ALi

Biography

Jo Yong-jin (Korean: 조용진; born November 20, 1984), known professionally as Ali (Korean: 알리), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, pianist, musical artist, radio host and professor in applied musical arts at the Seoul Technical Arts College. Following her debut in 2009, she was primarily recognized for her time as a contestant on the KBS program Immortal Songs 2.

Career

ALi debuted as a singer in 2009, and gained fame for her appearances on music shows, most notably Immortal Songs 2 on KBS2 and King of Mask Singer on MBC. Currently, ALi has the highest score and most wins for a female artist on Immortal Songs 2, hence her being known as the "madam of Immortal Songs". She also worked as a professor in applied musical arts at the Seoul Technical Arts College.
As a professor, ALi has taught BtoB members, Changsub and Hyunsik, as well as renowned singer Kim Feel.
ALi released her first album SOULri in December 2011, two years after her official debut. One released track, "Na Young", garnered immediate controversy as it referenced a sexual assault case that had become publicly known in South Korea. Many detractors criticized the song for being insensitive to the subject of its lyrics. ALi later addressed this controversy by revealing that she herself was a survivor of sexual assault. Following the release of her album, she held her first independent concert. She was also a vocalist on several Leessang songs, including "Ballerino" and "I'm Not Laughing". She has also released several OSTs for Korean dramas, including "Hurt" ("상처") from "Rooftop Prince", "The Vow" from "Golden Rainbow" and "In My Dream" from "Empire of Gold".
Recently, Ali has made her musical debut in the Korean rendition of the musical Rebecca and started working on her own label, Soul Sting, and radio station. From her label, she produced her first duo group, Am:Pm, consisting of two of her students.

Personal life

Ali's father is newspaper publisher Jo Myung-shik. She has one younger brother and one younger sister.
Ali married an office worker on May 11, 2019 in Seoul. She gave birth to a son in September 2019.