Behind the iconic singer: Hyuna's impressive career!

Hyuna is an absolute superstar, known for her bold concepts and confident image. The Korean singer can not only sing and rap, but also model and writes most of her songs herself. Hits like "Bubble Pop!", "Red" and "Ice Cream" have repeatedly shaken up the K-pop scene and made Hyuna into a true icon.

But what really sets her apart is her willingness to take risks and stay true to herself. Hyuna goes her own way and shows that you don't have to bend to be successful!

You can also find a few of Hyuna's albums in our shop.

If you would like to learn more about Hyuna's remarkable career, here is an overview of the most important stages of her journey. From her beginnings with the Wonder Girls to her time in 4Minute to her successful solo career:

Wonder Girls

In 2006, JYP Entertainment announced the name of their very first girl group: Wonder Girls. Today, JYP is one of the biggest K-pop labels around, known for consistently producing hits. In 2006, the label was only nine years old and was best known for solo singer Rain, who debuted in 2000 and became one of the biggest stars in all of Asia within the next few years. No doubt, many K-pop fans were excited to see if JYP's latest project would be as successful.

From December 2006 to February 2007, a reality show called “MTV Wonder Girls” ran in which the members were introduced: viewers also got an insight into the training and production of the debut album.

Particularly exciting: When the show started, only four members were confirmed: Sunye, Sunmi, Sohee and Hyuna. The group should consist of five members. JYP held an open audition for the final spot in Wonder Girls. 1,600 young talents applied within 10 days. The top four competed in the final audition, which aired midway through the MTV Wonder Girls show. Immediately after the audition, Park Yeeun was announced as the winner. Just a few days after the audition, the Wonder Girls held their first showcase and performed several covers as well as original songs such as their debut single “Irony”.

On February 13, 2007, the Wonder Girls debuted the single album “The Wonder Begins”.

The title song “Irony” is still one of the girl group’s best-known songs to this day! The album also contains two other tracks: “Bad Boy”, “It’s Not Love” and a remix by Irony.

When they debuted, Hyuna, Sohee and Sunmi were just 14 years old! Yeeun and Sunye were 17.

Shortly after the release of the first album, the group founded their official fan club called “Wonderfuls”. Another season of MTV Wonder Girls was released in April. There were four seasons in total, the last one airing in 2010. From May to June, Hyuna hosted the music show “Show! Music Core” together with her bandmate Sohee and Brian Joo from the duo Fly to the Sky. In mid-2007, Sohee injured herself while filming a film, so the remaining four performed without her.

In July 2007, Hyuna left the Wonder Girls.

Her parents were worried about Hyuna, who was struggling with health problems. These included fainting spells and chronic gastroenteritis. The latter is a common condition that causes diarrhea and vomiting.

So Hyuna was only active as a member of the girl group for about 5 months.

But her voice could still be heard in all the songs from the first studio album “The Wonder Years”, which was released on September 13th. A few days before the release, the Wonder Girls got a new member named Yubin. Because Yubin was added at such short notice, she is only featured in the song “Wishing in a Star”. The album contains 13 tracks, including the single “Tell Me,” which topped several Korean charts!

In the following years, the Wonder Girls conquered the charts again with further hits such as “So Hot” (2008) and “Nobody” (2009) and established themselves as one of the most successful K-pop groups of the time. In 2017, the iconic girl group officially disbanded.

Of course, Hyuna's idol career was far from over! In 2008 she signed a contract with Cube Entertainment and in 2009 she debuted in a new girl group:

4Minute

The girl group had five members: Nam Jihyun, Heo Gayoon, Jeon Jiyoon, Kwon Soohyun and Kim Hyuna. Hyuna was the first member to be officially announced. She was now 17 years old. She was one of the younger members, as Jihyun and Gayoon were 19 and Jiyoon 18 when they debuted. At 14, Sohyun was the maknae of the group.

The five debuted the digital single "Hot Issue" on June 15, 2009, a few days after Hyuna's 17th birthday. This is also included on the first mini album “For Muzik”, which the girl group released on August 28th. The title song of the album is called “Muzik”. It reached number 2 on the Gaon Album Charts and both Muzik and Hot Issue were downloaded millions of times!

