✩﹐[𝗼𝗻𝗲]﹒𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅﹒⅄
⁑⁑﹒[𝗁𝖾𝗋]﹒𝘄𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮﹒➷
In this Japanese name, the surname is Yamaguchi.
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Yamaguchi Yskaella ❪ Japanese: 山口イスカエラ; born August 31, 1996 ❫, known mononymously as Ella is a South Korean-Japanese singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, painter, eSports athlete, and soloist. She debuted as a Leader of the girl group BLACKPINK formed by YG Entertainment in August 2016. In February 2019, Ella debuted as a soloist with the single album "EVERGLOW". Ella is the youngest finalist to compete at the World Got Talent, she is also a two time golden buzzer winning at the America's Got Talent and World Got Talent.
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𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔
Ella for Vogue China 2023
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Born | Yamaguchi Yskaella
August 31, 1996 ❪ age 27 ❫
Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan
Other Names | Cheong Sarang • Nation's Ideal Type
Occupation | Singer-songwriter • Rapper • Producer • Painter • eSports athlete • Soloist
Alma Mater | Rinsen Elementary School • Chinese International School • Hamilton High School • First Middle School of Changsa • Seoul International School • Seoul National University
Labels | PHOENiX Entertainment • YG Entertainment • Interscope Records
Position Reached | Semifinalist
Season | 1
Years Active | 2003 - present
Playing Career | 2013 - present
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𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
Origin | South Korea
Genres | K-pop • Dance pop • Hip-hop •
Instrument | Vocal
Labels | PHOENiX Entertainment • YG Entertainment
Associated Acts | BLACKPINK • T1 • Zyrus Lee • YG Family • The Chainsmokers • Chanyeol • Tiger JK • Maroon 5 • Cardi B • DJ Snake • Ozuna
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𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠
Team | T1
Game | League of Legends • Overwatch
Role | Mid ❪ LOL ❫ • Support ❪ OWL ❫
League | LCK ❪ LOL ❫ • OA ❪ OWL ❫
Status | Active ❪ LOL ❫ • Inactive ❪ OWL ❫
Signature Hero |
League of Legends
LeBlancZed • Syndra • Azir • Ahri • Ryze
Overwatch League
Zenyatta • Ana • Moira • Baptise
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𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 ❪ LOL ❫
3× World champion ❪ 2013, 2015, 2016 ❫
2016 Worlds MVP
2× MSI champion ❪ 2016, 2017 ❫
2016 MSI MVP
9× LCK champion ❪ 3× MVP ❫
IEM champion ❪ 2016 ❫
Rift Rivals champion ❪ 2019 ❫
All-Star Invitational champion ❪ 2014 ❫
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𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 ❪ OWL ❫
3rd | Overwatch League 2020 - Asia Playoffs
3rd | Overwatch League - 2019 Playoffs
3-4th | Overwatch League - 2019 Stage 2 Playoffs
1st | Overwatch World Cup 2018
3-4th | Overwatch League - Inaugural Season Playoffs
2nd | OWL - Inaugural Season Stage 4 Title Matches
1st | Overwatch League - Inaugural Season
1st | OWL - Inaugural Season Stage 3 Title Matches
1st | OWL - Inaugural Season Stage 2 Title Matches
2nd | OWL - Inaugural Season Stage 1 Title Matches
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𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 ❪ OWL ❫
Season 1:80 ❪ Final: 80 ❫
Season 2:4419 ❪ Final: 4419 ❫
Season 3:4752 ❪ Final: 4706 ❫
Season 4:4780 ❪ Final: 4690 ❫
Season 5:4811 ❪ Final: 4743 ❫
Season 6:4816 ❪ Final: 4816 ❫
Season 7:4450 ❪ Final: 4756 ❫
Season 8:4597 ❪ Final: 4532 ❫
Season 9:4600 ❪ Final: 4562 ❫
Season 10:4660 ❪ Final: 4526 ❫
Season 11:4647 ❪ Final: 4559 ❫
Season 12:4724 ❪ Final: 4716 ❫
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𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗡 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘
Hangul | 청사랑
Hanja | 靑 사랑
Revised Romanization | Cheong Salang
McCune-Reischauer | Ch'ŏng Sarang
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𝗝𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘
Kanji | 山口イスカエラ
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𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘
Ella is renowned for her high mechanical skill and extremely versatile champion pool. She is best known for playing LeBlanc, Zed, Syndra, Azir, Ahri, and Ryze. She is the first player to have reached both 1,000 and 2,000 kills in the LCK, as well as the first to have played 600 games.
Ella is one of the few two players to have won the League of Legends World Championship three times, having done so in 2013, 2015 and 2016. She has also won the All-Star Paris 2014, the Mid-Season Invitational tournament in 2016 and 2017, and the IEM World Championship in 2016. She owns three different League of Legends skins as a result of winning World Championships, which include SKT T1 Zed ❪ 2013 ❫, SKT T1 Ryze ❪ 2015 ❫ and SKT T1 Syndra ❪ 2016 ❫.
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𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
Ella at Asian Academy Creative Awards in December 17, 2009
Born as Yamaguchi Yskaella on August 31, 1996, on Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan.
She has an older brother Yamaguchi Achiro who is a Composer, Director, Film Producer, Rapper, and Choreographer. She attended Rinsen Elementary School in Japan, Chinese International School in Hong Kong, Hamilton High School in LA, First Middle School of Changsa in China, Seoul International School in South Korea, and Seoul National University.
Furthermore, she wanted to become a singer, and was inspired by K-pop groups such as Girls' Generation, 2NE1, and singer such as Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.
Ella always loved puzzles and video games, often playing custom maps for Warcraft III and the MOBA Chaos during her teenage years. She discovered League of Legends in late 2011, and quickly became adept at the game. And she later joined PHOENiX Entertainment in 2012.
At just three years old, she began her vocal lessons with her dad. She has performed at events all over the world, and she made appearances on both national Chinese and American television, not to mention that she has won eight championships in one year a few years ago.
Ella competed on Britain's Got Talent, her audition was not televised despite she proceeded past the audition but did not enter the live shows. She was also on Little Big Shots with Zyrus Lee after their duet of You Raise Me Up went viral in 2004.
She and Zyrus also sang You Raise Me Up in Miss World 2006 which also named them "Nation's Golden Duo".
Ella is nicknamed "Little Giant Lung" in Hong Kong and China. She also has sung in many charitable events in both Hong Kong and China.
In 2013, Ella and her family moved to Seoul. And she later became a YGE trainee for 3 years and 6 months, she was cast by YG himself after recognizing her as the contestant from the World's Got Talent in 2008 and debuted as BLACKPINK's leader.
Ella's father Yamaguchi Itsuko is a Japanese teacher, voice actor, actor, mentor, film producer, and film director, he is one of the most respected and professional vocal coaches in Japan, he has accumulated over 30 years of extensive experience in the field. He is a passionate educator, committed to offering training and mentoring to aspiring vocalists of all levels and styles. He offers customized singing sessions specifically targeted for two groups: aspiring singers of all levels, and corporations. Ella's mother Cheong Eun-Ae is a Korean singer-songwriter, theater performer, vocal coach, director, and actress, best known for her roles in musical theater, for supplying the singing voices of two Disney Princesses ❪ Jasmine and Mulan ❫, and also as a recording artist and television performer, she is also originated the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon in the West End and then reprised the role on Broadway, winning the Olivier and Theatre World Awards, and becoming the first Asian woman to win a Tony Award. She is the first Korean artist to sign with an international record label Atlantic Records in 1993. She was the first actress of Asian descent to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. Not only that, but she also portrayed Éponine and Fantine, respectively, in the musical's 10th and 25th anniversary concerts in London. She provided the singing voices of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin in 1992 and Fa Mulan in 1998. She was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with The Walt Disney Company. She started as Mei-li in the 2002 Broadway version of Flower Drum Song. She has played numerous other stage, film and TV roles in the US, Korea and elsewhere. Furthermore, she has toured widely in the theater roles and as a concert artist. From 2015 to 2016, she returned to Broadway in Allegiance, and from 2017 to 2019 she appeared in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island.
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𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔'𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧
Ella at America's Got Talent - Judge Cuts
Audition
Ella's audition consisted of singing Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood, and Piers Morgan all voted "Yes," sending Ella to the Judge Cuts.
Judge Cuts
Ella's Judge Cuts performance consisted of singing Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." Impressed with the performance, Brandy Norwood pressed his Golden Buzzer for Ella, sending her straight to the Quarterfinals.
Judge Piers Morgan also loved the performance, saying: "You are so adorable and so cute, and your voice is amazing, I just want to put you in my pocket and take you home." Piers told Ella before Brandy Norwood hit the Golden Buzzer.
Quarterfinals
Ella's Week 2 Quarterfinals performance consisted of singing Whitney Houston's and Mariah Carey's "When You Believe." David Hasselhoof gave her a standing ovation. Ella received enough votes to advance to the Semifinals along with Hannah Manuel over Mirror Image.
Semifinals
Ella's Semifinals performance consisted of singing "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion. David Hasselhoof again gave her a standing ovation. Ella did not receive enough votes to advance to the Finals, eliminating her from the competition.
After the Show
In 2008, Ella competed on the World's Got Talent special held in China. She received a Golden Buzzer, which sent her to the Top 8. She did not make the Top 2.
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𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗'𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧
Ella at World's Got Talent in 2008
At the time of her World's Got Talent audition, Ella was 11. She performed an original song called "Who I Am," earning a standing ovation from the judges. "You have such a bright future ahead of you," judge David Foster told Ella. "You sing perfectly in tune. I love that."
Judge Xie Na said it was better than Ella's previous performances, calling it "the best performance I've seen." Singer Coco Lee said she was "proud" of Ella and added that the song she wrote is "complex."
Meanwhile, David Foster added that he would make it his "mission" for her to meet Celine Dion: she met her in 2016. Wu Junmei said she related to the song, and chose to hit the Golden Buzzer for Ella's performance. This marked Ella's second-ever Golden Buzzer. She teared up as the confetti rained down.
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𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
2015: Reset
The talented Tiger JK has dropped a OST track for new KBS 2TV drama, 'School 2015', featuring Ella.
Titled "Reset", the track is expected to give hope to the young listeners with emotional lyrics that lonely youths can relate to. Crooning "I wanna reset" in the chorus, Ella and Tiger JK give hope to students juggling their lives and school through their song.
2016: Debut with BLACKPINK, Closer , You Are My Everything, and Stay with Me
Ella performing at the 2016 Melon Music Awards on November 19, 2016
Ella was the final member to be revealed, on June 25, 2016. Ella was introduced through a photo titled "The Hidden Member" via the official blog of YG Entertainment. Gaining interest from netizens, after recognizing her as the girl from AGT and WGT. On June 16, YG Entertainment released a YouTube video through their blog titled "YG's Hidden Trainee - Yamaguchi Yskaella", in which she covered Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". On the same day, another video titled "Yamaguchi Yskaella - YG New Artist", in which she covered the song "Good Day" by soloist IU, rap to "Very Good" by Zico, and dance to "Lucifer" by SHINee was released.
On July 29, 2016, Ella was featured as a vocalist on the Chainsmokers' single "Closer", a song she also cowrote. The track achieved major commercial success: it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, topped the charts of 12 other countries, sold more than 15 million units worldwide, and is one of the most streamed songs on Spotify. The official lyric video for "Closer" was released on YouTube on July 29, 2016, and has since garnered over two billion views. Billboard magazine noted Ella's solo verse as a favorable part of the song, and the song earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which was unexpected and making her the first K-pop artist to do so in that time, though she did not debut yet.
On August 8, 2016, Blackpink debuted with the release of their single album Square One alongside double A-side singles "Boombayah" and "Whistle". According to bandmate Jisoo, Ella was responsible for the general duties and decision-making of the group. Ella recounted the experience through V Live, stating each month a group, dance, and solo song were performed for the label's CEO, producers and artists to watch and evaluate the progress of their training. She also recalled memories of preparing outfits and songs, making musical accompaniments, and practicing choreography.
In 2016, Ella released her OST for the drama Descendants of the Sun entitled "You are My Everything". It topped iTunes K-pop charts in Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, and Taiwan as well as coming in the top 10 in the U.S. and Vietnam. The same year, she once again collaborated with Descendant's music director Gaemi to release the OST for the popular drama Love in the Moonlight entitled "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds". The success of her soundtrack releases drew the media to call her "OST Queen".
In December 2016, Ella and South Korean singer Chanyeol collaborated on an original soundtrack titled "Stay With Me" for tvN's drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God. The song reached number three on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.
2017 - 2018: Meteor Garden, Girls Like You, To Be Free and Taki Taki
Ella performing at SBS Gayo Daejun in December 25, 2017
In 2018, she portrayed the female supporting role: Teng Tang Jing, in the 2018 television series Meteor Garden, based on the Japanese shōjo manga series Boys Over Flowers - 花より男子, Hana Yori Dango written by Yoko Kamio. It was a remake of the 2001 Taiwanese adaptation, also called Meteor Garden. The series was a hit in the Southeast-Asian region, and led to increased popularity for Ella and her group overseas. Later on, she became a guest on a variety show with music performance called "Phanta City" with her Meteor Garden costars.
In May 2018, Ella made a cameo in Maroon 5's music video for "Girls Like You".
The song's accompanying music video was directed by David Dobkin, which features the band and Levine performing the song in the center of a room and a number of women making their appearances. The single achieved commercial success, spending seven weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it Maroon 5's fourth and Cardi B's third chart-topper, who extended her record for most number-ones among female rappers. It also spent 33 weeks in the top 10, tying both Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" and Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower" for the longest top 10 run in the chart's archives at the time and a record-setting 36 weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. Additionally, it reached number one in eleven other countries, including Canada and New Zealand.
The song was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2021 for selling more than 10 million units, with Cardi B becoming the first female rapper to achieve two Diamond certifications. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it was the fifth-best selling song of 2018, with equivalent sales of 11.9 million units globally. "Girls Like You" ranked at number five on the Billboard decade-end chart for the 2010s, with Cardi B being the only female rapper on the top 40. Its music video has surpassed 3 billion views on YouTube. "Girls Like You" has won multiple awards, including at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards for Top Hot 100 Song, and received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards. It was ranked at 30 on Billboard's Greatest Hot 100 Hits of All Time, published in November 2021.
The video featured appearances from Maroon 5's band members: guitarist James Valentine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton and multi-instrumentalist Sam Farrar, with the song's featured artist Cardi B. In order of appearance, the video includes a number of women ranging from athletes, activists, actresses, models, singers, and one K-pop idol who are making their cameos: Camila Cabello, Yamaguchi Yskaella, Phoebe Robinson, Aly Raisman, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot, Lilly Singh, Amani al-Khatahtbeh, Trace Lysette, Tiffany Haddish, Angy Rivera, Franchesca Ramsey, Millie Bobby Brown, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez, Chloe Kim, Alex Morgan, Mary J. Blige, Beanie Feldstein, Jackie Fielder, Danica Patrick, Ilhan Omar, Elizabeth Banks, Ashley Graham and Rita Ora, with Levine's wife Behati Prinsloo and their daughter Dusty Rose.
The clothing worn by the guests of the music video features several messages that represent various social justice and identity movements. Immigrant rights activist Angy Rivera of New York State Youth Leadership Council wears her organization's T-shirt with the phrase "Undocumented Unafraid Unapologetic". Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and Ella wore a T-shirt with the phrase "Always Speak Your Truth" while Ella wore a T-shirt with the phrase "Always Speak For Yourself". Jackie Fielder, founder of indigenous-led San Francisco Defund DAPL Coalition, wore a T-shirt with the words "Divest, Water is Life".
As of March 2022, the music video has received more than 3.2 billion views and with over 20 million likes, making it YouTube's 20th most viewed and 18th most liked video. "Girls Like You" topped YouTube's 2018 Songs of the Summer list globally, and ranked third in the United States. It is also Vevo's most viewed video of 2018. The video was named the 23rd-most iconic pop music video of the 2010s by PopSugar.
"To Be Free" is a Chinese and English song recorded by Japanese rapper Aghasi, featuring Ella of Blackpink, as the lead single for his sixth extended play. It was released on April 12, 2018, by Gforce Studios. The song's music video was the most viewed online music video in 24 hours at the time, garnering over 74.6 million views within its first day of release. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA in June. "To Be Free" held the record for the song with the most music show wins after the 2000s in South Korea with 21 wins.
Upon release, "To Be Free" debuted at No. 1 on the real-time charts of six major music sites including Soribada, Genie, Naver, Bugs, Mnet, and Flo on April 12. On the morning of April 13, it was reported that the song ranked No. 1 in real-time charts of all digital platforms including Melon, thereby achieving an "all kill". In addition, all other tracks of the album debuted in the Top 10. It was reported that multiple servers crashed, including Korea's largest music site Melon, due to the number of fans streaming at the same time. "To Be Free" debuted at No. 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart and topped the weekly charts for three consecutive weeks. "To Be Free" debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, becoming the duo's highest Top 10 entry. The song also debuted at No. 13 on the UK Official Singles Chart, making it the highest-charting single by a Japanese act. The single also launched at No. 5 on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart, the highest rank for the duo on the chart so far and peaked at No. 7, according to the Billboard website. It also ranked No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales chart, marking Aghasi's fourth song hitting the chart's top 10.
"To Be Free" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in June, for selling over one million units in the United States. It is the duo's second Platinum certification. The song surpassed 100 million streams on Gaon Music Chart, earning a Platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association. "To Be Free" was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 35,000 units in Australia.
Aghasi and Ella was named one of the Top 10 artists of 2018 by Genie Music with "To Be Free" topping their daily chart for 26 days.
On July 3, 2019, the Korean version of the song was released as a double A-side single alongside an original Japanese track titled "Lights" via Universal Music Japan.
In 2018, Ella featured on DJ Snake's song "Taki Taki" alongside Ozuna and Cardi B, released in September 2018.
The music video for "Taki Taki" premiered on 9 October 2018 on DJ Snake's YouTube channel. The video was directed by Colin Tilley. A short teaser clip was shown at the 2018 American Music Awards. The video is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The clip transitions with various landscapes showing the quartet together with a volcano in the background and in the solo scenes. These scenes include DJ Snake out in the storm near a Range Rover, Ozuna in a women-filled pit, Cardi B wearing a black bodysuit covered by a black cape accompanied by dancers, and Ella in a green monochromatic outfit in the forest. It became the fifth-fastest video of 2018 to reach 100 million views, and ranked among the top 10 fastest overall. "Taki Taki" made Ozuna the artist with the most 1 billion-view videos on YouTube, with over seven videos. As of December 2020, the video has received over 2 billion views on YouTube.
A pixel video for "Taki Taki" was released on 11 December 2018 on YouTube, which featured animated pixel versions of the four artists dancing in various backgrounds. The lyrics "Booty explota como nagasaki", Booty blows up like Nagasaki, was criticized by Japanese media, especially for belittling the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and the experience of its survivors. The lyrics were changed to "Booty explota como saki saki", Booty blows up like saki saki, as requested by Universal Music LLC. This change in the lyrics was made in the official video.
On October 1, Ella was confirmed to join as a cast member for SBS' new variety show Village Survival, the Eight, together with Jennie, their first permanent casting in a television series.
2019: Solo debut
Ella performing at SBS Gayo Daejun in February 22, 2019
EVERGLOW is the debut single album by South Korean and Japanese artist Ella. The album was released on February 21, 2019, by YG Entertainment. EVERGLOW has been described as a K-pop, EDM, and electro pop.
