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Gong Min-ji (; born January 18, 1994), better known by her stage name Minzy, is a South Korean singer and dancer. She debuted in 2009 as a member of South Korean girl group 2NE1, which became one of the best-selling girl groups worldwide before her departure in April 2016. She released her first solo EP, '' Minzy Work 01: "Uno"'', in April 2017. On November 20, 2020, Minzy made her debut in the Philippines with the Tagalog version of her single "Lovely".


Early life

Minzy was born in
Seoul 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 ...
, South Korea on January 18, 1994. She is the granddaughter of folk dancer Gong Ok-jin and, through her, a descendant of Confucius. When she was young, she moved to
Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...
with her family, but then her mother brought Minzy and her sister back to Seoul while traveling between Seoul and Gwangju to work with Minzy's father. She participated in many dance contests and competitions, winning various awards. A video of her at a dance competition in Gwangju was uploaded onto the Internet and became popular with many people sending praise for her ability to dance. This video was then uploaded onto YG's homepage, whereupon the CEO, Yang Hyun-suk, contacted and recruited her to join the agency when she was only in sixth grade.


Career


2009–2016: 2NE1

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and conce ...
stated in early 2009 that they would be debuting a new four-member group that had been training for four years and that their debut album would contain songs produced by 1TYM's leader Teddy Park and
G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), best known as G-Dragon (), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of K-pop". Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, G-Drag ...
of
Big Bang The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...
. The group's name was initially announced as "21"; however, due to the discovery of a singer with the same name, the group was renamed "2NE1", with "NE" being an abbreviation of "New Evolution". Minzy was placed in 2NE1 as the main dancer, alongside Park Bom,
Sandara Park Sandara Park (; born November 12, 1984), known mononymously as Dara (), is a South Korean singer, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in the Philippines as a contestant on the ABS-CBN original talent show ''Star Circle Quest'' i ...
and CL. The group went on to debut with their first single "Fire" in May 2009, with Minzy being the youngest member at just 15 years old. On November 20, 2009, CL and Minzy released a digital single, "Please Don't Go". In October 2015, while 2NE1 was on hiatus, Minzy founded her own dance studio named the "Millennium Dance Academy" as a personal project, unconnected to YG Entertainment. The studio is based in Seoul, South Korea. Minzy officially left the group and the group's agency, YG Entertainment, on April 5, 2016. Because of this, she did not take part in 2NE1's last song "Goodbye", released on January 21, 2017.


2016–present: Solo career and MZ Entertainment

In May 2016, Minzy signed with CJ E&M's subsidiary label Music Works. It was revealed that Minzy is currently preparing for her solo album and is interested in trying out different types of music and doesn't want to limit herself to one specific genre. Music Works stated, "We are focusing on producing a first solo album which can portray all of Gong Minzy's talent and potential. We will continue the preparations without being chased by time". On January 17, 2017, a representative from KBS revealed that Minzy has been confirmed as a cast member of the second season of '' Sister's Slam Dunk'' together with Kim Sook, Hong Jin-kyung, Kang Ye-won, Han Chae-young, Hong Jin-young and Jeon So-mi. The show aired its first broadcast on February 10, where Minzy was appointed to become the main singer, main dancer, dance tutor, and choreographer for the second generation of Unnies by legendary producer and composer Kim Hyung Suk (mentor of JYP), and was voted as leader of the group on the third episode. She is also qualified to be the team's rap teacher, but due to her heavy workload, the role went to LA-born newcomer KillaGramz. In episode 12, she was named the rapping director as Kim Hyung Suk has no rapping knowledge, and named Hong Jin-young as the sole rapper of the group, with Jeon So-mi the rap lyricist for "Right?". In March 2017, Minzy released her first solo single, "I Wanted To Love" as the soundtrack of the MBC drama '' The Rebel''인용 On April 17, 2017, Minzy released her solo debut EP, '' Minzy Work 01. "Uno"'', along with title track "Ninano". The EP debuted at number 2 on the Billboard World Albums Chart as the highest-ranking debut before it fell to number 9 in the second week. On September 28, Minzy announced she would go on tour in North America, however the tour got postponed and then cancelled due to her working on new music. On December 1, 2018, Minzy released her first English language solo single, "All of You Say". On April 17, 2020, Minzy left Music Works after her legal dispute was settled. On May 24, 2020, Minzy released her single "Lovely", her first released as an independent artist. In October 2020, Minzy founded her own company MZ Entertainment and will carry out her future activities on her future agency. A month later, Minzy signed with Viva Entertainment for her musical activities in the Philippines. She released the Tagalog version of her single "Lovely" on November 20, 2020. On June 6, 2021, MZ Entertainment announced that Minzy is planning for a comeback with a new single in July. The new single, titled "Teamo", was released on July 11. On December 12, 2021, Minzy released her new single "Fantabulous".


Personal life

In August 2017, Minzy graduated from Baekseok University ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' from the Department of Theology.


Discography


Extended plays


Singles


Soundtrack appearances


Filmography


Film


Television shows


Web shows


Awards and nominations


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1994 births Living people Singers from Seoul Rappers from Seoul South Korean dance musicians South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers 21st-century South Korean singers 21st-century South Korean women singers South Korean child singers 2NE1 members Viva Records (Philippines) artists Viva Artists Agency