Lee Chae Yeon is a popular Korean pop singer who rose to fame with her hit single “둘이서” (Two of Us) in 2004 and her wave dance style. It took Chae Yeon many years to attain her current level of fame in Korea’s entertainment industry. In fact, she had to start out in Japan first. She was part of a singing group called Brand New Biscuits and UltraCats. Having passed an audition held by an entertainment management company in Japan, Chae Yeon first appeared on a popular show called “Uchan Nanchan no Urinari!” on Japanese NTV. She appeared on the show for almost 3 years. Along with the television show, Chae Yeon (then Jinny) performed as a singer releasing 3 singles and 1 mini-album in Japan. She returned to Korea with her first official album It’s My Time under her new stage name, Chae Yeon. Initially, she was simply viewed as yet another “sexy concept” singer. However, unlike many others, she had a fairly successful debut. She proved to be a great dancer, and she showed off her vocals in her ballad songs and live performances. Her title song “위험한 연출” (Dangerous Presentation) did well, but her real success came when her 2nd album released late in 2004. “둘이서” (Two Of Us) the lead single, pushed her to #1 on many music charts in the spring of 2005. She returned after a brief break in order to release her third album III, which came in the fall of 2005. Chae Yeon has managed to maintain her popularity by continually participating in variety shows, such as SBS’s X-Man and Love Letter, where she portrays both cute and sexy images. She ended her official schedule with her last X-Man episode on September 25, in order to concentrate on recording her fourth album. Although briefly hospitalised due to exhaustion, she was able to prepare for her comeback, which was at the end of March. Her lead single from her fourth album was “My Love”, which was a Latin-tinged dance song. The single was extensively performed, with a remix promoted from May onwards; she then followed up with “서투른 사랑” (”Clumsy Love”). The album sold 12,346 copies in 2007, placing 68th for the year. Most recently, she has drawn wide media attention and enjoyed soaring of her image with her investing and being directly involved in managing a fashion brand company of her own named Bequem. Her portfolio with a sexy ‘Party’ concept has hit record sales by elegantly mixing her sexy image with adorable and cute feminine touches. Chae Yeon is to have her comeback in music world in May of 2009.
