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Gain (singer)

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In this Korean name, the family name is Son.
Son Ga-in
Gain in 2013
Gain in 2013
Background information
Also known asBaby-G
Born (1987-09-20) September 20, 1987 (age 37)
Seoul, South Korea
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
  • entertainer
Years active2006–2021
LabelsAPOP
Member ofBrown Eyed Girls
Korean name
Hangul
손가인
Hanja
孫佳人
Revised RomanizationSon Ga-in
McCune–ReischauerSon Kain

Son Ga-in (손가인; born September 20, 1987),[1][2] known mononymously as Gain, is a South Korean singer, actress and entertainer, best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Brown Eyed Girls. Having debuted with her home group earlier in 2006, Gain eventually made her solo debut in October 2010 with Step 2/4 to great commercial success, and has since released a total of six extended plays. In addition to her musical career, the singer also appeared in several native programs and series, most notably We Got Married and All My Love, where she co-starred alongside 2AM's Jo Kwon.

Career

[edit]

2005–2009: Brown Eyed Girls and solo projects

[edit]
Main article: Brown Eyed Girls

Son Ga-In was noticed by the existing members of Brown Eyed Girls after she was eliminated during auditions for the popular South Korean reality series, Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa! She was approached by composer Ahn Jung-hoon and invited to audition at Brown Eyed Girls' company, Nega Network, eventually joining the group. The four members performed several small shows before officially debuting as Brown Eyed Girls in 2006.[3] In the same year, she performed a duet "Must Have Love" with SG Wannabe's leader Kim Yong-jun, which became her first number one hit during the Christmas season.

Despite having initial successes, it was not until 2009 that her home group made a breakthrough into Korean mainstream with their hit song "Abracadabra", which was notable for the group's shift of their image and their new direction. After the unexpected success of the song, the group went on to become one of the most mentioned names of K-pop girl-groups.

Beside from her activities with the group, she also had solo activities, beginning with her appearance in 4Tomorrow, a collaboration project with 4Minute's Hyuna, After School's Uee and KARA's Han Seung-yeon. She also released a digital single, titled "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요) with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon, composed by fellow member JeA, Kim Eana, and produced by Lee Min-soo. The duet became a massive success, being her longest running number one hit on Gaon Chart.

2010: Solo career debut and Step 2/4

[edit]

In April 2010, it was announced that all the Brown Eyed Girls' members would pursue their own solo careers beside the group's activities. Gain became the second member to start her solo activities after Narsha by releasing her first mini-album, Step 2/4, with "Irreversible" as the title track in October 2010, to critical acclaim from critics and public due to its strong influence of tango. The video for the track was then released on October 8, 2010, alongside the album's release. The mini-album also achieved modest success, peaking at number two on Gaon Weekly Albums Chart while the title track became her first solo number one hit. Gain worked with university professor Park Myung-soo (Seoul Arts University) on the tango-inspired choreography for "Irreversible". On December 21, 2010, "Bad Temper" was released as a digital download single. She then resumed her group activities after the end of the album's promotion.

After the promotions of Brown Eyed Girls' fourth album, it was revealed that Gain had signed a contract with LOEN Entertainment to manage her solo career.[4]

2012–2013: Talk About S, Romantic Spring and "Gentleman"

[edit]
Gain in 2012

Prior to the release of her second EP, Gain was featured on Yoon Il-sang's anniversary album Yoon Il-sang 21st Anniversary Album: I'm 21 with a cover of "For You Not To Know" (너만은 모르길). She also released a duet with JYP in April 2012, titled "Someone Else", to certain success, peaking at number two on Gaon Weekly Singles Chart.

