When girl group Everglow were unveiled in March last year by Yuehua Entertainment, many music industry insiders were curious to see how the Chinese K-pop idol agency would fare in a market dominated by South Korean entertainment companies.
But Everglow – whose members were selected from various idol survival shows – have quickly built an enthusiastic following in South Korea and around the world. Their debut single, Bon Bon Chocolat, peaked at No 5 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart and the accompanying music video has racked up 58 million views on YouTube.
Their second single, Adios, fared even better, reaching No 2 on the same chart and receiving 96 million views on YouTube.
One of the group’s most popular idols is Yiren, the only Everglow member who comes from China. Here’s a look at her life so far.
Early life
Born Wang Yiren in the western Chinese city of Hangzhou in 2000, Yiren is the maknae – or youngest member – of Everglow. Before dabbling in the electropop sound of Everglow, Yiren practised traditional Chinese dance during primary school. A talent scout from Yuehua Entertainment selected her as trainee while she was in school.
A year and four months into her training, Yiren competed in South Korean idol survival show Produce 48, where she was chosen as the top “visual centre”.
However, she was sent home after the 11th episode and did not end up making her debut, ranking 28th out of all contestants.
After another two years as a trainee, Yiren was announced as the fourth member of the six-strong outfit Everglow, Yuehua’s contribution to the fifth generation of K-pop girl groups.
Her role in Everglow
Yiren is Everglow’s lead dancer, vocalist and “visual centre” – a term used to refer to the best-looking member of a K-pop outfit.
On stage, she is a versatile performer, saying on music television show Pops in Seoul that she is able to make a wide range of facial expressions that match the tone of the song – from a cool, intense expression when covering Blackpink’s Ddu-du Ddu-du to a cute performance for a cover of Twice’s Cheer Up.
Yiren’s soprano voice has a distinctively endearing quality, as she demonstrated during a solo performance on Idol Radio, a show from Korean broadcaster MBC.
As Everglow’s only Chinese member, she is also the group’s resident Mandarin teacher. Everglow’s lead signer, Mia, said during an interview with Taiwanese idol show Idols of Asia that so far she has learned to say phrases such as “I’m hungry” and “What did you say?” in Mandarin in an accent associated with northern China.
Her solo career
Many performers in groups from Everglow’s generation already have a strong individual following before they make their debuts, due to the publicity from idol trainee competition shows, most notably the Produce 101 series and Idol School.
Yiren is no exception. Before she was revealed as a member of Everglow, Yiren was a popular contestant on Produce 48. She consistently ranked among the top 15 contestants until she dropped to 26th place in the ninth episode.
Her flexibility, which likely comes from her training in traditional Chinese dance, impressed her mentors in her grade evaluation on the show, which saw Yiren showcase a dance routine featuring somersaults and a side split.
I think the hardest thing for me was that I couldn’t return to China for a long time. But as I have E:U and my friends on my side, I don’t feel lonely at all now - Jiren, Everglow
Her image
Yiren has a happy-go-lucky personality and doll-like looks. Known for her eyes and small face, a standard of beauty in Korean culture, she is also nicknamed the “Pomeranian”.
Despite Yiren’s cute and sometimes silly persona, Everglow leader E:U said during a live broadcast on VLive that Yiren does not do aegyo – meaning a cute expression – unless she is genuinely happy.
Yiren is also a food lover, as she showed fans in a restaurant during her own segment on Everglow Land, a web reality series featuring the girl group.
“Why do we only have one stomach?” she said before placing an order of steak, kimchi cheese chilli rice, creamy crab pasta and sweet potato pizza, all for herself.
“I can’t go on a diet in front of food. I’ll do it later,” she said as she munched a slice of pizza.
In her own words
During Everglow’s debut showcase, Yiren said she found it difficult to leave China for South Korea, mainly due to the language barrier.
“I think the hardest thing for me was that I couldn’t return to China for a long time,” she said. “But as I have E:U and my friends on my side, I don’t feel lonely at all now.”
