| Lim Jeong-hee | |||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Lim Jeong-hee | ||||||||||
| Birth Date: | May 17, 1981 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Seoul, South Korea | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Singer | ||||||||||
| Years Active: | 2005–present | ||||||||||
| Spouse: | Kim Hee-hyun (2023) | ||||||||||
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Lim Jeong-hee (; born May 17, 1981, in Seoul, South Korea), also known as J-Lim, is a South Korean singer who debuted in 2005 under JYP Entertainment. One of her notable performances in 2005 was the 5th Pattaya Music Festival in Thailand, which helped promote and expose her to the foreign music industry. She was signed under Big Hit Music in 2012 and left the company in 2015,[1] going on to join her current agency, Oscar ENT.[2]
Lim Jeong-hee grew up in a musical environment; her father was an ardent fan of pop music and a collector of music LPs. She was educated in classical music in her childhood and learnt to play the piano. Despite this, as she grew up, she gained more interest in pop music rather than the classical music she had studied.
When she was in high school Lim participated in a song contest for teens held by Seoul City and won the grand prize. The experience of competing in the song contest and winning the top prize led Lim to enter college to study popular music.[3]
She signed with JYP Entertainment. However, Lim was more famous on the street music scene than on television or the radio. Even before she had her official debut, Lim held countless street performances on her own which led to the creation of her multiple fan clubs.[4]
Lim debuted in 2005 with her first album Music is My Life. Through her street performances, Lim said that she has learned so much about music and found an increased love and passion towards music, and that she will continue to hold street performances not only in Seoul but also all around the country.
Her third album, "Before I Go, J-Lim", made headlines for featuring Big Boi from Outkast who also appeared in the music video. On May 8, 2011, she released a music video featuring G.NA, Hyuna and comedian Park Hwi Soon called "Golden Lady".[5] On May 12, 2011, she made her comeback performance on M Countdown with her single 'Golden Lady'[6] On July 2, 2011, she announced that she has been cast as the female lead for the musical "Temptation of Wolves" and will be tackling the challenge of her first musical. From July 12 to October 3, Lim Jeong Hee performed as ‘Jung Hankyung‘, a charming girl who's caught between two different guys for her love.[7] On November 20, 2011, she announced that she will be Brian McKnight's duet partner for his twelfth album JUST ME. She stated, "It's a huge honor to be standing on the same stage as world-renowned R&B legend, Brian McKnight".[8] [9] In 2011, she also appeared on tvN's survival program Opera Star 2011, where she made it to the semi-finals.[10]
On October 3, 2023, Lim married ballet dancer Kim Hee-hyun, a former soloist at the Korea National Ballet, in Seoul after dating for a year.[11]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [12] | |||
| Music is My Life |
| 20 |
|
| Thanks |
| 8 |
|
| Before I Go, J-Lim |
| 15 |
|
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [16] | |||
| It Can't Be Real |
| 22 | |
| Golden Lady |
| 15 |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [18] | ||||
| As lead artist | ||||
| "Music Is My Life" | 2005 | — | Music Is My Life | |
| "Tears That Didn't Fall" (눈물이 안났어) | 30 |
| ||
| "Don't Go, My Love" (사랑아 가지마) | 2006 | — | Thanks | |
| "Trace" (흔적) | — | |||
| "Madly in Love" (사랑에 미치면) | 2007 | — | Before I Go, J-Lim | |
| "Heaven Breeze" (하늘아 바람아) | — | |||
| "On The Way To Break Up With You" (헤어지러 가는 길) | 2010 | 3 |
| It Can't Be Real |
| "It Can't Be Real" (진짜일 리 없어) | 5 |
| ||
| "Himawari" (Sunflower / 해바라기) | 2011 | 44 |
| |
| "Golden Lady" | 4 |
| Golden Lady | |
| "Luv Is" | 2013 | 7 |
| rowspan="5" |
| "Feel So Good" | 23 |
| ||
| "Crazy" | 2016 | 93 |
| |
| "I.O.U" | — | |||
| "The Christmas Day" | 2017 | — | ||
| Collaborations | ||||
| "Beautiful You" (아름다운 널) | 2010 | 11 | rowspan="5" | |
| "It's Been A Long Time" (오랜만이다) | 2013 | 31 | ||
| "Like A Movie" (영화처럼) | 53 | |||
| "Perfect Christmas" | 45 | |||
| "There Is No Love" (사랑은 없다) | 2014 | 63 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [26] | |||||
| "I Can't Love You" (사랑은 못해요) | 2010 | 81 | Smile, Mom OST Part 3 | ||
| "If You Turn Back Time" (시간을 되돌린다면) | 2011 | 40 | Royal Family OST Part 3 | ||
| "Filament" (필라멘트) | 2012 | 42 | Wild Romance OST Part 1 | ||
| "Don't Love Me" (날 사랑하지마) | 34 | Five Fingers OST Part 1 | |||
| "Poison Love" (지독한 사랑) | 2013 | 52 | OST | ||
| "I'll Be There" (시간에 기대어) | 65 | Medical Top Team OST Part 4 | |||
| "Scent of a Flower" (꽃향기) | 2014 | 24 | Emergency Couple OST Part 2 | ||
| "It Hurts, It Hurts" (아파아파) | 2015 | 85 | Super Daddy Yeol OST Part 4 | ||
| "Hope" (바라죠) | 2016 | — | My Lawyer, Mr. Jo OST Part 3 | ||
| "Distressed" (달) | — | Secret Healer OST Part 3 | |||
| "The Coat" (외투) | 2017 | — | Two Cops OST Part 6 | ||
| "Black Diamond" | 2019 | — | Graceful Family OST Part 1 | ||
| "My Song" | 2023 | — | Live Your Own Life OST Part 1[27] | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
| Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Disc Awards | 2005 | Best New Artist | "Music Is My Life" | [28] | |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2005 | Best New Artist | [29] | ||
| 2006 | Best R&B Performance | "Trace" | [30] |
Gaon Digital Chart positions for collaborations: