Onew

Onew, a vocalist and performer from South Korea, earned widespread notice as the leader of the five-piece K-pop act Shinee, where his polished and reassuring delivery anchored the group through twelve Korean- and Japanese-language projects over ten years. His first solo outing arrived in 2018 with the EP Voice, which climbed to number two on the domestic charts and opened the door for the 2022 Dice EP and the studio album Life Goes On.

Lee Jin-ki, born in Gwangmyeong, signed with SM Entertainment in 2006 and stepped into the spotlight as one of Shinee’s founding members alongside Key, Minho, Taemin, and Jonghyun. Across the ensuing decade the quintet emerged among Asia’s top-selling acts, issuing seven Korean and five Japanese full-length releases while Onew balanced his leadership role with guest appearances on fellow artists’ tracks and roles in various television series and motion pictures.

A decade after Shinee’s first album, Voice appeared, spotlighting Onew’s affinity for emotionally direct ballads and reaching number eight on the U.S. World Albums chart. Shortly afterward he began his required military service, during which he performed in several military-oriented stage productions, among them Shinheung Military Academy and the Korean War drama Return: The Promise of That Day. Once discharged, he returned to Shinee’s lineup, took the lead in the 2021 musical Midnight Sun, and issued Dice in April 2022, again landing inside the South Korean Top Five. That July he delivered his first full-length Japanese effort, Life Goes On.