Yubin

Biography

Kim Yu-bin (Korean: 김유빈; born October 4, 1988), referred to as Yubin, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and actress. Kim is a founder and CEO of the entertainment agency RRR Entertainment. She initially rose to fame as a member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls, formed in 2007 by JYP and active with the group until disbanded in 2017. She made her solo debut in 2018 with the single "Lady".

1988–2007: Early life, education and struggles

Kim Yu-bin was born in Gwangju, on October 4, 1988. She lived in Korea until high school, attending Anyang High School for a while before moving to San Jose, California, where she studied at and graduated from Leland High School. Kim graduated from Myongji University with a degree in Film and Music.
She was originally set to debut as a member of Five Girls under Good Entertainment, along with G.NA, After School's Uee, Secret's Jun Hyo-seong, and Spica's Yang Ji-won. However, the group disbanded shortly before their scheduled debut in 2007 due to Good Entertainment's financial troubles and the members all left for separate South Korean entertainment companies.

2007–2017: Wonder Girls

Kim made her debut as a new member of the Wonder Girls on September 7, 2007. She was introduced as the main rapper of the group, replacing Hyuna. Although she is known mostly as the rapper of the Wonder Girls, Kim occasionally acts as an additional vocalist to the group. Examples of which include, "This Time" and "Wishing on a Star". Aside from performing with the group, she has appeared in several music videos including labelmate 2PM's "10 Out of 10" and Shinhwa's "Once in a Life Time". Kim has also featured in several different artists' singles, i.e. Shinhwa's Andy Lee, Lee Min-woo, Kim Bum-soo, and Chun G. In 2008, she made a short cameo in MBC's popular sitcom, Here He Comes.
Kim showcased her written lyrics for the first time in Kim Bum-soo's song "Do You Know That?". Since then, Kim has written her own raps for several other songs. In 2011, she wrote the lyrics for "Girls Girls", "Me, In", and "Sweet Dreams" from the Wonder Girls' second studio album Wonder World. Kim also wrote the song "Hey Boy" for the group's mini album Wonder Party released on June 3, 2012. In 2013, she made her official acting debut in OCN's drama, The Virus, where she played the role of Lee Joo-yeong, a genius hacker and an IT specialist.

On June 24, 2015, it was announced that the Wonder Girls will be making comeback after two-year hiatus as a band. On August 17, 2015, Kim was confirmed to join Unpretty Rapstar's second season. Her popularity exploded and as a consequence, her makeup and hairstyle became popular in South Korea.
On January 26, 2017, it was announced that the Wonder Girls were to disband after their contracts had expired. Kim was one of two members who chose to remain with JYP Entertainment as solo artists and renewed her contract. The group released their final single, "Draw Me", on February 10.

2018–present: Solo work and RRR Entertainment

In April 2018, Kim announced that she was preparing her solo debut through a Cosmopolitan magazine interview. On May 15, JYP Entertainment announced that she has finished filming the music video for the lead single, which is planned to be released alongside her album in early June. Kim's first single album City Woman was released digitally on June 5, 2018, with the retro lead single "Lady". The B-side track, "City Lover", was not released due to copyrights after previously announcing the track would be delayed, due to similarities with Mariya Takeuchi's 1984 Japanese city pop song "Plastic Love".
On November 27, 2018, Kim's first EP #TUSM×#TUSM27 November 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1보내줄게3:112Thank U Soooo Much3:443Game Over3:38 was released digitally alongside the title track "Thank U Soooo Much". The song's lyrics tell off a former partner for providing "too much information" during a breakup, sarcastically thanking them for their unnecessary revelations. Kim co-wrote all three tracks on the EP and also co-composed the third track "Game Over". "Thank U Sooo Much" charted at number 21 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart, marking her first appearance on the chart.
In April 2019, Kim served as a judge for the JTBC dance competition television show Stage K. On October 30, Kim released her third single album, Start of the End×Start of the End30 October 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Silent Movie3:202Not Yours3:04, alongside lead single "Silent Movie" featuring Yoon Mi-rae. She co-wrote "Silent Movie" and wrote the B-side track "Not Yours".

Kim left JYP Entertainment on January 25, 2020, with her departure announced three days later. In February 2020, Kim founded her own music label, RRR Entertainment. Former bandmate Woo Hye-rim was also signed to the label, until February 2023, when Woo decided not to renew her contract with RRR Entertainment.
In May 2020, Kim released her single "Yaya (Me Time)×yaya (ME TIME)21 May 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1넵넵 (Me Time)3:03", her first released under her own music label named RRR Entertainment (usually stylized in all lowercase). Since, she has also released the special single "Wave", in partnership with CLEF Entertainment on their project "Traveller", in December 2020.
Her follow-up lead single "Perfume" was released in January 2021, with an accompanying single album. The same year, she competed on MBC's King of Mask Singer as "Snow Flower". She also was a cast member of Goal Girls and We're Family.
In 2022, Kim participated in the television shows The Last Survivor, Dating is Straight, and Queen of Ssireum.

Songwriting and composing credits

All credits are adapted from Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) database.