Kim Yu-bin (musician)

Kim Yu-bin (born October 4, 1988), referred to as Yubin, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter and actress. She was a member of the South Korean girl group Wonder Girls.

Kim Yu-bin
김유빈
Kim at a fanmeet in July 2016
Born	Kim Yu-bin October 4, 1988 Gwangju, South Korea
Education	Myongji University
Occupation	Singer rapper songwriter actress
Musical career
Genres	K-pop retro hip-hop
Instruments	Vocals drums
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Good JYP RRR
Associated acts	Five Girls Wonder Girls JYP Nation
Website	www.rrrentertainment.co.kr/post/yubin-2

Korean name
Hangul	김유빈
Hanja	金婑斌
Revised Romanization	Gim Yu-bin
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Yupin
Stage name
Hangul	유빈
Hanja	宥斌
Revised Romanization	Yu-bin
McCune–Reischauer	Yupin

Life and career

1988–2007: Early life, education and struggles

Kim Yu-bin was born in Gwangju, on October 4, 1988.[1] She lived in Korea until high school, attending Anyang High School for a while before moving to San Jose, California, where she studied at and graduated from Leland High School. Yubin graduated from Myongji University with a degree in Film and Musical.

She was originally set to debut as a member of Five Girls under Good Entertainment, along with G.NA, After School's Uee, Secret's Jun Hyo-seong. and Spica's Yang Ji-won. However, the group disbanded shortly before their scheduled debut in 2007 due to Good Entertainment's financial troubles and the members all left for separate South Korean entertainment companies.[2]

2007–2017: Wonder Girls

Yubin made her debut as a new member of the Wonder Girls on September 7, 2007. She was introduced as the main rapper of the group, replacing Hyuna.[3] Although she is known mostly as the rapper of the Wonder Girls, Yubin occasionally acts as an additional vocalist to the group. Examples of which include, "This Time" and "Wishing on a Star". Aside from performing with the group, she has appeared in several music videos including labelmate 2PM's "10 Out of 10" and Shinhwa's "Once in a Life Time". Yubin has also featured in several different artists' singles, i.e. Shinhwa's Andy Lee, Lee Min-woo, Kim Bum-soo, and Chun G. In 2008, she made a short cameo in MBC's popular sitcom, Here He Comes.

Yubin showcased her written lyrics for the first time in Kim Bum-soo's song "Do You Know That?". Since then, Yubin has written her own raps for several other songs. In 2011, she wrote the lyrics for "Girls Girls", "Me, In", and "Sweet Dreams" from the Wonder Girls' second studio album Wonder World. Yubin also wrote the song "Hey Boy" for the group's mini album Wonder Party released on June 3, 2012. In 2013, she made her official acting debut in OCN's drama, The Virus, where she played the role of Lee Joo-yeong, a genius hacker and an IT specialist.[4]

On June 24, 2015, it was announced that the Wonder Girls will be making comeback after two-year hiatus as a band.[5] On August 17, 2015, Yubin was confirmed to join Unpretty Rapstar's second season. Her popularity exploded and as a consequence, her makeup and hairstyle became popular in South Korea.[6] On January 26, 2017, it was announced that the Wonder Girls were to disband after their contracts had expired. Yubin was one of two members who chose to remain with JYP Entertainment as solo artists and renewed her contract.[7] The group released their final single, "Draw Me", on February 10.[8]

2018–present: Solo work and RRR Entertainment

In April 2018, Yubin announced that she is preparing her solo debut through a Cosmopolitan magazine interview.[9] On May 15, JYP Entertainment announced that she has finished filming the music video for the lead single, which is planned to be released alongside her album in early June.[10][11] Yubin's first single album City Woman was released digitally on June 5, 2018 with the retro lead single "Lady".[12] The B-side track, "City Lover", was not released due to copyrights after previously announcing the track would be delayed,[13] due to similarities with Mariya Takeuchi's 1984 Japanese city pop song "Plastic Love".[14] On November 27, 2018, Yubin's first EP #TUSM was released digitally alongside the title track "Thank U Soooo Much".[15] The song's lyrics tell off a former partner for providing “too much information” during a breakup, sarcastically thanking them for their unnecessary revelations. Yubin co-wrote all three tracks on the EP and also co-composed the third track "Game Over". "Thank U Sooo Much" charted at number 21 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart, marking her first appearance on the chart.

