Michelle Lee

Michelle Lee (; born September 9, 1991) is a South Korean singer. After successfully auditioning for K-pop Star season 1 in 2011, she was eventually signed to YG Entertainment as part of a new girl group called SuPearls. However, after two years of training, the group was suddenly disbanded before they could debut and Lee's contract was nullified.

She was signed as of 2013 to DIMA Entertainment, the affiliate agency of her alma mater, the Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts.

Biography

Early life Michelle Lee was born September 9, 1991, in Paju, South Korea, to a Korean mother and an African-American father. She grew up in Paju with her older sister and mother, as her father returned to the United States prior to her birth following her parents' separation.

Since the age of five, Lee and her sister would listen to their mother's H.O.T. and Toni Braxton cassette tapes while trying to match their voices to the pitch of the tune, occasionally even trying to learn the dance moves. However, like fellow Black-Korean musicians Insooni and Yoon Mi-rae, Lee faced constant discrimination for her biracial identity in school. Her debut single, "Without You", centers around the bullying she suffered.

Lee admits to never having left South Korean soil, and occasionally struggles with English. She gathered early praise from the 3 judges who are also representatives of SM, YG, and JYP, and was recognized as a strong contender to win the contest along with Park Ji-min.

During the group audition stages, the four-person girl group of Michelle, Park Ji-min, Lee Seung-joo, and Lee Jung-mi drew rave reviews for their renditions of Girls' Generation's "The Boys" and Irene Cara's "Fame", which resulted in all four members advancing to the next stage.

After the show, she was signed by YG Entertainment and was initially scheduled to debut as a member of the girl group Supearls along with Lee Jung Mi, Lee Seung Joo, and Lee Hi (who replaced Ji-min Park, who signed with JYP at the end of the show). For about two years, the girls underwent training at YG and performed at various small venues.

2013–present: SuPearls' disbandment, joining DIMA Entertainment, and solo debut On February 18, 2013, YG announced that plans for their debut had been dropped in order to focus on Lee Hi's solo career.

On March 28, 2013, it was officially reported that Lee had signed with DIMA Entertainment and would officially begin training to debut as a solo artist.

Her debut single, "Without You", was released on March 21, 2014, by DIMA Entertainment and LOEN Entertainment. and her performance earned her the moniker of the Korean Missy Elliott. She is currently on SESESE House.

Discography Extended plays Title Album details Peak chart positions KOR I Can Sing Released: August 4, 2015 Label: Sony Music Formats: CD, digital download 96 Day By Day Released: August 27, 2020 Label: KDM Formats: Digital download—

Singles

Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions SalesAlbum KOR K-pop Star Top 7 "Looking at the Photo" 66 KOR: 61,179 K-pop Star Top 6

Filmography

Television

Date Title Role Network 10/4/2011 & 4/8/2012 K-pop Star Herself SBS 8/11/2016 – presentTribe of Hip Hop HerselfJTBC8/15/2018 – 3/13/2022 & 3/20/2022King of Mask Singer HerselfMBC