Jay Park’s comeback as a solo and promotions were successful. His expulsion from 2PM and the related problems that made Korea noisy last year took away the light from this talented man. But the Jay Park that came back after a year was relatively calm.
He gained a passable mark in terms of quality for his trendy pop-style tracks of ‘Take a Look Back’ ‘Take A Deeper Look’ (the journalist made a mistake here..) and the title track, “Abandoned”, won first place two weeks in a row right after comeback. But Jay Park’s expression was not 100% satisfied.
“I was definitely concerned about it not appealing to the public. But I thought that this was a chance for me to do what I want and show that nothing else mattered as long as the music was good. I wrote the lyrics for all seven tracks and participated in the composing of six of the tracks. I participated in the album artwork and the music video with detail. I’m satisfied enough with the recognition of my coming back as a singer-songwriter, instead of an idol.”
It is evident that the fandom, which became more unified in this turbulence, took part in his success. In an objective point of view, this is also why his popularity is not continuous, though it is very explosive. However, it is true that critics about Jay Park has met their turning point. Here, his well-made friendships cannot be ignored.
“I hear things like, a guy who used to be an idol changed so suddenly. But it’s apparent that hip-hop and R&B are my music styles. I have been listening to them since I was young and it’s a part of my life. Of course, it helped that friends like dok2 and The Quiett were by my side.”
It is a huge luck for an artist to meet a great partner. If that partner is a friend who knows you well then there’s nothing more to say.
“The priority is to become friends. I’ve met Ne-Yo and Musiq Soulchild. It is significant to meet world-famous musicians but I don’t think that I can make music with them if I can’t become friends with them. To be honest, I didn’t really know Korean hip-hop. I only knew TigerJk. Then I met these friends I became a fan of their music and I wanted to work with them. dok2 and The Quiett are friends like these.”
To Jay Park, official promotions are not more than having fun with his friends. Actually, Jay Park’s activities including club performances with dok2 and other musicians, international tour, performances with AOM, were not done as a marketing strategy or for a specific purpose. They take up a big part of his life.
“There is always only one thing I dream of. I’m not talking about buying a nice car or a nice house. I just want people around me to be happy and live well. I want to enjoy life with my friends, let my parents be worry-free and buy games for my brother that he likes. These are things I can do even without huge success.”
Unlike the goals of his life, he has a big and definite aim about debuting in America. Jay Park limits this time to within two years.
“I am confident, to be honest. I don’t believe that the important thing is choosing which artist to work with, knowing the trend or how to promote. I think it’s the sincerity. I believe I can make people feel my sincerity when I make music in America. I have been listening to pop music since I was little and I know their music. I wrote my first rap in English and I already have a manager to work with me in the States. It is a fact that language is an important factor. It’s true that I need this (language) to communicate my sincerity. Two years; and that’s looking at it long. I think it will be enough.”
We decided not to talk about 2PM. Not only because he already talked about it in many other interviews, but also because he is a musician that looks forward instead thinking about the past.
“As a composer and a producer, I worked on Ukiss and Sori’s new albums, and will also hold a concert. I made a lot of songs already so I think my 2nd album will be done soon. To be honest, I’m a bit annoyed since I have so little time for music because of music filming schedules etc. It’s also a relief that my promotions ended quickly (laughs).”
Journalist Lee Hyun-Woo
SOURCE: Star Today; TRANSLATOR: Lydia@jaypark.net
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