HyunA

From girl groups to a successful solo career, South Korean pop singer/songwriter HyunA started her career as a member of K-pop acts <a href="spotify:artist:3Cv2vi3WTl8VZOTdrBkKdM">Wonder Girls</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6cdC1cwqh3eJAXaxXJt2jv">4Minute</a>, taking center stage in the early 2010s with her first effort, 2011's Bubble Pop! With her versatile vocal style and ability to tackle multiple genres, she's issued romantic ballads, propulsive dance-pop, and edgy hip-hop-influenced hits such as the chart-topping "Ice Cream," U.S. Top Three "Roll Deep," and her highest-selling hit, the multi-platinum "Bubble Pop!" Achieving international success, she also broke into the Japanese and U.S. markets with EPs such as 2014's A Talk and 2016's chart peak A'wesome.

Born Kim Hyun-ah in Seoul, the vocalist began her career under <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22JYP+Entertainment%22">JYP Entertainment</a> in 2006 as a founding member of <a href="spotify:artist:3Cv2vi3WTl8VZOTdrBkKdM">Wonder Girls</a>. Although she parted ways with the group the next year, she later signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cube+Entertainment%22">Cube Entertainment</a> for the formation of another girl group, <a href="spotify:artist:6cdC1cwqh3eJAXaxXJt2jv">4Minute</a>. HyunA remained with the group into the early 2010s. At that time, she began her first steps toward a solo career with the release of 2011's Bubble Pop! The EP's title track became an international hit, attracting attention for both its infectious chorus and provocative music video.

While <a href="spotify:artist:6cdC1cwqh3eJAXaxXJt2jv">4Minute</a> remained active until 2016, HyunA continued to release an EP almost each year until their official disbandment. She followed Bubble Pop! with her highest-selling effort to date, Melting, home to her first Korean number one single, "Ice Cream." Busy with <a href="spotify:artist:6cdC1cwqh3eJAXaxXJt2jv">4Minute</a> duties in 2013, she returned her attention to solo material in 2014 with A Talk, a sleek set of club-friendly dance tracks. The hip-hop-indebted A+ continued HyunA's run as a defiant and confrontational figure in the K-pop world, courting more controversy with the racy video for "Because I'm the Best" (aka "Cause I'm God Girl" or "Roll Deep" in the U.S.). Featuring <a href="spotify:artist:2hcsKca6hCfFMwwdbFvenJ">BtoB</a> rapper Jung Il-hoon, the song soared into the Top Three on the Billboard World Songs chart, her biggest U.S. hit to date. The next year, she issued A'wesome. Sleeker and featuring more electronic elements, the EP was her first release following <a href="spotify:artist:6cdC1cwqh3eJAXaxXJt2jv">4Minute</a>'s demise. Once the group split, HyunA remained with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cube+Entertainment%22">Cube Entertainment</a>.

In 2017, she released Following. The EP featured appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:1wKpMkucynaTfG8lyPprYV">Pentagon</a> members Wooseok ("Party [Follow Me]") and E'Dawn ("Purple"), and spawned the hit "Babe." Later that year, she issued the popping standalone single "Lip & Hip" and joined <a href="spotify:artist:1wKpMkucynaTfG8lyPprYV">Pentagon</a>'s Hui and E'Dawn as part of a sub-unit group, Triple H. After news broke of a relationship between HyunA and E'Dawn in 2018, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cube%22">Cube</a> released them from their contracts. HyunA signed with P-Nation -- <a href="spotify:artist:2dd5mrQZvg6SmahdgVKDzh">Psy</a>'s label -- in early 2019. At the end of the year, she issued the comeback single "Flower Shower." ~ Neil Z. Yeung