Artist Profile- 2PM

In 2008 JYP Entertainment announced the formation of a new group called “One Day” who were to be a way to meet the numbers and power of Super Junior (though One Day was to have 11 members).  The group was split before debut into two smaller ones, 2AM and 2PM. 2PM debuted first and consisted of 7 members, with the others going to 2AM.

2PM focuses on a more hip-hop oriented type of music (2AM are the ballad group). The members have demonstrated skill in break dancing and other fields.

The fan club for 2PM is “Hottest”, as in 2PM being the hottest time of the day (I thought it was 4PM, but I guess that doesn’t have as nice a ring to it).

Hottest have shown immense organization, particularly during the massive controversies that arose around former leader Jaebum over myspace comments he made before and shortly after debut. Instead of explaining all of that in his member profile, I’ll explain it here before the discography.

On September 4th of 2009 articles broke regarding posts from 2005 Jaebum made of a friend’s myspace page in which he insulted Koreans and again later when he insulted other aspects of his stage and trainee life. Regarding trainee life he complained that his teachers enjoyed his rap style, even though he felt that he was bad. He called the instructors “Gay” for what he felt was poor judgment. He also insulted the dance outfits 2PM debuted with, again calling them “Gay”. His insults also were geared towards Koreans in general, which he also called “Gay” (this boy seriously needs better vocab).

Two days after the articles surfaced Jaebum left Korea to live with his family in Seattle. He kept himself closed in his house most of the time, avoiding all media and fans. Here is where Hottest come in. They organized flash mobs in several major cities around the world such as Seoul and New York in which fans came together suddenly at 2pm, danced “Again and Again” (2PM’s hit before the controversy) and then dispersed. They also staged silent protests in front of the JYP Entertainment building demanding Jaebum return to Korea. 500 Hottest members were expected at the first, but over 1,300 arrived, prompting them to end the protest early so as to not block traffic or homes along the street. Members also hired private planes to fly past Jaebum’s house in Seattle towing banners reading “Jay, what time is it?” at 2PM each evening for at least a week.

Back in Korea members of 2PM rushed to re-film their new MV “Heartbeat”. As a message of their own to Jaebum they requested (successfully) that the album be re-named from “Heartbeat” to “1:59 PM”. This is a reference to their normal countdown on music programs in which a clock counts up from 1:53pm to 2PM. This was to symbolize they are not 2PM without him. The members also refused to name a new leader, holding his place in the group.

Eventually Jaebum released a series of YouTube videos in which he sang again, his first appearance in months. During this time fan movements increased greatly. One fan club, Underground, donated $10,000 to the Haiti relief fund under the name “People Waiting for 2PM Leadja Park Jaebum”. Underground has donated over $64,000 to different charities under this name.

Finally in February the issue was resolved when JYP Entertainment announced that after a discussion with Jaebum he admitted to another personal mistake he deemed worse than the myspace comments that occurred sometime in December. JYP Entertainment and Jaebum have refused to elaborate on this citing it as a “Personal Issue”. Jaebum was set to return to 2PM but this discrepancy ended with his contract being terminated entirely. He has only said it was a moral wrong, not criminal in any way. 2PM members all agreed unanimously to the termination after learning of this issue.

So now 2PM is 6 members, case closed. I’ll mention more about Jaebum’s current projects in his profile.

One last thing to explain in the member profile: all members of 2AM and 2PM (except for 2AM’s Changmin) appeared before debut in a documentary-style programs called “Hot Blood”. At this time One Day included fourteen members (including absent Changmin, who was in the army). The premise of the show was that all members went through rigorous (and at times violent) exercises to improve dancing, singing, and rapping skills.

At the end of the programs three members with the lowest score from fans and the instructors on the show would be removed from JYP Entertainment (the three left to other companies sister to JYP). There was only one exception to this rule, see 2AM’s Artist Profile for that one, since the member in question is in their ranks.

