SuperKnova
{{redirect-distinguish|Superknova|Kilonova|Supernova (disambiguation){{!}}Supernova}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = SuperKnova
| genre = {{hlist|Indie pop|Queer pop}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Musician|Producer|Recording Engineer|Mixing Engineer|Mastering Engineer}}
| image = SuperKnova Goals Purple Guitar Photo 3.jpg
| caption = SuperKnova on the set of her Goals_ music video in 2021
| origin = Chicago, Illinois
| years_active = 2017–present
| website = {{URL|https://superknovaofficial.com}}
| label = Self-released
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|Guitar|Piano|Drums|Synthesizer}}
| associated_acts = {{hlist|Dorian Electra|Left at London|Dua Saleh|Shamir|Backxwash|Ah-Mer-Ah-Su|She/Her/Hers|Be Steadwell|Freddie}}
| alias = Ellie Kim
}}
Ellie Kim, artist name SuperKnova, is a singer, activist, physician and musician.{{Cite web|last=Schoenberg|first=Nara|title=Under growing pressure from employees and activists, Lurie Children's Hospital may end controversial genital surgeries on children born with bodies that aren't typically male or female|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/living/health/ct-life-intersex-surgery-lurie-opposition-grows-0728-20200729-la773aekvvf7xpjmbt7uahbzz4-story.html|access-date=2021-09-21|website=chicagotribune.com|date=28 July 2020 }}{{Cite web|title=Pidgeon Pagonis|url=https://news.wttw.com/tags/pidgeon-pagonis|access-date=2021-09-21|website=WTTW News|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Julious|first=Britt|title=Ellie Kim and SuperKnova like a blast of sonic fresh air|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ott-chicago-music-local-sounds-1006-story.html|access-date=2021-09-21|website=chicagotribune.com|date=4 October 2017 }} She has released two studio albums, American Queers{{Cite web |title=American Queers, by SuperKnova |url=https://superknova.bandcamp.com/album/american-queers |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=SuperKnova |language=en}} and, most recently, superuniverse.{{Cite web |date=May 24, 2023 |title=superuniverse by SuperKnova |url=https://superknova.bandcamp.com/album/superuniverse |access-date=June 30, 2023 |website=SuperKnova}} She is noted for speaking out publicly against non-consensual intersex surgery in infants while working at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.{{Cite web|last=Schoenberg|first=Nara|title=Under growing pressure from employees and activists, Lurie Children's Hospital may end controversial genital surgeries on children born with bodies that aren't typically male or female|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/living/health/ct-life-intersex-surgery-lurie-opposition-grows-0728-20200729-la773aekvvf7xpjmbt7uahbzz4-story.html|access-date=2021-09-21|website=chicagotribune.com|date=28 July 2020 }}{{Cite web|date=2020-07-31|title=After Lurie Children's Pledges To Stop Surgeries On Intersex Kids, Activists Urge Other Hospitals To Follow|url=https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/07/31/after-lurie-childrens-pledges-to-stop-surgeries-on-intersex-kids-activists-urge-other-hospitals-to-follow/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Block Club Chicago|language=en}}
Education
Kim attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she studied jazz guitar.{{Cite web|title=Illuminating Identity: Ellie Kim Shines As SuperKnova|url=https://thesedaysmag.com/features/2018/1/17/illuminating-identity-ellie-kim-shines-superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=These Days|language=en-US}} She attended Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and graduated with her MD.{{Cite web |title=Doximity |url=https://www.doximity.com/pub/ellie-kim-md |access-date=2021-09-21 |website=www.doximity.com |language=en}} She did not attend residency and instead chose to pursue a career in music after graduating.{{Cite news|title=Getting to know Superknova|url=http://www.kinkyelevatormusic.com/blog/2021/7/6/getting-to-know-superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Kinky Elevator Music|date=6 July 2021 |language=en-US}}
Music career
Ellie Kim started SuperKnova while in medical school.{{Cite news|title=Getting to know Superknova|url=http://www.kinkyelevatormusic.com/blog/2021/7/6/getting-to-know-superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Kinky Elevator Music|date=6 July 2021 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Rebecca|first=it's|date=2020-11-30|title=SUPERKNOVA|url=https://www.equality-empowerment.com/post/superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=music is her passion|language=en}} During this time, she began her gender transition and wrote songs as a form of therapy to process her emotions around coming out. She initially did not plan on releasing them. However, a friend eventually convinced her to put them on Bandcamp.{{Cite news|title=SUPERKNOVA|url=https://bopsandflops.com/stanlist/2019/11/6/superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=BOPS & FLOPS|date=6 November 2019|language=en-US|archive-date=September 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921183641/https://bopsandflops.com/stanlist/2019/11/6/superknova|url-status=dead}} Her first album Splendor Dysphoria was released on Bandcamp in June 2017.{{Cite web|title=SuperKnova|url=https://superknova.bandcamp.com/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=SuperKnova}} She chose the artist name SuperKnova based on her childhood fascination with space. The name is based on the cosmological phenomenon of a supernova, the final most energetic explosion before the death of a star. She saw this as an analogy of how she wanted to live life: giving it her all and seeing beauty in the chaos.{{Cite web|last=Rebecca|first=it's|date=2020-11-30|title=SUPERKNOVA|url=https://www.equality-empowerment.com/post/superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=music is her passion|language=en}}{{Cite news|title=Getting to know Superknova|url=http://www.kinkyelevatormusic.com/blog/2021/7/6/getting-to-know-superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Kinky Elevator Music|date=6 July 2021 |language=en-US}} Her second album American Queers is one of the “all-time best selling transgender albums” on Bandcamp.{{Cite web|title=Transgender Music & Artists {{!}} Bandcamp|url=https://bandcamp.com/tag/transgender|access-date=2021-09-21|website=bandcamp.com}}
