Hani (singer)

Ahn Hee-yeon (Hangul: 안희연; born May 1, 1992), professionally known as Hani, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is known as a member of the South Korean girl group EXID and its subgroup, SoljiHani (formerly known as Dasoni (Hangul: 다소니)). She has appeared on television as a host on Weekly Idol and a cast member on Off to School, Crime Scene and A Style for You.

Hani
안희연
Hani in April 2018
Born	Ahn Hee-yeon May 1, 1992 Seoul, South Korea
Other names	Hani
Occupation	Singer actress
Agent	Sublime Artist Agency
Musical career
Genres	K-pop
Instruments	Vocals clarinet
Years active	2012–present
Labels	JYP Banana Culture
Associated acts	EXID SoljiHani
Korean name
Hangul	안희연
Hanja	安喜延
Revised Romanization	An Hui-yeon
McCune–Reischauer	An Hŭiyŏn
Stage name
Hangul	하니
Hanja	哈妮
Revised Romanization	Hani
McCune–Reischauer	Hani

Early life

Ahn Hee-yeon was born on May 1, 1992, in Seoul, South Korea, but her family and friends all called her Hani from a young age.[1] She competed in triathlons from elementary until middle school, and was also an avid swimmer.[2] She is the sister of actor Ahn Tae Hwan.[3]

Prior to her debut with EXID, she was originally set to debut as a member of a girl group under JYP Entertainment, along with Sistar's Hyolyn, Secret's Song Ji-eun and Bestie's Uji. However, she was cut from JYP after a year. Hani stated that the company did not see potential in her. Following this, she went to study abroad in China for a year.[4][5]

Career

2012–13: Debut with EXID and rise to popularity

EXID officially debuted on February 15, 2012 with the release of their debut single, "Whoz That Girl".[6]

In February 2013, Hani and EXID member Heo Sol-ji formed the duo Dasoni[7] and released their debut single "Goodbye" on February 15, 2013. It also included the B-side, "Said So Often".[8]

In August 2014, EXID released their single "Up & Down". Initially, the song charted poorly, failing to make it on the top 100 of the Gaon Chart. However, the song slowly gained popularity in late November after a fan-taken video of her performing the song went viral.[9][10] As of 2019, the video has been viewed more than 30 million times on YouTube.[11]

2014–present: Solo career

In 2014, she entered the main cast of tvN's Always Cantare.

In 2015, she appeared in Mad Clown's music video for "Fire",[12] and entered the main cast of JTBC's Off to School[13][14] and Crime Scene.[15][16] Hani was also chosen to present a new KBS beauty show, A Style For You along with Kim Heechul, Goo Ha-ra and Yoon Bora.[17] In spring, she appeared on Soulmates Returns.[18] Later on, she made a cameo appearance in The Producers as herself.[19] On June 24, she and Ken of VIXX released a duet song titled "Gap".[20] In September, she was made a cast member in TV series Law of the Jungle.

In 2016, Hani became the co-host of Baek Jong-won's Three Great Emperors.[21] In February 2016, she appeared on King of Mask Singer as "Little Match Girl", a get-up completed with a mask and costumes to hide her identity. Hani surprised the panel of judges and an audience with her rich and husky voice (mostly due to the higher vocal range used as a vocalist in EXID).[22] Hani defeated Kim Feel and Jo Hang-jo but she was subsequently defeated by the Mask King at the time, Ha Hyun-woo of Guckkasten. Nevertheless, Hani's performances attracted attention and recognition for her unique vocal and passion for singing.

On January 12, 2017, it was announced that f(x)'s Luna, Hani, and Mamamoo's Solar would release a collaborative dance song on January 19, produced by Park Geun-tae, who also wrote EXO's Baekhyun and Miss A's Suzy's duet "Dream".[23] It was later revealed that the song's title is "Honey Bee", and is of the pop soul genre, incorporating 808 bass and saxophone.[24] On January 19, the song "Honey Bee" was officially released on Mystic Entertainment's YouTube channel.

