Hwasa

Hwasa
Ahn Hye-jin (born July 23, 1995), known mononymously as Hwasa (stylized in all caps), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Mamamoo in 2014. In February 2019, she made her solo debut with the song "Twit" which topped the Circle Digital Chart and won song of the year at the Gaon Chart Music Awards.
In 2020, Hwasa debuted as part of the Refund Sisters with the single "Don't Touch Me," which reached number one in South Korea. In 2021, she released her EP, María, which charted at number five in her home country, while its lead single "María" peaked at number two on the Gaon Charts, earning her a Golden Disc and Mnet Asian Music Award. In 2023, Hwasa left RBW and signed with P Nation, releasing her second digital single, "I Love My Body," which reached the top-ten of the Circle Digital Chart and Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart in the United States.
Early life
Ahn Hye-jin was born on July 23, 1995, in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, where she lived with her parents and two elder sisters. She graduated from Wonkwang Information Arts High School. Hwasa often cites Beyoncé as her music inspiration, stating that after hearing someone say that she was unique and good at singing but was fat and not pretty, she went home and watched videos of Beyoncé performing all night to comfort herself.
Even before her K-pop debut, a number of South Korean artists – including artist Solbi and the band Standing Egg – recognized her talent and featured her on their tracks when she was 18.
Career
2014–2019: Debut with Mamamoo and launch of solo career
Hwasa debuted as a member of the girl group Mamamoo on June 19, 2014, being one of the leading voices with the release of the lead single "Mr. Ambiguous" from their first extended play (EP) Hello. She wrote and composed her first solo song, "My Heart/I Do Me", from Hello.
In March 2018, Hwasa released her second solo song, "Be Calm", as part of Mamamoo's sixth EP, Yellow Flower. The music video for the song was uploaded on March 25, 2018, and has gained 7.9 million views as of August 2022. "Be Calm" charted at number 35 on the Gaon Download Chart. In April 2018, Hwasa joined the cast of KBS reality television show Hyena on the Keyboard; the appearance spawned a collaboration with rapper Loco titled "Don't". Hwasa took part in writing and composing the song, and it topped the South Korean's Gaon Digital Chart. "Don't" was later certified Platinum for 100 million streams in January 2019 and again for 2.5 million downloads in August 2019.
In February 2019, Hwasa made her debut as a solo artist with the digital single, "Twit," which she participated in writing and composing. The song was a commercial success, peaking atop the Gaon Digital Chart and scored a "Triple Crown," topping the Gaon Digital, Gaon Download and Gaon Streaming charts. "Twit" also peaked at number three on Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart for the week of March 2, 2019. Hwasa released the single "In The Fall," a collaboration with South Korean hip-hop producer Woogie, in October. In December, "Twit" was featured in Billboard "The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Pick" list at number 8 and in Refinery29s list of "The Best K-Pop Songs of 2019" at number 13. Its music video was also included in Rolling Stone India's article of the "10 Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019".
2020–present: María and continued solo success
In March 2020, Hwasa collaborated with the English singer Dua Lipa for a remix of Lipa's "Physical," which features Korean lyrics. In April, it was reported that Hwasa had joined the original soundtrack lineup of the Korean drama The King: Eternal Monarch and would be releasing her first solo soundtrack song, titled "Orbit." The song debuted at number 16 on Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart on May 2, 2020.
On June 29, Hwasa released her debut EP, titled María, and the lead single of the same name. The EP debuted at number seven on the Billboard World Albums chart and peaked at number eighty-one on the Billboard Top Current Albums Sales charts on July 11, 2020. Lead single "María" was composed by Hwasa and producer Park Woo-sang with the goal of showing her growth as a singer-songwriter. Hwasa also wrote the lyrics for "LMM" and composed "Why." For the week of September 26, 2020, "María" peaked at number two on Billboard K-pop Hot 100 and on the week of October 3, 2020, it peaked at number 79 on Billboard Japan Hot 100. "María" also debuted at number six on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.
On season six of JTBC's entertainment show Hidden Singer, Hwasa was one of the contestants for the episode airing on September 11, 2020. In the final round, Hwasa won by an overwhelming 79 votes, which ended the four consecutive losing streaks from previous contestants and earned the singer her second win as an original singer of the season. Hwasa joined the cast of MBC reality-variety show How Do You Play? On October 10, she debuted with Refund Sisters, the project supergroup created through Hangout with Yoo. The group released their debut single, "Don't Touch Me." "Don't Touch Me" peaked atop the Gaon Digital Chart for two consecutive weeks.
