Saturday, April 21, 2012

Song Ji Hyo to leave ‘Running Man’?





















































Rumors of Song Ji Hyo leaving ‘Running Man‘ has stemmed after the actress was confirmed as the lead character alongside JYJ‘s Jaejoong for the upcoming film, ‘Jackal is Coming‘.



According to her agency, C-JeS Entertainment, the actress has already completed the first script reading and is preparing to begin filming for the movie. Due to her being cast as a lead character, the possibility of the actress leaving ‘Running Man’ has been up in the air. Song Ji Hyo has been giving viewers much laughter on the weekly variety program with her “ace” character as well as being part of the “Monday couple” with Gary.

According to a representative of ‘Running Man’, they have revealed that nothing is set in stone as of yet. Last year, Song Ji Hyo was cast in the MBC historical drama, ‘Gyebaek‘, but was able to balance her schedule and continue filming the variety program.

Hopefully Song Ji Hyo won’t be leaving ‘Running Man’, the show won’t be the same without her!

Source: Newsen via Nate & Allkpop


* Oh No! What's going to happen to my weekly intake of 'Monday Couple'? She need to stay remain with Running Man... 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

[Fanvid] I'm Coming Home - King2Hearts




Finally I've come up with another video.
I guess YT just not the right sites for me. 
None of my vids survive there and it is just too much for me.

But look... I just can't help and do this again. (^^)

Song by: Skylar Grey
Episode 6.

Tell me what do u think about it.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Jay Park and Lee Si Young grow closer on ‘Music and Lyrics’






























Popular stars Jay Park and Lee Si Young were seen growing closer together, through exercise on the recent episode of ‘Music and Lyrics’.

On April 14th, MBC aired ‘Music and Lyrics‘ in lieu of the normal broadcast of ‘We Got Married‘, due to the ongoing labor strikes.

In the episode, Jay Park and Lee Si Young met to share their self-produced lyrics and music. The two found that they had excellent chemistry and roundly exchanged polite complements.

Afterwards, the two decided to go on an exercise date in order to overcome their awkwardness. As they played to see who is better at free throws, Jay Park found himself highly surprised to see how good Lee Si Young was, even though she claimed she had never done it before.

Ultimately, Lee Si Young triumphed over Jay Park and he had give her a piggy back ride as punishment. Apparently, this punishment was great for the two of them, as Lee Si Young found herself flustered at Jay’s manly physique and Jay enjoyed the advancement of their closeness through this skinship.

Stay tuned to see how their relationship evolves as the show progresses!



Source & Image: Nate

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Recap of Jay and Siyoung on 04/14/12 Music and Lyrics

























1. Jay & Siyoung first met each other at Seoul's Fashion Week. Jay not knowing who his partner is said: "because there are a lot of actress here, I'm very curious in who 'she' will be". Siyoung is usually able to spot/ find out who her partner is quite easily, but because she didn't figure it out, she became very nervous and anxious. When they finally met each other, Siyoung said she would have never guess that her partner was Jay. She thought it would be Bang Shi Hyuk, who was sitting close to her.

2. Because they need to compose a song for the new girl group, they met up with the girl group's production team first. Up to now, Jay never composed for a girl group before. Even though Lee Siyoung have experience in writing lyrics, a dance track is very different from a ballad. The producer wants the song to have a lot of "hip hop flavour". Jay promised that they'll do well, leading Siyoung to think that the two were on the same side. Then they went to meet the girl group.

3. They tried to find their common interest while having a conversation. Siyoung's hobby is putting together (toy) models while Jay is bowling. Jay asked Siyoung if she drinks on a regular basis, Siyoung said she doesn't drink. Then they finally found their common interest, that is they both enjoy music, so they went to hongdae together. Jay said he goes to hongdae approximately 4 times a week. Everytime Jay mentioned alcohol, Siyoung said they're not completely incompatible, then Jay joked "Were you just being modest before?".

