Gain (singer)

Son Ga-in
Gain performing at the 2012 SBS Gayo Daejeon.
Native name	손가인
Born	Son Ga-in September 20, 1987[1] Seoul, South Korea
Other names	Baby-G
Occupation	singer actress entertainer
Musical career
Genres	K-pop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2006–present
Labels	APOP Entertainment
Associated acts	Brown Eyed Girls 4Tomorrow LOEN Tree IU

Korean name
Hangul	손가인
Hanja	孫佳人
Revised Romanization	Son Ga-in
McCune–Reischauer	Son Ka-in

Son Ga-in (born September 20, 1987), better known mononymously as Gain, is a South Korean singer, actress and entertainer. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Brown Eyed Girls and for her appearances alongside Jo Kwon from 2AM for TV shows We Got Married and All My Love. As a solo artist she has released six EPs.

Music career

2005–09: Brown Eyed Girls and solo projects

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, eventually joining the group. The four members performed several small shows before officially debuting as Brown Eyed Girls in 2006.^[2] 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

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 herself became the second member to start her solo activities after Narsha by releasing her first mini-album, titled 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.^[3]

2012–13: Talk About S, Romantic Spring and "Gentleman"

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" (Hangul: 너만은 모르길). She also released a duet with JYP on 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 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 to date. On November 30, 2012, "Nostalgia" was released digitally as a single, featuring rapper Eric Mun of boyband Shinhwa.

Later in April 8, 2013, Romantic Spring was released as a collaboration project between Gain herself and Korean singer Cho Hyung-woo, whom later became her labelmate. The collaborative EP debuted at number three on Gaon Albums Chart. In 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".^[4] 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" (Hangul: 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

At the beginning of 2014, Gain released her next EP, 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" (Hangul: 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 opening track for her second EP.^[5][6] She also appeared as KARA's Goo Hara's friend in her own reality show Hara ON & OFF at the end of 2014.

2015: Hawwah, Brown Eyed Girls' 10th anniversary and upcoming projects

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 became her fourth top five entry and her first to chart in the U.S.. 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

Filmography & television work

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.

Personal life

Aside from her groupmates, she's close friends with IU, Miss A's Fei, KARA's Hara, and 2AM's Jo Kwon and Seulong.

On May 9, 2014, both Gain and Ju ji-hoon confirmed that they are dating.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Discography

Gain discography
EPs	5
Singles	13
Collaborative singles	8

Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and sales figures

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions		Sales
		KOR [13]	US World [14]
Step 2/4	Released: October 8, 2010 Label: Nega Network, LOEN Entertainment Format: CD+DVD, Digital download	2	—	KOR: 9,700+[upper-alpha 1]
Talk About S	Released: October 5, 2012 Label: LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	1	—	KOR: 10,000+[upper-alpha 2]
Romantic Spring (with Cho Hyung-woo)	Released: April 8, 2013 Label: LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	3	—	KOR: 5,100+[upper-alpha 3]
Truth or Dare	Released: February 6, 2014 Label: APOP Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	6	—	KOR: 6,500+[upper-alpha 4]
Hawwah	Released: March 12, 2015 Label: APOP Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	5	9	KOR: 4,300+[20]
End Again	Released: September 8, 2016 Label: APOP Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download	5	—	KOR: 2,747 [21]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		KOR Gaon [22]	KOR Hot 100 [23]
"Must Have Love" (with Kim Yong-jun of SG Wannabe)	2006	N/A	N/A	Must Have Love (Single album)
"Must Have Friends" (with Kim Yong-jun of SG Wannabe)
"Tomorrow" (with Hyuna, Uee and Han Seung-yeon as 4Tomorrow)	2009			Non-album single
"Irreversible"	2010	1		Step 2/4
"Bad Temper"		11		Non-album single
"Bloom"	2012	2	2	Talk About S
"Nostalgia" (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"		8	7
"A Tempo"		22	29	Non-album single
"Apple" (featuring Jay Park)	2015	2	N/A	Hawwah
"Paradise Lost"		6
"Carnival (The Last Day)"	2016	40		End Again
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated. Note: Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and discontinued in July 2014.

Other charted songs

List of songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		KOR Gaon [22]	KOR Hot 100 [23]
"Nitchell (Baby-G Mix)"	2010	132	N/A	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	—
"Q&A" (featuring Jo Kwon of 2AM)	2014	33	27	Truth or Dare
"Black & White"		51	40
"Disclosure"		77	64
"I Believe"		65	N/A	My Spring Days: Original Soundtrack
"Free Will" (featuring Dok2)	2015	45		Hawwah
"Guilty"		51
"Two Women"		72
"The First Temptation"		74
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated. Note: Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and discontinued in July 2014.

