IU

The South Korean singer and actress IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, was born on 16 May 1993 in Seoul, South Korea. She is one of the most respected solo artists in South Korea and has received many awards and honours in the fields of music, acting and philanthropy.

With the success of her 2011 albums "Real+" and "Last Fantasy", IU established herself as a formidable force in the music charts of her home country and cemented her image as Korea's "little sister". In 2011, she also took her first steps into songwriting with "Hold My Hand", which was written for the TV series "The Greatest Love".

IU's third studio album "Modern Times" (2013) showed a more mature musical style that marked a departure from their earlier girlish image. The album was voted number two on Billboard's "25 Greatest K-Pop Albums of the 2010s" list. IU subsequently exercised more creative control over her music; "Chat-Shire" marked the first time she was credited as the sole lyricist on her own album.

IU's fourth studio album "Palette" (2017) became her first to reach number one on Billboard's World Albums Chart. While her following albums "Love Poem" and "Lilac" continued to deviate from mainstream K-pop styles, exploring and mixing different music genres, IU consistently maintained her dominance in the South Korean music charts.