Dami Im

Dami Im (Hangul: 임다미; RR: Im Dami, born 17 October 1988) is a South Korean-born Australian singer and songwriter. Im emigrated to Australia with her family at the age of nine. She won the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia.

After winning The X Factor, Im released her debut and winner's single "Alive", which debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. This was followed by the release of her self-titled second studio album, which debuted at number one the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Im became the first X Factor Australia contestant to follow up a number one single with a number one album on the ARIA Charts. Im's third studio album, Heart Beats, was released in 2014 and became her second top-ten album. It produced the top-twenty hits "Super Love" and "Gladiator". She represented Australia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest held in Stockholm, Sweden, with the song "Sound of Silence", placing second overall, after a nail-biting finish, when the international jury made up of industry experts, gave her the highest votes, but was eventually pipped by Ukraine when the public televote was taken into account.[4]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 2010–12: Early career 2.2 2013: The X Factor Australia 2.2.1 Performances on The X Factor 2.3 2013–15: Dami Im and Heart Beats 2.4 2016–present: Eurovision Song Contest and Classic Carpenters 3 Artistry 4 Personal life 5 Discography 6 Concert tours 7 Awards and nominations 8 References 9 External links

Early life
Dami Im was born in South Korea on 17 October 1988[5][6] to Lee Hae-yun, a trained opera singer, and Im Dong-eal.[7] She is the elder of two children.[7] Im began learning the piano at the age of five,[7] and she taught herself to sing by recording herself copying her favourite artists.[8] Aged nine, Im emigrated to Australia with her mother and younger brother Kenny because their parents thought they would have more opportunity growing up in Australia.[7][9][10] They stayed with their uncle in Brisbane,[7] while her father stayed in South Korea to earn money to support them.[8][10] Im's parents now live together, spending part of the year in Australia and part in South Korea.[10]

Aged 11, Im began studying at the Young Conservatorium of Music program at Griffith University.[11] She was a national finalist in the Yamaha Youth Piano Competition, and won the Nora Baird Scholarship and the Queensland Piano Competition several times.[11] Im attended John Paul College in Daisy Hill, Queensland and graduated in 2005.[12] She never sang while at school and would only accompany the choir on piano, and play violin for the school's Silver Strings group.[13] In 2009, Im graduated from the University of Queensland with first class honours in a Bachelor of Music.[14] She subsequently completed a Masters of Arts degree in contemporary voice at Griffith University.[15] Prior to entering The X Factor, Im was a music and piano teacher.[16]

Career
2010–12: Early career

Im had a short career as a gospel singer in Korea,[8] performing at Christian youth camps.[15] In 2010, she released her debut studio album, Dream, which consisted of nine tracks and was recorded to raise money for church endeavours.[17] In July 2011, Im re-released the album with two extra tracks, which were both sung in English.[18] On 5 December 2011, Im released a Christmas extended play called Snow & Carol, which consisted of seven tracks.[19][20] On 9 July 2012, Im released her second extended play, Intimacy, which consisted of five tracks.[21]

2013: The X Factor Australia

In 2013, Im successfully auditioned for the fifth season of The X Factor Australia, singing "Hero" by Mariah Carey.[9][22] She progressed to the super bootcamp round of the competition and was placed in the Under 25 Girls category.[9][23] On the first day of bootcamp, Im sang "I'm with You" by Avril Lavigne in front of her entire category and judges Redfoo, Ronan Keating and Dannii Minogue.[9][23] On the second day of bootcamp, she was put into an ensemble of 10 and they sang "Next to Me" by Emeli Sandé in front of the judges.[23] Im made it to the third day of bootcamp, where she sang "Jolene" by Dolly Parton to the judges and a live audience of one thousand.[24] After the judges made changes to the Boys, Girls and Overs categories, Im became part of the newly formed Over 24s category and was eliminated.[25] However, Im was called back for the home visits round in New York City to replace Matt Gresham who decided he could not commit to the competition.[26] During home visits, she sang "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé in front of her mentor Minogue and guest mentor Kylie Minogue.[26] Minogue later selected Im, along with Barry Southgate and Cat Vas, for the live finals—a series of ten weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote.[27]

