2008–2009: Career beginnings After training for ten months, IU made her debut in 2008 under her stage name, conceived by LOEN to mean "I and You become one through music." She performed her debut single, "Lost Child" (), live for the first time on the
music program M Countdown on September 18, 2008, making it her debut performance as a professional singer. IU recalled the crowd had hurled insults at her during the performance and initially felt discouraged by it, although she now considers it a beneficial experience. "Lost Child" is the lead single from her debut extended play (EP)
Lost and Found, which was released on September 24, 2008. For the album, IU was awarded the "Rookie of the Month" by South Korea's
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in November that same year. However, the album did not do well commercially. During an interview in 2011, IU said, "My first album failed, but I'm grateful for that. If I had become successful as soon as I made my debut, I wouldn't appreciate my staff members and the popularity that I'm enjoying now." The song was noted for its stark contrast in musical style to "Lost Child", which was described as a "heavy" and "dark" ballad compared to the 1980s "retro sound" of "Boo". Deemed as a "strategic" transformation, the dance choreography, stage costume and hairstyle shown in live performances were used to emphasize her youthfulness and project a "cute" image. Although it drew a favorable response from the public, IU, who was fifteen years old at the time, admitted that the image made her feel awkward. The performances were well-received and were once again labelled "cute", reminiscent of reviews for "Boo". As her popularity began to rise, IU made more frequent appearances on variety shows, performing on
Star Golden Bell, ''
Kim Jung-eun's Chocolate, and You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook''. Her acoustic
covers of other artists' songs such as
Girls' Generation's "
Gee",
Super Junior's "
Sorry, Sorry", and
BigBang's "
Lies" featured in these live performances gained tremendous interest online. In late 2009, she became a television presenter for the first time, hosting a weekly music chart show on Gom TV, while appearing as a fixed guest on multiple radio programs such as
Kiss the Radio,
Volume Up,
MBC Standard FM's
Starry Night and
MBC FM4U's
Best Friend Radio.
2010–2011: Rising popularity and acting debut On June 3, 2010, IU released "
Nagging", a duet with
2AM's
Lim Seul-ong. The single debuted at twelve on the Gaon Digital Chart and shot up to the number-one position the following week, where it remained for three weeks. Written by
Kim Eana and composed by Lee Min-soo, the pop ballad duet was used as one of the theme songs for the
second season of the variety show
We Got Married. Soon after, IU released "Because I'm a Woman" (), one of the theme songs of MBC's historical drama,
Road No. 1. The song peaked at number six on the Gaon Digital Chart. IU's collaboration with
Sung Si-kyung on "It's You" () for his album,
The First, debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. On October 6, 2010, she released the theme song "My Dream Patissiere" for the Korean dub of
Yumeiro Patissiere. IU's third EP,
Real, was released on December 9, 2010. Produced by Jo Yeong-cheol and Choi Gap-won,
Real debuted at number four on the Gaon Album Chart. The lead single, "
Good Day", reunited IU with lyricist Kim Eana and composer Lee Min-soo after "Nagging", whom she would work with again on the lead singles of her next two studio albums. The uptempo song, as explained by Kim Eana, is about "a shy girl who is nervous about expressing her feelings to the boy she likes." During the album's promotional period, IU also topped the charts on the music programs
M Countdown,
Music Bank, and
Inkigayo. Both Kim Eana and Lee Min-soo considered the main factors of the song's success to be the use of the word
oppa () in the chorus, as well as the three high-pitched notes that IU sings in
semitone increments during the climax of the song. In addition to receiving praise for her vocal abilities, IU's fan base also expanded to a more varied demographic as compared to other K-pop groups.
