Sonim

Zainichi Korean actress and musician
  • J-pop
  • K-pop
Occupation(s)
  • Actress
  • singer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
Years active2000–presentLabels
  • Toy's Factory
  • Harmony Records
  • Amuse
Formerly of
  • EE Jump
  • Tomboy
Websiteartist.amuse.co.jp/artist/sonim/Korean nameHangul
성선임
Hanja
成膳任
Revised RomanizationSung Sun-imMcCune–ReischauerSŏng Sŏnim
Musical artist

Seong Son-im[1] (born March 10, 1983), known mononymously as Sonim (ソニン, Sonin), is a Japanese-born Korean[2][3] actress and singer associated with Amuse Inc. She debuted in 2000 as the lead singer of the pop duo EE Jump. In 2002, she debuted as a solo singer with "Curry Rice no Onna", which then led to the release of her debut album, Hana, in 2004.

In 2003, Sonim made her first acting appearance in the television drama High School Teacher [ja], where she won Best Newcomer at the 36th The Television Drama Academy Award. Eventually, she left her idol music career to pursue theater.

Career

2000–2002: Debut with EE Jump

Sonim was inspired by Speed to become a singer and applied to several auditions,[4]: 1  one of which happened to be for Morning Musume's 3rd generation in 1999. Despite not making the group, Kaoru Wada, Morning Musume's manager at the time, scouted her to be part of an upcoming group that later became EE Jump.[4]: 1  In January 2000, Sonim moved to Tokyo for EE Jump's activities.[4]: 2  After training in New York, EE Jump debuted in October 2000 with the song "Love is Energy!"[4]: 2  On November 28, 2001, Sonim released her first solo song "Winter (Samui Kisetsu no Monogatari)" as EE Jump's fifth single.[5]

2002–2005: Solo music career

After EE Jump disbanded in April 2002,[6] Sonim debuted as a solo singer with the release of her first single, "Curry Rice no Onna."

In September 2006, Sonim debuted in South Korea,[1] releasing a Korean-language version of "Curry Rice no Onna" under the title "After Love" (후애 (後愛).

She is currently in a unit called tomboy with Akane Osawa [ja], which debuted in November 2007.[7] In 2007-2009, she starred as Kim in Japanese production of the musical Miss Saigon.[8] In 2007-2011, she played the role of Johanna in the Japanese production of Sweeney Todd.[9]

Personal life

Sonim is a third-generation Korean.[1] She is fluent in Japanese, Korean,[1] and English.

She has said on her personal blog that for years she has been on a vegan diet.[10]

Discography

Singles

Title Year Peak position Sales Album
JPN
"Curry Rice no Onna" (カレーライスの女) 2002 8
  • JPN: 70,678 copies
 Hana
"Tsugaru Kaikyō no Onna" (津軽海峡の女) 9
  • JPN: 39,209 copies
"Tokyo Midnight Loneliness" (東京ミッドナイト ロンリネス) 2003 7
  • JPN: 34,222 copies
"Gōkon Ato no FamiRes Nite" (合コン後のファミレスにて) 9
  • JPN: 22,732 copies
 Non-album single
"Honto wa ne" (ほんとはね。) 2004 12
  • JPN: 36,954 copies
 Non-album single
"Jigsaw Puzzle" (ジグソーパズル) 9
  • JPN: 13,772 copies
 Non-album single
"Asunaro Ginga" (あすなろ銀河) 2005 18
  • JPN: 6,943 copies
 Non-album single
"Zutto Soba ni Ite ne" (ずっとそばにいてね。) / "Curry Rice no Onna" (カレーライスの女) (2020 Remix) 2020 96 — Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Albums

  1. 2003-05-14 Hana [ja]

DVD

  1. 2004-03-17 Sonim Collection

Theatre

  • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007-2011) - Johanna
  • Miss Saigon (2008-2009) - Kim
  • Henry VI (2009) - Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc)
  • Rent - Mimi (2010), Maureen (2012-2015)
  • The Threepenny Opera (2014) - Polly Peachum
  • Mozart! (2014) - Constanze
  • Wuthering Heights (2015) - Isabella Linton
  • Dance of The Vampires (2015-2016) - Magda
  • Kinky Boots (2016) - Lauren
  • 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille (2016-2018) - Solene Rigot
  • Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (2017-2020) - Cynthia Weil
  • The Rocky Horror Show (2017) - Janet Weiss
  • Marie Antoinette (2018-2021) - Margrid Arnaud
  • Oliver! (2021) - Nancy
  • The 39 Steps (2022) - Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret

Filmography

Behind the scenes image from the film A! Ikkenya Puroresu
  • 2003 Koukou Kyoushi 2003
  • 2003 Moto Kare
  • 2004 Tokyo Wankei
  • 2004 A! Ikkenya Puroresu (Oh! My Zombie Mermaid)
  • 2005 Hanging Garden
  • 2005 Densha Otoko
  • 2006 Backdancers!
  • 2008 Engine Sentai Go-onger: Boom Boom! Bang Bang! GekijōBang!!
  • 2008 Hebi ni Piasu (Snakes and Earrings)

Awards

Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Ref.
2002 40th Golden Arrow Award Best New Artist Herself Won [11]
2003 36th The Television Drama Academy Award [ja] Best Newcomer High School Teacher Won [12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "在日韓国人３世の歌手ソニン、韓国デビューへ" [3rd generation Korean singer Sonim will debut in Korea]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Japanese). 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  2. ^ 박연정 (2006-10-01). "고국서 본격 활동 나선 재일교포 3세 가수 소닌" (in Korean). 레이디경향.
  3. ^ "在日韓国人3世ソニン、SBS『天国の木』に出演". 中央日報 (in Japanese). 2006-02-07. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  4. ^ a b c d Onoda, Mamoru (2020-09-26). "円熟期のソニン、アイドル時代を語る「あとがないって気持ちは常にあった」" [Sonim all grown up, speaks about her idol period: "I've constantly felt that there's no future"]. Nikkan Spa! [ja] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  5. ^ "WINTER～寒い季節の物語～" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  6. ^ McClure, Steve (2002-04-24). "Two men and a poor baby". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  7. ^ Tomboy official site Archived 2009-12-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
  8. ^ "Sonim to star in "Miss Saigon"". Tokyograph. 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  9. ^ Zacher, Scotty (2010-01-31). "Sweeney Todd in Japan". Sunday Night Sondheim. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  10. ^ "ソニン『私のベジらいふ』". ソニン オフィシャルブログ「Sonim blog」Powered by Ameba (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  11. ^ "ゴールデン・アロー賞歴代受賞一覧" [History of Golden Arrow Award recipients] (PDF). Japan Magazine Publishers Association (in Japanese). p. 12. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  12. ^ "第36回ドラマアカデミー賞発表" [36th The Television Drama Academy Award announcement]. The TV [ja] (in Japanese). 2003. Archived from the original on 2006-12-30.

External links

  • Official website (in Japanese)
  • Sonim at IMDb
Authority control databases: Artists Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz