Wendy (웬디) is a South Korean singer under SM Entertainment. She is the main vocalist of the girl group Red Velvet and a member of the female unit GOT the beat.
She made her solo debut on April 5, 2021 with the mini album Like Water.[1]
Career
Pre-debut
Wendy auditioned for Cube Entertainment in 2011 through the Koreaboo's Global Online Auditions. She was then picked as one of the fifteen finalists and traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to compete in the final round which she was not the winner.[2] According to Yang Hyun Suk, Wendy also auditioned for YG Entertainment, but was not accepted.[3] Wendy was accepted into SM Entertainment in 2012 when she accompanied a friend to the S.M. Global Audition. She didn't intend to audition, but spontaneously went since her friend was planning on auditioning.[4][5]
2014–present: SMROOKIES, Red Velvet, Solo activities
On March 19, 2014, she was revealed as a trainee under SMROOKIES.[6]
She debuted as a member of Red Velvet on August 1, 2014 with the group's first digital single "Happiness".
On January 9, 2016, Wendy joined the panelists for We Got Married and announced she would be joining the team as a new panelist. [7] Wendy went on the MBC variety show King of Mask Singer on January 25, 2016, where she went under the name, Space Beauty Maetel.[8] Wendy was one of the fixed planeists for the KBS2's variety show, Trick & True which aired from October 25, 2016 to February 8, 2017.[9][10] On February 22, 2018, SK Telecom unveiled "Holobox" which featured Wendy as one of the AI voice assistant speaker and an interactive holographic avatar.[11] On July 21, 2018, she alongside Seulgi was on the special 100th episode of KBS's variety show Battle Trip.[12] Wendy went on King of Mask Singer on October 20 and October 27, 2019, where she went under the name, Green Witch.[13]
Following her injury at 2019's SBS Gayo Daejeon, she was on indefinite hiatus from all group activities. On March 20, 2020, the production team for MBC's radio show, 'Listen to a Books' announced that Wendy would be reading the 'Alice in Wonderland' story on April 12.[14] Wendy was casted for the role of Poppy in the animated film of the Korean dubbed version of "Trolls: World Tour" which premiered in theaters on April 29, 2020.[15] On August 19, 2020, SM Entertainment released a statement stating that Wendy will be participating in the group's promotional activities at a level that does not strain her.[16] JTBC and SM C&C STUDIO revealed that Wendy would be one of the MC's for their new music talk show Mysterious Record Shop which began airing in January 2021.[17]
On March 10, 2021, SM Entertainment announced that Wendy would be making her solo debut in April.[18] On March 24, 2021, a teaser photo was released, confirmed that she would be releasing her first mini album, Like Water, on April 5.[1]
On July 1, a representative from SBS announced that Wendy was selected to be the new DJ for their radio show Young Street.[19]
On December 27, 2021 she was revealed as being one of the members for the first unit, GOT the beat to the project group Girls On Top.[20] The unit debuted on January 3, 2022 with the digital single, "Step Back".