Billboard magazine ranked "Good Day" at number one on their list "100 Greatest K-pop Songs of the 2010s". In her first acting role, IU played Kim Pil-sook, a shy and overweight school girl who dreams of becoming a professional singer. Admitting that she was doubtful about her readiness to take on acting, IU remarked that she gained confidence in learning that the part would require singing and would later describe the experience as a tremendously enjoyable one. By the end of 2011, the single had sold 2,209,924 digital copies and is one of IU's best-selling singles for a soundtrack. A follow-up extended play to
Real,
Real+, was released on February 16, 2011, containing three songs. The lead single, "Only I Didn't Know" (), was composed by singer-songwriter Yoon Sang with lyrics written by Kim Eana. Yoon Sang wrote the song for IU after spotting her momentary sad expression on a television broadcast. The ballad's tone was a departure from her more recent releases, with IU describing it as dark, sad and sentimental, which is closer to her music preference. IU took on various side-projects after the end of
Dream High. On March 10, 2011, IU performed as the
opening act for British singer-songwriter
Corinne Bailey Rae's first solo concert in Seoul with two songs, before joining Bailey Rae during her performance of "
Put Your Records On". In the same month, IU was appointed as one of the new hosts of the music program,
Inkigayo, a position which she held until July 2013. In May 2011, IU recorded her first self-composed song, "Hold My Hand" (), for the romantic-comedy television series,
The Greatest Love. The song peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and sold 2,031,787 digital copies in 2011. Between May and July 2011, IU took part in the reality ice-skating competition series, ''
Kim Yuna's Kiss & Cry, as a celebrity contestant until she was eliminated in the eighth episode. During this time, she also participated in Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend'' but eventually withdrew after recording one episode due to her overwhelming schedule. IU's second studio album,
Last Fantasy, was released on November 29, 2011. The
Korea JoongAng Daily described the album as one that would "suit all kinds of musical tastes and fans", while
Billboard noted the "cinematic feel" of the album as set by the opening track, "Secret". Produced by Jo Yeong-cheol, whom IU worked with on
Real, the album contains collaborative works with singer-songwriters such as Yoon Sang,
Lee Juck and
Ra.D. The total number of download sales made from the album's tracks exceeded 10 million within the first two weeks. Eight out of the album's thirteen songs debuted in the top ten on the Gaon Digital Chart, while the album debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart. The main single, "
You & I", became IU's most commercially successful single with almost 5.5 million digital copies sold by the end of 2012. It topped the Gaon Chart as well as the newly established
Billboard K-pop Hot 100 chart at the time of release. Shortly before the release of
Last Fantasy, IU signed with
EMI Music Japan (now part of
Universal Music Japan) as a precursor to her entry into the Japanese market. A selection of her previously released songs was compiled into an extended play called
I□U that was released in Japan on December 14, 2011.
2012: Japanese debut and first solo concert tour As promotions for
Last Fantasy and its main single "You & I" continued into 2012 in South Korea, IU began preparations for her debut in Japan by playing two shows at the
Bunkamura Orchard Hall in
Shibuya, Tokyo to an audience of about 4,000 people on January 24, 2012. On the
Billboard Japan Hot 100, "Good Day" peaked at number 5. "You & I" peaked at number four on the Oricon Singles Chart and number eleven on the
Billboard Japan Hot 100. In support of her Japanese single releases, IU toured five cities—Tokyo,
Sapporo,
Nagoya,
Osaka and
Fukuoka—in a mini-concert series called IU Friendship Showcase - Spring 2012. IU embarked on her first concert tour,
Real Fantasy, in June 2012. She played shows in six different cities across South Korea, starting with two shows in
Seoul. The opening shows on June 2–3 were sold out within 30 minutes of the tickets going on sale on April 17. It was reported that 43.8% of ticket purchasers were between the ages of 20 and 29, while 71% were male, which was considered uncommon for a K-pop concert. Guest performers included
Ra.D,
Lim Seul-ong and
Lee Seung-gi. Due to her commitments towards preparing for her first solo tour, IU was unable to make broadcast promotions for her second Korean single album,
Spring of a Twenty Year Old, which was released on May 11, 2012. The album, named to celebrate IU turning the
Korean age of 20, contains three songs with the lead single being "
Peach". Self-composed by IU, "Peach" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and number three on the
Billboard K-pop Hot 100. The second single released from the album was "Every End of the Day" (), which topped the Gaon Digital Chart for two weeks and the
Billboard K-pop Hot 100 for four weeks. In place of the usual 4–5 minute music video that usually accompanies a single release, a 26-minute-long documentary-style music film was shot in
Venice and
Burano and released alongside the album, featuring both "Peach" and "Every End of the Day". With
Sunny Hill as a guest act, IU performed a mixture of her own songs and covers of Korean and Japanese songs such as "
Juliette" by
Shinee, "Friend" by
Anzen Chitai and "Aishiteru" from the ''
Natsume's Book of Friends anime series. Live recordings of "Friend" and "Aishiteru" from the event were later released as promotional digital singles. Nearing the end of her Real Fantasy tour and promotions in Japan, IU resumed her hosting duties on Inkigayo'' after taking a three-month leave due to concert commitments. She also became the host of MBC's short-lived television quiz show,
Quiz Show Q, alongside
Park Myeong-su and Sun Bom Soo. On December 29, IU hosted the 2012
SBS Gayo Daejeon alongside
Bae Suzy and actor
Jung Gyu-woon. She was selected by the program's producer for her
MC skills that she demonstrated on
Inkigayo. For her accomplishments over the past year, IU won two awards at the
2012 Seoul Music Awards;
Last Fantasy was named
Record of the Year, while she was among the ten musical acts who were awarded the
Main Prize. At the
Korean Music Awards, "Good Day" was named
Song of the Year and
Best Pop Song, while she was named
Female Musician of the Year (Netizen Vote).
