Dami Im is a South Korean-born Australian singer, best known as the winner of the fifth
series of The X Factor Australia in 2013. She subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia
and released her winner's single "Alive", which debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles
Chart. Im's self-titled album, Dami Im, was released in November 2013 and debuted at number
one the ARIA Albums Chart. She became the first X Factor Australia contestant to follow
up a number one single with a number one album on the ARIA Charts.
Early life Dami Im was born in South Korea on 17 October
1988 to Hae Yun Lee, a trained opera singer, and Dong Eal Im. She is the oldest of two
children. Im began learning the piano at the age of five, and she taught herself to sing
by recording herself copying her favourite artists. 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. They stayed with their uncle in Brisbane,
while her father stayed in South Korea to earn money to support them. Im's parents now
live together, spending part of the year in Australia and part in South Korea.
Aged 11, Im began studying at the Young Conservatorium of Music program at Griffith University. She
was a national finalist in the Yamaha Youth Piano Competition, and won the Nora Baird
Scholarship and the Queensland Piano Competition several times. Im attended John Paul College
in Daisy Hill, Queensland and graduated in 2005. She never sang while at school and would
only accompany the choir on piano, and play violin for the school's Silver Strings group.
In 2009, Im graduated from the University of Queensland with first class honours in
a Bachelor of Music. She subsequently completed a Masters of Arts degree in contemporary voice
at Griffith University. Prior to entering The X Factor, Im was a music and piano teacher.
Career 2010–12: Early career
Im had a short career as a gospel singer in Korea, performing at Christian youth camps.
In 2010, she released her debut studio album, Dream, which consisted of nine tracks and
was recorded to raise money for church endeavours. In July 2011, Im re-released the album with
two extra tracks, which were both sung in English. On 5 December 2011, Im released a
Christmas extended play called Snow & Carol, which consisted of seven tracks. On 9 July
2012, Im released her second extended play, Intimacy, which consisted of five tracks.
2013: The X Factor Australia Im successfully auditioned for the fifth series
of The X Factor Australia in 2013. She sang "Hero" by Mariah Carey and progressed to the
super bootcamp stage of the competition. On the first day of bootcamp, Im was placed in
the Under 25 Girls category and sang "I'm with You" by Avril Lavigne in front of her
entire category and judges Redfoo, Ronan Keating and Dannii Minogue. On the second day of super
bootcamp, she was put into an ensemble of 10 and they sang "Next to Me" by Emeli Sandé
in front of the judges. 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. After the judges made changes
to the Boys, Girls and Overs categories, Im became part of the newly formed Over 24s category
and she got eliminated. However, Im was called back for home visits in New York City to replace
Matt Gresham who decided he could not commit to the competition. During home visits, she
sang "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé in front of her mentor Dannii Minogue and guest mentor
Kylie Minogue. Dannii 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. For the Judges' Choice-themed first live show,
Im sang "One" by U2 and received a standing ovation from the judges. Natalie Bassingthwaighte
said she had "the best vocal of the night." Im's performance of "One" peaked at number
42 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Legends-themed second live show, she sang "Purple Rain" by
Prince and received another standing ovation. Keating told Im that the competition "at the
moment, is yours." Her performance of "Purple Rain" debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles
Chart. For the Top 10 Hits-themed third live show, Im sang Thelma Houston's version of
"Don't Leave Me This Way", and her performance of the song debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart
at number 67. Following the eliminations of Vas and Southgate, Im became the only remaining
contestant in the Over 24s 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. Im's performance of "Roar" debuted at number 44 on the ARIA
Singles Chart. For the Rock-themed fifth live show, she sang "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters
and received her fifth standing ovation. Keating told Im that it is "an honour to work on this
show with talent like you." Im's performance of "Best of You" debuted at number 78 on the
ARIA Singles Chart. Following Im's performance of Simon & Garfunkel's
"Bridge over Troubled Water" in the Family Heroes-themed sixth live show, her mentor
Dannii notably teared up as she dedicated Im's song choice to her parents and grandfather,
following the death of her grandmother. Im's performance of "Bridge over Troubled Water"
debuted at number 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart. 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. 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. Keating said "it was pitchy and a weak performance" and Bassingthwaighte
agreed. 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. Her performances of "Wrecking
Ball" and "Saving All My Love for You" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at numbers 61 and
85 respectively. During the grand final performance show on
27 October, Im was required to perform three songs – her audition song, winner's single
and last shot song. Im's winner's single was "Alive" and her last shot song was "And I
Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", which
debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart, saw all four judges standing on the desk.
Redfoo said Im's performance was "the best thing I've ever seen in my life", while Dannii
added that she is "world class." Im's performance of "Hero" debuted at number 62. During the
grand final decider show the following day, Im was announced as the winner.
2013–present: Dami Im and Heart Beats After winning The X Factor, Im's single "Alive"
was released on the iTunes Store. She also received a recording contract with Sony Music
Australia and a management deal. Four days after release, "Alive" debuted at number one
on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry
Association for selling over 70,000 copies. Im's self-titled album was released on 15
November 2013 and features studio recordings of songs she performed on The X Factor. The
album debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum for shipments
of more than 70,000 units. Im became the first X Factor Australia contestant to follow up
a number one single with a number one album on the ARIA Charts. 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. In December 2013, she signed on as an ambassador for the
children's charity Compassion Australia. 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.
On 24 January 2014, Im released a cover of "I Am Australian" with Jessica Mauboy, Justice
Crew, Nathaniel Willemse, Samantha Jade and Taylor Henderson, to coincide with the Australia
Day celebrations. The song peaked at number 51 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Im released
an acoustic cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" on 7 March 2014, as her next single but it
failed to chart. In May 2014, she became an ambassador for Priceline Pharmacy's You
Beauty campaign, which celebrates the diversity of Australian women. "Super Love" was released
on 16 May 2014 as the lead single from Im's upcoming third studio album Heart Beats. It
peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum. In June 2014,
Im became the ambassador of Nintendo's video game, Tomodachi Life. "Gladiator" was released
on 8 August 2014 as the second single from Heart Beats. It peaked at number 11 on the
ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold for selling over 35,000 copies. The album
is scheduled to be released on 17 October 2014. On 3 September 2014, Im performed
at The Marquee in Sydney as part of Nova FM's Red Room Global Tour.
Artistry Im has cited K-pop music as an inspiration
in regard to her love and passion for singing. Her musical influences are Beyoncé, Mariah
Carey, Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Chris Tomlin and BoA. She also cites BoA along with
Lee Juk and Kim Dong-ryool as her favourite singers. Aside from singing, Im also plays
piano and violin. Personal life
Im is a Christian and a member of the Brisbane Full Gospel Church in Eight Mile Plains, Queensland.
She met Noah Kim, a former South Korean military serviceman, at the church and they were married
in Seoul, South Korea in September 2012. Im and her husband live in Daisy Hill, a suburb
of Logan City. In October 2013, she was named the cultural ambassador for Logan City and
was offered the key to the city by mayor Pam Parker. Im was presented with the key at a
ceremony on 4 December 2013. Discography
Dream Dami Im
Heart Beats Concert tours
Headlining The X Factor Live Tour
Supporting Nova's Red Room Global Tour
Awards and nominations References
External links Official website
Dami Im on Facebook Dami Im on Twitter
Dami Im's channel on YouTube