However it was only after the release of Brown Eyed Girls' digital single "The Original" that her sophomore EP, Talk About S, would be released on October 5, 2012, followed by teasers of the album's content. Reunited with long-time collaborators of both her home group and her previous debut album, such as lyricist Kim Eana, producer Lee Min-soo and Jo Yeong-cheol, the album was received with positive reacts from both critics and the public, while becoming her first release to take the top spot of Gaon Weekly Albums Chart, also her best selling release to date. Its title track, "Bloom", was also her best selling track and one of her signature hits. On November 30, 2012, "Nostalgia" was released digitally as a single, featuring rapper Eric Mun of boyband Shinhwa.

Later on April 8, 2013, Romantic Spring was released as a collaboration project between Gain and Korean singer Cho Hyung-woo, who later became her labelmate. The collaborative EP debuted at number three on Gaon Albums Chart. On April 13, 2013, she was featured in PSY's music video "Gentleman", along with the "arrogant" dance which was popularized in the Brown Eyed Girls song "Abracadabra".[5] She then returned with Brown Eyed Girls' 5th studio album, Black Box, which was released on July 25, 2013, and later appeared as a guest performer for IU's [[Everybody Has Secrets (song)|"Everybody Has Secrets" (누구나 비밀은 있다)]] on her 2013 release. In the same year Gain parted with LOEN Entertainment and joined the APOP Entertainment roster, while making her first major appearance in film with The Huntresses.

2014: Truth or Dare

[edit]

At the beginning of 2014, Gain released her third mini-album, titled Truth or Dare, which featured lyrics from Kim Eana, Lee Hyo-ri and JYP, along with guest performers such as Bumkey and Jo Kwon, with the former being featured in the album's first single. Considered as a "bolder" move for herself, the album was preceded by "Fxxk U", which received mixed reactions from the public due to its theme dealing with domestic violence; however, it was praised by critics. The second single "Truth or Dare" (진실 혹은 대담) was released on February 6, 2014, to modest success, while the third single "A Tempo" was released digitally on March 21, 2014. Later that year, Gain was featured in Pitchfork's "20 Essential K-Pop Songs" list with "Fxxk U" and "Tinkerbell", the latter an opening track for her second mini-album.[6][7] She also appeared as KARA's Goo Hara's friend in her own reality show Hara ON & OFF at the end of 2014.

2015–2019: Hawwah, Brown Eyed Girls' 10th anniversary and End Again

[edit]

It was announced that Gain would go on to release her fourth solo mini-album (fifth overall), titled Hawwah in February 2015 as a follow-up to her previous Truth or Dare EP. The album marked the first time in her solo career to feature two title tracks, followed by a Bible-influenced concept. Released in March 2015, the EP eventually debuted and peaked at number five on Gaon Weekly Albums Chart while appearing at number nine on Billboard World Albums Chart, thus becoming her fourth top five entry and her first to chart in the US. Its singles, "Apple" and "Paradise Lost", peaked at number two and number six on Gaon Weekly Singles Chart respectively. As of April 2015, the album has sold 4,203 copies.[8] She was later announced as one of the participants for JTBC's Going to School, a reality television show about idols going back to high school.

During an interview with Billboard, Gain announced that her home group would return with a new album to coincide with their tenth anniversary since debuting in 2006 and the possibilities of another solo release in 2015 also.[9] Gain released the first part of her first full album, End Again on September 8, 2016. The title track was "Carnival (The Last Day)".[10] In September 2019, she participated in Brown Eyed Girls' cover album, RE_vive. As of 2024, the second part of her first full album, Begin Again, has not been released.

Filmography and television work

[edit]

Gain appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon starting from September 2009. Their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom All My Love. She was the female lead Hwang Geum-ji, alongside Jo Kwon, who played the role as her younger twin brother Hwang Ok-yeop. Her character was the love interest of Yoon Doo-joon (from BEAST) character also named "Yoon Doo-joon". However, owing to schedule conflicts, her participation in the sitcom ended in May 2011. In 2013, she became one of the three main female characters for The Huntresses, along with Ha Ji-won and Kang Ye-won. She also participated in JTBC's Going to School in 2015, along with other idols such as Taemin of Shinee and Seulgi of Red Velvet.

Controversy

[edit]

In July 2021, Gain apologized for illegally using propofol, an anesthetic drug prohibited from being used for purposes other than surgical treatments in South Korea. She was fined ₩1 million (US$883 in 2021) after being indicted for using propofol in an unspecified city in the Gyeonggi Province between July and August 2019. In an apology issued by Mystic Story, the parent company of APOP, it was stated that Gain "made a reckless choice due to severe depression and a sleep disorder."[11] Since 2021, Gain has been inactive in the entertainment industry.

Discography

[edit]
Gain discography
EPs5
Singles13
Collaborative singles8
Main article: Brown Eyed Girls

Extended plays

[edit]
List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and sales figures
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[12] 		US World
[13]
Step 2/4 2 —
Talk About S
  • Released: October 5, 2012
  • Label: LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
 2 —
  • KOR: 10,000+[B]
Romantic Spring
(with Jo Hyeong-u [ko])
  • Released: April 8, 2013
  • Label: LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
 3 —
Truth or Dare
  • Released: February 6, 2014
  • Label: APOP Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
 6 —
Hawwah
  • Released: March 12, 2015
  • Label: APOP Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
 5 9
End Again
  • Released: September 8, 2016
  • Label: APOP Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
 5 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

[edit]
List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and sales figures
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
Gaon
[21] 		KOR
Hot
[22]
"Must Have Love"
(with Kim Yong-jun of SG Wannabe) 		2006 * * Must Have Love (Digital single)
"Must Have Friends"
(with Kim Yong-jun of SG Wannabe)
"Tomorrow"
(with Hyuna, Uee and Han Seung-yeon as 4Tomorrow) 		2009 Non-album singles
"We Fell in Love"
(with Jo Kwon of 2AM) 		1
"Irreversible (돌이킬 수 없는)" 2010 1 Step 2/4
"Bad Temper" 11 Non-album single
"Wish You Wouldn't Know" (너만은 모르길)
(As One cover) 		2012 8 9 Yoon Il-sang 21st Anniversary Album: I'm 21
"Bloom" (피어나) 2 2 Talk About S
"Nostalgia" (노스텔지아)
(featuring Eric Mun of Shinhwa) 		13 14 Non-album single
"Brunch"
(with Cho Hyung-woo) 		2013 19 36 Romantic Spring
"Fxxk U"
(featuring Bumkey) 		2014 3 2 Truth or Dare
"Truth or Dare" (진실 혹은 대담) 8 7
"A Tempo" 22 29 Non-album single
"Apple"
(featuring Jay Park) 		2015 2 *
  • KOR: 625,263
 Hawwah
"Paradise Lost" 6
  • KOR: 366,047
"When The Twelve O’Clock" (열두 시가 되면) 24
  • KOR: 197,696
 When The Twelve O’Clock (Digital single)
"Carnival (The Last Day)" 2016 40
  • KOR: 131,861
 End Again
"Pray"
(with Jeff Bernat) 		2017 82
  • KOR: 20,119
 Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
[edit]
List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions and sales figures
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
Gaon
[21] 		KOR
Hot
[22]
"Marriage" (결혼)
(Choi Jung-chul featuring Gain) 		2008 * * Marriage
"Someone Else"
(Park Jin-Young featuring Gain) 		2012 2 4 Spring: 5 Songs for 1 New Love
"Take Out"
(Ra.D featuring Gain) 		21 15 LOEN Tree: Summer Story
"MaMa Beat"
(LC9 featuring Gain) 		2013 86 — Skirmish
"Seoul Lonely"
(Phantom featuring Gain) 		2014 23 53 Phantom Power
"Queen"
(Miryo featuring Gain) 		2015 98 * Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other charted songs