Billboard magazine named IU as one of the hottest musicians under 21 years old in 2012 for her "unique charm and undeniable hits [that] have made her into a bona fide superstar". Despite the worries of casting someone who is better known as a singer in the role, director
Yoon Sung-sik decided to cast IU after seeing her performance in
Dream High and thought that she suited the image he had envisioned for the character. Her co-stars
Go Doo-shim and
Lee Ji-hoon, as well as the production crew, praised her performance, especially during emotional scenes. As the series progressed, IU's performance garnered positive critical reviews despite early reservations shown about her casting, with the viewership ratings reaching a peak of 30.8%. She was nominated for the Excellence in Acting Award (Best Actress in a Serial Drama) at the
2013 KBS Drama Awards. For the drama, she released a recording with her co-star
Jo Jung-suk of her self-composed duet, "Beautiful Song" (), which was not included on the official soundtrack. concert in
Busan, South Korea, on December 1, 2013 In the same period, IU released her second Japanese extended-play album,
Can You Hear Me?, featuring her first original Japanese songs. Two tracks from the album were released as singles; "Beautiful Dancer" and "New World" peaked at number 66 and 76 respectively on the
Billboard Japan Hot 100.
Rolling Stone Japan gave the album a positive review, highlighting "Beautiful Dancer" and "Truth" as stand-out tracks. In an interview with
Oricon, IU recalled how shocked and touched she was to receive "Beautiful Dancer" and "Truth" from
R&B producers
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Her next Japanese single, "Monday Afternoon", was released on September 11, 2013, debuting at number 27 on
Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart and number 9 on Japan's Oricon Daily Chart. Almost two years after
Last Fantasy, IU released her third studio album,
Modern Times, on October 8, 2013. It was described to be "a big shift from the young singer's K-pop roots" that showcased a "more mature and sophisticated sound and image" than her previous work. IU composed and wrote two out of the album's 13 tracks, which ranged from swing to jazz, bossa nova, Latin pop and folk genres. The diversity of jazz styles and the mix of collaborative tracks were highlighted in reviews by
Billboard and
The Korea Herald.
Modern Times debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart, while seven of its tracks achieved top ten positions on the Gaon Digital Chart with the lead single, "The Red Shoes" (), placing in the number one position. Similarly, the album debuted number four on
Billboards World Albums Chart, with twelve tracks in the
K-pop Hot 100 chart. The album was ranked number two on
Billboard's "25 Greatest K-Pop Albums of the 2010s" list. She played the "quirky" and "playful" role of Kim Bo-tong, a carefree girl in her twenties who has had an unrequited crush on the male protagonist since high school. In support of
Modern Times, IU held her
second concert tour with three shows which took place on November 23–24, 2013, at
Kyung Hee University's Peace Hall in Seoul and ended on December 1, 2013, at KBS Hall in Busan. Promotions for
Modern Times progressed into 2014 with IU performing in
Hong Kong for the first time in a solo concert. A repackaged version of
Modern Times, titled
Modern Times — Epilogue, was released on December 20, 2013, with two additional tracks: "Friday" () and "Pastel Crayon" (). Her self-composed track, "Friday", was originally intended to be included in
Modern Times but was later released as the lead single of
Modern Times — Epilogue. Described as a "mid-tempo, bossa nova number", "Friday" held the number one position on the
Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100 chart for two weeks after release. The lead single was successful on the Gaon Digital Chart, peaking at number one, and became the tenth best-selling digital single of 2014.
