Life After miss A: Suzy Swept the Charts Alone

Part 3 of 6 in Korea's First Love Who Failed Her Audition: Bae Suzy

Featured photo: Suzy at an Anua photo call in Seoul, September 18, 2026. Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped).

Previously: 4.1 million moviegoers for Architecture 101, 14 commercials in a year, and a year of pansori.

January 2016: “Dream” with Baekhyun

“Dream,” the duet Suzy released with EXO’s Baekhyun in January 2016, debuted at No. 1 on the Gaon weekly digital chart. It went on to win best collaboration at MAMA, the R&B/soul award at the Melon Music Awards and a digital-song prize at the next Golden Disc Awards (Wikipedia). The music video has passed 94 million views. Two idols from rival agencies took a duet to No. 1, and “Suzy Baekhyun” has stayed a search term for a decade. To this day, the first line of this song takes me straight back to that winter, heart fluttering.

94.5 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

Also read: The Love Song a Killer Requested on the Radio: "Gloomy Letter"

July 2016: No-eul in Uncontrollably Fond

That summer she played documentary producer No-eul opposite Kim Woo-bin in KBS’s melodrama Uncontrollably Fond. The show was a hit in China too, passing 4 billion views on Youku (Wikipedia). Suzy sang two songs for the soundtrack and co-wrote one of them (same source). She and Kim would meet again nine years later in Netflix’s Genie, Make a Wish.

September 2016: The first Korean actress in wax

On Sept. 13, 2016, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong unveiled a wax figure of Suzy, the first ever made of a Korean female celebrity. A second figure later went on display at Madame Tussauds Singapore (Wikipedia).

January 2017: A solo debut and an “all-kill”

“Pretend,” the first pre-release single of her solo career, came out on Jan. 17, 2017, and took No. 1 on all eight major Korean music charts at once, what Korean fans call an “all-kill” (Wikipedia). A week later came “Yes No Maybe,” title track of the EP Yes? No? The closest look at Suzy the singer is Dingo’s vertical live session.

7.05 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

7.75 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

11.3 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

September 2017: While You Were Sleeping

That fall she played Nam Hong-joo, a reporter who sees the future in her dreams, opposite Lee Jong-suk in SBS’s While You Were Sleeping. She won SBS’s top excellence award for a Wednesday–Thursday drama and best couple with Lee (Wikipedia).

625,000 views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

December 2017: The end of miss A, and Yoo Jae-ha

On Dec. 7, 2017, Suzy recorded a new version of “Because I Love You” for a tribute album marking 30 years since the death of singer-songwriter Yoo Jae-ha. On Dec. 27, JYP announced that miss A had disbanded; Suzy re-signed with the agency (Wikipedia). Seven and a half years as “the youngest” ended there. As a fan I was sad to see it go, but the voice she lent to Yoo Jae-ha’s song that same month sounded especially warm.

2018: “Holiday,” and a seat at the Baeksang podium

In January 2018 the pre-release single “I’m in Love with Someone Else,” from her second EP Faces of Love, swept the real-time charts, and the title track “Holiday” featured rapper DPR LIVE. In March she released a video for “Midnight” with pianist Yiruma (Wikipedia).

8.98 million views as of Oct. 25, 2026.

On May 3 that year she co-hosted the 54th Baeksang Arts Awards with comedian Shin Dong-yup and actor Park Bo-gum, and won the TV popularity award for While You Were Sleeping on the same night (Wikipedia). The three would share that stage eight times through 2026 (Newsen, Apr. 2, 2026).

On March 31, 2019, her contract with JYP ended. She had walked in as a middle-schooler singing a few lines of Younha. She walked out at 24. To me she didn’t look lonely leaving. She looked proud. It was finally time to stand on the name “Suzy” alone.

Where to watch (checked Oct. 25, 2026, via JustWatch) – Uncontrollably Fond (2016): US — Rakuten Viki · Korea — wavve, Watcha – While You Were Sleeping (2017): US — Rakuten Viki · Korea — Watcha

Sources

• Wikipedia, “Bae Suzy”; Awards list
• Newsen, Apr. 2, 2026