Park Ji-min (Korean: 박지민; born July 5, 1997),[1] professionally known as Jamie or Jamie Park, and formerly Jimin Park, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and television host. She is best known as the winner of the first season of K-pop Star and as a former member of the vocal duo 15& and the project group M.O.L.A.[2] She was formerly a co-host of the variety show After School Club from 2014 to 2022.[3]
In 2011, Jamie participated in the first season of competition television show K-pop Star. Jamie later finished in first place in the competition[6] and had the opportunity to sign with YG, SM or JYPE. On May 21, 2012, Jamie officially chose to sign with JYP Entertainment.[7][8] Park also received a brand new Hyundai i40 and 300 million won (~$257,400 USD), was cast in a drama, and was also given an opportunity to sign a contract as a CF model.[9]
On September 19, 2012, it was announced that Jamie would debuting with a duo along with Baek Yerin.[10] Jamie officially debuted with duo 15& with released digital single "I Dream" on October 5, 2012[11] and making official debut stage on the music program Inkigayo on October 7.[12] 15& eventually went on hiatus after February 2015 and de facto disbanded following Jamie's departure from JYP Entertainment.[13]
Solo career
In July 2014, Jamie became a co-host for Arirang TV's After School Club[14] and has been the longest-serving host on the show and has hosted with many co-hosts including Eric Nam and eaJ.[15]
On March 31, 2015 Park Jin-young revealed that Jamie would make her solo debut.[16] She released her debut single "Hopeless Love" on April 5 with the name Jimin Park[17] and made her debut stage before the finals of K-pop Star 4 on the same day.[18][19][20]
On May 19, 2015, producer group Sweetune revealed that Jamie and Eric Nam would release a duet called "Dream" for Charity Project.[21] The song was released on May 28, 2015.[22]
On August 14, 2015, Jamie announced a project group she had formed with Seung-youn of UNIQ and rapper Nathan.[23] Their group name was later revealed to be M.O.L.A (Make Our Life Awesome), and they released their first track "My Way" on August 20.[24] Their second song "Trick or Treat" was released on October 31, where Jimin made her second recorded comeback as a rapper.[25]
On August 23, 2016, Jamie released her first EP 19 to 20 with the lead single 'Try'.[26] Due to Naver's V-LIVE, Jamie stated that 19 to 20 is about "her story" and hoped that her fans would be able to connect to her better and build a stronger relationship with her first self-composed album.[27][28]
On September 4, 2018, Jamie released her second EP Jiminxjamie, where she participated in the composition for majority of the tracks.[29]
Following the expiration of her seven-year contract with JYP Entertainment, Jamie left the company on August 6, 2019.
On April 21, 2020, it was announced that Jamie has signed an exclusive contract with Warner Music Korea, and will continue to promote as Jamie.[13]
On September 3, 2020, Jamie made her first comeback under her new agency Warner Music Korea with single "Numbers" feat Changmo [30] Her second song "Apollo 11", featuring Jay Park released on November 11, 2020.[31]
On December 8, 2020, Jamie released holiday song "5 Christmas Languages" [32]
On September 15, 2021, Jamie released the digital single "No Numbers", featuring Jmin.[33]
2022–present
On February 3, 2022, Jamie released the English digital single "Pity Party".[34]
After hosting for over seven years, on August 12, 2022, it was confirmed that Jamie was preparing to leave After School Club in order to focus on her music career and to work on her upcoming album.[35] Her last appearance on After School Club was on August 16, 2022.
On August 17, Jamie confirmed that she was preparing for a comeback in October, and is currently preparing for the release of a new EP album.[36]
On August 29, 2022, the label released Jamie's new EP album One Bad Night through their official SNS, which will be released on October 5.[37]
On August 30, 2022, Jamie released a poster for her North American 2022 tour through her official SNS channel. It will host concerts in seven cities: Los Angeles (LA), Vancouver, Toronto, Brooklyn (New York), Dallas, Seattle and San Francisco From 10 to 23 October.[38]
On January 5, 2023, Warner Music Korea tweeted that they and Jamie agreed to terminate her exclusive contract upon expiration, and thanked her for her hard work and dedication.[39]
Charity work
In October 2012, Jamie donated 50 million won (~$45,000 USD) to Hanbit Performing Arts Company for blind musicians. She became interested in the program after meeting with fellow K-pop Star contestant Kim Soo-hwan, who currently attends the Hanbit Performing Arts Company.[40] Jamie shared, “The Hanbit Performing Arts Company hosts young, elementary school students as well as professional performers. Although they are blind, they are musicians who are performing with amazing talent. I want to be at least a small help to those who have the same love for music that I have.” She also donated 50 million won (~$45,000 USD) to World Vision.[41]
On May 28, 2015, Jamie collaborated with singer Eric Nam for their song, "Dream", produced by Sweetune. They revealed all profit made from the song would be donated to charity.[22]
^Lee, Seul (August 12, 2022). "제이미, 7년 만 '애프터 스쿨 클럽' 하차.."새 앨범 작업 박차"" [Jamie leaves 'After School Club' after hosting for 7 years..."Starting work on a new album"]. XSports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
^ abLee, Eun-jung (August 6, 2019). 박지민, 7년만에 JYP 떠난다.."피프틴앤드 사실상 해체 [Park Ji-min, leaving JYP after 7 years."15& de facto disbanding"]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Retrieved August 6, 2019 – via Daum.
^Lee, Seul (August 12, 2022). "제이미, 7년 만 '애프터 스쿨 클럽' 하차.."새 앨범 작업 박차"" [Jamie leaves 'After School Club' after hosting for 7 years..."Starting work on a new album"]. XSports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
^Son, Jin-ah (August 17, 2022). "제이미, 10월 컴백 확정…새 EP 앨범 발매(공식)" [Jamie confirms comeback in October... New EP album released (official)] (in Korean). MK Sports. Retrieved August 17, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jeong, Da-bin (August 29, 2022). "제이미, 다크 펑키한 '원 배드 나이트'로 돌아온다…10월 5일 컴백" [Jamie returns with dark funky 'One Bad Night'... comeback on october 5] (in Korean). Seoul Economic Daily. Retrieved August 29, 2022 – via Naver.
^Son, Bong-seok (August 30, 2022). "제이미, 2022 북미 투어 공연 포스터 공개…글로벌 팬심 저격 나선다" [Jamie unveils the poster for the 2022 North American tour... Global fandom to sniper] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Naver.
^Ahn Yoon-ji (August 12, 2022). "제이미, 7년만 '애프터 스쿨 클럽' MC 하차 "앨범 작업 박차" [Jamie quits 'After School Club' MC for the first time in 7 years "Spurring album work"] (in Korean). MT Star News. Retrieved August 12, 2022 – via Naver.