When there is an artist at the studio, anyone can notice that the individual on set is a singer. Loud or quiet, they are always humming, singing, playing instruments and dancing. There is always an “I-am-communicating-with-the-music-god” aura behind their backs, like a traffic light. It doesn’t matter if they are extremely shy and are unsociable for the first few minutes. Regardless the genre, when a song is played, their identity is immediately revealed. As soon as the audio’s volume becomes louder, the singers start moving their hands and feet without knowing it themselves. While their shoulders rise and fall, their feet drum the floor.
On the set of this photoshoot, Jay Park was a singer. While waiting for the staff, he, ignoring all the comfy chairs in the huge studio, sat on the stairs by the entrance and was humming some R&B while moving his shoulders to the beat. Without any makeup or hair styling, the charismatic beast idol was nowhere to be seen; instead, this Jay Park had a child’s face that provoked our protective instincts. I couldn’t agree more to his statement – his fandom started from the motherly love of noona fans – seeing this lovely, adorable and innocent side of Jay offstage. However, as I was interviewing him face-to-face, I realized that this “motherly love” couldn’t possibly be the only reason that brought together these countless passionate noona fans. He is, of course, beautiful enough even from an objective view. His boyish face is softer than that of a manga character and his body, built from life-long workout sessions, is as hard as steel. But when faced with his innocent soul that runs towards one goal without any specific plans, I could see that it wasn’t the six-pack he had so strictly trained for and armed for; it was his passion and love for music. A sense of respect even sprouted, seeing him strictly whipping himself instead of wasting this god-gifted talent. But most of all, he recognized the fact that the fans, who had patiently waited for him without changing, were the foundations of his freedom in music now. This must be why his fans, knowing this side of Jay better than anyone, love and support him.
What did you think of the boxer concept today?
I actually am a fan of MMA (mixed martial arts) and UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). I never miss any games of Chu Sung-Hoon (also known as Yoshihiro Akiyama). I sometimes dream about standing in the ring myself after getting some training, when I have time.
Have you ever done any sports like boxing or kickboxing?
I learned Taek Kwon Do for about two years when I was little. I was about five or six, and I had to spar with a hyung that was two years older than me. I kept getting hit in the face, thanks to the height difference, and I remember crying after the game. (laughs)
Do you play any sports with the b-boy crew or other friends? Guys like ball games, right?
My friends don’t like playing sports with me. They say they get too tired to dance after playing with me. I’m the type that schedules my days if I’m living in one place for a long time. I wake up in the morning, work out, and practice at night. That’s my schedule of the day. When I do work outs, I set a goal first. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, etc. That’s why my friends say they get too tired for dance practice at night when they work out with me. So I do weight training by myself and practice (dance) with them later on. You know, things like acrobatics where you have to do it with other people.
You are still doing your fanmeets, right? It looks like you are touring the Asian countries.
Yes, that’s right. Starting with Korea, I had fanmeets in Philippines and Singapore and am planning to meet my fans in Shanghai, Thailand, etc.
You must be tired from going back and forth so much.
I despised travelling on an airplane before but now I am used to it. I’ve probably been on the plane 15 to 20 times in the last two to three months. Now, even if the plane shakes a bit, I continue doing my thing.
Isn’t it hard to get used to the time zone differences? Do you have any tricks for spending time on the plane or getting over jetlag now?
Those things haven’t come to me yet. (laughs). I can’t sleep on airplanes. I thought once that I would be able to sleep on the plane if I didn’t sleep the night before so I never slept before going on the plane. But now I think the best way is to just ride the plane naturally. So now I just write songs or watch movies on the plane. “Bestie” is a song that I wrote on the plane. There were some songs that I couldn’t finish, but once I got on the plane, I finished them with ease. I mean, all you can do is concentrate when you can’t go on the internet, no phones, and when there is no one I know around me. (laughs)
Which was the most memorable country during your international fanmeet tour?
I made an appearance on a TV show when I was in the Philippines. The PDs took me to the audience at the time, and the fans came up to me and kissed me. One by one, a lot of people kissed me. I was so surprised. In Korea, the most they do is touch your arm or hold your hand. But in the Philippines, it’s in their culture to kiss as they greet people. Later, even older people came up and asked me if they could give me a peck. (laughs)
Haha, looks like we need to integrate that in the Korean culture soon. But when I saw you at the last fanmeet, you looked really shy. You looked like a shy little boy rather than a charismatic beastly man.
It’s only natural to be shy when there are seven thousand women in the audience. I was really nervous and shy actually. I think it’s good to be charismatic on stage and then be natural when talking.
Are you the type that changes how you act when you are around the opposite sex? There are a lot of women that are like that.
No, not so much. The problem is that I’m too comfortable when I’m with my friends. I fool around with them a lot. With women… to be honest, there weren’t that many chances to be with them except for fans, so I don’t really know.
Hm, nice save.
(Panicking) No, uh, it’s because, I really don’t know. Ok, maybe this: I don’t fart in front of girls?
Hahah, alright. So to my knowledge, you starred in the movie Hype Nation right? How did that go?
The shooting ended well. I don’t know the exact date yet, but they are preparing to have it hit the theatres next summer.
It was your first time acting. How was it?
I regret that there wasn’t much time to prepare. There was a lady named Kelly among the actresses that were in the movie, and she has been in a few Hollywood movies. She gave me advice and taught me a lot of things.
There must have been emotional scenes. Weren’t they hard to act out?
There was one scene where I was angry and yelling. Well, I acted it without much difficulty, but I can’t guarantee how difficult it will be for viewers to watch later. But one thing is sure: the movie is more dependent on dance and camera angles than the acting. (laughs).
After your comeback, you were seen often at festivals, but it doesn’t look like you make many TV appearances. Have you been thinking about what kind of activities you want to focus on for now?
First, I want to make good music for my fans and want them to be proud of it. Once awesome music is prepared, then I want to meet the fans in a variety of ways whether it be concerts or TV shows, if my schedule works, and I’m given the chances. I don’t have any specific plans like, oh I have to do this. I am doing the thing I wanted to do the most; that is, working and performing my music with my friends.
It might be enjoyable to pick your own music concept and choreography, but isn’t it difficult and burdening to do this all by yourself?
I don’t feel that way yet. It’s really fun when I work. I don’t choose the concepts in advance like, because this song is this style, the hair should be like this, the clothes should be like this, etc. I think it’s most important to deliver the meanings behind the lyrics the best I can and sing with passion, rather than choosing a hairstyle and concept of stage costumes.Before, I used to watch a lot of music videos by Justin Timberlake, Usher, and Chris Brown. I thought a lot about what kind of concepts I want to do watching those. But now, I just love writing lyrics to Cha Cha’s beats that inspire me. I have realized that it’s much more enjoyable to create something from my head rather than copying or using someone else as a reference. My current hairstyle is my own design and not from copied from some magazine. Because there wasn’t anyone that did this kind of hair before. But I don’t direct everything by myself 100%. I listen to opinions of specialists in those areas and create these styles together.
Are you satisfied by the lyrics and the music you made?
People say the lyrics to “Bestie” are childish. But I wrote them based on honesty. I try to write lyrics according to the theme of the song, making it humorous and with good rhyme. To be honest, there are a lot of songs that just mix English and don’t make any sense. There are songs where I’m like ‘what is this?’ after listening to them. Because I know how to use both languages, I try to write lyrics that make sense and easy to understand.
It would be easier for you to write the rap in English, so why do you write them in Korean? Isn’t it much harder?
It is hard. But I do it anyways. As unfamiliar it is, I use all the words I know when I write the lyrics. Of course I won’t be as good as other rappers, but it’s really important to me that I write my own lyrics. A real rapper writes his own lyrics.
Are there any other areas that you are ambitious of as an entertainer?
Everything is important; the song, the ability to write lyrics, and expressing emotions on stage. To be honest, I want to be good at all of these things.
What are you most concerned about these days out of those areas?
I wish I could express better when I sing. When I monitor myself, I see that I sometimes make weird faces because I’m too concentrated on singing, like frowning or something. I also want to learn how to play the guitar or the piano. I learned how to play the piano for a bit when I was little and stopped. Now that I write my own songs, I really wish I knew how to play the piano. But I don’t really have to time to learn it these days.
You might be getting thirsty to produce your album; aren’t you getting impatient?
I am not impatient about it. You don’t get good results by forcefully doing something. The first album is really important right? I want to prepare well and show good results rather than rushing things.
So when would that be? Everyone is dying to hear it.
I’m not exactly sure. There is actually this one song that Cha Cha and I are making. I think we are recording in a few weeks. This song is really good, and I think it might become the title track. Cha Cha composed, and I wrote the lyrics. It’s hip-hop/R&B, and I’m sure it’s a style that Korean fans would like. I will choreograph a good dance to it once the recording is done.
SOURCE: BESTIZ; TRANSLATION: Lydia@JAYPARK.NET. YOU MAY ONLY TAKE OUT WITH CREDITS TO JAYPARK.NET. DO NOT ADD/REMOVE CREDITS.
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