Moonbyul

Moon Byul-yi, known professionally as Moonbyul, is a South Korean rapper, singer, and songwriter signed under RBW Entertainment. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Mamamoo and its sub-unit Mamamoo+. Moonbyul made her official solo debut in May 2018 and has established a prolific discography, accumulating songwriting credits on over 100 songs according to the Korea Music Copyright Association.

Moonbyul was born on December 22, 1992, in Bucheon, South Korea. She graduated from Wonmi High School and was accepted into the Paekche Institute of the Arts in 2011, where she studied media, music, and vocals. Her interest in pursuing a singing career developed in middle school after watching a TVXQ performance and receiving positive feedback during a school show. Inspired by Girls' Generation and Taeyeon, she also attended SM Entertainment's academy. Her given name, Byul-yi, means "star" in Korean and was chosen by her father inspired by the night of her birth. She frequently uses the rap alias "Moonstar" in her lyrics.

After joining her label RBW in 2011, Moonbyul originally trained as a vocalist before a producer suggested she switch to rapping six months prior to her debut. She debuted as the main rapper and performer for Mamamoo in June 2014 with the extended play Hello and its lead single "Mr. Ambiguous," contributing choreography to the debut track. She subsequently co-wrote many of the group's lead singles and raps. In November 2016, her ad-lib line referencing actor Jung Woo-sung during Mamamoo's performance at the 37th Blue Dragon Film Awards went viral, propelling their single "Decalcomanie" to the top of domestic music charts.

Moonbyul released her first solo track, "Love & Hate," on Mamamoo's EP Purple in June 2017. Her formal solo debut arrived in May 2018 with the digital single "Selfish," featuring Seulgi. She released her first EP, Dark Side of the Moon, in February 2020, featuring the lead single "Eclipse." She continued her solo music career with her third EP, 6equence, in January 2022, followed by her fifth EP, C.I.T.T (Cheese in the Trap), in April 2022, which surpassed 100,000 copies sold. In December 2022, she released the special single album The Present.

In addition to her music releases, Moonbyul expanded into broadcasting by hosting the radio program Avengirls in July 2020 and launching her own talk show, Studio Moon Night, in February 2021. Her work as a host earned her an award at the 2022 Korea Brand Customer Loyalty Index. She joined the cast of SBS's Kick a Goal in October 2021, launched her YouTube channel "moonbyul2da" in December 2021, and won JTBC's vocal competition program The Second World in late 2022. She later served as a judge on JTBC's survival program Peak Time in February 2023.

On February 20, 2024, Moonbyul released her first full-length studio album, Starlit of Muse, featuring the dual lead singles "Touchin&Movin" and "Think About." The album topped the iTunes Top Albums Chart in ten regions and sold over 100,000 copies in its first week. To support the release, she launched her first solo world tour, Museum: An Epic of Starlit, performing in multiple cities across Asia.