2012–2015: Career beginnings and Hi Suhyun On October 24, 2012, it was announced Lee would be debuting as a solo artist under the stage name, "Lee Hi", with digital single "1, 2, 3, 4" on October 28. Lee's first music show appearance was on
SBS'
Inkigayo on November 4, soon after claiming her first music show win on November 8 through
Mnet's
M Countdown. The song charted number one on the monthly
Gaon Digital Chart for November, thus earning her the
Song of the Year - November award from
Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. Following success of debut single "1,2,3,4", Lee released a second digital single written by
Park Jin-young titled "Scarecrow" on November 22. On March 2, 2013, YGE revealed Lee Hi's debut album
First Love, would be released digitally on March 7 consisting of five tracks with lead single "It's Over", and physical release on March 28 with ten tracks including lead single "Rose". Promotions began with first stage at SBS' K-pop Star 2 on March 10. In December 2013, it was revealed Lee Hi and
2NE1's
Park Bom would debut as the sub-unit "BOM&HI". They released the digital single "
All I Want For Christmas Is You", a cover of
Mariah Carey's song, on December 20. In November 2014, Lee and
Akdong Musician's
Lee Su-hyun formed the sub-unit
Hi Suhyun and released digital single "
I'm Different" featuring
iKon's
Bobby. The duo's first stage was at SBS'
Inkigayo on November 16, following their first win on November 23.
2016–2018: Career breakthrough On March 9, 2016, Lee released half album
Seoulite with lead singles "Breathe" and "Hold My Hand", where "Breathe" went on to winning her the Digital Bonsang award at the
31st Golden Disk Awards. The song "Breathe" was written by famous singer songwriter, Kim Jonghyun, from the hit K-pop group Shinee. Lee began promotions for both singles on
Mnet's
M! Countdown on March 10. On April 20,
Seoulite was released as a studio album with lead single "My Star". Among the tracks, Lee participated in writing and composing the song "Passing By". On May 28, Lee featured on
Gill's single "Refrigerator" alongside
Verbal Jint. On September 19, SBS drama
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo released
Epik High and Lee's soundtrack "Can You Hear My Heart", following Lee's soundtrack "My Love" on October 3. On December 31, Lee appeared on MBC's
Infinite Challenge Hip-hop & History special as a featured guest for
Yoo Jae-suk and
Dok2's stage. On February 28, 2017, Lee featured on Code Kunst's single "X" from studio album
Muggles Mansion. On March 28, Lee featured on Dok2's single "On & On" off studio album
Reborn, where she participated in writing and composing. On June 17 and 18, SBS' K-pop Star held a
Kpop Star and Friends concert as a wrap up for the franchise after six seasons of airing, performances included Lee Hi and label-mate Akdong Musician. On August 20, Lee appeared on SBS'
Party People where she shared she suffered from minor panic attacks in the past, thus the creation of her 2016 hit single "Breathe". On October 23, Lee featured on Epik High's single "Here Come the Regrets" from studio album ''
We've Done Something Wonderful''. On March 21, 2018, Lee's Japanese debut album was released, thus embarking on her Japan tour at stops including Tokyo and Osaka. On October 19, Lee collaborated with the film
Bohemian Rhapsody and released a cover soundtrack of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
2019–present: Career resurgence and label changes On January 15, 2019, Lee released digital single "XI" with Code Kunst, the track was sung live for the first time on
MBC Dreaming Radio. Lee Hi made a comeback with her EP,
24°C, on May 30, 2019. The lead single, "
No One" (featuring
B.I), topped all charts in South Korea, including Melon, Genie and Mnet. Among the tracks, she released the self-written and produced song "20Min". Lee received her first music show win for single "No One" through Mnet's M Countdown on June 6. Following the end of Lee's contract with YG Entertainment, on December 31, it was revealed Lee had made the decision to not renew. In June 2020, Lee joined as a cast member for the fourth installment of
JTBC show
Begin Again from episode 4 to 6. On July 22, 2020,
AOMG revealed that they had signed an exclusive contract with Lee Hi and released her comeback single "Holo". "Holo" peaked at number 7 on the
Gaon Digital Chart and won R&B Track of the Year at the
Korean Hip-hop Awards. In March 2024, Lee's exclusive contract with AOMG ended and it was revealed that she had made the decision to not renew. On September 23, 2024, Lee had signed an exclusive contract with Duover to manage her future activities. In addition, a video content of her unreleased new song "One Thing" was released on her YouTube channel to celebrate her 28th birthday. ==Endorsements==