littlemimi:

( video Jay Park featured in NY1)

Korean-American recording artist Jay Park not only has millions of fans across Asia and is also developing a following in the United States, particularly in New York. NY1’s Lewis Dodley filed this report as part of Asian-American Heritage Week.

He’s a singer, dancer and rapper but his fans say that still doesn’t begin to describe Jay Park’s talent.

The 25-year-old Korean-American phenom has millions of fans across Asia. But if you want proof of his popularity in New York, look no further than a line for his recent concert in Midtown that wound around the corner and stretched for several blocks 8 hours before the show.

“I guess I’m a really dedicated Jay Park fan,” said one fan who waited for over 24 hours for tickets. “I don’t want to take the chance that anyone else got those front-row seats. I’m making sure I’m here first.”

“He’s like a triple threat,” said another fan. “I love him. And I love his tattoos too. They’re really nice.

“He’s such a good dancer and a good singer and he has a great personality,” said another. “I like his personality.”

“I speak both English and Korean,” Park said. “I’m writing songs in both English and Korean. I do rap, I dance, I sing. I do a whole bunch of things. I just feel like I’m a whole new breed of artist.”

The road wasn’t easy for Park. After a tumultuous break-up with the Korean group 2 p.m., Park re-emerged on the internet with a cover of the BoB and Bruno Mars hit “Nothing on You,” which he sung in his parents’ bathroom. It got 2 million YouTube hits in less than a day, setting the stage for his return to Korea.

“You sense that there’s a little something deeper, which I think we want as an American audience and what Korean-Americans want to see from their pop stars,” said Minya Oh of Miss Info. “They want to see behind the gloss.”

Now, Park is among a growing list of Asian-American entertainers like Far East Movement, who topped the Billboard charts for a while and Aziatics, who are driven by the catchy raps of Queens native Flowsik.

Park is taking off with his his primarily Korean CD “New Breed,” with an English CD to follow. Park says that if mainstream success comes, it’ll just happen.

“I was born in the States,” he said. “I grew up listening to hip-hop and R&B in the States. When I make music, it’s what comes out naturally.”

leafarja:

Music Speaks is an organization I started to raise Autism Awareness through the power of Music. I’ve put on six Music Speaks concerts (Anaheim, Arizona, Boston, & New Jersey) in the past 3 years and two live stream events entitled Music Speaks LIVE!.

Music Speaks Artists from past concerts include the choir I direct called MVCC, Jeremy Passion, Gabe Bondoc, Quest Crew, Jennifer Chung, JR Aquino, Jane Lui, Mike Isberto, Tori Kelly, Taylor Parks, Michael Carreon, Leejay Abucayan, Devotion, Victor Kim, Cathy Nguyen, New Like Us, Timothy dela Ghetto, Angie Girl, The Adrian William Project, Jenny Suk, Melissa Polinar, Derek Portea, Paper Dolls, Kat Badar, Nessa Rica, Bryce Vine, TJ Brown, Joelle James, Sid Sriram, Ryan Bandong, AHMIR, and more.

I wanted to announce that we are doing a Music Speaks this year! Last year got really busy for me and my team, but this year we are going full force with the concert. We are aiming for November 2012. The lineup will be insane, with the first act already confirmed which is my choir of 6 years, MVCC (MoVal Concert Chorale).

Thanks for your continued support for this project! And the project just became a little more official. We are taking steps to becoming a full non-profit organization so we thank you for the love you’ve given us so far!

The first event this year will be the Red Roses Formal 2012, which is raising money towards the expenses of the concert. You can find more info here: http://redrosesprom.tumblr.com

Love,

AJ Rafael

[EXCERPT]

Is there any artist you really adore and respect more than any other artist? 

I have a lot of respect for Jay Park. Mainly because I know how hard it can be coming from a foreign country and trying to succeed in Korea. I also respect his ability to showcase his music in both Korean and English. I also really like his style of music and how he seems to focus on putting out music that he actually likes. He’s also very talented. There are very few in Korean music that can sing, rap, and dance the way he does.