Discography

Hottest Time of the Day
1) 10 Out of 10
~~This was the lead song of the debut promotions, it gained a strong fan base for 2PM early on~~
2) Only You
3) Angel
4) 10 out of 10 (Old School Version)
5) 10 out of 10 (Instrumental)
6) Only You (Instrumental)

2:PM Time for Change
~~This album is one of 2PM’s most popular. Songs #1,2,5 and 6 were written by JYP Entertainment Co-President and namesake Jin Young Park~~
1) What Time is it Now?
2) Again and Again
~~This was the lead song for the promotions. It gained immense popularity and is one of the group’s most popular~~
3) I Hate You
4) Maybe She’ll Come Back
5) Again and Again (R&B Mix)
6) Again and Again (Instrumental)
7) I Hate You (Instrumental)
8] Maybe She’ll Come Back (Instrumental)

1:59PM
~~This is the first album with 2PM as 6 members after the 2009 controversy~~
1) My Heart
2) Heartbeat
~~Promotional teasers for this album consisted of each member attached to a heart monitor with their real heartbeat playing in the background~~
3) Tired of Waiting
~~Many fans claimed this song was a message to then-leader Jaebum, but the entire album was recorded before his controversy arose~~
4) I Was Crazy About You
5) Gimme the Light
6) Back 2U
7) All Night Long
8] Heartbeat (Red Light Mix)
9) 10 out of 10
10) Only You (Acoustic Mix)
11) Again and Again
12) I Hate You (Lounge Mix)
13) Maybe She’ll Come Back (Bossa Nova Mix)

Don’t Stop Can’t Stop
~~2PM recently finished promotions for this and held their first solo concert since debut~~
1) Don’t Stop Can’t Stop
2) Without U
~~This was their promotional song for the album. Fans also claimed this to be a secret message to Jaebum -_- ~~
3) Maja
4) I Will Give You My Life
5) Without U (Explorer Mix)
6) Space Maja

MEMBERS

The members of 2PM were showcased in the program “Wild Bunny”, in which they could choose the theme of the episodes and did not have to follow scripts. The show was broadcast popularly up until the last episode, which was never aired due to the Myspace controversy.

Junsu

Junsu
The lead vocalist of 2PM is the current favorite as the next leader, though no one has been named formally. He is the lead singer for the group. When he originally auditioned it was for YG Entertainment, but he was accepted into both YG and JYP. He chose JYP out of the two. Junsu has the image of being a funny member, who is considered a representative of his hometown of Daegu, which he promotes frequently (unofficially). He had to take a break from 2PM activities recently due to a leg injury, but has since resumed work with them.He has a confirmed twitter account under the username “Jun2daKAY” and posts in English as well as Korean.

Nichkhun

Nichkhun
Of Thai and Chinese descent, Nichkhun is the eldest of the three members of 2PM from the United States. He was born and raised in California and spent his childhood between the US and Thailand with a study abroad to New Zealand. When he returned to the US for high school he attended the Korean Music Festival, where he was scouted for JYP Entertainment as a model due to his good looks. He was nicknamed the “Thai Prince” by fans and is known to have a cute and innocent image. Nichkhun is currently part of a fake couple on the show “We Got Married” with F(x) leader Victoria (who is from China). They are therefore called the International Couple and both of their naturally cute images have gained them immediate and great popularity among fans. He has a confirmed twitter account under the username “Khunnie0624” which he updates daily in English. After creating his twitter he gave himself the mission of “Converting” the other members to use the program as well, and announced success after only a month.

Taecyeon

Taecyeon
The second member of 2PM from the United States. Taecyeon is originally Korean, but lived with his family in Boston from a young age. He auditioned as a model for JYP and was later trained as a dancer and singer. In 2PM he has the image of being a goofy older brother to the group, and also for his terrible solo singing skills in more emotional songs (as evidenced by his solo performances on the show Idol Army hosted by 2PM). He debuted as an actor in the popular drama Cinderella Sister recently. Among 2PM Taecyeon is known as the “Fashion Terrorist” for his personal sense of style (Such as combining red pants with orange shirts and yellow hats).He was one of the last “Converted” by Nichkhun to twitter with the username “taeccool”.

Wooyoung

Wooyoung
Wooyoung is the main vocalist of 2PM under Junsu. He was selected out of 5,000 applicants to become a trainee for JYP. Before debut he appeared in the 2007 MBC Music Awards as a fill-in for an injured dancer in a Wonder Girls song. He was injured by fans when, at a club performance, Hottest became over zealous in trying to touch the members and accidentally scratched him on his way to the stage. Members performed and then helped try to clean him up between songs, as he was bleeding from multiple cuts, staining his white performance suit. Wooyoung is seen as the “Fake Maknae” (maknae being the youngest member) of 2PM because of his cute and relatively child-like appearance on shows. He currently is a co-host for SBS Inkigayo with Taecyeon and KBS’s show Win Win. He has a confirmed twitter account under the username “NBA0430”.

Junho

Junho
Another main vocalist, Junho won his trainee status on the show “JYP’s Superstar Survival”, in which Taecyeon and Chansung were also members. He won first of 6,000 competitors. Junho is the most commonly edited out member of 2PM on variety programs and works hard to try and correct this issue (which means he’s one of the more outlandish and funny members). Members have also teased him for his strong resemblance to Korean superstar Rain (star of Ninja Assassin). Since he is edited out so much it is kind of hard to do a profile on him ^^. He has a confirmed twitter account under the username “dlwnsghek”.

Chansung

Chansung
The Maknae (youngest member) of 2PM. Chansung is the rapper for the team. He lost early on in the “JYP Superstar Survival” game and auditioned a second time where he was accepted to the company. He co-starred in the popular sitcom “Unstoppable High Kick” before debut, his last programs to act in to date. Chansung established early on through the “Hot Blood” program his affinity for learning English from members Taecyeon and Nichkhun and former member Jaebum. He said on a program he did this due to feeling left out by the English-fluent members. He is known as the “Old Man” Maknae or the “Old Faced” Maknae for his mature face. He has a confirmed twitter account under the username “2PMagreement211” which he updates primarily in Korean but also English. Member Taecyeon was the cause of a (hilarious) prank via twitter when he stole Chansung’s Blackberry (which he kept signed into twitter to update) and posted the message “I Love Men”, which Chansung discovered 5 minutes later and clarified “That was Taec TT” (TT is a crying face).

FORMER MEMBER

Jaebum

Jaebum
Jaebum was the leader of 2PM until he was officially removed from JYP Entertainment in February 2010 (though he left the group in September 2009). He was born and raised in Seattle, Washington where he lived with his family after the Myspace controversy began. His mother was the one who insisted he audition for JYP Entertainment and pursue his love for b-boy dancing (he was part of a crew in the US) after he told her he did not want to pursue a college education. His audition was reviewed by JYP himself and he was accepted. Jaebum made his reappearance on YouTube, singing covers of songs he liked. He recorded his own solo album for a release in Korea, though it has not been confirmed if he signed a contract with the company who produced this. He is the star of the Hollywood B-Boy film “Hype Nation” about break dancing in Korea. Currently he is filming on-location in Seoul and has said he has no contact with any 2PM members.

Awards
2009: HOT Performance Star (M.net 20’s Choice Awards)
2009: HOT Summer Heat Popularity Award (M.net 20’s Choice Awards)
2009: Best Male Group (M.net Asian Music Awards)
2009: Artist of the Year (M.net Asian Music Awards)
2009: Disk Bonsang Award (24th Golden Disk Awards)
2009: Song of the Year (Again and Again) (KBS Music Festival)
2010: Popularity Award (19th Seoul Music Awards)
2010: Bonsang (19th Seoul Music Awards)