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Lee Jin-ah
Lee Jin-ah (Korean: 이진아; born March 16, 1991) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and jazz pianist. After finishing in third place on SBS's K-pop Star 4, she signed with Antenna in 2015. Her distinctive musical style combines jazz with pop and R&B, often featuring whimsical lyrics.
| Lee Jin-ah |
|---|
| Lee in 2022 |
| (1991-03-16) March 16, 1991Gwangju, South Korea |
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| 2013–present |
| .mw-parser-output .marriage-line-margin2px{line-height:0;margin-bottom:-2px}.mw-parser-output .marriage-line-margin3px{line-height:0;margin-bottom:-3px}.mw-parser-output .marriage-display-inline{display:inline} |
| Shin Sung-jin (m. 2019) |
| 1 |
| Musical career |
| Jazzpop |
| Vocalspianokeyboards |
| Antenna |
| antenna.co.kr/LeeJinAh |
| 이진아 |
| 李珍雅 |
| I Jina |
| I China |
Lee Jin-ah (Korean: 이진아; born March 16, 1991) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and jazz pianist. After finishing in third place on SBS's K-pop Star 4, she signed with Antenna in 2015. Her distinctive musical style combines jazz with pop and R&B, often featuring whimsical lyrics.
Lee Jin-ah majored in applied music at Seoul Institute of the Arts.
In 2011, she took part in the CCM singer audition program Gospel Star C Season 1 as part of a group called Snowdrop, who placed within the final top 10.
On March 5, 2012, she was selected as the winner of the 9th Tune Up, a competition and musician support program run by the CJ Cultural Foundation.
Lee debuted in 2013 with her first album, Invisible. The album was produced by Kim Soo-jin, a music director who had previously produced OSTs for dramas including Behind The White Tower, Sign, and Queen Seondeok. Lee Han-jin, a professor of applied music at Seoul Institute of the Arts participated in this album as a jazz trombone performer. This album was considered too intense to be a debut of a new musician.
She was a member of the "JinA Band". The other members of "JinA Band" were Park Hyun (contrabass) and Cho Sun-kyun (drums) before and after K-pop Star 4.
In 2014, she participated as a contestant in K-pop Star 4, a reality television audition program on SBS. She performed seven self-written songs, which is rare in audition programs, drawing rave reviews from the judges with her performances. JYP Entertainment CEO Park Jin-young, one of the three judges, became especially impressed, saying he "might as well quit the music industry now." Antenna Entertainment CEO You Hee-yeol drew attention by saying, "I think I saw here the reality of a female musician who I had dreamed of not being able to conclude or define." Lee and her songs became very popular through this program.
On April 5, 2015, she won 3rd place in said competition. On April 20 , it was announced that she had signed with Antenna Music alongside Jung Seung-hwan who was her co-contestant and runner-up for K-pop Star 4.
On June 10, 2016, Lee Jin-ah made a label debut with the single "I'm Full" which is the first part of her trilogy release. She also was involved in the agency concert called "Hello Antenna:The Label Concert" held from September 23–25.
In March, 2017, Lee Jin-ah was part of a concert by "Antenna Angels" (Antenna Music's junior artists) called "We, Begin". On July 20, 2017, her first EP Random was released. This served as the second part of her trilogy release. She produced all songs in it at the recommendation of her agency CEO You Hee-yeol. You Hee-yeol said to her not to pay much attention to the album's success, praising her as "a musician who shows her true value at a concert hall."
Random was described by Jung Yeon-kyung at the music publication IZM as "a mixture of Girls' Generation, Jamie Cullum, Okdal, and Disney animated musicals". In particular, the song "Stairs" was noticed by critics for its novel fusion of pop and jazz. On the title track "Random", the lyrics describe an experience in which she discovered an unexpected joy while listening to music in random play. She said this song contains the meaning of discarding prejudice in music and other things. The EP was later nominated for Best Pop Album at the 2018 Korean Music Awards.
