Lee Eun-young (; born July 30, 1991), better known by her stage name Ben (), is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She made her official debut in October 2012, with their first extended play 147.5. As of 2024 she released one studio album, five extended plays and twenty one singles.
Career She was a member of South Korean band from 2010 to 2011. The band disbanded after the departure of member Gaeul, but she made the transition to vocal soloist thanks to her mentor, Vibe's Yoon Minsu.
In October 2012, she released her first album, 147.5, as a solo vocalist, a compilation of sad ballads with string arrangements and piano, with the title referring to her diminutive height, reported as between 147.5 cm and 153 cm, or around 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet tall.
In August 2015, she released her second EP My Name Is Ben, with nine tracks, including the title dance song "Looby Loo", which differed from her past ballad style, and other songs including jazz and R&B.
In November 2015, she released another EP, Soulmate, which includes duets with singers MIIII and Sejun Im.
She has recorded many soundtracks, abbreviated as OSTs, for South Korean films and Korean drama or k-drama for television in South Korea. In 2015, these included "Give Me A Hug" for Hello Monster, "Stay" for Oh My Ghost, "You" for Healer, and "Darling You" for Oh My Venus, a duet with Kim Tae-woo. In 2016, she sang "Like a Dream" for Another Miss Oh, recorded a duet with Xia Junsu for his fourth album, Xignature, entitled "Sweet Melody", sang "Misty Road" composed by Jinyoung of B1A4 for Love in the Moonlight and in 2017, she sang "Memory", one of the OSTs for "Introverted Boss".
In 2018, she released her first studio album, Recipe which contains nine tracks overall, she also released her fifth extended play Off The Record which was released in April 2020.
Personal life Ben was married to businessman Lee Wook. Their wedding took place on June 5, 2021 in a small ceremony with family and friends. On July 18, 2022, Ben announced that she was pregnant with her first child and gave birth to her daughter on February 1, 2023.
On February 29, 2024, Ben announced her divorce from her husband.
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KORStudio albums:
Extended plays:
Recipe Released: May 8, 2018 Label: Major9 Format: CD, digital download 37 KOR: 985+
Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions Sales KOR 147.5 Released: October 10, 2012 Label: Happy Face Entertainment Format: CD, digital download — rowspan="3" My Name Is Ben Released: August 25, 2015 Label: The Vibe Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 36 Soulmate Released: November 24, 2015 Label: The Vibe Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 49 180˚ Released: December 7, 2018 Label: Major9 Format: CD, digital download 35 KOR: 1,429 Off the Record Released: April 26, 2020 Label: Major9 Format: CD, digital download 26
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Certifications Album KORCircleKORHot "Don't Go Today" () 2012 — — rowspan="3" rowspan="10" 147.5 "When You Do Well" — — "I Love a Gangster" () 2015 — rowspan="6" Soulmate "I've Decided to Be Introduced" () 42 KOR: 111,325Cumulative sales for "I've Decided to Be Introduced": My Name Is Ben "Looby Loo" — rowspan="2" "Last Time" () (with Im Se Jun) — Soulmate "Not Ok" () 2016 28 KOR: 71,051 rowspan="2" "Sweety" () (featuring Yo$sap) 2017 — rowspan="3" "Love Recipe" 2018 — — Recipe "Iced Coffee" — — "Love, ing" () 6 7 KOR: 2,500,000 KMCA: Platinum"Love, ing" was certified platinum for 100 million streaming in March 2019. and for 2.5 million downloads in September 2019. "180 Degree" () 1 1 KOR: 2,500,000 KMCA: Platinum"Gaon Certification - Streaming ". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved August 8, 2019. 180˚ "Thank You for Goodbye" () 2019 1 1 rowspan="10" rowspan="10" "Bad" () 2020 26 29Off the Record "Lonely Night" () 18 56Lonely Night "Because I Am a Woman" () 2021 109 — rowspan="3" "Come & Talk" () 158 75 "Spring Days" () 2022 47 53 "A Memorial Day" () 136 rowspan="4" "Talks About Memory" "Waiting.." () 162 rowspan="3" "I Loved You Like a Movie" () 2024 200 "Only You" () 146 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region."*" denotes the chart did not exist at that time.
