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Kim Ae-cha (Korean : 김애차; Japanese : キムエチャ; simplified Chinese : 金爱茶; traditional Chinese : 金愛茶), professionally known by the mononym Aecha (Korean : 애차) is a South Korean singer, dancer, rapper, songwriter, lyricist, composer, record producer, audio engineer, choreographer, actress, model, fashion designer and author signed to CSJ Entertainment. She debuted as a solo artist in 2020 at the age of 14, with the EP Flowers & You, with Flower Boy as its lead single. Her ability to speak Korean, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and English fluently helped her gaining global popularity. She has been promoting in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Canada, Australia and more countries. Aecha is especially active in the South Korean, Japanese and Chinese entertainment industry, but she has made appearances in entertainment industries such as Taiwan and the United States as well.
Personal life[]
Kim was born on April 22, 2006 in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She was born to a wealthy upper class family including politicians, assemblymen, actors, singers and other public figures. Her father is of Korean descent while her mother is of mixed Japanese and Chinese descent. Kim already took singing lessons (both opera and pop), dancing and rapping lessons before becoming an idol. She also took acting lessons and was a child model. She also took piano, violin and drawing lessons. Kim won several singing, dancing, rapping, beauty, piano, violin and drawing competitions, both domestically as well as internationally. Kim is a student at Joongdong High School. Teachers at Joongdong High School revealed that Kim belonged to the 1% who scored the best on exams at all subjects. She won several school prizes, both educational and artistic. Kim still attends the school and stated that she wishes to graduate. Her goal is to get into Seoul National University and to graduate there. Kim is fluent in Korean, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and English.
Career[]
2014-2016 : Pre-debut career[]
Kim made her first public appearance as a child actress at the age of 8 in the South Korean drama series The Hangover. As a child actress, she featured in several South Korean drama series and movies. She was also a child model, modeling for several fashion and cosmetics brands, particularly in South Korea, but also in Japan and China.
Kim took part in the South Korean reality competition show Young K-Stars. On the show, female contestants aged 9-14 competed in vocal, dance and rap. In the finale, the top 2 contestants would perform their last song and the judges would decide the winner. Kim made it into the finale and won the show.
2016-2020 : Trainee, pre-debut activities[]
Kim was scouted by CSJ Entertainment in 2016. The exact date is unknown. She joined the compay in 2016, where she trained for 4 years. She was revealed as a member of the pre-debut girl group Happy Youth Girls, together with Yoo Se-young and Lim Soo-ha. However, due to unknown reasons, the group's debut was cancelled. CSJ Entertainment revealed that Kim received, besides the basic class such as singing, dancing, rapping, media, personality, attitude and foreign languages (usually English, Japanese or Mandarin Chinese), classes including songwriting, composing, producing, engineering, choreographing and styling training as well.
As a child singer, dancer and rapper, when she was around the age of 10-13, Kim released several pre-debut music videos. These songs weren’t released officially and none of them were registered as Kim’s official music debut. CSJ Entertainment came up with a statement where they stated that they were working on her debut album, and that it would be released around late 2019 or early 2020. However, Kim released an album including songs she wrote during her training period titled A Young Girl In A Strange World (usually shortened to A Young Girl).
2020-present : Debut, promotions and rising popularity[]
Kim trained for 4 years under CSJ Entertainment, until she made her solo debut with the EP Flowers & You, with Flower Boy as its lead single on January 18, 2020. She promoted the single by performing it on several music shows. She received her first win for this single. She received public attention from the media for her vocal, dancing and rapping skills. She received her first award for the Mnet K-DAY KPOP Awards for the best new artist. She held her debut showcase on February, 26, 2020, titled Aecha Debut Showcase in Seoul. On March 29, 2020, she became the new model for Asian Beauty Magazine (Women). On South Korean media, she was known for fitting South Korean beauty standards for women 100% (both face and body) and her perfect body proportions.
On June 3, 2020, she released her first comeback album titled Stella, with Stars as its lead single. On December 11, 2020, she released her third album Endless Fairy Tale, with Never Dying Light as its lead single. She received her second win for this single. She appeared on KPOP NEW YEAR Festival on New Year's Eve in 2020/2021. On January 15, 2021, she modeled for the Korean-American cosmetics brand Mina Jung Cosmetics. On January 20, 2021, she was revealed as the global ambassador for the luxury brand Mackenzie. In the 2021 edition of the American model magazine BEAU BELLE, she was given the title “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World”. She started her Asia Tour on February 11, 2021.
On May 10, 2021, she released her first completely self-produced album titled Love XX. She explained that she wrote songs about her personal, early life. But rather than writing a biography, she released it as music. She wrote songs about her family, her childhood and more. The album surprisingly charted number 1 on several charting lists. She also released a single album titled Shine Like Gold on the same day. She revealed that she wrote and composed this single during her pre-debut days, and the company intended this as the debut single of Happy Youth Girls, so she requested the company to release the song. She started her World Tour on July 26, 2021.
On August 8, 2021, she released the single album Purity. On September 16, 2021, she released her first single titled Holding Hands Forever. On December 29, 2021, she released her first Japanese single Like Sugar. She held her first Japanese concert on January 12, 2022 in Tokyo. She released the EP Top Girl on March 19, 2022. She released her first Chinese single titled River's Reflection of the Moon on July 16, 2022. She held her first Chinese concert on October 5, 2022 in Beijing. On November 9, 2022, she released the EP Most Precious. On December 28, 2022, SKNTV revealed Aecha as the main role in the South Korean drama series When Love Becomes Sinful. She received her first acting award on January 31, 2023. On February 25, 2023, she revealed her own fashion brand Belle Rose. Since then, she had been acting in several drama series and movies in South Korea, Japan, China and the United States. One of her most well-known roles is her portrayal of Isa Zhao in the American horror movie Death Circus.
She released the full-length album Blossom Girl on January 5, 2023, with The Blossoms You Gave Me Last Holiday. She published her first book titled Stars on February 25, 2023. The memoir describes her early life, her life is a trainee, her life as a public figure and her personal private life behind the screen. The memoir was originally written in Korean, but there are translated versions including English, Japanese, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese and more.
Her documentary AECHA : Born To Shine was released on March 30, 2023, with a sequel released two months after.
Discography[]
Korean[]
Studio albums[]
- "Stella"
- "Love XX"
- "Endless Fairy Tale"
- "Blossom Girl"
Live albums[]
- "AECHA Asia Tour Live Album"
- "AECHA World Tour Live Album"
Compilation albums[]
- "AECHA 2020 Discography"
- "AECHA 2021 Discography"
- "AECHA 2022 Discography"
EP’s[]
- "Flowers & You"
- "Top Girl"
- "Most Precious"
Singles[]
- "Flower Boy"
- "Never Dying Light"
- "Why I Love You"
- "The Blossoms You Gave Me Last Holiday"
Single albums[]
- "Shine Like Gold"
- "Purity"
Reissues[]
- "Flowers & You (Christmas Special Edition)"
- "Flowers & You (Party Edition)"
- "Stella (Party Edition)"
Promotional singles[]
- "Pink & Sweet (Pink Candy Promotional Single)"
Japanese[]
Studio albums[]
- "Dreamland"
- "Cotton Candy"
- "Gossip Girl"
Live albums[]
- "AECHA Japan Concert Live Album"
EP’s[]
- "Sweet Days"
- "Pretty"
Singles[]
- "Like Sugar"
- "Magic Journey"
- "Pink"
- "Secret Diary"
- "Sweetheart"
- "Mirror Mirror"
Reissues[]
- "Flowers & You (full album Japanese ver.)"
Chinese[]
Studio albums[]
- "Black Cat"
- "Girls Festival"
- "Diamond"
Live albums[]
- "AECHA China Concert Live Album"
EP’s[]
- "Night Dance"
- "Love The Game"
Singles[]
- "River’s Reflection of the Moon"
- "In The Dark"
- "Mysterious"
- "Shiny Girl"
- "You’re A Player"
Reissues[]
- "Flowers & You (full album Chinese ver.)"
English[]
Studio albums[]
- "Bubblegum"
- "The Stars"
EP’s[]
- "Girly"
Singles[]
- "Youth"
- "Valentine’s Day"
- "Rose"
- "Hot Pink Girl"
Videography[]
Music videos[]
- AECHA (애차) - "Flower Boy" Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Never Dying Light" M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Why I Love You" Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Shine Like Gold" Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Purity" Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Holding Hands Forever" Official M/V
- AECHA (あえちゃ) - "Like Sugar" AECHA 1st Japan Single Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Still On Top" Official M/V
- AECHA (爱茶) - "River's Reflection of the Moon" AECHA 1st China Single Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "The Present I Own You"
- AECHA (애차) - "Pink & Sweet" Pink Candy Promotional Single Official M/V
- AECHA (애차) - "Love is a Sin" When Love Becomes Sinful OST Official M/V
Filmography[]
Reality shows[]
- AECHA Here! Aecha Official Reality Show
- Meet Me - Aecha
- AECHA Highlights
- Aecha Traveling
- Aecha Party Show
- CSJ Girls Show
Concerts[]
- AECHA Debut Showcase
- AECHA Japan Concert
- AECHA China Concert
- AECHA America Concert
Tours[]
- AECHA Asia Tour
- AECHA World Tour
- AECHA 2ND World Tour
Television dramas[]
South Korean[]
- When Love Becomes Sinful (as Min Ji-eun)
- The Magic House (as Lee Na-yeon)
- Forever Together (as Kwon Min-young)
- A Dream That Won't Come True (as Han Mi-na)
- Ballroom (as Na Ye-ji)
- Masquerade (as Yang Seo-young)
- Hotel Blue Moon (as Joo Ye-ri)
- Greedy (as Wang Eun-byeol)
- Young (as Yoo Ja-rim)
- Rich Pretty Girls (as Oh Jang-mi)
Japanese[]
- Love Journey (as Nakayama Emi)
- Girls Never Lie (as Takahashi Sakura)
- 100 Loves Worth (as Uchida Mizuho)
- The Perfect Beauty (as Shimida Yumiko)
Mainland Chinese[]
- Love Eternity (as Wang Naixuan)
- Meet Again (as Xu Zihan)
- Singing Over The Sea (as Zhou Ying)
- Time’s Over (as Hu Yina)
- The Blossom Palace (as Zhao Li)
Taiwanese[]
- Waterfall (as Hsiao Yuching)
- Pretty Love (as Chen Yating)
American[]
- Friends Forever (as Jenny Wang)
- The Mirror Murder (as Irene Xu)
Movies[]
South Korean[]
- Lies & Liars (as Hwang Yoo-na)
- Seoul Love (as Jang Min-ji)
- Stranger’s Love (as Jung Soo-young)
- AECHA : Born To Shine
- AECHA : Born To Shine Bright
Japanese[]
- Only You (as Sugiyama Haru)
- Rain (as Sakai Emica)
Mainland Chinese[]
- Youthful (as Cui Lihua)
- The Last Goodbye (as Guan Xiuying)
American[]
- Death Circus (as Isa Zhao)
- Who's My Man? (as Emma Lin)
Bibliography[]
Korean[]
- Stars (translated into other languages including English)