In May 2019, Banana Culture announced that Hani and Jeonghwa would not be renewing their contracts, and EXID would go on hiatus after finishing their tour in Japan.[25][26]

In October 2019 it was announced that Hani has signed with Sublime Artist Agency and that she would be making her film debut with her given name Ahn Hee-yeon.[27][28]

On January 21, 2020, Hani was announced to star in the web drama XX.[29] The drama's first episode aired on January 24 and will run for 10 episodes.[30]

Discography

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and sales figures, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Sales	Album
		KOR Gaon [31]	US World
"Cold" (with C-Clown)	2012	—	—	N/A	Young Love
"We Got The World" (with R.Tee)	2014	—	—		Non-album singles
"Fake Illness" (with Rare Potato)	2015	—	—
"Gap" (with Ken)		25	—	KOR (DL): 93,000+*
"Snail (달팽이)" (with Kim Feel)	2016	—	—	N/A	King of Mask Singer Episode 47
"Honey" (with Ken)		—	—		King of Mask Singer Episode 48
"Honey Bee" (with f(x)'s Luna and Mamamoo's Solar)	2017	38	—	KOR (DL): 63,673+	Non-album singles
"Flame" (with Solji)		—	—	N/A	Soundtrack of Money Flower
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated.

Filmography

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Ref.
2015	The Producers	Herself	KBS2	Cameo (Ep. 3)
2020	SF8	Juno	MBC	Episode: "White Crow"	[32]
2020	The Spies Who Loved Me	hacker	MBC	Cameo (Ep. 8,9)

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Ref.
2020	XX	Yoon Na-na	Naver TV, V LIVE, YouTube, MBC	Main role	[33]
2021	Not Yet 30	Lee Ran-joo	KakaoTV		[34] [35]

Variety show

Year	Title	Network	Role	Notes
2014	Always Cantare	tvN	Main cast
2015	Crime Scene 2	JTBC	Main Cast
	A Style For You	KBS2	Main Cast	With Yoon Bo-ra, Gu Hara and Kim Heechul (Episodes 1-12)
	Soulmates Returns	MBC Every 1	Main cast
	EXID's Showtime	MBC Every 1	Main cast
	Law of the Jungle in Nicaragua	SBS	Main cast	Episodes 178–180
2016	Baek Jong-won's Three Great Emperors	SBS	Co-host	Episodes 22–51
	Battle Trip	KBS2	Traveler	with Solji (Episode 2–3)
	We Are Siblings	KBS2	Cast	with her younger brother
	King of Mask Singer	MBC	Contestant	as "Be Careful for Cold the Little Match Girl" (Episodes 47–48)
	Weekly Idol	MBC Every 1	Host	Episodes 245–270
2017	Suddenly A Millionaire	Olive	Host
	Law of the Jungle in Komodo	SBS	Main cast	Episodes 274–278
2018	Secret Unnie	JTBC4	Cast	with Yoojung (Weki Meki)
2020	Law of the Jungle in Palawan	SBS	Main cast	Episodes 403-406
	Running Girls	Mnet	Cast member	[36]

