Kim Hyo-jung (aka Hyolyn) was born on December 11, 1991, in Incheon, South Korea. Former leader of girl group Sistar, she has gone through a lot. From being a premature baby, surviving a 10-hour surgery, being diagnosed with intussusception (when one part of the intestine slides inside another part), she has been through the wringer early in life. Hyolyn never gave up and hence can be considered a role model for many people.
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Early Life
Hyolyn has loved singing and dancing since she was young. Owing to no one being around to help her, she went auditioning on her own. In fact, she tried her luck at JYP Entertainment before joining Starship Entertainment. She was admitted on her second attempt after ranking first. Thehad plans to debut a trio but the project never saw the light of day. Hyolyn later left JYP Entertainment and partook in an audition launched by Starship Entertainment.
From Being in a Successful Group to Becoming a Solo Artist
Sistar (girl group) and Sista19 (sub-unit)
It was in 2010 that Hyolyn officially began her career by becoming a member of the group Sistar (a contraction of ‘Sisters who want to become stars’), notably with Soyou, Bora, and Dasom. KBS’s Music Bank was the tribune that allowed them to make their debut with their single ‘Push Push’.
The group was praised for their fresh faces and vocal skills. From the very beginning, fans immediately noticed Hyolyn’s unique voice, her talent for dancing, rapping, as well as her leadership skills. In 2012, the Sistars managed to top the weekly Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart for four straight weeks with their hit ‘Alone’. In 2013, Sistar was considered a national group and was in the top 5 of all the popularity polls in Korea. From there, they went on success after success and the advertising contracts kept on increasing. The group got the moniker ‘Summer Queens’ since they have topped charts each summer with bops, good music.
Unfortunately, after 2 studio albums, 2 compilation albums, 3 single albums, 4 EPs, multiple videos, and collaborations, the group officially disbanded in June 2017. They were unfortunately hit by the 7-year curse (usually happens when a K-pop group disbands, or when a member leaves).
In early 2011, Hyolyn and Bora formed a sub-unit of the Sistar group named Sistar19 with the single ‘Ma Boy’, which topped the charts as soon as it was released. In 2013, they release their first mini-album Gone Not Around Any Longer with the lead single winning the song of the year at the Gaon Chart Music Awards. Sista19 disbanded at the same time as the official group.
Hyolyn’s solo career
The same year Hyolyn formed Sistar19, she got a chance to participate in the then-newly formed show ‘Immortal Songs 2’ in June. She was the winner of that edition. Her voice enabled her to receive immediate attention and love from the public. Her newfound popularity helped spread Sistar’s name. Due to her great vocal ability, stage presence, Hyolyn was labeled as the Korean Beyoncé and was even given the name ‘Hyoncé’ within the country.
It is also thanks to this show that she was recognized as having one of the best voices among Korean idols.
In early 2012, Hyolyn got her very first role on the small screen, playing the role of ‘Nana’, a member of the ‘fictional’ group Hershe in the drama Dream High 2. She also confided that she had never dreamed of being an actress during the drama’s press conference.
Hyolyn started her solo debut in November 2013, with two title songs ‘Lonely’ and ‘One Way Love’, which took first place on a lot of music charts in Korea.
On December 31, 2013, Hyolyn’s music video for the Korean version of ‘Let It Go’ for Disney’s animated musical fantasy film Frozen was revealed. Hyolyn was more than honored to have been the second Korean singer to take part in a Disney production, after Lena Park, who sang ‘Reflection’ from Mulan.
She continued to participate in many [reality] shows and singing contests (2013 Idol Star Athletics Championships New Year Special, Hwasin: Controller of the Heart, K-pop Star: Season 3, Sistar Oven Radio, Unpretty Rapstar 2, among others). Her determination was conspicuous by her frantic race to win the hearts of the Korean people.
In line with her strong character, after the group disbandment, Hyolyn founded her own label, Bridʒ (to pronounce as ‘bridge’), intimating a certain connection with fans or the public. From then, she decided to take up the challenge and commit to full-fledged solo activities. She knew it would be hard. She knew she could, at any time, be in a pinch. It is quite easy to infer that she wanted to better herself. Being an idol has allowed Hyolyn to be more positive and to fully appreciate her existence and her job. She is thought of as a diva because she has a lot of personality and charisma.
She released her first EP It’s Me in 2016, and the second one Say My Name, in 2020.
In December 2021, she was said to take part in the variety show Double Trouble along with 9 other idols, vying for the ‘best duo’ title.
Hyolyn’s latest song: Layin’ Low
On January 12, 2022, Hyolyn released the single and music video “Layin’ Low” which features Jooyoung. With a very risqué video, she confirms her presence on the music scene.
The sensual dance moves are spellbinding, fascinating. The scenes are shot in a gold-filled mansion. Hyolyn and the backup dancers’ choreography is steamy; thus, promoting the sexy concept in K-pop. One can notice that the dance moves are ‘easy’ to learn; they are not complicated. This is a pretty good strategy nowadays. Through the moves, Hyolyn is not only targeting young people on TikTok but also asking for their help, collaboration in making the video go viral.
The pop diva returns to success in this clip as watered down as it is daring.
Hyolyn totally deserves her success. Her career is already breathtaking. Nevertheless, she does not stop progressing. Her meteoric rise is not stopping yet. Don’t miss any news about K-pop. 2022 is going to get heated up by new/old talents.