On June 10, 2022, Wendy was revealed to be one of the guests for Kwon Eun Bi's Kwon Eun Bi 1st Concert "Secret Doors". She will be attending on June 19, 2022.[21]
Personal life
Health
On December 25, 2019, Wendy fell from a stage while rehearsing for a solo performance at the annual SBS Gayo Daejeon. She suffered serious injuries to her pelvis, wrist and cheek. SBS later issued an apology and has begun an internal investigation into the cause of the accident.[22][23] On April 3, 2020, SM Entertainment gave an update on Wendy and revealed that she had been discharged from the hospital and that she has recovered significantly, but she is still receiving outpatient treatment. [24]
Discography
Mini albums
- Like Water (2021)
Digital singles
- "Airport Goodbyes" (2021)
Collaborations
- "Spring Love" (with Eric Nam) (2016)
- "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (with Moon Jung Jae and Nile Lee) (2016)
- "Sound of Your Heart" (with Lee Dong Woo, Yesung, Sunny, Luna, Seulgi, Taeil & Doyoung) (2016)
- "Doll" (with Kangta & Seulgi) (2017)
- "The Little Match Girl" (with Baek A Yeon) (2017)
- "One Summer" (with Yang Da Il) (2018)
- "Written In The Stars" (with John Legend) (2018)
- "STATION X 4 LOVEs for Winter Part.1" (with BoA, J-Min, Siwon, Sunny, Taemin, Doyoung, & Suho) (2019)
Features
- Ricky Martin - "Vente Pa Ca" (English Ver.) (2015)
- Taemin - "Be Your Enemy" (2020)
OSTs
- "Mimi OST" ("Because I Love You") (2014)
- "Who Are You: School 2015 OST Part.7" ("Return" with Yuk Jidam) (2015)
- "D-Day OST" ("Let You Know") (2015)
- "Uncontrollably Fond OST Part.7" ("Don't Push Me" with Seulgi) (2016)
- "Hwarang OST Part.4" ("Only You" with Seulgi) (2017)
- "Elena of Avalor OST" ("My Time") (2017)
- "The Beauty Inside OST Part.5" ("Goodbye") (2018)
- "Touch Your Heart OST Part.3" ("What If Love") (2019)
- "The King: Eternal Monarch OST Part.10" ("My Day is All About You" with Zico) (2020)
- "Start-Up OST Part.11" ("Two Words") (2020)
- "Yumi's Cells OST Part.1" ("If I Could Read Your Mind") (2021)
- "Seoul Check-in OST Part.1" ("Girls") (2022)
Concerts
Concert participation
- Kwon Eun Bi 1st Concert "Secret Doors" (2022)
Filmography
Film
- SMTOWN: The Stage (2015)
- Trolls World Tour (2020)
Television dramas
- Descendants of the Sun (KBS, 2016) - Cameo, Episode 16
Variety shows
- 100 People, 100 Songs (JTBC, 2015) - Contestant
- We Got Married (MBC, 2015-2016) - Panelist
- King of Mask Singer (MBC, 2016) - As "Space Beauty Maetel", Episode 43
- Trick & True (KBS, 2016-2017) - Fixed panelist
- Raid the Convenience Store (tvN, 2017) - Host, Trial Programming
- K-Rush (KBS, 2017) - Host, Episodes 1-4
- Battle Trip (KBS, 2018) - Episodes 100-103
- King of Mask Singer (MBC, 2019) - As "Green Witch", Episodes 225-226
- Mysterious Record Shop (JTBC,2021) - Host
Radio shows
- Young Street (SBS Power FM, 2021-present) - DJ
Producing & writing credits
| Artist | Song | Album | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | |||
| Ellie Goulding, Diplo | "Close To Me (Red Velvet Remix)" | N/A | Writing[25] |
Endorsements
On November 23, 2018, it was revealed that Wendy alongside fellow Red Velvet member Irene were selected as the new models for Dongwon YangBan Rice Porridge.[26] On December 31, 2020, L'Occitane Korea announced their "Be Happy, Smile Again" campaign which revealed Wendy as their new muse.[27] On March 25, 2021, it was announced that Wendy would be the new endorser for Pond's Thailand.[28]
- Dongwon YangBan Rice Porridge (with Irene) (2018)
- L'Occitane Korea (2020)
- Pond's Thailand (2021)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Recipient | Award | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea First Brand Awards | |||
| 2022 | Wendy | Radio DJ | Won[29] |
Trivia
- She tried out for Cube Entertainment before making it as a trainee at SM Entertainment in 2012.[30]
- She trained for approximately 2 years under SM.[31]
- She became fluent in Korean and English while living in Canada, and has also learned to speak some Spanish and French.[32]
- As of May 14, 2021, she is a member of the Community Chest of Korea’s Honor Society for donating over 100 million won to the charity.[33]
Gallery
- Main article: Wendy/Gallery
References
Official links
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