Collaborative singles

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		KOR Gaon [22]	KOR Hot 100 [23]
"Marriage" (Choi Jung-chul featuring Gain)	2008	N/A	N/A	Marriage (Single album)
"We Fell in Love" (with Jo Kwon of 2AM)	2009	1		Non-album single
"For You Not to Know" (As One cover)	2012	8	9	Yoon Il-sang 21st Anniversary Album: I'm 21
"Someone Else" (Park Jin-Young featuring Gain)		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
"Everybody Has Secrets" (IU featuring Gain)		2	3	Modern Times
"Seoul Lonely" (Phantom featuring Gain)	2014	23	53	Phantom Power
"Queen" (Miryo featuring Gain)	2015	98	N/A	Queen (Single album)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. "*" indicates that the Gaon Chart was revamped at this time and digital sales were deflated. Note: Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and discontinued in July 2014.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network
2005	Let's Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa	Herself	Mnet
2008	가족이 필요해	Herself	MBC
2009–2011	We Got Married	Herself	MBC
2010–2011	All My Love	Hwang Geum-ji	MBC
2014	Hara's ON & OFF	Herself	MBC
2015	Off to School	Herself	JTBC
	Hello Counselor	Guest	KBS
2016	Knowing Brother Ep 43	Guest	JTBC

Films

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

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[24]	Dance version
"For You Not to Know"		Unknown
"Someone Else"	2012
"Bloom"		Hwang Soo-ah[25]
"Nostalgia"		Unknown
"One of Gain"
"Brunch"	2013
"Fxxk U"	2014	Hwang Soo-ah[24]
"Truth or Dare"		Hwang Soo-ah[24]	Performance version
"Paradise Lost"	2015	Hwang Soo-ah[26]
"Apple"		Unknown

Awards and nominations

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[27]	January Week 1 Digital Chart Overall #1		Won
		January Week 2 Digital Chart Overall #1		Won
		January Week 3 Digital Chart Overall #1		Won
		January Week 4 Ringback tone #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[28]		Nominated
		Best Collaboration[29]	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[30]	We Got Married	Won
		Best Couple Award with Jo Kwon[30]		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"[31]	Nominated

Footnotes

1. Sales figures for Step 2/4 as of October 2010.^[15]
2. Sales figures for Talk About S as of October 2012.^[16]
3. Sales figures for Romantic Spring as of April 2013.^[17]
4. Sales figures for Truth or Dare until the first half of 2014.^[18][19]

References

1. Mark Russell (29 April 2014). K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution. Tuttle Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-4629-1411-1.
2. "Brown Eyed Girls and ZE:A talk about the history of their group names". Allkpop.com. 2010-05-09. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
3. "Brown Eyed Girls' Gain signs contract with Loen Entertainment for solo activities". Koreaboo.com. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
4. "싸이 "'젠틀맨' 안무, 브아걸 '시건방 춤'이 모티프"".
5. "Starter: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
6. "Starter: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
7. Sales references for "Hawwah":
   • "South Korean Gaon Chart: Albums – March 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
8. "Gain Goes In on New 'Hawwah' EP, Religion and South Korea's Conservative Music Industry". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
9. "'Brown Eyed Girls' Ga In and actor Joo Ji Hoon revealed to be a couple!". Allkpop. May 9, 2014.
10. "BEG′s Gain and Joo Ji Hoon Admit to Dating". interest.me.
11. "Ga-in, Ji-hoon now official". joins.com.
12. "BEG's Gain Writes to Fans About Her Relationship with Joo Ji Hoon". interest.me.
13. "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
14. "Billboard World Albums Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
15. Sales reference for Step 2/4:
    • "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – October 2010". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
16. Sales references for Talk About S:
    • "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – October 2012". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
17. Sales references for Romantic Spring:
    • "April 2013 Album Chart" 2013년 04월 Album Chart. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
18. Sales references for Truth or Dare:
    • 2014년 상반기결산 ALBUM CHART [First half of 2014 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
19. "Gaon Chart Physical Sales All Time - Female groups/soloists *Updated MARCH 2015 - Music". Retrieved 2015-04-15.
20. Sales references for Hawwah:
    • "South Korean Gaon Chart: Albums (Domestic) – The First Half-Year of 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
21. Sales references for End Again:
    • "South Korean Gaon Chart: Albums (Monthly Chart)". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. September 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
22. "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
23. "Korea K-Pop Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
24. Truth Or Dare - 가인 (in Korean). Mnet. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
25. Lee, Geum-yun (October 12, 2012). 가인 ‘폴 댄스’ 영상 공개, 황수아 감독 ‘大 굴욕’? (in Korean). The Asia Economy Daily. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
26. 가인 하와 컴백, 과거 턱 성형설 너무한 거 아냐? “턱 깎지 않았다…저절로 바뀐 것” (in Korean). Etoday. March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
27. '4관왕' 가인-조권, 가온 차트 '싹쓸이'. YTN (in Korean). February 23, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
28. Hicap, Jonathan M. (October 29, 2010). "Controversial Mnet Asian Music Awards bares nominees". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin Publishing. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
29. "2NE1, '2010 MAMA' 5관왕..걸파워 빛났다(종합)". Nate (in Korean). November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
30. "'아담부부' 조권-가인, MBC 방송연예대상 2관왕". Joinsmsn (in Korean). November 30, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
31. "MAMA Nominees". mwave. Retrieved 14 May 2016.

External links

• Official website(Korean)