In April 2019, Yubin served as a judge for the JTBC dance competition television show Stage K.[16] On October 30, Yubin released her third single album, Start of the End, alongside lead single "Silent Movie" featuring Yoon Mi-rae.[17] She co-wrote "Silent Movie" and wrote the B-side track "Not Yours". Yubin left JYP Entertainment on January 25, 2020, with her departure announced three days later.[18]

In February 2020, Yubin founded her own music label, RRR Entertainment.[19]

In May 2020, Yubin released her single "Yaya (Me Time)", her first released under her own music label "RRR Entertainment".[20]

Discography

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		KOR [21]	KOR Hot [22]	US World [23]
"Lady" (숙녀 (淑女))	2018	—[upper-alpha 1]	96	—	都市女子
"Thank U Soooo Much"		—	—	21	TUSM
"Silent Movie" (무성영화) (featuring Yoon Mi-rae)	2019	—	—	—	Start of the End
"Yaya (Me Time)" (넵넵)	2020	—	—	—	Non-album single
"Wave"		—	—	—	Traveller, No.501
"Perfume" (향수)	2021	—[upper-alpha 2]	—	—	Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		KOR [21]
"Odd Imagination" (엉뚱한 상상) (Andy Lee featuring Yubin)	2007	—	Non album-singles
"Honey" (Honey 꼬시기) (Lee Min-woo featuring Yubin)	2008	—
"Do You Know That?" (Kim Bum-soo featuring Yubin)		—
"Weak Man" (약한 남자) (Chun G featuring Yubin)	2009	—
"It's Time" (Taecyeon featuring San E and Yubin)	2013	—
"I Dance" (Ivy featuring Yubin)		—
"Who Am I" (내가 누구) (Sunmi featuring Yubin)	2014	112	Full Moon
"The Heartbroken" (Justin Thorne featuring Yubin)	2015	—	Non album-singles
"Ssakda" (싹 다) (The Quiett featuring Yubin)		—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Soundtrack appearances

Title	Year	Album
"Ssakda" (싹 다) (featuring The Quiett)	2017	Unpretty Rapstar 2 Compilation
"Who Am I" (후횐 마) (featuring Jo Hyun-ah)
"Rain and Snow" (비 그리고 눈) (with Yoon Jong-shin, Ha Dong-kyun, Kim Feel)	2019	The Call 2: Third Project
"Special"	2020	Chocolate OST

Songwriting and composing credits

Year	Album	Artist	Song	Lyrics		Music
				Credited	With	Credited	With
2007	The Wonder Years	Wonder Girls	"Tell Me"	Yes	Park Jin-young	Yes	Park Jin-young
2011	Wonder World		"Girls Girls"	Yes	Shim Eun-ji	No	N/A
			"Me, In"	Yes	Yeeun and Shim Jung-hyeon	No	N/A
			"Sweet Dreams"	Yes	Billion Dollar Baby Noday	No	N/A
2012	Wonder Party		"Hey Boy"	Yes	N/A	No	N/A
2015	Reboot		"I Feel You"	Yes	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul"	No	N/A
			"Rewind"	Yes	Lee Sunmi, Ju Hyo and Lee Toyo	No	N/A
			"Loved"	Yes	Shim Eun-ji	Yes	Shim Eun-ji
			"John Doe"	Yes	Hong ji-sang and Ju Hyo	Yes	Hong ji-sang and Ju Hyo
			"Back"	Yes	Woo Hyerim and Lee Sunmi	Yes	Woo Hyerim and Lee Sunmi
			"없어" (Gone)	Yes	Shim Eun-ji	Yes	Shim Eun-ji
2016	"Why So Lonely"		"Why So Lonely"	Yes	Lee Sunmi and Hyerim	Yes	Lee Sunmi and Hyerim
			"Sweet and Easy"	Yes	Park Yeeun	Yes	Park Yeeun
2017	"Draw Me"		"Draw Me"	Yes	Park Yeeun	Yes	Park Yeeun
2018	CAELO	Babylon	"너의 흔적에" (You're Not)	Yes	N/A	Yes	Babylon, Last Nite
	#TUSM	Herself	"보내줄게" (I'll Let You Go)	Yes	DOKO	No	DOKO, bluewind, Sa Seung-ho
			"Thank U Soooo Much"	Yes	Shim Eun-ji	No	Albi Albertsson, Mussashi
			"Game Over"	Yes	present.	Yes	present., Last Nite
2019	Start Of The End		"Silent Movie" (ft. Yoon Mi-rae)	Yes	Shim Eun-ji	No	N/A
			"Not Yours"	Yes	N/A	No	N/A

Filmography

Music videos

Year	Title	Director	Ref.
2018	"Lady"	Naive Creative Production	[27]
	"Thank U Soooo Much"	FantazyLab	[28]
2019	"Silent Movie" feat. Yoonmirae	itchcock	[29]
2020	"yaya (ME TIME)"	Woojin Yeom	[30]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Note
2010	The Last Godfather	Herself	Cameo
2012	The Wonder Girls	Herself

Television series

Year	Title	Network	Role	Note
2008	Here He Comes	MBC	Herself	Cameo
2013	The Virus	OCN	Lee Joo-yeong	Main role
2019	VIP	SBS	Cha Se-rin	Cameo
	Chocolate	JTBC	Oh Jung-bok	Cameo

