Shon Seung-wan[1][2] (Korean: 손승완; born February 21, 1994), known professionally as Wendy, is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Red Velvet. In 2021, she made her solo debut with the EP Like Water. In 2022, she became a member of SM Entertainment's supergroup Got the Beat.
Apart from her music career, Wendy has made various television appearance, such as being a panelist on reality show We Got Married (2015–2016), Trick & True (2016–2017), being cast on comedy show Saturday Night Live Korea (2021), and hosting Mysterious Record Shop (2021). From 2021 to 2023, Wendy hosted the radio program Wendy's Youngstreet. Also in 2023, she made her theatrical debut in the musical Rebecca.[3]
Wendy was born on February 21, 1994, in Seongbuk-dong, a neighborhood in Seongbuk District in Seoul, South Korea.[4][5] Coming from a family of music lovers, Wendy showed interest in becoming a singer when she was only six years old.[6] Besides her passion for singing, she is also able to play several instruments, including the piano, guitar, flute, and saxophone.[7]
She lived with her family in Jecheon until her fifth year of elementary school, when she moved to Canada with her older sister, Shon Seung-hee,[8] to study abroad.[9][10] She lived in Brockville, Ontario[11] before moving to the United States to attend Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, where she was an honor student and athlete, and earned various awards for academics and music-related activities. There, she started using her English name 'Wendy Shon'.[1][2][12] Returning to Canada, she later studied at Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, Ontario, where she participated in the school's show choir called Vocal Fusion.[13] While living in both countries, she became fluent in English and also learned to speak some French and Spanish.[14]
Her parents were initially against her pursuing a career in music and wanted her to focus on her studies, but while she was still in high school, they eventually allowed her to audition to become a singer in South Korea.[6]
In 2010, she submitted an online audition for Koreaboo's Global Auditions in 2011 with Cube Entertainment. Though she was not the final winner, she was one of fifteen finalists personally picked by Korean singer G.NA and Koreaboo from over 5,000 videos to continue to the final round in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and open for G.NA's first solo showcase.[15][16] In 2018, YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk revealed Wendy once auditioned for the company but was not accepted.[17]
Wendy originally did not intend to audition for SM Entertainment, but was cast by the company when she accompanied a friend to the S.M. Global Audition in Canada in 2012. She recalled singing Kim Gun-mo's "Moon of Seoul" and passed.[18] She trained for less than two years before she was introduced as a member of S.M. Entertainment's predebut group SM Rookies on March 14, 2014.[19] As part of SM Rookies, Wendy released the song "Because I Love You" for the soundtrack of the Mnet drama Mimi and appeared in the song's music video.[19][20][21]
On August 1, 2014, Wendy made her official debut as a member of Red Velvet.[22]
2015–2020: Solo activities and hiatus
Wendy in August 2015
Wendy collaborated with rapper Yuk Jidam for the song "Return", which is part of the OST of KBS2's Who Are You: School 2015. The song was released on June 8, 2015, and debuted at number 31 on the Gaon Digital Chart.[23][24][25] She released another song "Let You Know" for the soundtrack of the JTBC drama D-Day on October 16.[26]
In January 2016, Wendy became a long-term panelist on We Got Married and participated in King of Mask Singer as a contestant under the alias "Space Beauty Maetel".[27][28] In March 2016, she collaborated with Eric Nam on a duet titled "Spring Love", as part of SM Entertainment's SM Station project.[29] The song peaked at number 7 on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In July 2016, Wendy and her Red Velvet bandmate Seulgi released an original soundtrack titled "Don't Push Me" for the TV drama series Uncontrollably Fond. In October 2016, she became a fixed panelist for the KBS show Trick & True together with her bandmate Irene.[30] In December 2016, Wendy participated in two other singles for the SM Station project, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", featuring pianist Moon Jung-jae and violinist Nile Lee, and "Sound of Your Heart", a collaboration with several SM Entertainment artists.[31][32] In the same month, she was featured in the English version of Latin pop star Ricky Martin's single "Vente Pa' Ca".[33]
Wendy released the song "I Can Only See You" with Seulgi in January 2017 for the OST of the KBS2 TV series, Hwarang.[34] In February, she sang the Korean version of "My Time" which is part of Disney Channel'sElena of Avalor's official soundtrack and also appeared in its music video.[35] In the same month, she became the host of the KBS World show K-Rush.[36] On October 27, she, along with Kangta and Seulgi, released a remake of the 2001 song "인형 (Doll)" by Shinhwa's Shin Hye-sung and Lee Ji-hoon as part of the second season of the SM Station project. Its music video used footage from their live performance of the song at the SMTOWN LIVE TOUR V in JAPAN and was released on the same day.[37] She released a duet with Baek A-yeon on December 2, called "The Little Match Girl".[38] In February 2018, Wendy was chosen as the interactive holographic avatar of SK Telecom's new AI voice assistant speaker, 'Holobox'.[39]
In June 2018, Wendy was announced filming in Austria with Seulgi for Battle Trip's special episode themed 'The Country I Want to Live in'.[40][41]
In July 2018, Wendy collaborated with Yang Da-il for the single "One Summer" which was released on July 2.[42] In October, it was announced that Wendy was set to release an English duet with American singer John Legend entitled "Written in the Stars" as part of the third season of SM Station, Station x 0 which would be Wendy's sixth time to participate in the project.[43][44] The music video for the duet was released on October 19, 2018, on YouTube.[45] In November 2018, Wendy released the song "Goodbye" for the soundtrack of JTBC drama The Beauty Inside.
