Choi Young-jae

Choi Young-jae (Korean: 최영재; born September 17, 1996[2]), professionally known by the mononym Youngjae, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and producer. He is the main vocal of the Korean boy band Got7.

This is a Korean name; the family name is Choi.

Choi Young-jae
최영재
Choi Young-jae in 2018
Born	Choi Young-jae (1996-09-17) September 17, 1996 Mokpo, South Korea
Alma mater	Daekyeung University
Occupation	Singer songwriter record producer
Musical career
Also known as	Ars[1]
Genres	K-pop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2014–present
Labels	JYP Sony Music
Associated acts	Got7 JYP Nation
Korean name
Hangul	최영재
Hanja	崔榮宰
Revised Romanization	Choe Yeongjae
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Yŏngchae

Career

Got7

Main article: Got7

Choi started dreaming of becoming a singer in his childhood, when he sang with his older brother.[3] When the latter enlisted in the military, he joined a practical music academy in his hometown, Mokpo, to learn more professionally,[3] and in 2011, he won the Vocal Excellence Award at Mokpo Youth Music Festival.[2] In 2013, JYP Entertainment held a closed audition in the academy and he became a trainee.[3][4] After one month of training in Seoul, Choi was chosen as part of JYPE new boy group.[4][5] After a total of 7 months of training,[3][4] he subsequently debuted as the main vocalist of the seven member boy group, Got7, with the single "Girls Girls Girls", released on 16 January 2014, from the group's first EP Got It?.[6] In early times after the debut, Choi mentioned his dream was to become a music therapist.[7]

Solo activities

He has been writing songs and lyrics under the name Ars since 2016, starting with "Rewind" in Got7's extended play Flight Log: Departure.

Choi had a collaboration with Sanjoy and Elliott Yamin in 2017 on the song "Victim of Love",[8][9] while he recorded "I'm All Ears" with Park Ji-min for the Life Insurance Social Responsibility Foundation's youth suicide prevention campaign in 2018. The song was released on October 15 alongside its music video.[10]

In 2018 and 2020, he sang "At the Usual Time" (그 시간에) and "Fall In Love" (빠져드나봐) for the original soundtracks of TV dramas Wok of Love and When My Love Blooms.[11][12] Together with Day6's Young K, he became the new DJ of MBC Radio Idol Radio starting from May 18, 2020.[13]

In the spring of 2019, he joined Jus2 in their 'Focus' Premiere Showcase in Asia, acting as the MC for Tokyo (April 10-11) and Osaka (April 17-18) stops.[14][15]

On May 25, 2020, in collaboration with Howlpot, a pet product design brand, he launched Ars X Coco, a clothing store for people and dogs, which run for two weeks until June 8.[16][17] The proceeds, amounting to 15 million won, were donated to Korea Animal Rights Advocates's The Bom Center, a non-profit care center for abandoned dog.[18]

Personal life

Choi graduated from Seoul's Korean Arts High School in February 2015 and got accepted into Seokyeong University's Department of Theater and Film;[19] the following year he moved to the Daekyeung University's Modeling Department for schedule conflicts.

Discography

Main article: Got7 discography

Title	Year	Album
"My Day" (내 하루)	2016	Non-commercial singles
"Trauma"
"Call Button" (통화버튼) (feat. J.praize)	2017
"I Want to Fall Asleep" (잠들고 싶어) (feat. Noday)

Collaborations

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Sales	Album
		KOR
"I'm All Ears" (다둘어줄게) (with Park Ji-min)	2018	—	—	Ready to Listen Part 2

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Sales	Album
		KOR
"One Dream One Korea" (Various artists)	2015	—	—	Non-album singles
"Victim of Love" (Sanjoy feat. Ars, Stephen Rezza, Elliott Yamin)	2017	—	—

Soundtrack appearances

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Sales	Album
		KOR
"At the Usual Time" (그 시간에)[11]	2018	—	—	Wok of Love OST Part. 2
"Fall In Love" (빠져드나봐) with Choi Jung-yoon[12]	2020	—	—	When My Love Blooms OST Part. 2
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Filmography

For Choi Young-jae's filmography with Got7, see Got7 videography.

