Soyou

Biography

Kang Ji-hyun (Korean: 강지현; born February 12, 1992), known professionally as Soyou (소유), is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a former member of the South Korean girl group Sistar.

== Early life and education == Soyou was born on February 12, 1992, in Jeju Island, South Korea. Before debuting, she was a licensed hairdresser and worked in a hair salon. Soyou was known as a Cube Entertainment trainee, who was originally supposed to debut as a member of 4Minute. Soyou has said that she didn't make it into the group because she was lacking in many ways and was originally supposed to be in Sohyun's place. Instead, Soyou auditioned for Starship Entertainment, singing a cover of Navi's "On The Road", and after her traineeship, she debuted as a member of Sistar in June 2010. The group gained significant popularity after the release of their hit single "So Cool" in 2011. Soyou pursued her middle school at Mullae Middle School and completed high school at the Korean Arts High School with a specialization in theater and film. In 2012, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Applied Music degree from Sungshin Women's University.

== Career ==

=== 2010–2017: Original soundtracks, collaborations and Sistar disbandment ===

In August 2010, Soyou collaborated with Kan Jongwoo of J2 for the soundtrack for the drama Gloria. In September, she also sang a soundtrack for MBC's drama Playful Kiss. The song is titled "Should I Confess". In November 2012, Soyou sang a duet with hip-hop duo Geeks. The song "Officially Missing You, Too" is a remake of Tamia's song of the same title. It is a part of Geeks' project album, Re;Code Episode 1. She also collaborated with fellow label mates, K.Will and Boyfriend's Jeongmin, for Starship Planet's yearly holiday release, titled "White Love".

In September 2013, it was revealed that Soyou and Mad Clown would release a duet called "Stupid in Love" on the 10th. In February 2014, Soyou and Junggigo released a duet called "Some". In January 2015, it was revealed that Soyou, together with Lee Hanee and Kim Jungmin, would be the new MCs of beauty tip program Get It Beauty. The new MCs' first episode aired on February 4, 2015.

In February 2017, Soyou and Baekhyun released a duet called "Rain". In May 2017, Sistar released their last single "Lonely". The group performed their most successful summer hits – "Touch My Body", "Shake It", "Loving U", "I Swear" and also their last song "Lonely" on four major music shows, before concluding the schedule on Inkigayo on June 4, 2017 and officially disbanding. In August 2017, Soyou was featured as the vocalist on Primary's song "Right?".

=== 2017–2023: Solo debut ===