Megan Lee (born September 18, 1995) is an American actress, director, and former singer-songwriter best known for her role as "Sun Hi Song" on ''

Make It Pop ''Make It Pop'' is a Canadian musical comedy series created by Thomas W. Lynch and Nick Cannon that aired on Nickelodeon from March 26, 2015 to August 20, 2016. The series stars Megan Lee, Louriza Tronco, Erika Tham, and Dale Whibley. ...

'' and her singing talents on YouTube.

Early life and education

Lee was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and raised in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named List of minor biblica ...

. She officially began her professional career in acting and singing at the age of 10. In 2013, she eventually moved to

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and was home-schooled through high school after having been signed to South Korean Kim Tae-woo's (lead singer of

g.o.d g.o.d (; acronym for Groove Over Dose) is a South Korean boy band formed by IHQ (company), SidusHQ. Debuting in 1999, the group became one of the most popular boy bands of the early 2000s in South Korea. The members had gone on to solo careers ...

) label, Soul Shop Entertainment.

Career

2007–2010: Early acting roles and Nickelodeon

Since the age of 10, Lee first appeared in numerous national commercials including spots for

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

(the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

Bratz Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise created by former Mattel employee Carter Bryant for MGA Entertainment, which debuted in 2001. The four original 10-inch (25 cm) dolls were released on May 21, 2001 — Yasmin (Latina), ...

Kidz Bop Kidz Bop is an American children's music group that produces family-friendly covers of pop songs and related media. Kidz Bop releases compilation albums that feature children covering songs that chart high on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and/or r ...

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Big Lots Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American discount retail chain, specializing in the sale of closeout and overstock merchandise. Founded in 1967 as Consolidated Stores, the chain is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and in ...

, and

Trix Trix may refer to: Brands and products * Trix (cereal), a breakfast cereal made by General Mills ** Trix yogurt, branded Yoplait yogurt * Trix (company), the German company that produced Trix construction and model train sets * Trix (construct ...

as well as TV programs such as the ''Crash'' TV series, ''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

'',

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's ''

Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in te ...

'', Disney's ''Get Connected'', ''3 Minute Game Show'' & various independent film projects. In 2008, Lee had won the

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in tel ...

Best Speech Contest at the

2008 Kids' Choice Awards The 21st Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on March 29, 2008, at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, and was the first live-action/animated ceremony. The event was hosted by Jack Black. Voting began March 3 on Nick.com ...

. She also played Hyori in the Short Film/Music Video, ''My First Crush'', directed by Rocky Jo, with

Arden Cho Arden Lim Cho (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress, singer and model known for portraying Kira Yukimura in the 2011 MTV television series ''Teen Wolf'' and Ingrid Yun in the 2022 Netflix television series '' Partner Track''. Early life ...

starring as the older Hyori. Also in 2008, Lee starred as "Julie" in several episodes of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's TV Series, "Disney Get Connected." She also played "Ji Sun" in an episode of '' Crash'' alongside

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023) was an American actor. Born in Detroit, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), '' Lock Up'' (1989), and '' Blue Steel'' (19 ...

Brian Tee , known professionally as Brian Tee, is an American actor. Born in Okinawa, Tee immigrated with his family to California when he was 2 years old. He attended the University of California and began pursuing his television career. His first appea ...

and

Kelvin Han Yee Kelvin Han Yee (born June 14, 1961) is an American actor of Asian descent. His career spans over 30 years of film, television and theater. As a teenager, Yee became involved with the pioneering work of Asian American Theater Company. He was an ...

2014–2022: Transition to mainstream roles

In 2014, Lee was officially cast and starred as a lead member of XO-IQ, featured in the hit Nickelodeon series ''

''. She was one of the show's three main stars and plays a character named "Sun Hi Song", alongside Filipino-Canadian

Louriza Tronco Louriza Tronco (born October 21, 1993) is a Canadian actress and singer who is best known for her starring role as Jodi Mappa in the Nickelodeon and YTV musical comedy ''Make It Pop'' and for portraying Yuki (sidekick) in the Disney Channel orig ...

and Singaporean-Canadian Erika Tham. The series was co-produced by

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American comedian, television presenter, actor, and rapper. In television, he began his career as a teenager on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', '' ...