Collaborations Title Year Peak chart positions Sales AlbumKOR "Love in Spring" (with Haegeum, Stranger, and Im Se-jun) 2012 — rowspan="2" Global Project Pt. 2"Baby Baby"(with Kim Won-joo of 4Men) 2013 — The Serenade Part. 1 "Lonely Christmas" ()(with Vibe, 4Men, Im Se-jun, MIIII, and Min Yeon-jae) 2014 47 KOR: 32,590Cumulative sales for "Lonely Christmas": Lonely Christmas (Made in the Vibe) "Celebrate Love" ()(with Vibe, 4Men, Im Se-jun, and MIIII) 2015 27 KOR: 95,296Cumulative sales for "Celebrate Love": Celebrate Love (Made in the Vibe)"Konus"(Korean ver.) (Feat.bigtone) — rowspan="9" Konus (Made in the VIbe)"You Are My Christmas" (with Vibe, 4Men, Im Se-jun, and MIIII) — You Are My Christmas (Made in the Vibe)"Don't Go Today"(with Im Se-jun) 2016 — Don't Go Today (Made in the Vibe)"The Reason Why I'm Beautiful" ()(with Eunji and Jihyo) 2016 97 Inkigayo Music Crush Pt.1"Each Other" ()(with Shin Yong-jae of 4Men) 2017 — Each Other (Made in the Vibe) "The First Night" () (with Kim Won-joo) 2018 — rowspan="3" "Ordinary Love" () (with CSP) 2020 132 "Can Love Be Fair" ()(with G.Soul) 2021 118 "That Man, That Woman" ()(with Shin Yong Jae) 130 That Man, That Woman (Revibe Vol.6)
Other songs Year Title Format Album Notes Ref. 2019 "Hee Jae" (희재) Digital download, streaming [Vol.4]You Hee Yul's Sketchbook 10th Anniversary Project: 2nd voice "Sketchbook X Ben", original song by "Purple Breeze" (보라빛 향기)[Vol.5] You Hee Yul's Sketchbook 10th Anniversary Project: 2nd Voice "Sketchbook X Ben" original song by 2013 "To J" (J에게) Music Voyage Yesterday original song by Lena Park
Soundtrack appearances Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album KOR GaonHot "Stop the Love Now" 2014 93 — KOR: 17,988Cumulative sales for "Stop the Love Now": Marriage, Not Dating OST "You" 2015 52 — KOR: 60,417Cumulative sales for "You": Healer OST "Stay" — — Oh My Ghost OST "Palpitations" 29 — KOR: 208,347Cumulative sales for "Palpitations": The Producers OST "Hug Me" () 80 — KOR: 27,746Cumulative sales for "Hug Me": I Remember You OST"Darling U"(with Kim Tae Woo) — — Oh My Venus OST"Sometimes" ()2016 — — One More Happy Ending OST "Like a Dream" () 6 — KOR: 993,525Cumulative sales for "Like a Dream": Another Miss Oh OST"My All" — — Second to Last Love OST "Misty Road" 10 — KOR: 313,552Cumulative sales for "Misty Road":
Love in the Moonlight OST"Memory" 2017 — — Introverted Boss OST"Can't Go" () — 67 Because This Is My First Life OST "Love Me Once Again" () 2018 73 75 Re:Playlist, Vol.3"If We Were Destined" () — —A Korean Odyssey OST "If You Were Me" 88 87Mr. Sunshine OST "Can You Hear Me?" () 2019 3 4Hotel Del Luna OST "Deep Sorrow" () 158 — Chief of Staff OST "Dear My Love" () 2020 — — Hyena OST "I'll Be" — — Mystic Pop-up Bar OST "Whenever Wherever Whatever" — — Alice OST "I'm Still Here" — 81 More Than Friends OST "With Your Everything" 2021 — — Trickster M OST "Leave Me" () 154 94 She Would Never Know OST "Dialog of Dream" () — — Fly, Again OST "Starlight Heart" () 169 — The Red Sleeve OST "My Only One" () 2022 — — Tomorrow OST "Your Traces" () 2024 — — The Midnight Studio OST "The Way You Look at Me" () 2025 — — The First Night with the Duke OST "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Filmography
TV series Year Title Role Network Notes 2015–present Mother's Spring herself TV Chosun Cast 2015–2016 I Can See Your Voice herself Mnet Regular panelist
Awards and nominations Gaon Chart Music Awards Year Category Recipient ResultRef.2018 Discovery of the Year - BalladBen2019 Artist of the Year - Digital Music (December)"180 Degree"2020 Artist of the Year - Digital Music (July)"Thank you for Goodbye"
Genie Music Awards Year Category Recipient ResultRef.2018Song of the Year"Love, ing""Can't Go"Vocal Track (Female)"Love, ing"OST Award"Can't Go" Genie Music Popularity AwardBen2019 The Female Solo Artist The Vocal Artist
Golden Disc Awards Year Category Recipient ResultRef.2022 Digital Song Bonsang "Lonely Night" Seezn Most Popular Artist Award Ben
Korea Popular Music Award Year Category Recipient Result2018Best OST"Can't Go"
Melon Music Awards Year Category Recipient Result 2019 Top 10 Artists Ben Song of the Year"180 Degree" Best Ballad Album of the Year
Mnet Asian Music Awards Year Category Recipient Result2019 Best Vocal Performance – Solo "180 Degree" Song of the Year Worldwide Fans’ Choice Top 10 Ben
Notes
References