren"
Seoul Music Awards2019Popularity AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2019Hallyu Special AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2020Dance Performance Award"Lalalay"
Seoul Music Awards2020Hallyu Special AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2020Popularity AwardSunmi
Seoul Music Awards2020QQ Music Most Popular K-Pop Artist AwardSunmi
Soribada Best K-Music Awards2018Bonsang AwardSunmi