Minzy | |
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Minzy at YG Family Press Conference in Singapore in 2014
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Native name | 공민지 |
Born |
Gong Min-ji January 18, 1994 Seoul, South Korea |
Other names | Minzy |
Education | Baekseok Arts University |
Occupation | Singer |
Musical career | |
Genres | K-pop |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | The Music Works |
Associated acts | |
Website | themusicworks |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
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Revised Romanization | Gong Min-ji |
McCune–Reischauer | Kŏng Min-ji |
Gong Min-ji (born January 18, 1994), better known by her stage name Minzy, is a South Korean singer. She is a former member of South Korean girl group 2NE1, leaving the group and the group's agency in April 2016, shortly before their official disbandment.
Minzy was born in Seoul, South Korea on January 18, 1994. She is granddaughter of folk dancer Gong Ok-jin. When she was young, she moved to Gwangju with her family. She participated in many dance contests and competitions, winning various awards. A video of her at a dance competition in Gwangju was uploaded onto the Internet, and became viral with many people sending praise for her ability to dance. This video was then uploaded onto YG's homepage, whereupon the CEO, Yang Hyun-suk, contacted and recruited her to join the agency when she was only in sixth grade.
YG Entertainment stated in early 2009 that they would be debuting a new four-member group that had been training for four years, and that their debut album would contain songs produced by 1TYM's leader Teddy Park and G-Dragon of Big Bang. The group's name was initially announced as "21"; however, due to the discovery of a singer with the same name, the group was renamed "2NE1", with "NE" being an abbreviation of "New Evolution". Minzy was placed in 2NE1 as the main dancer, alongside Park Bom, Sandara Park and CL. The group went on to debut with their first single "Fire" in May 2009, with Minzy being the youngest member at just 15 years old.
Minzy officially left the group and the group's agency, YG Entertainment, on April 5, 2016. Because of this, she did not take part in 2NE1's last song "Goodbye", released on January 21, 2017.
On May 2016, Minzy signed with Music Works. It was revealed that Minzy is currently preparing for her solo album and is interested in trying out different types of music and doesn’t want to limit herself to one specific genre. Music Works stated, “We are focusing on producing a first solo album which can portray all of Gong Minzy’s talent and potential. We will continue the preparations without being chased by time”.