Ahn Hye-jin (
Korean: 안혜진; born July 23, 1995),[1] known professionally by her stage name Hwasa (
Korean: 화사; stylized as Hwa Sa), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group
Mamamoo in 2014.[2] In February 2019, she made her solo debut with the song "
Twit" which topped the
Circle Digital Chart and won song of the year at the
Gaon Chart Music Awards.
In 2020, Hwasa debuted as part of the
Refund Sisters with the single "Don't Touch Me," which reached number one in South Korea. In 2021, she released her EP,
María, which charted at number five in her home country, while its lead single "
María" peaked at number two on the
Gaon Charts, earning her a
Golden Disc and
Mnet Asian Music Award. In 2023, Hwasa left
RBW and signed with
P Nation, releasing her second digital single, "I Love My Body," which reached the top-ten of the Circle Digital Chart and
BillboardWorld Digital Song Sales chart in the United States.
Early life
Ahn Hye-jin was born on July 23, 1995, in
Jeonju,
Jeollabuk-do, South Korea,[3] where she lived with her parents and two elder sisters. She graduated from Wonkwang Information Arts High School.[4] Hwasa often cites
Beyoncé as her music inspiration, stating that after hearing someone say that she was unique and good at singing but was fat and not pretty, she went home and watched videos of Beyoncé performing all night to comfort herself.[5]
Even before her K-pop debut, a number of South Korean artists – including artist
Solbi and the band
Standing Egg – recognized her talent and featured her on their tracks when she was 18.[6]
Career
2014–2019: Debut with Mamamoo and launch of solo career
Hwasa debuted as a member of the girl group
Mamamoo on June 19, 2014, being one of the leading voices with the release of the lead single "Mr. Ambiguous" from their first extended play (EP) Hello. She wrote and composed her first solo song, "My Heart/I Do Me", from Hello.[7]
In March 2018, Hwasa released her second solo song, "Be Calm", as part of Mamamoo's sixth EP, Yellow Flower.[8] The music video for the song was uploaded on March 25, 2018, and gained 7.9 million views as of August 2022.[9] "Be Calm" charted at number 35 on the Gaon Download Chart. In April 2018, Hwasa joined the cast of
KBS reality television show Hyena on the Keyboard; the appearance spawned a collaboration with rapper
Loco titled "Don't". Hwasa took part in writing and composing the song, and it topped the South Korean's
Gaon Digital Chart.[10] "Don't" was later certified Platinum for 100 million streams in January 2019 and again for 2.5 million downloads in August 2019.[11][12]
In February 2019, Hwasa made her debut as a solo artist with the digital single, "Twit," which she participated in writing and composing.[13] The song was a commercial success, peaking atop the Gaon Digital Chart and scored a "Triple Crown," topping the Gaon Digital, Gaon Download and Gaon Streaming charts.[14] "Twit" also peaked at number three on BillboardWorld Digital Song Sales chart for the week of March 2, 2019.[15] Hwasa released the single "In The Fall," a collaboration with South Korean hip-hop producer Woogie, in October.[16] In December, "Twit" was featured in Billboard's "The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Pick" list at number 8[17] and in Refinery29's list of "The Best K-Pop Songs of 2019" at number 13.[18] Its music video was also included in
Rolling Stone India's article of the "10 Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019".[19]
2020–present: María and continued solo success
In March 2020, Hwasa collaborated with the English singer
Dua Lipa for a remix of Lipa's "Physical," which features Korean lyrics.[20][21] In April, it was reported that Hwasa had joined the original soundtrack lineup of the Korean drama The King: Eternal Monarch and would be releasing her first solo soundtrack song, titled "Orbit."[22][23] The song debuted at number 16 on Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart on May 2, 2020.[24]
On June 29, Hwasa released her debut EP, titled María, and the lead single of the same name.[25] The EP debuted at number seven on the Billboard World Albums chart and peaked at number eighty-one on the Billboard Top Current Albums Sales charts on July 11, 2020.[26][27] Lead single "María" was composed by Hwasa and producer Park Woo-sang with the goal of showing her growth as a singer-songwriter. Hwasa also wrote the lyrics for "LMM" and composed "Why."[28] For the week of September 26, 2020, "María" peaked at number two on BillboardK-pop Hot 100 and on the week of October 3, 2020, it peaked at number 79 on BillboardJapan Hot 100.[29][30] "María" also debuted at number six on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.[31]
On season six of JTBC's entertainment show
Hidden Singer, Hwasa was one of the contestants for the episode airing on September 11, 2020. In the final round, Hwasa won by an overwhelming 79 votes, which ended the four consecutive losing streaks from previous contestants and earned the singer her second win as an original singer of the season.[32] Hwasa joined the cast of MBC reality-variety show How Do You Play? On October 10, she debuted with
Refund Sisters, the project
supergroup created through Hangout with Yoo. The group released their debut single, "Don't Touch Me."[33] "Don't Touch Me" peaked atop the Gaon Digital Chart for two consecutive weeks.[34][35]
At the end of 2020,
Billboard named "María" the song with the second-most weeks inside the
