# Heize
**Heize** (헤이즈; real name Jang Da-hye, 장다혜) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer who debuted in 2014 and became one of the top Korean female soloists on streaming charts, blending R&B, hip-hop, and ballad styles.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/heize-mn0003471160) Born in 1991 in Daegu, she writes her own lyrics and composes much of her music, and she first drew wide public attention through the Mnet rap competition *Unpretty Rapstar 2* in 2015.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/heize-mn0003471160) • [3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=239232&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=artist&page=35)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name / origin | Jang Da-hye (장다혜), born 1991 in Daegu, South Korea[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/heize-mn0003471160) |
| Debut | January 17, 2014, with the single "조금만 더 방황하고 (Feat. Crucial Star)"[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) |
| Breakthrough | Semifinalist on Mnet's *Unpretty Rapstar 2* (2015)[3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=239232&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=artist&page=35) |
| Signature hits | "Star" (저별, 2016), "You, Clouds, Rain" (비도 오고 그래서, 2017), "Don't Know You" (널 너무 모르고, 2017)[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) |
| First full album | *She's Fine* (2019), with features from Colde, Simon Dominic, Sunwoo Jung-a, nafla, and Jooyoung[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) |
| Agencies | CJ E&M after *Unpretty Rapstar*; P Nation from August 2020 until the contract ended June 30, 2026[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/heize-is-ready-to-write-love-songs-rapper-may-take-a-break-from-both-nature-themes-and-breakups/11879447) • [5](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202607011702007/) |
| Recent albums | *Undo* (2nd album, 2022), *Last Winter* (8th mini, 2023), *Fallin'* (9th mini, 2024), *LOVE VIRUS Pt.1* (10th mini, 2025)[6](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/01/interview-from-finding-comfort-to-creating-it-for-others-heize-talks-last-winter-and-her-10-year-career) • [7](https://envimedia.co/sunday-spin-new-releases-from-dena-illit-billkin-hikaru-utada-and-heize/) |
## Debut and Unpretty Rapstar
Heize debuted on January 17, 2014 with the single "조금만 더 방황하고 (Feat. Crucial Star)" and released her self-titled EP *HEIZE* in March of that year.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) • [3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=239232&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=artist&page=35) Her public profile rose sharply in 2015 when she competed on the second season of Mnet's female-rapper survival program *Unpretty Rapstar*, advancing to the semifinals.[3](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=239232&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=artist&page=35) She has described the show as functioning like an audition for her then-agency CJ E&M: had she not shown potential there, she said, the company would not have offered her a contract.[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/heize-is-ready-to-write-love-songs-rapper-may-take-a-break-from-both-nature-themes-and-breakups/11879447)
## Chart success as a digital artist
From 2016 onward Heize established herself as a strong performer on Korean streaming charts without heavy broadcast promotion. The 2016 single "저별" ("Star"), a message to a departed lover, topped eight Korean music charts.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) The single "돌아오지마" ("Don't Come Back"), featuring [Yong Jun-hyung](https://www.edgepedia.org/yong-jun-hyung), charted in reverse (rising after an initial fall) following her appearance on the music program *Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook*.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) Her 2017 EP */// (너 먹구름 비)* produced two signature hits: the title track "비도 오고 그래서" ("You, Clouds, Rain", featuring Shin Yong Jae), which swept the streaming charts, and "널 너무 모르고" ("Don't Know You"), which also reached number one.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) A 2018 profile noted that her songs climbed the charts soon after release and that she received constant invitations to perform at events despite doing little television.[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/heize-is-ready-to-write-love-songs-rapper-may-take-a-break-from-both-nature-themes-and-breakups/11879447)
Her first full-length album, *She's Fine*, arrived in 2019 after roughly five years of releases, with contributions from Colde, Simon Dominic, Sunwoo Jung-a, nafla, and Jooyoung.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) That same year BTS member and producer SUGA produced her comeback single "We don't talk together", participating in its production, lyrics, and composition alongside El Capitxn; the single was released with a CD package, which the Korea Times noted was unusual for a single album.[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20190704/singer-heize-collaborates-with-bts-member-producer-suga)
## Songwriting and collaborations
Heize writes lyrics drawn from her own experience and composes without formal theory training; she has said melodies come to her spontaneously and that she records them and brings them to her producer DAVII.[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/heize-is-ready-to-write-love-songs-rapper-may-take-a-break-from-both-nature-themes-and-breakups/11879447) Her catalog moves between hip-hop, R&B, pop, and ballads, and she has said the different genres are tools for expressing emotion while the core of her work is honest storytelling.[9](https://thestardustmag.com/interviews/heize)
She is also a frequent writer and featured artist for others. She wrote lyrics for TWICE's 2020 single "CRY FOR ME", credited alongside J.Y. Park, [Ryan Tedder](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-tedder), Melanie Joy Fontana, and others.[10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0nVpR8DO7I) Documented collaborations span 42 artists, including DEAN, Giriboy, Crush, Gaeko, PSY, TWICE, Epik High, and I.M.[11](https://www.hhdb.com/artist/heize) In 2024 she said that writing for other artists lets her imagine narrators other than herself, which she described as a way around the limits of writing only from her own experience.[6](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/01/interview-from-finding-comfort-to-creating-it-for-others-heize-talks-last-winter-and-her-10-year-career)
## P Nation years and later albums
Heize signed an exclusive contract with P Nation in August 2020 and remained with the label for six years, releasing songs including "A Chance Encounter", "Round and Round", and "Lips".[5](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202607011702007/) Her second full album *Undo* followed in June 2022, and her eighth mini album *Last Winter* in December 2023, an album she said was meant to capture her winter of 2023 and was deliberately released on December 7 as the weather turned cold.[6](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/01/interview-from-finding-comfort-to-creating-it-for-others-heize-talks-last-winter-and-her-10-year-career) The ninth mini album *Fallin'* (November 2024) marked a return to a more personal, autumn-toned sound after her first dance-pop track "Vingle Vingle" (2023) drew a mixed reaction.[12](https://v.daum.net/v/20241106060013985)
Her tenth mini album *LOVE VIRUS Pt.1* was released on November 27, 2025, with a special live performance dedicated to each song.[7](https://envimedia.co/sunday-spin-new-releases-from-dena-illit-billkin-hikaru-utada-and-heize/) It was followed by the digital single "Even if" on December 31, 2025, an R&B soul track she wrote and composed herself, with a music video starring actor Ji Chang Wook.[13](https://www.soompi.com/article/1808786wpp/watch-heize-vows-unwavering-love-even-if-the-world-falls-apart-in-mv-starring-ji-chang-wook) In 2026 she released a joint EP with Giriboy, *안 될 사람*, whose title track is an R&B hip-hop ballad.[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611) • [14](https://v.daum.net/v/20260129083942792) On July 1, 2026, P Nation announced that her exclusive contract had ended as of June 30, making her a free agent.[5](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202607011702007/)
## Awards
Heize's awards include Best Hip Hop & Urban Music and Best Vocal Performance (Female Solo) at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Best Vocal Performance Solo at the 2018 MAMA, Best Hip Hop & Urban Music at the 2019 MAMA, the R&B/Soul Music Style Award and TOP 10 at the 2019 [Melon Music Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/melon-music-awards), R&B Soul Artist of the Year at the 2020 Brand of the Year awards, and the Digital Song Bonsang at the 2022 [Golden Disc Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-disc-awards).[1](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611)
## References
1. [헤이즈 (Heize) 아티스트 채널, Melon](https://www.melon.com/artist/detail.htm?artistId=751611)
2. [Heize — Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/heize-mn0003471160)
3. [Heize profile, KBS WORLD](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=239232&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=artist&page=35)
4. [Heize is ready to write love songs, Korea JoongAng Daily (2018)](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/korea/heize-is-ready-to-write-love-songs-rapper-may-take-a-break-from-both-nature-themes-and-breakups/11879447)
5. [Heize ends six-year run with P Nation, Sports Kyunghyang (2026)](https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202607011702007/)
6. [Heize talks 'Last Winter' and her 10-year career, allkpop (2024)](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/01/interview-from-finding-comfort-to-creating-it-for-others-heize-talks-last-winter-and-her-10-year-career)
7. [Sunday Spin: New Releases from Dena, ILLIT, BILLKIN, Hikaru Utada, and Heize, EnVi Media (2025)](https://envimedia.co/sunday-spin-new-releases-from-dena-illit-billkin-hikaru-utada-and-heize/)
8. [Singer Heize collaborates with BTS member-producer SUGA, The Korea Times (2019)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20190704/singer-heize-collaborates-with-bts-member-producer-suga)
9. [Heize Catches the Love Virus, Stardust Magazine](https://thestardustmag.com/interviews/heize)
10. [TWICE - CRY FOR ME, YouTube (JYP Entertainment)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0nVpR8DO7I)
11. [Heize — HH DB collaboration graph](https://www.hhdb.com/artist/heize)
12. [Heize goes back to her own sound with 'Fallin'', Daum/Vogue Korea (2024)](https://v.daum.net/v/20241106060013985)
13. [Heize releases "Even if" MV starring Ji Chang Wook, Soompi (2025)](https://www.soompi.com/article/1808786wpp/watch-heize-vows-unwavering-love-even-if-the-world-falls-apart-in-mv-starring-ji-chang-wook)
14. [헤이즈·기리보이, 합작 앨범 발매, Daum News (2026)](https://v.daum.net/v/20260129083942792)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › East and Southeast Asian pop scenes › K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Artists, groups, and people: K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Korean hip hop, indie, rock, trot, and pre-idol pop*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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