Baby Vox

1997–1999: Debut and early years

Baby V.O.X formed in 1997 as a five-member group consisting of Kim E-Z, Lee Hee-jin, Jung Hyun-jeon, Cha Yu-mi and Jung Shi-woon.^[1] The group's first single, "Hair Cut", was taken from the album Equalizeher, released on July 10, 1997.^[8] The group displayed a style inspired by the Spice Girls, but the first album was not successful because of the edgy concept.^[2] Cha Yumi was injured during a performance, so she was then replaced by Kan Miyoun. Hyun-jeon and Shi-woon left the group because of an internal conflict and they were replaced by Shim Eun Jin and Lee Gai. The group adopted a more modest style, used by popular groups such as S.E.S. and Fin.K.L. From their second album Baby V.O.X II, the single "Ya Ya Ya" became a success, reaching number seven on the Korean pop charts. It was followed by a second single, "Change". Following the release, Lee Gai departed, as the agency DR Music had falsified her age by nearly 10 years, leading to controversy when her true birth year was disclosed.^[9] She had first appeared with the trio Setorae over ten years before under her birth name of Lee Hee-jung.^[10]

1999–2003: Breakthrough years and mainstream success

In June 1999, Yoon Eun Hye replaced Lee Gai to create a stable line-up. The single "Get Up" was released. For the first time, the group reached number one on the South Korean music pop charts.^[11] Another single, "Killer", was also number one and received the Top Excellency Award in the Seoul Music Awards in 1999. The third single, "Missing You", was also included on their third album Come Come Come Baby (1999).

In the years that followed, Baby VOX made a number of appearances in variety shows. After the success of the third album, the group toured internationally, including in China, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries. The fourth album, Why, included the singles "Why" and "배신" (Betrayal), and the group hosted the television program Beautiful Sunday-Cruise to the Korea Strait. The group's fifth album, Boyish Story, was released in 2001 and included the singles "Game Over", "인형" (Doll) and "I Wish You are My Love".

The group released a compilation album with singles "우연" (Coincidence) and "Go". "Coincidence" was the group's first number one single in three years. "Coincidence" was re-released for the 2002 World Cup and gained additional popularity. The group held a concert in Mongolia in 2004, the first South Korean idol band to do so. The group also performed in Pyongyang, North Korea in 2003, and was the second girl group to perform in North Korea.^[12]

2003–2006: Final albums and separation

In spring 2003, Baby VOX released a sixth album, Devotion. Baby VOX topped the Chinese music chart with the Chinese single "I'm Still Loving You" and the South Korean charts with "What Should I Do".

The group's seventh and final album, Ride West, released in April 2004, had songs in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, as well as appearances by well-known American hip hop artists such as Tupac Shakur and Jennifer Lopez and the independent rapper Floss P, although Tupac's "appearance" was a freestyle rap that he recorded while in prison. The rights for the sample of Tupac's verse were not cleared, and this resulted in a court case pursued by the rapper's mother, Afeni Shakur.^[13] A music video for the album's feature song, "Xcstasy", was made in English and emulated the hip-hop videos popular in the United States at the time. A member of the South Korean hip-hop group DJ DOC, offended by the alleged misuse of Tupac Shakur's lyrics, denounced them in the media but later apologized.^[14] The group was forced to abandon the release of the single. A second single, "Play Remix" featuring Jennifer Lopez, was promoted for a short while, but sales were lower than from its previous albums.

Shim Eun-jin officially left the group in October 2004 and Yoon Eun-hye in April 2005. By May 2005 the group was no longer performing, and it officially disbanded in February 2006.

2010: Reunion

In August 2010, Baby V.O.X reunited for an appearance on the music talk show Kim Jung-eun's Chocolate, marking their first group activity in six years after effectively disbanding in 2004.^[15]

2024–present: Reunion stage and New Baby V.O.X 2025

Baby V.O.X reunited again after 14 years in December 2024 with a performance on the KBS annual music show KBS Song Festival.^[16]

On January 17, 2025, according to Osen's reporting, Baby V.O.X would appear on a variety show for the first time in 14 years.^[17] On January 23, Baby V.O.X will participate in the MBC entertainment program Omniscient Interfering View.^[18] On February 1, during an episode of Mr. House Husband 2, member Yoon Eun-hye revealed that the group would soon release re-recorded versions of some of their past songs.^[19] On February 13, the group released the single album New Baby V.O.X 2025, featuring re-recorded versions of "Killer" and "Coincidence".^[20] On July 15, 2025, Baby V.O.X announced through their official social media account that they will host a solo concert at the Peace Hall of Kyung Hee University in Seoul on September 26 and 27 and this concert will take place about 23 years after their first solo concert in South Korea.^[21]

On March 6, 2026, Baby V.O.X announced they will hold a solo concert at the Pechanga Summit Event Center in Los Angeles on April 25 and it is their first solo concert in United States since their debut.^[22]

Significance and impact towards K-pop

Their first album, which made its major debut on July 3, 1997, contained a feminist message. This was a topic that was unimaginable at the time, and unlike other girl groups that imitated Japanese girl groups such as Speed, they took advantage of POP and promoted themselves as the "Spice Girls of Asia".^[29]

Final members

• Kim E-Z – Leader, Main Rapper, Main Dancer, Sub Vocalist (1997–2006, 2024-present)
• Lee Hee-jin – Lead Vocalist, Face of the Group (1997–2006, 2024-present)
• Shim Eun-jin – Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer (1998–2004, 2024-present)
• Kan Mi-youn – Main Vocalist, Visual (1997–2006, 2024-present)^[3]
• Yoon Eun-hye – Sub Vocalist, Maknae (1999–2005, 2024-present)

Former members

• Cha Yumi - Main Vocalist (1997)
• Jung Hyun-jeon - Leader, Lead Vocalist (1997-1998)
• Jung Shi-woon - Rapper, Vocalist (1997-1998)
• Lee Gai - Sub Vocalist (1998–1999)

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Single albums