HYOLYN

Korean pop singer/songwriter Hyolyn is best known as the former leader of K-pop girl group Sistar. After their dissolution in 2017, she shifted focus to her solo career and vocal-centric style, which was inspired in part by Christina Aguilera. Primarily releasing non-album singles -- including the number one hit "One Way Love" -- she also issued her debut album, Love & Hate, in 2013. It was followed by a string of Top 40 EPs, including 2016's It's Me and 2022's iCE. Born Kim Hyo-jung in Incheon, South Korea, Hyolyn trained with JYP Entertainment before joining Starship Entertainment in 2010, just in time for the formation of Sistar. With her bandmates, she remained a strong presence on the Korean, Japanese, and U.S. charts for much of the 2010s. On the side, she began to foster a solo career that also included acting on television drama series and reality competitions. In addition to her early solo songs "Superstar" and "You Make Me Go Crazy," Hyolyn also topped the charts with "One Way Love" from her debut album, 2013's Love & Hate. Balancing her duties in Sistar and subunit Sistar19, Hyolyn continued to release solo singles and collaborations. Her follow-up solo effort, the It's Me EP, landed in the Korean Top 20 in 2016. After Sistar split up the next year, she got right back on the singles trajectory, reaching the Top Three with "Blue Moon" and breaking into the U.S. World singles Top Ten with 2018's "Dally" and "See Sea." In 2019, she joined producer Melanie Fontana for the electronic dance single "youknowbetter." Weeks later, Hyolyn embarked on her first international solo tour, hitting cities across Europe and Asia. "Dally" and "See Sea" later resurfaced on her 2020 EP, Say My Name, which returned her to the Top 20. "Hug Me Silently" (featuring Crucial Star) and "To Find a Reason" (featuring Mad Clown and Kim Seungmin) were among her stand-alone singles over the next couple years. In early 2022, she released the Jooyoung collaboration "Layin' Low," the lead single from her third EP iCE, which followed mid-year. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi