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BIBI is a South Korean singer/songwriter with a stylistically diverse sound that encompasses R&B, hip-hop, pop, rock, and balladry. After finishing second on the Korean reality competition The Fan, she released a pair of EPs and a string of popular singles including 2019's "Binu," 2020's "Kazino," and the 2021 hit "The Weekend." In 2022, BIBI enjoyed another hit with "Very, Slowly" from the soundtrack to the romantic television series Twenty-Five, Twenty-One. It was her chart-topping 2024 single "Bam Yang Gang," however, that undeniably placed her in the mainstream.

Born in Ulsan, South Korea, Kim Hyung-seo learned to sing and play guitar, and she eventually began uploading her original songs to a streaming site, where it was discovered by K-pop star Yoon Mi-rae. Under the name BIBI, she signed with the Feel Ghood Music label and became a contestant on the 2018-2019 season of SBS reality show The Fan. BIBI's inherent talent and diverse range carried her to a second-place finish, and in May 2019, she delivered her official debut single, "Binu." Her first EP, The Manual for People Who Want to Love, arrived a month later, followed in 2020 by singles like "I'm Good at Goodbyes" and "Kazino." BIBI was also featured on tracks by Zico, Kim Hee-chul, and Min Kyung-hoon before returning in 2021 with her second EP, Life Is a Bi…, which yielded the hit "Bad Sad and Mad." After her song "The Weekend" became another streaming hit, BIBI contributed the 2022 ballad "Very, Slowly" to the third season of the television series Twenty-Five, Twenty-One.

Her debut full-length, Lowlife Princess: Noir, arrived in November 2022, peaking at number seven on the Korean charts and producing popular songs like "BIBI Vengeance" and "Animal Farm." While 2023 singles like "I Am Shampoo" and "Amigos" with Becky G helped keep her in the public eye, it was the lilting 2024 single "Bam Yang Gang" that effectively vaulted BIBI into stardom. Consisting of little more than piano and snare drum, the sugary little waltz was a significant sonic shift from her darker material, and it spent several weeks atop the Korean pop charts and made the upper half of Billboard's Global 200. BIBI followed it a few months later with the Jackson Wang collaboration "Feeling Lucky." ~ Timothy Monger