Biography
South Korean vocal powerhouse Solji, born Heo Sol-ji, first appeared as one member of the duo 2NB and later built an international profile as leader of the girl group EXID. During the 2020s she launched a solo career on the C-JeS roster, releasing the mini-album First Letter in 2022.
Heo Sol-ji grew up in Seoul’s Gwanak district and entered the industry after Friday Entertainment discovered her in 2006. She and her partner issued the single “The First Fragrance” that March, then released the albums A Tearful Eye in 2007 and 2comfortable in 2009; Solji also recorded early solo pieces such as “The Day I Loved” and “You Are Away from Me.” After several years of ballad work with 2NB, she exited the act in 2012 and joined EXID (“Exceed in Dreaming”), a five-member K-pop group that had already lost three original members.
Solji’s first recording with EXID was the mini-album Hippity Hop, which reached number 13 on domestic charts in 2012. Subsequent singles included “Hey Boy” and “Up & Down,” after which she formed the sub-unit Dasoni with Hani and issued the 2013 track “Goodbye.” Although “Up & Down” initially missed the Gaon chart, a viral clip of Hani’s performance turned the song into EXID’s breakthrough hit; after online momentum and a showcase at Ilchi Art Hall, it rose to the top of the Gaon ranking, EXID’s first number-one single, and earned the group spots on Show! Music Core and M Countdown. Follow-up “Ah Yeah” (2015) earned wins on Inkigayo and Show Champion, peaked at number two on the Gaon, and helped the matching mini-album open at number five. Around the same period Solji competed on MBC’s King of Mask Singer, becoming its first winner and impressing judges and audiences with her vocal power.
EXID delivered the full-length album Street in 2016; the twelve-track set, which contained Solji’s solo cut “3%,” entered the Gaon chart at number two. Shortly afterward Solji received a hyperthyroidism diagnosis that halted her activities with the group. She missed EXID’s third mini-album yet supplied vocals for the fourth, Full Moon, released in 2017 while she recovered. In July 2018 she returned to defend her title on King of Mask Singer, and that September she rejoined EXID for its first Japanese promotions. Those dates and the Japanese-language album Trouble (2019) succeeded, yet the group entered hiatus after the mini-album We. All five members eventually departed Banana Culture; Solji left in February 2020 and signed with C-JeS Entertainment to begin solo work.
While tracking EXID’s second Japanese album, B.L.E.S.S.E.D., Solji issued the solo singles “Rains Again” and “Waste of Emotions” in the early 2020s. Her first solo project arrived as the 2022 mini-album First Letter on C-JeS, giving the vocalist a platform to display her wide range through a collection of ballads.
Heo Sol-ji grew up in Seoul’s Gwanak district and entered the industry after Friday Entertainment discovered her in 2006. She and her partner issued the single “The First Fragrance” that March, then released the albums A Tearful Eye in 2007 and 2comfortable in 2009; Solji also recorded early solo pieces such as “The Day I Loved” and “You Are Away from Me.” After several years of ballad work with 2NB, she exited the act in 2012 and joined EXID (“Exceed in Dreaming”), a five-member K-pop group that had already lost three original members.
Solji’s first recording with EXID was the mini-album Hippity Hop, which reached number 13 on domestic charts in 2012. Subsequent singles included “Hey Boy” and “Up & Down,” after which she formed the sub-unit Dasoni with Hani and issued the 2013 track “Goodbye.” Although “Up & Down” initially missed the Gaon chart, a viral clip of Hani’s performance turned the song into EXID’s breakthrough hit; after online momentum and a showcase at Ilchi Art Hall, it rose to the top of the Gaon ranking, EXID’s first number-one single, and earned the group spots on Show! Music Core and M Countdown. Follow-up “Ah Yeah” (2015) earned wins on Inkigayo and Show Champion, peaked at number two on the Gaon, and helped the matching mini-album open at number five. Around the same period Solji competed on MBC’s King of Mask Singer, becoming its first winner and impressing judges and audiences with her vocal power.
EXID delivered the full-length album Street in 2016; the twelve-track set, which contained Solji’s solo cut “3%,” entered the Gaon chart at number two. Shortly afterward Solji received a hyperthyroidism diagnosis that halted her activities with the group. She missed EXID’s third mini-album yet supplied vocals for the fourth, Full Moon, released in 2017 while she recovered. In July 2018 she returned to defend her title on King of Mask Singer, and that September she rejoined EXID for its first Japanese promotions. Those dates and the Japanese-language album Trouble (2019) succeeded, yet the group entered hiatus after the mini-album We. All five members eventually departed Banana Culture; Solji left in February 2020 and signed with C-JeS Entertainment to begin solo work.
While tracking EXID’s second Japanese album, B.L.E.S.S.E.D., Solji issued the solo singles “Rains Again” and “Waste of Emotions” in the early 2020s. Her first solo project arrived as the 2022 mini-album First Letter on C-JeS, giving the vocalist a platform to display her wide range through a collection of ballads.
Albums
Singles
