Lee Hyori's ultimate dream group is finally coming into being a real four-member girl group produced by Jimmy Yoo (a nickname for Yoo Jae Suk). During SSAK3's activities, Lee Hyori had said that she wanted to form a dream girl group with Jessi, Uhm Jung Hwa, and MAMAMOO's Hwasa. At the end of July, the four artists held a meeting to discuss the possible project, and by mid-August, a teaser was announced for the coming group. For newer fans of K-Pop, the group is comprised wholly of iconic artists. Let us get to know them a little bit more!
Uhm Jung Hwa is a South Korean singer, actress, and dancer. Nicknamed the "evergreen," Uhm is considered one of the most influential women in the Korean entertainment industry, with many female artists recognizing her as a role model.
Uhm began her career in 1987 as a chorus member for the broadcasting company MBC. She made her film debut in the 1992 film Marriage Story and released her first studio album, Sorrowful Secret, that same year. The album's lead single, "Pupil," helped to establish her unique image. Uhm's fourth studio album, Invitation, was a huge success, bolstered by the singles "Poison" and "Chodae." These, along with "Rose of Betrayal," "Molla," "Festival," and "Dagara," have become her signature songs.
Following a nearly decade-long hiatus from music, Uhm released her tenth studio album, The Cloud Dream of the Nine, in 2017. Uhm Junghwa has established herself as one of South Korea's top actresses. She is known for her roles in the films Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, Singles, Princess Aurora, Dancing Queen, Seducing Mr. Perfect, and Haeundae, which became one of the highest-grossing movies in Korea. She won two Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Actress in 2002 for Marriage is a Crazy Thing and again in 2012 for Dancing Queen.
Uhm launched her new clothing and lingerie line, "Corner Suite" and "ZHUM in New York," which made USD 10M within three months of its release. "Corner Suite" became an instant hit when the line debuted on online markets. The line immediately sold out. Plans include putting her line of clothes on more home shopping channels, as the demand for it is great.
Lee Hyori is a widely popular and iconic South Korean singer, record producer, activist, actress, and television presenter. Dubbed as the "Nation's Fairy" during her Family Outing days, she debuted as a South Korean girl group Fin.K.L but has since become a solo artist. In 2003, she released her debut solo album Stylish, which won several "Artist of the Year" awards. In 2006, Lee was the highest-paid female singer in South Korea when she signed a contract with Mnet Media.
Lee Hyori and her husband, Lee Sang-soon, turned their house in Jeju Island into a guest house to film Hyori's Homestay. In season 1, IU joins the show as an employee. In season 2, the employee position was replaced by YoonA; also, in this season, Park Bo Gum came to work as a temporary employee. In 2019, Lee reunited with Fin.K.L in a new reality show "Camping Club."
On May 15, 2020, Lee announced that she had signed a contract with ESteem Entertainment. Through MBC's Hangout with Yoo, she, under the stage name "Linda G," founded the summer project co-ed trio named SSAK3 with Rain and Yoo Jae-suk. They released a debut single "Beach Again" on July 18, 2020, and officially debuted on July 25 with a debut stage on Music Core.
SSAK3 is a special summer project, and they announced that all proceeds from their songs and promotions would be donated to communities in need. It was during this project that Lee Hyori revealed her intentions of forming her dream girl group, now known as Refund Expedition.
Hwasa truly needs no introduction as she's one of the most popular divas and K-Pop idols of this age. Ahn Hye-jin, better known by her stage name Hwasa, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, composer, and television personality signed under RBW. She debuted as a member of the girl group Mamamoo in June 2014.
She made her solo debut with the digital single "Twit" on February 13, 2019. She released her first EP, María, on June 29, 2020. "Maria" debuted at number six on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, while the EP debuted at number seven on the Billboard World Albums and 81 on Billboard Top Current Albums Sales charts for the week of July 11, 2020.
Hwasa is popular for her performance, her strong confidence, fearless attitude, and her propagating of self-love. She is responsible for helping millions deal with their body image issues as she has openly revealed the kind of discrimination she went through because of how she looked. Instead of being disheartened and turning away from her dreams, she decided to become a whole new beauty standard by herself. She's a role model for young girls all around the world.
Jessi debuted in 2005 with her single album "Get Up." In 2006, she replaced Yoon Mi Rae as the vocalist of Uptown. Jessi's second single album, entitled "The Rebirth," was released in January 2009. After the release, she took a break from music and left Korea to return to America. After a five year hiatus, she returned as a hip-hop trio Lucky J under YMC Entertainment.
In 2015, she was part of Unpretty Rapstar, where she placed 2nd. Moreover, she established herself as a household name for her unapologetic attitude and iconic lines that became famous in the K-Pop industry. She appeared in the 2nd season as a mentor in some episodes. She continued to appear in several varieties shows where she was excitedly received and garnered incredible popularity.
Jessi's contract with YMC Entertainment ended in October 2018, and in January 2019, she signed a contract with PSY's record label P-Nation. Her first single under the label, "Who Dat B," was released on September 23, 2019. "Who Dat B" peaked at number eight on the World Digital Songs Sales chart and 68 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100. She released another rap single, "Drip," featuring Jay Park on November 2. The collaboration reached number 16 on the World Songs chart.
The singer released her third extended play, Nuna, on July 30, 2020. The lead single, "Nunu Nana," was released in conjunction with the album. "Nunu Nana" peaked at number two on the Gaon Music Chart. Promotions of the single-ended on August 23, 2020, as she performed on SBS's Inkigayo.
On August 14, 2020, the music video for "Numb," another single under the Nuna extended play, was released. She remains the most authentic personality in K-Pop and K-HipHop as she continues to steal hearts by just being herself.
The four are sure to make waves in the K-Pop industry, and we wish them all the success!