K-pop Hot 100 top 10 during the course of the year—charting for 19 consecutive weeks,[36] while
Spotify ranked Hwasa number 4 in their "2020 Most Played Female Korean K-pop Artist" list.[37] "María" was ranked 2nd in Rolling Stone India's list of 20 Best K-pop Music Videos of the year[38] and 27th in Paper's list of best K-pop song list of 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020. The article mentioned that "Hwasa is known to many as a fearless person but her single 'María' deconstructs that image, casting an image of a young woman who is at once vulnerable and confident, playful and seductive — idol and human."[39] In Time magazine's article documenting K-pop songs and albums that defined the year, the publication wrote "of the solo releases [the] year, Hwasa's "María" leaves the most searing impression".[40] With her success, Hwasa ranked ninth on the "Top 100 Kpop Idols YouTube Worldwide Search Rankings for 2020."[41]
On July 23, 2021, Hwasa launched her
YouTube channel, "Hwasa Official" and posted her first video.[42] On November 24, she released her single album Guilty Pleasure, and its lead single "I'm a B".[43] On July 16, 2022, it was announced that Hwasa will collaborate on a new single "Somebody" with
Loco, which was released on July 25.[44][45] On December 8, Hwasa released just talking to myself, the first soundtrack and logo song for her variety programme the Hwasa Show aired on TvN. On December 20, she released the show's second soundtrack volume, Grey Christmas.[46][47]
On March 2023, it was revealed that Hwasa would be a part of Dancing Queens on the Road, a twelve-episode television variety show aired on
TvN, along with
Kim Wan-sun,
Uhm Jung-Hwa,
Lee Hyori
and
BoA.[48] On June 27, it was announced that Hwasa would be leaving RBW after ten years,[49] she signed with
P Nation on June 30 while guesting at
Psy's Summer Swag concert.[50] On September 6, Hwasa released her second digital single,
I Love My Body, which reached the top-ten of the
Circle Digital Chart and
BillboardWorld Digital Song Sales chart in the United States.[51][52] On October 4, Hwasa released "Chili", a digital single for the Mnet show
Street Woman Fighter 2.[53]
Controversy
In May 2023, the Student and Parent Human Rights Protection Coalition of
Sungkyunkwan University filed a police report against Hwasa for public indecency due to racy and sexually suggestive dance moves, including licking her fingers and touching her crotch, performed at the public festival. Shin Min-hyang, representative of the Coalition, filed the police report stating "Hwasa's controversial stage for obscenity was seen not only by students, but also by parents and the general public, so an unspecified number of people felt uncomfortable." Laws against entertainment that "creates public sexual arousal" or "creates an atmosphere of sexual disgust" have been around since the
military dictatorship era, however the laws have not been used recently to target public performances.[54]
On September 10, 2023, Hwasa's company confirmed that she had been called in and interrogated by the police in early September, also confirming the charges have moved into a criminal investigation instead of a civil code violation. Hwasa's company confirmed that she and the company are complying with all police and court orders.[55]
On October 4, 2023, the police announced an
acquittal for the singer. The police stated that "after investigating the content of the performance, and comprehensively reviewing the statements of those involved, it was determined that it would be difficult to bring up criminal charges [with the presented evidence]." [56]
Impact and influence
Hwasa has appeared on
Korea Power Celebrity 40 list placing 26th in 2019,[57] and was featured by Forbes in their
30 Under 30 Asia list of 2021.[58] She was ranked as the 16th most popular
K-pop idol in 2018 and 9th in 2019 in annual surveys conducted by
Gallup Korea.[59] Also, she was ranked 9th in annual survey for
Gallup Korea's Singer of the Year in 2020 under the category selected by respondents in age group 13 to 39.[60][61] She also has been placed first occasionally on the Korean Business Research Institute's monthly "Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking".[62][63][64][65]
Hwasa's appearances on the reality shows I Live Alone and Let's Eat Dinner Together have been credited for influencing restaurant habits, food recipes and increased sales of foods and related accessories in South Korea.[66]
Endorsements
In September 2018, Hwasa was selected as an ambassador for outdoor brand
The North Face.[67] In October 2018, she became the first female model for
Lotte Crunky Gold candy bars since its release in 1984.[68] In March 2019, Hwasa became an endorser for Davich's 'Trevues' lenses.[69] In March 2019,
Coca-Cola's ice tea brand Gold Peak Tea selected Hwasa as their new model.[70] She then became the newest muse for makeup brand Rarekind in April 2019.[71] In June 2019, Hwasa became the new model for
Everland Caribbean Bay.[72] Hwasa later on was featured on the cover of
Cosmopolitan Korea's August 2019 issue.[73] In November, she teamed up with Vogue magazine and
Urban Decay cosmetics for their "Pretty Different" and "Queen" inspired concepts.[74][75] The same month,
Ottogi revealed that their newest model for their
Jjamppong instant noodles was Hwasa.[76]
In January 2020, The Sims 4 announced that Hwasa would be part of their advertising campaign.
