Lee Sun-mi (Korean: 이선미; born May 2, 1992), known mononymously as Sunmi, is a South Korean

singer, dancer, songwriter and record producer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl
group Wonder Girls and left the group in 2010 to pursue her studies. After a three-year hiatus, Sunmi
resumed her career as a soloist with her 2013 debut extended play, Full Moon, spawning the number
two singles "24 Hours" and "Full Moon" on the national Gaon Digital Chart.
In 2015, Sunmi was announced to be resuming promotion with the Wonder Girls and remained with the
group until their disbandment in 2017. She subsequently left JYP Entertainment and joined Makeus
Entertainment (now known as Abyss Company), releasing the hit single "Gashina". Her second
extended play, Warning, was released in 2018 and produced two other hit singles: "Heroine" and
"Siren".

Early life[edit]
Sunmi was born on May 2, 1992, in Iksan, North Jeolla, South Korea.[1] She attended Hwangnam
Elementary School, Chungdam Middle School and Chungdam High School, and majored in musical
theater at Dongguk University.[2]
Sunmi revealed on a 2018 episode of Talkmon that she first decided to become a celebrity when she
was 12 after her father was admitted to hospital due to complications of pulmonary tuberculosis. She
was inspired by BoA, who debuted at the age of 13, and it was for her "the fastest way to make money"
in order to take care of her mother and two younger brothers. She went to Seoul to audition and
became a JYP Entertainment trainee at 14, though her father passed away three months before her
debut with Wonder Girls. She later adopted her stepfather's surname Lee while in university and
merged her original given name and surname, becoming Lee Sun-mi.[3]

Career[edit]

2006–2012: Debut with Wonder Girls, hiatus[edit]

In May 2006, Sunmi was revealed as the fourth member of Wonder Girls, a girl group managed by JYP
Entertainment. The group debuted with the single "Irony", on February 10, 2007, and quickly rose to
stardom with their hits "Tell Me", "So Hot" and "Nobody" within two years of debuting.[4] Sunmi
participated with the group in American activities, touring alongside the Jonas Brothers, under the
nickname Mimi.
In January 2010, JYP announced that Sunmi would be postponing her musical career to pursue her
studies, but would continue until February in order to complete scheduled events.[5] On January 13,
2012, a JYP representative stated that "Sunmi has remained within the company and continues to
sharpen her musical talents." JYP Entertainment later stated that there were no plans for Sunmi to
return and comeback as a member of Wonder Girls.[6]
Sunmi in 2013 and 2014

2013–2016: Solo debut with Full Moon,

Wonder Girls return[edit]

In August 2013, Sunmi was announced to be

returning to her music career, debuting as a solo
artist.[7] Sunmi made her official debut stage on
August 22, on Mnet's M! Countdown. Her debut
single "24 Hours" was released on August 26, 2013,
and subsequently achieved an all-kill on music charts.
[8] Subsequently, her debut extended play Full
Moon was released on February 17, 2014 along with
the promotional single of the same name.[9] The latter peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital
Chart[10] and at number three on Billboard's K-pop Hot 100.[11] "Full Moon" was praised for being
innovative, and Sunmi was said to have delivered a classy rendition of "sexy".[12]
On June 24, 2015, JYP Entertainment announced that Sunmi would be re-joining Wonder Girls, after
withdrawing in 2010, for their comeback after the group's two-year hiatus. The group returned with a
band concept, with Sunmi playing the bass.[13] In August, the group's album Reboot was released, with
Sunmi co-writing and co-producing three of its tracks.[14] In 2016, Sunmi once again received
songwriting and producing credits for a Wonder Girls release, this time for two songs present on the
band's single album Why So Lonely, including the title track of the same name.[15]

2017–2021: Group final disbandment, Warning, tour, and 1/6[edit]

Sunmi in 2017 and 2018

On January 26, 2017, it was announced that

Wonder Girls were to disband after unsuccessful
contract renewal negotiation with members Yeeun
and Sunmi. The group released their final single
"Draw Me" on February 10, 2017 which also served
as a celebration for their tenth anniversary.[16]
[17] In March, Sunmi signed with Makeus
Entertainment. In August, she released her single
"Gashina", produced by Teddy Park of The Black
Label.[18][19] The song debuted at number 2 on
the Gaon Digital Chart before topping the chart the
following week, and was named the Third Best K-
pop Song of 2017 by Billboard.[20]
Sunmi returned with a single titled "Heroine" on January 18, 2018. She described the single as a
prequel to "Gashina".[21] On September 4, Sunmi released her second EP, titled Warning, along with
the lead single, "Siren".[22] "Siren" received an all-kill on six local music charts.[23] Warning was named
the third best k-pop album of 2018 by Billboard and Bravo.[24][25] "Addict" was named the eighth best
k-pop b-side of the year by MTV.[26]
From February to June 2019, Sunmi held her first world tour, titled "Warning".[27] Tickets for the Seoul
concert reportedly sold out in five seconds after opening.[28] She performed in 18 cities across Asia,
America and Europe. In the midst of the tour, on March 4, 2019, Sunmi released a single titled "Noir".
[29] After completing the world tour she released her single "Lalalay" on August 27, 2019.[30]
On February 6, 2020, Sunmi released the single "Gotta Go" along with its instrumental as part of the
original sound track of the web series XX in which she made a cameo.[31][32] Two days later, a dance
performance for the song was released which later became the channel's most popular video after
reaching over 4 million views.[33] On May 21, it was revealed that Sunmi would be making a comeback
in late June.[34] Her single "Pporappippam" was released on June 29.[35][36] On July 22, she was
selected as the exclusive model of 요괴미식가 (the Korean version of Yokai Kitchen) created by
FriendTimes, in the TV commercial of the game, she played a gourmet who enjoyed cooking in the
mysterious spirit realm restaurant.[37] On August 12, she and J. Y. Park released the duet "When We
Disco".[38] She also featured on label mate Park Won's song "Oh Yeah" from his album My Fuxxxxx
Romance.[39]
Sunmi released her new single album Tail on February 23, 2021, with the lead single of the same
name.[40] Sunmi released her third EP 1/6 (One Sixth) on August 6, 2021, with the lead single "You
Can't Sit with Us".[41] On October 11, Sunmi released the new digital single "Go or Stop?".[42] The
single was released as part of a collaboration with DWG KIA, a League of Legends esports team who
won the 2020 World Championship.

2022–present: "Heart Burn" and tour[edit]

On June 8, 2022, Sunmi's agency announced that she was preparing for a comeback with a single titled
"Heart Burn" on June 29.[43][44] On June 30, 2022, the agency announced Sunmi's world tour '2022
Sunmi Tour 'Good Girl Gone Mad' through its official SNS channel. It will be held in Europe and
America.[45]
Artistry[edit]

Musical style and themes: "Sunmi-pop"[edit]

Sunmi is known in the K-pop industry to have created her own musical style called "Sunmi-pop".[46]
[47][48] It maintains K-pop's core influences such as pop, disco, rock, traditional Korean
music plus retro and city pop elements mixed with Sunmi's own defined music identity.[49]
The concept of "Sunmi-pop" was first mentioned by Sunmi herself on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook at the
start of 2018.[50] Later in the year, in an interview for 1TheK's YouTube channel published in September
2018, she revealed that her personal goal was to create her own music style named after herself.[51]
[52] The interview was published at a time coinciding with the release of Warning (her first extended
play since her renewal as a solo artist) and she referred to the newly published EP as "a stepping stone
from which [she] can build [her] own music style".[52]
One week ahead of the release of her single "Noir", she mentioned her main goal during a detailed
interview for Billboard Korea, hoping that her musical style would become something that could inspire
other artists.[53][54] K-pop fans around the world started to acknowledge Sunmi's own musical identity
by using for the first time the word "Sunmi-pop" in a few tweets, although the term became common
on social media only after her fans used it to reply to a tweet posted by Sunmi herself. Even though the
tweet itself didn't mention the term, Korean media and industry players started to officially recognize the
word "Sunmi-pop" and implement it in articles and variety shows for the first time to describe Sunmi's
music, reporting that she created her own style by applying her abilities in self-writing, self-
composing and ideating performances.[46][55]
On May 30, 2019, in London, right before going up on the stage of the Warning World Tour, an
interviewer of the Korean media agency Yonhap News made known to Sunmi that a term to describe
her musical style had been coined already as "Sunmi-pop".[56] Thus the word "Sunmi-pop" gained its
officiality, and on August 21, 2019, her agency Abyss Company (then known as Makeus Entertainment)
also recognized the newly coined word by sharing an article from Naver News which dedicated a
section to "Sunmi genre, Sunmi-pop" in anticipation of her comeback with "Lalalay".[48][57]
Characteristics of "Sunmi-pop"[edit]

The main characteristic of "Sunmi-pop" is defined by the emotions that the songs convey and provoke
in the listener. According to Sunmi: "there's always a slightly sad emotion that permeates [my music] no
matter how excitingly I sing the song" and "it's energetic and happy but with a sense of sadness".[58]
[59] "Sunmi-pop" songs feature upbeat dance rhythms with lyrics marked by metaphors and double
meanings that slightly conceal a sense of cynicism.[60]
Since "Gashina", Sunmi's title tracks have featured double meanings and wordplays in the song title
such as "Siren", expressing both the meaning of the warning sound and the mythological figure of
the siren,[52][61] and "Lalalay" which both refers to the act of flying [like a butterfly] and the
word nallari (날라리) meaning 'punk' or 'party-goer' in Korean.[62] Additionally, the songs "Gashina",
"Heroine", "Siren", "Black Pearl", "Curve", "Lalalay" and "Tail" all present metaphors in the lyrics thus
defining Sunmi's style of expression.[60] Although "Sunmi-pop" songs mostly present an exciting and
happy beat, Sunmi shared that her lyrics are often imbued with a sense of cynicism due to the fact that,
in her real life, as a celebrity, she can't always express her true feelings.[62] Metaphors, wordplays and
double meanings are often expressed through choreographies that complement her work.[60]
Though "Sunmi-pop" isn't constricted within a single music style or genre, electro-pop and retro
elements are often associated with Sunmi's songs. The reason why these elements emerge is to be
found in Sunmi's roots as a member of the Wonder Girls and her time in the US. Sunmi said in a recent
interview that producer J. Y. Park wanted her and the other members to "broaden [their] understanding
of the different music styles of different eras" focusing especially on retro concepts and Motown artists,
which she ended up liking.[49][53] In a Billboard interview she revealed: "Personally, I like music from
the ‘70s, ’80s, and ‘90s, so I try to find instrumentals and sounds that evoke those periods and work
them into my music".[63]
"Sunmi-pop" is also considered by Sunmi to be a combination of popularity and identity.[53] On the April
2021 issue of L’Officiel Singapore, Sunmi explained: "I always try to come up with fun and easy ways to
approach a range of people, while keeping the original emotions in myself". While her aesthetic or
themes are considered to be niche, her goal is to remain inside the world of popular music.[49]
Another key element of "Sunmi-pop" is dynamism: Sunmi shared her wish of wanting to try new ideas
every time, like working with other producers, and explore new genres by showing a different range of
themes, aesthetics and sounds through the years.[55]

Personal life[edit]
Sunmi has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which she wrote about in her song
"Borderline", released in August 2021.[64]