LIA (ITZY)

Known as the main vocalist of the popular K-pop girl group ITZY, South Korean singer and rapper Lia was born Choi Ji-su on July 21, 2000, in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Even though she passed an audition to become a trainee for JYP Entertainment at the age of 12, her career was put on hold due to a disagreement with her parents. After finally joining JYP's roster in 2017, Lia spent the next couple of years training ahead of her ITZY debut with the single "It'z Different," whose release date coincided with her graduation from Seoul's School of Performing Arts on February 12, 2019. In the following years, ITZY became one of the most commercially successful acts in the highly competitive K-pop scene, delivering numerous chart-topping releases such as the EPs It'z Me (2019), Not Shy (2020), Checkmate (2022), and Cheshire (2022), as well as their studio debut Crazy in Love (2021). In addition to her work with the group, Lia has also contributed as a solo artist to the soundtrack of the films The Red Sleeve (2022) and Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (2022), whose lead single "Blue Flower" entered the Top 100 of the streaming charts in Indonesia.