Kang Ji-hyun, better known by her stage name Soyou, is a South Korean singer best known for her time as a member of ‘Sistar,’ a South Korean girl group created by ‘Starship Entertainment.’ Prior to making her acting debut with ‘Sistar,’ she was a licensed hairdresser who worked in a salon. The K-pop girl trio began their career in early 2010, appearing in magazine picture assignments and advertisements before making their formal debut in June of that year with the song “Push Push,” which they performed on the South Korean television music program “Music Bank.” Soyou has earned a name for herself as a solo artist with songs like ‘Should I Confess,’ ‘Once More,’ and ‘Tell Me,’ in addition to her musical endeavors with ‘Sistar.’ She has performed duets with other singers, with the song ‘Some,’ which she co-wrote with Junggigo and featured Geek’s Lil Boi, earning her multiple honors. She’s participated in a number of television variety shows over the years, primarily as a contestant, including ‘Star Diving Show Splash’ and ‘1 vs. 100,’ among others. She remained the MC of the ‘OnStyle’ aired variety show ‘Get It Beauty,’ co-host of the ‘MBC Every1’ aired show ‘Wishing Star,’ and appeared in the SBS aired reality documentary show ‘Law of the Jungle in New Zealand’ as herself.
Childhood and Adolescence
Kang Ji-Hyun was born in Jeju Island, South Korea, on February 12, 1992. Except for the fact that she has an older brother and a sister, little is known about this popular singer’s early life, family history, or education.
Soyou, a licensed hairdresser, made a living working at a hair salon before gaining the chance to pursue her musical career.
The Career of Soyou
Her early passion for music prompted her to train with the South Korean record firm ‘Cube Entertainment.’ She was expected to make her musical debut as a member of the South Korean girl group ‘4Minute,’ which was founded by the label ‘Cube Entertainment.’ However, nothing came to pass.
Soyou, who was supposed to take Sohyun’s place in ‘4Minute,’ stated she couldn’t be a part of the group since she was inexact in many ways.
She then went on to audition for ‘Starship Entertainment,’ where she did a rendition of Korean pop singer Navi’s song ‘On The Road.’ She was chosen to be a member of the ‘Sistar’ South Korean girl group formed by ‘Starship Entertainment’ in 2010. Hyolyn, Dasom, and Bora were among the group’s other members.
The group’s activities began in early 2010, with members appearing in magazine photoshoots and commercials. With the track ‘Push Push,’ they made their formal debut on June 3 of that year. The following day, on the South Korean television music program ‘Music Bank,’ the group performed the song for the first time.
‘Push Push’ was included in ‘Sistar’s’ debut studio album, ‘So Cool,’ which was released by ‘Starship Entertainment’ on August 9, 2011, and became a financial success. The album’s title track, ‘So Cool,’ debuted at the top of the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 singles chart and is one of the group’s biggest hits.
‘Sistar’ has two studio albums, seventeen singles, six EPs, and a soundtrack contribution to his discography. This popular group separated officially in 2017 after receiving numerous honors, including those from the ‘Golden Disc Awards,’ ‘Seoul Music Awards,’ ‘Cyworld Digital Music Awards,’ ‘Melon Music Awards,’ ‘MBC Entertainment Awards,’ and ‘Style Icon Awards,’ among others.
Soyou attempted to start a solo career while establishing and continuing her musical career with ‘Sistar.’ In August 2010, she sang the duet ‘It’s Okay’ with J2’s Woo. The song was used in the drama ‘Gloria’ as part of the soundtrack. In September of that year, she also performed the song ‘Should I Confess,’ which was part of the soundtrack for the MBC-aired South Korean romantic comedy television series ‘Playful Kiss.’
In November 2012, she collaborated with hip-hop group ‘Geeks,’ singing a duet with them called ‘Officially Missing You, Too.’ The song ‘Officially Missing You’ by Canadian R&B recording artist Tamia was a reworking that became part of the duo’s project album named ‘Re; Code Episode 1’.
In the years that followed, she sang duet songs with a variety of other musicians. ‘White Love’ with K.Will & Jeongmin in 2012, ‘Goodbye’ with Hong Dae Kwang in 2013, and ‘Rain’ with Baekhyun in 2017 are just a few examples.
Her duet with rapper Mad Clown, ‘Stupid in Love,’ was published on September 10, 2013, under the label ‘Starship Entertainment,’ and debuted at the top of the Gaon Singles Chart for two weeks, as well as the Korea K-Pop Hot 100. At the 3rd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards in 2013, it earned her the Artist of the Year – September award.
In 2013, she made her debut appearance on television as a competitor in the second episode of MBC’s reality show ‘Star Diving Show Splash.’
The song ‘Some,’ which she sang with South Korean singer Junggigo and was released on February 7, 2014, is one of her most well-known duets. For two weeks, the single topped the Gaon Digital Chart. It also held the top spot on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 for six weeks, making it the year’s longest-running chart-topper.
‘Some’ not only boosted her singing career but also gained her honors and awards, including the Long-Run Song of the Year award at the 4th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards in 2014, as well as Song of the Year awards at the 6th MelOn Music Awards in 2014 and the 12th Korean Music Awards in 2015.
Soyou also co-hosted the MBC Every1 aired show ‘Wishing Star’ and was a contestant in the JTBC aired singing competition ‘100 People, 100 Songs’ in 2014.
As a solo artist, she has contributed to the music of various South Korean TV programs over the years. ‘Once More’ for ‘Empress Ki’ in 2014, ‘Tell Me’ for ‘Lucky Romance’ in 2016, and ‘I Miss You’ for ‘Guardian: The Lonely and Great God’ in 2016 are among the famous ones.
She joined Kim Jungmin and Lee Honey as one of the three new MCs of the beauty tip show ‘Get It Beauty’ in 2015. On February 4 of that year, the first edition of the OnStyle televised show with the trio as hosts aired. In the same year, she competed in the SBS show “18 Seconds” as well as the KBS2 show “Chuseok Special Idol Singing Contest.”
In 2016, she became a regular on the South Korean cooking variety show ‘The Nations’ Big Three,’ which was shown on SBS and aired from episodes 52 to 61. In the same year, she competed in the KBS2 program ‘1 vs. 100’ and the MBC singing competition program ‘King of Mask Singer.’
In 2017, she appeared in episodes 270 to 273 of the South Korean reality-documentary show ‘Law of the Jungle in New Zealand,’ which was broadcast on SBS.
Estimated Net worth
Soyou is one of the wealthiest Pop Singers and one of the most well-known Pop Singers. Soyou’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.