Gain (singer)
| Ga-In | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Son Ga-in September 20, 1987[1] |
| Other names | Baby-G |
| Occupation | |
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Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 손가인 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 孫佳人 |
| Revised Romanization | Son Ga-in |
| McCune–Reischauer | Son Ka-in |
Ga-In (hangul: 가인) (born Son Ga-In (hangul: 손가인), September 20, 1987) is a South Korean singer, actress, and entertainer. She is best known as a member of the Korean pop music girl-group Brown Eyed Girls and for her appearances alongside Jo Kwon from 2AM for TV shows We Got Married and All My Love. As a solo artist she has released five EPs.
Music career
2005-09: Brown Eyed Girls & solo projects
Son Ga-In was noticed by the existing members of Brown Eyed Girls after she was eliminated during auditions for the popular South Korean reality series Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa! She was approached by composer Ahn Jung Hoon and invited to audition at Brown Eyed Girls' company, eventually joining the group. The four members performed several small shows before officially debuting as Brown Eyed Girls in 2006.[2] In the same year, she performed a duet "Must Have Love" with SG Wannabe's leader Kim Yong Jun, which became her first number one hit during the Christmas season.
Despite having initial successes, it was not until 2009 that her home group made a breakthrough into Korean mainstream with their hit song "Abracadabra", which was notable for the group's shift of their image and their new direction. After the unexpected success of the song, the group went on to become one of the most mentioned names of K-Pop girl-groups.
Beside from her activities with the group, she also had solo activities, beginning with her appearance in 4Tomorrow, a collaboration project with 4Minute's Hyuna, After School's UEE and KARA's Han Seung-yeon. She also released a digital single, titled "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요) with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon, composed by fellow member JeA, Kim Eana and produced by Lee Min-soo. The duet became a massive success, being her longest running number one hit on Gaon Chart.
2010: Solo career debut & Step 2/4
In April 2010, it was announced that all the Brown Eyed Girls' members would pursue their own solo careers beside the group's activities. Gain herself became the second member to start her solo activities after Narsha by releasing her first mini-album, titled Step 2/4 with "Irreversible" as the title track in October, 2010, to critical acclaim from critics and public due to its strong influence of tango. The video for the track was then released on October 8, 2010, alongside the album's release. The mini-album also achieved modest success, peaking at number two on Gaon Weekly Albums Chart while the title track became her first solo number one hit. Gain worked with university professor Park Myung-soo (Seoul Arts University) on the tango-inspired choreography for "Irreversible". On December 21, 2010, "Bad Temper" was released as a digital download single. She then resumed her group activities after the end of the album's promotion.
After the promotions of Brown Eyed Girls' fourth album, it was revealed that Gain had signed a contract with LOEN Entertainment to manage her solo career.[3]
2012-13: Talk About S, Romantic Spring & "Gentleman"
Prior to the release of her second EP, Gain was featured on Yoon Il-sang's anniversary album Yoon Il-sang 21st Anniversary Album: I'm 21 with a cover of "For You Not To Know" (Hangul: 너만은 모르길). She also released a duet with JYP on April 2012, titled ”Someone Else", to certain success, peaking at number two on Gaon Weekly Singles Chart. However it was only after the release of Brown Eyed Girls' digital single "The Original" that her sophomore EP would be released on October 5, 2012, followed by teasers of the album's content. Reunited with long-time collaborators of both her home group and her previous debut album, such as lyricist Kim Eana, producer Lee Min-soo and Jo Yeong-cheol, the album was received with positive reacts from both critics and the public, while becoming her first release to take the top spot of Gaon Weekly Albums Chart, also her best selling release to date. Its title track, "Bloom", was also her best selling track and one of her signature hits to date. On November 30, 2012, "Nostalgia" was released digitally as a single, featuring rapper Eric Mun of boyband Shinhwa.
Later in April 8, 2013, Romantic Spring was released as a collaboration project between Gain herself and Korean singer Cho Hyung-woo, whom later became her labelmate. The collaborative EP debuted at number three on Gaon Albums Chart. In April 13, 2013, she was featured in PSY's music video "Gentleman", along with the "arrogant" dance which was popularized in the Brown Eyed Girls song "Abracadabra".[4] She then returned with Brown Eyed Girls' 5th studio album, Black Box, which was released on July 25, 2013, and later appeared as a guest performer for IU's "Everybody Has Secrets" (Hangul: 누구나 비밀은 있다) on her 2013 release. In the same year Gain parted with LOEN Entertainment and joined the APOP Entertainment roster, while making her first major appearance in film with The Huntresses.
