Name: Zhang Li Yin (张力尹; 張力尹)
Korean Name: Jang Ri In (장리인)
Birthday: February 28, 1989
Height: 162cm
Weight: 42kg
Blood Type: A
Nationality: Chinese (Chengdu, Sichuan, China)
Hobbies: Listening to music, watching movies, traveling
Talents: Violin, writing lyrics, can sing any song after hearing it only once
Occupation: Singer
Talent Agency: SM Entertainment, Avex Taiwan
Debut: September 9, 2006 - "Timeless" performance (feat. Xiah Junsu of TVXQ)

Fanclub Name: Chocolate (Unofficial)
Fanclub Colour: Gold

Zhang Li Yin was born to violinists in Sichuan, China as a native from Chengdu. Throughout her childhood, her parents took her to their rock concerts and exposed her to a variety of music. At three years old, she began to learn the violin. Zhang was so accustomed to classical, American, and European pop music that she claims she never sang children's songs when she was a child. She also developed the ability to sing a song after hearing it only once.

As she grew older, Zhang became more absorbed into pop music than rock music. She had to secretly listen to pop music because her parents were against it. When she was twelve, she was accepted into a middle school affiliated to Sichuan Music College after scoring the highest with her violin talents, but she opted to become a singer instead. Eventually, her parents began to support her dream to become a singer and she gained confidence when she was selected as the top 10 adult singers in a national singing competition under the sponsorship of Shanghai.

After accompanying a friend to a singing competition, Zhang was discovered when Beijing partners informed the head of Korean talent agency SM Entertainment of a young talent. In late 2004, she moved to Korea and started training the age of fourteen.

Note: This list is in order of release. Song title translations are included in grey text, as are any respective song-related notes. Sales information are updated with the most recent information available.




Title: Timeless
Language: Korean, Mandarin Chinese
Release Date: 2006.11.18
Sales: Over 14,000
Track List:

1. Timeless feat. Xiah Junsu (Chinese Ver.) [Asian Special Edition only.]
2. Y (Why...) (Chinese Ver.) [Asian Special Edition only.]
3. Timeless feat. Xiah
4. Y (Why...)
5. Timeless (Instrumental)
6. Y (Why...) (Instrumental)

Title: Dear My Love Original Soundtrack
Language: Korean
Release Date: 2007.04.20
Sales: N/A
Track List:

1. 사랑하고 있어 (Main Title) - Sunday the Grace (TSZX The Grace)
2. 연인이여 (Love Theme) - Zhang Li Yin
3. 가슴에 남아 - Kangta
4. Thank You - TSZX The Grace
5. 너 없이도 - JM
6. A Child's Mind - 송광식

Title: 星愿 (I Will)
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Release Date: 2008.03.03
Sales: Over 300,000
Lyrics: Chinese, pinyin and English
Track List:

1. Intro (初恋)
2. 初恋 [First Love]
3. A Flame For You
4. 星愿 I Will [I Will; 1st single featured off the album]
5. 幸福的左岸 [The Left Shore of Happiness; the Chinese version of the original Korean "Lovers" song; 2nd single featured off the album]
6. 后 [After]
7. 交错的爱 [Wrongly Given Love; featuring Kim Jong Hyun of SHINee]
8. 相信爱 [Believe in Love; 3rd single featured off the album]
9. 纯真的爱 [Perfect Love; featuring Song Bing Yang]
10. One More Try [Lyrics co-written by Liyin]
11. Y (Why...)
12. Timeless [Featuring Xiah Junsu of TVXQ]
13. 星願 (성원) [Korean Edition only.]
14. 幸福的左岸 (연인이여) [Korean Edition only.]

Zhang Li Yin also participated in the following SMTOWN albums:

2006

• "Timeless" ranked #2 on Melon, a Korean music website, on the 1st day of her debut.
• "Timeless" was placed #1 on the Melon chart for two full weeks and was ranked #2 on SBS Inkigayo.
• "Timeless" was also #1 on Daum's Music Video chart and was the highest search on Naver.
• "Timeless" music video topped the Melon's Video Chart for four full weeks.
• After debuting for ten days, "Timeless" appeared on "Take 7" chart on SBS Inkigayo.