In 2017 Park Jong-woo (bass) joined the "Lee Jin-ah trio". Another member of the "Lee Jin-ah Trio" is Seo Ju-young (drums). Both Lee Jin-ah and Seo Ju-young entered Seoul Institute of the Arts in the same year. Park Jong-woo was a year senior. Park and Seo have sometimes participated in composing and arranging her songs.
Lee Jin-ah was also part of Antenna's label concert later that year called "With, Antenna" that toured throughout 5 cities in South Korea and U.S.
On June 26, 2018, she released her 2nd full album Jinah Restaurant Full Course which is the final part of her trilogy release.
In 2020, her second EP, Candy Pianist was released. By participating in writing and composing all the songs in this EP, Lee once again proved her ability as a singer-songwriter. The theme of it is "Awakening", which is clearly shown in the title song "Dreamy Alarm", "Awake (Feat. Sam Kim)", and other tracks. This EP contains Lee's desire to give strength and motivate those who listen to her music as a candy pianist.
In 2021, she made her debut as a film music director with Children Are Happy OST.
On September 13, 2023, Lee Jin-ah released her 3rd full length album after 5 years called Hearts of the City. This album is filled with 12 songs presenting a new musical world built from various emotions observed in a familiar but scary world called "city" while also warmly touching the inner hearts of those who live in one. It has two title tracks, namely "Mystery Village" depicting the city as mysterious place, and "My Whole New World" giving encouragement to build our own enjoyable city. This album also features various artists such as Stella Jang, Sarah Kang, cellist Hong Jin-ho, Lee Hyo-ri, Lee Sangsoon, and producers Park Moon-chi and Simon Petrén.
Lee married pianist Shin Sung-jin in March 2019. They met as music students at Seoul Institute of the Arts. Shin has steadily participated in her songs by playing musical instruments, rhythm programming, and string arrangements. On January 7, 2025, Lee announced her pregnancy. Lee announced the birth of her first child on July 7, 2025.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released: October 10, 2013 | |||
| Label: Chili Music Korea | |||
| Formats: CD, digital download | |||
| Unvisible (보이지 않는 것) | |||
| A Letter (편지) | |||
| I Love You Song (사랑해 쏭) | |||
| Time Slow Down (시간아 천천히) | |||
| After Years | |||
| Believe (믿어요) (feat. Lee Han-jin) | |||
| Coloring Book (색칠놀이) | |||
| Single Flower of Star (별 한송이) | |||
| Ordinary Days (feat. Lee Gyeong-rok) | |||
| Farewell Diamond (이별보석) | 13 | KOR: 1,550 | |
| Released: June 26, 2018 | |||
| Label: Antenna | |||
| Formats: CD, digital download | |||
| Track listing | |||
| Run (with Gray) | |||
| What is Love? (편하다는 건 뭘까) | |||
| Yum Yum Yum (냠냠냠) (Rebooted Ver. with TAK) | |||
| Like & Love | |||
| Stairs (계단) | |||
| Random | |||
| Nothing Special (별것도 아닌 일) | |||
| Everyday | |||
| What Should I Do (어디서부터) | |||
| Bye Bye Bye (밤, 바다, 여행) | |||
| Find the Day (오늘을 찾아요) | |||
| We Are (우리 시작) (with Sam Kim, Kwon Jin-ah, Jung Seung-hwan, Chai) | 40 | —.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap}N/a | |
| Released: September 13, 2023 | |||
| Label: Antenna | |||
| Formats: CD, digital download | |||