2014: Truth or Dare
At the beginning of 2014, Gain released her next EP, titled Truth or Dare, which featured lyrics from Kim Eana, Lee Hyo-ri and JYP, along with guest performers such as Bumkey and Jo Kwon, with the former being featured in the album's first single. Considered as a "bolder" move for herself, the album was preceded by "Fxxk U", which received mixed reactions from the public due to its theme dealing with domestic violence; however, it was praised by critics. The second single "Truth or Dare" (Hangul: 진실 혹은 대담) was released on February 6, 2014 to modest success, while the third single "A Tempo" was released digitally on March 21, 2014. Later that year, Gain was featured in Pitchfork's 20 Essential K-Pop Songs list with "Fxxk U" and "Tinkerbell", the opening track for her second EP.[5][6] She also appeared as KARA's Goo Hara's friend in her own reality show Hara ON & OFF at the end of 2014.
2015: Hawwah, Brown Eyed Girls' 10th anniversary and upcoming projects
It was announced that Gain would go on to release her fourth solo mini-album (fifth overall), titled Hawwah in February 2015 as a follow-up to her previous Truth or Dare EP. The album marked the first time in her solo career to feature two title tracks, followed by a Bible-influenced concept. Released in March 2015, the EP eventually debuted and peaked at number five on Gaon Weekly Albums Chart while appearing at number nine on Billboard World Albums Chart, thus became her fourth top five entry and her first to chart in the U.S.. Its singles, "Apple" and "Paradise Lost" peaked at number two and number six on Gaon Weekly Singles Chart respectively. As of April 2015, the album has sold 4,203 copies.[7] She was later announced as one of the participants for JTBC's Going to School, a reality television show about idols going back to high school.
During an interview with Billboard, Gain announced that her home group would return with a new album to coincide with their tenth anniversary since debuting in 2006 and the possibilities of another solo release in 2015 also.[8]
Filmography & television work
Gain appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon starting from September 2009. Their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom All My Love. She was the female lead Hwang Geum-ji, alongside Jo Kwon, who played the role as her younger twin brother Hwang Ok-yeop. Her character was the love interest of Yoon Doo-joon (from BEAST) character also named "Yoon Doo-joon". However, owing to schedule conflicts, her participation in the sitcom ended in May, 2011. In 2013, she became one of the three main female characters for The Huntresses, along with Ha Ji-won and Kang Ye-won. She also participated in JTBC's Going to School in 2015, along with other participants such as Taemin of SHINee and Seulgi of Red Velvet.
Personal life
Aside from her groupmates, she's close friends with IU, Miss A's Fei, KARA's Hara, and 2AM's Jo Kwon and Seulong.
On May 9, 2014, both Gain's and Ju Ji-hoon's agency confirmed that they are dating.[9][10][11][12]
Discography
| Gain discography | |
|---|---|
| EPs | 5 |
| Singles | 13 |
| Collaborative singles | 8 |
Extended plays
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [13] |
US World [14] | |||
| Step 2/4 |
|
2 | — |
|
| Talk About S |
|
1 | — |
|
| Romantic Spring (with Cho Hyung-woo) |
|
3 | — |
|
| Truth or Dare |
|
6 | — |
|
| Hawwah |
|
5 | 9 |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon [21] |
KOR Hot 100 [22] | |||
| "Must Have Love" (with Kim Yong-jun of SG Wannabe) |
2006 | N/A | N/A | Must Have Love (Single album) |
| "Must Have Friends" (with Kim Yong-jun of SG Wannabe) | ||||
| "Tomorrow" (with Hyuna, Uee and Han Seung-yeon as 4Tomorrow) |
2009 | Non-album single | ||
| "Irreversible" | 2010 | 1 | Step 2/4 | |
| "Bad Temper" | 11 | Non-album single | ||
| "Bloom" | 2012 | 2 | 2 | Talk About S |
| "Nostalgia" (featuring Eric Mun of Shinhwa) |
13 | 14 | Non-album single | |
| "Brunch" (with Cho Hyung-woo) |
2013 | 19 | 36 | Romantic Spring |
| "Fxxk U" (featuring Bumkey) |
2014 | 3 | 2 | Truth or Dare |
| "Truth or Dare" | 8 | 7 | ||
| "A Tempo" | 22 | 29 | Non-album single | |
| "Apple" (featuring Jay Park) |
2015 | 2 | N/A | Hawwah |