. After

finished airing for 2 seasons on

, Lee would go on to appear in several other television shows and feature films, such as

The Other Kingdom ''The Other Kingdom'' is a fantasy sitcom created by Thomas W. Lynch that aired on Nickelodeon from April 10, 2016 to June 19, 2016. The series stars Esther Zynn, Callan Potter, Celina Martin, Taylor Adams, and Josette Halpert. Plot Fairy P ...

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American television sitcom, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, that aired on ABC for 11 seasons from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The series follows the lives of three diverse but interrelated fa ...

, and S.W.A.T. Lee will next appear on ''Murmur'' after having won several film festival awards, including Best Ensemble, alongside fellow co-stars Logan Polish,

Colin Ford Colin Lee Ford (born September 12, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in '' Daybreak''; Joe McAlister in '' Under the Dome''; the voice of Jake on ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates''; Mikey on '' Can You Teach ...

, Johnny Jay Lee,

Cyrus Arnold Cyrus Arnold (born January 2, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, primarily guest-starring on various television programs, including playing BJ Malloy on the Nickelodeon sitcom '' Sam & Cat'' (2013–2014), before bei ...

, and Brandon Wilson, and directed by

Mark Polish Mark Polish and Michael Polish (born October 30, 1970), known informally as the Polish brothers, are American twin filmmakers. Michael usually directs their films, and Mark often has an acting role. Early lives The Polish brothers were born in ...

2022 to present: Film directing

In 2022, Lee began taking film directing courses at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, studying under TV director

Peter Lauer Peter Lauer is an American music video and television director. He directed the music videos " Run's House" for Run-DMC and edited " It Takes Two" for Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. Lauer made his television directorial debut in 1993, directing an ep ...

. She makes her official directorial debut in 2023 with her short film titled ''En Pointe''.

Music

Lee writes her own original songs and released three singles as an independent artist, "In The Future", "Love, Laugh & Live" and "Destiny." "Love, Laugh & Live" was Megan's first official music video and was shot and directed by

Steve Nguyen Steve Nguyen (born December 30, 1985) is an American director, writer, artist and music producer. Nguyen and fellow director Choz Belen formed Studio APA, a multimedia collective that specializes in the production of animated films, children's b ...

. "Destiny" was also made into a music video, and was directed by

Timothy Tau Timothy Tau (born Timothy Tau Hsieh ( ); traditional Chinese: 謝韜; pinyin: ''Xiè Tāo'') is a Taiwanese-American writer, engineer, attorney, law professor and filmmaker. Tau won the 2011 ''Hyphen'' Asian American Writers' Workshop Short Sto ...

. In May 2019, she released her debut extended play, ''I Am''. and released a new single, "Me, Myself and I", with its lyric video released simultaneously; the song served as the lead single of her debut extended play, ''I Am'', which was released on May 24.

K-Pop

Lee also contested in South Korea's popular show, MBC ''Star Audition - The Great Birth'' (위대한 탄생) Season 1 (and Season 2) on one of South Korea's main broadcast networks (MBC). On Season 2 of MBC's ''Star Audition'',

Lena Park Park Jung-hyun (; born March 23, 1976), also known as Lena Park (), is an American-born South Korean singer who debuted in 1998 with the album, '' Piece.'' She is also widely known in South Korea as her nickname "national fairy" due to her pet ...

personally selected Megan over a number of other competitors to be Megan's mentor. She also finished in the Top 13 of contestants at the end of Season 2. Lee has also written music for various K-Pop artists such as

Exo Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

Baekhyun Byun Baek-hyun (; born May 6, 1992), known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its subgroup Exo-K and its subunit Exo-CBX. In 2019, Baekhyun became a leader of ...

and

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...

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 ...

. Lee's official debut track during her time on Soul Shop Entertainment was entitled "

8dayz "8dayz" (read as "8 Days") is the official debut single of YouTube sensation and '' Birth of a Great Star'' contestant Megan Lee, featuring boy band Beast's Yong Jun-hyung. The song was written by Megan Lee and singer Kim Tae-woo with music ...

