Top Korean Soloists

## ***1. Kim Ryeowook***

- Ryeowook is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the Korean boy group Super Junior. He made his first solo debut in 2016 and released his first EP called **Little Prince**.

## ***2. Lee Taemin***

Lee Tae-min is a South Korean idol dancer, singer, actor and promotional model. He is a member of South Korean boy group **Shinee** under the label of SM Entertainment, as the maknae, main dancer, and vocalist. He was born in July 18 1993 in Seoul, South Korea. Taemin began his solo career in 2014 with his first extended play, *Ace*.

## ***3. G Dragon***

**Kwon Ji-yong** (Hangul: 권지용; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name **G-Dragon**, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion icon known for penning chart-topping singles and his stage presence that has garnered him the title "King of K-pop". From age twelve, G-Dragon trained for six years at South Korean entertainment label YG Entertainmentbefore debuting in 2006 as a member of the hip hop boy band Big Bang, which went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands in the world.

His first solo album ***Heartbreaker*** and its title track of the same name, both released in 2009, were commercially successful and earned him Album of the Year at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

## ***4. IU***

**Lee Ji-eun** (Hangul: 이지은; born May 16, 1993), professionally known as  **IU** (Hangul: 아이유), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. While still in middle school, IU auditioned for various talent agencies with ambitions of becoming a singer. She signed with Kakao M (formerly LOEN Entertainment) in 2007 as a trainee and began her music career at the age of 15 with her debut album, ***Lost and Found***. Her follow-up albums, ***Growing Up*** and ***IU...IM***, brought her mainstream success, but it was through **"Good Day"** (Korean: 좋은 날), the lead single from her 2010 album ***Real***, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" spent five consecutive weeks at the top position of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, a joint record along with Psy's "Gangnam Style".

## ***5. Byun Baehyun***

**Byun Baek-hyun** (born May 6, 1992), better known mononymously as **Baekhyun**, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and model. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo, its sub-group Exo-K and sub-unit Exo-CBX.

n April 2015, Baekhyun released his first solo song since debut titled **"Beautiful"** as the soundtrack for Exo's web-drama *Exo Next Door*. The song became the first soundtrack single from a web drama to top digital charts. In May 2015, Baekhyun was announced to be starring in action film *Dokgo*alongside actor Yeo Jin-goo.

## ***6. Kim Tae-Yeon***

**Kim Tae-yeon** (born March 9, 1989), more commonly known mononymously as **Taeyeon**, is a South Korean singer. She had been a trainee at SM Entertainment's Starlight Academy during her middle school years before debuting as a member of the agency's girl group, Girls' Generation, in 2007.

Taeyeon began a solo career in 2015 with her first extended play album, *I*. It peaked at number two on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart and its title track sold over one million digital copies. Her second extended play, *Why* (2016), charted at number one and yielded two Gaon Digital Charttop-ten singles "Starlight" and "Why". Her debut studio album *My Voice* (2017) and its two singles "Fine" and "Make Me Love You" achieved similar success.

## ***7. Sunmi***

**Lee Sun-mi** (born May 2, 1992), known mononymously as **Sunmi**, is a South Korean singer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group **Wonder Girls** and left the group in January 2010 to pursue her academic career. After a three year hiatus from the music scene, Sunmi resumed her career as a soloist in August 2013 with her first digital single, **"24 Hours"**. It peaked at number two on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and number three on *Billboard*'s Korea K-pop Hot 100. Her debut extended play, *Full Moon* (2014), charted at number twelve and its lead single charted at number two on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and number three on *Billboard*'s Korea K-pop Hot 100, also charted at number thirteen on Billboard World Digital Chart.

## ***8. Agust D***

**Min Yoon-gi** (Hangul: 민윤기; born March 9, 1993), better known by his stage names **Suga**and **Agust D**, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Managed by Big Hit Entertainment, he debuted as a member of the South Korean pop idol group BTS in 2013. In 2016 he released his first solo mixtape, ***Agust D*.** The Korea Music Copyright Association attributes over 70 songs to Suga as a songwriter and producer, including Suran's "Wine", which won best Soul/R&B track of the year at the 2017 Melon Music Awards.

## ***9. Hyuna***

**Kim Hyun-ah** (born June 6, 1992), better known by the mononym **Hyuna**, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and model. She rose to fame in the late 2000s as a member of the girl group Wonder Girls. After leaving the ensemble shortly after their debut in 2007, she subsequently joined the girl group 4Minute in 2009. Hyuna began her solo career in 2010, with a style she described as "performance-oriented music". Her debut single **"Change"** peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart.

## ***10. CL***

**Lee Chae-rin** (born on February 26, 1991), better known by her stage name **CL**, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. She trained at JYP Entertainment before joining YG Entertainment, and was a member of the girl group 2NE1until it disbanded in 2016. She resides and is based in Seoul.

CL's first solo single, **"The Baddest Female"**, was released on 28 May 2013. For 2NE1's second album ***Crush***, CL wrote the lyrics and co-composed the music for the tracks **"Crush", "If I Were You"**, and **"Baby I Miss You"**. She also wrote the lyrics for her solo track **"MTBD"**, as well as the track **"Scream".**