4.They sat down at a bar, and Siyoung asked Jay for his English name and said that she doesn't have one herself. So Jay called Junior over, who just suddenly appears on scene. They brainstormed together and finally decided on Dianne. When talking about their ideal types, Siyoung said she like guys who are fun(?)(*not sure, because 有趣 can be translated to have a lot of meaning; e.g. interesting, amusing & etc.*) Jay said she should like guys who are a bit more cool, because he's cool himself. Because Jay decided to put both their English names in the lyrics, Siyoung said she'll address Jay as "Mr. Cool".

5. For the next few days, they worked on their own and then met up afterwards. Jay heard Siyoung's lyrics and felt that it wasn't good enough and needs a bit more work. Jay prepared two version of the song for Siyoung to listen to. After when Siyoung heard it, she felt it was really hard to fill in the lyrics to Jay's song. Siyoung brought Jay's cd along with her and said her favourite song is "Star". Jay replied: "Ah, you like the only song where I didn't participate in the lyrics of songs." Afterwards they went to exercise together, hoping they'll get closer faster.

6. In the shooting game, whoever loses have to give the other person a piggyback ride. Jay lost so he piggybacked Siyoung, at that time the two were a lot more natural with each other. Siyoung said she never went on the seesaw with her boyfriend before, so they went today.

7. It came to the day where they had to show their final "product". When Jay and Siyoung showed the song to the girl group, they received quite a good response. Afterwards they went to see the producer and both of them were extremely nervous. Siyoung prepared a lot of lyrics, when listening to the song, the producer was expressionless.

8. After listening to the song, the producer felt like it didn't match his requirements. He wanted something different from the musical styles nowadays, a slow hip hop song, but Jay composed something that is commonly heard of. Siyoung's lyrics were too long and wasn't able to capture the main points, basically the lyrics couldn't be used. The producer "threw a wet blanket" over them by saying that the final "product" putted him in a bad mood. Jay fought back for Siyoung and said: "Just look at the context of the lyrics because the lyrics came from the context given."

9. Jay and Siyoung were composing a song for Tiny-G, a soon-to-debut girl group.



All translated from @青都没了只剩春 via weibo
Please credit @unIdentifyy via twitter & @青都没了只剩春 via weibo if redistributing! (:

Cast picked for music reality show











































Jay and John Park, no relation, have both been picked to star in a new music-based MBC reality television show.

Jay will be paired with actress Lee Si-young and John with Park Jin-hee in “Music and Lyrics,” according to the network.

On the show, Jay Park and Lee will work together to compose a song for newbie girl group Tiny-G.

“I’m confident that I can do this, and I think that as a team, the song we create will become a big hit,” Jay Park said.

Lee said that she was also excited about the invitation to star in the show.

“I’m a bit nervous, so instead of thinking that I’m on a show, I’m going to try to relax and try my best to be Lee Si-young off the camera,” said the singer.

John Park and Park Jin-hee also said that the experience would be fun, and each said they were happy with the other half of their pair.

The show will air from Saturday and replace “We Got Married,” canceled just two days ago.

source : The ChosunIlbo

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

HaHa talks about his good friend MC Mong on ‘Win Win’






















































TV personality HaHa talked about his close friend MC Mong during his interview on ‘Win Win‘.

MC Mong has been absent from the entertainment industry ever since being suspected of willfully extracting teeth to evade Korea’s mandatory military service. On the April 10th episode of KBS 2TV‘s ‘Win Win’, HaHa revealed how MC Mong was currently doing.

I have been so busy myself that I haven’t been able to contact him lately,” HaHa said. “But I spoke with him yesterday.”

“When I think about him, my heart breaks,” he said. “He’s lost his smile.”

HaHa then sent a video message to MC Mong saying, “Mong, you were always the strong one that persevered through anything. I hope one day, you and I will be able to once again gift laughter to people, and I hope that you will rise again as Shin Dong Hyun (MC Mong’s birth name) that will show the world what good music is. I love you sincerely, and I am rooting for you.” HaHa then became choked up with tears, moving the audience members’ hearts.