4Minute ended the year with the release of the Christmas single “Jingle Jingle”. The girl group was rewarded for their efforts with four newcomer awards in 2009. These included, among others, “Rookie of the Year” (Golden Disc Awards) and “Best New Artist Award” (Korean Entertainment Arts Award).

2010 was an exciting year for Hyuna in several ways. Not only did she release two successful albums with 4Minute, but she also launched her solo career!

Hyuna made her solo debut on January 4, 2010!

The singer has previously participated in songs by various other artists such as Lee Gikwang (BEAST / Highlight) and the Brave Brothers. Her first solo single “Change” featuring Junghyung (BEAST) was a success, reaching several high chart positions; including second place in the Gaon Digital Chart. With the song, Hyuna not only showed her potential as a solo artist right from the start, but also directly established her now iconic, daring concepts.

The Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family rated the music video as 19+. Major Korean TV channel SBS declared it 15+.

On May 19, 2010, 4Minute returned with their second mini album “Hit Your Heart”.

Earlier this year, the group held concerts in several Asian countries and released a Japanese version of “Muzik.”

“Hit Your Heart” made it into the top 3 of the Gaon Album Charts and the title track “HuH” stayed at number 2 on the Singles Charts for two weeks. About two months later, a music video was released for another song from the album: “I My Me Mine”. 4Minute appeared again in music shows with the song. In addition, in the same month, 4Minute presented a brand new single called “Superstar” for the Korean talent show “Superstar K2”. And before July ended, the girl group released a Japanese version of “I My Me Mine”!

After two Japanese versions of Korean songs were released in 2010, the first original Japanese single “First/Dreams Come True” followed on October 12th. The official Japanese debut took place on December 15th, as the Japanese studio album "Diamond" was released on that day!

This year too, 4Minute took home four awards in four different award shows.

The year 2011 once again had a lot to offer: both new music from 4Minute and Hyuna Solo!

Within just one month, fans were able to enjoy the fourth Japanese single “Why” (March 9th), the digital mini album “Heart to Heart” (March 29th) and the studio album “4Minutes Left” (April 5th) from 4Minute.

4Minutes Left contains songs from Diamond and Heart to Heart and all-new tracks such as the title track “Mirror Mirror”. The song's choreography had to be changed for music show performances because some of the moves were too provocative in their opinion. 4Minutes changed the dance steps in question and the album rose to number 2 in the Gaon Charts!

Later in the year, on September 7th, the group also released a Japanese version of "Heart to Heart" as their fifth Japanese single, and on December 6th they released a sixth Japanese single called "Ready Go".

Bubble Pop!

Hyuna had already made her solo debut in 2010 with the single “Change”, but most people will probably remember the first mini album “Bubble Pop!” at the start of her career, and the single of the same name. On June 30, 2011, Hyuna released the pre-release single “A Bitter Day” and on July 5, 2011, the album and a music video for “Bubble Pop!” were released, which quickly turned out to be a viral hit. Within a month, the music video was viewed over 10 million times!

With the publication, Hyuna lived up to her reputation, as the Korean media regulator classified her video as too suggestive. This led to the promotions for Bubble Pop! were terminated prematurely. But that probably didn't bother Hyuna much because her fans clearly love her just the way she is! She also performed “Just Follow,” another song from the album, instead.

Trouble Maker (2011 - 2013)

At the end of 2011, Hyuna became part of another project. Together with Hyunseung from the boy band BEAST, she formed the duo “Trouble Maker”. The two were agency colleagues, because BEAST, like 4Minute, belonged to Cube Entertainment.

On December 1, 2011, the duo released their first mini album “Trouble Maker” with the title song of the same name.

A few days earlier, the two caused a stir when they premiered their song at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards. The choreography contains many provocative dance steps and a kiss on the cheek, which many viewers initially believed was a real kiss on the lips! It wasn't long before the choreography had to be changed because it was too sexy.

The song proved to be a huge hit from the start, winning five trophies on music shows, three of them on M Countdown! Additionally, the iconic choreography has been covered in many series, shows and award ceremonies. It is still performed today. For example, actor Lee Yi Kyung and singer Lee Mijoo danced to the song at the 2022 MBC Entertainment Awards!

