You was born in
Seoul and attended
Kyungbock High School. He graduated from
Seoul National University's College of Music with a major in
composition. He debuted in the local pop music scene by winning the grand prize at the fourth You Jae-ha Music Contest held in 1992 with "The Moonlight Song" (). In 1994, You started the band
Toy as a duo with Yoon Jeong-oh. However, after releasing Toy's first album, Yoon left the band to study overseas and You joined the
navy for his mandatory military service. Since 1996, Toy has continued as a one-man band with You as the sole member. After his discharge from military service, Toy's second album
Fairy Tales for Adults was released, with the title song "Remember I Was Next to You" sung by
Kim Yeon-woo becoming a big hit. Since then, You has rarely sung the songs in his albums and instead features guest vocalists such as
Kim Yeon-woo, Kim Hyung-joong,
Lee Jang-woo,
Yoon Jong-shin,
Kim Jang-hoon, Jinu (also known as Hitchhiker), and Byeon Jae-won. You has also produced many albums for
K-pop musicians including
Lee Seung-hwan,
Yoon Jong-shin,
Lee Sora and
Lee Moon-se. In 1997, he founded the record label
Antenna Music, then known as Toy Music. In July 1999, You published a book of illustrations titled
In Front of a Familiar House. The album of the same title contained instrumental tracks in a range of genres. In 2015, he appeared in the music video for
Psy's single "
Daddy". Since 2015, he became a co-host with
Yoo Jae Suk in
Two Yoo Project Sugar Man. On December 11, 2021, You was diagnosed with COVID-19, canceled all of his schedules and is taking necessary measures in accordance with quarantine agency guidelines. As of December 21, 2021, it was reported that Yoo had recovered from the infection as of December 19 after completing home treatment for COVID-19 according to a decision by health officials. In 2022, You faced multiple allegations of plagiarism. After acknowledging the similarities between his song "Very Private Night" and "Aqua" by Japanese composer
Ryuichi Sakamoto, the controversy continued over songs "Happy Birthday to You" (composed by You and performed by
Sung Si-kyung) and "Time to Turn On". On July 18, 2022, You published an apology through his record label
Antenna, announcing his intention to step down from his program ''You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook'', and that he "will look after [himself] more strictly so that a controversy such as this does not arise again." ==Discography==