I. Introduction
Kim Hyo-jyung (김효정), known professionally as Hyolyn (효린), is a South Korean singer, rapper and songwriter. After a highly successful career as the leader and main vocalist in the girl group Sistar, she continued a career as a successful soloist.
II. Career
III. 1990-2011: Early Life and Sistar
She was born on December 11, 1990, and grew up as a self-described sickly child due to health complications from her premature birth. She loved singing and dancing and auditioned two times before being accept by JYP Entertainment. When her original group fell through, she left JYP and joined Starship. Starship was forming a new girl group. Under the stage name Hyorin, or alternately Hyolyn, she became the leader, main vocalist, lead rapper and face of the group.
She debuted on June 3, 2010 with Sistar and their debut single, "Push Push." Sistar became a hit group, including a streak of 9 consecutive number one singles. It also spawned a successful sub-unit, Sistar19 with Hyolyn and rapper Bora.
IIII. 2012-16: Solo Debut and Additional Career Opportunities
In 2012, Hyolyn began acting, appearing in the drama Dream High Season 2. She also released popular OSTs for a multiple of shows and movies, including the Korean version of "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen.
In November 2013, she made her solo debut with the album Love & Hate. The album reached #5 on the Gaon chart, while the lead single from the album "One Way Love" topped the chart. The second title track "Lonely" reached #4. All of the songs on the album charted.
Hyolyn continued releasing solo singles as began writing songs, in addition to her work with Sistar. She also appeared on several singing and rap competition shows, including I Am A Singer in 2015, where she was the first idol singer featured on the show; Unpretty Rapstar 2 in 2015, where she finished third, and King of Mask Singer in 2016, where she placed second.
She released her first solo EP, It's Me, in 2016. It reached #15 on the Gaon chart. The lead single "Love Like This" reached #20, while two other singles charted in the top 100.
She released a collaboration with rapper Changmo "Blue Moon" in 2017. The song was a hit with 2,500,000 sales, ranking #3 on the Gaon chart and earned her first solo award nominations.
IIIII. 2017: Sistar Disbandment, Solo Career
In May 2017, Starship announced Sistar was disbanding. Hyolyn left the label and created her own music label, Bridʒ. As a soloist, she continued to release OSTs and collaborate with popular rappers and songwriters like Jay Park, Dok2 and Gray. She released the buzzy single and eye-catching video "Dally" with Gray ahead of her second EP, Say My Name, in 2020. Three other songs from the EP also charted in the Gaon top 100.
In 2022, Hyolyn competed in the second season of Queendom, finishing fourth. Her performances gained heightened attention and she released her third EP, Ice, in July 2022.
As a songwriter, Hyolyn has written for Sistar, Ailee and Mirani, as well as her own solo work.
III. Discography
IIII. Albums/EPs
| Artwork | Title | Format | Release | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Love & Hate | album | 2013 | KOR #5 TWN #11 |
|
|
It's Me | EP | 2016 | KOR #15 |
|
|
Say My Name | EP | 2020 | KOR #19 |
| Ice | EP | 2022 | KOR #36 |
IIIII. Singles
IV. Collaborations/Features
IVI. OSTs
IVII. Other Charted Songs
IVIII. Songwriting
Guide: L=Lyricist, C=Composer, A=Arranger, P=Producer
US = Billboard US World Digital Songs Chart
V. Videography
VI. Awards
References:
KOMCA: Searching Works (search 10005210 under Writers & Publishers)
GAON charts
Billboard charts