EA Korea released "Play With Life", a Sims 4 commercial film video featuring Hwasa.[77] She then teamed up with
MCM for the February issue of
Elle Korea, a fashion magazine.[78] In February of that year, Hwasa was chosen as an ambassador for sports brand
Adidas.[79][80] Hwasa later on became Kiss New York's new muse in April,[81] and the following month, she was chosen as a model for a hangover drink by
Lotte Chilsung Beverage.[82] Hwasa was featured on the cover of
Cosmopolitan Korea's August 2020 issue.[83]Tommy Jeans released a campaign pictorial with Hwasa on September 16 for the 2020 Fall Season.[84] In September,
Vogue and
Gucci had a collaboration campaign from the idea of having time with themselves.[85]
In 2021, Hwasa was featured in
Vogue's February 2021 issue.[86]In March, she was featured in a video released to commemorate the opening of the Dolce & Gabbana Seoul Boutique.[87] Throughout the year, she continued to feature in various magazines including
W Korea with
Burberry in March,
Harper's Bazaar with
Louis Vuitton in April,
Vogue Japan with
Dolce & Gabbana in July and
W Korea with
Dolce & Gabbana in November.[88][89][90][91]
In December, she was selected as the model for CityLabs debut game Taego M (MMORPG).[92]
In September 2022, Hwasa together with
EXO's
Kai became brand ambassadors for the South Korean health and beauty brand,
Olive Young.[93][94] The duo's nationwide campaign started on September 15 as featured on the company's social media.[95][96][97]
In 2023, Hwasa teamed up with
Louis Vuitton for the February issue of
Marie Claire.[98]
In March, she was selected as the model for
Ottogi's Jin Bibimmyeon.[99] She went on to attend a few fashion shows and events including
Ferragamo's photo call event for their Spring/Summer 2023 collection in March, the
Louis Vuitton Women's Pre-Fall show in April, the 75th
Bvlgari Serpanti Anniversary event in June, the
Diesal Spring/Summer Fashion show at Milan in September and the
Valentino L'école Collection Fashion show at Paris in October.[100][101][102][103][104]
^Kim, Eun-gu (April 18, 2020).
"자이언티·화사가 부른 '더 킹' OST 1·2번째 OST 정식 발매" [Official release of 'The King' OST 1st and 2nd OST by Giants and Hwasa]. Edaily (in Korean).
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^Choi Yun-na (July 15, 2022).
"로꼬X화사, 25일 깜짝 컬래버 발표" [Loco X Hwasa, surprise collaboration announcement on the 25th] (in Korean). Sports Donga.
Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via Naver.
^Park Sang-hoo (July 25, 2022).
"로꼬·화사, 오늘(25일) 컬래버레이션 싱글 '썸바디!' 발매" [Loco and Hwasa, today (25th) collaboration single 'Somebody!' Release] (in Korean). JTBC.
Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022 – via Naver.
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"이효리, 김완선·엄정화·보아·화사와 '댄스가수 유랑단' 출격[공식]" [Lee Hyo-ri, Kim Wan-seon, Um Jung-hwa, Boa, and Hwasa sortie for 'Dance Singer's Wandering Troupe' [Official]] (in Korean). MT Star News.
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"[뉴스1 ★]화사, 언닌 피네이션 스타일...흠뻑쇼 공연 중 계약" [[News 1 ★] Hwasa, Unnie P Nation Style...Drenched show, contract during performance] (in Korean). News1.
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^Hwang, Hye-jin (October 10, 2023).
"'스우파2' 화사 신곡 'Chili' 오늘(4일) 음원 발매…'스모크' 챌린지 열풍 잇나" ['Swoopa 2' Hwasa's new song 'Chili' released today (4th)... Is the ‘Smoke’ challenge craze still happening?] (in Korean). Newsen.
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^Choi, Ji-yoon (November 25, 2022).
"마마무 화사, 음악작업실 연다…tvN '화사쇼" [Hwasa of Mamamoo opens a music studio... tvN 'Hwasa Show]. Newsis (in Korean).
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^Han, Hae-sun (February 16, 2023).
"이효리, 김완선·엄정화·보아·화사와 '댄스가수 유랑단' 출격[공식]" [Lee Hyo-ri, Kim Wan-seon, Um Jung-hwa, Boa, and Hwasa sortie for 'Dance Singer's Wandering Troupe' [Official]] (in Korean). MT Star News.
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