Basic Info
Jay Park (Park Jaebeom) is a Korean-American solo Kpop artist. Originally a member (and leader) of popular male Kpop group 2PM, Park left the group in 2009 after some controversy about his alleged confession of unhappiness about working with the group and references to a “personal mistake” he committed while working under the JYP Entertainment label. After leaving 2PM, Park returned to his hometown of Seattle, Washington (United States) to regroup. Within months, he uploaded a cover of the popular song by B.o.B, “Nothin’ on You,” (which went viral) and returned to South Korea. By July 2010, Park signed with Sidus HQ and in April 2011, he made his debut as a solo artist, releasing a debut single of the song he covered, titled “Count On Me (Nothin’ On You).”
As a solo artist, Park solidified several projects that highlight his love of music and dance, and has been welcomed back into Korean and international music and media circles. Park has been a member of b-boy dance crew Art of Movement (AoM) since 2003, and since his solo debut he has included them in many of his videos. AoM often creates choreography for Park’s videos and act as supporting backup dancers during his live concerts. Although Park asserts that he is not a Kpop idol, he participates in idol activities (e.g, participating in Korean television programs like Immortal Song and Star King, recording songs for Kdrama OSTs, adhering to compressed album and music video release schedules, organizing fanclubs, etc.).
Park continues promoting his work nationally and internationally. In 2012 he was the headline act for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Concert, and he was invited to perform at the MTV World Stage concert in Malaysia. He also travels wherever his fans ask for him: Australia, the Philippines, and of course the United States and South Korea.