Jung Whee-in (Korean: 정휘인; born April 17, 1995),[1] known mononymously as Wheein, is a South Korean singer. She rose to prominence in 2014, as a member of the Korean girl group Mamamoo.[2] In 2017, her song "Anymore" with Jung Key, topped the Gaon Charts. In April 2018, she made her debut as a solo artist with her digital single "Easy", peaking at number three in South Korea. In September 2019, Wheein released her first single album Soar.[3]
In 2021, Wheein released her debut EPRedd, which peaked inside the top ten in Korea. In the same year she left RBW, and signed to The L1ve. In 2022, she released her second EP Whee, which reached number four on the Circle Album Chart. In 2023, she released her debut studio album, In the Mood.
Name
Whee-in's given name "휘인" (Hwi-in) was derived from the male lead character of the manhwa "인어공주를 위하여" (For the Mermaid Princess), with the name "조휘인" (Jo Hwi-in). Her mother thought it was a pretty name and named her after the character. Her name in Hanja is written as "輝人", meaning a "shining person".[1]
Early life
Jung Whee-in was born in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea,[4] where she lived with her grandmother as an only child. She graduated from Wonkwang Information Arts High School.[5]
In June 2014, Wheein officially debuted as a member of Mamamoo, serving as one of the group's vocalists, when they released their debut single "Mr. Ambiguous" and EP Hello.[6] She had first appeared in the group's first R&B collaboration "Don't Be Happy", alongside member Solar and featuring Korean singer Bumkey, that January.[7]
On April 17, 2018, Wheein debuted as a solo artist by releasing her first single album magnolia with the lead single "Easy" featuring rapper Sik-K.[10]
In 2019, she went on to feature in a few more tracks with artists including DinDin, Park Bom and also collaborated on a song with Kim Hyun-chul.[11][12]
On September 4, 2019, she released her second single album Soar, with the single "Good Bye."[3] Wheein's first physical release, Soar peaked at number four on the Gaon Album Chart, selling over 23,000 copies in 2019.[13] The single "Good Bye" debuted on the BillboardWorld Digital Song Sales chart at position 24.[14]
On May 1, 2020, Wheein released the song "With My Tears" for the tvN drama Hospital Playlist.[15] She featured on a track again for DinDin in May, for Peakboy in August, for Jvde Milez in September and for Basick in December.[16][17] On September 28, she released a soundtrack titled "Shine On You" for the tvN drama Record of Youth.[18]
2021–2022: Redd, WHEE and other solo activities
Wheein's debut EP Redd, was released on April 13, 2021. It debuted at number seven on the Gaon Album Chart, making it her second top-ten debut on the chart.[19] The EP was the 13th best-selling album of April 2021, with over 72,000 copies sold.[20] Lead single "Water Color" debuted and peaked at number 70 on the Gaon Digital Chart[21] and 15 on the Billboard World Digital Songs Sales chart.[22] On April 23, the English version of "Water Color" was released as a digital single.[23]
On June 11, 2021, Wheein decided not to renew her exclusive contract with RBW, but instead signed a deal with the company allowing her to promote with Mamamoo for at least 2 more years.[24] On August 31, she signed an exclusive contract with Ravi's label, The L1ve.[25]
On August 26, 2021, she featured on a track titled "AM PM" from Jay B's first EP SOMO:Fume.[26]
On November 19, she released the soundtrack "I wish" for the MBC drama The Red Sleeve.[27] On November 28, she released another soundtrack titled "Ice Cream Love" for the Coupang Play drama One Ordinary Day.[28] On December 11, Wheein and singer Ailee released a duet song titled "Solo Christmas".[29]
On January 16, 2022, Wheein released her second EP WHEE, which is her first release under The L1ve. It consists of six tracks, including the lead single "Make Me Happy".[30] It debuted number four on the Circle Weekly Album Chart[31] and sold over 81,000 copies.[32]
On February 13, 2022, Wheein released a re-interpretation of The Stray's song "You, You", as a soundtrack for the webtoonNth Romance.[33] On March 18, she released another soundtrack titled "In Your Days" for the JTBC drama Thirty-Nine.[34]
On April 17, 2022, Wheein held her first solo fanmeeting titled '2022 WHEE IN FANMEETING [D-DAY]' for her birthday. She also released the digital single "D-DAY" on the same day.[35] On May 18, she released the soundtrack "Melody" for the film Gongzza: Gonggi Tazza.[36]
On August 15, 2022, she featured on Ravi's single titled "BYE".[37] On September 2, she released the soundtrack titled "The Only One Have to Forget" for the TVING dating reality show EXchange 2.[38] On November 9, she released the single "Sunny Shower" featuring Colde for Dingo Live.[39] On December 23, she released the soundtrack titled "Cheers!" for the TVING web series Work Later, Drink Now 2.[40] On December 31, Wheein featured in Don Malik's song "Bathtub", alongside JUSTHIS for the Mnet show, Show Me the Money 11.[41]
2023–present: First studio album IN the mood, World tour and more
On October 12, 2023, Wheein released her first studio album IN the mood.[42] The album consists of 11 tracks with "17" featuring Hwasa and "Bite Me" featuring rapper HAON.[43] She stated that her previous EP WHEE and the album IN the mood are two parts of her project based on her Instagram ID, "whee_inthemood".[44] It debuted number ten on the Circle Weekly Album Chart[31] and sold over 82,000 copies.[45]
Wheein performing at her 2024 WHEE IN THE MOOD [BEYOND] World Tour.
On January 3, 2024, Wheein announced her debut solo world tour, 'Whee In The Mood [Beyond]'. On February 15, she released a digital single titled "WHEEE" produced by Young K and Na Sang-hyun.[46]
The world tour 'WHEE IN THE MOOD [BEYOND]', began in Seoul with concerts held on February 24 and 25.[47]
On March 15, she released the soundtrack "Rainy Season" for the re-release of the 2022 Japanese film, The Last 10 Years.[48]
On April 17, a double LP titled WHEE IN the mood was announced. The LP consisted of tracks from her previous EP WHEE and her studio album IN the mood.[50]
On May 15, her collaboration soundtrack with Moonbyul "Frankly Speaking" for the JTBC drama Frankly Speaking was released.[52] On July 20 and 21, she held encore concerts titled 'WHEE IN THE MOOD [BEYOND]: ENCORE' in Seoul.[53]
On August 3, The L1ve announced that her exclusive contract with them had ended.[54]
^Jung, Hae-wook (September 14, 2015). "(정해욱의 가요별점)씨엔블루, '아이돌 밴드'에서 '밴드'로". News Tomato (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
^ abJi, Min-kyung (January 25, 2024). "마마무 휘인, 솔로 첫 월드 투어 개최..亞 6개 도시 팬 만난다" [Mamamoo Wheein holds her first solo world tour...meeting fans in 6 cities] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on May 28, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024 – via Naver.
^ abcAhn, Taehyun (March 6, 2024). "마마무 휘인, 유럽·미주 투어 나선다…포스터 공개" [Mamamoo Wheein to go on tour in Europe and America… Poster released] (in Korean). News 1. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024 – via Naver.
^ abKim, Daeun (June 6, 2024). "휘인, 유럽·미주 투어 성료…7월 앙코르 공연 개최" [Wheein successfully completes Europe and America tour... Encore performance held in July] (in Korean). Dispatch. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024 – via Naver.
^Lee Jun-hyun (August 12, 2022). "라비X마마무 휘인, 새 싱글 'BYE'로 초특급 컬래버레이션" [Ravi X Wheein of Mamamoo, super-special collaboration with new single 'BYE'] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022 – via Naver.
^"2016년 05월 Download Chart" [May 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 3. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
^Yoon Sung-yeol (March 14, 2022). "마마무 휘인→에이핑크 윤보미·오하영 '꿈꾸라' 스페셜 DJ [공식]" [Mamamoo's Wheein → Apink's Bomi Yoon, Hayoung Oh, 'Dream' Special DJ [Official]] (in Korean). MT Star News. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022 – via Naver.
^@pws_logos (May 26, 2019). "Wheein MV Clip 1". Instagram. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
^"soar [싱글]". Melon. September 4, 2019. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
^"Redd [EP]". Melon. April 13, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
^@nvrmndstudio (January 17, 2022). "휘인(Whee In) - 오묘해 MV". Instagram. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
^THEL1VE (October 12, 2023). "휘인(Whee In) - In The Mood MV". YouTube. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
