Birth name Choi Sung-hee (최성희) Years active 1997–present Genres K-Pop, R&B, Dance Music group S.E.S. (1997 – 2002) | Name Choi Sung-hee Parents Choi Sae-wol Role Singer | |
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Born February 28, 1980 (age 44) ( 1980-02-28 ) Origin Bucheon, Gyeonggi, South Korea Occupation(s) Singer, musical actress Labels SM Entertainment (1997-2002)Woongjin (2003-2004)知人 Management (2005-2006)Raemon Entertainment (2007-2008)PL Entertainment (2008-2009)Frog Muzik Company (2009-2012)The Pro Actors (2012-2013)바다컬쳐스케이프 (2013-present) Similar Shoo (singer), Ah Young, Ailee | ||
Choi Sung-hee (born February 28, 1980), better known as Bada or Sea, is a South Korean singer and musical actress. She is a member of South Korean girl group S.E.S.. She has released four studio albums, one mini albums and five singles. She won Best Actress at the 3rd The Musical Awards and has starred in ten musicals to date.
Contents
- Early life
- 199702 SES
- 200308 A Day of Renew Aurora Made in Sea and Musical acting
- 200913 See the Sea and Musical acting
- 2016present Flower and SES comeback
- Personal life
- Albums
- EPs
- Concerts
- Awards
- Honorary ambassador
- References
Early life
Choi Sung-hee was born February 28, 1980, her father is Choi Sae-wol, a trot singer with a background in Korean pansori. Due to financial struggle during her childhood, especially after her father fell ill, she lived in a container home provided by a local church for nine years until her debut. In a recent series of lectures for youth, she has addressed her beginning and has encouraged students to not let their background become an obstacle in obtaining their dreams.
Bada was scouted by Lee Soo-man and entered SM Entertainment. She debuted as the leader and lead vocal of S.E.S., the first successful female K-pop idol group.
Bada studied theater at Dankook University.
1997–02: S.E.S.
Bada made her debut with S.E.S. in 1997. The group released their debut album I'm Your Girl on November 1, 1997. The group later became the top-selling K-pop girl group. Since their debut, the group has released five Korean albums and two Japanese albums. The group released a compilation album, Friend before breaking up at the end of 2002. Members Bada and Eugene parted ways from SM Entertainment, while Shoo stayed with SM Entertainment until 2006.
2003–08: A Day of Renew, Aurora, Made in Sea and Musical acting
Bada sign exclusive contract with WoongJin entertainment. In 2003, Bada release her debut solo album A Day of Renew has sold approximately 130,000 records, according to the Music Industry Association of Korea. Bada became the first Korean idol singer to venture onto the musical stage in 2003 with the musical Peppermint, a love story about a singer named Bada. It was written for her by creator and producer Lee Yuri, who is also responsible for other musical projects such as Typhoon, Mother and Winter Sonata. In 2004, Her second album Aurora was released has sold approximately 23,000 copies.
In 2006, her third album, Made in Sea, was a big success. In 2007, Bada was cast in the role of Denise in the Korean version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tell Me on a Sunday. Right afterward, she took on the role of Esmeralda as a part of the original Korean cast of Notre-Dame de Paris. Her widely praised portrayal of Esmeralda gained her acceptance as a musical actress and won her the Best Newcomer Actress award and others at The Musical Awards and the Korea Musical Daesangs in 2008; she reprised the role in 2009.
2009–13: See the Sea and Musical acting
In 2009, Bada released her fourth album called See the Sea which featured both Korean rap group Untouchable and 2PM's Ok Taecyeon. The following year, 200 Pounds Beauty, a musical based on the popular movie of the same name, cast Bada in the titular role of Kang Hanbyul, an overweight ghost singer who aspires to become a star and undergoes extensive plastic surgery. Bada's turn as Kang earned her the Best Actress honor at the third The Musical Awards. She was recast in 2011 for the project.
In 2010, Bada played Peggy Sawyer in Broadway on 42nd Street
In 2012, she briefly took on the role of Mozart's wife, Constanze, in Mozart!,
In 2013, she was cast as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. During Legally Blonde, her mother died. Despite the loss, Bada continued performances for the musical until its final run and famously sang Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up" on KBS's Open Music Concert just two days after her mother's death. She has since stated that this loss was the reason for her relative inactivity in both her music and musical career from 2011 to mid-2013.in 2013 she was cast as Marguerite in the first Korean adaptation of Frank Wildhorn's The Scarlet Pimpernel. That same year, Bada appeared as a vocalist for the song "City Life" on American electronic musician Brian Transeau's electronic dance music album A Song Across Wires.
She returned as Esmeralda in the 2013 production of Notre-Dame de Paris. She then signed on to depict Carmen in the first Korean production of the musical Carmen.
2016–present: Flower and S.E.S comeback
On May 28, Bada with S.E.S. member Eugene and Shoo attended a charity event, Green Heart Bazaar. Bada released her first extended play, Flower on June 13, 2016 to celebrate her 20th debut anniversary. The single contains four tracks with lead single Flower featuring popular rapper Kanto. She released double music video for Flower on June 13and Amazing on June 15.Following released her digital single Summertime and its music video on June 26. Bada later released collaboration single Cosmic with Super Junior's Ryeowook on September 22, as a part of S.M. Entertainment project SM Station.
In October 2016, Bada along with Eugene and Shoo re-formed S.E.S. to celebrate their 20 years debut.
On December 17, 2016, Bada joined Eugene and Shoo on stage for S.E.S. comeback performance on Yu Huiyeol's Sketchbook.
Personal life
On January 13, 2017, her agency confirmed that she will marry a franchise restaurant owner nine years her junior. Her wedding was held at Seoul on March 23, 2017.