" (read as 8 Days), which was released on May 15, 2014. The track features B2ST's

Yong Jun-hyung Yong Jun-hyung (; born Yong Jae-soon, December 19, 1989), known mononymously as Junhyung, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Junhyung rose to fame as a member of South Korean boy band Highlight (formerly known as Be ...

, and is also composed by German composers Andreas Bärtels and Rüdiger Schramm, who also composed a track for veteran K-pop singer Nami. Lee and her vocals are also featured in the

reunion track, "The Story of Our Lives." The music video for the song was released on July 11, 2014, and marked the first time the band

has sung together in over 10 years. Lee has also released a music video and track with Kim Tae-woo entitled "Oppa". On November 10, 2014, Megan Lee filed a civil lawsuit with the Seoul District Court against Soul Shop Entertainment requesting nullification of her 5-year contract. Megan, along with her representation, claimed that she was severely verbally abused by some of the members of management, and that intimidation tactics were used to impose their will on her career. She also claimed that a contract was signed on her behalf without her consent, a fraudulent bank account in her name was made without her consent, and that the financial activity regarding her career with Soul Shop was not made transparent as it was promised to her in their initial agreement with the label. During the second half of 2018, a song written by Lee titled 'Psycho', which was sung by

EXO Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

's Baekhyun, was performed exclusively during EXO's recent Elyxion concert. The original piece was solely written by Lee, and produced by Zayson, and soon went viral. Lee also co-wrote "Horizon" for

's Japanese extended play, ''

Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

''.

''The Voice''

In 2018, Lee was a contestant in season 14 of the American music talent show '' The Voice'', where she was eliminated in the Battle round. In an episode broadcast on March 6, 2018, she performed "

Killing Me Softly with His Song "Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing cre ...

", with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

turning her chair. In the Battles Round broadcast on March 19, 2018, she was confronted with Team Alicia teammate Johnny Bliss both singing "

Versace on the Floor "Versace on the Floor" is a song by American singer Bruno Mars from his third studio album, '' 24K Magic'' (2016). Atlantic Records released the song as the only promotional single and the third official single from the album to Hot AC radio i ...

" from

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

YouTube

Lee is most likely known for her viral covers of pop songs, many of which have received significant view counts including covers of

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

's "I Will Be",

' "Lazy Song",

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's "How to Love",

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill you)" and others. She has also collaborated with other YouTube artists, for example, when she covered "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green with

in 2011. In 2011, Lee also won

2NE1 2NE1 (, ) is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. The group consists of Park Bom, Bom, CL (rapper), CL, Sandara Park, Dara, and Minzy. Known for their Experimental music, musical experimentation, fashion, and stage pre ...

's "Lonely" Cover Contest with her cover of

's single "Lonely", and was flown to Korea to meet with the group. She also made a cover of

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

's "Someone Like You" on YouTube with

Sungha Jung Sungha Jung (; born 2 September 1996) is a Koreans, South Korean musician who specializes in acoustic fingerstyle guitar. Jung creates acoustic covers and arrangements, typically by ear and/or by watching videos, and composes original songs, ...

. In 2012 she won a Cover Contest sponsored by

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz ( ; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't Wo ...

and Warner Music Korea, and collaborated with Mraz in a duet for his track, "Lucky" which is viewable on YouTube. She has also performed and recorded a number of duets with acoustic guitarist

, covering famous K-pop songs such as "Monster" by

BIGBANG BigBang (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of three members: G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung. Originally a five-piece band, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry in March ...

.iTunes, Monster - Megan Lee and Sungha Jang

/ref>

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Original singles

Extended plays

Collaboration singles

Cover singles

References

External links

*
Official Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Megan 1995 births Living people American expatriates in South Korea American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters American film actresses American folk singers American actresses of Korean descent American musicians of Korean descent Korean-language singers of the United States American folk-pop singers American K-pop singers 21st-century American women singers The Voice (franchise) contestants American Twitch (service) streamers 21st-century American singer-songwriters South Korean Twitch (service) streamers South Korean YouTubers YouTubers from Los Angeles