Dramas

Year	Title	Role	Network	Note
2015	Dream Knight	Youngjae	Youku Tudou	Korean-Chinese Online Drama by JYPE and Youku Tudou

Variety shows

Year	Title	TV Network	Note	Ref.
2017	King of Mask Singer	MBC	Episodes 93-94 (aired on January 8 and 15), as Game Machine
2018	Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend	KBS	Episode aired on February 3, singing Kim Yeon-ja's "Mercury Lamp"	[20][21][22]
2019	Got7 Golden Key	Star K	YouTube series, with Got7's Mark	[23]

Radio presenting

Year	Title	Channel	Notes
2015	FM Starry Night	MBC Standard FM	Guest (July 7)
	Kiss The Radio	KBS Cool FM	Special host with Got7's JB (October 15)
2016			Special host with Got7's Jinyoung (June 3)
2017			Special host with Got7's Jinyoung (October 23-26)
2018			Special host with Got7's Jinyoung (January 15) and Yugyeom (March 5-6)
2020	Idol Radio	MBC Radio	Special host with Got7's JB (April 26, 28) and Day6's Young K (May 6, 9-10)
			Host with Day6's Young K from May 18

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Director	Notes
2018	"At the Usual Time" (그 시간에)	Choi Young-jae
	"Nobody Knows" (혼자)	Got7	Naive Creative Production	Solo song from Got7's album Present: You
	"I'm All Ears" (다둘어줄게)	Choi Young-jae and Park Ji-min
2020	"Fall In Love" (빠져드나봐)	Choi Young-jae and Choi Jung-yoon

References

1. "JYP Creators list". JYP Entertainment. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
2. "갓세븐 '우리만의 길 있어 엑소 부럽지 않아'(인터뷰)". Metro Seoul (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-02-03.
3. "GOT7、芸能人への憧れから母親の影響まで…僕たちが歌手になった理由 - INTERVIEW - 韓流・韓国芸能ニュースはKstyle". Kstyle (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-02-03.
4. "Oh! My Got7 : GRAZIA INTERVIEW". m.post.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-01-13.
5. "[쿠키 人터뷰] 갓세븐, 행운을 거머쥔 7명의 소년들①". news.kukinews.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-09-14.
6. "[Video] GOT7's 'Girls Girls Girls' MV Breaks through 10 Million Views on YouTube | Mwave". www.mwave.me. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
7. "GOT7 Interview 'You Shouldn't Compare Us To 2PM'". KpopStarz. July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
8. Herman, Tamar. "Boy Band GOT7 Talk Making Their Own Way Amid Growing Stateside Interest In K-Pop". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
9. "Sanjoy, Elliott Yamin, dan Youngjae 'GOT7' Rilis Single Kolaborasi "Victim Of Love"". Creative Disc (in Indonesian). 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
10. Herman, Tamar (2018-10-15). "GOT7's Youngjae & Jimin Park Release 'I'm All Ears' as Part of Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
11. "기름진 멜로 OST Part.2". www.melon.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-09-06.
12. ""갓세븐 의리" 영재, '화양연화' OST 부른다..진영 지원 사격". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-05-01.
13. "2020 MBC 라디오 봄 개편". www.gukjenews.com (in Korean). 2020-05-09. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
14. "[J-Pop] Jus2, 日 쇼케이스 투어 'FOCUS' Zepp DiverCity에서 개막 - JAPAN Culture Media 라이브엔". www.liveen.co.kr (in Korean). 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
15. "「Jus2 PREMIERE SHOWCASE TOUR IN JAPAN」のスペシャル・ゲストMCにヨンジェが決定! チケット一般発売は、明日21日(木・祝)am10時よりスタート!". i.got7japan.com (in Japanese). 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
16. "갓세븐 영재, 반려견 코코와 함께 한 의류 쇼핑몰 Ars X COCO 런칭". Munhwa News (in Korean). 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
17. "갓세븐 영재, 반려견 코코와 함께 한 의류 쇼핑몰 Ars X COCO 런칭". news.zum.com (in Korean). 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
18. "[후원] 갓세븐 영재님께서 더봄센터의 견사를 후원해 주셨습니다". www.ekara.org (in Korean). Korea Animal Rights Advocates. 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
19. Kim, Mi-hwa (2015-02-10). "'졸업' 영재 "박진영, 졸업식 선물 사준다고..페도라 원해"- 스타뉴스". Star News (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-09-23.
20. "[단독] 갓세븐 영재, '불후의 명곡' 단독 출격…데뷔 4년만" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-09-06.
21. "'불후' 갓세븐 영재 "오늘 무대 프로듀서는 박진영 아닌 어머니"" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-09-14.
22. "[별별TV]'불후' 갓세븐 영재, 감미로운 '수은등'..민우혁에 敗" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-09-14.
23. "[GOT7 Golden Key] global version coming soon". STAR K. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-05-01.

External links

• Ars on JYP Publishing