Yoonie, formerly Shin Jiyoon of Weeekly, has debuted as a soloist. The digital single “Yellow Light” released on April 9. Yoonie produced and wrote the song as part of her studies at Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts (DIMA). As a student enrolled in their K-Pop department, she performed the song as part of her final exams in November. The song includes a feature with fellow DIMA student and artist YANGJEONGMAN. 

Pre-debut, Career in Weeekly, and Interest in Producing

Yoonie was first known to K-Pop fans as then FAVE Entertainment trainee Shin Jiyoon in 2017. She appeared on MIXNINE with fellow FAVE Entertainment trainees and future Weeekly members Lee Soojin and Park Soeun. Though all three were eliminated, they eventually made it into the pre-debut group FAVEGIRLS in 2018. FAVEGIRLS became PlayM GIRLS following the 2019 merger of FAVE Entertainment and Plan A Entertainment, which resulted in Weeekly’s original company. 

Weeekly debuted as a seven-member group on June 30, 2020. Starting from their debut EP We are, Yoonie contributed to their discography off-stage and on-stage. Yoonie showcased talents in not only music, but drawing as well. She designed the stickers included in We are, and the album covers for their third EP We play. She helped musically with some early Weeekly tracks: 

We are: 

• Track 1: “Weeekly Day” (lyrics by Shin Jiyoon, composed by Shin Jiyoon and MARCO) 

• Track 5: “Reality” (lyrics by Shin Jiyoon, composed and arranged by Shin Jiyoon and BlueRhythm) 

We Can: 

• Track 2: “My Earth” (lyrics by Shin Jiyoon, composed by Shin Jiyoon and BlueRhythm) 

• Track 5: “Weeekly” (lyrics by Shin Jiyoon) 

We Play: 

• Track 2: “Lucky” (lyrics by Shin Jiyoon, composed by Shin Jiyoon and BlueRhythm) 

OSTs:

• Wanna Be RYAN OST: “BOOM CHI KI” (lyrics by MAVAGE, YONG, Good Choice, and Shin Jiyoon) 

Yoonie remained a Weeekly member until June 1, 2022. IST Entertainment announced earlier that year she took a hiatus for anxiety-related reasons. Following her departure from the group, she enrolled into DIMA in 2023. 

“Yellow Light”

Yoonie unveiled “Yellow Light” as a self-produced song back in November. On November 28 and 29, DIMA’s K-Pop department held an end of semester concert to showcase their students’ work. The track is a gentle pop song, with bits of rap provided by YANGJEONGMAN. After performing “Yellow Light” at DIMA, Yoonie uploaded the song’s demo to her Soundcloud account.  

Yoonie was involved in many aspects of the song, including its stage performance. “Yellow Light” carries a Cinderella-like concept, with Yoonie donning a light blue princess attire. The song’s performance video, uploaded on April 9, comes from the DIMA stage. The performance video teases an official music video coming later. “Yellow Light” indicates a green light for Yoonie’s future music endeavors.