Juniel

Life and career

1993–2010: Early life and career beginnings Juniel was born Choi Jun-hee on 3 September 1993, in Seoul, South Korea. She started playing the guitar as a child, and, at the age of 16, she wrote her first song, "Boy", which was later included on her first Japanese EP. Initially a trainee at Good Entertainment, Juniel later joined FNC Entertainment when she was in middle school. She attended the School of Performing Arts Seoul for high school and studied abroad in Japan, where she won the Japanese audition program Niji Iro Supernova, beating out many other singers and songwriters from the country.

2011: Ready Go, Dream & Hope, and label change Juniel released her first Japanese EP, titled Ready Go, on 29 April 2011. Her second EP, Dream & Hope, was released on 12 July 2011. In November, Juniel underwent a label change to Warner Music Japan and made her major label debut with the single "Forever". She promoted the single with a solo concert on 12 November at Space Shower TV The Diner, a concert venue in Shibuya.

2012: South Korean debut, My First June, and 1&1 Juniel released her second Japanese single, "Sakura ~Todokanu Omoi~" (さくら～とどかぬ想い～), on 15 February 2012.

On 22 May, Juniel released her first Korean song, a duet with Jung Yong-hwa, titled "Fool" . On 7 June, she released her debut Korean EP, My First June, which includes the lead single "Illa Illa" . Her self-composed songs, which were previously released in Japan, were also included on the EP. "Illa Illa" was later chosen as the theme song for the character Im Mae-ari, played by Yoon Jin-yi, in the Korean drama series A Gentleman's Dignity. Juniel made a cameo appearance on the series as a street performer in Hongdae.

Juniel's second EP, 1&1, was released on 20 November 2012. 1&1 peaked at number four on the Gaon Album Chart, selling a total of 3,097 copies. The music video for its lead single, "Bad Man", was released on the same day, peaking at number four on both the Gaon and Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 charts. Other songs included on the album are Korean remakes of "Boy", "Oh Happy Day", "Cat Day" and a new song co-written and co-composed by Juniel titled, "Happy Ending". and was invited to perform at MIDEM festival's Happy Hour Business Party in Cannes, France, on 27 January 2013. She released her debut Japanese studio album Juni on 6 March 2013, which consists of eleven self-composed songs and a Japanese version of the duet "Babo" with CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa.

A month later, her third extended play titled Fall in L released on 25 April 2013. The EP is composed of four songs: the lead track "Gwiyeoun Namja" (귀여운 남자; "Pretty Boy"), "Date" (데이트), "Jamkkodae" (잠꼬대; "Sleep Talking") and "My Lips". On the same day of its release, "Gwiyeoun Namja" topped several Korean real-time music charts. On 2 May 2013, Juniel was appointed honorary ambassador for teenagers at the 2013 Teenage Family Month Ceremony.

On 18 July, Juniel released a digital single titled "Love You More Than Ever" featuring Hanhae from PHANTOM as a part of producer Kim Do Hoon's 'DOKKUN PROJECT'. The song immediately topped the online Korean music charts such as Bugs, Soribada & Naver Music after its release.

On 9 December, Juniel and CNBLUE's Lee Jonghyun formed a duet and released a winter special digital album called 'Romantic J' with the song titled "Love Falls". The song was inspired by the movie "Music and Lyrics", where Lee Jonghyun is the music composer and Juniel is the lyricist.

In April 2015, Juniel collaborated with Teen Top's Niel for release a duet called "Spring Love". Niel & Juniel had their debut stage on Mnet's M! Countdown on 16 April 2015.

On 21 August, Juniel made a comeback with her second digital single "Sorry" on Music Bank.

2016–present: Label change and Poetic Narrator On 20 January 2016, FNC Entertainment announced that Juniel would not be continuing her contract. The agency stated that "Juniel's contract expires at the end of the month. Both parties discussed whether or not to renew the contract and following Juniel's intention, we′ve decided not to renew the contract." On 22 February, a C9 Entertainment representative said that they've recently signed a contract with Juniel.

In 2020, she formed the duo Poetic Narrator with musician/producer Doko, and announced that she would be going by her given name, Seo Ah. They released their mini-album, Poetic License on 23 January.

On 28 December 2021, C9 Entertainment announced that Juniel would not be renewing her contract.

On June 11, 2022, Juniel signed a contract with K Tigers Entertainment.

Discography

Studio albums Juni (2013)

Awards and nominations

Year Awards CategoryResult 2010 Japan Niji Iro Supernova Winner 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards Artist of the Year Best New Female Artist 19th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards Rookie Singer Award 4th Melon Music Awards Rookie Award T-Store Best Song Award ("illa illa") The 27th Golden Disk Awards Digital Bonsang ("illa illa") Popularity Award New Rising Star Award The 22nd High1 Seoul Music Awards Rookie Award Popularity Award

Filmography

Endorsements 2012: Bean Pole's Bike Repair Shop (with Busker Busker) 2013: Sunny10 (with EXO) 2013: Elite (with Infinite) 2014: Buckaroo Jeans (China)

Concerts 10th-anniversary concert 'Junniversary' (2022)