In related news, MC Mong was found ‘not-guilty’ on the charges of violating military service law, but guilty on the obstruction of justice charges.

Source & Image : Newsen via Nate
Allkpop

















* I believe someday... someday he will be back. He's an entertainer... no matter how hard he tried to avoid the entertainment life... he still have to comeback. It's in his blood. 

Mong aaa~ 난 네가기다리고있어... Fighting!!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

[Pic. Spam] :Lee Seung Gi & Ha Ji Won “Barefoot Hug” In The Snow






Credit : nate

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Ha Ji Won Shows Off Feminine North Korean Beauty

Ha Ji Won will be showing off her feminine side for the first time in a long time.

The MBC drama The King 2Hearts will soon show Ha Ji Won in a completely different look.

The drama’s fifth episode, to be aired on April 4, will show Hang Ah entering Seoul. As such, she will be taking off the North Korean officer suits and the World Officer Championship uniforms she usually donned to replace them with a graceful hanbok, shedding her uniform charisma for a North Korean flower girl femininity.




































In the recent shoot for the drama, Ha Ji Won appeared in a bright pink top with flower stitches on a black dress. Her fur scarf wrapped around her arm in consideration of the cold weather made her look more like a luxurious high-class North Korean. She especially made everyone excited on set by perfectly changing her attitude to fit her new style.

A rep from the drama’s production company Kim Jong Hak Production said, “Ha Ji Won continued to show herself in uniform in order to show her charisma as a North Korean officer, but in the future she’ll be showcasing many different images. As Ha Ji Won enters Seoul, the story will become more interesting also.”




































The King 2Hearts sets up South Korea as a constitutional monarchy, and revolves around the love story of the North Korean Special Forces instructor Kim Hang Ah (Ha Ji Won) and the snobby South Korean prince Lee Jae Ha (Lee Seung Gi). The drama is currently leading the ratings for its time slot thanks to the hard work of its actors.

Photo credit: Kim Jong Hak Production
Source: enewsworld

Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won Warm Up on ‘The King 2Hearts’

It looks like Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won’s characters are beginning to thaw out their frosty relations!

On April 4, the production agency of MBC’s The King 2Hearts unveiled new preview still cuts ahead of the airing of the drama’s fifth episode.

The released image shows Ha and Lee, sitting in front of a white piano at night, with a warm light bathing their faces- a stark contrast from the icy and sometimes nasty relations between the two characters. The two were revealed to be playing the song, Ave Maria together on the piano.







































The scene was revealed to have been shot on Jeju Island on March 13. Despite the cold weather icing their bodies and fingers, the two managed to act out the warm scenes without a hitch.

A member of the production staff shared, “The passion that Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi always spills for their acting always makes the production set warm. The fifth and sixth episode will see a more exciting storyline beginning to unfold.”

The fifth episode of The King 2Hearts will air on April 4.

Photo credit: Kim Jong Hak Production
Source: enewsworld
 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

JAY PARK, “NOT A BIG STAR, BUT (WANT TO MAKE) MUSIC LIKE ONE”

April 1, 2012 Interview

Some say Jay Park, no longer a member of an idol group, is “wasted”, but to some, he is still a “star”. Then how does Jay Park, who is somewhere between idol and musician, fandom and mass public, and over and underground, see himself? “To be honest, I don’t really know what I am either.” He adds further, “I am just me, a free spirit.” His recent album, New Breed, also shows the liberated Jay Park, with the fully packed album with 15 tracks including ‘Know Your Name’ and an album cover with a strange painting on one half of his face. Therefore, the impressive interview with Jay Park – who is satisfied with being “just himself” and not first place, who has the attitude of “I don’t have to become a big star, because I try to do music and performances like a big star” – in seven keywords.











