Rain

Jung Ji-hoon (born June 25, 1982), better known by his stage name Rain (Korean: 비; IPA: ['piː]), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, and record producer.

Rain's musical career includes seven albums (six Korean, one Japanese), 28 singles and numerous concert tours around the world.

Rain was born as Jung Ji-hoon on June 25, 1982, in Seosan, South Korea.

His mother died in December 2000 as she struggled with diabetes.

In the same year, Rain was recruited as a trainee for JYP Entertainment, led by recording artist and producer Park Jin-young.

In a CNN interview and also in a Discovery Channel documentary called Discovering Hip Korea, he recalled being repeatedly rejected because of his looks: "In fact, I was told after one audition that my singing and dancing was great but I did not make it because I did not have double eyelids."

He was eventually recruited into JYP Entertainment, as Park Jin-young saw his drive and persistence.

During his early years of training, Rain was a backup dancer.

Rain, aged 16, debuted as a member of a boy band named Fanclub (팬클럽).

Despite releasing two albums, the group failed to be commercially successful.

On May 13, 2002, Jung debuted as a solo singer with his first solo album titled Bad Guy where he was introduced to the media through his stage name, Rain.

Two singles were released from the album—the eponymous title track "Bad Guy" and "Handshake".

From 2002 to 2003, he became a host for KBS's Music Bank.

Rain made his acting debut in the 2003 drama Sang Doo! Let's Go To School.

Following the success of his debut, Rain released his second album, How to Avoid the Sun on October 16, 2003, with the lead single "How to Avoid the Sun", again to commercial success.

He achieved breakthrough success with his third Korean album, It's Raining (2004), which spawned the number one single of the same name.

The album sold over 200,000 copies in South Korea and one million copies throughout Asia, and established Rain as an international star.

His lead role in the pan-Asia hit drama Full House (2004) established his status as a Hallyu star.

Rain then released his third album, It's Raining on October 8, 2004, which further consolidated his popularity throughout East and Southeast Asia.

To promote the release, Rain embarked on his first tour, Rainy Day Tour, which spanned a total of 14 concerts in 8 countries.

The album went on to sell over a million copies in Asia, cementing Rain's position as one of the region's top musical acts.

According to JYP Entertainment, Rain earned US$35 million in revenue from promotional activities and endorsements throughout 2005.

As part of his Rainy Day Tour, Rain held a two-day concert at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City in February 2006.

It was the largest concert by a Korean artist in the city at the time, attracting over 10,000 people, and was sold out within a matter of days.

The concert featured appearances from Park Ji-yoon, as well as JoJo, P. Diddy and Omarion and was promoted by the Asian concert production company Rainstone Live.

In April 2006, Rain was included in Time magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Rain released his debut Japanese album, Eternal Rain on September 13, 2006, which peaked at number 14 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

After his Japanese promotions, Rain followed up with the release of his fourth album, Rain's World on October 14, 2006.

It was the 9th best-selling album of the year in South Korea, and a repackage of the album was released 2 months later.

In support of the record, Rain held a free promotional concert at the Seoul World Cup Stadium one day prior to the album's release in front of 40,000 fans.

He subsequently held his second concert tour titled the Rain's Coming World Tour, which began on December 15, 2006, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul.

Rain performed two concert dates in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 23–24, 2006, held at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for a total of 7,600 fans.

Rain has set up his own company twice, the first being J. Tune Entertainment in 2007, and R.A.I.N. Company in 2015.

Rain has received numerous accolades for his work in both music and acting, including six Mnet Asian Music Awards, three Golden Disc Awards, nine KBS Drama Awards and two Baeksang Arts Awards.

It continued through 2007 to various parts of Asia, Australia, United States, and Canada and was well received.

In April 2007, Rain topped Time Magazine's online user poll, defeating Stephen Colbert by 100,000 votes; Colbert jokingly retaliated by producing a parody of Rain's music video for "How to Avoid the Sun" called "He's Singin' In Korean", and challenged Rain to a dance-off or a "cuddle-off", or a "spoon-off".

He also made it into People's 2007 list of the "Most Beautiful People" in the world.

In a press release, Rain stated that he was honored to be on the list, and also noted that it will be a great boost to his efforts to raise his public awareness in the United States.

In 2008, Rain made his Hollywood debut in the film Speed Racer and starred in Ninja Assassin (2009), the latter of which made him the first Korean to win a MTV Movie Award.

In 2008, he was ranked third among 100 leaders of the Korean entertainment industry by Sports Dong-a, and was named one of Time 's 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2011.