IU - Here's a look at her incredible success story! (2024)

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IU is one of the most successful solo artists in the charts dominated by idol groups. The singer debuted over 13 years ago and in addition to her unprecedented singing career, she also has an impressive acting career!

You can find a selection of IU's albums here in our store! ^-^

If you want to learn more about "The Nations Sweetheart", you've come to the right place. We've summarized her biggest achievements and most interesting milestones for you here.

The road to debut

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji Eun (born in 1993), is one of the biggest stars in the Korean music industry today, but her road to the top was anything but easy. She grew up in poor circ*mstances and as a child she and her brother moved in with their grandmother because their parents had to take care of debts.

When she realized that her dream was to become a singer, Lee Ji Eun went to countless auditions where she was rejected. In her search for an agency, she was even cheated out of her grandmother's hard-earned money by fake companies.

In 2007, she finally signed a contract with "LOEN Entertainment" and after ten months of training, she made her solo debut in September 2008, when she was just 15 years old. Today, it's not uncommon for 14-year-olds to debut in idol groups, but back then, IU was one of the few to make her professional debut so young.

Lee Ji Eun debuted in 2008 under the stage name "IU." The name is a combination of the English words "I" and "You", meaning "You and I become one through music."

The beginning of a great career

IU has released 23 albums over the course of her career - including 5 single albums and 3 best-of albums - and has also participated in a number of soundtracks and collaborations.

IU made her solo debut with the album "Lost and Found" and the title track "Lost Child" in September 2008. The album earned her a "Rookie of the Month" award in November, but was not a commercial success. IU herself said in later interviews that it was a failure.

The following year, she changed her concept and released two albums - "Growing Up" in April and "IU...IM" in November - whose title songs "Boo" and "Marshmallow" are upbeat and sweet, in contrast to the melancholy ballad "Lost Child." The two albums were well received and IU was featured in some entertainment shows thanks to her rising popularity. She also recorded her first soundtracks for the K-dramas "Strike Love" and "Queen Seondeok".

In 2010, IU made her big breakthrough!

In June, IU sang a duet with 2AM's Lim Seulong that served as the theme song for the show "We Got Married." The single called "Nagging" stayed at number one on the charts for three weeks!

Then in December 2010, her fourth album "Real" was released with the title track "Good Day", which is probably one of her most famous songs to this day! With "Good Day", IU won several music shows and occupied the top of the Gaon Digital Charts for five weeks! In addition, the song was named the best K-pop song of 2010 by Billboard Magazine and remains one of the best-selling singles in South Korea to this day!

"Good Day" is especially known for the three high notes that IU sings in semitones during the climax of the song. Other singers also have difficulty keeping the three notes in one breath as long and powerful as IU. It goes without saying that she received much praise for her singing talent back then. Of course, this is still true today, as the singer continues to prove what she is made of with beautiful and challenging songs.

2011 to 2017: One success after another!

In the following years, IU has regularly topped the charts and celebrated countless big and small achievements, a few of which we present to you here:

Already in November 2011, IU was able to almost surpass the success of "Real" with her new album "Last Fantasy". No less than eight of the thirteen songs from "Last Fantasy" placed in the Top 10 of the Gaon Digital Charts! The album itself topped the Gaon Album Charts. The title track "You & I" sold over 5.5 million digital copies, almost a million more than "Good Day"! It also topped the "Gaon Charts" and the then newly introduced "Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Charts."

IU also released hit after hit in the following years; including "The Red Shoes" from the album "Modern Times" (2013), "Friday" from "Modern Times - Epilogue" (2013) and "My Old Story" from "A Flower Bookmark" (2014). And those are just the title songs. As before, B-sides repeatedly placed in the top 10 of the charts.

Her album "Cat-Shire", released on October 23, 2015, stood out as a new milestone because IU was more involved in the whole process than before. She wrote the lyrics for all nine tracks on the album, composed the music for five of them and was also listed as a producer in the credits. That's probably why it was a special treat for IU this time around that several songs placed in the top 10 of the Korean charts, with the title track "Twenty-Three" reaching the top.

From the end of March to the end of April 2017, IU topped the charts not once or twice, but three times: with the two pre-release singles "Trough the Night" (March 24) and "Can't Love You Anymore" (April 7), as well as with the single "Palette" which was released together with the album of the same name on April 21. With the album, IU also reached the top of the Billboard World Album Charts for the first time!

