Gawon
Gawon is MEOVV’s low-register anchor, English-language bridge, dorm mother, former YG trainee, model, vocalist, rapper, and increasingly visible songwriter. Calling her “the tall one with the deep voice” is technically recognizable and biographically useless.
The Korean-American route
Gawon was born in Ohio and spent part of her childhood in Edgewater, New Jersey before moving to South Korea while still young. Her English name is Chloe Lee. That American childhood is not a decorative “global member” bullet. It shaped the way she sings English, handles international interviews, and later helped Ella survive the less glamorous parts of moving into a Korean trainee dorm.
She attended school in New Jersey and was academically strong enough to be associated with an acceptance to New York University before choosing the trainee path. Education claims in fan profiles are often copied until nobody remembers the source, so the more important documented point is the decision itself: she had a conventional route available and continued training instead.
Before debut, she modeled and appeared in Adidas advertising. Modeling gave her camera fluency, but Gawon’s public identity did not settle around fashion the way Ella and Anna’s pre-debut narratives did. Once people heard the voice, the modeling résumé became background information.
YG and THEBLACKLABEL training
Gawon trained at YG Entertainment before moving into THEBLACKLABEL’s system. That history places her inside the wider trainee network that produced or crossed paths with future members of several groups. Fan accounts link her trainee years to performers including KISS OF LIFE’s Julie and H1-KEY’s Hwiseo. Those friendships are useful context, but they should not replace the actual work.
Her audition song for THEBLACKLABEL was Jorja Smith’s “Teenage Fantasy.” During training, she also performed Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” for a monthly evaluation. Both songs rely on phrasing, restraint, and tone. Neither is the obvious choice for somebody trying to win an audition by screaming one high note into the ceiling.
Gawon later told interviewers that the chance to audition for THEBLACKLABEL clarified what she wanted. She became the second MEOVV member officially revealed on August 23, 2024. The trailer immediately centered her physical presence and low vocal color, but the longer career has shown more flexibility than the debut edit suggested.
MEOVV career
2024: “MEOW,” “TOXIC,” and “BODY”
Gawon debuted with MEOVV on September 6, 2024. “MEOW” needed a voice capable of making a sparse, bass-heavy arrangement feel intentional instead of empty. Her lower register supplied weight. On “TOXIC,” the group moved toward exposed melody, and Gawon’s steadier phrasing became even more valuable. “BODY” returned to rhythm and attitude without reducing her to a one-note rapper.
2025: MY EYES OPEN VVIDE
“HANDS UP,” “DROP TOP,” the first EP, festival performances, and “BURNING UP” expanded her case. A cover of Rosé’s “number one girl” on KBS showed how her American English and darker vocal color could reframe a familiar song. Her cover of Jeon Somi’s “The Way” with Ella provided another cleaner look at her voice outside title-track production.
Gawon also began receiving co-writing credit, including work on the group’s first EP. In an Elite Daily interview, she described collaborating with Teddy as surreal. That comment matters because Gawon entered the company as a trainee listening to music shaped by him. By debut, she was contributing to the material instead of only being tested on it.
2026: BITE NOW
The second EP made authorship harder to overlook. Gawon participated in “In My Hands,” “Favorite Song,” “Revenge,” and the title track “DDI RO RI.” Her June 2026 LeeMujin Service appearance then attacked the other half of the résumé with a live set including “DDI RO RI,” Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi,” Yoon Mi-rae’s “As Time Goes By,” and Bazzi’s “Beautiful.”
The voice file
Gawon’s low register is the first feature most listeners notice, but it is not the entire instrument. She has a rounded middle, reliable English diction, useful head voice, and enough dynamic control to avoid singing every line at title-track intensity. Her tone can sound smoky without becoming swallowed.
The LeeMujin Service set is important because it moves from MEOVV’s own production into Lady Gaga, Yoon Mi-rae, and Bazzi. “Paparazzi” requires pop drama and upper-range control. “As Time Goes By” asks for Korean R&B phrasing and emotional patience. “Beautiful” tests English delivery without letting accent become the performance.
| Listen to | What it proves |
|---|---|
| “MEOW” | Why the lower register became part of MEOVV’s debut signature. |
| “TOXIC” | Melodic control without a rap section doing the character work. |
| “number one girl” cover | English phrasing and emotional restraint on a familiar song. |
| LeeMujin Service episode 218 | Range, live control, ad-libs, and the ability to change genres without changing identities. |
Rap, dance, and stage function
Gawon raps with a singer’s ear. She pays attention to pitch contour and the sound of the phrase, not only the beat count. Her English lines land naturally because they are part of her everyday language, while her Korean delivery avoids the exaggerated “rapper accent” that can make an assigned verse feel like costume jewelry.
She is also one of MEOVV’s visual anchors in formation. Height gives her immediate presence, but body control keeps it from becoming awkward. Her movement is not as dance-centered as Sooin’s, yet she understands line, extension, and how to hold the eye during slower counts.
Her most important group function may be structural. She can open or ground a verse, support a chorus, rap, take English interview questions, and stabilize younger or international members. Groups need stars. They also need people who prevent the entire schedule from becoming five separate emergencies.
Songwriting and musical direction
Gawon’s credits are now too substantial to bury in a trivia list. She has participated in writing across both MEOVV EPs. The BITE NOW material includes collaborations with Narin, Ella, Teddy, KUSH, 24, Vince, and international writers.
“Favorite Song” is particularly useful because it moves toward contemporary R&B and lets member taste show through. “Revenge” carries a darker emotional tone. “In My Hands” turns confidence inward. “DDI RO RI” places member writing inside a title track built around a classical sample and an aggressive group concept.
Co-writing does not mean she independently constructed every track, and this page will not pretend otherwise. It means she is in the room where lyrics, melody, identity, and market expectations get negotiated. For a group barely two years into its career, that is the beginning of an artistic record worth tracking.
The group’s practical center
Gawon repeatedly falls into MEOVV’s caretaker role. Ella’s first-night taco story is now the famous example: the newly arrived teenager could not navigate the delivery system, so Gawon downloaded the app, handled the order, and made sure she ate. Shared American background and English gave them an immediate bridge.
Members describe her as someone who locks in onstage and guides the group offstage. That combination can become invisible because competence rarely creates dramatic variety clips. It shows up when translations happen smoothly, interviews recover from awkward pauses, and younger members know who to ask before dinner becomes a crisis.
Her musical references, training history, academic options, modeling work, and songwriting all make the one-line “main vocalist and rapper” profile look especially flimsy. Gawon is a bilingual performer with institutional memory from two connected label systems and a growing hand in MEOVV’s music.
Official MEOVV videos and CVM Reacts
Gawon qualifies for the Member shelf, not the solo Artist shelf: her released work is credited through MEOVV rather than as a separate solo catalog. These official videos show why her group role cannot be reduced to one position label.
MEOW
BURNING UP
Research trail
YouTube tracking history
Gawon does not currently have a separately verified official solo-video catalog. MEOVV releases remain attached to the MEOVV group profile so group totals are not duplicated as individual activity.
Official links