Younha (Korean: 고윤하; Hanja: 高允河 Go Yoon Ha Japanese: ユンナ Yunna), born 29 April 1988 in Seoul, Korea, is a Korean pop singer.

Younha made her debut at the age of sixteen. Nicknamed the "Oricon comet" for her success in Japan, she has currently released eight singles and one album in that country with varying degrees of success. Also, many of her songs have been featured in TV shows.

Younha was signed to Epic Records, a branch of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, from 2004 to 2008.  She then moved to Sistus Records, a Geneon Entertainment label. In South Korea, she is signed to Lion Media and Stam Entertainment.

Biography

Early life 

Born in South Korea to musical parents, Younha began to play the piano at the age of 4. She developed an interest in Japanese drama shows and began to teach herself Japanese. Before long, she was skilled enough to translate to her school friends what happened on recent Japanese TV episodes. What began as an interest in Japanese dramas developed into an interest in Japanese music. At the recommendation of an older student in her school's broadcasting club, she listened to such artists such as Utada Hikaru and Misia. Younha began to dream about debuting as a singer alongside her favorite artists.

2004 - 2005: Early Career & Moderate Success

ゆびきり(Yubikiri) Era 

In order to seek her dreams, she began to try out in auditions within Korea. She claimed that she went through as many as 20 auditions. She also commented in her interview that certain companies refused to sign her to their labels because they believed she was not "pretty" enough, although she sang very well. Her mother also discouraged her dream and even locked her bedroom door to prevent Younha from leaving the house. Younha, however, climbed out the window and made it to the audition.  At one audition, she made an overwhelming impression and signed a contract with a Korean company. Soon after, Younha's voice was heard by a company in Japan. In order to make her childhood dream of debuting in Japan come true, Younha underwent recording while going back and forth between Korea and Japan. Quickly, Younha's Japanese skills advanced so much that she surprised even the staff around her.

After a TV drama producer heard her demo tape, her song Yubikiri was chosen as the insert song for the Fuji TV Monday drama show Tokyo Wankei ~Destiny of Love~. In October of that same year, she debuted with her official first single Yubikiri.

Houkiboshi to Go! Younha Era 

Younha's second single Houkiboshi was used as an ending song for the popular anime show BLEACH. It became a hit - debuting on the Oricon chart at #18, it peaked at #12 and propelled Younha into the limelight. With this single, she became only the second Korean, after BoA, to have broken the Oricon chart's top 20. Between "Touch / Yume no Tsuzuki" and "Houki Boshi", she released "Motto Futari de". It flopped massively, only reaching #117 on the Oricon Charts possibly due to a lack of promotion. Her later single, Touch / Yume no Tsuzuki, first charted at the #15, with the tie-in and went as high as #11. After releasing five singles, Younha released her first album entitled Go! Younha.  It reached the #10 spot on the Oricon weekly charts.

2006: Later Struggles and Korean Debut

Tewo Tsunaide to Hakanaku Tsuyoku Era 

My Lover was a re-cut single from Go! Younha, her debut album, and was re-cut because it was the theme to the Bleach GC: Tasogare Ni Mamieru Shini Kami. It was limited to 70,000 copies and flopped, selling only about 2,000 copies, ranking at #58. Because of the limited print, however, it has become extremely valuable and rare to the fans. Younha was also chosen to sing the ending theme to the anime Jyu Oh Sei. Tewo Tsunaide only did slightly better than My Lover, peaking at #50.

Younha began to compose her own music.  The song Kaerimichi released on My Lover is the first song released for which she wrote the lyrics and composed the music for.  In addition, she composed the music for the song homegirl, the B-side released on Te wo Tsunaide.

Imaga Daisuki was released, with more live performances than Te wo Tsunaide, and a tie-in. It seemed that Younha has a bigger budget on this single. It did significantly worse, as her second worst ranking single, at #71. Imaga Daisuki was also used as an opening song for the animation Jang Geum's Dream while the b-track Inori was used for the animation's ending song.

