Amy Lee (born May 30, 1989), known professionally as Ailee, is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. Amassing digital sales success in South Korea, she has released four

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

s, six

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

s, and twenty one singles, six of which charted within the top five of the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

. She debuted in 2012 with her first single "

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

", which peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart and earned her Best New Artist Awards at the

Melon Music Awards The Melon Music Awards () is a major music awards show that is held annually by Kakao Entertainment (a Kakao company) through its online music store Melon. The event was initially a fan-voted award conducted entirely online from 2005 through ...

Golden Disc Awards The Golden Disc Awards (, formerly spelled the Golden Disk Awards before 2015) is an annual South Korean major music awards ceremony that honors achievements in the local music industry. The awards ceremony was founded with the purpose to prom ...

, Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards, and

Seoul Music Awards The Seoul Music Awards (; SMA) is a major South Korean music awards show presented by the newspaper Seoul Shinmun, ''Sports Seoul''. The award winners are selected based on a combination of criteria, including music sales, popular votes, and exp ...

. She won four consecutive Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Female Vocal Performance titles from 2013 to 2016, with "U&I", "Singing Got Better", "Mind Your Own Business", and "If You" respectively. Her 2017 single, " I Will Go to You Like the First Snow", recorded for the soundtrack of the

television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular su ...

'' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God'' (2016), won several awards and was the most digitally successful song of that year, becoming the best-selling record in movies and dramas in the Korean sound record market.

Early life and education

Ailee was born in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, on May 30, 1989, and grew up in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. She attended Palisades Park High School before moving to nearby Leonia. After her Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School graduation, she studied communications at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...

before dropping out to pursue a career in music.

Career

2010–2011: Career beginnings

Before her K-pop debut, Ailee was signed under Muzo Entertainment, an independent agency in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and New Jersey. Under that label she collaborated with several artists, including Johnnyphlo and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based rapper Decipher. Before moving to South Korea, Ailee created the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channels "mzamyx3" and "aileemusic" to bring attention to her singing on the web. Ailee moved to South Korea in 2010 after she landed a music label audition through her uncle's connections. She sang "Resignation" by Big Mama during the audition and was recruited for YMC Entertainment on the spot. During her training, YMC featured her in the label's Wheesung song, "They Are Coming", which it released in October 2011. She also sang in Decipher and

Jay Park Jay Park (born April 25, 1987), Korean name Park Jae-beom (), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based breakdancing, b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former ...

's song "Catch Me If You Can". In September 2011, Ailee and Wheesung were featured on the MBC's

Chuseok Chuseok (; , ), also known as Hangawi (; ; from Old Korean, "the great middle f autumn), is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar on the ...

special episode of ''Singer and Trainee''. Ailee performed "

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

" by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

to a positive reaction from the audience. Following her performance of "Halo", judge BMK said, "Wherever she goes, she has the potential to be a big star. She definitely has the voice." After the judges had graded all the participants, Ailee was the first-place winner.

2012: Debut and commercial success

On February 9, 2012, Ailee released her debut single "

" along with the music video, which featured Gi Kwang of Beast. On the same day, she made her debut stage performance of "Heaven" on ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leeteuk ...

''. ''Billboard'' commented, "From her debut single, Ailee proved that she had an ability beyond her years to communicate the deeper experiences one feels in love. In this dedication track, Ailee's partner protected her and taught her how to love in a harsh world." The success of the single, helped Ailee win her first award at the 2012

Cyworld Digital Music Awards The Cyworld Digital Music Awards () was a South Korean music awards ceremony. It was established in 2006 to recognize songs with the largest monthly digital sales on the Cyworld social network service. Monthly awards were also given to popular s ...

. The single received the Song of the month (February) and Rookie of the month at the award ceremony. On October 16, 2012, Ailee released her debut EP, '' Invitation'', with the title track "I Will Show You". The EP contained a total of six tracks. It was produced by producers such as Kim Do-hoon, Lee Hyun-seung, Park Guen-tae, Duble Sidekick, Wheesung, and featured artists such as Verbal Jint, Swings and Simon Dominic. In 2012, Ailee was awarded the Best New Artist Award at the

Mnet Asian Music Awards The MAMA Awards (, formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major Music award, music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ ENM. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes have been won by K-pop artists, although ...

, and Golden Disk Awards, as well as the New Female Solo Artist Award at the

Gaon Chart Music Awards The Circle Chart Music Awards (), formerly known as the Gaon Chart Music Awards, is a major music awards ceremony that is presented annually in South Korea by the Korea Music Content Association primarily based on the commercial performance of t ...

. She has also received the Mnet America Rising Star Award, a special award presented by Mnet America at the pre-show of

55th Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. E ...