The solo singer has been winning big awards throughout her career, but in 2017 she really swept the board, winning awards not only for her music (The album "Palette" and the song "Trough the Night") but also for her talent as a producer and songwriter. IU was also named "Best Female Artist" by the Mnet Asian Music Awards.

2019: Strokes of fate

IU's album "Love Poem" was scheduled to be released on November 1, 2019. However, the release was postponed to November 18 after singer "Sulli", who became famous as a member of the girl group f(x), passed away in mid-October. IU and Sulli were close friends.
Unfortunately, that didn't remain the only blow of fate, as another close friend of IU took her own life on November 24: Goo Hara, solo singer and former member of Kara. IU was giving a concert that day and got the bad news just before the end.

Fans were understandably worried about the singer after two friends took their own lives in such a short time. On top of that, it was only in 2017 that SHINee's Jonghyun, with whom IU was also very close friends, had also committed suicide.

IU stayed strong though, confirming a film role in January 2020 and releasing new music as early as February; a soundtrack for the hit drama "Crash Landing On You."

On May 6, 2020, the single "Eight" was released, co-sung and produced by BTS Suga. The song conveys a nostalgic mood and the lyrics talk about memories and longing.

In the partially animated music video, IU watches with tears in her eyes as a girl flies away on a dragon. Many fans interpret this as a tribute to their deceased friends and are convinced that the dragon represents Jonghyun, who was often referred to as "Dino" and the girl embodies Sulli. IU has not commented on this, but either way, "Eight" is a song that touches the hearts of her fans.

2021

IU started the year 2021 with a new hit! The pre-release single "Celebrity" gave fans a taste of the new album that would be released in March. "Celebrity" topped several charts, including the Gaon Digital chart. There, she had long held the record for the most "number one songs" and extended it even further with "Celebrity." The lead is big, because while the singer now has 29 number one songs on the Gaon Digital charts, the runner-up - boy group Big Bang - has only 10.

Then, on March 25, 2021, the new album "Lilac" was released with the title song of the same name. The title "Lilac" means "memories of youth" in the language of flowers. With this, IU wants to say that she is moving towards the next chapter. She is saying goodbye to her twenties and hello to the upcoming 30s.

In October, the singer gave us the single "Strawberry Moon" before ending the year with the special album "Pieces". The digital album was released on December 29 and contains five previously unreleased songs. IU wrote some of these two to three years ago, but didn't have the opportunity to show them to her fans. Now we can listen to them on continuous loop, while eagerly waiting for what the singer will present us this year!

Acting

IU made her acting debut in the K-drama "Dream High" in 2011. The series was filmed from December 2010 to February 2011, when the singer was just taking off with her song "Good Day." In the drama, IU plays a student at "Kirin High," a school that trains future idols. For the series, she recorded a song called "Someday," which topped the charts and is now one of her best-selling soundtracks!

In 2011 and 2012, IU made several guest appearances in K-dramas, such as the second season of Dream High. This was followed in 2013 by her first leading role in a drama titled "You're the Best." In it, she again convinced with her acting skills and secured another leading role in the same year. This time in the series "Bel Ami".

By now IU has made a name for herself as an actress and sometimes lets her viewers forget that she is actually a singer. Her works include hit dramas such as the historical fantasy romance "Moon Lovers" and the fantasy drama "Hotel Del Luna". "Hotel Del Luna" aired in the second half of 2019 and is her last role so far. We hope to see her in a series again this year!

Moderation

In March 2011, IU took her first job as a host. Until July 2013, she was the host of the music show "Inkigayo". She kept her position for an unusually long time, working with many different partners. Meanwhile, she also hosted a quiz show called "Quiz Show Q" (2012) and the annual music festival "SBS Gayo Daejeon" (2012).

So IU proved early in her career that she has many talents. She is a composer, songwriter, singer, actress, presenter and model.

She is also known for her big heart, as she regularly donates money to various charity institutions. For example, she has funded several scholarships for students at her old school. Most recently, she donated clothes and food to those in need and money to clinics fighting Covid-19.

IU is almost a K-pop legend. She has enjoyed unwavering popularity for over 10 years, yet never rests on her success. She will definitely gift us with new, unique music this year as well. We are already looking forward to it!

Bonus

As mentioned at the beginning, IU participated in countless auditions before finally landing at LOEN Entertainment. Among the agencies she unsuccessfully applied to was JYP. Founder Park Jin Young later jokingly said in interviews that he would love to fire whoever rejected her back then. He recognizes her talent and probably regrets a little that he missed out.

We can very much relate to that. Who wouldn't want to work with IU?

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