POPSEOUL Spotlight: Youtube sensation Janet Na dedicates song to Jaebum

Janet Na is a songwriter and singer who recently gained attention onYoutube due to her 2PM covers and a song that she wrote dedicated toPark Jae-bum after the 2PM controversy. The song was heartwarming and truly expressed the feelings of Park Jaebum fans around the world. POPSEOUL! interviewed the Youtube singing sensation. Let ‘s hope that she continues to shine in the future regardless of whether she is in front of the curtains or behind it.

PS: Can you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

JN: Hi! My name is Janet and I just turned 24 this year. I am a pianist and most of my playing is ballad and contemporary style. My hobby is to play the piano, sing, and just analyze/listen to music. Everything is about music. =) Currently, I’ve been working on film scorings and rearranging music for covers.

PS: What inspired you to become a singer/songwriter?

JN: I grew up in a musical family. My father studied tenor and conducting and my mother played the guitar. I grew up singing in church, taking piano lesson at 6, and just started to build my knowledge in music. Ever since junior high school, I attended performing art schools. I was classically trained in piano for 12 years and until high school, I was striving towards performing. In my junior year of high school, I took a recording class as an elective and that changed my direction. I decided to study music engineering in college. I applied for a recording program at City College of New York called the “Sonic Arts Center” program. It was a prestigious program. Hundreds of people from school and outside of school applied and they only accommodate about 15 students per year. During my first year in college, I began to build experiences in recording by joining a band with a couple of friends, be in charge of the sound reinforcement in church, record demos, and read a lot of recording magazines. After getting accepted to the program, I started to learn about recording and mixing with programs. And during class session, our project was to use the skills we learned and add those techniques into our composition. I remember when I was in high school, I told myself that I would do anything but songwriting. But now, all I want to do is write songs. I graduated two years ago with a BFA degree in music.

PS: How do your parents feel about your dreams of becoming a musician?

JN: My parents are very supportive about my dream of becoming a musician right now. But back when I changed my major from performing to music engineering, my mother wasn’t to fond about it. Although my dad was supportive about it, my mother thought I should master in classical piano and strive towards performing. I respect her opinion because of all the lessons she supported me for 12 years. But now, they are both supportive because through all those lessons, I am now able to write music, be a pianist in church, and run the sound system for sunday service. And through all those music theory classes, it has brought me here to share my music with others.

PS: How do you feel about the youtube community?

JN: Exposing my music through Youtube was actually a huge step for me. I only let friends who studied music listen to my songs. I was pretty shy about my music until I was brought to David Choi’s channel. I noticed how he was very confident about his music. His music led me to become his fan and realize how Youtube can be another way to share music with others and learn how others think about them. Whether it’s a good or bad comments, you can improve through it and learn what other listeners want.

PS: How did you become a 2PM Fan?

JN: When 2pm first debuted in Korea, I wasn’t too crazy about them. I wasn’t really into the Korean music industry. But after watching one of their shows (Wild Bunny), I started to gain interest in them. I know some people might say I’m too old to be a fan of an idol group, but I think that excluded 2pm. =) my favorite was Wooyoung. If you check out my “I Hate You” Cover video, I made a special video with only Wooyoung’s pictures. I liked his funny, playful character. I guess because these days, it’s hard to find honest idols on screen but I thought 2pm was the closest to being very brotherly with their members so that caught my eyes. I actually thank 2pm for leading me to make covers for their songs on youtube. ^^

PS: There is alot of controversy regarding 2PM and Jaebum. How do you feel about that?

JN: But after the controversy regarding 2pm and Jaebum, I was pretty upset and disappointed with the result. Even if it wasn’t Jaebum but someone else from the group, I’d still probably have the same feeling as now. And as a Korean-American, I was surprised with the misinterpretation Jaebum wrote on his myspace. I do feel that it was unnecessary for him to leave the group, but at the same time, I’m happy that Jaebum left the group and started his new career. Recently, I wrote a song for Jay in a fan’s perpective towards Jaebum. That song was also my first original on my youtube channel. I believe that things happen for a reason, and I wish that they both do well and just strive for their dreams. I think that’s the most important thing.

PS: Beside 2pm, who are your favorite artist?

JN: Many artists inspire me. To name just a few: Brian McKnight, Eric Benet, Michael Buble, David Choi, Younha, Kim Dong Ryeul, Toy, Norah Jones, Clazziquai, Josh Groban etc

PS: What are your plans for the future?

JN: My future plan is to just keep writing music. I don’t only want to write music that just earns money or fame, but touch other’s heart and something that they would nod to and agree with my message. In reference, instead of being that one hit song out of the 12 songs on the album, I rather have my songs hidden behind the hit songs, like rest of the other tracks in the album. Many people tend to just listen to the title song, but if you listen to other songs from the album, you ask yourself, “how come this song didn’t get famous?” And that happened to me. =)

JN: I want to write songs for artists. Instead of shining on stage, I rather shine behind the curtains. And if there is a chance for me to perform as a singer/songwriter, I want to share the music I’ve gone through in my life.

Check out some of Janet Na’s wonderful covers as well as her original song to Park Jae Bum. Still want more? You can also visit her Youtube channeland her facebook fan page