Ailee is a South Korean-born Korean-American singer and songwriter who has wowed the K-pop industry with her vocal prowess and breakup anthems. In South Korea, she is signed to YMC Entertainment, while in Japan, she is signed to Warner Music. She was signed to Muzo Entertainment in the United States before relocating to South Korea under the stage name Ailee. Her music career took off after she delivered an outstanding rendition of Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ during a special episode of the reality show ‘Singer and Trainee.’ ‘Heaven,’ her debut single, peaked at number three on the K-pop Hot 100. Her soaring vocals and versatility propelled her to the industry’s pinnacle. Ailee has created her YouTube channels’mzamyx3′ and ‘aileemusic’ to promote her singing. Her fans are taken aback by her strong vocals and stage presence. According to music experts, she has the potential to be a big star. According to Billboard, she possesses “the ability to communicate the deeper experiences associated with love at a level beyond her years.” She has released one studio album, seventeen music videos, four EPs, thirteen singles, and eleven soundtracks to date. In 2017, she debuted in the United States under the stage name A.Leean.
Childhood & Adolescence
Ailee was born in Denver, Colorado, on May 30, 1989, and grew up in New Jersey. She attended Palisades Park High School prior to transferring to Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. She attended Pace University to study communications but dropped out to pursue a career in music.
Career of Ailee
At the start of her career, Ailee signed with the US agency Muzo Entertainment. She collaborated with a variety of artists on this label, including Johnnyphlo and rapper Decipher.
In 2010, she relocated to South Korea and auditioned for YMC Entertainment. She was immediately hired as a trainee. As a trainee, she sang in the song ‘Catch Me If You Can’ by Decipher and Jay Park, as well as in labelmate Wheesung’s song ‘They Are Coming’.
She was fortunate enough to perform alongside Johnnyphlo, Decipher, Jay Park, and Clara C at 2011’projectKorea III’. In September, she appeared on MBC’s Chuseok episode of ‘Singer and Trainee,’ singing Beyoncé’s ‘Halo.’ Her performance wowed the audience and judges, and she won the competition.
In February 2012, she released her debut single, ‘Heaven,’ along with a music video. She debuted ‘Heaven’ on M.net’s M! Countdown on February 9, 2012, and later performed on SBS’s Inkigayo.
In March 2012, she appeared on KBS’s ‘Immortal Songs 2’ and performed the song ‘Light and Shadow’ by Patti Kim. Patti Kim lauded her vocal abilities, declaring her to be “the next great singer.”
In May 2012, at a J.Y. Park tribute, she won the competition by singing Park’s song ‘Don’t Leave Me’. In June, she appeared on ‘Immortal Songs 2’ and won with 402 votes for her performance of ‘Fate.’
On October 16, 2012, Ailee released her self-titled debut mini-album, ‘Invitation.’ It featured the title track, ‘I’ll Show You,’ as well as five additional tracks.
On October 18, she appeared on M! Countdown and won her first trophy with her performance of ‘I’ll Show You.’ She was also invited to perform at the 55th Grammy Awards’ pre-Grammy party.
On July 12, 2013, she released her second mini-album ‘A’s Doll House,’ and the single ‘U&I’ topped the music charts within four hours of its release. Ailee was promoted to ‘All-Kill’ for the first time. The album debuted with a bang in Korea on its first day.
In October 2013, she released her first Japanese single, ‘Heaven,’ through Warner Music Japan. She released the single alongside the song ‘Starlight’ in November.
Due to a scandal surrounding her “nude pictures,” she was forced to take a six-month hiatus. She returned in January 2014 with a music video teaser ahead of the full music video and digital song’s release on January 6, 2014.
On September 25, 2014, YMC Entertainment released the full video for ‘Don’t Touch Me’ via Twitter. She also won the first trophy for SBS Inkigayo’s ‘Don’t Touch Me’. On July 4, 2015 in Seoul, she performed her first solo concert, titled ‘Fatal Attraction.’ It shattered the site’s record for fastest-selling tickets.
‘VIVID’, her debut full-length album, was released on September 30, 2015. In August 2016, she released the music video for ‘If You.’ In October 2016, she released her follow-up EP, ‘A New Empire,’ along with the music video for the lead track, ‘Home.’
She made her US debut with WestSide Entertainment under the new stage name A. Leean. ‘Fall Back,’ her debut single in the United States, was released via a website.
She released the single ‘I Will Go to You Like the First Snow’ for a South Korean cable television series on January 7, 2017. She earned a Perfect All-Kill, and the single debuted at the top of all South Korean music websites, including the Gaon Chart. Additionally, the single earned a ‘Triple Crown.’
On April 1, 2017, she began the Welcome Home Tour in Daegu. She performed her first solo concert in Taiwan, titled ‘Ailee: Hello Taipei 2017,’ in June 2017. By the end of the first day of ticket sales, the concert was completely sold out.
Significant Works Ailee
Ailee’s second mini-album, ‘A’s Doll House,’ charted immediately upon its release. The single ‘U&I’ reached the top of numerous music charts. The single ‘Singing Got Better’ peaked at number one on Korea’s major charts in 2014.
She appeared on an episode of ‘Immortal Songs’ in April 2014, performing Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’. Her performance quickly rose to prominence on YouTube as one of the most viewed ‘Immortal Songs’ performances.
In 2016, her single ‘If You’ debuted at the top of several charts within a day of its release and remained there for several weeks. The album reached number ten on the Gaon Chart and number nine on the US Billboard Chart.
Her album ‘Magazine’ reached the Gaon Chart at number two. In May 2017, her single ‘I Will Go To You Like the First Snow’ amassed more than 100 million streams and 15 million downloads. Additionally, it set a new record for the most streamed song on Gaon in a single year since 2010, with 111,770,770 streams.
Awards and Accomplishments
Ailee won two Cyworld Music Awards for ‘Song of the Month’ and ‘Rookie of the Month’ within a month of the release of her debut album. She also won the Asia Song Festival’s Best New Artist Award.
In 2012, she won the MelOn Music Awards, Golden Disk Awards, Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards, and Seoul Music Awards for her musical work.
In 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, she won the Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best New Female Artist (2012) and four Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best Vocal Performance – Female for ‘U&I’, ‘If You’, ‘Mind Your Own Business’, and ‘Singing Got Better’.
She won the Best Original Soundtrack award for ‘Goodbye My Love’ at the 7th Korea Drama Awards. At the 22nd Seoul Music Awards, she received the Mnet Pre-Grammy Award for Rising Star and the Best New Artist award.
Scandals & Controversies
In November 2013, Ailee became embroiled in a scandal that harmed her career for several months. A Korean website published naked photos of her, tarnishing her reputation. Later, it was revealed that she sent the images to a friend via Facebook, but the account was hacked, resulting in the images being leaked. She was dropped from several advertising campaigns as a result of the scandal.
Private Life of Ailee
Ailee has previously dated a number of men. However, she prefers not to speak to the media about her personal life.
Estimated Net Worth
Ailee is one of the wealthiest and most popular pop singers. Ailee’s net worth is estimated to be around $12 million, based on our research, Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.