Chae Yeon

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Chae Yeon

Background information
Birth name	이진숙 (Lee Jin Sook)
Born	December 10, 1978
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genre(s)	K-pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2000–2002 (with UltraCats) 2003–present (solo)
Label(s)	CJ Medialine

Lee Jin Sook (Korean: 이진숙) (born December 10, 1978), better known as Chae Yeon (채연), is a popular Korean pop sexy singer, despite the fact that she is relatively old (most Korean pop singers are in their teens or early 20s). She is known for her dancing skills (often being compared to Kim Wan Sun, the "Korean Madonna"), and for her beauty. She has risen to fame with her hit single "둘이서" (Two of Us) in 2005.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Beginning of career
- 1.2 Pursuing career as an entertainer in Korea
2 Profile
3 Discography
4 TV Variety Shows
5 Endorsements
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Beginning of career

It took Chae Yeon many years to attain her current level of fame in Korea's entertainment industry. In fact, she had to start out in Japan first, as member of group UltraCats (ウルトラキャッツ, UltraCats^?) under the name of “Jinny” (ジニー, “Jinny”^?) or “Jinny Lee” (ジニー・リー, “Jinny Lee”^?) in 2000. She was also part of a singing group called Brand New Biscuits (ブランニュービスケッツ, Brand New Biscuits?), debuted in Japan on January 1, 2001, wheren it has 6 members. Having passed an audition held by an entertainment management company in Japan, Chae Yeon first appeared on a popular show called “Uchan Nanchan no Urinari!” on Japanese NTV. She appeared on the show for almost 3 years. Along with the television show, Chae Yeon (then Jinny) performed as a singer releasing 3 singles and 1 mini-album in Japan.

[edit] Pursuing career as an entertainer in Korea

She returned to Korea with her first official album It’s My Time under her new stage name, Chae Yeon. Debuting late in 2003, nobody expected her to be successful as she is now. Initially, she was simply viewed as yet another "sexy concept" singer, as many female signers were at that time. However, unlike many others, she had a fairly successful debut. She proved to be a great dancer, and she showed off her vocals in her ballad songs and live performances. Although her title song "위험한 연출" (Dangerous Presentation) did well, the music video was controversial for being too "racy" in conservative Korea (for it contained scenes showing her full back and exposed underwear)^[1]. Subsequently, the video was banned on television, and the airing time was limited to after 10:00 PM in some cable channels^[2]. Her real success came when her 2nd album released late in 2004. "둘이서" (Two Of Us) the lead single, pushed her to #1 on many music charts in the spring of 2005 ^[3]. Becoming heavily played on radio, the song became so popular that a signature "move" from the choreographed dance became known as the "Na-na-na" dance (named after the hook of the song). It managed to hit the top of various music charts in Korea. The follow-up single "다가와" (Come to Me) was released soon after and was also popular, riding on the wave of its predecessor.

She returned after a brief break in order to release her third album III, which came in the fall of 2005. The first single, "오직 너", fared poorly on the charts, as it was not a strong dance single, lacking a catchy hook. The record company then quickly switched to the "Disco Mix" of the song, which helped sustain its life on the charts, although not by much. The second single, "세번째 사랑" (Third Love), also fared poorly, despite the fact that it had a very sexy video and was a bit more uptempo than the lead single. However, this can be attributed to the fade of sexy R&B music in Korea at the time, as ballads were once again the style of choice for Korean singers; albums by other "sexy concept" singers such as Lee Hyori also underperformed.

Chae Yeon has managed to maintain her popularity by continually participating in variety shows, such as SBS's X-Man and Love Letter, where she portrays both cute and sexy images. Her appearances on these variety shows allowed her to display her bubbly and positive personality. Though, she ended her official schedule with her last X-Man episode on September 25th. Chae Yeon has finished all activities in order to concentrate on recording her fourth album, which is scheduled for release in January of 2007. Chae Yeon is now focusing on vocal training, choreography practice and weight training.

[edit] Profile

Place of birth: Seoul, South Korea
Education: Department of Broadcasting & Entertainment, Seoul Arts College
Family: Parents, one older brother

[edit] Discography

Album cover	Album Info	Tracklisting; Singles in bold
	It's My Time Released: August 20, 2003	시간(Intro) 위험한 연출 (Dangerous Act) 사랑느낌 (Feeling of Love) 소중한 사랑 남자의 사랑 세잎 클로버 기도 너만의 매력 상처 오래된 연인 소문 휴식(Outro)
	Virginalness Bloom Released: December 13, 2004	둘이서 (The Two of Us) 지독한 외면 다가와 (Come to Me) 보고싶어 믿어 [featuring D-Low] 다 끝났어 행복한 눈물 Dance All Night 널 사랑할게 사랑인가봐! 추억만으로 [featuring D-Low] 바보
	III Released: November 18, 2005	오직 너 (Only You) 하얀눈 (White Snow) 덫 (Trap) 욕심쟁이 (Greedy One) 세번째 사랑 (Third Love) 너땜에 (Because of You) 가지마 (Don't Go) 미궁 (Labyrinth) 사랑이 오려나봐 (Maybe Love Is Coming) You 나쁜여자 (Bad Girl) 오직너(디스코 클럽) (Only You [Disco Club Remix])
	Best & Figure Released: May 23, 2006	가지마 하얀눈 보고 싶어 행복한 눈물 욕심쟁이 소중한 사랑 널 사랑할게 세 번째 사랑 [Remix] 둘이서 오직 너 [Remix] 너땜에 다가와 사랑인가봐 위험한 연출 사링느낌 남자의 사랑