Bi (Rain)

Rain, Jeong Ji-Hoon (born on 25 June 1982 in Seoul) is a male Korean R&B and pop singer. He has become well-known throughout East Asia as a leading star of the Korean wave, otherwise known as Hallyu: Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Thailand . He has been called the "Asian Usher" or the "Asian Justin Timberlake." In April 2006, Time called him the world's second most influential entertainer.

The story of his name is rather complicated: he's known by a variety of names in different countries. Although his stage name is an English word, in Korea, he is known as Bi (pronounced like the English word be), which is the Korean word for "rain". In Japan, his name is pronounced Pi ("," pronounced like pea in English). In countries outside of Korea and Japan, the English name Rain prevails.

Rain discovered his passion for dancing ever since he was in the 6th grade. As a teenager, he was part of the boyband group called "fanclub" and years after the group ended, Park Jin Young (Korean producer/singer who worked with American singers Will Smith, Mase, Lil Kim, 3LW, Tyrese) took Rain under his wings after he auditioned for JYP Entertainment and trained him for years in dancing and singing. Rain was a back-dancer for a famous Korean singer named Park Ji Yoon and Park Jin Young himself. During those training years, Rain was not at home much and would lie to his parents telling them he was going to study in the library while in fact he went to the dance studio. He struggled financially and at times had to go without meals. Nevertheless, he continued to focus on his dance and singing even though he was anxiously waiting for his debut.

Finally in 2002 he debuted with the song "bad guy" charming fans with his singing and powerful choreography. After the 1st album, he starred in the drama "Sangdoo lets go to school". Many people were impressed by his acting skills regardless that it was his first time acting in a drama. Following the success of his debut, he came back with a new set of style in his 2nd album and hit song "Ways To Avoid The Sun".

In 2004, he starred in another successful drama called "Full House" which has aired in other Asian countries such as the Philippines , Indonesia , Singapore , Taiwan , Hong Kong , China , Malaysia , Vietnam ,Myanmar , Thailand, Japan and was one of the highest rated Korean dramas which has won the hearts of many fans across Asia. His performance in Full House has won him the Best Actor Award at the KBS Acting Awards.

His 3rd album "Its Raining" has been released in Japan , Taiwan , Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Indonesia , and Thailand and has topped the foreign music charts in those countries. This album has sold over 1 million copies in Asia. His concert called "Rainy day" which was held in Korea and Japan had concert tickets sold out on the first day.

In 2004, Rain earned even greater recognition by winning the MTV Asia Grand Slam, winning top honors in all the Asian countries that broadcast MTV Asia. Rain won the "Favorite Artist of Korea" from the 2005 MTV Asia Aid held in Bangkok , the "Popular Asian Artist Award" from Channel [V] Thailand, and the "Best Buzz Asia Award" during the MTV Japan Video Music Award 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 to be invited to the 2005 American MTV Video Music Awards in Miami and the 2005 MTV Latin Video Music Awards in Mexico. These accomplishments among others earned Rain media attention including interviews with Time Magazine Asian Edition and CNN Talk Asia.

Rain also won the "Best Korean singer" award 2005 at the Mandarin Music Honors in Taiwan. Having been voted as the best Asian singer by the Taiwanese media, Rain is positioning himself as one of the most admired Asian stars this year. Wherever he goes, he generates huge public interest and becomes a hot topic of conversation. His every move is monitored by the media and draws keen attention from music fans.

In addition to Times magazine voting Rain the second most influential artist of 2006, the magazine has also noted that Rain may do a future collaboration with P.Diddy. This was after reviewing Rain's awesome performances in Madison Square Garden in February 2006. His two concerts, Rainy Day in New York, were sold out in a couple of days.

Rain is currently on a RAINY DAY 2005 Tour which started in Seoul and will travel to Tokyo and Hong Kong. He is creating and showcasing fresh new spectacles at every single concert, and tickets are selling out quickly as a result. His first solo concert in Japan last summer, entitled "Rainy Day Japan" and 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 one of his concerts in Taiwan were sold out the moment they became available also. His performances in Hong Kong also sold out in a couple of hours. Rain continues to set records in Asia. Now planning to go beyond Japan and Hong Kong, Rain will make a foray into China by giving a concert in Beijing.

There is also news that Bi will be singing a duet song with Omarion, who used to be the vocalist of the popular, hip-hop group, B2K, and had starred in the movie, "You Got Served." When Bi's first movie had completed filming in early July, he had departed for the U.S. to discuss about the possibility of singing the duet song with Omarion, and meeting up with his organizers of his Asian Tour.

Bi's Asian Tour will include producers and stage designers (for example, Jamie King and Mark Fisher) who have done tour concerts with famous artists, such as Michael Jackson, Ricky Martin, Madonna, U2, Britney Spears, and the Rolling Stones.

Rain had apparently met Omarion through his producer, Jin-Young Park, who had written a song for Omarion's recent album. Also, after Bi's concert in February in New York - where Omarion had danced to Bi's song "Bad Guy" - Omarion and Bi became friends, says JYP Entertainment. They also noted that the two may star in a movie together one day.

JYP also announced in an interview with Yonhap News on June 4th, that the two will record their song when Bi arrives to the U.S. the next time, and it will be released as a digital single in Korea and the U.S.

Also, Pepsi Cola has shot a TV commercial with Bi and Christina Aguilera, a well-known, American pop singer and star. There is also talk that the two will sing a duet song together.

Bi's fourth album will be released in Korea in the fall.