Yang Joon-il


Yang Joon-il, also known as John Yang, Yang Joon Il, Joon-il Yang, JIY and V2, is a Korean-American singer-songwriter. Yang made his debut in 1991 with a song titled "Rebecca". He was active in South Korea from 1991 to 1993 before he had issues renewing his visa. In 2001, he made a brief comeback as JIY, a member of project group V2. The song was a hit, but, at the time, agency issues prevented him from working in the entertainment industry. He fled back to America disappearing away from the public scene. He recently gained attention through JTBC's Two Yoo Project Sugar Man, a program dedicated to finding and rediscovering old singers from the past. As of 2020, he is active in various fields such as fan meeting, book writing, public appearances, lectures, commercials, beauty and fashion related activities.

Personal life

Yang was born in Vietnam during the war in 1969 and spent his childhood in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. Yang emigrated to the United States with his family at age nine and grew up in Los Angeles. After one year of dating Yang married a woman with whom he fell in love at first sight in 2006 and the first son was born in 2015.

Career

When he was in Glendale High School in LA, he was persuaded to make a debut as an entertainer by the late Hollywood actor Soon-tek Oh, who was a member to the same church. Yang was a soloist in his high school choir. He took classes at a modeling school to prepare for his debut.
He entered University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. During his studies, he was selected by Lee Bum Hee, who was the famous composer of the day in Korea. Yang dropped out of school to debut as a singer in Korea in 1990. He entered Korea in the same year and studied Korean at the .
Yang debuted in March 1991 at the age of 21 with the album, "Winter Wonderer". He debuted on the "Rookie Stage" of the MBC's music program "Saturday Night Music Show" performing "Rebecca". The second single was "Help Me Cupid". A few months later, he returned to Los Angeles to work on his 2nd album. His 2nd full length album was released in 1992. He released other hit songs like "Dance with Me Miss" and "GaNaDaRaMaBaSa". Yang also composed most of the songs including "Love Strutter" of Chul Y and Mi Ae's second album.
He was credited as the first pop musician to introduce Korean audiences to the new jack swing genre, was popular in the mid-1980s and early 1990s in the U.S. In '" in Chul Y and Mi Ae's 2nd album dance pop and Korean traditional music were combined, which was very innovative attempt at the time.
Active in South Korea from 1991 to 1993, he suddenly disappeared from the public scene and returned to the U.S. In a 2019 interview with The Korea Times, he revealed that "he was hated by many for his unusual looks and songs." Some also threw rocks during his performance at an open-air stage. Once, Yang recalled, an audience member faked a handshake to pull him violently down to the ground from the stage, telling him: "You need a beating." While a 10-year visa he held in Korea as a U.S. national had to be recertified every six months, but he was denied an extension to his visa. His nationality as an American also made it hard for him to gain acceptance in South Korea.
On April 17, 2001, he made another debut as JIY, a member of a music band V2, with a third album "Fantasy". V2 meant his "Version 2". He was in active under the name of JIY instead of his real name, Yang Joon-il. He lied about his age and made a big change in his look. He hid his true identity as music producers told him he would not make it again due to his previous controversial image in Korea. His new song "Fantasy", composed by Valery Gaina of Cruise, enjoyed a brief popularity before he finally put an end to his music career. Due to the agency's circumstances, it became impossible to work as a musician and after that he worked as an English teacher for 14 years. In 2015, he returned to the United States. Because of his age, he had a hard time finding work. He worked as a warehouse worker, office cleaner, and restaurant server.
In 2019, he gained attention through JTBC's Two Yoo Project Sugar Man, a program dedicated to finding and rediscovering old singers from the past. He sang "", , and "Fantasy". Still slim in figure and soulful in his performance, he dazzled the audience and show hosts. When asked his next plans amid this viral syndrome, he simply said: "I don't make any plans; I just focus on fully living every moment. If there's any plans, I hope to live as a humble husband and dad." When the show hosts asked him to give a message to 20-year-old himself living 30 years ago, Yang said: "I know nothing will happen how you want. But don't worry, everything will come out perfectly in the end." After his fame skyrocketed again after his appearance on the show, he quit his job at the restaurant to focus on his entertainment career.
On December 25, Christmas Day, he appeared on JTBC Newsroom. He said "It's like a dream every day", "I've been trying to get rid of my prejudice against myself, which is full of my mind as if I had to abandon my unhappiness before I was happy." "There are no more tears" Yang said, adding that his powerful fandom, which claims to be a support group, is also a big boost to Yang.
On December 31, Yang met with fans through two official fan meeting events. "Are you really here to see me?"he said, tearing up with joy. "This is my first time. I didn't imagine any of this. I'm so grateful." In a press conference at a fan meeting, he revealed that his sole dream of becoming a K-pop star in his 20s was finally accomplished now, at age 50.
Just a few days before the fan meeting he shot a commercial with Lotte Home Shopping for the first time in his life. He spent that money to rent an apartment in Korea.
On January 3 in 2020, Yang created his account on Instagram. On the 4th, he performed his debut song "Rebecca" on MBC's "Show! Music Core" after 28 years after his debut. Yang appeared himself a , a parody of his own 90's fashion style. JTBC's special feature aired on the 16th and 23rd. The title of the program is meant to commemorate his debut year, 1991 and 2019 when he was recovered.
On February 3, his photo essay started a pre-sale. On the first day, over 15,000 copies were pre-sold and it became bestseller. A series of the interviews with the behind-the-scenes of photo shooting for his book was released also. On the 9th, Yang opened his official YouTube channel, . The number of subscribers has spiked up to over 15K in a single day. On Valentine's day, on February 14, was officially released.
On March 14, the 100th day anniversary of his re-debut, Yang and choreographer Lia Kim appeared on MBC "Show! Music Core" of the via a collaboration stage. Two of them went on stage with his song "Dance with Me" released in 1992. On the 16th, Yang was shown as a lecturer on "Sebasi Talk". The title of the lecture was . It hit 1 million view mark in 2 days.
On April 28, Yang held a Drive-through Fansign Event in Paju Premium Outlet.
On May 12, his KaKaoTalk emoticons, has been launched. On the 15th, has been released. On the 19th, Yang Joon Il Maybe: Password of You and I'' Audiobook narrated by Yang Joon Il himself has been released.
He also plans to re-arrange and re-record his old songs to release a repackaged album. After that, he hopes to release new songs.

