2007–2015: Career beginnings and 15&

In 2007, Baek appeared on the sixth episode of the SBS variety show Amazing Contest Star King along Seunghee, a member of the South Korean girl group Oh My Girl. She was labeled as a "10-year-old ballad genius" and performed "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston, and won first place.^[4] She also appeared on the KBS2 television show Yeo Yoo Man Man.^[5]

In the same year, Baek auditioned to become a trainee during JYP Entertainment's first open audition and won second place behind 2PM's Jang Woo-young.^[5] According to Baek, she would go to school during weekdays, and travel from Daejeon to Seoul on Friday nights where she would be practicing until Monday morning, and come back to Daejeon to attend her classes.^[6]

In 2010, while a trainee under JYP Entertainment, Baek moved to New York for two years where she spent her time practicing English, singing, and dancing.^[6] She had Johan Kim as a vocal coach during her trainee days.^[7] She would move back and forth Korea and the United States during her trainee days.^[8]

On September 27, 2012, it was revealed that Baek will debut as part of a duo along with K-pop Star season 1 winner Park Ji-min called 15&.^[9] On October 7, 15& debuted with their first single, "I Dream", on SBS Inkigayo.

2015–2019: Solo success and departure from JYP

Following 15&'s four-year hiatus in February 2015,^[10] Baek was featured in a number of tracks. She was featured in South Korean rapper Olltii's single "Excited" from his debut album which topped the realtime charts upon release,^[11] and appeared in the final episode of the rap competition show Unpretty Rapstar, as a featured artist in contestant Yuk Ji-dam's song, "On & On".^[12] The song also went on to top the charts upon release.^[13] She was also featured on San E's single "Me You", and eventually topped the realtime charts of seven major music charts.^[14][15]

In November 2015, it was announced that Baek will postpone her college entrance examinations and will focus on her musical career.^[16] She officially debuted as a solo artist with her first extended play, Frank, with the lead single titled "Across the Universe" on the 30th.^[1] The EP marked the start of Baek's long-time collaboration with producer Cloud.^[17]

In February 2016, Baek graduated from Hanlim Multi Art School alongside 15& member Park Ji-min and Yugyeom of Got7.

Baek released her first digital single titled "Bye Bye My Blue" on June 20, 2016.^[18] Her follow-up digital single titled "Love You on Christmas" was released on December 7.^[19][20]

Baek continued to be featured on songs by popular artists, and began performing covers and her own unreleased songs at festivals.^[21][22] In 2017, Baek performed her then unreleased song "Square" at a festival in Han River while wearing a green dress, and the fan-taken video which was uploaded to YouTube instantly became a hot topic and continues to garner views.^[23] The song was eventually released two years later.

In 2018, she formed The Volunteers with members of the independent rock band Bye Bye Badman, and released their first EP, the post-grunge rock "Vanity & People". The Seoul-based rock band consists of vocalist and guitarist Baek, bassist Hyungseok Koh (Cloud), guitarist Jonny, and drummer Chiheon Kim. Like the majority of Baek's post-JYP solo work, The Volunteer's lyrics are written entirely in English.

Baek released her second EP, Our Love Is Great, on March 18, 2019. The following day, her title track "Maybe It's Not Our Fault" went to the top of all eight domestic music sites' realtime charts.^[24] At the 2020 Korean Music Awards, Our Love is Great and lead track "Maybe It's Not Our Fault" won Album of the Year, Best Pop Album, and Best Pop Song respectively.^[25]

Baek also contributed to the soundtrack of the popular 2019 K-drama Crash Landing on You, with an original ballad, "Here I am Again." The song peaked at #6 on Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100 chart, her highest position on the chart yet.^[26]

In 2019, Baek's duo 15& officially disbanded following Park Ji-min's departure from JYP Entertainment.^[10] On September 13, Baek announced that her contract with JYP Entertainment ended, and that she was leaving to create her own independent record label.^[27][28]

2019–2021: Founding of label Blue Vinyl, Every Letter I Sent You and Tellusboutyourself

On November 6, 2019, Baek officially launched her own label, Blue Vinyl,^[29] and released her first studio and double-album through the label, Every Letter I Sent You the following month with 17 out of the 18 songs being written in English. Her single "Square (2017)" also made Baek the first South Korean artist to top the charts with a song sung entirely in English.^[30] The track achieved 'all kill' status, topping the daily and realtime charts of Melon, Genie, Bugs, and Soribada, and realtime charts of Flo and iChart.^[31]

At the 2020 Melon Music Awards, Baek was nominated for four of the major awards such as Artist of the Year, Song of the Year for "Square (2017)" and Album of the Year of Every Letter I Sent You, and was eventually awarded Top 10 Artist and Best R&B/Soul for her track "Square (2017)", and at the 2021 Korean Music Awards, Baek was awarded Best Pop Album for Every Letter I Sent You.^[32][33]

In February 2020, Baek embarked on her first solo concert, "Turn on that Blue Vinyl". Tickets for about 4,400 seats were sold out in 30 seconds.^[34]

On December 10, 2020, exactly one year after her previous album, Baek released her second studio album Tellusboutyourself. The album featured a wider range of musical genres and lyrical themes than her previous work.^[35] Her first remix, and third EP, Tellusboutyourself Remixes, featuring six remixed tracks from the album was released on February 16, 2021.^[36]

2021–present: The Volunteers, single releases, and world tour

On May 11, 2021, Baek's band, The Volunteers, joined her independent label, Blue Vinyl, and launched their self-titled debut album on May 27, after previously making their music solely available through SoundCloud and YouTube.^[37]

On September 10, 2021, Baek released her first cover and fourth EP, Love, Yerin, featuring six remake tracks from artists such as Nell and The Black Skirts.^[38] Following the release of the EP, all tracks entered the top ten charts of Melon, Bugs, and Genie.^[39]

On May 24, 2022, Baek released the digital single "Pisces".^[40]

On September 19, 2022, Baek announced her North American tour on Instagram which embarked in Atlanta on November 28, and concluded in Vancouver on December 22.^[41]

On January 1, 2023, Baek released the digital single "New Year". The following month, Baek followed up with her Asia-Pacific tour, announcing the tour dates on her Instagram with the tour starting with her three-day solo concert in Seoul, titled "Square", on May 19 to 21, 2023.^[42][43] Tickets were sold-out as soon as it opened with a waitlist of 40,000 units.^[44] The tour concluded in Bangkok on June 17, 2023.

Influences

Baek has cited Beyoncé,^[45] Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones, Rachel Yamagata,^[46] Oasis, Avril Lavigne, Rage Against the Machine, as well as Korean artists BoA, Light & Salt, and Yoo Jae Ha as her influences.^[47] She titled her first EP, Frank, as a tribute to Winehouse, whose debut album share the same name.^[48] Baek also revealed through her live performances that she wrote the songs "Amy" and "True Lover" from her debut album dedicated to Winehouse.

Songwriting

Baek is known for her candid and straightforward lyrics. Upon debuting as a solo artist, Baek participated in writing and composing all of the songs on, Frank, revealing her singer-songwriter side.^[49] When writing songs for the EP, Baek wrote about her memories and current self.^[50] She would then eventually write the lyrics and compose the majority of her songs.

On her decision to write her songs in English, Baek explains her intentions to make her music accessible to international fans, her plans to have an international tour, and the influence of English-language artists who made an impact on her style and music. In a 2021 interview, Baek mentioned that it is her dream to perform in the home countries of the artists that inspired her.^[51]

On her lyrical inspiration for her second album, Tellusboutyourself, Baek cites the poetic metaphors of Blossom Dearie and the straightforward style of Amy Winehouse as influences.^[52]

Songwriting credits

Music videos

Headlining concert