The duo's second and currently last album is called “Chemistry” and was released on October 28, 2013.

The music video for the title song “Now” is rated 19+. “Now” is the first and one of only five songs to reach the maximum score of 11,000 in the history of the music show Inkigayo. The other four songs are “Good Luck” (BEAST), “Let’s Not Fall in Love” (Big Bang), “Monster” (EXO) and “Boy with Luv” (BTS).

Hyuna and Hyunseung have now both left Cube Entertainment and have not released an album together since 2013. Despite this, the duo never officially broke up.

4Minute (2012 - 2016)

In the first two and a half years of their career, the charismatic girl group already released several hits and continued their successful streak in the following years!

In 2012, the group topped the Gaon Album Charts with their third mini album “Volume Up” (April 9) and released their seventh Japanese single “Love Tension” in August.

Just a month later, a highlight for all Japanese fans was released: the compilation album “Best of 4Minute”!

It contains all the Japanese singles 4Minute has released since their debut, as well as some B-sides. Unfortunately, it was also the last Japanese release. In September 2013, 4Minute ended its contract with Universal Music Japan. This label was responsible for the group's activities in Japan. Additionally, 4Minute's official Japanese website and Japanese fan club were closed.

In 2013 a Korean album was released - the fourth mini album “Name is 4Minute” - and the summer single “Is It Poppin’?”.

“What’s Your Name,” the title track from “Name is 4Minute,” topped both the Gaon Singles Chart and the Billboard Kpop Hot 100! With “Is It Poppin’?” The girl group caused controversy when Korean television station KBS announced that it was unsuitable for broadcast because it contained the English word “ass.”

The fifth mini album was released on March 17, 2014, including the single “Wait A Minute.” With this, 4Minute took on 2NE1 and Girls' Generation, some of the most popular girl groups of the second K-pop generation, on the music show Inkigayo!

Unfortunately, October was the scene of a major tragedy that is still considered one of the worst accidents in K-pop. Trigger Warning: The following section discusses fatal accidents.

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On October 17th, 4Minute and several other artists performed at an open air festival in southern Seoul. In order to see better, up to 30 spectators stood on a ventilation grille, which gave way under the load during 4Minute's performance. The spectators fell about 20 meters into an underground car park below. A total of 16 people died.

This led to renewed debate about safety standards in South Korea. A lack of safety measures has been an issue since the Sewol Ferry sank in April 2014. The Sewol Ferry was a ship with 476 passengers on board, of which only 172 survived. The dead included 250 students who were on a school trip.

Cube Entertainment released a statement about the accident the same day:
"We cannot express how much we regret what happened. [...] During their performance, neither the members nor the staff were aware of the accident and finished their entire set. It was only when they arrived back in Seoul that they learned of the news of the accident."

As in previous years, only one new album was released in 2015 and 2016. But both were a huge success: The sixth mini album “Crazy” (February 9, 2015) topped Billboard’s World Albums Chart!

And the music video for “Hate”, the title song from the seventh mini album “Act. 7” has already been viewed a million times in less than 24 hours! Act. 7 was unfortunately 4Minute's last album.

4Minute goes separate ways

On June 13, Cube Entertainment announced that 4Minute would officially disband as their contracts had expired. The label and the members could not agree on a contract renewal.

This news came as a huge shock to fans as 4Minute were at the peak of their popularity. Like Hyuna herself, 4Minute was known for bold concepts as well as her hip-hop style and cool image. Especially at a time when cute and feminine concepts were still the norm for girl groups.

In the same year, other very popular second-generation girl groups such as 2NE1 and Kara disbanded. A golden era came to an end that fans will fondly remember.

This marked the end of an important phase in Hyuna's career. Because she was in Wonder Girls for such a short time, many fans got to know her as a member of 4Minute. After 4Minute disbanded, Hyuna continued her solo career.

Hyuna Solo (2012 - 2018)

As already mentioned, Hyuna made her solo debut in 2010 with Bubble Pop! also have a very successful first album. But in 2012 her popularity increased immensely and brought Hyuna into the international spotlight. She was featured in Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video, which was released on July 15th. Not only did it become the most viewed K-Pop video, but it also defended its title as the most viewed YouTube video ever for five years!

