Sunmi

Lee Sun-mi (이선미), known as Sunmi (선미), built one of K-pop's sharpest solo catalogs by refusing the easy post-group nostalgia play. She first broke through as a member of Wonder Girls under JYP Entertainment, then turned her second act into something darker, sleeker, and more self-authored than most idol pivots ever manage.

After debuting with Wonder Girls in 2007, Sunmi stepped away in 2010, returned to the group in 2015, and then reset her path when the act disbanded in 2017. Her solo release run quickly became canon: "24 Hours" announced the voice, "Gashina" redrew her public image, and "Heroine," "Siren," and "pporappippam" proved the reinvention was not a one-off. She later reunited with J.Y. Park for "When We Disco," a retro-pop collaboration that echoed the showmanship of her earlier era without collapsing back into it.

Now signed to Abyss Company, Sunmi has kept widening the frame. Her 2024 single "Balloon in Love" and the 2025 single "Blue!" extended the cinematic, emotionally precise pop language that has made her one of the scene's most recognizable stylists. That run fed into Heart Maid, the first full-length album of her solo career, and confirmed that Sunmi still works best when she sounds completely unlike anyone else.