Wendy in September 2019
On February 22, 2019, Wendy released the solo soundtrack, "What If Love", for tvN's drama Touch Your Heart.[46] In October, Wendy participated once again in King of Mask Singer, under the alias 'Green Witch'.[47]
In March 2020, Wendy had her first public schedule since suffering an accident in December 2019, with an appearance on MBC Standard FM's Listen To Books.[48] In the same month, Wendy was confirmed to take part as main voice actress for the Korean release of DreamWorks animated film Trolls: World Tour. It was released in April.[49] In May 2020, Wendy collaborated with Zico for the OST of The King: Eternal Monarch titled "My Day Is Full Of You".[50] In November 2020, aside from Red Velvet's OST "Future" for the drama Start-Up, Wendy also had a solo OST named "Two Words".[51] In the same month, Wendy featured in labelmate Taemin's "Be Your Enemy", which was in included in his studio album Never Gonna Dance Again.[52]
2021–present: Solo debut, radio DJ, and Got the Beat
In January 2021, Wendy made her official return to television as a co-host of Mysterious Record Shop.[53] In March 2021, it was announced that Wendy would be making her debut as a solo artist with an album releasing in April.[54] This was later confirmed as her first EP Like Water, which contains a total of five songs and was released on April 5.[55]
On July 12, 2021, Wendy became the permanent nightly DJ host for SBS Power FM's radio show Wendy's Youngstreet, where she had been a special DJ for in 2018.[56][57] On December 27, 2021, Wendy was revealed as a member of supergroup Got the Beat alongside Red Velvet groupmate Seulgi. The group debuted on January 3, 2022.[58]
In June 2023, it was announced that Wendy would step down as the host of Wendy's Youngstreet.[59] The same month, Wendy was cast as 'I' in the 10th Anniversary production of the musical Rebecca, thereby making her official theatre debut.[3]
On February 19, 2024, it was announced that Wendy would be releasing her second EP Wish You Hell on March 12.[60]
Other ventures
Endorsements
Aside from endorsements with Red Velvet as a group, Wendy, in November 2018, became an endorser of Dongwon Yangban Rice Porridge with Irene.[61] On December 31, 2020, L'Occitane Korea launched their new campaign, "Be Happy, Smile Again", with Wendy as a muse to commemorate the launch of their Happy Shea 2021 edition.[62] Later in February 2021, they launched another campaign for the new Pink Essence product with Wendy.[63] In March 2021, Wendy became the new presenter of Pond's.[64]
Personal life
Stage incident and health
On December 25, 2019, Wendy was involved in a stage accident during her solo stage rehearsal at the 2019 SBS Gayo Daejeon. Due to the alleged lack of common safety measures by the show's crew members in the stage design, in addition to the lift stairs not being in place for the performance, she fell approximately 2.5 metres (8.2 ft). Her injuries included a pelvic fracture, a broken wrist and several facial injuries including a cracked cheekbone, with all injuries on the right side of her body.[65][66] The accident and subsequent hospitalization led to cancellation of all her planned activities.[67] In February 2020, Wendy was discharged from the hospital after spending two months recovering, and began outpatient treatment.[68] She made her comeback on January 1, 2021, at SMTOWN Live Culture Humanity.[69]
^"Written in the Stars" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 97 on the component domestic Download Chart.[79]
^"Airport Goodbyes" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 70 on the component domestic Download Chart.[80]
^"Be Your Enemy" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 77 on the component Download Chart.[81]
^"If I Could Read Your Mind" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 83 on the component Download Chart and debuted at position 74 on the component BGM chart.[88][89]
^"Girls" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 141 on the component Download Chart and debuted at position 101 on the component BGM chart.[90][91]
^"Noblesse" did not enter the Circle Digital Chart but peaked at position 119 on the component Download Chart and debuted at position 143 on the component BGM chart.[92][93]
^"The Road" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 38 on the component Download Chart.[95]
^"Best Friend" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 34 on the component Download Chart.[95]
^"That Place in Between" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart but peaked at position 199 on the component Download Chart.[96]
^ abkim Hyun-rok (August 30, 2015). "레드벨벳 웬디, 美유학시절 오바마 대통령상 '인증'". MT Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^Jung Chan-woo, Kim Tae-gyun (April 9, 2015). "(목) 컬투쇼 – 특선라이브 (레드벨벳, 커피소년)" [Thursday show – Special Live (Red Velvet, Coffee Boy)]. Cultwo Show (in Korean). 31:30 minutes in. SBS. SBS Power FM. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2015. [I am from] Seongbuk-dong
^ abTablo (October 14, 2015). Tablo Dreaming Radio (in Korean). MBC. HLKV-FM. My parents were strongly against me becoming a singer, so I was going to focus on academics. But I really wanted to become a singer, so when I was a senior [in high school], I changed path and went to South Korea to become a trainee…[I started wanting to become a singer] around the age of 6.