Upon release, EVERGLOW received critical acclaim, with praise towards the record's catchy tracks, especially to its tracks introduction.
EVERGLOW was a huge commercial success, reaching number one in over 20 countries and becoming the world's best-selling album of 2019. Ella became the first Asian artist to top the charts in all the top-five music markets in the world. In the United States, it became Ella's first consecutive album to debut at number one album on the Billboard 200 chart, earning 422,000 album-equivalent units, including 347,000 sales, in its first week. In under nine days of its release, the album sold more than 4.1 million copies for the first time in Gaon Album Chart's history, setting the Guinness World Record for the best-selling album in South Korea and was certified quadruple million by the Korea Music Content Association. It was certified platinum in the United States and Japan, and earned gold certifications in seven other countries.
The album was supported by two singles, both entering the US Billboard Hot 100: "Adios" debuted and peaked at number 57, while "DUN DUN" reached number 4, becoming Ella's first top hit on the chart. EVERGLOW won Album of the Year at the 2019 Genie Music Awards, 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 2019 Melon Music Awards, and the 46th People's Choice Awards, while "Adios" won Best EDM, Best Choreography, and Best K-pop at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. Ella promoted the album with South Korean music programs including M Countdown, Music Bank, and Inkigayo.
According to Dreamus, the distributor for EVERGLOW, stock preorders for the album surpassed 3.42 million copies over the first six days of the preorder period.
EVERGLOW debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 422,000 album-equivalent units, including 347,000 pure album sales, becoming Ella's first number-one album in the country and the highest first-week figures of Ella's debut albums in the US to date. It also marked the biggest first week sales for an album in 2019 and maintained the record until The Weeknd's After Hours was released on March 20. The album outsold the next six highest-ranking albums on the Billboard 200 combined. The album's single, "DUN DUN" debuted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 with 86,000 downloads and 18.3 million U.S. streams, marking Ella's highest sales week for a song at the time. The song was Ella's highest-charting single on the chart at that time and her first top five, following "Adios" which peaked at number eight and "DUN DUN" which peaked at No. 10, making Ella the Japanese artist with the most top-ten hits on the Hot 100. In November 2019, EVERGLOW was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, which denotes one million album-equivalent units. It is her first album to be awarded platinum. In Canada, the album debuted at number one with 23,000 album-equivalent units, becoming Ella's first chart-topping album.
In South Korea, the album debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart, giving Ella her first number one. The album sold over 2.65 million copies in its first six hours and a record-breaking 3.37 million copies in its first week, achieving the highest first week sales in Hanteo Chart history it outsold the next nineteen best-selling albums of 2019 combined. In under nine days of the album's release, EVERGLOW sold 4.1 million copies, marking the highest sales achieved by an debut album in a month and over a single year in the Gaon Album Chart's history, surpassing the monthly and annual sales of album in the history of South Korea. It is also the first Korean album to sell more than 4 million copies since Gaon Chart's inception. In April, it became the first album certified as "Quadruple Million" by Gaon since the body implemented certifications in 2018; Ella are the only artist to achieve this. Ella became the best-selling artist in South Korea of all time, especially the album was her debut album.
In Japan, the album became Ella's first number one, selling more than 870,000 copies in its release week. It was certified Platinum by Recording Industry Association of Japan in February 2020, denoting 250,000 shipments. Four months later, in June, Oricon announced that EVERGLOW had topped the mid-year Album Chart ranking with 929,000 copies sold, making Ella the first foreign artist in 36 years to do so since Michael Jackson with Thriller, and the first female artist. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted atop the Official Albums Chart giving Ella her first consecutive number one. It moved around 36,000 units, with 32,000 being from pure sales. The album is certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 60,000 copies in the country. The album debuted atop the German albums chart, making Ella the first Asian artist to top the chart. It debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart, making Ella the first Korean-Japanese artist to score a number one in that country. The album debuted at number one on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart becoming Ella's first top ten entry, and her first consecutive number one. In France, the album debuted at number one on the SNEP Albums Chart, moving 23,502 equivalent units, making her first number one in that country. With EVERGLOW, Ella became the first artist to top the album charts in the top five music markets in the world: the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and France.
At the end of 2019, Billboard revealed that EVERGLOW ranked at number two on the list of the ten top-selling albums of the year in the US, according to MRC Data, with 674,009 copies sold, only behind Taylor Swift's Folklore, which sold over 1 million copies. EVERGLOW was also the number one physical album of the year in America, with 646,000 hard copies sold. In South Korea, it topped Gaon's annual album chart with a cumulative 4,376,975 copies sold, marking the first consecutive year that Ella had the best-selling album in the country. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named EVERGLOW the best-selling album of 2019 globally, both in pure sales and across all consumption formats, spanning physical sales, digital downloads, and streaming platforms. The album received the IFPI's first ever Global Album All Format Chart Award. Ella was also the only act with multiple albums in both charts.
In February 2021, EVERGLOW became the first Ella's album to spend its entire first year on the US Billboard 200 - it charted for 52 consecutive weeks - and the second longest charting Asian album. As of September 2021, the album has remained on the chart for 82 consecutive weeks.
FIRST Dance Performance Video
A dance performance video was additionally released on March 6, 2019; the video features her doing the full choreography in matching white athleisure. In February 2020, it became the first K-pop solo artist dance video to reach 600 million views on YouTube, and currently remains as the most viewed K-pop dance video of all time by a solo artist. On January 19, 2022, it became the first K-pop dance performance video and to achieve 900 million views.
The dance performance video was named the 18th best music video of 2019 by Billboard and was praised as being "endlessly watchable".
She collaborated with The Chainsmokers and Illenium for a single titled "Takeaway" which was released on July 24, 2019.
The music video, directed by Jeremiah Davis and produced by That One Blond Kid Corp, was uploaded to YouTube on July 24, 2019.
The video was filmed in New York City at the Vessel, a massive staircase sculpture in the Hudson Yards development. The interactive art installation is the work of Thomas Heatherwick.
2020 - present: Rising popularity and Solo ventures
Ella performing at Melon Music Awards in December 6, 2020
On January 5, 2020, she re-created her YouTube channel, One with Ella which used to be Ella's Diary, focusing on travelling and lifestyle alongside covering songs. As of July 2021, she accumulated over 10.33 million subscribers. Notably, one of her videos went viral in 2021 due to a meme where screen caps of her forehead with the hairstyle pigtails were juxtaposed onto a character, often with the caption "Did it work?". Celebrities including Dolly Parton, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Luke Evans, and Lil Nas X participated in the meme as well, posting photos of themselves with Ella's forehead.
spice is the first studio album by South Korean-Japanese singer-songwriter Ella. The album was released on May 18, 2020, by YG Entertainment . It contains ten tracks, with "LOCO" as its lead single. Describing this concept, Ella explained, ❝ I think confidence is a part of every song. With 'LOCO,' the theme that i explored was 'What would I look like if I am crazy about love?' I hope that people can look at the passion and go, 'That's something new.' I also want to show that we don't have any limits. ❞ commenting, ❝ Until now, I dealt with themes revolving around 'me,' or 'for myself.' With this new album, we show what it's like to be so caught up in love that you don't know what to do with yourself. It captures all the ups and downs that come with being attracted to someone, which I think can come across as endearing. This is a new side of me. ❞ On May 27, 2020, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning 135,000 album-equivalent units and becoming Ella's highest-charting album in a Western market at the time, as well as the first Korean album to top the US albums chart and the highest-charting album by an Asian act.
Between April 18 and 25, 2020, the first six days of the pre-order period for spice, IRIVER reported that the album had sold more than 1.44 million copies domestically, surpassing BTS's Love Yourself: Her as the most pre-ordered album in Korea, and making Ella the first K-pop female soloist to have one consecutive albums exceed one million pre-orders. On May 24, news media revealed updated numbers showing that pre-orders had actually crossed 1.5 million copies.
Upon its release in South Korea, spice sold 1,664,041 copies in its first two weeks, making it the highest monthly sales for an album since the Gaon Chart's inception. The album also sold around 250,000 copies more in its first week, these sales also caused Ella to become the first K-pop solo artist to surpass one-million copies in its first week on the Hanteo chart since its inception in 1993, making them true "double million sellers" pure, without repackage. The album was eventually certified "Million" by the Korea Music Content Association in July 2020, becoming the first album to receive this after the Gaon Music Chart launched certifications earlier that year. Of the 10 million albums sold in 2020, spice accounted for about 2 million, or 10% of them. In August 2020, the album surpassed 2 million copies in South Korea along, making Ella's 1st "Double Million" certification.
On May 27, 2020, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning 135,000 album-equivalent units, including 100,000 pure album sales, becoming Ella's highest-charting album in the US, as well as the first K-pop album to top the US albums chart, and the highest-charting album by an Asian act. It is also the highest sales week for both Ella and a Korean and Japanese act in the United States, and the first album primarily in a non-English language to top the Billboard 200 since Il Divo with Ancora in 2006. As of July 2020, according to Nielsen Music's Mid-Year Report, spice is the ninth best-selling album of 2020 in the United States, and is the top-selling foreign language album. The album became Ella's longest-running entry on the World Albums chart in July 2021, when it re-entered the July 18 chart issue at number 11, marking its hundredth week on the tally. It is her first album to achieve this feat, as well as a first for any Korean language offering in the history of the chart.
In the United Kingdom, spice was Ella's highest-charting album, becoming her first top ten on the UK Albums chart, with a peak at number eight. The album later attained Silver in the UK, becoming Ella's first album to be achieve this certification.
The album has sold over 100,000 copies since its Japanese release, becoming the first of Ella's Korean-language discography to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan in August 2020. Tower Records Japan reported the album was the most imported album in Japan for 2020.