“This album is almost a 100% Jay Park-like”

Because I did everything, from emailing/contacting people, recording, mixing and mastering. Before I couldn’t do anything on my own. But as I had learned Korean when I first came to Korea, I had to learn this from someone. First I received beats from here and there, listened to almost 200 of them and thought about what kind of songs I wanted to write. Tracks like ‘Girlfriend,’ ‘Know Your Name’, or ‘Up and Down’ have hooks and melodies that have mass appeal and talk about love; songs like ‘Wasted’ and ‘Turn Off Your Phone’ were created because I wanted to make them. As for ‘I Love You’, a famous producer named Rob Knox and a singer-songwriter, James Fauntleroy, met up with me twice, studied my music style and personality and composed it for me. The beats came out in two and a half hours and we recorded it as soon as the melody was integrated to them; the song was done that day. In ‘Clap’, Tiger Jk and Yoon Mirae (Tasha) helped me out; it was such an honour. Mirae noona especially, she was so awesome, cool and great at rapping; she’s the boss of everyone in Jungle entertainment. More boss than Tiger JK… almost a goddess? (laughs). It was also great to work with people I respect like Dynamic Duo hyungs, Bizzy hyung, The Quiett hyung and Dok2. I can’t even work as half good as them, so I am continuously greedy and cannot be satisfied with my work.

It’s good to produce the entire album, but honestly it was very tiring and stressful. I’m easily convinced and a blood-type A (Note: in Korea, blood types are believed to determine one’s personality. A person with type A would be easily hurt, feminine, vengeful, social, able to compromise and does not like to reveal their weakness.) Haha. I put in a lot of consideration for vocal directing this time too. There isn’t anyone that doesn’t use autotune, and it’s needed at certain times, but I tried to sing at my best ability. I believe that a song doesn’t grow old if the voice can be heard well, and if the emotions are well conveyed. It may sound good if the beats are fancy or if some measures are repeated, but that can easily become boring. That’s why I put in 15 songs with care; I wanted to make an album that, instead of disappearing after one month of promotion, something that would not become boring even after one year. But people like Michael Jackson have done music for 40 years, while I’m a rookie that have only been doing this for a year, I will learn how to do well next time if I fail, and grow. I will show everything of this final product at my concert on March 3rd.




























“I can still only write about love and myself in Korean rap”

“Turn Off Your Phone” was influenced by “Turned Off the TV” by Leessang hyungs (Gil & Garie). People say it’s a little provocative, but I wanted to make a story with a fun concept and make people imagine a certain situation. It’s actually not that hard to write lyrics for a melody, but not for rap lyrics. I’ve been writing rap lyrics in English since second year of middle school and did pretty well in writing classes so I can write fun metaphors. But in Korean.. the best I can do is, “Where the wind blows, you’re a candle; blow off”? Hahah. I don’t have a big vocabulary thus not a big source of rhyme; sometimes I force things to work. I can’t write fun lyrics like Dynamic Duo hyungs so all I can write about for now are boasting about myself, “I’m awesome”, or love stories. So when I write Korean lyrics, I make a certain expression first and ask if this is okay; Dok2 likes them most of the time while The Quiett hyung tells me, “I think this is a better way,” and teaches me.










































“I’m a b-boy; I have dignity of being a dancer”

I started dancing since I was a freshman in high school; since then, I couldn’t escape from it. I am happiest and have the most fun when I am dancing. Although I’m active as a singer, a celebrity, I always go back to dancing when I am on a break. I’m a b-boy, a dancer, I’m not as good as the people who are always practicing but I still have this dignity of being a dancer. When I’m on stage with the dance team, I must give up one side when holding the mic, but the rest (of my body) is free so I want to sing properly and dance at my maximum capability at the same time. I like practicing with dancers of all genres and being influenced by seeing each other improve. The people around me are all professionals in poppin, b-boying or street dancing, and I want to learn more from them. All dances are hard on the body; b-boying especially, is very painful to the wrist and the waist while poppin or rocking or crunk affect the wrist less – I wonder how much I will improve if I learn properly. The thing I regret most about being a singer is the lack of time. I wish I didn’t need to sleep at all. Humans must sleep, and singers need it to get a good voice. I think it’d be better if we could use all 24 hours without sleeping. Because dancing is not work, but something fun; because this is who I am.


























