SOURCE: DCINSIDE GALLERY ONE & TWO ; TRANSLATION: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET. YOU MAY ONLY TAKE OUT WITH CREDITS TO JAYPARK.NET. DO NOT ADD/REMOVE CREDITS.
Jay Park’s withdrawal from 2PM was rather shocking. It has only been 2 years since 2PM debuted; not only that, it was the top idol group of the time and within the group, Jay was one of the most popular members. It is true that even people who had no interest in K-pop were curious about his reason for withdrawing. Whatever the true story is, it was bitter to realize that these singers, ‘raised’ by the agency, had to leave whenever they were told to regardless of their will; the dark shadow behind the fancy and glamorous-seeming life of an idol group. The pictures of him almost running away to the U.S. frequently showed up on blogs. Pictures of him working at a tire shop, dancing with his b-boy friends, etc. He had gone back, even further back than his training days when he first came to Korea as a 17-year old.
I predicted that he would have a longer, so-called “time of self-discipline” and make a huge fancy comeback. But he came a bit earlier than I guessed and chose a medium-scale comeback rather than a fancy one. After releasing a single called, “Count on Me”, a remake of B.o.B’s song, he performed on a few stages and then was gone again for a few weeks. The music video, which simply showed Jay singing, was much too humble to signal a bold start. Then a day before this interview, he released a single called “Bestie” and came into the studio, hoarding his crew.
From the bottom of hearts, a HUGE thank you to our staff and fellow Jaywalkers for making this site happen and inspiring us as we support Jay together. And of course, thank you to Jay and his management team not only for their well wishes but also for the great amount of love and support they reciprocate to Jay’s fans as a whole.