References

1. "Hani (EXID) artist profile". Melon (in Korean). LOEN Entertainment. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
2. "Hani wows with her swimming ability as she showcases the butterfly, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, & fin swimming". allkpop. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
3. "This "Penthouse" Actor Revealed To Have A Famous Girl Group Idol Older Sister". Koreaboo. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
4. Jeon Ah Ram (March 17, 2015). "EXID's Hani Trained with Sistar's Hyolyn, Secret's Song Jieun and More at JYP". Newsen. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
5. "EXID's Hani Shares She Was Cut from JYP and Says She Never Had Plastic Surgery". Soompi. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
6. "EXID reveals debut MV, "Whoz That Girl"". AllKpop. February 15, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
7. Mun, Wan-sik (February 11, 2013). EXID 솔지, 무보정 '애플힙' 몸매 공개. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved December 6, 2014.
8. Park, Hyun-min (February 15, 2013). "EXID debuts new unit, Dasoni". CJ E&M enewsWorld. Kim, Erika. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
9. Kim Hyo-eun; Sung So-young (December 15, 2014). "Social media gives failing singers another chance". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
10. Lee, Seung-mi (November 23, 2014). '제2의 빠빠빠'탄생?…EXID '위아래'광속 차트 역주행. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
11. (직캠/Fancam) 141008 EXID(하니) 위아래 @ 파주 한마음 위문공연 (October 9, 2014). Retrieved on August 23, 2015.
12. Lee Yousun (January 6, 2015). "Mad Clown releases teaser for "Fire" featuring EXID's Hani". Korean Wave. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
13. Ahn, Woorim (March 18, 2015). "Hani Becomes A 'Smart Idol'". BNTNews. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
14. Ahn, Woorim (March 24, 2015). "Hani Shows Her Ability As An All-around Entertainer". BNTNews. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
15. Ahn, Woorim (March 12, 2015). "JTBC 'Crime Scene 2' Confirms Its Final Casts". BNTNews. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
16. Ahn, Woorim (April 1, 2015). "JTBC 'Crime Scene 2' Holds Its Production Conference". BNTNews. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
17. Hara joins + Heechul, Jooyeon, and Bora in talks to be MCs for fashion-beauty show 'A Style for You'
18. Park Ji Ryun (March 4, 2015). "EXID's Hani, Nicole, Seo Kang Jun and Myore Join 'Soulmates Returns'". Newsen. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
19. ‘프로듀사’ 하니, 경찰서에서 특별 출연 “남자랑 3대1로 붙었는데 한 대도 안맞아”
20. "VIXX's Ken and EXID's Hani join hands for a sweet collab track 'One By One'". allkpop. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
21. "Hani to co-host 'Baek Jong-won's Three Great Emperors'". Yonhap News. January 28, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
22. "Hani wows with performance on King of Mask Singer". February 29, 2016.
23. "루나X하니X솔라 미스틱서 뭉쳤다, 핵폭탄급 걸그룹 컬래버 성사". Newsen (in Korean). January 12, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Naver.
24. "루나X하니X솔라, 콜라보 곡명은 '허니 비'..팝소울". OSEN (in Korean). January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
25. "EXID 측 "솔지·LE·혜린 재계약, 하니·정화 계약만료…팀 해체는 NO" [전문]" (in Korean). May 3, 2019.
26. "EXID 측 "하니·정화 전속계약 종료→日 활동은 1년간 5人 완전체로" [공식입장]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
27. "EXID's Hani in talks to sign with Sublime Artist Agency as a singer/actress". October 10, 2019.
28. "EXID's Hani Signs With New Agency + To Make Big Screen Debut". October 11, 2019.
29. "Singer-Turned-Actress Hani's Debut Drama Set for Release This Week". english.chosun.com. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
30. "XX (Korean Drama - 2020) - 엑스엑스". HanCinema. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
31. "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
32. Hwang, So-young (March 11, 2020). "Hani confirms to star in MBC's short film project". JTBC Plus. V Live. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
33. "Hani of EXID to Branch out into Acting". HanCinema. November 16, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
34. http://www.newstouch.site/news/articleView.html?idxno=9321
35. Kwak Hyun-su (February 1, 2021). "정인선 →강민혁 '아직 낫서른' 대본 리딩 현장 공개". sports.donga (in Korean). Retrieved February 1, 2021.
36. Kim Sung-hyun (November 25, 2020). "[단독] 선미 이어 청하·하니도 '달리는 사이' 합류... K팝 女스타 뭉쳐(종합)". ytn (in Korean). Retrieved November 25, 2020.

External links

• Hani on Instagram