Ella performing at Melon Music Awards in December 6, 2021
STEREO HEARTS is the first extended play by South Korean and Japanese artist Ella. It was released on April 12, 2021, via YG Entertainment with "What is Love?" as its lead single.
The EP debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200: including FANCY, I ft. Verbal Jint and Dance the Night Away, making Ella the first artist since the Beatles to have four number-one albums in less than a year. The album also topped the UK, Scottish, New Zealand and Australian charts, making Ella the first Korean and Japanese act to achieve a number-one album in each of these countries. Moreover, the album sold 3.2 million copies in one month, making it the best-selling album in South Korea, replacing the previous record-holder of 24 years.
According to iriver Inc, the distributor for the STEREO HEARTS, stock preorders for the EP surpassed 2.68 million copies over the first five days of the preorder period. The number was later updated to 3.07 million on April 11, the day before the EP's release.
In South Korea, the EP recorded 2.13 million first-week sales, the highest number for an artist in the country since the Hanteo Chart began tracking weekly sales at its inception. STEREO HEARTS debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart with all tracks debuting on the Gaon Digital Chart, including the lead single "What is Love?", which debuted at 17 and reached number one the following week. The songs "FANCY" and "Dance the Night Away" also reached the top ten in her second charting week, debuting at 31 and 39 before peaking at number eight and ten respectively. STERO HEARTS sold 3,229,032 copies in its first month in the country, making it the highest-selling release on the Gaon Music Chart since its inception in 2011. The EP also became the best-selling album of all time in South Korea, surpassing Kim Gun-Mo's 1995 album Wrongful Encounter. In May 2021, the album received 3x Million certification from Gaon for surpassing three million total sales. Ella is the first female Kpop artist to be awarded the certification.
In the United Kingdom, STEARO HEARTS' midweek sales were higher than the first week sales of Ella's three previous Top 20 releases combined, the only album to hit the UK top ten. STEREO HEARTS eventually became Ella's first number one album in the United Kingdom, as well as the first Korean musical act to reach number one, with 26,500 album-equivalent units, 68% of which, roughly 18,020 albums came from pure sales. The EP's lead single "What is Love?" debuted at number 13 on the UK singles chart, becoming Ella's first top-15 track in the United Kingdom. Three other tracks from STEREO HEARTS, "FANCY", "I ft. Verbal Jint", "Feel Special" and "Dance the Night Away", debuted on the singles chart at number 71, 69, 67, and 74 respectively.
The EP debuted at number one on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the first chart-topping album sung in an Asian language. The album became Ella's second top-ten album in Australia, "What is Love?" debuted at number 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Ella's first top-ten single in the country.
In the United States, STEREO HEARTS debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 230,000 album-equivalent units, including 196,000 pure album sales, becoming her biggest week in terms of units. It is Ella's second number-one album in roughly 11 months, making her the first artist to achieve two number-ones in a year since the Beatles in 1995 through 1996. Ella also became the artist with the second-fastest accumulation of three number-one albums since the Billboard 200's inception. The EP's lead single "What is Love?" debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 with 31,000 pure sales and 19.5 million streams. The track is Ella's highest-charting song and second top-ten song following "Feel Special", which peaked at number 10, and the first K-Pop artist with multiple top-tens as well as the second Korean artist, following Psy. "FANCY" also charted on the Hot 100, debuting at number 95 with 11,600 pure sales and making Ella the first Japanese artist to have two simultaneous songs appear on the chart. All songs from the EP appeared on the Billboard Digital Songs chart with a cumulative 82,100 purchases across all seven tracks. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 22, for selling over half a million units, and is her second album after 2019's EVERGLOW to achieve this.
With strong - yet underreported - global sales of 2.5 million pure album units, STEREO HEARTS was named as the third best-selling album of 2021 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. STEREO HEARTS was also the second best-selling global album by a solo artist only behind Arashi's 5x20 All the Best!! 1999 - 2019. Attributing to the album's critical and commercial success worldwide, the IFPI named Ella as one of the best-selling artists of 2021 for a second consecutive year, making her the first Japanese artist to achieve this.
In May 2020, she started filming for her first commercial film Dream alongside Park Seo-Joon, a sport-drama, directed by Lee Byeong-Heon. On June 19, 2020, Ella released the song "Into the I-LAND" as the signal song for Mnet's survival reality show I-Land.
In July 2021, she appointed for the Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by President Moon Jae-In, along with her brother, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.
"Step Back" is a song recorded by South Korean and Japanese artist Ella. It was released as a single on May 12, 2021, through YG Entertainment - for the Korean ver. and YG Entertainment Japan - for the Japanese ver., as Ella's [original] second Japanese-language single. A Hip-hop and R&B, the song was written by Tablo, G-Dragon, PSY, Mino, B.I, Lee Seung Hoon, and Kang Seung Yoon, with production handled by LØREN, Danny Chung, and R.Tee. Upon release, "Step Back" received positive reviews from music critics, with praise towards its catchiness and received negative reviews for it's lyrics when translated in English. It was a commercial success, topping charts in Hungary, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Vietnam, as well as Billboard's Global 200 chart. The song also reached the top 10 in over 30 other countries worldwide.
With 11.012 million first-day streams on the Spotify global chart, "Step Back" set a new record for the biggest song debut in the platform's history - surpassing Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber's "I Don't Care", which held the record since May 2019 with 10.977 million opening-day streams - and earned a Guinness World Record for the achievement. This also marked a new personal best for Ella, surpassing BTS' previous high of 7.778 million streams for "Dynamite"'s debut in August 2020. With over 20.9 million unfiltered global streams, "Step Back" set another record for the largest single-day streams of any song ever on Spotify.
"Step Back" entered South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart at number four and the component Streaming chart at number 35, but debuted at number one on the component Download chart. The Korean version of the song, sold nearly 2.5 million physical copies in South Korea in July, becoming one of the best-selling single in South Korea.
In Japan, "Step Back" earned its largest opening-day digital sales in the country, with 867,772 download. With only three days of availability in its tracking period the single consecutively maintained first place on the daily chart, and debuted atop the Oricon Weekly Digital Singles chart issue dated May 27, 2021 with 982,821 downloads, giving Ella its second digital number-one. It also topped the Weekly Streaming Chart for the same period with 16.607 million streams, marking the biggest weekly streaming debut in Oricon chart history. "Step Back" became Ella's third song to exceed 10 million streams in a single week. On the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart issue for the same period, the song debuted at number two, but topped the component Streaming and Download charts. On May 28, Billboard Japan reported that "Step Back" had accumulated 14.835 million streams just three days into the chart's next tracking period and surpassed the record set by LiSA's "Homura" of 7.526 million streams in 2020. "Homura" accrued 18.901 million streams at the end of its full tracking period, in what was then the largest streaming week in Billboard Japan chart history - "Step Back" achieved over 75% of that in less than half the time. In July, exactly 2 months after its release, the song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for surpassing 100 million streams, making it the fastest single to achieve the certification in RIAJ history. In August, the single's physical version exceeded sales of 250,000 copies and was certified Platinum by the RIAJ. On September 1, Oricon announced that "Step Back" had become the fastest song in the chart's history to achieve 200 million streams, doing so in 15 weeks and breaking the record previously set by "Homura" of 19 weeks.
According to Mediabase, "Step Back" was added to all 180 Top 40 radio stations in the United States and received 2,217 spins its first week. It was the first song by an international artist to become the most-added track at radio in its opening week, and Ella first female artist to achieve this feat. With only three days of availability, the single entered Billboard's Pop Airplay chart at number 26, making it the highest debut of the week and the second-highest of the year, behind only Ed Sheeran's "Afterglow", which entered at number 23 in January. It was the Ella's first entry on the airplay chart and a new career best.
"Step Back" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart issue dated June 5, 2021, giving Ella its fourth number-one in under nine months. Ella became the fastest act to achieve four number-ones since Justin Timberlake in 2006 - 2007 and the only female artist to debut songs in the lead. The song accumulated 32.2 million streams, sold 242,800 downloads, and 18.1 million radio airplay audience in its first week. This marked Ella' sixth number-one on the Digital Song Sales chart and the largest sales week. Billboard noted that the sales for "Step Back" were aided by its original and instrumental versions discounted to 69 cents in its first week. The song also debuted at number four on the Streaming Songs chart, and entered the Rolling Stone 100 at number two, marking the second-highest debut of 2021 behind only Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License", and the highest song sales debut of the year. "Step Back" remained atop the Hot 100 and Digital Songs charts for ten non-consecutive weeks. On the chart issue dated July 24, 2021, it ranked at number seven. The following week, it returned to the top of the chart, making her the first female act to displace itself at number one across two consecutive weeks. As of July 2021, the song has sold over one million copies in the United States.
On February 30, 2022, Ella release a dance cover video for "Zoo" collaborating with choreographer Lee Jung and Lia Kim. In March 2022, it became the fastest K-pop dance cover video to reach 80 million views on YouTube, doing so in less than 12 hours.
In the video, Ella, Leejung and Lia along with the backup dancers gives a choreographed performance for the song in two inter-changing settings. The video starts with Ella and Lia dancing in the middle of an abandoned road. In the other setting, Leejung was seen performing in a warehouse with a white LED screen at the back.
The dance practice video topped the worldwide trending list on YouTube.
"Dinosaur" is a song by Japanese rapper Yamaguchi Achiro or more known by his English stage name Aghasi featuring Ella of Blackpink, released through GForce Studios on June 20, 2022, as the third single from Aghasi's upcoming fifth studio album. It was co-written by the siblings, with Teddy Park serving as the song's co-producer. Available digitally and as a limited edition CD single, the duo marks their second time collaboration since their performance of "To Be Free" at the Genie Music Awards in 2018.
A catchy, upbeat song, the lyrics of "Dinosaur" focus on about Aghasi and Ella's childhood, and specifically the bad dreams that Aghasi used to have, which included those with dinosaurs. Therefore, these dinosaurs that haunted Aghasi's dreams represented their struggle and who caused them fear. A better explanation of the backstory can be found on Naver.
