Junior Magazine Interview: “Move on Jay Park”

SOURCE: JUNIOR MAGAZINE (Sept. 2010); TRANSLATION: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET

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Artists Inspire Jay

We conducted a short interview before Jay Park’s performance. It has been a month since we last met, which was on set of Hype Nation on July 6th. We proudly showed him the cover of September’s Junior cover to him, and he greeted us brightly. “Wow~ I’m on the cover?” he says, amazed and looking ever so child-like. Jay Park cooly signs the cover with his picture on it. Prior to the interview, even before the staff started setting up, Jay picks up his chair and puts it in place. He is always so well-mannered and sincere. And this man would at times smile naturally, show his anxiety for the upcoming performance, and then get excited over something.

When asked if he had a reason for choosing a festival full of Korean and international artists, he answers brightly with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Well Lupe Fiasco performs today. JK hyung and Tasha noona too~ I have been dreaming of a stage like this as an artist. I’m really worried though. I don’t dance at all when I sing “Count on Me”. I thought it’d be too childish if I danced to it. (laughs) I’ve been coughing for a month now. I’m worried I might cough in the middle of performance even though I’m not dancing.”

He grins playfully when we ask what the doctor said. Jay looks mature as he tells us that it’s because of the smoke used on set. He just has to take meds with plenty of water and that there is nothing to worry about. We asked how acting was. He becomes depressed as he tells us that it’s fun but the outcomes were always not as good as he expected. He complains that although he acts out the expression after thinking about it a lot, the result is different and that there aren’t very many dance scenes but instead scenes of him yelling at his sister. But he wants to continue acting. Like sitcoms. It took some time to remember how cheerful this guy was, as I had forgot until now about his bright side. I anticipate his comic acting, since the Jay I know showed extraordinary sense of entertainment and humour on variety shows.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect much. It was hard to bear. I just uploaded the video to tell the fans I was doing well, but so many people liked it. Thank you so much. I believe fans wanted nothing more than for me to perform on stage again. Warner Music contacted me just in time, and I got to work with them; I was very proud that fans were so happy for me. My charm is the attraction of fans? (laughs) Well, hm, I don’t know. I have a lot of noona fans. Mm, I guess they have that motherly love for me, wanting to protect and console me…because I’m pitiable?”

Jay says that the thing that makes him the happiest these days is the fact that he can be with his family and AOM in front of his fans. The wish of this man, who is preparing to be a true artist step by step, is to repay the fans. “I am really happy right now. My only goal right now is to repay for the fans’ love by showing the good images of myself. I will repay in any way,” says Jay. Perhaps the power that brought him back was the never-changing faith of the fans. Dok2, Brave Brothers, and Kim Johan too, featured Jay in their albums, perhaps, because they were attracted to his confidence.

“To be honest, I’m still not sure what kind of music I have set as a goal. I don’t want to put it in a certain genre like hip hop or R&B. It’s not like I sing well like Kim Johan hyungnim or rap perfectly like JK hyung. I like singing, dancing, and rap. I’m just happy I am doing music. First things first, I want to show good performances to fans on stage.”

He says he enjoys working with other people. He personally picked Big Bang’s Taeyang as the person he would like to collaborate with. Of course, the biggest thing that is different from the past is that he gets to pick whatever style of music he wants to do. Thus, he has a stronger attraction to this solo album. When we tried to scare him by asking whether he felt pressured to create his own style, he laughed comfortably and answered:

“I really like it~~ because I get to do the music I want, which makes me try harder, and get to pick my style. That goes with singing, dancing, and even my hairstyle. I just want to show good music, good dances, and rap instead of trying to get people to understand my music. My ultimate goal is to become a proud artist that stretches out to the international market.”

It seems he is establishing his own style and discovering who he is, step by step. And that makes me proud of him. I couldn’t help but support him, seeing his passion that allows him to never give up when faced with setbacks.

On Stage

Just as he had revealed during the interview, Jay focused more on singing than performances. I could feel how strongly determined he was to be known as an artist rather than be stuck in that frame of an “idol star”. Jay grasped the stage only by singing, and the fans cheered even at the wave of his hand.

“Thank you very much! I’m only singing and not dancing today. So I prepared a special stage with b-boys. Get ready for my b-boying stage!” Jay captured the attention of 45 thousand music fans with his extraordinary break dancing skills. He, who was unsatisfied with the fact that he couldn’t show traditional b-boying until now, heated up the audience with his powerful break dancing. He would smile comfortably and then show even fancier moves. Even though it was his first performance in a longtime, instead of cowering, he dominated the stage.

The last song was “Bestie” which was revealed for the first time. Th e song is very special since he wrote the lyrics and his friend completed the melody. To Jay, who wondered if his Korean lyrics made sense and wanted to see the reactions of the fans, the audience sent hot support and applause.

I could get a peek at Jay’s energy-filled image through the “Summer Week&T” which was full of youth and passion. On the other hand, Jay will be doing a fanmeet tour, starting with Seoul at Hwajung Gymnasium on 28th then on to China, Hong Kong, Phillippines, and other Asian countries.