Discography

Album

titlewritten bycomposed byarranged bylength
Your Backside That Caught My Attention Yang Joon-ilP.B. Floyd,Jay Mitchel,Michael Johnson/Yang Joon-ilJay Mitchell3:24
Dance with me, 아가씨 Yang Joon-ilP.B. Floyd, Jay Mitchell/Yang Joon-ilJay Mitchell3:33
Party InvitationYang Joon-ilP.B. Floyd, Rafael Cunville/Yang Joon-ilJay Mitchell4:39
가나다라마바사Yang Joon-ilP.B. Floyd, Jay Mitchell/Yang Joon-ilJay Mitchell4:06
추억만의 사랑이동현/Lee Se Gun이세건/Lee Dong HyunCharlie S. Lee4:44
J에게Lee Se GunLee Se GunYang Joon-il, Jay Mitchell3:43
그리움Yang Joon-ilLee Bum HeeCharlie S. Lee4:43

Appearances

YearTitleMediaRoleRef.Note
2019Two Yoo Project Sugar Man Season 3 Ep.2JTBCGuest
2019JTBC Newsroom Culture InvitationJTBCGuest
2020The Sugar Man, Yang Joon Il, 91.19JTBCHimself
2020Yang Hee-eun and Seo Kyung-seok's -Visible RadioMBC표준FM
2020:ko:오은|Oh Eun's Huddle Ep.122 on Podcast-Visible PodcastYouTube
2020Lee Soo-young's Let's Meet at 12:00-Visible RadioCBS음악FMGuest
2020 Ep.3, Ep.4MBCGuest
2020Happy Together Ep.631KBSGuest
2020Park Myung-soo's KBSCoolFM
2020 Ep.1152Lecturer
2020] YouTube
2020] with Yang Joon Il -Visible RadioEBS RADIO
2020 FaTalk by YouTube
2020YouTubeHimself
2020Show! Music Core MBC

Concerts

Endorsements

In 2019, Yang shot a commercial with Lotte Home Shopping for the first time in his life.
In 2020, Yang came in third place in brand reputation rankings for male advertisement models, as studied by The Korean Business Research Institute. Yang became an official model for Pizza Hut. He was selected as an endorsement model for Siwon School. He has been working as an ambassador for . It was also reported that Shinsegae International is planning to launch a collaborative product with Yang. He appeared in commercials for Berocca by . He was appointed as a new face of . Jenny House Cosmetics announced to release a new product in collaboration with Yang. Re;BAK Style Repair Shampoo and Treatment was officially launched in March and , their collaboration site, was opened on the same day.

Awards