Biography
Lee Sun-mi, who performs under the mononym Sunmi, first gained notice as the fourth member of the South Korean girl group Wonder Girls after signing with JYP Entertainment in 2006. She launched her solo career in 2013, issuing a series of hit singles such as “24 Hours” and “Siren” along with the EPs Full Moon in 2014, Warning in 2018, and 1/6 in 2021.
Born in Iksan, North Jeolla, Sunmi trained in musical theater during her youth and took her stepfather’s surname Lee while enrolled at university. Joining Wonder Girls, the K-pop/retro-pop ensemble issued its debut album The Wonder Years in 2007, which contained the smash hits “Tell Me,” “So Hot,” and “Nobody.”
She departed the group in 2010 to concentrate on her studies yet returned to music as a solo act in early 2013. That August she unveiled her first single, the chart-topping “24 Hours,” whose innovative blend of urban-tinged synth pop and EDM later surfaced on the Full Moon EP. In 2015 she rejoined Wonder Girls for their third and final album, Reboot, which peaked at number five on the Gaon Album Chart and number two on Billboard World Albums; the group then issued one last single, “Draw Me,” before disbanding in 2017.
Also in 2017 Sunmi moved to Makeus Entertainment and dropped the single “Gashina,” followed by “Heroine” in January 2018. Both tracks appeared on her second EP, Warning, which reached the Top Ten of the South Korean Gaon chart that September. She began her first world tour in February 2019 and, around the same period, released the singles “Noir” and “Laylaylay.” Her third EP, 1/6, arrived in August 2021 and climbed to number five in South Korea.
Born in Iksan, North Jeolla, Sunmi trained in musical theater during her youth and took her stepfather’s surname Lee while enrolled at university. Joining Wonder Girls, the K-pop/retro-pop ensemble issued its debut album The Wonder Years in 2007, which contained the smash hits “Tell Me,” “So Hot,” and “Nobody.”
She departed the group in 2010 to concentrate on her studies yet returned to music as a solo act in early 2013. That August she unveiled her first single, the chart-topping “24 Hours,” whose innovative blend of urban-tinged synth pop and EDM later surfaced on the Full Moon EP. In 2015 she rejoined Wonder Girls for their third and final album, Reboot, which peaked at number five on the Gaon Album Chart and number two on Billboard World Albums; the group then issued one last single, “Draw Me,” before disbanding in 2017.
Also in 2017 Sunmi moved to Makeus Entertainment and dropped the single “Gashina,” followed by “Heroine” in January 2018. Both tracks appeared on her second EP, Warning, which reached the Top Ten of the South Korean Gaon chart that September. She began her first world tour in February 2019 and, around the same period, released the singles “Noir” and “Laylaylay.” Her third EP, 1/6, arrived in August 2021 and climbed to number five in South Korea.
Albums
Singles