2014: A Flower Bookmark IU released her fourth Korean extended-play and first
cover album,
A Flower Bookmark, on May 16, 2014. The album contains seven renditions of tracks that hailed from the
1980s and
1990s with a mixture of genres that included ballad, dance, folk and rock. The album came about at the request of fans and due to the positive feedback she had previously received for her cover songs. Three tracks debuted in the top ten of the Gaon Digital Chart on the week of release, with the main single, "My Old Story" (), ultimately peaking at number 2. However, it was her collaboration with
Kim Chang-wan on the remake of his 1984 song, "The Meaning of You" (), that became the best-selling track from the album and also her best-selling single of 2014. It was also well received critically. IU's wish to conduct a more intimate and smaller scale concert was fulfilled in her third solo Korean concert series, "Just One Step... That Much More". The concert series took place over eight nights from May 22 to June 1 at
Sogang University's Mary Hall, which had a capacity of 450 people. Tickets to all eight shows were sold out within 10 minutes of release on May 7, 2014. Two months after her solo concerts ended, IU made her debut performance in the United States at the
KCON music festival held in Los Angeles on August 9–10. In their review,
Los Angeles Times opined that IU had a "sprightly stage presence, and as a solo female singer, she's breaking the molds for K-pop stardom." Throughout 2014, IU's collaborations with other artists spawned top-ten hits: "Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms" (), the debut single of
High4, which featured IU as lyricist and vocalist, reached number one on both the Gaon Digital Chart and
Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100; "Anxious Heart" (), recorded by
Ulala Session and IU in 2012 but released more than a year later out of respect for the death of Ulala Session's lead vocalist, peaked at number four on the Gaon Digital Chart; "Sing for Me" (), which was released as part of
g.o.d's eighth studio album, peaked at number nine on the Gaon Digital Chart; "Sogyeokdong" (), written by
Seo Taiji for his
Quiet Night album and sung by IU in the October 2 release version, debuted at number four on the Gaon Digital Chart; and "When Would It Be" (), a duet with her labelmate
Yoon Hyun-sang for his debut album,
Pianoforte, also peaked at number nine on the Gaon Digital Chart. After "Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms" topped
Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100 chart, IU became its "all-time chart leader" with five number-one songs and the artist who has spent the most weeks at number one since the chart's creation in September 2011. She played Cindy, a diva-like singer who decides to participate in a
variety show to improve her public image. Analysing her character's perceived icy demeanor, IU commented that she could relate to her character's "biting attitude" and how similar her character was to herself. She performed two songs in character, "Twenty Three" and "Heart" (), both of which were later included as bonus tracks on her 2015 album,
Chat-Shire. While she wrote the lyrics for both songs, she also composed the music for "Heart", which was released as a digital single on May 18. "Heart" topped the charts upon its release and went on to become the tenth best-selling digital single of 2015 in South Korea. "Heart" was among a slew of
K-pop songs used by
South Korea's Defense Ministry in its propaganda broadcasts to North Korea during the two countries'
tense standoff in August 2015, with the aim of advertising the "South Korean youth culture". Through
The Producers, IU's popularity in China soared—reportedly receiving offers for several projects from Chinese companies. After the completion of
The Producers, IU participated in the biennial music festival event hosted by the variety show,
Infinite Challenge, in which each participating singer-songwriter is partnered with one of the six hosts to create a song for the festival. The preparation process and festival event were aired over the course of seven episodes. She was partnered with
Park Myeong-su, with whom she recorded and performed the song, "Leon" (as inspired by the film
Léon: The Professional). The live performance event on August 13, 2015, attracted an estimated crowd of 40,000 at
Alpensia Ski Jumping Stadium. Subsequent to the final episode's broadcast, "Leon" was released along with the other songs from the festival as a digital track and on the official festival album. "Leon" reached number one on all of South Korea's music charts upon release. IU's fifth Korean extended play,
Chat-Shire, was released digitally on October 23, 2015, prior to its physical release on October 27. IU asserted greater creative control on the album, writing the lyrics for all seven tracks (as well as the physical album's two bonus tracks) and composing the music for five tracks either individually or collaboratively. She was also credited as the album's executive producer. The lead single, "
Twenty-Three", topped the national music charts upon release with several of the album's tracks also ranking in the top ten.
Billboard described the album as a "must-hear" release, containing "some of [IU's] most personal music yet", and named "The Shower" () as its stand-out track. On November 4, the Korean publisher of the novel
My Sweet Orange Tree, from which IU drew inspiration for the song "Zezé", stirred debate in the entertainment industry on freedom of interpretation when it leveled criticisms at IU for her interpretation of the five-year-old protagonist as a "sexual object". Two days later, IU issued a public statement: "I did not mean to turn Zeze into a sexual object... but I realize that my lyrics have offended many, and for this I apologize."
Billboard ranked
Chat-Shire the sixth best K-pop album of 2015, explaining that "IU knows how to take the sounds of yesterday and update them to stunning results." '' press conference, August 2016 Prior to the release of
Chat-Shire, LOEN announced that IU would not be partaking in broadcast promotions for the album and would instead be holding a national tour from November to December 2015. The
Chat-Shire tour began in Seoul on November 21 and continued to Busan, Daegu and Gwangju, before returning to Seoul, where it ended on December 31. In the midst of her concert tour for
Chat-Shire in South Korea, IU also increased promotional activities in
Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, hosting fan-meetings and concerts in various cities as well as releasing a compilation album,
Smash Hits, to the Taiwanese market on December 11, 2015. Containing 16 previously released songs,
Smash Hits was published by
Warner Music Taiwan and topped the K-pop album chart of Taiwan's leading online music store,
KKBOX, on its first week of release. Tickets to her concert of January 10, 2016, in Taiwan also sold out within two minutes of going on sale. Towards the end of 2015, IU hosted SBS's annual end-of-year music program,
Gayo Daejeon, with
Shin Dong-yup. The program's producers said of their host selection, "IU has been deeply acknowledged for her musical talents, moving beyond the image of 'Korea's cute younger sister'." For her accomplishments in 2015,
Ize listed IU as one of the "Persons of the Year", while
GQ Korea named her as the "Woman of the Year". In September 2016, IU starred as the lead role, Hae Soo, in
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, a Korean adaptation of the Chinese novel
Bu Bu Jing Xin.
2017–2018: Palette, A Flower Bookmark 2 and My Mister , South Korea, on December 10, 2017 IU released her fourth studio album,
Palette, on April 21, 2017, of which she served as the primary lyricist and executive producer. Three singles were promoted prior to the release of the album; the
lead single of the same name featuring
G-Dragon from
BIGBANG; as well as two pre-release tracks "
Through the Night" and "
Can't Love You Anymore".
Palette () debuted atop
Billboard World Albums chart, a first in her career, and topped local charts in both album sales and downloads.
Palette was a commercial success, with all three singles from the album peaking at the top of the
Gaon Digital Chart, with the lead single, "Palette" spending a total of two weeks at number 1. However, it was her first pre-release track, "Through the Night" that became the best-selling track from the album and also her best-selling single of 2017.
Palette was also critically acclaimed and received multiple accolades, including "Best Pop Album" at the 15th
Korean Music Awards, "Album of the Year" at the Melon Music Awards, and "Record of the Year (Album)" award at the 27th
Seoul Music Awards; IU herself was awarded the Best Female Artist at the
Mnet Asian Music Awards. The album also earned IU a "Best Songwriter" award at the Melon Music Awards, IU also received the "Song of the Year" award at the 32nd
Golden Disc Awards for her hit song "
Through the Night".
Billboard magazine listed "Palette" at number six on its list of "Best K-Pop Songs of 2017."
