The Hidden Gems of the Korean Music Industry

With its international virality, you may have definitely heard of K-POP, the Korean pop industry. BLACKPINK and BTS introduced a new genre of music to American fans, and as a result, other talented groups gained popularity as well. In the midst of this surge, however, a small part of the industry is yet to get any attention: the soloists. Korean soloists not only boast their unique vocal ranges but also a variety of music that you just can’t get from Korean music groups. Below are 10 soloists with unique music profiles who might be the next artist in your playlist!

CL

CL began her musical career as a member of the hit girl group 2NE1. As the main rapper of the group, she was not only the most popular member of the group but also is still coined today as the “Korean queen of hip-hop”. After the group disbanded, CL went on to pursue her solo career, with many hits like “+HWA+” and “Spicy”. If you like rap/hip-hop, then definitely check out her discography.

Eric Nam

Fun fact: Eric Nam was born in Atlanta, Georgia! He decided to pursue music and entertainment after graduating from college. While he was releasing music, Eric was also the host of a famous show called “After School Club,” which was known for interviewing famous idol groups and providing a place for international fans to interact with these idols. After leaving the show, Eric went on to continue releasing more music and joined Dive Studios to host his own interview podcast called “The Daebak Show.” He still releases music and had an international tour last year.

In terms of music, Eric’s discography mainly consists of both pop and R&B. Below is one of my favorite songs from him.

Lee hi

Lee Hi was first introduced to the K-pop industry by participating in the survival group show K-Pop Star. After placing second in the final round, she went on to commit to her solo career. While she has had a good amount of success with her music since her debut, she only broke international barriers after dedicating one of her songs, “Breathe” in honor of the late musician, Jonghyun. Afterward, she continued to release very viral songs and even a few very successful collaborations with other popular artists. Her music is heavily influenced by R&B, so she’s definitely got the perfect music for a morning coffee run.

bibi

Bibi is an artist who went viral for the very short time she’s spent on her music career. Having debuted in 2019, it wasn’t long before her music hit records with the help of social media apps, like Instagram and TikTok. There isn’t much to her background, but Bibi has a very unique discography that continues to appeal to a large international audience. It’s hard to categorize her music into a specific genre, but she mostly releases music that is influenced by R&B, indie, pop, and rock.

Dean

While he is more known for being a music producer, Dean is also a quite reputable songwriter/singer. He also had many popular collaborations in the K-Pop industry, including “Dally” with Hyolyn, “Bermuda Triangle” with Crush and Zico, and many others. There isn’t much in regard to his background that I know of but his works are very popular and considered a staple amongst both international and Korean audiences. His discography is influenced by both alternative and R&B genres.

Woodie Gochild

Woodie Gochild is under a very famous Korean record label named “H1GHR Music” which includes many popular artists like Jay Park, Sik-K, and pH-1. Woodie Gochild is also fairly popular, as his debut song was a collaboration with both Jay Park and Dok2 and boasts around 7.7 million views. While Woodie is more known for his collaborations than his own songs, he also has many of his own songs that are good listens. His music tends to fall under both rap and hip-hop.

moon sujin

Moon Sujin has to be one of my favorite artists in the industry. Her music is primarily R&B, and she debuted in 2018 in one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea: SM Entertainment. The interesting thing about her is that while she was born and raised in South Korea, she speaks perfectly fluent English (went to an English school) and a lot of her songs mix a fair amount of both English and Korean. Personally, her songs are a nice boundary between American pop and Korean music, and she has very clear, soothing vocals that make her songs fun to vibe to.

Youra

Youra also debuted in 2018, but her music is very different from the rest. Her discography is very indie and is a different pace from the usual R&B/Ballad leaning that Korean soloists tend to fall under. While it is difficult to specifically categorize her style, Youra focuses more on emotional pieces that talk about deeper themes and messages. She’s unquestionably someone I recommend listening to if you are looking for something new and more emotional.

sUran

Something I hadn’t known about Suran until very recently was that she was part of a duo called LODIA. However, she is more known for her solo career and her numerous collaborations with other famous artists, like DEAN and Crush. Her career breakthrough was through two achievements: her most famous song “Wine” was produced by Suga from BTS and her song for the hit Korean drama Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. Afterward, Suran went on to create plenty of addicting songs with her unique and soft vocals, including one of my personal favorites called “1+1=0” (shown below) with DEAN.

woodz

WOODZ is another well-known producer in the Korean music industry. After he started his career in a Korean-Chinese idol group called Uniq, WOODZ later debuted as a solo artist under the name “Luizy”. After going through a change in creative direction, he changed his stage name to “WOODZ”. After releasing a few songs, WOODZ went on to participate in a really popular survival group show called Produce 101. He finished in 5th place and debuted in a group called X1. After the group had to disband, he went back to his solo career and has continued to release songs. His music is closer to both pop and alternative, but his songs can dabble into other genres as well, including both rock and R&B.

While there are several more artists that I could’ve mentioned, these artists are talented in their own right and most of them are somewhat underrated. However, their music includes some of my favorite songs to this day, and I’m always awaiting new music from them. Definitely check these artists out!

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