While the story behind the song is sad and depicts a terrifying event for a child, the music video is more lighthearted. It reminds fans a bit of a Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli movie, like My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away. It's like a mini movie full of adventure and fantasy, and never without gorgeous scenery. This is what videos are supposed to do: effectively complement a great song with a visual story - a story that takes you away to another world.
"Dinosaur" debuted at number 49 on the Week 26 issue of the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart as the highest-charting new entry for the period dated June 16 - 25. It also entered the corresponding issues of the Download and Streaming charts at numbers five and 181 respectively, peaking on the latter two weeks later at number 15. In Japan, the song debuted at number two on the Oricon Daily Digital Single Chart for June 24, with 6,236 downloads, and number four on the subsequent weekly chart issue dated July 4, with 9,981 cumulative downloads for the period June 20-26. It entered the top 20 of the Weekly Streaming Chart in its second week, with 3,304,935 streams. "Dinosaur" debuted atop the Billboard Japan Hot Overseas chart issue dated June 29, and at number 24 on the Japan Hot 100 with 2,575 digital points, both for the same tracking period. It was the second most-downloaded song of the week, accumulating 9,907 sales with only three days of availability.
Globally, "Dinosaur" accumulated 76.5 million streams and debuted at number five on the Billboard Global 200, earning Aghasi and Ella their first top-10 entries on the chart with "Dinosaur". It also entered the Global Excl. US chart at number two Aghasi's fourteen top-10 and Ella's second.
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𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗬
Vocal
Ella performing at Mnet in December 7, 2020
One of Ella's most distinctive vocal features is her ability to sing in the whistle register with ease. Ella revealed in an interview that Mariah Carey served as an inspiration to develop her talent in whistling, and to date she has done numerous performances of Mariah's songs. To showcase her talent, Ella occasionally adds whistle notes when doing covers. Another distinctive feature is her use of intentional vocal breaks, which sound like high-pitched squeaks. This technique is used by some singers to add expression to their singing. Ella is an admirer of the vocal performances of Mariah Carey as a female singer who she is inspired by, and has also spoken of Shoshana Bean and Cynthia Erivo as being influences on her vocal style while also being influenced by her appreciation of gospel vocalists such as Chandler Moore of Maverick City and Tasha Cobbs.
She has an extensive, connected range, allowing her to transition into other registers smoothly. Capable of riffs and runs throughout the voice and holding notes without wavering, her skill suggests good breath control and overall technique. Known for her "squeaks" and intentional vocal breaks, Ella applies them both when jumping between octaves and for artistic effect.
The belt is where the voice truly blooms. It has its best projection, control and dynamics. The lower part of the belt is meaty, rounded and of medium weight, and is achieved by the larynx being slightly depressed. But as it climbs the fifth octave, the larynx reverts to neutral, revealing the voice's natural, youthful and lighter timbre.
Though it does take a nasal position as well as a higher larynx at the extreme, the upper-belt still manages to retain much of the rounded quality of the lower part due to an excellent mix. With a metallic ring, the voice is clean and resonant. Ella is also able to produce an edgier quality to the notes here by pushing the voice and constricting the airway, but this is used sparingly and when musically needed. The ease at which she can drop through the range, sing melisma and play with textures suggests an excellent understanding of the upper chest-voice.
The head-voice is soft and falsetto-esque for the most part. It's in this airier timbre she is most comfortable singing, and is able to do so with a lyrical, tender and emotive quality. It is possible for her to sing with a heavy, punchier, "genuine" head-voice sound, but she usually does so to punctuate phrases, add drama or crescendo.
Also in possession of a whistle register of which the timbre is bright, biting and piercing she is able to sing melisma and long phrases within it.
However, Ella has admitted that she wants to go beyond her stereotype as a belter, and has taken some opportunities to do so by performing songs not usually identified with her, such as in her solo stages.
Ella has been referred to as "K-pop's Whitney Houston" in reference to her vocal talent. The New York Times stated Ella "always had a great big voice, a technical marvel from its velvety depths to its ballistic middle register to its ringing and airy heights". Rolling Stone ranked Ella among the list "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", stating, ❛❛ Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Ella's powerhouse version of 'I Will Always Love You' is a tour de force. ❜❜
Rolling Stone again also acknowledged Ella's vocal prowess, enumerating ten cover performances, including "How Will I Know". ❛❛ Ella was blessed with an astonishing vocal range and extraordinary technical skill, but what truly made her a great singer was her ability to connect with a song and drive home its drama and emotion with incredible precision ❜❜, they stated. ❛❛ She was a brilliant performer and her song covers often eclipsed her studio recordings. ❜❜ According to Newsweek, Ella had a five-octave range.
Elysa Gardner of the Los Angeles Times highly praised Ella's vocal ability, commenting, ❛❛ She is the first and foremost a Kpop idol - at that, the best one we have. No other female Kpop idol nor pop star - not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion - quite rivals Ella in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama. ❜❜
Singer Faith Evans stated: ❛❛ Ella wasn't just a singer with a beautiful voice. She was a true singer. Her voice was an instrument and she knew how to use it. With the same complexity as someone who has mastered the violin or the piano, Ella mastered the use of her voice. From every run to every crescendo - she was in tune with what she could do with her voice and it's not something simple for a singer - even a very talented one - to achieve. Ella is 'K-pop's The Voice' because she worked for it. This is someone who was singing backup for her mother when she was 8 years old. This is someone who sang high note backups when she was only 8 years old. She had years and years of honing her craft on stage and in the studio before she ever got signed to a record label. Coming from a family of singers and surrounded by music; she pretty much had a formal education in music, just like someone who might attend a performing arts high school or major in voice in college. ❜❜
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented, ❛❛ Her voice was clean and strong, with barely any grit, well suited to the songs of love and aspiration. Her voice was a voice of triumph and achievement and it made for any number of stunning, time-stopping vocal performances." Mariah Carey stated, ❛❛ She [Ella] has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong. ❜❜ Music critic Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times writes, ❛❛ [Ella's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators ❜❜, adding ❛❛ When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool lyric-soprano. ❜❜
Lauren Everitt from BBC News Magazine commented on Ella's melisma after her cover of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". ❛❛ Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' takes nearly six seconds to sing. In those seconds she turned pop star packs a series of different notes into the single syllable ❜❜, stated Everitt. ❛❛ The technique is repeated throughout the song, most pronouncedly on every 'I' and 'you'. The vocal technique is called melisma and it has inspired a host of imitators. Other artists may have used it before her, but it was her rendition of Dolly Parton's love song that pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 90s. But perhaps what Ella nailed best was moderation. ❜❜ Everitt said that ❛❛ In a climate of reality shows ripe with 'oversinging,' it's easy to appreciate Ella's ability to save melisma for just the right moment. ❜❜
Stephen Holden from The New York Times, in his review of Ella's performance in America's Got Talent, praised her attitude as a singer, writing, ❛❛ Ella is one of the few singers of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, she would rather just stand there and sing. ❜❜ With regard to her singing style, he added: ❛❛ Her [Ella's] stylistic trademarks - shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration - infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning. ❜❜
Jonathan Manalo, the head of Star Records' audio content, has been quoted as saying
❛❛ Ella is not just like any idol who can hit high notes. She has a very distinct tone that can adapt to many music genres. ❜❜
It was during the process of creating her second album when Ella's label discovered that aside from belting she had the ability to whistle.
Ella's vocal type is a lyric soprano with five octaves and four notes ❪ G♯2 - C6 - D8 ❫ and has the ability to reach notes beyond the seventh octave making her the singer that has the widest known vocal range in the K-Pop community following Red Velvet's Wendy. This has led her to being described as a power belter giving her a title "Belting Goddess".
Dance
Ella is widely praised for her exceptional dancing skills. Her dance style is characterized by a unique blend of energy, precision, and charisma. Ella has a remarkable ability to seamlessly transition between different dance genres, from hip-hop to contemporary, showcasing her versatility as a dancer. Her performances are full of dynamic movements, and impressive body control. Ella's stage presence is electrifying, as she captures the audience's attention with her infectious energy and captivating expressions. She has an innate sense of rhythm and musicality, effortlessly synchronizing her movements with the music. Though critics argue that Ella's routines can sometimes lack a bit of refinement and polish. Ella is also known for her exceptional footwork and precise dance moves. Her footwork is characterized by its agility, speed, and fluidity, showcasing her strong technical skills. Ella effortlessly executes intricate foot patterns, demonstrating her versatility in various dance genres such as hip-hop, contemporary, pop, etc. She has a keen sense of rhythm and excellent body control, allowing her to execute complex footwork with ease. Ella's footwork adds depth and dimension to her performances, elevating her dance routines to another level.
Producing
Ella is labelled as a versatile artist. Her success as producer earned her the title of "Triple Threat". Ella was described as an "Triple Threat" for utilising and exhibiting her skills in writing, composing, arranging, rapping, dancing and singing. A representative from YG noted that Ella's presence in the group has determined the groups popularity from the start and made BLACKPINK different from other groups they debuted before. She was also named "Nation's Idol" and "Idols Idol". RBW's Cosmic Sound Kim Ki-Hyun and Cosmic Girl and former Rania member Yoo Joo-Yi described her as the best idol all-arounder. Ella was named by Kukinews as the first successful female idol singer who took part in producing, songwriting, and more starting from ❪ G ❫I-dle's debut song "Latata", RV's Red Flavor and more. And songs released by music industry senior group CLC, Apink's Kim Nam-Joo, and Girls Generation's Hyoyeon. Journalist Park Eun-Hae cited Ella as the "Korean Lady Gaga" due to her 'small figure' and aren't afraid of trying a challenging concept without being limited to a specific genre, and rise to a unique position.
Songwriting
Although Ella had never been given songwriting classes while she was a trainee, she never intended to be the group's primary songwriter.
In the production of "Boombayah", Ella began with a moombahton beats with the thought of her members. For the instruments, she used percussions. After making the beat with simple instruments, she put it on loop and coated it with melody. She described her process in composing started with writing beats and melodies on a blank page with just a drum or a beat. She continued explaining that ❛❛ it is common to have a track maker, someone who writes melodies and putting a melody on a mostly completed beat. ❜❜ Ella emphasized the importance of appealing to emotions, saying, ❛❛ I think it's because I'm making music without prejudice. There are various performances, but I think it's the music that anyone can sympathize with. Our group is multinational and has no language barrier. ❜❜
Poet Seo Hyo-In wrote that ❛❛ Ella covers all aspects of producing, from composition and writing, rap making and setting the concept. However, she doesn't overshadow the other members. ❜❜ She praised Ella for maximising the strengths of each member and allows them to find their own artistic freedom.
Ella wrote and produced the hit single "As If It's Your Last" for Blackpink. In 2018, she wrote and produced their debut EP, Square Up, including the number-one single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" as well as "Forever Young". Ella also co-wrote and co-produced band member Jennie's number-one hit song "Solo". Ella produced for the first time for a non-YG Entertainment artist with "Just Dance," the theme song for the reality television competition Mix Nine. Participants singing and dancing to the song was released and three versions of the song were released overall: a male version led by Hyojin of ONF, a female version led by Lee Sujin from Fave Entertainment, and a co-ed version performed by both teams. She produced two songs for singer Sunmi: "Gashina" and "Heroine.
In 2019, Ella wrote and produced their second EP, Kill This Love. She also wrote and produced singer Jeon Somi's debut single "Birthday".
In 2020, Ella played a major role in writing and producing their debut studio album, The Album, which consisted of the number-one song "How You Like That" as well as hit singles "Ice Cream" and "Lovesick Girls".
In 2021, Ella co-wrote and co-produced her band member Rosé and Lisa's respective debut solo singles "On the Ground" and "Lalisa". She also wrote and produced many of the songs on Jeon Somi's debut studio album XOXO, which included top-ten single "Dumb Dumb".
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𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘
Ella performing at KBS World in February 28, 2020
In June 2019, she became the most followed K-pop idol on Instagram, with 71.4 million followers at the time. As of April 2021, she became the first and only K-pop idol to amass 100 million followers, as she continues to set engagement and follower count records on the platform.
Forbes acknowledged that Ella has been "gaining a new foothold in Korea's beauty trends" and cited it as one of the reasons why she could be the group's unofficial visual.
While Ella landed her first solo magazine cover for Harper's Bazaar Japan's May 2019 issue, MEI, a distributor of Harper's Bazaar, reported that all 120,000 printed copies in stock were sold out. It was reported that, on average, 30,000 copies are normally printed, and well-known celebrities have an average of 60,000 copies printed. However, despite selling 120,000 copies, the public's demand was still not met.
In a 2019 survey conducted by Gallup Korea, Ella ranked as the second most-loved celebrity of the year in South Korea. She debuted on the list in 2016 at 11th, then ranked 6th in 2017, and then 4th in 2018. In 2018, Ella placed first for 10 weeks in a row for magazine Hi China, under the most beloved celebrities list in China. Ella is also extremely popular on social media amongst fans. In December 2017, a video of her singing in the studio became the most retweeted tweet in South Korea that year. Various artists have cited her as an influence and role model, such as Kim Dong-Han and Hyeongseop X Euiwoong.
Ella's popularity has earned her the nickname "Sold Out Queen" as items that she is seen using often sell out quickly. These include shoes, wine, novels-namely I Decided to Live as Me by Kim Soo-Hyun, which became a best-seller in both Korea and Japan - and Hanbok. Korean media reported that Ella had created a "Modern Hanbok" fashion trend in the Korean entertainment industry when celebrities such as Jun Hyun-Moo, Jang Do-Yeon, Gong Hyo-Jin, MC Oh Seung-Hwan and The Return of Superman's Park Joo-Ho began wearing similar clothing after she was photographed wearing it.
Ella was 2019's most-searched female K-pop idol on Google according to their mid-year chart. She topped the chart again in 2020, and was the most searched K-pop idol on YouTube in 2019 to 2021. On Tumblr, she ranked 1st in 'Top K-Pop Stars' for 3 consecutive years. On Twitter, she had the most retweeted tweet of 2017, and the 2nd most retweeted tweet of 2020. In March 2020, Ella set a new all-time record for the most real-time viewers in V Live history when her solo live broadcast surpassed 24 million simultaneous viewers she first broke the record in October 2016, when her broadcast surpassed 7.8 million viewers worldwide.
In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, Ella was chosen as the 2nd most-preferred idol of 2019; she was previously ranked 4th in 2018. In 2021, she ranked as the most popular idol celebrity in Japan for thirty-eight consecutive weeks.
According to the "2021 Overseas Korean Wave Survey" conducted by the organization's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, Ella was listed as one of twenty "Most Popular Korean Singers Abroad" alongside South Korean musicians G-Dragon, IU, Psy, Blackpink and more. The survey collected data throughout 18 countries worldwide including China, India, Australia, South Africa and Russia. A total of 8,500 men and women aged between 15 and 59 participated in the survey. In a 2021 survey conducted by YouGov, a British international agency, Ella was chosen as one of the twenty most admired women in the world alongside Michelle Obama, Angelina Jolie, Queen Elizabeth II, and more.
Ella's announcement as NIVEA first female K-pop idol to be appointed as a Global Brand Ambassador generated $8.83M in MIV®, with NIVEA's announcement post generating $506K in MIV® - representing their top branded post of 2021 and making them one of the top beauty collaborations of the year. Her announcement post on Instagram as a Global Ambassador for NIVEA received more than 13.6 million likes and 194,027 comments. Her partnerships have been noted to feel genuine as she frequently features the same brands across her social media channels. The success of her endorsements and partnerships has been partially attributed to this authenticity. Because of her influencing power and marketing potential, Ella has been used as an example of changing promotional strategies in the fashion and makeup industry.
Her impact extends to other artists in the music industry. Amaarea' song "SAD GIRLZ LOVE MONEY" had a increase in streams on the daily Spotify update following a dance performance video by Ella on her YouTube channel using it. Shortly after the performance was uploaded to YouTube, Amaarae' song SAD GIRLZ LOVE MONEY entered iTunes and Apple Music charts in numerous countries. On Spotify the song reached the Top 200 and the top 10 of the Philippines Viral 50 playlist. Amaarae herself acknowledged the situation on Twitter and thanked Ella for revitalizing the song.
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𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦
Philanthropy
Ella performing at Mnet Asian Music Awards in December 4, 2019
Since February 2012, Ella has been an ambassador for South Korea's National Police Agency in their anti-bullying campaigns in schools; she was made an honorary member of the police force in 2013 before being promoted to an honorary senior police officer in 2014 for a two-year term. In 2015, and later in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Ella donated ₩100,000,000 to the Green Umbrella Children's Fund, requesting it be used to assist underprivileged children. She has also volunteered for the organization. Ella later established a scholarship at her school alma-mater in 2016 after regularly donating there for the past several years. The scholarship, dubbed the "Ella Scholarship", is designed to help four graduates from families needing financial aid.
In 2018, Ella provided ₩20,000,000 in financial aid to five college students, helping to cover their room and board. That same year, Ella participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, an Internet challenge designed to promote Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis awareness. In 2019, Ella donated ₩50,000,000 to the Deaf Senior Citizens Support Center. She also donated ₩10,000,000 through Seocho District Office for those in vulnerable social groups and elderly living alone, ₩100,000,000 to celebrate her 15th anniversary, and other ₩100,000,000 at the end of the year to the Korean Foundation for Support of the Senior Citizen. Her philanthropy efforts earned her a mention in Forbes' "Asia's 2019 Heroes of Philanthropy: Catalysts For Change", being the youngest to have made the list.
During COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Korean Medical Association said that Ella donated 3,000 pieces of medical protective clothing, worth ₩100,000,000, and about 4,600 cooling vests, worth ₩100,000,000 for nurses, according to the Korean Nurses Association. In August 2020, she donated ₩100,000,000 to the Korea Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of floods.
In May 2021, she donated ₩10,000,000 to Yangpyeong county to aid single parent families and grandparents raising grandchildren, and a total of ₩500,000,000 to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Korean Single Mothers and Families Association, the Comprehensive Support Center for Elderly Living Alone, the Child Welfare Association, the Yeouldol Association to support children with rare diseases, and the Purme Foundation, a non-profit public interest foundation that specializes in supporting the disabled. For the 18th anniversary, she donated ₩850,000,000 of products, from winter coats and bedding sets, to water bottles for 20 COVID-19 clinics in Seoul.
On December 24, 2021, the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation said that Ella donated ₩100,000,000. This donation will be used for the Dream Tree Scholarship to support tuition for prospective college students among low-income grandchild families and single-parent families.
On March 5, 2022, Ella donated ₩100 million to Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help residents affected by the Uljin and Samcheok wildfires and her donation will be used to support temporary housing for forest fire victims.
Ambassadorship
Ella for ADLV
Ella has been called a "CF Queen" due to her several television commercial films, and has been a spokesperson for various brands. CNN credited her as "one of the household names in the Asia-Pacific region" which has helped Korean beauty brands become popular in China.
In 2013, she became the first artist to endorse S-Oil, a large South Korean petroleum and refinery company. In 2014, she appeared in at least 20 commercials and was ranked fifth among celebrities with the most commercial appearances by TVCF, South Korea's largest advertisement information site. In 2013, she became the first overseas endorser for Alcon Taiwan. From 2014 to 2020, Ella was a long-term spokesperson for Amore Pacific's comestic brand Innisfree. Other major endorsements included Michael Kors, in which she became the brand's first ambassador in Korea, Asia-Pacific spokesperson for luxury cosmetics brand Estée Lauder, Danish jewellery brand Pandora, South Korean insurance DB Insurance, Tous Les Jours, Crocs and Lee Jeans.
In 2014, Ella was appointed as ambassador for UNICEF's campaign, "UNIHERO", which aims to invite people to become heroes for the less fortunate children all around the globe.
In 2015, Ella was named promotional ambassadors for the National Tax Service. She has also received presidential commendation for having paid her taxes faithfully.
In 2016, Ella participated in Crocs' "Come As You Are" campaign as one of the global ambassadors.
In 2018, Ella was appointed as a safety ambassador for the Central Council for Safe Culture Campaign, held to pledge safety measures and eradication of dangerous activities such as speeding and illegal parking that prevents the entry of fire trucks.
In 2019, Ella became the first female celebrity to be appointed as an ambassador by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization. Starting September 2019, an advertisement campaign 'Imagine Your Korea' was launched to improve Korean tourism awareness and attract more foreign tourists. The advertisements were displayed in countries such as China, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. They will also be displayed in Times Square every day until January 2021.
In 2021, she became the first k-idol to be selected as global ambassador for Italian luxury fashion brand Miu Miu.
Arts and Photography
Through YG Entertainment, Ella released a limited edition photobook entitled "LIMITLESS" composed entirely with self-taken photographs through a film camera. The photobook was released on her birthday in 2019.
Ella launched an exhibition in early October 2018 called "Burning Planet" in collaboration with Gentle Monster. Hypebeast praised the exhibition's symbolism, and noted the way it portrayed a "burnout" culture where societies literally work themselves to death. Notably, celebrities such as actor Lee Dong-Hwi, Block B's P.O, Li Yi Feng and many others visited the exhibition. The exhibition was held for a month.
In November 2018, Ella was featured along with other professional photographers for "O! Leica, Spirit of the Times" exhibition that was held in S-Factory in Seoul, Korea from November 30 to December 9. Ella continued to expand further into the fashion industry as she teamed up with Vogue Korea for the "Breakthrough" spread in the December 2018 issue as guest editor.
In December 2019, Ella made her official debut as a painter at SEEA 2019 exhibition: Special Exhibition for Emerging Artists 2019. The exhibition held at the Seongnam Arts Center's 808 Gallery from December 17 to 25. She submitted three paintings to the fine art show.
In October 2020, Ella's acrylic paintings will be displayed in Saatchi Gallery as part of the Korean Eye 2020: Creativity and Daydream exhibit in the STARTnet art fair from October 21 to 25. She is the first Korean singer to have her work displayed in this famous contemporary art gallery.
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𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
Main Article: See Ella's Gaming Career in Overwatch.
Season 3
Ella was picked up by SK Telecom T1 K in 2013 as their starting mid laner. SKT T1 K dominated the Korean scene, and in October 2013, Ella led them to win their first League of Legends World Championship. Later in the HOT6iX Champions Summer 2013, Ella cemented her status as a brilliant player due to her perfect Zed outplay against KT Rolster Bullets mid laner Yoo Sang-Wook, which would then become one of the most iconic moments in League of Legends history.
Season 4
In 2014, SK Telecom T1 K followed their success through in the OGN winter season, making the entire run without dropping a single game. They would then go on to win All-Star Paris 2014. However, their Winter season success did not follow through and during the Spring and Summer seasons, SKT T1 K failed to qualify for the 2014 World Championship. In the following offseason, Riot Games changed the team regulations so that each organizations may only have one team participating in each league. This led to the merger of SKT T1 K and SKT T1 S, and the subsequent departures of Impact and Piglet for the NA LCS. The new team would compete under the name SKT T1.
Season 5
After the 2014 season, Ella reportedly declined an offer of over $1,000,000 by a Chinese team, preferring to stay in Korea on SKT. In November 2014 it was reported that Ella had declined contract offers from several Chinese companies including one offer of ₩500 million, $425,403 USD, for streaming.
Throughout 2015, Ella shared the mid lane position with Lee Ji-Hoon. Depending on the team composition SKT wanted to play, either one of the players could be substituted into the game. Ella had many notable performances in the LCK such as a pentakill against NaJin e-mFire with her LeBlanc. SKT ended the summer split in first place and advanced to the world championship.
At the 2015 World Championship, Ella and her team won while only dropping one game in the finals for a record of 15 - 1 throughout the tournament.
Season 6
Ella and her team started off the 2016 Season by winning the LCK Spring Split. With this victory, SKT was guaranteed a spot in the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational. At that point in time, MSI was the only major international tournament they had yet to win. They were heavily favored coming into the tournament, but were initially unable to perform up to their usual standards, unexpectedly losing several games in the group stage. However, they managed to turn things around during the elimination round and eventually clinched the title by sweeping the North American team, Counter Logic Gaming, in the finals.
On July 11, 2016, Ella became the first player to reach 1,000 kills in the LCK. Her 1,000th kill was on MVP Beyond's Reksai, which she achieved on Malzahar.
SKT placed third in the 2016 LCK Summer Split, but still qualified for the 2016 World Championship through circuit points. The team swept through the group stage and advanced towards the playoff round. In the semifinals they defeated the ROX Tigers in a close 3 - 2 series. In the finals they defeated Samsung Galaxy in another close 3 - 2 series, winning their third world championship title. Ella was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Season 7
Ella renewed her contract with SKT with an "unprecedented offer", which was rumored to be over $2.5 million USD.
On February 6, 2017, Ella recorded her first live stream on Twitch and had a peak viewership of 745,100, setting a record at the time for the most views for a single streamer in the history of the site.
Ella and her team later won the 2017 LCK Spring Split, clean sweeping KT Rolster 3 - 0 in the finals. This win qualified them for the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational.
At the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational, SKT topped the group stage with a 8 - 2 record. SKT swept Flash Wolves 3 - 0 in the semifinals and defeated G2 Esports 3 - 1 in the finals to become the first team to win the Mid-Season Invitational back to back.
At the 2017 World Championship, SKT were still considered by many to be strong favorites to lift the cup for a third consecutive time despite not winning the LCK Summer Split. After a 5 - 1 group stage, SKT narrowly defeated Misfits and Royal Never Give Up in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, before faceing Samsung Galaxy in a repeat of the previous year's final. Despite being favorites going into the game, SKT were swept 3 - 0 by SSG, ending the SKT domination at the World Championship. Ella herself was shown to be visibly upset after the loss, and had to be consoled by her teammates to shake the Samsung Galaxy players' hands post-game. However, this caught the attention of many League of Legends fans throughout the world, with much support and many tributes being given to the team's legacy and Ella for her continued success.
Season 8
Ella played her 400th match in the LCK on July 17, 2018. They successfully defeated their opponent, MVP, 2 - 1.
SKT finished fourth in the 2018 Korea Regional Finals, failing to qualify for the 2018 World Championship.
Season 9
On November 20, 2018, it was announced that Ella had re-signed with SKT for another three years.
She had been listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019, under the category of Entertainment & Sports.
On April 13, 2019, SKT won the 2019 LCK Spring final, earning Ella her seventh LCK title.
In May 2019, SKT represented the LCK at the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational. They finished the group stage in second place but lost 2 - 3 to G2 Esports in the semifinals.
On July 7, 2019, SKT, along with three other LCK teams, won their league's first Rift Rivals championship title after defeating LPL teams by 3 - 1. After winning her first Rift Rivals title, Ella became the first and only player to have won all of the League of Legends international tournaments: Mid-Season Invitational, World Championship, Rift Rivals, All-Star, organized by Riot Games.
Ella played her 500th match in the LCK on August 21, 2019, during the LCK Summer Playoffs. She won her 500th game against Afreeca Freecs with Qiyana, with a KDA of 7/1/14. She won her eighth LCK title along with her team members on August 31, 2019 in the 2019 Summer LCK Final. Her team qualified as the LCK's first seed for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship.
On October 27, 2019, Ella achieved her 100th international win after defeating Splyce at the 2019 World Championship.
At the 2019 World Championship, SKT was once again defeated by G2 Esports in a semifinals series, losing 1 - 3.
Season 10
On February 18, 2020, T1 announced that Ella had re-signed with them for three years, in which her contract will last until the year 2022. She also became a part owner of T1 Entertainment and Sports.
On March 5, 2020, Ella became the first player to have reached 2,000 kills in the LCK. The champion used when achieving her 2,000th kill was Zoe.
On April 25, 2020, Ella claimed her ninth LCK title after she and her team defeated Gen.G at the 2020 LCK Spring finals.
Season 11
On February 3, 2021, Ella played her 600th game in the LCK. She is the first to achieve the 600 game mark in the LCK. Her 600th game was against NS RedForce, which she locked in Orianna and achieved a KDA of 2/0/6. She won the game, and was awarded as the MVP of the game. This was also her 399th win in the LCK.
On February 6, 2021, Ella became the first player to achieve 400th win in the LCK. Her 400th win was against Fredit Brion, and the champion picked was Sett.
During the 2021 League of Legends World Championship, Ella was eliminated in the Semifinals in a 3-2 victory in a best-of-5 series against DWG KIA. Her team qualified as the 3rd seed from the LCK via the LCK Regional Qualifier. Her team had an overall record of 5 - 1 in their Group Stage, and 5 - 2 in the Brackets/Knockout Stage of the tournament. Her team beat teams such as Edward Gaming, 100 Thieves and Hanwha Life Esports throughout the tournament to get to Semifinals.
On November 19, 2021, T1 announced that they had re-signed with Ella.
Season 12
On February 18, 2022, Ella played her 1,000th career game against KT Rolster. She was the second player to achieve the milestone. She locked in Leblanc and won the game.
On February 20, 2022, Ella played her 700th LCK game. She is the first to achieve the 700 game mark in the LCK. The game was against NS RedForce in which she locked in Ahri for the game.
