Younha
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| Go Younha 윤하 고윤하 ユンナ Younha |
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| Birth name | 고윤하 (Go, Yoon-ha) |
| Also known as | Younha, Yunna |
| Born | April 29, 1988 |
| Origin |  Seoul, South Korea |
| Genre(s) | J-Pop, J-Rock, K-Pop, Piano Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Singing, Piano |
| Years active | 2004–Present |
| Label(s) | Sony Japan Stam Entertainment |
| Website | Younha official website (Korean)
Younha official website (Japanese) |
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Younha (Korean: 고윤하; Hanja: 高允河; Go Yoon-ha, Japanese: ユンナ , Yunna), born April 29, 1988 in Seoul, Korea, is a K-Pop and J-Pop South Korean singer.
Younha made her debut as an artist at the young age of sixteen. Nicknamed the "Oricon comet" for her success in Japan,[1] she has currently released eight singles and two albums in that country with varying degrees of success. Also, many of her songs have been featured in anime/dramas. Although she is often compared to BoA, another Korean singer active in Japan, there are significant differences in their musical style and performance.
Younha is signed to Epic Records, owned by Sony Music Japan. Her Korean agency is Stam Entertainment.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born in South Korea to music loving parents, Younha began to play the piano at the age of 4.[2] She developed an interest in Japanese Drama and began to teach herself Japanese. Before long, she was skilled enough to translate to her school friends what happened on recent Japanese TV episodes. What began as an interest in Japanese dramas developed into an interest in Japanese music. At the recommendation of an older student in her school's broadcasting club, she listened to such artists such as Utada Hikaru and Misia and acquired a taste for Japanese music. Younha began to dream about debuting as a singer alongside her favorite artists.
[edit] 2004 - 2005: Early Career & Moderate Success
[edit] ゆびきり(Yubikiri) Era
In order to seek her dreams, she began to try out in auditions within Korea. She claimed that she went through as many as 20 auditions. She also commented in her interview that certain companies refused to sign her to their labels because they believed she was not "pretty" enough, although she sang very well.[3] Her mother also discouraged her dream and even locked her bedroom door to prevent Younha from leaving the house. Younha, however, climbed out the window and made it to the audition.[citation needed] At one audition, she made an overwhelming impression and signed a contract with a Korean company. Soon after, Younha's voice was heard by a company in Japan. In order to make her childhood dream of debuting in Japan come true, Younha underwent recording while going back and forth between Korea and Japan. Quickly, Younha's Japanese skills advanced so much that she surprised even the staff around her.
After a TV drama producer heard her demo tape, her single, "Yubikiri", was chosen as the insert song for the Fuji TV Monday drama Tokyo Wankei ~Destiny of Love~. In October of that same year, she debuted with her official first single, "Yubikiri -Japanese version-".
[edit] ほうき星 (Houkiboshi) to Go! Younha Era
Younha's second single, "Houki Boshi", was used as an ending song for the popular TV anime Bleach. It became a hit: debuting on the Oricon chart at #18, it peaked at #12 and propelled Younha into the limelight. With this single, she became only the second Korean, after BoA, to have broken the Oricon chart's top 20.[2] Between "Touch / Yume no Tsuzuki" and "Houki Boshi", she released "Motto Futari de". It flopped massively, only reaching #117 on the Oricon Charts possibly due to a lack of promotion. Her later single, "Touch / Yume no Tsuzuki", first charted at the #15,[2] with the tie-in and went as high as #11.[4] After releasing five singles, Younha released her first album entitled "Go! Younha". It reached the #10 spot on the Oricon weekly charts.[4]
[edit] 2006: Later Struggles and Korean Debut
[edit] 手をつないで (Te wo Tsunaide) to 儚く強く (Hakanaku Tsuyoku) Era
"My Lover" was a re-cut single from Go! Younha, her debut album, and was re-cut because it was the theme to the Bleach GC: Tasogare Ni Mamieru Shinigami. It was limited to 70,000 copies and flopped, selling only about 2 000 copies, ranking at #58. Because of the limited print, however, it has become extremely valuable and rare to the fans. Younha was also chosen to sing the ending theme to the TV anime Jyu Oh Sei (獣王星). The single, "Te wo Tsunaide" only did slightly better than "My Lover", just making it into the top 50 at #50.
Younha began to compose her own music. The song "Kaerimichi" released on her fifth single "My Lover" is the first song released for which she wrote the lyrics and composed the music for. In addition, she composed the music for the song "homegirl" released on "Te wo Tsunaide".