| "Paradise Lost" | 6 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated. Note: Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and discontinued in July 2014. | ||||
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon [21] |
KOR Hot 100 [22] | |||
| "Nitchell (Baby-G Mix)" | 2010 | 132 | N/A | Step 2/4 |
| "Tango the Night" | 90 | |||
| "Esperando" | 117 | |||
| "The One Who Sings" | 78 | |||
| "Truth" | 56 | |||
| "Tinkerbell" | 2012 | 30 | 22 | Talk About S |
| "Tiredness" | 33 | 24 | ||
| "The Gaze" (featuring Yoon Jong-Shin) |
65 | 56 | ||
| "Catch Me If You Can" | 89 | 80 | ||
| "2 O'Clock Date" | 2013 | 118 | — | Romantic Spring |
| "Sway" | 158 | — | ||
| "Let Me In" | 171 | — | ||
| "Q&A" (featuring Jo Kwon of 2AM) |
2014 | 33 | 27 | Truth or Dare |
| "Black & White" | 51 | 40 | ||
| "Disclosure" | 77 | 64 | ||
| "I Believe" | 65 | N/A | My Spring Days: Original Soundtrack | |
| "Free Will" (featuring Dok2) |
2015 | 45 | Hawwah | |
| "Guilty" | 51 | |||
| "Two Women" | 72 | |||
| "The First Temptation" | 74 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated. Note: Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and discontinued in July 2014. | ||||
Collaborative singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon [21] |
KOR Hot 100 [22] | |||
| "Marriage" (Choi Jung-chul featuring Gain) |
2008 | N/A | N/A | Marriage (Single album) |
| "We Fell in Love" (with Jo Kwon of 2AM) |
2009 | 1 | Non-album single | |
| "For You Not to Know" (As One cover) |
2012 | 8 | 9 | Yoon Il-sang 21st Anniversary Album: I'm 21 |
| "Someone Else" (Park Jin-Young featuring Gain) |
2 | 4 | Spring: 5 Songs for 1 New Love | |
| "Take Out" (Ra.D featuring Gain) |
21 | 15 | LOEN Tree: Summer Story | |
| "MaMa Beat" (LC9 featuring Gain) |
2013 | 86 | — | Skirmish |
| "Everybody Has Secrets" (IU featuring Gain) |
2 | 3 | Modern Times | |
| "Seoul Lonely" (Phantom featuring Gain) |
2014 | 23 | 53 | Phantom Power |
| "Queen" (Miryo featuring Gain) |
2015 | 98 | N/A | Queen (Single album) |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated. Note: Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and discontinued in July 2014. | ||||
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa | Herself | Mnet |
| 2008 | 가족이 필요해 | Herself | MBC |
| 2009-2011 | We Got Married | Herself | MBC |
| 2010-2011 | All My Love | Hwang Geum-ji | MBC |
| 2014 | Hara's ON & OFF | Herself | MBC |
| 2015 | Off to School | Herself | JTBC |
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Closer to Heaven | Seo Jin-hee | |
| 2013 | The Huntresses | Ga-bi | |
| 2015 | Love Forecast | Joon-soo's ex-girlfriend | cameo |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director(s) | Other version(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Must Have Love" | 2006 | Unknown | |
| "Irreversible" | 2010 | Hwang Soo-ah[23] |
|
| "For You Not to Know" | Unknown | ||
| "Someone Else" | 2012 | ||
| "Bloom" | Hwang Soo-ah[24] | ||
| "Nostalgia" | Unknown | ||
| "One of Gain" | |||
| "Brunch" | 2013 | ||
| "Fxxk U" | 2014 | Hwang Soo-ah[23] | |
| "Truth or Dare" | Hwang Soo-ah[23] |
| |
| "Paradise Lost" | 2015 | Hwang Soo-ah[25] | |
| "Apple" | Unknown |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Cyworld Digital Music Awards | Song of the Month (December) | We Fell in Love (with Jo Kwon) | Won |
| 2010 | Song of the Month (January) | Won | ||
| Gaon Chart Grand Opening Awards[26] | January Week 1 Digital Chart Overall #1 | Won | ||
| January Week 2 Digital Chart Overall #1 | Won | |||
| January Week 3 Digital Chart Overall #1 | Won | |||
| January Week 4 Ringback tone #1 | Won | |||
| Melon Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Netizen Popularity Song | Nominated | |||
| Hot Trend Song Award | Irreversible | Nominated | ||
| Music Video of the Year | Won | |||
| 12th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Music Video[27] | Nominated | ||
| Best Collaboration[28] | We Fell in Love (with Jo Kwon) | Won | ||
| Bugs Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best Duet (Gold) | Won | |||
| MBC Entertainment Awards | Show, Variety Female Rookie Award[29] | We Got Married | Won | |
| Best Couple Award with Jo Kwon[29] | Won | |||
| 25th Golden Disk Awards | Digital Music Bonsang | Irreversible | Nominated | |
