Bada’s Career
Bada made her debut with S.E.S. in 1997. The group released their first album titled “I’m Your Girl” on November 1, 1997. They later became K-pop female vocal groups with top album sales. Since their debut, the group has released five Korean albums and two Japanese albums. They then released a compilation album titled “Friend” for the last time before disbanding in late 2002. S.E.S members, Bada and Eugene decided to leave SM Entertainment, while Shoo remained with SM Entertainment until 2006.
Bada released her special album, Flower, to celebrate her 20th anniversary on June 13, 2016. The album consists of four songs: “Amazing”, “Flower (feat. Kanto)”, “Make a Wish” and “Flower ( Remix version) “. She also released two music videos, one for “Flower” on June 13 and “Amazing” on June 15.
Bada signed an 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.
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 musicalbum A Song Across Wires
Bada’s Discography
Album
- A Day of Renew (2003)
- Aurora (2004)
- Made in Sea (2006)
- See the Sea (2009)
Single
- “Start” (2006)
- “Queen” (2007)
- “With Me” (2011)
- “Precious” (2014)
Soundtrack
- I’m Sorry, I Love You O.S.T. – “One Day Passes” (2004)
- Spring Waltz O.S.T.- “Rainbow” (2006)
- Famous ‘Seven’ Princesses O.S.T. – “Start Again” (2006)
- I Love You O.S.T. – “My Destiny” (2008)
- Baker King Kim Tak-goo O.S.T. – “Only One Person” (2010)
- A Thousand Kisses O.S.T. – “Sweet My Love” (2011)
- Glass Mask O.S.T. – “It Hurts and Hurts” (2012)
- Goddess of Marriage O.S.T. – “Stay” (2013)
Musical Soundtrack
- Notre Dame de Paris O.S.T. – Original Korean Cast Recording (2009)
- Carmen O.S.T. – “If I Could” (2013)
Featuring
- Rain Bad Guy – “Like You” (2002)
- Dynamic Duo Enlightened – “Dream” (2007)
- Windy City Think About’ Chu – “Think About’ Chu” (2008)
- Infinite Challenge Seo Hae-An Highway Music Festival – “A Song Only I Can Sing” (2011)
- BT A Song Across Wires – “City Life” (2013)
- ZoPD Golden Goose Part.1 – “Candy” (2015)
