Chae Yeon

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Lee Chae Yeon (Korean: 이채연, born 이진숙 on December 10, 1978), better known as Chae Yeon (채연), is a popular Korean pop singer, despite the fact that she is relatively old (most Korean pop singers are in their teens or early 20s). She rose to fame with her hit single "둘이서" (Two of Us) in 2005.

Biography

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 (ブランニュービスケット, Brand New Biscuitshttp://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/?), debuted in Japan on January 1, 2001, wheren it has 6 members. Brand New Biscuits included also another Korean singer, Yuny Han (Han Tae Yoon). Chae Yeon was also member of group UltraCats (ウルトラキャッツ, UltraCatshttp://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/?) under the name of “Jinny” (ジニー, “Jinny”http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/?) or “Jinny Lee” (ジニー・リー, “Jinny Lee”http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/http://bestuff.com/?) from 2001 to 2002.

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. Debuting late in 2003, nobody expected her to be successful as she is now. Initially, she was simply viewed as yet another "sexy concept" singer, as many female singers were at that time. 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. The music video for "둘이서" was controversial for being too "racy" in conservative Korea (for it contained scenes showing her full back and exposed underwear).Subsequently, the video was banned on television, and the airing time was limited to after 10:00 p.m. in some cable channels.Becoming heavily played on radio, the song became so popular that a signature "move" from the choreographed dance became known as the "Na-na-na" dance (named after the hook of the song). It managed to hit the top of various music charts in Korea. The follow-up single "다가와" (Come to Me) was released soon after and was also popular, riding on the wave of its predecessor.

She returned after a brief break in order to release her third album III, which came in the fall of 2005. The first single, "오직 너", fared poorly on the charts, as it was not a strong dance single, lacking a catchy hook. The record company then quickly switched to the "Disco Mix" of the song, which helped sustain its life on the charts, although not by much. The second single, "세번째 사랑" (Third Love), also fared poorly, despite the fact that it had a very sexy video and was a bit more uptempo than the lead single. However, this can be attributed to the fade of sexy R&B music in Korea at the time, as ballads were once again the style of choice for Korean singers; albums by other "sexy concept" singers such as Lee Hyori also underperformed.

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. Her appearances on these variety shows allowed her to display her bubbly and positive personality. 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. Although extensively performed, with a remix promoted from May onwards, the album failed to sell well, selling only 11,114 copies before falling off the Music Industry Association of Korea's chart.

In addition to promoting her album, Chae Yeon has also joined the cast of Hi-Five, part of KBS's Happy Sunday line-up. On the reality-variety show, which also stars Hyun Young, the stars attempt to succeed in various tasks, including starring in a musical, becoming flight attendants, and performing action movie stunts. As of November 2007, she is still part of this show, in addition to promoting her follow-up single, "서투른 사랑" ("Clumsy Love").

• Place of birth: Seoul, South Korea
• Education: Department of Broadcasting & Entertainment, Seoul Arts College
• Family: Parents, one older brother
• Marital status: Single

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