Rain
Rain (born Jeong Ji-hoon; Korean: 정지훈; born June 25, 1982) is a South Korean pop singer, dancer, model, actor , CEO and designer.
Rain spent most of his childhood living with his parents and younger sister near Hongik University. Despite being an introverted and shy child, he discovered he had a passion for dance when he performed in a talent show for Sungmoon Junior High School. Rain initially had a difficult time balancing dance and academics and received low grades during the beginning of junior high because of his frequent dance practices. He decided to follow his passion and attended Anyang High School of Arts, where he received his first formal instruction in acting and was able to continue dancing as well. Rain again found he could not focus on both dance and his studies in acting; he was truant on several occasions.
Rain lost his mother as she struggled with diabetes and died in 2000. Within that same year, Rain was recruited as a trainee for JYP Entertainment, led by successful recording artist and producer Park Jin-Young in 2000. In a CNN interview, however, he recalled being repeatedly rejected because of his looks: "In fact, I was told after one audition that my singing and dancing was great but I didn’t make it because I didn’t have double eyelids." During the early years of training, Rain was a backup dancer.
International recognition
In 2002, he debuted with the album Bad Guy where he was introduced to the media through his stage name, Rain. The album’s title single Bad Guy was a hit. After his first album, he took time off from his career as a singer to star in the drama series, Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School. Following the success of his debut as singer and actor, Rain released his second album, How to Avoid The Sun, and had another hit with the title song "Ways to Avoid the Sun."
Rain during a performance.
In 2004, he starred in another successful drama called "Full House", which was one of the highest-rated Korean dramas of all time with ratings of over 30% for every episode. It was broadcast in many other countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States Through Full House, Rain was recognized across Asia.His performance in the drama also won him the Best Actor Award at the KBS Acting Awards.
His third album, It’s Raining, sold over 1 million copies in Asia. According to a report by Rain’s previous agency JYP Entertainment to the Korea Culture & Content Agency, It’s Raining topped the charts in all of the following countries as of December 29, 2005: Japan (100,000 copies), China (500,000 copies), Taiwan (70,000 copies), Thailand (150,000 copies), Indonesia (50,000 copies), and South Korea (154,000 copies), for a combined total of 1,074,000 units sold, making it Rain’s most successful album to date both domestically and internationally. His first concert, Rainy Day, held in Korea and Japan, was sold out on the first day when the tickets became available.
In 2004, Rain earned greater recognition by winning the MTV Asia Grand Slam, securing top honors in all the Asian countries which broadcast MTV Asia. Rain won the Favorite Korean Artist at the 2005 MTV Asia Aid held in Bangkok, the Most Popular Asian Artist Award from Channel [V] Thailand, the Best Buzz Asia Award during the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005, and the Best Korean Singer award in the MTV-CCTV Mandarin Music Honors in Beijing. Rain was also the first Asian performing artist ever[citation needed] to be invited to the 2005 American MTV Video Music Awards in Miami, as well as the 2005 MTV Latin Video Music Awards in Mexico. These accomplishments earned Rain a lot of media attention, including interviews with Time Asian Edition and CNN Talk Asia. Rain also won the Best Korean Singer Award 2005 at the Mandarin Music Honors in Taiwan.
Rain then went on his RAINY DAY 2005 Tour, starting in Seoul and followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong. Due to his fame and his extravagant performances, tickets sold out quickly. His first solo concert in Japan last summer, entitled Rainy Day Japan held at the Tokyo International Forum, was so popular that all the tickets were sold out 30 seconds after going on sale. The tickets for another of his concerts in Taiwan were sold out the moment they became available. His performances in Hong Kong also sold out in a couple of hours.
In April 2006, he was mentioned in the Time magazine website article that named the "100 Most Influential People Who Shape Our World." In 2007, Rain topped Time Magazine’s online user poll although he was not in the magazine’s actual list. He also made it into People’s 2007 list of the "Most Beautiful People" in the world. Rain also made an appearance in the Korean variety show Family Outing with close co-singer Lee Hyori ,singer Kim Jong-kuk and Big Bang (band) member Dae Sung.
Other Information
- Name: 비 / Bi (Rain)
- Real name: 정지훈 / Jung Ji Hoon (Jeong Ji Hun)
- Also known as: Rain (West) / Pi (Japan)
- Nickname: Dog (Collie)
- Profession: Actor, singer, model and dancer
- Birthdate: 1982-Jun-25
- Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
- Height: 184cm
- Weight: 75kg
- Star sign: Cancer
- Blood type: O+
- Family: Father and younger sister Hanna
- Talent agency: J. Tune Entertainment
Links
Francine Prieto – Filipina Actress
Letters to Juliet