“I don’t like the taste of alcohol; I just like the mood created by it”

There were a lo… not very many times when I’ve drank so much. Haha. Honestly, alcohol still doesn’t taste good to me. I don’t like things that don’t taste good. I just like the atmosphere where you talk and drink together. I don’t ever drink alone at home. Since everyone around me drink, if someone says “Should we go have a drink today?” then I just tag along. In America, they don’t sell alcohol very much after 2am, and to drink you have to drive far in the first place; but it’s easier to access them in Korea. I became used to it at one point, but I don’t force someone else to drink. Everyone has their limit and it’s not good to see someone being forced to drink and throw up.

To confess, there was a time when I was drunk in one and half hour, threw up and had to get my manager hyung to take me home. I didn’t know my limits so I kept taking people’s offers, and got drunk by myself before everyone even gathered. That’s why I wanted to make a fun song like “Wasted”. (omit) Ah, I heard that some people don’t see my drinking in a good way, but I’m human too. They may not like my tattoos or kiss scenes in music videos, but I can’t do anything because that’s who I am. But I don’t smoke haha. Drinking is a way of having fun together, but you can’t enjoy a cigarette together… But when people have those talks while smoking, I go with them to listen.



























“I can’t focus just on exercise right now.”

When I was 20, I ran 30 laps around the field in winter, rope-skipped 1000 times and did ab workouts, although I was very skinny. I felt like my body was garbage if I didn’t exercise for four or five days. Haha. During the debut stage of 2pm, I ripped my wrist ligament while doing acrobatics and could not use it well for a year; but I still exercised because I couldn’t take it, and made the injury worse. A month ago, I hurt my wrist again while dancing so I can’t do b-boying or bulk-ups. I just do light ab workouts and run for 20 minutes. Maybe it’s because I’m in the second-half of my 20s, because I’m drinking as I age, but I’m becoming too lazy to exercise now, to be honest. I can’t be strict like before, and think more, “this should be enough.” But since I’m alone now, I have to do well in every aspect and try not to show this weakness on stage; and this is why I don’t exercise as much, since I disperse the strict thoughts to these areas. I don’t just exercise; I also sing, dance and exercise. Oh and some people say the reason I am not tall is because I’ve exercised too much since I was too young, and I think that might be true. My brother is 183cm tall, and my father is 185cm. I have long arms and my feet are almost as big as my brother’s, but whether my legs are short or my waist is, something is definitely missing. But I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t exercised or danced back then, I wouldn’t be here right now. My brother is taller than me, but he’s just playing games at home. Haha.




















































“I like variety shows where I can run around, instead of sitting and talking.”

I had fun on Immortal Song 2 because of G.O., Kyuhyun and Huh Gak hyung. It’s a competition, but I didn’t care about winning; it was good to win, but I couldn’t do anything about losing. I wanted to do well on stage and also make it fun since it’s a variety show but I think I got good reactions because of Jun Goon remixed the songs well. The stages for “Dear, do not change” and “Look Back at Me” were fun, and “Candy” was actually hard. I knew H.O.T. sunbaes because they are so famous, but I hadn’t heard the song until the practice. Since I was singing the parts of five people by myself, there was no where to breathe; I was worried whether I’d do well. “Aemo” was closer to a ballad, and I was worried because I had never performed songs like that. I didn’t know what “Aemo” meant to begin with (Note: it means affection in Korean) and I don’t use words like “dear”. But when people explained it to me, I got an idea of what the song was about. It was a good experience to hear a lot of Korean songs while I was on Immortal Song 2. If I get to appear again, I think I’ll be more serious on the stage.