In August 2012, Psy released a new version of the video entitled "Oppa is Just My Style" in which Hyuna even had her own singing parts.

The two worked together again as Psy made a guest appearance in Hyuna's music video “Ice Cream”. “Ice Cream” is the title song from their second mini album “Melting” (October 22, 2012). It became the tenth Korean music video in YouTube history to reach 20 million views!

While still in 4Minute, Hyuna presented two more mini albums: “A Talk” including the title song “Red” in July 2014 and “A+” in August 2015. Among other things, she also got her own reality show - Hyuna's Free Month (2014 ) - and recorded a sketch with the American singer Rita Ora.

When 4Minute disbanded in mid-2016, Hyuna had long established herself as a solo artist and had proven several times that she could conquer the stage on her own! By the way, she was the only member of the girl group who stayed with Cube Entertainment. But she only stayed there for about two years.

In these two years she released two mini albums and a single album, which again brought her high chart positions and music show trophies: 5th mini album "A'wesome" (August 2016), 6th mini album "Following" (August 2017 ) & the single album “Lip & Hip” (December 2017).

In between, Hyuna also debuted in a new trio called “Triple H” with Hui and E'Dawn from the boy group Pentagon of Cube Entertainment. The first mini album 199X was released on May 1, 2017. As is often the case, the music video was hotly debated because it contained controversial topics such as sex and criminality. This was followed by a reality show called “Triple H Fun Agency” and a comeback with a second mini album called “Retro Futurism” on July 18, 2018.

Two months later, Hyuna and E'Dawn were kicked out by Cube Entertainment.

Hyuna & E’Dawn

The reason for this was the dating rumors that broke out on August 2nd. Cube Entertainment denied the rumors, but Hyuna and E'Dawn confirmed in an interview on the same day that they have been dating since 2016. On September 13, Cube shocked with the news that the label was terminating the contracts with the two artists because they could no longer maintain trust. But in the following weeks there was still discussion back and forth.

It was only in October that Hyuna and Cube confirmed that the singer had left entertainment, followed by E'Dawn in November. This also meant that E'Dawn left his group Pentagon .

At the end of January, both signed a contract with the P Nation label, which the singer Psy founded in 2018.

After years of being busy with multiple projects at once, Hyuna took a well-deserved break.

She only returned on November 5th, 2019 with a new single called “Flower Shower”. The song is also included in Hyuna's seventh mini album “I'm Not Cool”. This was released on January 28th, 2021, over a year after Flower Shower and over three years after the last solo album “Lip & Hip”. Fans didn't have to wait so long for something new from the singer, because in September 2021 they released the mini album “1+1=1” together with E'Dawn. It contains four tracks including the title song “Ping Pong”.

The album was a great gift for fans of the two, who had long been considered an absolute dream couple. They weren't afraid to show their love and stuck together since the beginning of their relationship. They announced their engagement on February 3, 2022 and so happiness was perfect!

On July 20, 2022, Hyuna presented her eighth and last mini album “Nabillera” and the title song of the same name. As always, this time she wrote most of her songs herself. Dawn also appears in the credits, having worked on two songs, including the title track. In fact, he was also involved in the seventh mini album “I’m Not Cool”. And Psy also contributed to the lyrics for her last two albums.

But just a month later, Hyuna announced that she was leaving Psy's label P Nation because she chose not to renew the contract. That's why she stopped appearing with Nabillera on music shows after just one week.

And that wasn't the only big change for the singer in 2022. In November she shocked her fans with a serious Instagram post. In it, Hyuna explained that she and E'Dawn broke up after dating for over six years.

Today

Two years ago, Hyuna opened up about suffering from panic disorder, depression, and a condition called "vasovagal syncope." The disease causes sudden malaise and often even a brief loss of consciousness. We respect the singer for openly sharing her problems with us and always delighting us with upbeat songs despite the difficulties.

We are excited to see what Hyuna's future holds and hope that she will return with new music soon. After all these years of enchanting us with her unique style and huge hits, we can't imagine the K-Pop scene without her!

Sources: Generasia, 4Minute Discography, Billboard, Hyuna Instagram