During the 2022 LCK Spring Split, Ella was a member of the team that went undefeated in the regular season with an 18 - 0 record, becoming the first team to achieve this record since the league's inception.
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𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦
Main Article: See Ella's Accomplishments in Overwatch.
• 2013
2013 | SK Telecom T1 #2 | OLYMPUS Champions Spring 2013 | 3rd
2013 | SK Telecom T1 #2 | Asian Indoor-Martial Arts Games 2013 Korean Qualifiers | 9th - 16th
2013 | SK Telecom T1 #2 | AMD-INVEN GamExperience | 3rd - 4th
2013 | SK Telecom T1 | HOT6iX Champions Summer 2013 | 1st
2013 | SK Telecom T1 | Korea Regional Finals Season 3 | 1st
2013 | SK Telecom T1 | Season 3 World Championship | 1st
2013 | SK Telecom T1 | WCG 2013 Korea Qualifiers | 3rd - 4th
• 2014
2014 | SK Telecom T1 K | PANDORA.TV Champions Winter 2013-2014 | 1st
2014 | SK Telecom T1 K | HOT6iX Champions Spring 2014 | 5th - 8th
2014 | SK Telecom T1 K | League of Legends All-Star Invitational 2014 | 1st
2014 | SK Telecom T1 K | bigfile NLB Spring 2014 | 3rd
2014 | SK Telecom T1 | SKT LTE-A LoL Masters 2014 | 2nd
2014 | SK Telecom T1 K | HOT6iX Champions Summer 2014 | 5th - 8th
2014 | SK Telecom T1 K | Korea Regional Finals Season 4 | 2nd
• 2015
2015 | SK Telecom T1 | SBENU Champions Korea Spring 2015 | 1st
2015 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2015 | 2nd
2015 | SK Telecom T1 | SBENU Champions Korea Summer 2015 | 1st
2015 | SK Telecom T1 | Season 5 World Championship | 1st
2015 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends KeSPA Cup 2015 | 3rd - 4th
2015 | Team Fire | League of Legends All-Star 2015 | 1st
• 2016
2016 | SK Telecom T1 | Intel Extreme Masters Season X - World Championship | 1st
2016 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Spring 2016 | 1st
2016 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2016 | 1st
2016 | SK Telecom T1 | Coca-Cola Zero League of Legends Korea Summer Playoffs 2016 | 3rd
2016 | SK Telecom T1 | Season 6 World Championship | 1st
2016 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends All-Star 2016 | 3rd
• 2017
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Spring 2017 | 1st
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2017 | 1st
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Rift Rivals 2017 LCK-LPL-LMS | 2nd
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Summer 2017 | 2nd
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | Season 7 World Championship | 2nd
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends KeSPA Cup 2017 | 3rd - 4th
2017 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends All-Star 2017 | 3rd - 4th
• 2018
2018 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Spring 2018 | 4th
2018 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Rift Rivals 2018 LCK-LPL-LMS | 2nd
2018 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Champion Korea Summer 2018 | 7th
2018 | South Korea | 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games | 2nd
2018 | SK Telecom T1 | Korea Regional Finals 2018 | 4th
2018 | EAST | League of Legends All-Star 2018: EAST vs. WEST | 1st
2018 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends KeSPA Cup 2018 | 5th - 8th
• 2019
2019 | SK Telecom T1 | Woori Bank League of Legends Champions Korea Spring 2019 | 1st
2019 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2019 | 3rd - 4th
2019 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Rift Rivals 2019 LCK-LPL-LMS-VCS | 1st
2019 | SK Telecom T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Summer 2019 | 1st
2019 | SK Telecom T1 | Season 9 World Championship | 3rd - 4th
2019 | LCK | League of Legends All-Star 2019: LCK vs. LPL
• 2020
2020 | T1 | League of Legends KeSPA Cup 2019 | 3rd - 4th
2020 | T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Spring 2020 | 1st
2020 | T1 | 2020 Mid-Season Cup | 7th - 8th
2020 | T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Summer 2020 | 5th
2020 | T1 | Korea Regional Finals 2020 | 2nd
2020 | LCK | League of Legends All-Star 2020: LCK vs. LPL
• 2021
2021 | T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Spring 2021 | 4th
2021 | T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea Summer 2021 | 2nd
2021 | T1 | Korea Regional Finals 2021 | 4th
2021 | T1 | Season 11 World Championship | 3rd - 4th
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𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦
• HOT6iX League of Legends Champions Summer 2013 Season MVP
• HOT6iX League of Legends Champions Summer 2013 Mid Laner KDA Leader
• 2013 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Most Valuable Player Award
• Pandora.TV Champions League of Legends Winter 2013-2014 Most Valuable Player
• SBENU Champions Summer 2015 Playoff Awards-Most Valuable Player
• 2015 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Best Player Award
• 2015 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Popularity Award
• 2015 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends eSports Award of the Year
• 2016 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Finals MVP
• 2016 World Championship Most Valuable Player
•2016 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Best Player Award
• 2016 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Popularity Award
• 2016 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends eSports Award of the Year
• 2017 Best Esports Player, The Game Awards
• 2018 representative for South Korea at the 18th Asian Games as a national player in esports
• 2018 David Yan award for most beloved gamer
• 2018 Korea Esports Hall of Fame: Esports Stars
• 2019 Korea Esports Hall of Fame: Esports Stars
• 2020 Korea Esports Hall of Fame: Esports Stars
• 2021 LCK AWARDS KAKAO WEBTOON Best Solo Leveling Player
• 2022 LCK Spring Split All-Pro 1st Team
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𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Blackpink
2022 | Gaon Chart Music Awards | Mubeat Global Choice Award - Female | Won
2022 | Seoul Music Awards | K-Wave Award | Won
2022 | Seoul Music Awards | Popularity Award | Won
2022 | Space Shower Music Awards | Best International Artist | Won
2022 | Seoul Music Awards | Bonsang Awards | Nominated
2021 | American Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Nominated
2021 | The Fact Music Awards | Listener's Choice Awards | Won
2021 | The Facts Music Awards | Fan N Star Most Voted Artist | Won
2021 | The Fact Music Awards | Best ADs Award | Nominated
2021 | Gaffa-Prisen | Best International Album | Won
2020 | Spotify Awards | Most Listened K-pop Artist: Female | Won
2020 | Seoul Music Award | Popularity Award | Won
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𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬
Single Albums
• EVERGLOW - 2019
Studio Album
• spice - 2020
Extend Plays
• STEREO HEARTS - 2021
Singles
• Adios - 2019
• FIRST - 2019
• DUN DUN - 2019
• LOCO - 2020
• More & More - 2020
• Psycho - 2020
• 마피아 in the Morning - 2020
• Hwaa - 2020
• Weapon - 2020
• Paint the Town - 2020
• Ladida - 2020
• Wannabe - 2020
• I Can't Stop Me - 2020
• What is Love? - 2021
• What is Love? - JP ver. - 2021
• FANCY - 2021
• Feel Special - 2021
• Dance the Night Away - 2021
Songwriting Credits
You are My Everything | 2016 | Descendants of the Sun | Credited
Closer | 2016 | The Chainsmokers | Credited
Red Flavor | 2017 | Red Velvet | Credited
Just Dance | 2017 | Mix Nine | Credited
Say My Name | 2017 | ATEEZ | Credited
Taki Taki | 2018 | DJ Snake, Ozuna and Cardi B | Credited
Gashina | 2018 | Sunmi | Credited
Heroine | 2018 | Sunmi | Credited
As If It's Your Last | 2018 | BLACKPINK | Credited
DDU-DU-DDU-DU | 2018 | BLACKPINK | Credited
Latata | 2018 | G-Idle | Credited
SOLO | 2018 | Jennie | Credited
Forever Young | 2019 | BLACKPINK | Credited
Adios | 2019 | Herself | Credited
LA DI DA | 2019 | Herself | Credited
DUN DUN | 2019 | Herself | Credited
How You Like That | 2020 | BLACKPINK | Credited
Ice Cream | 2020 | BLACKPINK | Credited
Lovesick Girls | 2020 | BLACKPINK | Credited
Birthday | 2021 | Somi | Credited
What is Love? | 2021 | Herself | Credited
FANCY | 2021 | Herself | Credited
Feel Special | 2021 | Herself | Credited
Dance The Night Away | 2021 | Herself | Credited
DUMB DUMB | 2021 | Somi | Credited
On The Ground | 2021 | Rosé | Credited
LALISA | 2021 | Lisa | Credited
Producing Credits
No | 2019 | CLC | Credited
Dessert | 2020 | Hyoyeon | Credited
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𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬
Television Shows
Village Survival, the eight | cast member w/ Jennie | 2018
Web Shows
EVERGLOW, the making | 10 episodes | 2019
STEREO HEARTS, the making | 2 episodes | 2021
Hosting
SBS Gayo Daejeon w/ Shin Dong-Yup | 2018
KBS Song Festival w/ BTS' Jin, EXO' Chanyeol and RV' Irene | 2018
Directing Credits
Blackpink: Light Up The Sky | 2020 | BLACKPINK | Credited
Music Video Appearance
Girls Like You | Maroon 5 | 2017
Taki Taki | DJ Snake ft. Ozuna, and Cardi B | 2018
Takeaway | The Chainsmokers and Illenium | 2019
Vocal Used Lyrics
Closer | The Chainsmokers | 2018
Videos of Soundtracks
Reset | w/ Tiger JK | Who Are You School - 2015 | 2015
You Are My Everything | Solo | Descendants of the Sun | 2016
Moonlight Drawn by Clouds | Solo | Love in the Moonlight | 2016
Stay with me | w/ Chanyeol | Goblin | 2016
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🄯⠀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍⠀؛⠀𝐃𝐥𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐎 ─ 𝙱𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙺 𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙴𝙳 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙱𝙴𝚁.