Jimin (singer)

Park Ji-min (Korean: 박지민; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy group BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment.

Contents

1 Life and career

1.1 Early life and education

1.2 2013–present: BTS

1.3 2014–present: Solo work

2 Artistry

3 Impact and influence

4 Philanthropy

5 Personal life

6 Discography

6.1 Charted songs

6.2 Other songs

6.3 Writing credits

7 Filmography

7.1 Trailers and short films

7.2 Hosting

8 Notes

9 References

10 External links

Life and career

Early life and education

Park Ji-min (Korean: 박지민) was born on October 13, 1995 in Geumjeong District, Busan, South Korea.[2] His immediate family includes his mother, father, and a younger brother. When he was a child, he attended Busan's Hodong Elementary School and Yonsan Middle School.[3] During middle school, he attended Just Dance Academy and learned popping and locking dance.[citation needed] Prior to becoming a trainee, Jimin studied contemporary dance at Busan High School of Arts and was a top student in the modern dance department.[4] After a teacher suggested he audition with an entertainment company, it led him to Big Hit Entertainment. Once he passed the auditions in 2012, he transferred to Korean Arts High School, graduating in 2014.[5]

Park graduated from Global Cyber University in August 2020, with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment.[6] As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.[7]

2013–present: BTS

Main article: BTS

On June 13, 2013, Jimin made his debut as a member of BTS with the release of the single "No More Dream".[8] In the group, Park holds the position of vocalist and dancer. Under BTS, he has released three solo songs: "Lie", "Serendipity", and "Filter". "Lie" was released in 2016, as part of the group's second Korean studio album, Wings. It was described as stunning and dramatic, conveying dark undertones and emotions that helped reflect the overall concept of the album.[9] In contrast, "Serendipity", released on the Love Yourself: Her (2017) extended play (EP), was soft and sensual, unraveling the joy, conviction, and curiosity of love.[10] "Filter", from the group's 2020 studio album, Map of the Soul: 7, was very different from its predecessor, with a distinct Latin pop-esque flair and lyrics that reflected on the different sides of himself that Park shows to the world and those around him.[11]

"Serendipity" and "Lie" both surpassed fifty million streams on Spotify in 2018, followed shortly thereafter by the former's full length version from BTS' Love Yourself: Answer (2018) compilation album, which achieved the milestone in early 2019. With this, Park set a new record as the only Korean artist to have three solo tracks accumulate over 50 million streams each—previously Psy was the only Korean artist to ever cross the 50 million streams mark with "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Gentleman" (2013).[12][13] Both songs were also the only solos by a BTS member included in the Official Chart Company's list of the top 20 most streamed BTS songs in the United Kingdom as of October 2018, ranking at number 17 and 19 respectively.[14] In April 2019, the list was expanded to reflect the top 40, and both tracks ranked at numbers 18 and 20 respectively, the highest of five solo songs included that year.[15][16]

In May 2019, Park became the first BTS member to have a solo music video achieve 100 million views on YouTube with "Serendipity". It was the nineteenth BTS music video overall to achieve the milestone.[17][18] He was the only BTS member with multiple solo songs in the January 2020 update of the Official Chart's top 40 list.[19] "Lie" and "Serendipity" were the second and third most-streamed solos at numbers 24 and 29, behind only "Euphoria" by Jungkook at number 19. "Serendipity"'s full length version debuted at number 38, behind "Intro: Boy Meets Evil" by J-Hope at number 35 but ahead of "Trivia: Seesaw" by Suga at number 39.[20] In February, "Filter" set a record for the biggest streaming debut among all Korean songs on Spotify with over 2.2 million streams in its first 24 hours of release, and went on to become the fastest Korean solo in the platform's history to surpass 20–60 million streams.[21][22] It is also the first and only solo BTS b-side track to receive a Song of The Year nomination at the Gaon Chart Music Awards.[23][24] In March 2021, it became BTS' 15th song to spend a full year on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.[25] "Filter" is the longest-charting Korean song released in 2020, and has spent 74 weeks on the ranking as of the August 28, 2021 issue.[26]

Park was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2018 by the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, along with other members of BTS for their contributions to the promotion of Korean culture.[27] In July 2021, President Moon appointed him Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture, along with the other members of BTS, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.[28]

2014–present: Solo work

Jimin on the set of the "Boy with Luv" music video, March 2019.

