Lee Ha Yi, more commonly known by her stage name Lee Hi, debuted back in 2012. She was a runner up on the first season of SBS singing talent show ‘K-Pop Star’, just losing out to fellow female contestant Park Jimin.
Despite not winning the talent show, Lee Hi was quickly snapped up by YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk. She was initially set to debut as part of a girl group called SuPearls, but after plans for the group fell through, she debuted as a solo artist.
Lee Hi has released one full album entitled ‘First Love’ and four singles. She has also collaborated with a few of her YG label mates, featuring on Epik High’s track ‘It’s Cold’ and collaborating with both 2NE1’s Park Bom and Akdong Musician’s Lee Suhyun in duos Bom&Hi and Hi Suhyun respectively.
Even though she is very young (she is 19 years old in Western age), the singer has an incredibly full and soulful voice. She is an artist that thrives in an acoustic setting and does not need to hide behind fancy production and flashy concepts to get noticed. She also sits comfortably in both pop and jazz genres which gives her a great versatility.
It was announced last August that Lee Hi will be releasing her next album with production help from HIGHGRND – Epik High member Tablo’s own label. It was recently revealed that the album was in its final stages, the first single’s MV has finished being filmed, and (it is rumoured) that Lee Hi’s comeback will be next month!
In the past, Lee Hi has had a very sweet and girly image – and given her youth, this is arguably unsurprising. However, it will be interesting to see how her sound and concepts mature and change as she grows older. She is indeed pretty and youthful, but she also has a lot of uniqueness in her character, not to mention her powerful voice.
Here are a selection of her music videos:
‘1, 2, 3, 4’ MV
‘It’s Over’ MV
‘Rose’ MV
Hi Suhyun – ‘I’m Different’ MV (feat. iKON‘s Bobby)
Bom&Hi – ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ (Mariah Carey cover)
