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Lee Ji-eun (Hangul:이지은) more commonly known by her stage name IU(Hangul:아이유) is a South Korean singer, soloist, and actress under EDAM Entertainment, formerly Kakao M. She is most well-known for her roles in famous Korean dramas.
IU debuted on September 18, 2008 when she was fifteen with her mini-album Lost and Found. When Good Day, the lead single of her mini album Real, was released in 2010, she got immediate fame and became one of the most famous idols, especially in Korea.
Before
Childhood
Lee Ji-Eun was born on May 16, 1993 in Seoul, South Korea. Soon after, her parents went bankrupt and her family moved to Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. She grew up loving the acting and singing industry, so she took acting classes in elementary school.
She also ended up taking singing as a more serious extracurricular subject. She auditioned more than 20 times, but failed all of them. Soon after in 2007 IU signed a contract with LOEN Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Kakao M Entertainment. As she neared her debut, she came up with her stage name, IU, which she said is a combination of the words I and YOU.
Career
Debut
After being a trainee for 10 months, IU made her debut with her single Lost Child (Hangul:미아). After the single was released, she won the award of Rookie Of The Month.
Rising Popularity
IU's popularity skyrocketed after the release of her third Mini album Real, with the lead single Good Day. When promotions started, IU topped the charts in M! Countdown as well as Inkigayo. She was praised for her vocal capability in hitting many high notes throughout the song.
After her release of Real, IU made her acting debut when she became cast in Heroes. It aired its final episode on May 1, 2011.
Japanese Debut
IU made her Japanese debut with her EP, I□U, which included her debut single Lost Child and Good Day. After her Japanese songs were released, she took her Japanese tour IU Friendship Showcase. She toured five cities: Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
Soon after she took her first solo tour. It was titled Real Fantasy (Tour). She went to six different cities in South Korea. 71% of her audience was male.
2019-present
On April 11, 2019, IU starred in the Netflix series Persona, where she portrayed various characters. The film topped the charts for Korean dramas on Netflix. In the summer, IU starred in the K-Drama Hotel Del Luna as Jang Man Wol. That drama topped the charts as well.
On May 6, 2020, she released her most recent single titled Eight, featuring Suga from BTS. This release follows the releases of Love Poem and BBIBBI.
Awards and Nominations
Discography
Studio Albums
- Growing Up (2009)
- Last Fantasy (2011)
- Modern Times (2013)
- Modern Times-Epilogue (2013)
- Palette (2017)
- Lilac (2021)
Mini Albums + Extended Plays
- Lost and Found (2008)
- IU...IM (2009)
- Real (2010)
- I□U (2011)
- Can You Hear Me? (2013)
- A Flower Bookmark (2014)
- Chat-Shire (2015)
- A Flower Bookmark 2 (2017)
- Love Poem (2019)
Singles
- Lost Child (2008)
- Boo (2009)
- You Know (2009)
- Marshmallow (2009)
- Nagging (2010)
- Good Day (2010)
- The Story Only I Didn't Know (2011)
- Ice Flower (2011)
- You and I (2011)
- Peach (2012)
- Every End of the Day (2012)
- Beautiful Dancer (2013)
- Monday Afternoon (2013)
- The Red Shoes (2013)
- Friday (2013)
- My Old Story (2014)
- Twenty-Three (2015)
- Through the Night (2017)
- Can't Love You Anymore (2017)
- Palette (2017)
- Secret Everyone Knows (2017)
- Autumn Morning (2017)
- Sleepless Rainy Night (2017)
- Bbibbi (2018)
- Love Poem (2019)
- Blueming (2019)
- First Winter (2019)
- Eight (2020)