Lee Ji-eun (
Korean: 이지은; born May 16, 1993), professionally known as
IU (
Korean: 아이유), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. While still in middle school, IU auditioned for various talent agencies with ambitions of becoming a singer. She signed with
Kakao M(formerly LOEN Entertainment) in 2007 as a
trainee and began her music career at the age of 15 with her debut album,
Lost and Found. Her follow-up albums,
Growing Up and
IU...IM, brought her mainstream success, but it was through "Good Day" (
Korean: 좋은 날), the lead single from her 2010 album
Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" spent five consecutive weeks at the top position of South Korea's
Gaon Digital Chart, a joint record along with
Psy's "
Gangnam Style".