For the Judges' Choice-themed first live show, Im sang "One" by U2 and received a standing ovation from the judges, with Natalie Bassingthwaighte saying she had "the best vocal of the night".[28] Im's performance of "One" peaked at number 42 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[29] For the Legends-themed second live show, she sang "Purple Rain" by Prince and received another standing ovation.[30] Keating told Im that the competition "at the moment, is yours".[30] Her performance of "Purple Rain" debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[29] For the Top 10 Hits-themed third live show, Im sang Thelma Houston's version of "Don't Leave Me This Way",[31] and her performance of the song debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 67.[32] Following the eliminations of Vas in week two and Southgate in week three, Im became the last remaining contestant in Minogue's category. After her performance of Katy Perry's "Roar" in the Latest and Greatest-themed fourth live show, Im received her fourth consecutive standing ovation from the judges.[33] Im's performance of "Roar" debuted at number 44 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[29] For the Rock-themed fifth live show, she sang "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters and received her fifth standing ovation.[34] Im's performance of "Best of You" debuted at number 78 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[35]

Following Im's performance of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water" during the Family Heroes-themed sixth live show, her mentor Minogue notably teared up as she dedicated Im's song choice to her parents and grandfather, following the death of her grandmother.[36] Im's performance of "Bridge over Troubled Water" debuted at number 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[29] For the Judges' Challenge-themed seventh live show, Im sang Zedd's "Clarity", which was chosen by Keating, and her performance debuted at number 77 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[37][38] Im received a mixed feedback from the judges following her performance of John Farnham's "You're the Voice" during the Aussie Week-themed eighth live show.[39] Keating said "it was pitchy and a weak performance" and Bassingthwaighte agreed.[39] For the Power and Passion-themed ninth live show, Im sang "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston and "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.[40] Her performances of "Wrecking Ball" and "Saving All My Love for You" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at numbers 61 and 85, respectively.[41]

During the grand final performance show on 27 October, Im was required to perform three songs – her audition song ("Hero"), winner's single ("Alive") and last shot song ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going").[42] Her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", which debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart,[43] got all four judges standing on the judges table.[44] Redfoo said Im's performance was "the best thing I've ever seen in my life", while Minogue added that she is "world class".[44] Im's performance of "Hero" debuted at number 62.[45] During the grand final decider show the following day, Im was announced as the winner.[46]

denotes a performance that entered the ARIA Singles denotes winner

Performances on The X Factor

[show]Show

Song choice

Theme

Result

2013–15: Dami Im and Heart Beats

Im performing at The X Factor Live Tour in November 2013 After winning The X Factor, Im's debut and winner's single "Alive" was released on the iTunes Store.[47] She also received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and a management deal.[48] Four days after release, "Alive" debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart.[29] It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling over 70,000 copies.[49] Im's self-titled second studio album was released on 15 November 2013 and featured studio recordings of songs she performed on The X Factor.[50] The album debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum for shipments of more than 70,000 units.[51][52] Im became the first X Factor Australia contestant to follow up a number one single with a number one album on the ARIA Charts.[51] On 23 November 2013, Im toured alongside Third Degree, Taylor Henderson, Jiordan Tolli and Jai Waetford for The X Factor Live Tour, which ended on 2 December 2013.[53] In late December 2013, she signed on as an ambassador for the children's charity Compassion Australia.[54]

It was reported on 19 January 2014 that fashion label Alannah Hill had signed Im to be the face of their autumn and winter 2014 collection.[55] On 24 January 2014, Im released a cover of "I Am Australian" with Henderson, Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew, Nathaniel Willemse and Samantha Jade, to coincide with the Australia Day celebrations.[56][57] The song peaked at number 51 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[58] Im's next single, an acoustic cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", was released on 7 March 2014, but failed to chart.[59] In May 2014, she became an ambassador for Priceline Pharmacy's You Beauty campaign, which celebrates the diversity of Australian women.[60] The following month, Im became the ambassador of Nintendo's video game, Tomodachi Life.[61] On 3 September 2014, Im performed at The Marquee in Sydney as part of Nova FM's Red Room Global Tour.[62]