The New York Times Magazine also featured "Palette" on its list of "25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going", making IU the only Asian artist to make the list while appreciating IU's ability as a singer-songwriter to project authenticity in K-pop. Furthermore,
Billboard ranked
Palette the best K-pop album of 2017, explaining that "An album as impressive and sonically diverse as
Palette proves why injecting an artist's personal experiences into their music can lead to their greatest work yet." IU released her sixth Korean extended-play and second cover album,
A Flower Bookmark 2 on September 22, 2017. Prior to the album's release, a single titled "
Autumn Morning" was released without prior notice on September 18 to mark the singer's ninth anniversary. She later went on a tour in various cities around Korea as well as Hong Kong from November to December 2017 to promote the album. IU was also featured in the title song, "Love Story", of
Epik High's ninth album, ''
We've Done Something Wonderful'', which was released on October 23, 2017.
Gallup Korea ranked her the most popular K-pop artist of 2017 (she previously topped the ranking in 2014) and also the most popular K-pop idol of the year. In March 2018, IU starred in tvN's
My Mister, playing the character Lee Ji-an. The series was commercially and critically successful with peak audience ratings of 7.3% making it one of the
highest rated Korean dramas in cable television history, and positive reviews for IU's performance. IU then contributed her vocals to
Zico's "Soulmate", which was released on July 23, 2018. Upon release, the single topped the daily and real time charts of all six major Korean music sites and claimed the number-one position on the Gaon Digital Chart. To commemorate her tenth debut anniversary, IU released a single titled "
Bbibbi" on October 10, 2018. The song surpassed one million unique listeners on Korea's largest music site,
Melon, only 16 hours after its release, and by 23 hours in, it broke the previous 24-hour unique listener record set by her duet "Leon" with
Park Myung-su in 2015. "Bbibbi" went on to record a total of 1,462,625 unique listeners in the first 24 hours of its release. The single peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, and at number five on the
Billboard's World Digital Songs Chart.
Billboard magazine listed "Bbibbi" at number 87 on its list of "Best Songs of 2018", explaining "The single not only comments on IU's experiences in the public life, but it doubles as a universal empowerment anthem, knowing and acknowledging one's worth and personal rights." The single was also listed at number 4 on
Billboard's list of "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018". IU began her first Asian tour, titled IU 10th Anniversary Tour Concert, on October 28, 2018. Two months later, IU featured on
Kim Dong-ryul's "Fairytale", which peaked at number four on the
Gaon Digital Chart.
2019–2021: Hotel del Luna, Love Poem and Lilac On April 11, 2019, IU made her film debut in the
Netflix anthology series Persona. She portrayed different characters in each of the four short films which were written and directed by the critically acclaimed directors
Lee Kyoung-mi,
Yim Pil-sung, Jeon Go-woon and
Kim Jong-kwan. It was the sixth most popular program on Netflix in Korea in 2019. During the summer, IU starred in the fantasy mystery drama
Hotel del Luna, written by the
Hong Sisters. She also sang one of the songs on the soundtrack, "Happy Ending". The drama was a commercial success, recording the highest ratings in its timeslot throughout its run. IU was set to release her seventh Korean extended play,
Love Poem, on November 1, 2019; however, she decided to postpone the EP's release to November 18 following her close friend
Sulli's death. Her single "Peach" (2012), inspired by Sulli, re-entered charts as a tribute to the late singer. The EP's eponymous
lead single was released as planned, subsequently peaking at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, and at number nine on
Billboards World Digital Songs Chart. Nearly 90,000 fans attended her two-month tour during which she visited 10 cities. For the first time in nine years, IU participated in a soundtrack album with the song "
Give You My Heart" for the hit romantic comedy
Crash Landing on You. Released on February 15, 2020, it debuted at number 71 on South Korea's
Gaon Digital Chart, 2020, rising and reaching number one the following week. On May 6, 2020, IU released the single "
Eight" featuring and produced by
BTS's
Suga. As the song's title derives from the last digit of the Korean age "twenty-eight" of both artists, it follows IU's previous singles "Twenty-Three" (2015) and "Palette" (2017) which together comprise her "coming-of-age" series. On June 19, 2020, IU released the song "Into the I-LAND" as the signal song for the survival reality show
I-Land. In December 2020,
Melon revealed its chart of the top 100 songs of the 2010s (the 10 years from 2010 to 2019). IU was the artist who landed the most songs on the chart by far, with 11 of her songs making it into the top 100. On January 9, 2021, IU won Song of the Year at the
35th Golden Disc Awards for "
Blueming", becoming the first female soloist to win two grand prizes in the award show's history. While onstage accepting her award, she hinted that she would be soon returning with a new single titled "
Celebrity" and that the new song would have a refreshing and cheerful pop sound. Two days later, Edam Entertainment confirmed her return with the pre-release single "Celebrity" on January 27, 2021. On March 3, she announced her fifth studio album,
Lilac, which was released on March 25 to immediate commercial success. The album debuted atop the
Gaon Album Chart, and all tracks had simultaneously charted in the top 30 of the Gaon Digital Chart. In October, IU announced that her digital single "
Strawberry Moon" would be released on October 19. IU later teased her eighth Korean extended play
Pieces, which was released on December 29.