2013–2014: Commercial popularity

On July 12, 2013, Ailee released her second Ep, titled '' A's Doll House''. The EP's title track, " U&I" topped various music charts within four hours of release. On November 6, 2013, Ailee made her Japanese debut with Japanese-version of "Heaven" and "Starlight" under

Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...

. On January 6, 2014, Ailee released a single titled "Singing Got Better", produced by Wheesung. The song peaked at number one upon released on various music chart. The single has received the Best Vocal Performance at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards. On September 25, 2014, Ailee released her third EP, titled ''Magazine''. The EP's title track, "Don't Touch Me" peaked at number one upon released on various music chart. The single received the Digital Bonsang at the 2015

2015–2016: Breakthrough with ''Vivid''

After wrapping up her joint ''Unite the Mic Tour'' with

and

San E Jung San (; born ), more commonly known by his stage name San E (), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2010 under JYP Entertainment, where he was the label's first solo rapper. He left the company in 2013 to sign with hip hop label Brand New ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in March 2015, plans were revealed for Ailee to hold a solo concert three years after her debut. Her first solo concert, titled ''Fatal Attraction'', was held on July 4, 2015, at the Olympic Hall. Ailee was joined on stage several times by different artists who helped her sing her many duets and collaborations. She sang "Shut Up" with Showry, "Like Nobody Knows" and "Comma 07" with

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

, "Wash Away" and "Officially Missing You" with Geeks, "NimA" and "Shower of Tears" with Baechigi, and "Touch My Body" and "Let"s Go Travel" with Shin Bo-ra. Ailee's first full-length album '' Vivid'' was released on September 30, 2015. She won her first trophy for this promotion on October 7, 2015, on ''

Show Champion ''Show Champion'' () is a South Korean music television program broadcast live by MBC M every Wednesday at Bitmaru Broadcasting Center in Ilsan. Hosts * Shindong (February 14, 2012 – December 25, 2012) * Hahm Eun-jung (January 30, 2013 – ...

''. Ailee was awarded the Best Female Vocal Award for the third consecutive year at the

2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place on December 2, 2015, at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. The ceremony was the sixth consecutive Mnet Asian Music Awards to be hosted outside ...

, for "Mind Your Own Business". On July 13, 2016, Ailee was confirmed to participate as a judge on '' Superstar K 2016''. On August 23, 2016, Ailee released her single "If You", which subsequently topped the Gaon Weekly Chart for Digital Download. On October 5, 2016, Ailee released her EP '' A New Empire'', along with the music video for "Home" that was officially released on LOEN and YMC Entertainment's official YouTube channel. ''A New Empire'' peaked at number 10 on the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

, and number nine on the US World Albums ( ''Billboard'') Chart. On December 2, 2016, Ailee was again awarded with Best Vocal Performance at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards, this time for "If You", a record-breaking fourth consecutive win in the category.

2017–2018: OST success and solo concert tours

On January 7, 2017, Ailee released her debut American single "Fall Back" through WestSide Entertainment under the alias A.Leean. She also released the ballad " I Will Go to You Like the First Snow" () on the same day as part nine in a series composed of singles for the South Korean cable television series '' Guardian: The Lonely and Great God''. The single topped the

for three consecutive weeks. The single earned Ailee the Best OST Award at the 2017 Korea Cable TV Awards. The soundtrack has also received several accolades, including the best original soundtrack award at the

Seoul International Drama Awards Seoul International Drama Awards (), simply known as SDA, is an annual award ceremony based in Seoul, South Korea which honors excellence in television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrat ...

, the

and the

. Ailee previously held two Christmas concerts in Seoul titled ''Welcome Home'' at Kyunghee University's Grand Peace Palace on December 24–25, 2016. Due to the success of the concerts, it was announced that Ailee would be holding her first nationwide tour, titled ''Welcome Home Tour'', which started in

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

on April 1, 2017. On June 25, 2017, in The City Hall at Taipei International Convention Center, Ailee held her first solo concert in Taiwan titled ''Ailee – Hello Taipei 2017''. On November 18 and 19, Ailee held two concerts at the Pechanga Theater in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, selling out a total of 2,600 tickets combined. On March 18, 2018, Ailee performed "I Will Show You" at the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. On September 14, 2018, Ailee was chosen as a member of the South Korean cultural delegation, alongside other selected South Korean artists, for the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, North Korea, where she performed her OST "I Will Go to You Like the First Snow". On November 23, 2018, Ailee announced her second nationwide tour, titled ''I Am: Ailee''.