At the end of 2020, Billboard named "María" the song with the second-most weeks inside the K-pop Hot 100 top 10 during the course of the year—charting for 19 consecutive weeks, while Spotify ranked Hwasa number 4 in their "2020 Most Played Female Korean K-pop Artist" list. "María" was ranked 2nd in Rolling Stone Indias list of 20 Best K-pop Music Videos of the year and 27th in Papers list of best K-pop song list of 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020. The article mentioned that "Hwasa is known to many as a fearless person but her single 'María' deconstructs that image, casting an image of a young woman who is at once vulnerable and confident, playful and seductive — idol and human." In Time magazine's article documenting K-pop songs and albums that defined the year, the publication wrote "of the solo releases [the] year, Hwasa's "María" leaves the most searing impression". With her success, Hwasa ranked ninth on the "Top 100 Kpop Idols YouTube Worldwide Search Rankings for 2020."
On July 23, 2021, Hwasa launched her YouTube channel, "Hwasa Official" and posted her first video. On November 24, she released her single album Guilty Pleasure, and its lead single "I'm a B". On July 16, 2022, it was announced that Hwasa will collaborate on a new single "Somebody" with Loco, which was released on July 25.
On June 27, 2023, it was announced that Hwasa would be leaving RBW after ten years, she signed with P Nation on June 30 while guesting at Psy's Summer Swag concert.
Controversy
In May 2023, the Student and Parent Human Rights Protection Coalition of Sungkyunkwan University filed a police report against Hwasa for public indecency due to racy and sexually suggestive dance moves, including licking her fingers and touching her crotch, performed at the public festival. Shin Min-hyang, representative of the Coalition, filed the police report stating "Hwasa's controversial stage for obscenity was seen not only by students, but also by parents and the general public, so an unspecified number of people felt uncomfortable." Laws against entertainment that "creates public sexual arousal" or "creates an atmosphere of sexual disgust" have been around since the military dictatorship era, however the laws have not been used recently to target public performances.
On September 10, 2023, Hwasa's company confirmed that she had been called in and interrogated by the police in early September, also confirming the charges have moved into a criminal investigation instead of a civil code violation. Hwasa's company confirmed that she and the company are complying with all police and court orders.
On October 4, 2023, the police announced an acquittal for the singer. The police stated that "after investigating the content of the performance, and comprehensively reviewing the statements of those involved, it was determined that it would be difficult to bring up criminal charges [with the presented evidence]."
Impact and influence
Hwasa has appeared on Korea Power Celebrity 40 list placing 26th in 2019, and was featured by Forbes in their 30 Under 30 Asia list of 2021. She was ranked as the 16th most popular K-pop idol in 2018 and 9th in 2019 in annual surveys conducted by Gallup Korea. Also, she was ranked 9th in annual survey for Gallup Korea's Singer of the Year in 2020 under the category selected by respondents in age group 13 to 39. She also has been placed first occasionally on the Korean Business Research Institute's monthly "Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking".
Hwasa's appearances on the reality shows I Live Alone and Let's Eat Dinner Together have been credited for influencing restaurant habits, food recipes and increased sales of foods and related accessories in South Korea.
Endorsements
In September 2018, Hwasa was selected as an ambassador for outdoor brand The North Face. In October 2018, she became the first female model for Lotte Crunky Gold candy bars since its release in 1984. In March 2019, Hwasa became an endorser for Davich's 'Trevues' lenses. In March 2019, Coca-Cola's ice tea brand Gold Peak Tea selected Hwasa as their new model. She then became the newest muse for makeup brand Rarekind in April 2019. In June 2019, Hwasa became the new model for Everland Caribbean Bay. Hwasa later on was featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan Korea's August 2019 issue. In November, she teamed up with Vogue magazine and Urban Decay cosmetics for their "Pretty Different" and "Queen" inspired concepts. The same month, Ottogi revealed that their newest model for their Jjamppong instant noodles was Hwasa.
In January 2020, The Sims 4 announced that Hwasa would be part of their advertising campaign. EA Korea released "Play With Life", a Sims 4 commercial film video featuring Hwasa. She then teamed up with MCM for the February issue of Elle Korea, a fashion magazine. In February of that year, Hwasa was chosen as an ambassador for sports brand Adidas. Hwasa later on became Kiss New York's new muse in April, and the following month, she was chosen as a model for a hangover drink by Lotte Chilsung Beverage. Hwasa was featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan Korea's August 2020 issue. Tommy Jeans released a campaign pictorial with Hwasa on September 16 for the 2020 Fall Season. In September, Vogue and Gucci had a collaboration campaign from the idea of having time with themselves. In 2021, Hwasa was featured in Vogue's February 2021 issue.
In September 2022, Hwasa together with EXO's Kai became brand ambassadors for the South Korean health and beauty brand, Olive Young. The duo's nationwide campaign started on September 15 as featured on the company's social media.
Discography
Extended plays
María (2020)
Filmography
Television series
Television shows
Web shows
Radio show
Host
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
1995 births
Living people
People from Jeonju
Musicians from North Jeolla Province
K-pop singers
South Korean women pop singers
South Korean women rappers
South Korean female idols
South Korean jazz singers
21st-century South Korean women singers
Mamamoo members
Sunheung An clan
MAMA Award winners
Melon Music Award winners
Golden Disc Award winners
South Korean Roman Catholics
South Korean contemporary R&B singers