In 2014, Jimin collaborated with fellow BTS member and vocalist Jungkook on a song called "Christmas Day", a Korean rendition of Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe"—the Korean lyrics were written by Park himself.[29] The two collaborated again in 2017 for a cover of American singer Charlie Puth's "We Don't Talk Anymore" (2016), with Park singing the parts of Selena Gomez who featured on the original with Puth.[30] Jungkook had previously released a solo version of the song earlier that year in February, and the two prepared the duet as a special gift to the band's fandom, releasing it on June 2 during BTS' fourth anniversary celebrations.[31][32] Commenting on Park's appearance on the track, Teen Vogue wrote that "adding Jimin's voice to the mix makes the rendition all the more lovely".[31] Canadian outlet Flare magazine also praised his rendition saying, "...no shade, Selena—it honestly might be better than the original".[33] Elite Daily described the cover as "nothing short of flawless".[29]

Park appeared on several variety shows such as Hello Counselor, Please Take Care of My Refrigerator, and God's Workplace in 2016.[34] He also served as a special MC on domestic music programs such as Show! Music Core and M Countdown.[35][36] In December, he participated in a dance duet at the KBS Song Festival with Taemin from Shinee.[37]

On December 30, 2018, Park released his first solo song outside of BTS releases, "Promise", for free on BTS' SoundCloud page.[38] On January 3, 2019, the platform announced that "Promise" had surpassed the record set by Drake's "Duppy Freestyle" for the biggest 24-hour debut in history.[39] Described by Billboard as a "mellow pop ballad",[40] the song was composed by Park and Big Hit producer Slow Rabbit, who also produced the track,[41] and features lyrics written by Park and fellow BTS member RM.[40] On December 24, 2020, Park released his second solo song "Christmas Love", a song about his childhood memories of the holidays.[42]

Artistry

Jimin stands on a stage holding his belt while dancing.

Park performing "Blood Sweat & Tears" at the 2016 Melon Music Awards.

Jimin's vocals have been described as delicate and sweet.[43] He is regarded as an exceptional dancer among the members of the group and in K-pop in general.[4][44] Noelle Devoe of Elite Daily wrote that he is often praised for his "smooth and elegant movements" as well as his charm on stage. In the BTS documentary Burn the Stage, Park said he thinks of himself as a perfectionist and that even the smallest mistakes on stage make him feel guilty and stressed.[44]

He has cited singer Rain as one of his inspirations and reasons why he wanted to become both a singer and performer.[45]

Impact and influence

In 2016, Jimin was ranked as the 14th most popular idol in an annual survey conducted by Gallup Korea.[46] He ranked 7th in 2017, before ranking 1st consecutively in 2018 and 2019.[47] Park is the only idol to top the survey for two consecutive years.[48] In 2018, Park was the ninth most-tweeted about celebrity and the eighth most-tweeted about musician in the world.[49] He was picked as the seventeenth best boyband member in history by The Guardian.[50] From January to May 2018, Park won the monthly Peeper x Billboard Award for "Top K-Pop Artist – Individual". Peeper x Billboard is a collaboration between the Peeper social media app and Billboard Korea that collects fan votes for their favorite K-pop artists and announces monthly winners. The prize was a donation to the charity UNICEF in his name.[51] Oli London, a British influencer, got 18 surgeries costing up to £150k to look like him.[52]

In 2019, he received a plaque of appreciation from the Cultural Conservation Society for performing buchaechum, a traditional Korean fan dance, during the 2018 Melon Music Awards and helping spread the dance outside of Korea.[53] As of 2021, Park has become the first idol to top the brand reputation ranking for individual boy group idols for 34 consecutive months.[54]

Philanthropy

From 2016 to 2018, Jimin supported graduates of Busan Hodong Elementary School, his alma mater, by covering uniform expenses. After news of the school's closing was released, he donated summer and winter middle school uniforms to the final graduates and gifted autographed albums to the entire student body.[55] In early 2019, Park donated KRW₩100 million (US$88,000) to the Busan Department of Education to help support lower income students. Of the total, ₩30 million ($23,000) went to his alma mater, Busan Arts High School.[56] In July 2020, he donated another ₩100 million, this time to the Jeonnam Future Education Foundation, for the creation of a scholarship fund for talented but financially struggling students from South Jeolla Province.[57] In July 2021, Park donated ₩100 million to Rotary International, to help polio patients. As with previous donations, the benefaction was made privately, but the news became public in September, when the Go-seong Rotary Club displayed a banner thanking him for the donation.[58] On October 12, 2021, Park was announced as a member of the Green Noble Club, a group of major donors to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation who have made donations of ₩100 million or more.[59]

Personal life

During The Wings Tour in 2017, Jimin had to sit out for several shows due to cramping in his neck and shoulder.[60] A similar incident occurred the following year; his agency described that he was "suffering from severe muscle pain in his neck and back" and therefore did not appear with his bandmates on The Graham Norton Show.[61]

Since 2018, he has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea, with his bandmates.[62] In June 2021, it was announced that he bought a luxury home in Hannam-dong, South Korea, worth US$5.3 million.[63]

Discography

For Jimin's works with BTS, see BTS singles discography and BTS albums discography.

Charted songs