Recently, I was on “Sensitive Castle” of Gag Concert; I tried really hard and even improvised with ad libs like “Punch, kick! kick!”. The hyungs were so funny and brought the corner to life, and I felt bad that I couldn’t be as funny. Honestly, I am really funny if I talk in English. When I’m with friends, I joke around a lot too. So I prefer variety shows where I can run around and play games, like Running Man, instead of shows where I sit and talk. I’m confident I can run around well. If places like <Saturday Night Live Korea> call me? Of course I want to go. On Saturday Night Live, Justin Timberlake used beer bottles, and danced to ‘Single Ladies’… The man can sing well and be funny too. I like that he has the ‘I’m hot even if I do this’ kind of pride. He’s still modest and comfortable (about what he does).






























“I’m just me, a free spirit.”

The aim of this album was for people to notice my music or album or myself on stage more. That’s good enough. I want to promote my style of R&B more to people, but the situation right now is that I make them myself instead of being forced by someone else; I’m very grateful to those that like it. This is me, yet they like it. I’m grateful that the fans try their best to understand what I do. So I tried to be more celebrity-like, more singer-like, to them and made a choreography and a music video for ‘Know Your Name.’ There are probably some that want me to be a big star.. but I am just grateful for being able to be a celebrity and having fans; I don’t obsess over it. All this may disappear when I don’t know it, and if I cling on to it, then I’d be very hurt when it’s all gone.

I’m very down-to-earth. I don’t need to make billions of dollars; I just need enough to take care of my family and friends. Therefore I believe that, if I enjoy life and think positive, something will happen even if I don’t become that famous or that big. Even if I don’t become a big star, I try to do music and performances like one. To be honest, I don’t really know what I am, either. Idol, musician… those are all opinions of viewers. Some may have seen me only on variety shows and some many only have heard my albums so they may have different opinions like, he’s an idol, dancer or Jay only has a nice body… I’m just me, a free spirit.
Reporters Choi Ji-Eun & Yoon Hee-Sung



SOURCE: 10ASIA TRANSLATOR: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET

DO NOT ADD/REMOVE CREDITS. YOU MAY ONLY TAKE OUT WITH CREDITS TO JAYPARK.NET

THE 26-YEAR OLD JAY PARK IS IRRELEVANT TO PRETENSE

April 1, 2012 Interview

























Jay Park came back after enduring the hardship. I met him at the music program set, between his rehearsal and the actual recording. I sat down without a thought at first, but immediately felt bad, seeing the mark on his face that indicated he had not been able to get sufficient sleep. I felt I stole his precious time to get some sleep. But as soon as the interview started, I felt the innocence and the sincerity from his squinting eyes that were trying to make sense of my fluent Korean. More liberated than anyone, also more polite, was this 26-year-old man, Jay Park, who never showed pretense or hypocrisy. Now let us hear his story.

Q: You don’t seem to be caught up in achieving success at all costs. You seem like you’d be happy somewhere else, if you were to just give up on all this. But how did such a free-spirited man like you become a celebrity, who is always psychologically pressured?

J: I never had any thoughts of becoming a singer. Becoming a singer or a celebrity was not my dream. I just loved music and dance. But somehow, time passed and now I am a singer. But the most important thing in my life is my family. I wanted to succeed for my family, loved making them happy by making money and now, I want to succeed even more for the people around me and to be of any help. When I came back (to Korea), I came with my family and AOM. I thought I was dreaming.

Q: I thought you started dancing first but it seems like rap-writing came first.

J: I started listening to rap music in middle school. I naturally came to like rap. As I listened to it often, I began to rap along, and slowly started to write my own lyrics. It helped to read a lot and listen to lots of music when writing them.

Q: You are not perfectly fluent in Korean yet, but you are quite witty. Do you get complimented on your humour when you speak in English as well? When you write in English, I cannot tell. It frustrates me.

