Baek Ji-young released her debut studio album titled Sorrow in 1999. The single Choice from the album earned her a Best New Solo Artist nomination at the inaugural Mnet Video Music Awards. In 2000, she was nominated for Best Female Artist at the same awards ceremony for the song Sad Salsa from her second studio album Rouge. In 2006, she took home the Best Female Artist trophy at the Mnet KM Music Festival for the song I Won’t Love from her fifth studio album Smile Again. In 2008, she released the single Like Being Hit by a Bullet from her seventh studio album called Sensibility. She collected numerous awards for the single, including the Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Female Artist in 2009. In 2011, she received another Best Female Artist citation at the same awards ceremony for the single Ordinary from her eight studio album Pitta.


In 2000, Baek Ji-young got involved in a sex tape scandal with her manager at that time. The controversy forced her to go off the limelight for five years.


Baek Ji-young and actor Jung Seok-won tied the knot on June 2, 2013. On June 27, 2013, it was revealed that the singer suffered a miscarriage. Almost four years later, she gave birth to a daughter.