| Popularity Award | Herself | Nominated | ||
| 20th Seoul Music Awards | Bonsang Awards | Irreversible | Nominated | |
| Popularity Award | Herself | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | 1st SBS MTV Best of the Best | Artist of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2012 | 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Female Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| Best Collaboration Performance | Someone Else (with JYP) | Nominated | ||
| Best Music Video | Bloom | Nominated | ||
| Artist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | ||
| Style in Music Award | Won | |||
| 2nd SBS MTV Best of the Best | Best Solo Female | Nominated | ||
| Best Collaboration | Someone Else (with JYP) | Nominated | ||
| 2nd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards | Song of the Year (October) | Bloom | Won | |
| 22nd Seoul Music Awards | Bonsang Award | Nominated | ||
| Popularity Award | Herself | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | 10th Korean Music Awards | Pop Song of the Year | Bloom | Nominated |
Footnotes
References
- ↑ Mark Russell (29 April 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
- ↑ "Brown Eyed Girls and ZE:A talk about the history of their group names". Allkpop.com. 2010-05-09. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ↑ "Brown Eyed Girls' Gain signs contract with Loen Entertainment for solo activities". Koreaboo.com. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ↑ "싸이 "'젠틀맨' 안무, 브아걸 '시건방 춤'이 모티프"".
- ↑ "Starter: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ↑ "Starter: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ↑ Sales references for "Hawwah":
- "South Korean Gaon Chart: Albums – March 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "Gain Goes In on New 'Hawwah' EP, Religion and South Korea's Conservative Music Industry". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ↑ "'Brown Eyed Girls' Ga In and actor Joo Ji Hoon revealed to be a couple!". Allkpop. May 9, 2014.
- ↑ "BEG′s Gain and Joo Ji Hoon Admit to Dating". interest.me.
- ↑ "Ga-in, Ji-hoon now official". joins.com.
- ↑ "BEG’s Gain Writes to Fans About Her Relationship with Joo Ji Hoon". interest.me.
- ↑ "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ↑ "Billboard World Albums Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ↑ Sales reference for Step 2/4:
- "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – October 2010". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ↑ Sales references for Talk About S:
- "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – October 2012". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ Sales references for Romantic Spring:
- "April 2013 Album Chart" 2013년 04월 Album Chart. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ↑ Sales references for Truth or Dare:
- 2014년 상반기결산 ALBUM CHART [First half of 2014 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Gaon Chart Physical Sales All Time - Female groups/soloists *Updated MARCH 2015 - Music". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
- ↑ Sales references for Hawwah:
- "South Korean Gaon Chart: Albums (Domestic) – The First Half-Year of 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Korea K-Pop Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 Truth Or Dare - 가인 (in Korean). Mnet. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ↑ Lee, Geum-yun (October 12, 2012). 가인 ‘폴 댄스’ 영상 공개, 황수아 감독 ‘大 굴욕’? (in Korean). The Asia Economy Daily. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ↑ 가인 하와 컴백, 과거 턱 성형설 너무한 거 아냐? “턱 깎지 않았다…저절로 바뀐 것” (in Korean). Etoday. March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ↑ '4관왕' 가인-조권, 가온 차트 '싹쓸이'. YTN (in Korean). February 23, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
- ↑ Hicap, Jonathan M. (October 29, 2010). "Controversial Mnet Asian Music Awards bares nominees". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ↑ "2NE1, '2010 MAMA' 5관왕..걸파워 빛났다(종합)". Nate (in Korean). November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- 1 2 "‘아담부부’ 조권-가인, MBC 방송연예대상 2관왕". Joinsmsn (in Korean). November 30, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gain. |
- Official website(Korean)
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