[edit]
List of songs, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
KOR
Gaon
[21] 		KOR
Hot
[22]
"Nitchell (Baby-G Mix)" 2010 132 * Step 2/4
"Tango the Night" 90
"Esperando" 117
"The One Who Sings" 78
"Truth" 56
"Tinkerbell" 2012 30 22 Talk About S
"Tiredness" 33 24
"The Gaze"
(featuring Yoon Jong-shin) 		65 56
"Catch Me If You Can" 89 80
"2 O'Clock Date" 2013 118 — Romantic Spring
"Sway" 158 —
"Let Me In" 171 —
"Everybody Has Secrets"
(IU featuring Gain) 		2 3 Modern Times
"Q&A"
(featuring Jo Kwon of 2AM) 		2014 33 27 Truth or Dare
"Black & White" 51 40
"Disclosure" 77 64
"I Believe" 65 * My Spring Days: Original Soundtrack
"Free Will"
(featuring Dok2) 		2015 45 Hawwah
"Guilty" 51
"Two Women" 72
"The First Temptation" 74
"Must Have Love"
(featuring Eric Nam) 		21 When The Twelve O’Clock (Digital single)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Filmography

[edit]

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Network
2005 Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa Herself Mnet
2008 I Need a Family MBC
2009–11 We Got Married
2010–11 All My Love Hwang Geum-ji
2014 Hara's ON & OFF Herself
2015 Off to School JTBC
Hello Counselor Guest KBS
2016 Knowing Bros Ep 43 JTBC
Golden Tambourine Mnet

Films

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2009 Closer to Heaven Seo Jin-hee
2013 The Huntresses Ga-bi
2015 Love Forecast Joon-soo's ex-girlfriend Cameo

Music videos

[edit]
List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s) Other version(s)
"Must Have Love" 2006 Unknown
"Irreversible" 2010 Hwang Soo-ah[34] * Dance version
"For You Not to Know" Unknown
"Someone Else" 2012
"Bloom" Hwang Soo-ah[35]
"Nostalgia" Unknown
"One of Gain"
"Brunch" 2013
"Gentleman" 2013
"Fxxk U" 2014 Hwang Soo-ah[34]
"Truth or Dare" Hwang Soo-ah[34]
  • Performance version
"Paradise Lost" 2015 Hwang Soo-ah[36]
"Apple" Unknown

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2009 Cyworld Digital Music Awards Song of the Month (December) We Fell in Love (with Jo Kwon) Won
2010 Song of the Month (January) Won
Gaon Chart Grand Opening Awards[37] January Week 1 Digital Chart Overall No. 1 Won
January Week 2 Digital Chart Overall No. 1 Won
January Week 3 Digital Chart Overall No. 1 Won
January Week 4 Ringback tone No. 1 Won
Melon Music Awards Song of the Year Nominated
Netizen Popularity Song Nominated
Hot Trend Song Award Irreversible Nominated
Music Video of the Year Won
12th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Music Video[38] Nominated
Best Collaboration[39] We Fell in Love (with Jo Kwon) Won
Bugs Music Awards Song of the Year Nominated
Best Duet (Gold) Won
MBC Entertainment Awards Show, Variety Female Rookie Award[40] We Got Married Won
Best Couple Award with Jo Kwon[40] Won
25th Golden Disk Awards Digital Music Bonsang Irreversible Nominated
Popularity Award Herself Nominated
20th Seoul Music Awards Bonsang Awards Irreversible Nominated
Popularity Award Herself Nominated
2011 1st SBS MTV Best of the Best Artist of the Year Nominated
2012 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Female Artist Herself Nominated
Best Collaboration Performance Someone Else (with JYP) Nominated
Best Music Video Bloom Nominated
Artist of the Year Herself Nominated
Style in Music Award Won
2nd SBS MTV Best of the Best Best Solo Female Nominated
Best Collaboration Someone Else (with JYP) Nominated
2nd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards Song of the Year (October) Bloom Won
22nd Seoul Music Awards Bonsang Award Nominated
Popularity Award Herself Nominated
2013 10th Korean Music Awards Pop Song of the Year Bloom Nominated
2015 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Dance Performance – Solo "Paradise Lost"[41] Nominated
Song of The Year "Paradise Lost" Nominated
2016 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Music Video "Carnival (The Last Day)" Nominated