Production
Kim is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and audio engineer. She writes, produces, records, mixes and masters all of her own music.{{Cite web|last=Rebecca|first=it's|date=2020-11-30|title=SUPERKNOVA|url=https://www.equality-empowerment.com/post/superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=music is her passion|language=en}}
Activism
As a physician, Kim has advocated for intersex justice alongside activist Pidgeon Pagonis.{{Cite web|title=Pidgeon Pagonis|url=https://news.wttw.com/tags/pidgeon-pagonis|access-date=2021-09-21|website=WTTW News|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=How Pidgeon Pagonis Helped End Intersex Surgeries at Lurie|url=https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/October-2020/Pidgeon-Pagonis/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Chicago Magazine|language=en-US}} On July 23, 2020, Kim became the first physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital to publicly speak out against cosmetic, medically unnecessary surgeries performed on intersex infants without their consent.{{Cite web|last=Schoenberg|first=Nara|title=Under growing pressure from employees and activists, Lurie Children's Hospital may end controversial genital surgeries on children born with bodies that aren't typically male or female|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/living/health/ct-life-intersex-surgery-lurie-opposition-grows-0728-20200729-la773aekvvf7xpjmbt7uahbzz4-story.html|access-date=2021-09-21|website=chicagotribune.com|date=28 July 2020 }} She advocated for change within Lurie Children's Hospital in collaboration with Robert Garofalo, division head of Adolescent Medicine.{{Cite web|title=How Pidgeon Pagonis Helped End Intersex Surgeries at Lurie|url=https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/October-2020/Pidgeon-Pagonis/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Chicago Magazine|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Garofalo, Robert, MD, MPH|url=https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/doctors/garofalo-robert-1632/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=www.luriechildrens.org|language=en}} On July 29, 2020, Lurie Children’s hospital formally changed their policy regarding intersex infant surgery and became the first hospital in the United States to do so.{{Cite web|title=Intersex Care at Lurie Children's and Our Sex Development Clinic|url=https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/blog/intersex-care-at-lurie-childrens-and-our-sex-development-clinic/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=www.luriechildrens.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|author=Nora Neus|title=Major children's hospital apologizes for history of cosmetic genital surgeries on intersex infants|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/health/intersex-surgeries-chicago-hospital/index.html|access-date=2021-09-21|website=CNN|date=30 July 2020 }}
Personal life
Kim is a genderfluid, transgender woman and uses she/her/hers pronouns.{{Cite web|last=Rebecca|first=it's|date=2020-11-30|title=SUPERKNOVA|url=https://www.equality-empowerment.com/post/superknova|access-date=2021-09-21|website=music is her passion|language=en}}{{cite web |title=Music - SuperKnova |url=https://superknova.bandcamp.com/music |website=Bandcamp |access-date=12 August 2024}}
Appearances in media
SuperKnova's song "Glitter and Blood" appears in Season 1, Episode 2 of Showtime's Work in Progress.{{Cite web|title=Music from Work in Progress S1E02|url=https://www.tunefind.com/show/work-in-progress/season-1/93988|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Tunefind}} She also sings a cover of The Beat's "Mirror in the Bathroom" (produced by Ethan Stoller) that appears in Season 1, Episode 4, the "Bathroom" episode.{{Cite web|title=Music from Work in Progress S1E04|url=https://www.tunefind.com/show/work-in-progress/season-1/94155|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Tunefind}}
In 2023, beauty retailer Sephora added SuperKnova to their Sephora Sounds artist roster, a music collective that "reflects the authenticity of Sephora's broader beauty community".{{Cite web |last=user |date=2023-08-01 |title=Sephora Launches Music Collective to Champion and Invest in Diverse Artists for a More Inclusive Creator Community – Sephora Newsroom |url=https://newsroom.sephora.com/sephora-launches-music-collective-to-champion-and-invest-in-diverse-artists-for-a-more-inclusive-creator-community/ |access-date=2023-08-09 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Lb7RARiSH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.instagram.com}} She was one of three artists to be featured on their TikTok page alongside the announcement of the program.{{Cite web |title=sephora on TikTok |url=https://www.tiktok.com/@sephora/video/7262438190735314218?is_from_webapp=1&web_id=7185528534714271275 |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=TikTok |language=en}}
Awards
In 2021, SuperKnova's music video for her song "Goals_" was selected to the 44th Asian American International Film Festival in New York City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aaiff.org/aaiff44/goals_/|access-date=2021-09-21|website=www.aaiff.org|title=Archived copy|archive-date=2021-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921183640/https://www.aaiff.org/aaiff44/goals_/|url-status=dead}}
In 2023, SuperKnova's music video for her song "Islands" was selected to the 46th Asian American International Film Festival in New York City.{{Cite web |url=https://www.aaiff.org/aaiff46/islands-2/ |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=Asian American International Film Festival |language=en |title=Islands}}