J: I have done any broadcast in English so I don’t know. My friends would never admit this but I personally think I’m the clown in the group (laughs). I am still in need of improvement when writing lyrics in Korean. It frustrates me too because I don’t know if I wrote it well or not. I show it to the hyungs beforehand and get approval. I think that’s unfortunate. I put in a lot of effort of course but it’s not an easy thing to improve in.

Q: What is the background of your family like? Are they in literature or dance?

J: Not particularly. I was a kid that loved to play basketball and music. My brother was the type to stay in his room and play video games while I was the one to go out. Now that I think of it, that’s why we didn’t spend much time together. I wasn’t very good at it but I was also interested in dancing too. I worshipped Usher as my idol and I wanted to copy everything he did. I wanted to make my body like his and dress like him. I practiced (dancing) a lot watching Michael Jackson or Usher videos when I was young, but I really started dancing properly in my first year of high school. Since then, I started to go dance with friends, and became more interested by watching videos.

Left: There are star tattoos on his neck! Oh, behind his ear too… OMG honey skin! Anything looks good on him~ //
 Right: The cappuccino that Jay drank today…Still looking good before the interview.

Q: When others were leaving to study abroad, Jay you, on the contrary, came to Korea. I know a bit about the school life of that age group. They all sleep in class, forgetting about studying. Did you find that weird?

J: Whether it’s Korea or America, not all students can be interested in studying. There are people that play sports, or those like me who perform in music. It’s not like I don’t know
why they sleep in class. So there was nothing weird about it. To be honest, I tried hard myself not to fall asleep at first. I was a trainee, and I did not
want to add to the prejudice that everyone from America is like this. But I couldn’t hold on for too long. I ended up sleeping a lot later too (haha). Problems about Korea’s education system? There will not be no problems, but it’s funny that I am the one to evaluate it. I didn’t go to school here for long. But really, it’s the same in America. There were even kids that attended only two classes a year. There are a variety of students everywhere. The Korean friends were much nicer to me than I thought. They played basketball and went to the cafeteria with me… Now that I think of it, I am very grateful.

Q: Other than your school friends, most of the people you met first were at work. So I thought it was unfortunate that you may have considered all of Korean people to act like them.

J: At first it was strange. I felt this really wasn’t for me. I came without knowing what a trainee or a singer really was. Since I came to Korea without any knowledge or determination, I couldn’t understand why my lifestyle had to be different – it was really hard for me. But as time went by, I became used to everything very fast.

Q: A friend of mine saw you on the plane few months ago. (He/she) said you slept until you got off the plane. You must have been very tired.


J: Ah, I really hate flying. I’m honestly afraid of it. So I get on board when I’m in a really tired state. On purpose. If I kept sleeping, then my plan succeeded (laughs). I’m not much of a sleeper usually.

Q: I remember you getting off the ship to join the <Hot Blood> team on Mnet. You didn’t seem to like it. Let’s be honest; did you find it weird to be on a show that had nothing to do with music?

J: Thinking back, I did have reluctance towards it. But I never thought lightly of it. I wasn’t confident about acting out the scripted scenes or being funny on variety shows. But I thought I should put effort into it since I had to do it. It’s good to enjoy the things you do. Back then, a lot of people helped me… During MBC every1′s <Idol Army> especially, Boom hyung really helped me in various ways and led me well. The staff members as well.




































Q: On the recent episode of <Radio Star>, Kim Goora talked about you. Did you know that?

J: I didn’t watch it personally, but heard about it from the fans. Actually, Goora hyungnim told me the same thing during the recording of IS2. He said, “Jay’s ex-member was really nice”. That must have been after the recording of Radio Star, right? (on IS2), (goora) hyung, staff members, the scriptwriters and especially the scriptwriter in charge of me are very considerate. I think that’s why, even though I get nervous, it’s still more comfortable than any other programs. The secret to being loved? I’m not sure. If I really had to pick, I’m really goofy. I guess I talk funny too. Well, I guess they just look at it in a good way.

