Lee Hi is back, and under new management.
The YG Entertainment solo artist is gearing up to make her first comeback since she dropped her debut album "First Love" in March 2013. Almost three years to the day, Lee Hi is set to release new music in March, and she's also switching things up with a new production staff.
Forgoing YG Entertainment's main label, the 19-year-old singer collaborated with the company's Epik High-run indie sub-label, HIGHGRND.
Last August, HIGHGRND revealed that Lee Hi was working with the indie label at the request of YG Entertainment's chief Yang Hyun Suk.
"Mr. Yang is too busy, and he was worried Lee Hi will not be getting the attention she deserves from him," a YG Entertainment representative told Osen last year. "So, he asked Tablo [Epik High's frontman] to take over preparations for Lee Hi's comeback since Mr. Yang thinks highly of his producing skills."
While YG Entertainment is known for its acts like Big Bang, 2NE1, Psy and more recently WINNER and iKON, HIGHGRND was established to produce indie acts. So far, the agency has signed acts like Hyukoh and The Black Skirts and released music firmly rooted in the realm of indie rock.
It's expected that Lee Hi's upcoming release incorporates the singer's soulful vocals with HIGHGRND's more folksy style, potentially forgoing the electronic and more highly produced elements of many YG Entertainment releases as of late.
Lee Hi debuted in 2013 after rising to fame through appearing on "K-Pop Star" in 2011 and taking second place. In 2013, she released hits like "1,2,3,4" and "Rose." Since then, she's collaborated with other YG Entertainment artists on a variety of projects.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey and Paste Magazine.