"Ima ga Daisuki" (今が大好き) was released, with more live performances than "Te wo Tsunaide", and a tie-in, and a slightly less rocky style than "Te wo Tsunaide", and more like "Motto Futari De". It seemed that Younha has a bigger budget on this single. It did significantly worse, as her second worst ranking single, at #71. "Ima ga Daisuki" was also used as an opening song for the animation Jang Geum's Dream while the b-track "Inori" was used for the animation's ending song.
Younha released a digital Korean single titled "Audition". The single includes "Audition (Time 2 Rock)", a pop-rock song and "Waiting" (기다리다), a ballad. Although it was released as a digital single, very limited hard copies of the single were available as well. Many performances for this song were shown on Korean TV, unusual for Younha as her last appearance on TV was with her single "Touch". Much promotion occurred for this single and it helped for a long charting life for Audition, lasting well over 3 months in all the Korean charts. She stayed in Korea during this release, as well as January.
Younha was once again chosen to be an anime theme songstress for Kiba. The song "Hakanaku Tsuyoku" (儚く強く) was used as the second opening for the show. The single was released on January 17, 2007. This single, unlike her other singles, has only 3 tracks. Surprisingly, this single appeared on the Top 20 Daily Charts for exactly one day, at #16. The Weekly rank was at an above-average #36, but sales were only slightly better. This single did not have a PV because Younha was in Korea during the month before and most likely January as well.
[edit] 2007 - 2008: Great Success in Korea & Return to Japan
[edit] 고백하기 좋은 날 (The Perfect Day to Say I Love You) Era
Exactly two months after "Hakanaku Tsuyoku", Younha went back to her home country to release her first Korean Album entitled 고백하기 좋은 날 (Go Baek Ha Gi Jo Eun Nal, translated "The Perfect Day to Say I Love You" or literally translated "Good Day to Confess"). She recorded a MV for the third track "비밀번호 486" (Bi Mil Bun Ho 486, translated "Secret Number 486") which stars fellow Stam artist Yoon Ji Hoo. The video featured many image changes for Younha which included her first-ever kiss. The album also features a collaboration with Wheesung.
With the single welcomed well into the market, Younha proceeded to release her Korean debut album. The album was a success, peaking at #1 on the charts. The first song to be promoted from the album was 비밀번호 486, for which she won the SBS Inkigayo Mutizen award twice. This song was also well received by the Korean audience. The second song to be promoted from this album was 연애조건 (Yeonae Jogeon, translated "Love Condition").
On July 14th 2007, Younha appeared on the Korean GomTV MSL Grand Finals (a StarCraft tournament) and performed in the opening ceremony.
Younha has also been picked as publicity envoy for the anti-corruption Clean Wave Campaign for her pure and clean image.
At the 2007 MKMF held on November 17th 2007, Younha won the Best New Solo Artist award.
[edit] Younha Vol. 1.5 Album
With Younha's success rising, she released a new version of Go! Younha, all re-recorded in Korean. The album, with tracklist changes, is now called 혜성 (Comet), and was released on October 23.
[edit] Return To Japan and Future Plans for 2008
On January 18th, Younha left Korea to continue her music career in Japan. She released a new Best Of Japanese album/music video DVD, SONGS -Teen's Collection-, on March 26. She also re-released her very first Korean single "Audition" on March 14th as an offline CD+DVD. Seoul Records is limiting the amount of "Audition" to 10,000 CDs.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Collaborations
Younha sang the song Boku wa Koko ni Iru on the tribute album to Masayoshi Yamazaki, One More Time, One More Track. (12.21.05)
Younha was selected as one of 14 female artists to perform in the omnibus album 14 Princess ~Princess Princess Children~, a collection of the most famous songs by the top girls band Princess Princess of late 80's and early 90's. Younha performed the song Diamonds, which was the number 1 seller of the year 1999 in Japan. (03.08.06)
Younha was featured on Wheesung's 5th album, Eternal Essence of Music, in the song "만져주기".
Younha was featured on Epik High's 5th album, Pieces, Part One, in the song "우산" (meaning "umbrella").
[edit] References
- ^ Younha Holds Showcase. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
- ^ a b c Younha takes Japanese pop market by storm. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
- ^ http://news.nate.com/Service/natenews/ShellView.asp?ArticleID=2006112715075983167&LinkID=528 News.nate.com
- ^ a b Younha enters top-10 of Oricon chart. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
[edit] External links
- Younha Official Website in Korea (Korean language)
- Younha Official Website in Japan (Japanese language)
- Younha's French Fansite (French language)
- KpopTV Younha(music clips) (Japanese language)
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| Full discography • Albums • Singles |