2019–2023: ''Butterfly'', continued touring, ''I'm'', ''Lovin'', ''Amy'' and ''I'm Lovin' Amy''

Ailee released her second studio album, titled ''Butterfly'', on July 2, 2019, with the lead single "Room Shaker". On September 10, 2019, Ailee announced on Instagram that she started a new company named, "Rocket3 Entertainment" after being signed with YMC Entertainment for eight years. On December 13, 2019, Ailee released her first English language single under American label, Sun and Sky Records. The single, entitled "Sweater", was hailed as "a heart-wrenching-yet-soothing ballad" by ''Billboard''. Ailee released her fifth extended play titled ''I'm'' on October 6, 2020, with the lead single "When We Were In Love". The music video was released on October 12, 2020, and was directed by Will Kim. On November 8, 2020, Ailee released "Blue Bird", an OST that would be part nine of singles for the South Korean drama ''Start-Up''. Ailee 211024

On May 7, 2021, Ailee released her sixth extended play titled '' Lovin''', ahead of the release of her third studio album. The extended play includes two lead singles, "Make Up Your Mind" and "Spring Flowers". On July 22, 2021, Ailee joined The L1ve as their first official artist. On October 14, 2021, it was announced that Ailee will be releasing her third studio album ''Amy'' on October 27, with the lead single "Don't Teach Me". On March 7, 2022, Ailee released her English studio album ''I'm Lovin' Amy''. In July 2022, it was announced that Ailee's contract with The L1ve would expire later that month. On July 31, A2Z Entertainment announced that Ailee had signed on with the agency. On November 3, 2022, announced that the '2022 Ailee National Tour Concert 'One Step More', scheduled to take place on the 5th and 6th, has been postponed to January 28 and 29, 2023, on the aftermath of the

Seoul Halloween crowd crush On 29 October 2022, around 22:20, a Crowd collapses and crushes, crowd surge occurred during Halloween festivities in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea, killing 159 people and wounding 196 others. The death toll includes two people ...

. On September 1, 2023, Ailee released her single "I'll Hold You".

2025–present: ''(Me)moir''

On March 20, 2025, Ailee released her seventh extended play, ''(Me)moir''.

Personal life

On April 20, 2025, Ailee married Choi Si-hun in

Gangnam Gangnam (), sometimes referred to as the Greater Gangnam Area, is a geographic and cultural region in Seoul. While Gangnam can refer to the entire region of Seoul south of the Han River, the region is generally defined as consisting of the city ...

, best known for his appearance in '' Single's Inferno''. The couple had already registered their marriage in August 2024.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Korean albums * '' Vivid'' (2015) * ''Butterfly'' (2019) * ''Amy'' (2021) English albums * ''I'm Lovin' Amy'' (2022)

Filmography

Television drama

Television shows

Web shows

Tours and concerts

Welcome Home Tour

The 'Welcome Home Tour was the first nationwide tour by Ailee, in support of her fourth extended play '' A New Empire.'' The tour visited six cities through 2016 and 2017. ;Set list

I Am: Ailee Tour

The I Am: Ailee Tour was the second nationwide tour by Ailee. The tour visited four cities in South Korea, starting on December 8, 2018.

I Am: Re-born Tour

The I Am: Reborn Tour was the third nationwide tour by Ailee. The first leg of the tour visited seven cities in South Korea, starting on December 7, 2019.

Show Tok

The Show Tok was the fourth nationwide tour by Ailee. The first leg of the tour visited seven cities in South Korea, starting on May 1, 2021.

One-off concerts

Co-headlining tours and concerts

* 2014: ''Winter Concert'' with Eric Benet * 2014: ''Someday Concert'' with Wheesung * 2015: ''Unite the Mic Tour'' with

and

* 2015: ''Back to School Concert'' with Wheesung * 2016: ''Come Here! Concert'' with Yoon Min-soo * 2017: ''Superstage Concert'' with

Brian McKnight Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...

and Zion.T * 2018: ''Best of Best Concert in Taipei'' with

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one ...

and

Taemin Lee Tae-min (; born July 18, 1993), better known mononymously as Taemin, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor. He debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band Shinee in May 2008 and the supergroup SuperM in 2019, both un ...

* 2018: ''Concert'' with Dynamic Duo

References

External links

Official YMC Entertainment website

Official Warner Music Japan website
{{Authority control 1989 births Living people American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters American musicians of Korean descent American people of South Korean descent American sopranos Japanese-language singers of the United States Spanish-language singers of the United States Korean-language singers of the United States American K-pop singers Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Pace University alumni People from Leonia, New Jersey Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni Singers from Denver MAMA Award winners Warner Music Japan artists Melon Music Award winners 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Colorado American expatriates in South Korea