Jung Joon Young Enjoys the Fruits of His Labor in "Vogue Girl Korea" Photo Shoot

“Superstar K4” contestant Jung Joon Young appeared in a photo shoot and interview for the August issue of “Vogue Girl Korea.”  Though aspiring rock star Jung Joon Young may have finished in third place on the show, his flower boy prettiness, unique vocal ability, and strange charisma placed him first in the hearts of many.  In the photographs, Jung Joon Young’s brooding handsomeness is on full display.  Dangling a cherry at his lips, Jung Joon Young seems to suggest he is more experienced than he looks. 

Before getting his big break on “Superstar K4,” Jung Joon Young survived the end of one of the infamous slave contracts that bind young hopefuls in the Korean music industry, being dropped from idol rock band Led Apple right before their debut due to the aforementioned contract, and taking part in various modeling gigs and reality shows to support his rock ambitions on the indie music scene.  After finishing in the top three, Jung Joon Young was inundated with CF offers, a radio program gig, and acting parts, and signed a contract with CJ E&M.  In the interview, Jung Joon Young talks about his upcoming album.  

On his upcoming album, Jung Joon Young said: “I am still working on my album.  Even though it seems like my album will be ready this summer, until the moment of its release, I still need to keep exploring my sound.  Because it’s my first album, there is not a specific path to take.  But, I also want to meet the public’s expectations.  So, right now, I am trying out various styles.  Even the number of songs has not been decided.  Even though I recorded a lot of songs, only one song has been decided upon?  There is one rock ballad that I like.  I decided upon the styling concept will be a British rock feeling.”          

On the writing process, Jung Joon Young said: “I am not working alone but with a team.  Strictly speaking, it’s not a feeling of a singer-songwriter.  Even though I want to write my own lyrics, I keep going towards “hell.”  With pop songs, you have to approach it in an emotional way.  But, I’m not good with writing songs about love.  The things I really want to write about are social messages through rock.  It is cool to think that with music you can strike at the heart of things.  Later, when my music is recognized, that’s what I want to write about.  What you can say, what you can’t say, spill my heart out, rated R-type of material.  Right now, as this is my first time, there are a lot of things I don’t know, a lot of things I need to learn.  So, trying different things is not a bad thing.”                

On his inspirations, Jung Joon Young said: “When I was in middle school, in seventh grade, that was the first time I heard Marilyn Manson.  It was a shock.  The visual was like that, but those lyrics!  I thought that all of rock was a certain way, but [knowing that] rock encompasses the Rolling Stones, bands like Nirvana, I became conscious of this wondrous world that I had no idea existed before.  I grew up receiving a lot of influence from ‘80s rock.  It is not an exaggeration to say that music dominated my music world.  I listened to it so much, that one day, I realized I was making that music.”