Biography
Mamamoo is a South Korean girl group formed and managed by Rainbow Bridge World. The group is composed of four members: Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein, and Hwasa. They officially debuted on June 18, 2014, with their first extended play (EP) Hello, which featured the lead single "Mr. Ambiguous". Critics considered their debut as one of the best K-pop debuts of 2014.
Known for their strong live vocals, harmonies, and powerful stage presence, Mamamoo is recognized as one of the premier girl groups in K-pop. They are highly regarded in the industry for their talent, and ability to cross multiple genres with their music; from retro, jazz, and R&B concepts in their early years to more contemporary hip-hop, as well as emotional ballads.
Mamamoo rose to domestic fame in 2015 with their single "Um Oh Ah Yeah" which became a sleeper hit and peaked at number three on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. Combined with their many appearances and victories in the popular music competition program Immortal Songs, this launched them into mainstream recognition with the public. Their following release of "You're the Best" (2016) from their debut studio album Melting, proved to be a commercial success and dominated at least eight major music sites upon release, further cementing their popularity and growing momentum. In 2017, they splashed the international scene with their fifth EP, Purple. Its lead single "Yes I Am" - a song about self-confidence and unashamedly being yourself, which the members took part in writing themselves - earned them their first number-one on the Billboard World Albums chart.
The quartet went on to achieve consecutive hits with high-charting singles "Starry Night" (2018), "Egotistic" (2018), and "Gogobebe" (2019), from their "Four Seasons, Four Colors" project whereby every member took turns to become the focus for each album. This culminated in their hugest international success to date, "HIP" from their second studio album Reality in Black becoming a number-one hit on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. In November 2020, the song was certified platinum by the Korea Music & Content Association (KMCA) for surpassing 100 million streams, making it the third time to achieve this feat. They also earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), indicating their breakthrough in the Japanese music scene.
Mamamoo has received numerous accolades, most notably the Golden Disk Award for Best Group, the Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Vocal Group, multiple honors at the Seoul Music Awards, as well as the Gaon Chart Music Award for New Artist of the Year in their rookie year. Since their debut, they have been acknowledged for their uniqueness in the Korean music industry; the form of challenging conventional beauty standards, breaking gender stereotypes, and conducting themselves in ways that most typical K-pop stars do not.