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Sales figures for Step 2/4 as of October 2010.[14]
  2. ^ Sales figures for Talk About S as of October 2012.[15]
  3. ^ Sales figures for Romantic Spring as of April 2013.[16]
  4. ^ Sales figures for Truth or Dare until the first half of 2014.[17][18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Mark Russell (April 29, 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  2. ^ "Gain". KBS World Radio. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  3. ^ "Brown Eyed Girls and ZE:A talk about the history of their group names". Allkpop. May 9, 2010. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  4. ^ "Brown Eyed Girls' Gain signs contract with Loen Entertainment for solo activities". Koreaboo.com. December 21, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  5. ^ "싸이 "'젠틀맨' 안무, 브아걸 '시건방 춤'이 모티프"". Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  6. ^ "Starter: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". Pitchfork. August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  7. ^ "Starter: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Sales references for "Hawwah":
  9. ^ "Gain Goes in on New 'Hawwah' EP, Religion and South Korea's Conservative Music Industry". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  10. ^ [MV] Gain(가인) _ Carnival (The Last Day), September 8, 2016, archived from the original on December 27, 2019, retrieved December 16, 2019
  11. ^ Dong, Sun-hwa (July 1, 2021). "Gain of Brown Eyed Girls apologizes for illegal propofol use". TheKoreaTimes. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  13. ^ "Billboard World Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  14. ^ Sales reference for Step 2/4:
  15. ^ Sales references for Talk About S:
  16. ^ Sales references for Romantic Spring:
  17. ^ Sales references for Truth or Dare:
  18. ^ "Gaon Chart Physical Sales All Time – Female groups/soloists *Updated MARCH 2015 – Music". Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  19. ^ Sales references for Hawwah:
  20. ^ Sales references for End Again:
  21. ^ a b c "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  22. ^ a b c "Korea K-Pop Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  23. ^ a b "2010년 Gaon Download Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  24. ^ "2012년 Download Chart (국내)". Gaon Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "2012년 Gaon Download Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "2012년 Download Chart (국내)". Gaon Chart (in Korean). p. 4. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  27. ^ "2013년 Download Chart (국내)". Gaon Chart (in Korean). p. 4. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  28. ^ "2014년 Download Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  29. ^ Cumulative sales of "Truth or Dare":
  30. ^ "2014년 03월 Download Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  31. ^ "2013년 20주차 Download Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  32. ^ "2014년 Download Chart (국내)". Gaon Chart (in Korean). p. 3. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  33. ^ "2013년 32주차 Download Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  34. ^ a b c Truth Or Dare – 가인 (in Korean). Mnet. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  35. ^ Lee, Geum-yun (October 12, 2012). 가인 ‘폴 댄스’ 영상 공개, 황수아 감독 ‘大 굴욕’?. The Asia Economy Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  36. ^ 가인 하와 컴백, 과거 턱 성형설 너무한 거 아냐? “턱 깎지 않았다…저절로 바뀐 것” (in Korean). Etoday. March 12, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  37. ^ '4관왕' 가인-조권, 가온 차트 '싹쓸이'. YTN (in Korean). February 23, 2010. Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  38. ^ Hicap, Jonathan M. (October 29, 2010). "Controversial Mnet Asian Music Awards bares nominees". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
  39. ^ "2NE1, '2010 MAMA' 5관왕..걸파워 빛났다(종합)". Nate (in Korean). November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  40. ^ a b "'아담부부' 조권-가인, MBC 방송연예대상 2관왕". Joinsmsn (in Korean). November 30, 2010. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  41. ^ "MAMA Nominees". mwave. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
[edit]
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