2007

• At the beginning of 2007, she started promoting the B-side from her "Timeless" single, called "Y (Why...)".
• In February, she started guesting at TVXQ's second Asia tour concert, and continued her guest appearances throughout the rest of the year.
• In a Sohu interview in July, she mentioned that she was close to the SM artists, especially TVXQ and CSJH.
• Her album was pushed back (from September to January).

2008

• Her album was pushed back three more times (from January, to February, and finally to March).
• "星愿 I Will" moved 10 spots to #6 on Guangzhou's music charts after two weeks.
• "幸福的左岸" moved 10 spots to #7 on Guangzhou's music charts after two weeks.
• "星愿 I Will" peaked at #1 on China's national music chart, Top In Music, for three weeks in a row.
• "星愿 I Will" reached #15 on Beijing's music radio, FM 97.4.
• "星愿 I Will" was ranked #1 on Melon two weeks after her single was released.
• The album debuted at #22 on Korea's MIAK Monthly Album Chart of March and sold over 2,000 copies in Korea that month.
• In the first half of the year, her debut Chinese album sold over 260,000 copies in China.
• Praised by notable C-Pop professionals such as Hins Cheung and Wang Lee Hom. Hins Cheung has also compared her to well-known R&B vocalists such as Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis and Christina Aguilera.

2009

• Participated in the SMTOWN LIVE tour, with the last stop in Bangkok.
• Featured in a fanmeet with popular C-Pop artists such as F.I.R, Super Junior-M and Valen Hsu.
• Performed her solo song, "I Will" at the Beijing Olympic Stadium (Bird's Nest) at the "Descendents of the Dragon: Jackie Chan & Friends" concert on May 1st. The concert was the first ever event held at the Bird's Nest since the 2008 Summer Olympics. The concert also featured Emil Chau, Joey Yung, Rain, Jane Zhang and Jonathan Lee.

2006

• SBS Popular Songs: Mutizen Song, "Timeless"
• Digital Music Awards: Rookie of the Month, "Timeless"
• M.NET/MK Music Festival: Best New Solo Artist, "Timeless"

2008

• 5th Annual Music King Global Chinese Ultimate Song Chart Awards: Female Mainland Newcomer with Most Potential
• 6th Annual Southeast Music Ranking: Best Mainland Newcomer
• 2008 Starlight Grand Ceremony: Most Fashionable Female Artist of the Year
• 1st Annual Mengniu New Music Festival: Most "Attention Grabbing" Newcomer

Please refer to Chocolyn's calendar.

Official Sites: SM Entertainment, Avex Taiwan (Chinese)
Wikipedias: English

Fansites:

• Chocolyn [English]
• LiveJournal Community [English]
• Zhang Li Yin @ ifensi [Chinese]
• Zhang Li Yin CPG [Korean]
• Angel Voice [Italian]
• Timeless Love [English; SuYin Shippers Forum]

Soompi Threads:

• Official Picture Thread
• Official Liyin & Junsu (SuYin) Shippers Thread
• Official Liyin & Han Geng (HanYin) Shippers Thread
• Official Liyin & Jaejoong (JaeYin) Shippers Thread
• 2008: 2nd Anniversary Thread
• 2009: 20th Birthday Thread

Many thanks to ix3DC for originally creating this thread, and to lilcece for compiling some of this information!

01. Who is she close to in SM Entertainment?
TVXQ → Besides dueting with one of their members, Junsu, she also toured Asia with them throughout 2007 and the first half of 2008.
CSJH → Compared to other SM females, Liyin is seen interacting with the four girls the most at the 2008 SMTOWN LIVE concerts.
Super Junior → Besides having taken a selca with violinist Henry, she has frequently stated she is closest to Siwon and Han Geng in the group.
SNSD → Liyin dormed with Taeyeon and Tiffany in her trainee days. She was also seen interacting with Hyoyeon at the SMTOWN LIVE concerts in 2008.
Ara Go → Liyin has stated in an interview that she and Ara Go are dormmates in Korea.

02. What's her vocal range?
In 2008 interviews, Liyin answered that her vocal type is of either the mezzo-soprano or the contralto type.

03. Who is Song Bing Yang?
Song Bing Yang is her childhood best friend. They lived close together when they were still kids in Chengdu. She was the one who introduced him into SM Entertainment. Currently, he is being trained to become a composer/singer.

04. When did she actually start training in Korea?
She started training in Korea at the age of 14, but because she turned 15-years-old a few months after her arrival in Korea, Liyin often replies she started training when she was 15 instead.