| Track listing | |||
| My Whole New World | |||
| Mystery Village (with producer Simon Petrén) | |||
| End of the Journey (여행의 끝에서) (with Stella Jang) | |||
| Skyline (도시의 건물) | |||
| True Friends ((진정한 친구) | |||
| City Lights (with Sarah Kang) | |||
| Dreams of Sadness (잠결의 슬픔) (feat. Hong Jin-ho) | |||
| Midnight Delivery | |||
| Accepting | |||
| When You Come Home (너가 집에 오면 난) | |||
| Sing! (Prod. Park Moon-chi) | |||
| Words(말) (with Lee Hyo-ri and Lee Sang-soon) | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released: July 20, 2017 | |||
| Label: Antenna | |||
| Formats: CD, digital download | |||
| Track listing | |||
| Stairs (계단) | |||
| Random | |||
| Nothing Special (별것도 아닌 일) | |||
| Everyday | |||
| What Should I Do (어디서부터) | |||
| Bye Bye Bye (밤, 바다, 여행) | |||
| Find the Day (오늘을 찾아요) | 35 | KOR: 999 | |
| Released: September 29, 2020 | |||
| Label: Antenna | |||
| Formats: CD, digital download | |||
| Track listing | |||
| Candy Pianist (캔디 피아니스트) | |||
| The Wall Blocks Me (나를 막는 벽) | |||
| Dreamy Alarm (꿈같은 알람) | |||
| Noisily Anywhere (여기저기 시끄럽게) (feat. Toy) | |||
| Dust (먼지) | |||
| Awake (feat. Sam Kim) | 28 | —N/a |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | — | —N/a | Unvisible | |
| 2015 | — | Ad campaign singles | ||
| 45 | KOR: 57,544 | |||
| 2016 | — | —N/a | Appetizer single album | |
| 47 | KOR: 68,668 | SM Station Season 1 | ||
| 2017 | — | —N/a | Random | |
| 2018 | — | Jinah Restaurant Full Course | ||
| 2019 | — | Ad campaign singles | ||
| — | ||||
| 2020 | — | Non-album singles | ||
| — | ||||
| 107 | 2020 Antenna Christmas Carol | |||
| — | Candy Pianist | |||
| 2021 | 124 | 2021 Antenna Christmas Carol | ||
| 2022 | — | Rum Pum Pum single album | ||
| — | A Daily Adventurer (일상모험歌)Ad campaign single | |||
| "—" denotes release did not chart. |
| Title | Original artist | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original songs | 2014 | 3 | KOR: 425,801 | K-pop Star Season 4 digital singles | |
| 2 | KOR: 154,236 | ||||
| 2015 | 83 | KOR: 18,950 | |||
| 9 | KOR: 101,751 | ||||
| 78 | KOR: 20,325 | K-pop Star Season 4 Top 10 Part 2 | |||
| — | —N/a | K-pop Star Season 4 Top 8 | |||
| Yoo Jae-ha | — | K-pop Star Season 4 Top 6 | |||
| Sanullim | — | K-pop Star Season 4 Top 4 Part 2 | |||
| Brown Eyes | 69 | KOR: 81,596 | |||
| g.o.d | — | —N/a | K-pop Star Season 4 Top 3 |
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo OST | |
| 2017 | The Lovebirds: Year 1 OST | |
| 2018 | Shinbi Apartment: Birth of Ghost Ball X OST (season 2) | |
| D Museum Weather exhibition OST | ||
| 2019 | Music from Sound Garden digital singles | |
| 2020 | Sweet Munchies OST | |
| 2021 | Blue Archive OST |
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 24/34 | |
| Someone, Somewhere | ||
| 2016 | I Am Sam | |
| Melody to Masterpiece: Track 6 | ||
| Long Way | ||
| 2017 | Non-album single | |
| Yoo Jae-ha 30th Anniversary: Forever as We Are | ||
| 2019 | You Hee-yul's Sketchbook 10th Anniversary Project: 19th Voice | |
| 2020 | To Belonging | |
| Paradox Life | ||
| Tailor | ||
| Onstage 10th Anniversary - Only Onstage: 7 | ||
| 2021 | Non-album single |
The following credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association database.
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Album | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Always" | Miiso | Good Night | No | —N/a | No | —N/a | Yes | Miiso |
| 2018 | "Singing Like a Wind"(바람 같은 노래를) | Jung Seung-hwan | Spring Again | No | No | Yes | —N/a | ||
| "Think About You"(Prelude: 너를 생각해) | Yoo Seon-ho | Spring, Seonho | —N/a | Yes | Yes | ||||
| "Maybe Spring" (봄이 오면) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| "Your Song" (보고 싶어) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Jo Sang-jun, Park Hyun | |||||
| "Fine" (잘 지내요) | Jung Seung-hwan | Life OST | No | Yes | Yes | —N/a | |||
| 2019 | "Hide and Seek" (숨바꼭질) | Kwon Jin-ah | Shape of Me | No | Yes | Hen, You Hee-yeol | Yes | Kwon Young-chan | |
| 2021 | "First Love" (첫사랑) | Jung Joon-il feat. Sole | Non-album single | Yes | Jung Joon-il | No | —N/a | No | —N/a |
| "For You, My Sunshine"(빛나는당신을위해) | Jukjae, Kwon Jin-ah | Ad campaign singles | Yes | —N/a | Yes | Yes | |||
| "Walk Home with Me(Full Band Ver.)" | Jung Seung-hwan | Yes | Kim Da-mi | Yes | Yes | Seo Ju-young, Park Jong-woo | |||
| "Walk Home with Me(Acoustic Ver.)" | Kwon Jin-ah | Yes | Kwon Jin-ah | Yes | Yes | —N/a | |||
| "Adventure" | Kwon Jin-ah, Sam Kim | Yes | Sam Kim, Kwon Jin-ah | Yes | Sam Kim, Kwon Jin-ah, An Kwang-hyun | Yes | Simon Petrén, An Kwang-hyun | ||
| 2022 | "Close the Door" (방문을 닫고) | Lee Soo-young | SORY | Yes | —N/a | Yes | —N/a | No | —N/a |
| "Don't Ever Leave Me" (내곁에서 떠나지 말아요) | Sole | Seoul Check-in OST Part 8 | Yes | Jung Joon-il | No | No | |||
| "First Love" (처음 사랑해) | Jukjae | Ad campaign single | Yes | Jukjae | Yes | Jukjae | Yes | Jukjae | |
| "Frame" (액자) | Hong Jin-ho | Modern Cello | —N/a | —N/a | Yes | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | |
| 2024 | "Star to Start" (별의 왈츠) | Babylon (singer) | EGO 90'S PART 3 | Yes | Babylon (singer) | Yes | —N/a | Yes | —N/a |
| "First Love" (첫사랑) | Doyoung | First Love | Yes | Jung Joon-il | No | —N/a | No | —N/a |
| Year | Title(s) | Artist | Show/Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Logo Song" | Lee Jin-ah | Park Ji-yoon's Gayo Plaza |
| 2018 | "Jingle 1", "Logo Song 1" | Lee Jin-ah | EBS |
| "Mallang Song" (말랑송),"Kulkul Song" (쿨쿨송) | Jung Seung-hwan | The Spring Home | |
| "Title Song", "Opening Song", "Ending Song", "Part 2 Signal" | Lee Jin-ah | Lee Jin-ah's Night Journey | |
| 2021 | "Book Hangout" (책하고놀자) | Lee Jin-ah | Kim Seon-jae's Book Hangout |
| Year | Title | Type | Network | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–2015 | K-pop Star Season 4 | Television | SBS | Contestant | |
| 2016 | Melody to Masterpiece (노래의탄생) | Television | tvN | Series regular | |
| 2019 | Sound Garden (소리풍경) | Web show | Lululala Music | Host | |
| 2019–2024 | Lee Jin-ah's Night Journey | Radio | SBS Power FM | Host | |
| 2021 | Clumsy Antenna (우당탕탕 안테나) | Web show | Kakao TV | Main cast (with Antenna artists) |
| Award-giving body | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Best Pop Album | Random | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Best Pop Album | Jinah Restaurant Full Course | Nominated | ||
| 2024 | Album of the Year | Hearts of the City | Nominated | ||
| Best Pop Album | Won |
- Official fancafe
- Antenna Mufan cafefficial website
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