Im's third studio album, Heart Beats, was released on 17 October 2014 and debuted at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming Im's second top-ten album.[29][63] The album was preceded by the release of its first two singles, "Super Love" and "Gladiator", both of which peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[29] The former also reached the top-twenty on the South Korea Gaon Charts and was certified platinum, while the latter was certified gold for selling over 35,000 copies.[64][65][66] In December 2014, Im was the supporting act for John Legend's Australian leg of his All of Me Tour.[67] Im's sixth lead single "Smile" was released on 29 May 2015, and debuted at number 48.[68][69] In June 2015, it was confirmed that Im was working on her upcoming fourth studio album.[70]

2016–present: Eurovision Song Contest and Classic Carpenters

Dami Im during a rehearsal before the second semi-final On 3 March, it was announced Im would represent Australia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Her song was "Sound of Silence". On 4 March, it also announced Im would release a new album in April called Classic Carpenters. The album is a collection of cover versions of some of The Carpenters’ biggest songs.[71] It was released on 22 April 2016. Three music videos of her performing the songs "(They Long to Be) Close to You", "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" and "Yesterday Once More" were released on 14, 17 and 19 April, respectively.[72][73][74]

In the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, Im was announced to perform in second semi-final. Im performed tenth in the running order and successfully progressed to the final with the highest score and top ranking of her semi-final.[75] As this was the first time Australia competed in the semi-final stage, Im became the first ever Australian representative to progress from the semi-final to the final. In the final, Im performed 13th in the running order and achieved the top score of 320 points from the national jury. Ultimately, she received 191 points from televoting and was announced to have gained 511 points in total, placing 2nd in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.[76] Im's second place score is the highest score ever achieved by an Australian representative.

Artistry
Im credits her home influences, with her mother being an opera singer, and her own classical music training, as providing her the grounding and instilling in her the love for music and performance[77]. Im has also cited K-pop music as an inspiration in regard to her love and passion for singing.[7] Her musical influences are Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Chris Tomlin and BoA.[9][15] She also cites BoA along with Lee Juck and Kim Dong-ryool as her favourite singers.[78] Aside from singing, Im also plays piano and violin and has co-written some of her material.[9][17] She co-wrote eight songs on her third studio album, Heart Beats.[79]

Personal life
Im is a Christian. She met Noah Kim, a fellow Christian, at church and they were married in Seoul, South Korea in September 2012.[7][17] Im and her husband live in Daisy Hill, a suburb of Logan City in Queensland.[80] In October 2013, she was named the cultural ambassador for Logan City and was offered the key to the city by mayor Pam Parker.[81] Im was presented with the key at a ceremony on 4 December 2013.[82]

Discography
Main article: Dami Im discography Dami Im (2013) Heart Beats (2014) Classic Carpenters (2016)

Concert tours
HeadliningThe X Factor Live Tour (2013)[53] Yesterday Once More Tour (2016) SupportingNova's Red Room Global Tour (Series 1: 2014)[62] John Legend's All of Me Tour (2014): Australian leg[67]

Awards and nominations
Year

Type

Award

Result

2013 Poprepublic.tv Awards[83] Breakthrough Artist of 2013 Nominated Favourite Album of 2013 (Dami Im) Nominated 2014 ARIA No. 1 Chart Awards Number One Album (Dami Im)[84] Won Number One Single ("Alive")[84] Won World Music Awards World's Best Female Artist[85] Nominated World's Best Live Act[86] Nominated World's Best Entertainer of the Year[87] Nominated World's Best Song ("Alive")[88] Nominated Cosmopolitan Fun, Fearless, Female Awards Fun, Fearless, Female Woman of the Year[89] Won Singer[89] Won Channel [V] Awards[90] [V] Oz Artist of the Year Nominated