Younha

Go Youn-ah was born on April 24th, 1988. She began her career in 2004 in Japan and experienced unprecedented success. She then debuted in South Korea in 2006, where she became one of the best singer-songwriter on the market. She is a legend and a role model for every new generation of singers in SK.

I. 2004-2006 : Debut and mainstream success in Japan

Younha would debut her career with the korean single Yubikiri in September of 2004. The next month, she would release the Japanese version of the single album but it failed to chart in Japan. The breakout would come the next year, in 2005, with the single album Houkiboshi with the title track of the same name. The song would break the Oricon Top 20 and peak at #12 making Younha the second ever Korean artist to break the Oricon top 20 at the time. The song would be used as the 3rd ending of the very popular anime Bleach. Later during the year, she would release what would become her biggest hit in Japan. In September 2005, she would release the single Touch/Yume no Tzusuki, with the title track Touch being the theme song of the movie Touch (adaptation of a baseball manga). The song would peak at #11 on the daily chart and Younha would gain nation wide respect. Finally, in October, she would release her first full album Go! Younha with all her past works and some new songs. It would reach some decent success, managing to reach the top 20 of the album chart. After that, she would begin to struggle to replicate her past success and return to Korea.

II. 2006-2007 : Korean debut

In 2006, her Japanese releases wouldn't chart well and she would return to a Korean university in Seoul. She then would debut in Korea with the single album Audition, in December of 2006, and would chart well with a strong tv presence. Her last great release in Japan would come in 2007, in January, with the 2nd opening of Kiba, Hakanaru Tsuyokou who would break the top 40 in the Oricon chart.

III. 2007-2009 : Korean domination

Between 2007 and 2009, she would release 5 different full albums in South Korea, hitting 1st every single time and selling very impressively for a female soloist. In particular, her first Korean full album A Perfect Day To Say I Love You, and the title track Password 486 would reach incredible success and she would win a lot of rookie awards with it. Her second full album Comet would be the Korean version of Go! Younha and would also reach mainstream success. Her very Jpop style songs would dominate the South Korean market. She would collaborate with popular artists such as Wheesung and Tablo. At the same time in Japan, her fame would start to falter as her contract with Epic Records would be terminated. Her last few Japanese comebacks would reach very mediocre success and she would focus on the South Korean market after that.

IV. 2010 - 2011 : Decline and legal battle

Her 2010 would be more calm, she would release an ost, a digital single and her first Mini-Album Lost In Love. At that point it was clear that she made the transition to a more mature style of music, though One Shot was a good throwback to her Japanese time. Those songs would still do really well, managing to chart very high. She then would release her last Japanese full album, but with little promotions it would do poorly. In 2011, she would barely release anything as her legal battle with Lion Media forced her to sideline music for the time being. Thankfully she would win her legal battle in early 2012.

V. 2012 - 2013 : Mainstream success in SK

In 2012, with her new label wealive (C0 Entertainment subsidiary), she would release the full album Supersonic with the title track Run. The album would chart really well, reaching top 2 in SK. The title track Run and the digital single We would have changed featuring John Park released previously would chart quite high too. It would mark an impressive comeback for Younha after a full year of inactivity.

In 2013, she would release 2 Mini-Albums, Just Listen and Subsonic, with very popular tracks Unacceptable, Reason or The Real Reason Why We Broke Up. Her very dramatic and sad style would mark the Korean public as her albums and tracks would chart and sell impressively.

VI. 2014 - 2016 : Some huge hits but no albums

During this era, Younha would focus on individual songs compared to releasing full fetched albums. In 2014, she would reach her first ever #1 on the Gaon Chart with the song Umbrella, a remake of their own song Umbrella which previously featured Younha. She would also release some other big hits like Wasted or Thinking about you and Hashtag.

At the same time, she would release some Japanese version of her Korean albums, with the Japanese Mini-Albums people and View. They wouldn't reach any success though.

In 2016, she would release the song Get It ? featuring Ha:tfelt and Cheetah, marking a big break with her very sad songs that defined her discography in the past few years. With this song it showed Younha was still evolving.

VII. 2017 : RescuE

In 2017, she would mark her big return on the CD market with her first full album in years, RescuE. The title track of the album, Hello would chart really well and the other track Parade would also chart. The album as a whole would chart well too as the new direction of her work would be greatly appreciated by the public. Younha would harbor a more melancholic with hope style and also a newly found happier style that would fit her voice perfectly. It is still one of the best album ever released in Kpop history.

VIII. 2018-2020 : Smaller works

In 2018, she would release the sad single Snail Mail. It's a cool song.

In 2019, she would begin her 2 part melancholic Mini-album series with Stable Mindset and the title track On A Rainy Day, It would chart well and the album would be a good success for an artist in the 13th year of its career. The album is a small beautiful piece of work as Younha goes for a slow and sad melody.

In 2020, she would release the 2nd part of the series, Unstable Mindset, with the title track Dark Cloud. Once again, it would do well, with the sidetrack Winter Poem featuring RM doing really well too. The album is definitely more wild emotionally, going for very strong emotions.

IX. 2021 - 2022 : END THEORY

After a long hiatus due to Covid, Younha would finally return with the full album END THEORY in November of 2021. The album is a beautiful mix of hope, and happiness. It's a beautiful album and complete Younha full evolution starting in 2016 to a happier Younha that was lost in the 2010s. A repackaged version of the album will be released on 30th of March 2022.

X. Filmography :

XI. Discography :

XII. Japanese discography :

Studio albums

Compilation Album

Singles

XIII. Korean Discography :

Studio Albums

Mini-Albums

Single Albums

Digital Mini-Album

Digital Singles