Irene (singer)

Irene was born Bae Joo-hyun on March 29, 1991 in Daegu, South Korea.[1] Her family consists of her parents and a younger sister. She attended Haknam High School in Daegu.[2] She joined SM Entertainment in 2009 and trained for five years.[3]

On December 9, 2013, Irene was one of the second batch of trainees introduced as a member of SM Entertainment's pre-debut training team, SM Rookies, alongside former trainee Lami and now-NCT member Jaehyun.[4] She also appeared in the music video of labelmate Henry Lau's song "1-4-3" several months prior.[5]

Various clips of Irene were released in SM Entertainment's official YouTube channel, one of which included her and Seulgi dancing to "Be Natural", a song originally performed by SM Entertainment's group S.E.S., showcasing their dancing.[6]

On August 1, 2014, Irene made her official debut as a member of Red Velvet, becoming the leader of the group.[7] Since then, Red Velvet has released eleven EPs and two studio albums as well as two reissue albums. They have become regarded as one of the most popular K-pop groups in South Korea and worldwide. In November 2014, Irene appeared in the music video of Kyuhyun's ballad single “규현 '광화문에서 (At Gwanghwamun)”.[8]

In September 2015

From May 2015 to June 2016, Irene hosted the music show Music Bank with actor Park Bo-gum.[9] They both gained attention for their chemistry as well as singing and hosting skills.[10] The press called them one of the best partnerships in the show's history.[11]

In July 2016, Irene made her acting debut in the web drama Women at a Game Company where she played the female lead.[12][13] In the same month, Irene was cast in Hello! Our Language, a sitcom that was set on teaching viewers proper Korean.[14] She played as detective that would find and determine the offender.[14] On October 14, Irene became a host of OnStyle's fashion show Laundry Day. The show premiered on October 22, 2016.[15] In the same month, she became a panelist on the KBS show Trick & True with bandmate Wendy.[16]

In March 2017, Irene partnered with actor Kim Min-jae for the portrayal of two lovers in the MV of Red Velvet's SM Station ID “Would U”.[17]

In July 2019, SM Entertainment announced that Irene would be collaborating with South Korean DJ and producer Raiden on the track "The Only", which was released on August 2.[18]

On April 20, 2020, SM confirmed that Irene, alongside member Seulgi, would form Red Velvet's first sub-unit.[19] Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi debuted on July 6 with the extended play Monster. On July 16, 2020, SM confirmed that Irene would be acting in the upcoming film Double Patty, which is to be released later on this year.[20] She is to play the role of Lee Hyun-Ji, an aspiring anchor.[21][22]

Irene has been hailed a “CF Queen” due to her huge marketing power and numerous endorsement deals ranging from cosmetics, luxury apparel items, and up to basic commodities.[23][24] Besides her endorsements with Red Velvet as a group, she also became a model for Ivy Club together with labelmates EXO in 2015. In 2016, she became an endorser of coffee brand Maxwell House.[25] In 2017, Irene was also chosen to be the promotional model for the MMORPG Age of Ring (반지).[26] In the same year, she became the official endorser of Hyundai Auto Advantage program.[27]

On February 26, 2018, Irene was selected to be the model of contact lens brand Cooper Vision. In the same month, she became an exclusive model of the British casual accessory brand Hazzy's Accessories.[28] On May 3, she became the brand model for famous vitamin brand LEMONA Vitamin C and was given the title “human vitamin”.[29] On August 9, she was announced as the new exclusive model for French sports brand Eider for fall/winter of 2018 and spring/summer of 2019.[30] In November 2018, Irene, together with Wendy, also became an endorser of Dongwon Yangban Rice Porridge.[31] In December, she was chosen to be the face for HiteJinro Chamisul soju brand.[32]

In February 2019, Irene was announced as the new muse of the Italian luxury jewelry brand Damiani, becoming the first Asian to represent the brand as a muse.[33] In the same year, she also became the face of fashion brand Miu Miu.[34] In March 2019, she attended Parish Fashion Week and caused a craze at Miu Miu's AW19 show with her incandescent presence and pristine features.[35][36]

In March 2020, Irene became the new ambassador for high-end beauty brand Clinique in South Korea and Asia Pacific.[37] On September 17, 2020, Irene was announced as the new ambassador for Prada. Vogue Korea released a pictorial featuring her and EXO Chanyeol.[38]

From 2017 to 2019, in the nation-wide survey conducted by Gallup Korea for Most Popular Idols, Irene was named as one of the most loved idol celebrity of the year in South Korea.[39][40][41] In 2019, in a separate survey among soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea, Irene was ranked as the third most popular female K-pop idol.[42] Irene is also renowned for her brand recognition and marketing power, having topped the 'Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking' published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute several times.

On October 21, 2020, Irene came under fire for allegedly mistreating and lashing out at a fashion editor on set during a photoshoot (according to a now-deleted Instagram post of that fashion editor).[44] Irene took to the social media platform to post an official statement, admitting her wrongdoings, and apologizing for her behavior. SM Entertainment also subsequently released an apology for the hurtful words and behavior.[45] The heated controversy had caused widespread reaction as it sparked larger conversations about the deep-rooted “gapjil” (갑질) culture in Korean society. Experts and spokespersons of various political movements in South Korea believed that much of the public outrage towards Irene stems from the country's reckoning with “gapjil” (or abusive conduct and bullying by people in positions of power or seniority), an issue that the country has been trying to eradicate and tone down.[46] The perception of the general public in South Korea toward members of idol groups also came to light with regards to the incident, wherein women in particular are held to a higher standard compared to male artists when it comes to controversies.[46]

Following further numerous speculations in regards to the incident, as well as more allegations of Irene's mistreatment, there were also staffs who have previously worked with Irene voicing their opinion to defend the musician. Some stylists, dancers, and make-up artists that worked with her had also posted on their Instagram accounts that they had never experienced such rude actions that are being shared about Irene.[47] Ellena Yim, a former SM stylist and visual director, also claimed there are always "two sides to every story" and it's unfortunate that people refused to look at the other side of the story as they only concentrate on what has been revealed and what they want to see.[48]

The involved fashion editor also spoke up about rumors circulating online and asked to stop the speculations. She emphasized that there was no monetary settlement, and only an exchange of "sincere apologies" occurred when they had met again.[49]