IU (singer)

Lee Ji-eun (Korean: 이지은; born 16 May 1993), better known by her stage name IU (Korean: 아이유), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actress. While still in middle school, IU auditioned for various talent agencies with ambitions of becoming a singer. She signed with LOEN Entertainment in 2007 as a trainee and began her music career at the age of 15 with her debut album, Lost and Found. Her follow-up albums, Growing Up and IU...IM, brought her mainstream success, but it was through "Good Day" (Korean: 좋은 날), the lead single from her 2010 album Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" spent five consecutive weeks at the top position of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and holds the record for spending the most number of weeks at No. 1 along with Psy's "Gangnam Style".

With the success of her 2011 albums, Real+ and Last Fantasy, IU established herself as a formidable force on the music charts of her native country and further cemented her girl next door image as Korea's "little sister". 2011 also saw her first foray into song-writing with "Hold My Hand", which was written for the television series The Greatest Love. IU's third full-length album release, Modern Times, in 2013 showcased a more mature style that was a departure from her established girlish image, with several tracks reaching the top 10 positions on music charts. While her subsequent releases, including albums A Flower Bookmark and Chat-Shire, continued to deviate from the mainstream K-pop style, IU retained her dominance on music charts.Chat-Shire marked the first time she is credited as the sole lyricist and producer of her own album.