^Hwang Ji-young (December 23, 2016). "레드벨벳 웬디, 재즈도 가능한 '음색깡패'" (in Korean). JTBC. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
^Lee Se-hyun (March 10, 2021). "[공식]웬디, 4월 솔로 데뷔". Sports Kyunghang (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
^"SM Entertainment". www.smentertainment.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
^Lee Tae-soo (December 27, 2021). "보아·태연·카리나 등 뭉쳤다…SM 여성 유닛 '갓 더 비트' 출범" [BoA, Taeyeon, Karina, etc. have teamed up...SM female unit 'God the Beat' launched] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Naver.
^Ji, Min-kyung (February 19, 2024). "레드벨벳 웬디, 3월 12일 솔로 컴백..'Wish You Hell' 발매" [Red Velvet's Wendy, solo comeback on March 12th.. 'Wish You Hell' to be released] (in Korean). Osen. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024 – via Naver.
^Yoon Soo-hee (November 23, 2018). "동원F&B, 레드벨벳 아이린·웬디 신규모델 발탁". News 1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
^2018년 42주차 Download Chart [2018, Week 42 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. October 14–20, 2018. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
^2021년 49주차 Download Chart [2021, Week 49 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. November 28 – December 4, 2018. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
^2020년 46주차 Download Chart [2020, Week 46 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. September 19–25, 2021. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
^Peak positions on the Gaon Digital Chart: Soundtrack appearances:
"Because I Love You". March 15, 2014. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
"Return". June 13, 2015. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
"Let You Know". October 17, 2015. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
"Don't Push Me". July 28, 2016. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
"I Can Only See You". January 12, 2017. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
"Goodbye". November 10, 2018. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
"What If Love". March 7, 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
^2021년 39주차 Download Chart [2021, Week 39 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. September 19–25, 2021. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
^2021년 38주차 BGM Chart [2021, Week 38 BGM Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. September 12–18, 2021. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
^2022년 15주차 Download Chart [2022, Week 15 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. April 3–9, 2022. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
^2022년 15주차 BGM Chart [2022, Week 15 BGM Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. April 3–9, 2022. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
^2022년 31주차 Download Chart [2022, Week 31 Download Chart] (in Korean). Circle Music Chart. July 31, 2022. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
^2022년 31주차 BGM Chart [2022, Week 31 BGM Chart] (in Korean). Circle Music Chart. July 31, 2022. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
^ ab2021년 15주차 Download Chart [2021, Week 15 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. April 4–10, 2021. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
^2021년 26주차 Download Chart [2021, Week 26 Download Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. June 27 – July 3, 2021. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
^WENDY 웬디 'Like Water' MV (Music video). SM Entertainment. April 5, 2021. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021 – via YouTube.
^WENDY 웬디 'Wish You Hell' MV (Music video). SM Entertainment. March 12, 2024. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via YouTube.
^Cho Jae-yong (July 9, 2015). "'SM타운' 공연실황 다큐, 8월13일 국내개봉 확정" (in Korean). entertain.naver.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
^Baek, Ji-eun (December 12, 2023). [공식] 이석훈·백호·서은광·솔라·웬디, Mnet '빌드업' 심사위원 확정 [[Official] Lee Seok-Hoon, Baek Ho, Seo Eun-Kwang, Solar, and Wendy confirmed as judges for Mnet's 'Build Up'] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024 – via Naver.
^Lee, Seung-gil (September 1, 2022). "유재석·임영웅·아이브 등, '2022 올해의 브랜드 대상' 수상 [공식]" [Yoo Jae-seok·Lim Young-woong·Ive, etc., won the '2022 Brand of the Year Grand Prize' [Official]] (in Korean). My Daily. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Min-ji (December 27, 2021). "임영웅→투모로우바이투게더, 2022 대한민국 퍼스트브랜드 대상" [Lim Young-woong → Tomorrow by Together, 2022 Korea's First Brand Grand Prize] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Naver.
^Yun Seong-yeol (October 28, 2016). "'2016MAMA' 후보 발표..엑소·방탄·트와이스까지" ['2016MAMA' Nominations announce...EXO, BTS, Twice]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
^Oh Yoon-ju (December 17, 2022). "웬디·윤수현, 라디오 DJ상 "좋은 에너지 전해드릴 것" [2022 SBS 연예대상]" [Wendy · Yoon Soo-hyun, Radio DJ Award "We will deliver good energy" [2022 SBS Entertainment Awards]]. My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Naver.
^Choi, Eun-mi (January 23, 2022). "[제31회 서울가요대상]NCT 127, 첫 대상 "오래 꿈꿔 왔다"..임영웅 '4관왕'→트롯 대세 증명(종합)" [[31st Seoul Music Awards] NCT 127, first grand prize "I've been dreaming for a long time"..Lim Young-woong '4 crowns' → Trot trend proof (comprehensive)] (in Korean). Herald POP. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2022 – via Naver.
