So it goes without saying that the world of KPOP isn't all boy bands and perfectly synchronized girl groups consisting of so many members it's hard to keep track of them all, there's solo artists too! This week we're highlighting two female soloists, Somi and Sunmi. One a young, relatively new kid on the block and the other a seasoned veteran who basically rules the world of solo KPOP acts.
Somi is 18 years old, which when you consider just how long she's been in the public eye (since 2015), is almost shocking. She got her start on the same reality show as the members of Twice, getting eliminated in the very last round. From there she went to another show Produce 101 where she finished first out of a group of 101 girls to be the first member of the girl group I.O.I. From the very beginning they knew they would only be performing as this group for a year, and at the end of that year everyone was interested to see where the different members would be taking their careers. Somi debuted in June of this year with her single, Birthday. Check out the segment and video below.
Sunmi on the other hand, is a seasoned pro. Debuting in 2007 as a member of the girl group Wonder Girls, she dropped out of high school to promote the group all through the US on tour with the Jonas Brothers and appearing on the Wendy Williams Show. Since she had to put her education on hold because of this, she went on a hiatus from the music world while she finished up high school and got a college degree. Debuting again, this time as a soloist, she's now one of the most famous KPOP acts in the game right now. Take a listen to our Sunmi segment and her video for Lalalay below.