Jae Jin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, SAG-AFTRA actor and public speaker from Baltimore known for his soulful singing, award-winning songwriting, and sought-after public speaking/storytelling. He independently distributes his original music through AWAL and is a part of the Sinasoid Artist Guild. To date, Jin has self-released three albums: Kairos, Baltimore Boulevard, and 'Letters and Drinks.' Jin won a John Lennon Songwriting Award in 2019 and also received 1st Place in the International Songwriting Competition. He was also a Finalist in the 2019 NewSong Music Competition. Jin has appeared on Season 16 of U.S. TV Series The Voice and on Season 2 of U.S. TV series House of Cards as a principal actor. He received a prestigious WeWork Creator Award through WeWork in 2018 for his original music and powerful life story and will give his first TEDx talk in 2020.
Professional Career
2013–2014: Early career
Jin made his first notable appearance in 2013, when his cover of Sam Cooke's song "Nothing Can Change This Love" was shared by video blog WorldStarHipHopgoing viral. After garnering over one million views, the video was removed from the service at the request of Sam Cooke's music publishers. Following the popularization of this video, Jin began meeting with record labels, music business executives, and major network reality television shows. However, instead of partnering with a third-party, the musician decided to pursue his music career independently. A few months later, Jin appeared as a principal actor singing in a scene on U.S. TV series House of Cards. In 2014, Jin appeared on Christian radio network Moody Radio for an interview on the Chris Fabry Live program discussing his plans to take a leap of faith with limited musical experience.
2015–2016: ''Kairos''
Jin began his journey by packing up his entire life into two suitcases moving to New York City. Jin spent 3 months recording his debut album, titled KAIROS, with the help of his long time friend and the album's producer, Tim Ouyang of Tim Be Told. On October 6, 2015, Jin released his ten track debut studio album, Kairos. Jin appeared on ABC News numerous times for interviews and guest performances of "Wild Creatures" and "Ain't About Love".
2017:''Baltimore Boulevard''
On November 3, 2017, Jin released his sophomore effort Baltimore Boulevard, an album collection of songs written over a 2 year span. In the same month, he was awarded a WeWork Creator Award given to those who "bring new ideas into the world". Jin was also invited to share his life story on stage at Madison Square Garden during the WeWork Global Summit.
2018–2019: ''Letters & Drinks''
On June 29, 2018, Jin released his third full-length album. Atwood Magazine's Mitch Mosk wrote: "echoing the likes of Fun and Jason Mraz, and with a voice like Sam Smith, Jin appeals to the deepest part of our souls – that tender, vulnerable side we too often build walls around. His songs truly come from the heart, whether he's dealing with tragedy as on "Six Feet Above", honoring family as on "Father's Land", or trying to leave the world a better place – as in album opener "Dance with Me". His hit single, 11:11 has won him numerous songwriting awards, including the John Lennon Songwriting Award in 2019. He was also chosen as 8 finalists out of over 800 contestants for the prestigious NewSong Music Competition in Asheville, NC in November, 2019.
2020–present: upcoming 4th album
Jin released two original standalone singles "So Wrong" and "Love U Like That" in January and March respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States postponed touring plans but Jin still hopes to commence the recording of his 4th studio album later this year.
Touring
Jin played his first casual concerts as a solo artist in 2014 at various venues around the National Capital Region including Jammin' Java and Ebenezers Coffeehouse. Since the start of 2015 when he decided to do music fulltime, he has toured extensively bringing him to over 108 cities. Notable venues Jin has played concerts at include The Bitter End, SideWalk Cafe, Pianos, Rockwood Music Hall, Eddie's Attic, Hotel Café, Postcrypt Coffeehouse, Smith's Olde Bar, Neck of the Woods, and more. Jin has toured North America, Europe, and Asia. The majority of his global touring that included London, Paris, South Korea, and Singapore took place in 2016. His last major touring took place in 2019, when he embarked on a 10 month, 46 city tour.
Influences
Jin has cited artists including Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, and Prince as major influences and often speaks about his varied influences ranging from country to hiphop. His solo live music as a singer-songwriter ranges in genre from blues to soul to rhythm and blues.
Jin was born in Seoul, South Korea on November 6 and moved to the United States when he was two years old. He attended Chantilly High School. Having spent 20 years in Baltimore, Maryland, he considers Baltimore his hometown. At the age of 17, Jin was diagnosed with a terminal blood-bone marrow disorder. He underwent experimental chemotherapy at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Five years later, while he was a pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University, the illness returned, and Jin repeated the same chemotherapy, becoming the second patient in history to receive the treatment twice. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University and spent many years working in healthcare management, social enterprise, workforce development, and the startup world. As Jin was preparing to commence a dual graduate degree in Medicine and Business, he chose instead to pursue a career in music at the end of 2014.