2022–2024: Broker, The Winning and first world tour concert on September 17, 2022 IU's first project of 2022 was the collaborative single "
Ganadara" with
Jay Park, which peaked at number one on both the Gaon Digital Chart and the
Billboard K-pop Hot 100. Her first documentary,
Pieces: 29th Winter, was scheduled to release on March 16 but was later postponed to March 23. The following month, IU starred in the film
Broker, playing single mother So-young, who initially decides to leave her newborn at a
baby box but later changes her mind and tries to retrieve her child. Director
Hirokazu Kore-eda choose to cast IU after seeing her moving performance in
My Mister (2018), as he felt that she was the only actress who could embody So-young's character. The performance earned her a nomination for Best New Actress at the
27th Chunsa International Film Festival. On September 17 and 18, IU held a concert,
The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun, at the
Seoul Olympic Stadium, becoming the first Korean female artist to perform there. In the same month,
Lee Byeong-heon's
Dream was released in theaters, marking IU's first feature film role. Later on, she held the media art exhibition "Moment" from July 21 to August 20, 2023, at Galleria Forêt The Seoul Lightium in Seongdong District, Seoul, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of her debut. IU released the pre-release single "
Love Wins All" on January 24, 2024, with the song debuting atop the
Circle Digital Chart. The single would be part of her ninth Korean extended play
The Winning, which was released on February 20. She then toured Asia, North America and Europe with the
IU HEREH World Tour. The final concert of the tour, held at
Seoul World Cup Stadium in September, marked the first entry by a female musician into the venue and the 100th concert of her career. In December 2024, IU was cast as the main lead of romance drama
Perfect Crown opposite actor
Byeon Woo-seok.
2025–present: When Life Gives You Tangerines, A Flower Bookmark 3 and Perfect Crown In March 2025, IU starred in screenwriter
Lim Sang-choon's television series
When Life Gives You Tangerines opposite
Park Bo-gum. A domestic and international hit, IU and Park's performances received widespread audience and critical acclaim, and they were both nominated at the
61st Baeksang Arts Awards, and IU received the "Best Actress" award at the
4th Blue Dragon Series Awards. On April 21,
NetEase Cloud Music named IU as the most streamed Korean artist in the platform's 12-year history with more than 3.9 billion streams. On May 27, IU returned as a singer, releasing her tenth Korean extended play and third cover album
A Flower Bookmark 3, with actor
Heo Nam-jun and singer-actor
Cha Eun-woo making special appearances in the music videos for the album tracks "Never Ending Story" and "A Beautiful Person" respectively. IU released the digital single "Bye, Summer" on September 10. She then held a fan meet-up titled 2025 IU Fan Meet-Up (Bye, Summer) on September 13 and 14 at the
KSPO Dome to celebrate her 17th debut anniversary, becoming the first K-pop soloist and actress to hold a fan meeting at the venue. In December, IU attended the
10th Asia Artist Awards winning the grand prize for "Artist of the Year (Actor)", for her performance in
When Life Gives You Tangerines. Gallup Korea ranked IU as the
Gallup Korea's Singer of the Year for 2025 (she previously topped the ranking in 2014 and 2017), In 2026, IU was named one of the
Golden Disc Awards' 40 Powerhouse Artists, honoring influential musicians for the show's 40th anniversary. In April 2026, IU starred opposite actor
Byeon Woo-seok in the television series
Perfect Crown, a romantic comedy set in a fictional 21st-century
constitutional monarchy South Korea. ==Artistry==