Groovy Rhino
K-pop fans will tell you that the Korean music scene in 2016 is all about the groups – acts like EXO, Got7 and Girls’ Generation currently rule the roost. But there are also plenty of talented solo artists out there, and many are equally deserving of your attention. So here is a list of six solo influential solo performers every K-pop fan needs to know about.
IU
Still aged only 22, IU is already a K-pop phenomenon, with over a dozen EP and studio album releases to her name. However, it has not all been plain-sailing for the former teen star – her first, much-vaunted 2008 EP “Lost and Found” bombed commercially.
The star returned the following year with the synthpop-influenced “Boo,” a better match for her vocal skills. From there, she quickly kicked on to bigger and brighter things, winning starring roles in several major Korean drama series and scores of advertising deals in the process.
Although skeptics say that her fame is largely down to her girlish looks, which have won her the nickname “Korea’s younger sister,” IU has exhibited her musical versatility on more than one occasion. The Powell and Pressburger-influenced “The Red Shoes” saw her explore jazz stylings. And last year saw her turn her hand to electropop, in the shape of “Twenty Three.”
