Lee Sun-mi (Korean: 이선미; born Sun Mi, May 2, 1992), known mononymously as Sunmi, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and record producer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls and left the group in 2010 to pursue her studies. After a three-year hiatus, Sunmi resumed her career as a soloist with her 2013 debut extended play, Full Moon, spawning the number two singles "24 Hours" and "Full Moon" on the national Gaon Digital Chart.
In 2015, Sunmi was announced to be resuming promotion with the Wonder Girls and remained with the group until their disbandment in 2017. She subsequently left JYP Entertainment and joined Makeus Entertainment (now known as Abyss Company), releasing the hit single "Gashina". Her second extended play, Warning, was released in 2018 and produced two other hit singles: "Heroine" and "Siren".
Early life
Sunmi was born on May 2, 1992, in Iksan, North Jeolla, South Korea. She attended Hwangnam Elementary School, Chungdam Middle School and Chungdam High School, and majored in musical theater at Dongguk University.
Sunmi revealed on a 2018 episode of Talkmon that she first decided to become a celebrity when she was 12 after her father was admitted to hospital due to complications of pulmonary tuberculosis. She was inspired by BoA, who debuted at the age of 13, and it was for her "the fastest way to make money" in order to take care of her mother and two younger brothers. She went to Seoul to audition and became a JYP Entertainment trainee at 14, though her father died three months before her debut with Wonder Girls. She later adopted her stepfather's surname Lee while in university and merged her original given name and surname, becoming Lee Sun-mi.
Career
2006–2012: Debut with Wonder Girls, hiatus
In May 2006, Sunmi was revealed as the fourth member of Wonder Girls, a girl group managed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted with the single "Irony", on February 10, 2007, and quickly rose to stardom with their hits "Tell Me", "So Hot" and "Nobody" within two years of debuting. Sunmi participated with the group in American activities, touring alongside the Jonas Brothers, under the nickname Mimi.
In January 2010, JYP announced that Sunmi would be postponing her musical career to pursue her studies, but would continue until February in order to complete scheduled events. On January 13, 2012, a JYP representative stated that "Sunmi has remained within the company and continues to sharpen her musical talents." JYP Entertainment later stated that there were no plans for Sunmi to return and comeback as a member of Wonder Girls.
2013–2016: Solo debut with Full Moon, Wonder Girls return
In August 2013, Sunmi was announced to be returning to her music career, debuting as a solo artist. Sunmi made her official debut stage on August 22, on Mnet's M! Countdown. Her debut single "24 Hours" was released on August 26, 2013, and subsequently achieved an all-kill on music charts. Subsequently, her debut extended play Full Moon was released on February 17, 2014, along with the promotional single of the same name. The latter peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number three on Billboard's K-pop Hot 100. "Full Moon" was praised for being innovative, and Sunmi was said to have delivered a classy rendition of "sexy".
On June 24, 2015, JYP Entertainment announced that Sunmi would be re-joining Wonder Girls, after withdrawing in 2010, for their comeback after the group's two-year hiatus. The group returned with a band concept, with Sunmi playing the bass. In August, the group's album Reboot was released, with Sunmi co-writing and co-producing three of its tracks. In 2016, Sunmi once again received songwriting and producing credits for a Wonder Girls release, this time for two songs present on the band's single release "Why So Lonely", including the title track of the same name.
2017–2021: Group final disbandment, Warning, tour, and 1/6
On January 26, 2017, it was announced that Wonder Girls were to disband after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiation with members Yeeun and Sunmi. The group released their final single "Draw Me" on February 10, 2017, which also served as a celebration for their tenth anniversary. In March, Sunmi signed with Makeus Entertainment. In August, she released her single "Gashina", produced by Teddy Park of The Black Label. The song debuted at number 2 on the Gaon Digital Chart before topping the chart the following week, and was named the Third Best K-pop Song of 2017 by Billboard.
Sunmi returned with a single titled "Heroine" on January 18, 2018. She described the single as a prequel to "Gashina". On September 4, Sunmi released her second EP, titled Warning, along with the lead single, "Siren". "Siren" received an all-kill on six local music charts. Warning was named the third best k-pop album of 2018 by Billboard and Bravo. "Addict" was named the eighth best k-pop b-side of the year by MTV.
From February to June 2019, Sunmi held her first world tour, titled Warning. Tickets for the Seoul concert reportedly sold out in five seconds after opening. She performed in 18 cities across Asia, America and Europe. In the midst of the tour, on March 4, 2019, Sunmi released a single titled "Noir". After completing the world tour she released her single "Lalalay" on August 27, 2019.
On February 6, 2020, Sunmi released the single "Gotta Go" along with its instrumental as part of the original sound track of the web series XX in which she made a cameo. Two days later, a dance performance for the song was released which later became the channel's most popular video after reaching over 4 million views. On May 21, it was revealed that Sunmi would be making a comeback in late June. Her single "Pporappippam" was released on June 29. On July 22, she was selected as the exclusive model of 요괴미식가 (the Korean version of Yokai Kitchen) created by FriendTimes; in the TV commercial of the game, she played a gourmet who enjoyed cooking in the mysterious spirit realm restaurant. On August 12, she and J. Y. Park released the duet "When We Disco". She also featured on label mate Park Won's song "Oh Yeah" from his album My Fuxxxxx Romance.
Sunmi released her new single release "Tail" on February 23, 2021, with the lead single of the same name. Sunmi released her third EP 1/6 (One Sixth) on August 6, 2021, with the lead single "You Can't Sit with Us". On October 11, Sunmi released the new digital single "Go or Stop?". The single was released as part of a collaboration with DWG KIA, a League of Legends esports team who won the 2020 World Championship.
2022–present: "Heart Burn" and tour
On June 8, 2022, Sunmi's agency announced that she was preparing for a comeback with a single titled "Heart Burn" on June 29. On June 30, 2022, the agency announced Sunmi's world tour '2022 Sunmi Tour 'Good Girl Gone Mad' through its official SNS channel. It was held in Europe and America.
