The 16-year-old Lee Hi continues to soar as one of last year’s most successful debut singers, and is scheduled to take the stage for her first live solo concert at Sogang University’s Mary Hall on Sunday in front of 500 fans.

The up-and-comer took to the spotlight as the first runner-up of the reality TV competition show “Survival K-pop Star.” After signing with YG Entertainment, Lee released her first single “1,2,3,4” on Oct. 28 and became an instant sensation. The track reigned at the top of the music charts for more than two consecutive weeks, making it the best chart performance for a rookie artist that year. “1,2,3,4” also topped the K-pop Billboard chart immediately upon its release and recorded sales of more than 660,000 downloads in its first week. The debut single also landed her the Best Rookie Award at this year’s Golden Disk and Seoul Music Awards. 

The rookie star, with her already established jazzy and R&B style music persona, later released her debut full-length album “First Love,” which was released in two parts, the first on March 7 and the second on March 28. The album’s two title tracks “It’s Over” and “Rose” took first place for two consecutive weeks on both “M! Countdown” and SBS’ “Inkigayo,” weekly music ranking programs.

Lee’s first solo concert titled “Secret Live Re-Hi” will start at 5 p.m. on May 12 at Mary Hall at Sogang University.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)