[INTERVIEW] Singer Jay Park - Part 1

Jay Park [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

He started singing the moment the music in the studio came to a brief halt. And instead of standing still while the lights were being changed, he danced. Jay Park said, "I think I enjoy myself too much when I actually should be practicing properly more." This is probably why although it was not easy to see him on stage for a year and six months, it has been quite impossible to think of him being elsewhere. And in the first record he released as a solo artist, his mini-album titled "Take A Deeper Look," he calls himself a "rapper b-boy who sings." "10Asia" met with the Jay Park that we did, or did not know.

10: How does it feel resuming your activities and appearing on a music program?
Jay Park: I'm happy. I think it's what my fans wanted a lot, although I did too. They said they wanted to see me on music shows again so I'm happy that I'm finally on them again. And I'm thankful.

10: How was it dancing on stage alone for the first time on a music show?
Park: It didn't feel awkward standing on stage alone since I had held a lot of fan meetings since last year but it was a bit difficult appearing on a music show alone at first. I wouldn't know where to look because the camera would be pointed at me from start to finish. (laugh) And before, I used to dance really hard because I only had to sing for my part but I sing from start to finish as well now so I have to control it well.

10: I'm sure you thought of a lot of things in having to release an album and performs songs in it by yourself. What did you focus on for your performance for "Abandoned"?
Park: To start with, when I saw the choreography that the choreographer had come up with, I felt that it went well with the song. The problem was that I didn't know if I'd be able to dance all of it while singing live. That's why I don't dance for the second verse of the song... There's just too much jumping for me to do. But since I'm going on stage, I wanted to show people that I dance as well as the dancers, or even better than them, because I'm a dancer too.

10: That's why we were actually looking forward to you b-boying or pulling off some acrobatic moves but the choreography turned out to be extremely quiet and emphasize each move. Is there a reason for this?
Park: Well everybody knows I do acrobatics. They've seen it a lot. So it would've been something they were expecting if I came out with it again. I also like my choreographer's dance style. It's hard to explain in words but it contains an emotion. It's more than just choreography... it's strong and restrained.

10: Well on the first week you made an appearance on "Music Bank," wihch is also when you won the show's top prize, it was impressive to see Dok2 and The Quiett stand with you on stage because they're not musicians that you get to see that often on such shows.
Park: Dok2 did when he was part of a team called All Black but he hasn't since then so it's been a while. But anyway, he did the featuring for the song and it won first place so it felt like we won it together. Dok2 is a great guy... He's good at rapping and composing. I wish more people knew that. And I became close with The Quiett through Dok2. He's amazing. He does music that is very different from Dok2 but we all love hip-hop.

Jay Park [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

10: "Take A Deeper Look" seems to be an album about your 'family' rather than it being a very important opportunity for you in making your official debut as a solo singer. You could have worked with famous producers and done some fancy promoting but it seems like it was a collaboration between Dok2 and The Quiett's label ILLONAIRE, and you and AOM. In that sense, I don't think your album was what people expected or were looking forward to.
Park: That's true. But I really didn't think about that a lot because I couldn't imagine what people were expecting of me. The thing is, people don't know about me that well. They had only seen me as someone who is part of a team so I don't think people would've known exactly what style of music I like and hence, what music I'd present them with. And it wouldn't have been fun if I came out the exact same person I was from before. That's why I went with what I wanted to do, 100 percent. I wrote all the songs and worked with just the people that I wanted to. I also kind of wanted to show people that I can make things work even without the help of a famous composer. Cha Cha, Dok2 and The Quiett aren't that famous. Well, they are but they're not like will.i.am. (laugh)

10: Weren't you worried at all?
Park: I was because my music is different from music that other people do these days and I was worried that it may not appeal to the general public enough.

10: I think that's why you said that you were worried that the score your song gets is low compared to the score your album gets on music shows. How do you feel about that?
Park: Well... It's true, my song isn't popular. (laugh) And I wish it would do better. But I'm happy even if it's not popular because musicians and dancers have told me it's good. And I'm not embarrassed. I think that is what's most important.

10: Aren't you a bit disappointed though? Don't you wish there was a way you could tell a lot more people about your songs, outside of your fans that buy your album?
Park: I do think I would've been able to if I got to go on entertainment shows but I don't really have time to because I'm not in Seoul from filming my movie "Mr. Idol." That's why I'm satisfied with how this album has done but honestly, the response I got for it was better than I expected it to be. I didn't know this album would do well... I was actually thinking my song would do better, so things turned out the opposite of what I expected. (laugh)

10: The song and record market has changed a lot from two years ago, right?
Park: So much. And it [charts] keep changing. It's either 2NE1 that's on the charts, or it keeps changing. I should join 2NE1. (laugh)

10: What style of music were you striving to show through this album or do you want to do in general?
Park: I listen to a huge variety of music. Electro dance, pop... and my favorite songs are R&B or hip-hop songs from the '90s. That's why the music I'm doing right now is R&B and hip-hop and I want to show people that I'm good at it. There actually aren't a lot of people in Korea that like R&B or hip-hop so I should be good at it to make more people like it.

10: So you're the type that tries to convince others of what you pursue, not do what others want you to do.
Park: Because that's no fun. I'm the one who's doing the music so I should be having fun with it. I'm sure I'll be able to convince of people how good R&B and hip-hop is as long as my music is good. I want to keep pursuing music in this way but I need to grow even more fond of it and get better at it. There's also a lot I want to show people but haven't been able to yet.

10: Your voice is in the higher range for a male vocalist. Do you like it?
Park: Not really. I think I sound a bit like a baby and I would've like it if I sang well but I don't like it because I don't sing well. I need to keep practicing.

Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@, Kang Myeong-Seok two@
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@, Lee Ji-Hye seven@