TV show

Year	Title	Network	Role	Note
2015	Unpretty Rapstar 2	Mnet	Contestant	Semi-finalist
2020	Things These Days	Tcast	MC	with Jun Hyo-seong and Berry Good's Johyun[31][32]
2021	King of Mask Singer	MBC	Contestant	as "Snow Flower" (episodes 289–290)[33][34]

Awards and nominations

Notes

1. "Lady" did not enter the Top 100 Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 96 on the Domestic Gaon Digital Chart.[24]
2. "Perfume" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 30 and 93 on the component Download and BGM charts, respectively.[25][26]

References

1. Mark Russell (29 April 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
2. Kim JiYeon (February 3, 2012). "Spica's Yang Ji Won Talks Being the Last Five Girls′ Girl". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
3. Kim, Won-gyum (2007-09-05). 원더걸스, 새멤버 공개..19세 김유빈 (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
4. "Wonder Girls′ Yubin Cast for OCN′s ′The Virus′". Mwave. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
5. Ho-jung, Won (24 June 2015). "Wonder Girls confirmed to return as band". Kpop Herald. The Korean Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
6. 김, 수경 (2015-11-23). "유빈 '무심한 헤어 걸크러쉬' 전문가의 리얼팁-'언프리티 랩스타2".
7. "Wonder Girls share thoughts about disbandment". Kpop Herald. 10 February 2017.
8. "JYP 측 "원더걸스 해체…예은·선미 떠난다" [공식입장 전문]".
9. "[화보] 유빈 "데뷔 후 첫 솔로앨범 준비..다른 원더걸스 활동 보면 대견해"".
10. "[공식입장] JYP 측 "유빈 MV 촬영 완료, 솔로 데뷔일 미정"".
11. "[단독] 원더걸스 유빈, 데뷔 11년만 솔로데뷔…6월초 출격확정".
12. "Former Wonder Girls Member Yubin Debuts First Solo Song 'Lady': Watch the Video". Billboard. June 15, 2018.
13. "Yubin cancels release of new song amid plagiarism dispute". Kpop Herald. 7 June 2018.
14. "Yubin cancels release of new song amid plagiarism dispute". Yonhap News Agency. June 7, 2018.
15. "Yubin Unleashes Her Galactic Goddess in 'Thank U Soooo Much' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
16. "산다라박 "'스테이지K' 통해 2NE1 오랜만에 뭉치고파"" ['We want to get 2NE1 back together for Stage K,' says Sandara Park]. Naver (in Korean). April 2, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
17. "'30일 컴백' 유빈 "신곡 '무성영화', 톤 다운된 콘셉트..새로운 모습 보여드릴 것"" [Yubin to return with toned-down concept with "Silent Movie" on October 30th]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
18. "JYP 측 "유빈·혜림 전속계약 종료..함께해 영광이었다"[전문]" [JYP announces, "Yubin and Hyerim's contract ended, it's been an honor"]. Daum (in Korean). January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
19. "Wonder Girls' Yubin has Successfully Established Her Own RRR Entertainment Agency". Kpopstarz. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
20. "Yubin Enjoys Her Freedom In Easy-Going "yaya (ME TIME)" MV". Soompi. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
21. "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 20, 2018.
22. "Billboard Korea K-Pop 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
    • "Lady". June 16, 2018.
23. "World Digital Songs". Billboard. 2013-01-02.
    • "Thank U Soooo Much". December 9, 2018.
24. "2018년 23주차 Digital Chart (국내)" [Week 23 of 2018 Digital Chart (Domestic)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 20, 2018.
25. 2021년 03주차 Download Chart [Week 3 of 2021 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 22, 2021.
26. 2021년 03주차 BGM Chart [Week 3 of 2021 BGM Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 22, 2021.
27. "Yubin "숙녀 (淑女)" M/V". Tumblr. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
28. "#Yubin #ThankUSooooMuch #MV". Instagram. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
29. "유빈(Yubin) – 무성영화 (Feat. 윤미래) (Silent Movie (Feat. Yoonmirae))". Muhive. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
30. "YUBIN(유빈) - yaya(넵넵) (ME TIME)". music video people. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
31. "K-pop Corner: Yubin is ready for musical comeback". Gulf News. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
32. "[단독] '이소녀' 유빈·전효성, '요즘것들' MC로 먼저 재회". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved October 27, 2020.
33. Kim Na-ra (January 10, 2021). "'복면가왕' 지코 친형 우태운의 반전 역습 "잘나가는 동생 때문에 불편했는데…" [종합]". My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved January 24, 2021.
34. Kim Joon-seok (January 17, 2021). "'복면가왕' 부뚜막 고양이=양요섭, '9연승 실패'…보물상자 새 가왕 등극[종합]". Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved January 24, 2021.