Lee Soo-jung

Not to be confused with Lee So-jung from Ladies' Code, or the Japanese rock band Chai.

Lee Soo-jung Crystal Yi
Also known as	Chai
Born	1993 (age 31–32)
Origin	Chicago, United States
Genres	R&B soul pop
Occupations	Singer songwriter
Years active	2015–present
Labels	Antenna World Star Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul	이수정
Hanja	李秀晶
Revised Romanization	I Su-jeong
McCune–Reischauer	I Su-chŏng

Crystal Yi (born 1993), known by her stage name Chai or her Korean name Lee Soo-jung (이수정), is a Korean-American singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning SBS's K-pop Star 5.

Career

In 2015–2016, Yi participated in the fifth season of the audition talent show K-pop Star. She finished in first place with a perfect score of 300 points and selected Antenna as her agency.[1][2]

After winning the competition, she returned to Chicago to finish her senior year as an art major at the University of Illinois at Chicago.[3] During this time, in February 2017, she self-released the single "Color You", featuring the Chicago-based duo Iris Temple.[4][5] In April 2017, she released a music video for "Thirst Trap", a single she had originally released in 2015 prior to joining K-pop Star.[6][7]

In September 2017, she took part in Antenna's label concert series With Antenna, which toured South Korea and the US.[8] Later that year, she featured on the winter duet single "When You Fall" with Sam Kim.[9] She released an OST for the drama Angel's Last Mission: Love in May 2019.[10]

Yi made her official Korean debut with the single album Give and Take in June 2019.[11] The album consisted of three songs: "Alright", which she co-produced with Sam Ock; the title track "Give and Take", featuring pH-1; and "Color You", featuring Sam Kim, a remake of her 2017 single.[12] Her second single album, Gimme That, featured two songs produced by Colde and was released in February 2020.[13]

Yi parted ways with Antenna in May 2021, after four years with the company.[14][15] She signed to World Star Entertainment in July 2021.[16] Yi mentioned in her Youtube channel that she eventually left World Star Entertainment to take a step back from being a full time musician.[17]

Discography

Single albums

Title	Album details	Track listing
Give and Take	Released: June 19, 2019 Label: Antenna Formats: Digital download	"Alright" "Give and Take" (feat. pH-1) "Color You" (feat. Sam Kim)
Gimme That	Released: February 28, 2020 Label: Antenna Formats: Digital download	"Gimme That" (feat. Saay) (prod. Stally, Colde) "Boyfriend" (feat. Khakii) (prod. Colde)

Digital singles

As lead artist

• "Thirst Trap" (2015)
• "Color You" (feat. Iris Temple, 2017)
• "Time's Up" (2021)
• "Wondering" (2021)

Soundtrack appearances

• "Oh My Angel" (Angel's Last Mission: Love, 2019)
• "Gift" (Dali & Cocky Prince, 2021)

Collaborations

• "Everything is Okay" (with Antenna artists, 2020)
• "Our Christmas Wish for You" (with Antenna artists, 2020)
• "Deserve Better" (with MRSHLL, 2021)

As featured artist

• "When You Fall" (Sam Kim feat. Chai, 2018)
• "God Be My Witness" (Uzuhan feat. Chai, 2019)

Album appearances

• Lee Jin-ah with Sam Kim, Kwon Jin-ah, Jung Seung-hwan and Chai – "We Are" (Jinah Restaurant Full Course, 2018)
• Lucid Fall feat. Chai – "Pit-a-pat" (Nowana, 2019)
• Dolly Ave feat. Chai & Always Dime – "Try" (Sleep, 2021)

Other charted songs

Title	Year	Chart peak	Sales	Album
		KOR [18]
"Lies" (거짓말)	2016	48	KOR: 31,916[19]	K-pop Star 5 OST

References

1. "Lee Soo-jung wins 'K-pop Star 5'". The Korea Times. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
2. "이수정, 'K팝스타5' 심사위원 점수 300점 만점으로 우승…안테나 뮤직 간다" [Lee Soo-jung wins 'K Pop Star 5' with a score of 300... goes to Antenna]. Chosun Biz (in Korean). 11 April 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
3. "About Me". Chai Music Official Site. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
4. Gordon, Phlash (February 14, 2017). "Chai links with Iris Temple for 'Color You'". Fake Shore Drive. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
5. "Color You (Feat. Iris Temple) - Single". Monterey, California: Siren Records. February 14, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
6. Zawlocki, Bryan (April 13, 2017). "A year in making Chai releases the video for "Thirst Trap"". Elevator Mag. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
7. "Thirst Trap - Single". Apple Music. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
8. Kim, So-yeon (September 4, 2017). "Antenna kicks off second label concert". The Korea Herald. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
9. Lee, So-dam (November 30, 2018). "샘김X'K팝5' 이수정, 윈터송 '웬유폴'로 컬래버.."아이유 작사참여" [공식입장]" (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo. Osen. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
10. Shin, Eun-young (June 25, 2021). "시카고 출신 가수 이수정 'Oh My Angel' 인기 상승세…KBS 드라마 '단, 하나의 사랑' OST 참여". The Korea Times (in Korean). Retrieved August 17, 2021.
11. Lee, Yong-gyu (June 16, 2019). "'K팝스타5' 우승 이수정, CHAI로 정식 데뷔…19일 첫 싱글 발표". Insight Korea (in Korean). Retrieved August 17, 2021.
12. Lee Soo-jung [@chai__baby] (June 19, 2019). "CHAI(이수정) 1st Single 'Give and Take'". Retrieved August 17, 2021 – via Instagram.
13. Kim, Ha-jin (February 26, 2020). "CHAI(이수정), 'Gimme That' 티저 공개…미스터리 매력". Hankyung (in Korean). Retrieved August 17, 2021.
14. "CHAI(이수정), 오늘(1일) 안테나와 계약 만료.."새로운 앞날 응원" (전문)[공식]". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Osen. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
15. Lee Soo-jung [@chai__baby] (May 1, 2019). "❣️". Retrieved August 17, 2021 – via Instagram.
16. "K팝스타 시즌5 우승자' CHAI(이수정), 월드스타 엔터테인먼트 전속 계약…나다·남현희·정유지 등 한솥밥". Top Star News (in Korean). July 26, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
17. IT'S BEEN A WHILE...LET'S CATCH UP, 3 October 2021, retrieved 2023-08-07
18. "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-12-10.
    • ""Lies" charting"". Retrieved 2019-12-10.
19. "2016년 7주차 Download Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-12-10.

External links

• Crystal Yi on Instagram