IU

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-Eun, was born in Seoul, South Korea on May 16, 1993.

IU released her debut album on April 16, 2004.

The individual made their debut on this date, marking the beginning of their career in the entertainment industry.

IU launched her first full album, titled Growing Up, on April 16, 2009, with the lead promotional number 'Boo', which gained significant popularity on various music charts and TV shows.

IU launched her first studio album, Growing Up, with the lead promotional single, 'Boo', which marked a strategic transformation in her musical style and image to emphasize her youthfulness and project a 'cute' image.

IU joined the cast of the variety show, Heroes, which aired from July 18, 2010 to May 1, 2011. She recalled the camaraderie she built with the other regular cast members despite the hectic shooting schedules.

The lead single from IU's EP Real, 'Good Day' was noted for its popularity and the wide range of her voice. The song's success was attributed to its lyrics and high-pitched climax.

IU portrayed the character Kim Pil-sook in the KBS2 drama, Dream High, from January 3 to February 28, 2011, with a special episode on March 1. Her performance in this drama gained significant attention.

For the series' soundtrack of Dream High, IU released the single, 'Someday', which achieved number-one position on the Gaon Digital Chart on the week of January 30–February 5, 2011. By the end of 2011, the single had sold 2,209,924 digital copies and is one of IU's best-selling singles for a soundtrack.

A follow-up extended play to Real, titled Real+, containing three songs, was released on February 16, 2011.

On November 29, 2011, IU's second full-length album Last Fantasy was released, achieving an 'all-kill' as all 13 songs immediately swept most of Korea's charts. This album's success solidified IU's position in the music industry.

IU held a live showcase at Tokyo's Bunkamura Orchard Hall, becoming the youngest Korean singer ever to perform at the Hall.

IU's fifth Korean extended play, Spring of a Twenty Year Old, was released on May 11, 2012. The album was named to celebrate IU turning the Korean age of 20 and contained the lead single 'Peach' and the second single 'Every End of the Day.'

IU performed at Expo Pop Festival on July 3, 2012, showcasing her musical talents and captivating the audience with her performance.

IU hosted the 2012 SBS Gayo Daejeon, an annual music program, alongside Miss A's Suzy and actor Jung Gyu-woon, showcasing her stable emceeing skills.

IU released her Japanese single 'Monday Afternoon' on September 11, 2013. The song debuted at number 27 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart and number 9 on Japan's Oricon Daily Chart.

On October 7, 2013, IU's album was released. The specific details about the album are not provided.

IU released her third studio album, Modern Times, which was a departure from her K-pop roots, showcasing a more mature and sophisticated sound and image. The album received positive reviews for its diverse jazz styles and collaborative tracks.

IU was confirmed to play the role of Kim Bo Tong in the Wednesday-Thursday Drama, which aired from November 20, 2013 to January 9, 2014 on KBS2 Network.

A repackaged version of Modern Times, including two additional tracks 'Friday' and 'Crayon', was released on December 20. IU's self-composed title track 'Friday' achieved a perfect all-kill on the South Korean music charts.

IU reached No. 1 on May 10, 2014 in Billboard's K-pop chart with the song 'Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms', becoming Billboard's official K-pop all time chart leader with 5 No. 1s since K-pop Hot 100 was introduced in September 2011.

IU released her sixth Korean extended-play and first cover album, A Flower Bookmark, on May 16, 2014. The album contains seven renditions of tracks that hailed from the 1980s and 1990s with a mixture of genres that included ballad, dance, folk, and rock.

IU conducted a more intimate and smaller scale concert series over eight nights at Sogang University's Mary Hall, performing songs from A Flower Bookmark and various new arrangements of her earlier songs. The concerts were sold out within 10 minutes of release, and profits were donated to the victims of the Sewol Ferry Disaster.

IU performed for the first time in the U.S. at the KCON 2014 event held in Los Angeles, where she was also interviewed by Billboard.

IU performed at the Melon Music Awards on November 13, 2014.

IU was confirmed to be one of the leading female cast of KBS2's The Producers, where she played a diva-like singer.

IU composed and performed the song 'Heart' as part of her portrayal of Cindy in the TV series 'The Producers'. The song topped the charts upon its release and became one of the best-selling digital singles of 2015 in South Korea. It was also used in South Korea's propaganda broadcasts to North Korea to showcase South Korean youth culture.

IU participated in the biennial music festival event hosted by the variety show, Infinite Challenge, and performed the song 'Leon' with Park Myeong-su. The live performance attracted an estimated crowd of 40,000 and achieved a 21.1% viewer's rating on its August 22 airdate. 'Leon' reached number one on all of South Korea's music charts upon release.

IU's seventh Korean extended play, Chat-Shire, was released digitally on October 23, 2015, prior to its physical release on October 27. She asserted greater creative control on the album, writing the lyrics for all seven tracks and composing the music for five tracks. The lead single, 'Twenty-Three', topped the national music charts upon release and the album reached a peak position of number four on Billboard's World Albums chart.

IU issued a public statement acknowledging that her lyrics had offended many and apologized for unintentionally turning Zeze into a sexual object.

IU announced a national tour for her album Chat-Shire, starting in Seoul on November 21 and ending in Seoul on December 31, 2015.

IU published her fourth studio album, Palette, on April 21, 2017. The album featured her as the primary lyricist and executive producer. It debuted atop Billboard World Albums chart and received critical acclaim, earning IU multiple accolades and awards.

IU released her second cover album, A Flower Bookmark 2 on September 22, 2017. The album contained renditions of tracks released from the 1960s to the early 2000s with a mixture of genres such as folk, retro, ballad and nu-disco.

IU was featured in the title song, 'Love Story', of Epik High's ninth album, We've Done Something Wonderful, which was released on October 23, 2017. The song achieved a 'Perfect All-Kill', topping the daily and real time charts of all 6 major Korean music sites.

IU performed at her Palette concert in Seoul, South Korea on December 10, 2017. The concert featured songs from her fourth studio album, Palette.

IU contributed her vocals to Zico's 'Soulmate', which was released on July 23, 2018. Upon release, the single topped the daily and real time charts of all 6 major Korean music sites and claimed the number-one position on the Gaon Digital Chart.

IU released a single titled 'Bbibbi' to commemorate her tenth debut anniversary. The music video was also released alongside the single, and it quickly gained popularity, breaking previous records for unique listeners and achieving high chart positions.

IU postponed the release of her ninth extended play, Love Poem, from November 1 to November 18, following Sulli's death.

IU won the 'Digital Daesang Song of the Year' award at the 35th Golden Disc Awards for her song 'Blueming' and hinted at her upcoming single 'Celebrity' during her acceptance speech.

IU announced her fifth studio album, Lilac, on March 3, 2021, which was released on March 25 to immediate commercial success, debuting atop the Gaon Album Chart.

During the 2022 MBC Drama Awards, Lee expressed his respect and gratitude for someone he has 'liked for a long time' after winning the Daesang Award for his role as Park Chang-Ho in Big Mouth on 30 December, leading to more prominent relationship rumors with IU.