Younha released a digital Korean single titled Audition. The single includes Audition (Time 2 Rock) and Waiting (기다리다). Although it was released as a digital single, very limited hard copies of the single were available as well. Many performances for this song were shown on Korean TV, unusual for Younha as her last appearance on TV was with her single Touch. Much promotion occurred for this single and it helped for a long charting life for Audition, lasting well over 3 months in all the Korean charts. She stayed in Korea during this release, as well as January.

Younha was once again chosen to be an anime theme singer for Kiba. The song Hakanaku Tsuyoku was used as the second opening for the show. The single was released on 17 January 2007. This single, unlike her other singles, has only 3 tracks. Surprisingly, this single appeared on the Top 20 Daily Charts for exactly one day, at #16. The Weekly rank was at an above-average #36, but sales were only slightly better. This single did not have a PV because Younha was in Korea during the month before and most likely January as well.

2007: Great Success in Korea & A Possible Return to Japan

고백하기 좋은 날 (The Perfect Day to Say I Love You) Era 

Exactly two months after "Hakanaku Tsuyoku", Younha went back to her home country to release her first Korean Album entitled 고백하기 좋은 날 (Go Baek Ha Gi Jo Eun Nal, translated "The Perfect Day to Say I Love You" or literally translated "Good Day to Confess"). She recorded a MV for the third track "비밀번호 486" (Bi Mil Bun Ho 486, translated "Password 486") which stars fellow Stam artist Yoon Ji Hoo. The video featured many image changes for Younha which include her first ever kiss. The album also features a collaboration with Wheesung.

With the single welcomed well into the market, Younha proceeded to release her Korean debut album. The album received excellent success, peaking at #1 on the charts. The first song to be promoted from the album was 비밀번호 486 (Bi Mil Bun Ho 486, translated "Password 486"). She won the SBS Inkigayo Mutizen award twice for Secret Number 486. This song was also well received by the Korean audience. The second song to be promoted from this album was 연애조건 (Yeonae Jogeon, translated "Love Condition").

On July 14th 2007, Younha appeared on the Korean GomTV MSL Grand Finals (Starcraft tournament) and played in the opening ceremony.

Younha has also been picked as publicity envoy for the anti-corruption Clean Wave Campaign for her pure and clean image.

At the 2007 MKMF held on November 17th 2007, Younha won the Best New Solo Artist award.

Younha Vol. 1.5 Album 

With Younha's success rising, she released a new version of Go! Younha, all re-recorded in Korean. The album, with tracklist changes, is now called 혜성 (Comet), and was released on October 23.

2008: Return To Japan and Future Plans for 2008 
On January 18th, Younha left Korea to continue her music career in Japan. She is expecting to release a new Japanese Album/Music Video DVD, "SONGS-Teen's Collection. " This Collection is expected to include all of her music videos so far, plus a 32 page photobook, in the limited edition of the disk. The release date of this album is March 26th, and on-line Music Shops already have started getting pre-orders. For information about pre-ordering, contact http://www.jkm.co.kr or http://www.leesmusic.co.kr/ (both Korean)

Collaborations 

Younha sang the song Boku wa Koko ni Iru on the tribute album to Masayoshi Yamazaki, "One More Time, One More Track". (12.21.05)

Younha was selected as one of 14 female artists to perform in the omnibus album "14 Princess ~Princess Princess Children~", a collection of the most famous songs by the top girls band Princess Princess of late 80's and early 90's. Younha performed the song Diamonds, which was the number 1 seller of the year 1989 in Japan. (03.08.06)

References

Discography 

This is the discography of pop artist 'Younha'.

Singles

Japanese Singles

Korean Singles

Albums

Japanese Albums

Korean Albums

Other websites 
Younha Official Website in Korea  (Korean language)
Younha Official Website in Japan  (Japanese language)

1988 births
Living people
South Korean singers
K-pop singers
People from Seoul