Born on 13 January 1987 in Dobong-gu, Seoul, Lee Seung-Gi is a South Korean singer, actor, host, and entertainer who has been nicknamed Nation's Umchina (your mother's friend's brilliant son), Nation's Little Brother, Nation's Son-in-Law, and Nation's Heodang (adorable klutz) through his commitment to philanthropy and various appearances on TV and film. He cut his teeth in amateur bands Brain Hemorrhage and Natural while still at high school, during which he flew onto the radar of late '80s singing sensation Lee Sun-hee, who took him under her wing and gave him two years of vocal training. He made his debut in 2004 with the ballad "Because You're My Girl," the first taste of his debut album The Dream of a Moth, which was a national hit and helped him to win the Best Newcomer award at the M.net KM Music Festival and Seoul Music Awards that year. In 2007, he was namechecked at the M.net KM Music Festival ceremony again, this time as Best Male Solo Artist for his song "White Lie" from his third album Story of Separation, released in 2004. Two years later, he scored another hit on home soil with digital single "Will You Marry Me," which picked up the Digital Single Bonsang award at the 24th Golden Disc Awards. His fourth album Shadow also arrived in 2009 and the following year he recorded a duet version of his 2007 song "Smile Boy" with South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna, which was chosen as the official 2010 FIFA World Cup song in South Korea. He leaned into a rockier sound for his fifth album Tonight, released in 2011, before making waves on the K-pop scene with Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart-topper "Aren't We Friends" in 2012 and the subsequent Forest EP. He took a short break from music only to make his return with sixth album And... in 2015 and, after taking another longer hiatus of five years, he made a comeback in 2020 with The Project.