About IU

Lee Ji-eun (Korean: 이지은; born May 16, 1993), better known by her stage name IU (Korean: 아이유), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. Her stage name is derived from the phrase "I and You", symbolizing that people can become one through music. Her fan club name is Uaena, where each syllable has a different meaning: "U" is "You" from English, "ae" is Sino-Korean for "love", and "na" is Korean for "me".

IU decided to become a singer when she was 14 after singing at her school's sports competition, as she felt happy receiving the audiences' applause. She started to attend auditions, but failed all 20, and she was also scammed by fake entertainment companies. When IU was in her seventh grade, her family started to have financial problems due to the failure of her father's project. IU had to live apart from her parents in a studio room with her grandmother, younger brother and cousin for a year and a half, in conditions of great poverty.