Irene (Korean: 아이린; Japanese: アイリーン) is a South Korean singer, rapper, and actress under SM Entertainment. She is the leader of the girl group Red Velvet and a member of its sub-unit Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi.
Career
Pre-debut
In 2009, Irene went with her friend to a SM Entertainment audition when she was in High School. Later that day, she received a call from SM Entertainment telling her that they wanted her to join the company. Irene recalls that she was on her way to get ddeokbokki when she got the call.[2]
Irene made an appearance in fellow labelmate Henry's music video for his song "1-4-3".[3]
2013: SMROOKIES
On December 9, 2013, Irene was revealed as a trainee under SMROOKIES, alongside Lami and Jaehyun.[4]
2014-2017: Debut with Red Velvet
On August 1, she debuted as a member of Red Velvet with the digital single "Happiness".
Irene was the MC for the KBS music show Music Bank alongside Park Bo Gum from May 2015 to June 2016.[5] The two are known for their chemistry with each other and as being one of the most popular MC duos.[6] Irene made her acting debut in the web drama, Women at a Game Company, where she played the female lead Ah Reum. The drama aired from July 25, 2016 to August 1, 2016.[7][8] She played a detective on, Hello! Our Language which is a comedy show to help teach people proper Korean.[9] It was announced on October 14, 2016 that Irene would be one of the MC's for the Onstyle TV fashion variety show, Laundry Day.[10] The show aired from October 22, 2016 until January 7, 2017.[11]
2020-2021: Debut with Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi
On April 21, SM Entertainment confirmed that Irene and fellow member Seulgi would be debuting in the group's first sub-unit.[12] On May 26, the name of the unit and its debut mini album, Monster, as well as their official logo was revealed across Red Velvet's social media accounts.[13] The sub-unit officially debuted on July 6 with their first mini album Monster.
On July 16, SM Entertainment confirmed that Irene would be making her movie debut with a lead role in the upcoming movie "Double Patty".[14] Irene is set to play an aspiring anchor named Lee Hyunji.[15] The movie started premiering in theaters on February 17, 2021.[16]
2022: Irene Work & Holiday
On July 25, it was announced that Irene would star in her own web variety show, Irene Work & Holiday. Episodes will be posted on Seezn every Thursday and Friday at 6pm KST starting on August 4.[17]
2024: Contract renewal
On February 7, SM Entertainment announced that Irene renewed her contract with them.[18]
Personal life
Attitude controversy
On October 20, 2020, editor and stylist Kang Kook Hwa published a lengthy post on Instagram on an incident in which a female idol verbally attacked her. It was speculated that it was either Red Velvet's Irene or Seulgi as the post finished with the hashtags "Psycho" and "Monster".[19][20] On the 22nd, Irene posted an apology on Instagram on her behavior while SM posted a statement confirming the news and stated that Irene had personally met with the stylist to apologize.[21]
Discography
Features
OSTs
- "Double Patty OST" ("A White Night") (2021)
Filmography
Films
- SMTown: The Stage (2015)
- Trolls World Tour (2020)
- Double Patty (2021)
Television dramas
- Descendants of the Sun (KBS2, 2016) - cameo
Web dramas
- The Female Employees of a Game Company (Naver TV, 2016)
- Irene Work & Holiday (Seezn, 2022)
Variety shows
- Music Bank (MBC, 2015–2016) - MC
- Laundry Day (OnStyle, 2016–2017)
- Music Bank World Tour: Singapore (KBS2, 2017) - MC
- Music Bank World Tour: Jakarta (KBS2, 2017) - MC
- Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards (2017) - MC
- KBS Song Festival (KBS2, 2017) - MC
- SBS Super Concert in Taipei (SBS, 2018) - MC
- KBS Song Festival (KBS2, 2019) - MC
Music video appearances
- Henry - "1-4-3 (I Love You)" (2013)
- SHINee - "Why So Serious" (2013)
- Kyuhyun - "At Gwanghwamun" (2014)
Endorsements
On August 28, 2023, 2ªN revealed Irene as the brand's newest muse.[22]
- NIKE Women Korea (2013)
- Burberry "Art of the Trench" Korea (2013)
- Ivy Club (with EXO) (2014)
- Swarovski Bracelets (with Seulgi) (2014)
- Rosemont Jewelry (with Seulgi and Yeri) (2016)
- Maxwell House Colombiana Coffee (2016–2018)
- NUOVO (2017–2019)
- Age Of Ring (2017)
- Hyundai Motors (2017)
- HAZZYS Accessories (2018)
- Cooper Vision (2018)
- Lemona Vitamin C (2018)
- Dongwon YangBan (with Wendy) (2018–present)
- Hite Jinro Chamisul Soju (2019–present)
- Miu Miu (2019–present)
- Damiani (2019–present)
- Clinique (2020)
- Prada (2020)
- 2ªN (2023)
Trivia
- She was a trainee for 5 years, joining SM Entertainment in 2009.[23]
- She is the most flexible out of the other members of Red Velvet.[24]
- She is the shortest member among all the members of Red Velvet.[25]
- Her favorite color is purple.[26]
- She can't eat chicken. She said whenever she eats chicken, she turns pale and her head starts hurting. She believes her body doesn't accept it.[27]
- She doesn't like coffee.[27]
- She was nominated for "The 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2020".[28]
- Irene donated 100 million won to Daegu Social Welfare Community Chest to help prevent and overcome the spread of COVID-19.[29]
- She is Red Velvet's fake maknae (she is very carefree, likes to create and make a mess and likes to talk in a baby voice with the other members of the group).[30][31]
Gallery
- Main article: Irene (Red Velvet)/Gallery
References
Official links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||