Q: Before IS2, there were a few other opportunities too, as I heard. There were a few performances that were recorded, but were never aired. How disappointed you must have been.

J: I was alright. But the fans were very disappointed. But they can see me often on youtube or performances, even if I’m not on TV. I think they just want more people to know about me because they are my supporters. Because they want me to succeed. Because if I don’t appear on TV, they can’t let other people know about me; I think that’s what makes them sad. Of course, I also want more people to listen to my music. If I don’t go on TV, I can’t promote my songs very easily. But I don’t hang onto that. I am always optimistic, and think that things will all go well someday.

(to be continued in part 2)

Reporter Jung Suk-Hee

SOURCE: Entermedia TRANSLATOR: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET



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THE DUALITY OF THE 25-YEAR-OLD JAY PARK



April 1, 2012 Interview 


I do not want to follow the system of normal K-pop stars.


















































Jay Park, returning with a new album after releasing his first solo album, Take a Deeper Look, last year, was full of confidence. He composed 13 out of 15 songs on the new album, New Breed, and produced the entire album himself. From collecting tracks to organizing the album, there is not one area that has not been touched by Jay Park.
The unconventional album art is also his idea. “One side shows my normal side, while the other shows my wildness when I make music. I wanted to show the two sides that reside in me through this album.”

Jay Park started his story with the topic of the conflicting two sides, his duality. “I want to do things that the fans want as well as the things that I want. Sometimes, I can’t fulfil their wish and other times I can’t do what I want. Those times are shown transparently in my lifestyle and my music work.”

For the last year, the most evident change in Jay Park’s appearence is the amount of his tattoos. “This, the fans don’t like. Neither does my mother (laughs). But this is definitely a different way of showing my emotions and my inner thoughts. As if to refute logically against the question, “why do you keep getting tattoos?”, Jay Park began to explain the tattoos that symbolize singing, dancing, family, friends, fans, determination etc., one by one.




















































This conflict is most obvious musically. “Most people said the songs were too hard when I made the first mini album. They meant that they were too similar to foreign (American) songs. But that was the kind of music I wanted to make. But I know that not many people will listen to them if I kept going with this style. Since I am a singer, I want to play my music to more members of the general public. The title track, ‘Know Your Name’, has both of these aspects in mind.”
Rapper Dok2 was featured in ‘Know Your Name’. To Jay Park, he was the rapper that could best express the American style of hip-hop. This is another reason why the two are tightly keeping their musical partnership for so long.

His greed for composing is laid out in a similar way. “I have always wanted to give my songs to other singers. Recently, I gave a song that I composed to Brian sunbae. But I don’t think I will be able to give my songs to just anyone, nor do I want to. The person must really want my music, and the song must also suit the person well.” The way Jay Park is heading is definitely not along the lines of becoming a professional composer/producer and raising rookie singers.
















































Thoughts about debuting internationally is another conflict. “SNSD are really amazing and are doing well, I think. It’s really a big deal to appear on the Late Show in America. I envy Korean artists that are able to promote abroad. However, if I were to promote in America, it would not be the same way. First, I don’t want to do K-pop music. I also want to promote in a different way. I want to make a demo and release it on youtube, then perform at clubs and go from there.”
Actually in foreign countries, “K-popness” of the songs has quite a big influence on their popularity. There is definitely a difference between the melody and the style of K-pop from the pop music of English-speaking countries. This difference is accepted as “uniqueness” in other countries. A normal way of debuting in other countries these days is to follow this trend of K-pop popularity. Jay Park is for sure a K-pop singer, but states he does not want to follow the system of K-pop singers.





















































The conflict between the wishes and the anticipation of Jay Park and the slight variance between the two seem risky at times. However, they are significant; the two are creating an alternative plan for Jay Park.
Reporter Lee Hyun-Woo



SOURCE: Star MK TRANSLATOR: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET

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