Voice[edit]

IU performing at the 2017 Melon Music Awards

IU possesses a soprano vocal range,[288][289] with acoustician and professor Myung-jin Bae expressing
her range also has mezzo-soprano qualities when writing an article comparing her voice to Hyun
Bin.[290][291] Her vocal ability is often met with positive reception. Monique Danao of South China
Morning Post noted that IU could quickly transition from a "sweet" voice to "hit powerful notes". [288] On
his 2011 academic paper co-written by Doo-heon Kyon at Soongsil University, Bae used "Good Day"
as the basis for his vocal analysis, stating that when IU reached the highest note (F♯ 5) in the three-
note increment, her stability in frequency showed a lengthy duration with abundant lung capacity,
and commenting that she "expresses well beyond the highest range required by the soprano [voice
type]".[289]

Awards and achievements[edit]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by IU

Since her debut in 2008, IU has received over 200 award nominations, winning over 100 of them.
She has won twenty-one Melon Music Awards, sixteen Gaon Chart Music Awards, five Korean
Music Awards, eleven Mnet Asian Music Awards, seven Seoul Music Awards, and eight Golden Disc
Awards. IU has also won several awards for her work as an actress, earning the title "Best New
Actress" at the 2014 KBS Drama Awards for her performance in You're the Best, Lee Soon-shin.[292]
IU has received ten Daesang (grand prize) awards from various award shows, including five from the
Melon Music Awards and three from the Golden Disc Awards. In 2012, she was named to
the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list as one of the most influential people in South Korea, and has
since been mentioned five times.[15] Additionally, IU was honored at the 2015 Korean Popular Culture
and Arts Awards, held by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, for her influence and
success in the music industry. In 2022, she was recipient of the Visionary Award, instituted by CJ
ENM, which recognizes talents from the Korean film and television industry for their contributions to
"leading trends and spearheading innovations."[293]

Other ventures[edit]
Philanthropy[edit]
As of August 2022, IU has donated a total of ₩4.3 billion since her debut, [294] and over ₩1.5 billion in
2022 alone.[295] IU has donated all the proceeds from her fan meetings since 2011.[294] Since February
2012, IU has been an ambassador for South Korea's National Police Agency in their anti-bullying
campaigns in schools; she was made an honorary member of the police force in 2013 before being
promoted to an honorary senior police officer in 2014 for a two-year term. [296] In 2015, and later in
2018, 2019 and 2020, IU donated ₩100 million to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation,
requesting it be used to assist underprivileged children.[297][298][299] She has also volunteered for the
organization.[300] IU established a scholarship at her high school alma-mater in 2016 after regularly
donating there for several years. The scholarship, dubbed the "IU Scholarship", is designed to help
four graduates from families needing financial aid.[301]
In 2018, IU provided ₩20 million in financial aid to five college students, helping to cover their room
and board.[297] That same year, IU participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, an Internet
challenge designed to promote Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) awareness,[302] and donated ₩10
million.[303] She joined the challenge once again in 2023, donating ₩50 million.[303] In 2019, after
playing Lee Ji-an in the hit drama My Mister the year before, IU donated ₩50 million to the Deaf
Senior Citizens Support Center, inspired by her role where she had to learn sign language. [304] She
also donated ₩10 million through Seocho District Office for those in vulnerable social groups and
elderly living alone,[305] ₩100 million to celebrate her 11th anniversary,[306] and other ₩100 million at
the end of the year to the Korean Foundation for Support of the Senior Citizen. [307] Her philanthropy
efforts earned her a mention in Forbes' "Asia's 2019 Heroes of Philanthropy: Catalysts For Change",
being the youngest to have made the list.[308]
During COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Korean Medical Association said that IU donated 3,000
pieces of medical protective clothing, worth ₩100 million,[309] and about 4,600 cooling vests, worth
₩100 million for nurses, according to the Korean Nurses Association.[310] In August 2020, she
donated ₩100 million to the Korea Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of floods. [311]