Jennifer Chung

Born in Korea and raised in the Bay area, Jennifer was surrounded by the arts throughout her entire life. Her mother, a dance teacher, and her father, a former recording artist in Korea, embraced her tendency to sing and dance at any given moment. Whether dancing to Michael Jackson or belting out Whitney Houston tracks, Jennifer was always ready to put on a show.

At the age of six, Jennifer’s parents divorced and she found herself taking on the responsibility of helping her mother raise her younger brother alone. Though times were tough both emotionally and financially, there wasn’t anything music couldn’t remedy. It wasn’t until the age of 9 when Jennifer actually began to perform at talent shows.

That year Jennifer had purchased Britney Spears’ very first album and began singing along by reading the lyrics. Channeling the likes of Whitney, Mariah, and Alicia, Jennifer’s strong voice has allowed her to develop her own style. “My mom heard me sing the song ‘Sometimes’ and asked me to sing again. She noticed something different about my voice that day and encouraged me to start performing at events,” she said. “Growing up I did a lot of Korean Traditional Dance so my singing voice was kind of my little secret for a while.”

Since then, Jennifer has performed at numerous talent shows, weddings, rallies, basketball games, tournaments, and has played leading roles in musicals such as Lucky Stiff, The Fantasticks, and The Wiz. By her senior year of high school she was Co-Band President as well as Spring ASB President. “I took full advantage of my high school career. There’s so much that is offered to us that we tend to look over. I don’t want to miss any opportunities and make sure to live life to the fullest.”

A little over a year ago, Jennifer began recording videos on YouTube just for fun. Slowly the popularity of the videos grew as Jennifer watched the number of views rise each week. Casually performing contemporary hits in front of the camera, Jennifer garnered many fans and subscribers to her videos due to her down to earth persona and powerful pipes to match. Her rendition of Alicia Keys’ “No One” has already soared above 5 million views and she is one of YouTube’s Most Subscribed (All Time) Musicians. In December of 2007, Jennifer was the Grand Prize Winner for Broadwayworld.com’s “GIVE US YOUR VOICE” contest which gave her the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to New York to watch Broadway’s The Little Mermaid as well as meet the cast and composer, Alan Menken.

After getting into Berklee College of Music, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego, Jennifer made the final decision of becoming an Anteater. Jennifer actively participated on campus by working as a student housing adviser, peer academic adviser, and was also a staffer for the well known Student Parent Orientation Program at UC Irvine. In just 3 years, Jennifer graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Theater.

Now Jennifer works towards making music and supporting herself in Southern California.

For booking inquiries or collaborations please e-mail: BookJenniferChung@gmail.com

She walks into the room with a booming voice, wearing dark blue jeans, a grey v-neck with no makeup. She says she just woke up, but her energy and radiant confidence show otherwise. Jennifer takes naps between her interviews with MTViggy to air globally from the UK to Indonesia and her check ups for her new line of t-shirts. Jen’s screen blinks with long rows of numbers and notices on her YouTube account page. I spot Johnny Yang and his infamous strumming lounging by the kitchen, the backdrop for most of Jen’s new videos, and her white Snowball microphone in front of her Mac computer. I forget I walked into Vista Del Campo Norte until I see the Edward Cullen poster above her bed, a red netted laundry basket in the corner, SPOP banners, and textbooks piled on top of the printer.

Jen plops down on the couch and welcomes me with a warm, encompassing hug, her contagious smile filling the room. It was hard for me to see that this was the 19-year-old YouTube celebrity sensation, some of her singing videos reaching more than 4 million views, ranking #42 for the Most Subscribed Musicians of all time, and having more than 68 thousand followers. Amongst juggling her jobs as peer academic advisor and student housing advisor, she’s still a UCI student and she doesn’t want anyone to overlook it. For the first time, Jen sits down to talk about deeper issues behind her music and family, addressing the struggles of her mother being a single parent, how she grew up like anyone else relying on loans and grants, releasing her E.P. album, and striving to become a good influence through her music and career.

What are some of your influences or inspirations for the music you play today?

Honestly, I grew up singing Mariah Carey, Whitney, Spice Girls, but it wasn’t until high school that I started listening to jazz, indie rock, and alternative music. I’m not exactly that style, but I love the different ways that singers tell stories through their music like India Arie, Jason Mraz, Brooke Fraser. Brooke Fraser is an inspiration because not only is her voice beautiful and does she write meaningful songs, but she’s also pursued the Christian music industry as well as the Pop music industry. I think after doing musicals, I’m more aware of how I want to tell my story.

If you weren’t a singer/songwriter, what would you be instead?

Anything that has to do with working with people, I think I’m a big people person and I really love kids a lot too. I melt when I see kids. As cheesy and cliché as this sounds, my music has helped people and I want to continue to do that.

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Ginny Owens’ If You Want Me To and Jason Mraz’s Absolutely Zero.

Tell us a little bit about your singing and performance history? At what point did you realize that this was for you?

Growing up, I did a lot of Korean traditional dance because my mom was a dancer, and growing up I saw a lot of Michael Jackson and Korean videos. It wasn’t until I was in fourth grade when I got the new Britney Spears’ album Baby One More Time. My mom noticed something when I was singing it and she asked me to sing again, and that’s how I began to sing at talent shows. Starting high school, I began musicals and also sang for the jazz band as a jazz band vocalist. In college I’ve done a couple of plays, basically I got in for acting but had a few opportunities to sing. In Irvine, I also got to join a hip hop dance crew, where I got to perform that way as well. If saying it isn’t enough, you’ve got to sing, and if singing isn’t enough, you’ve got to dance.

How would you describe the sound of your E.P. album?

It’s really relaxed. It’s like when you’re driving in your car and the sun is up and it’s about to go down and there’s a cool, warm breeze, or music you’re listening to when you have only one lamp light on in your bed.

What are some of your favorite original tracks?

Everyone Needs, White Lies, Very Last Time. When I finished Very Last Time, I was so relieved that I almost cried. My friend Jackie Kim was there with me and she almost cried with me too. This was the most liberating song to write.

What was it like beginning your career on YouTube, being rated and commented by millions of people?

I think more than the numbers it’s the fact that it’s people from all over the world. Even if it was twenty people and they were each from different parts of the world, I would be grateful. I like the thought of music as the universal language. Just that thought is awesome. At first, there was a fear, people can be mean, but at the same time, there are the nicest people. It’s funny because I don’t know how to stick up for myself, but there are people who I don’t even know who stick up for me, and to put the bad comments on a pedestal would minimize the good comments.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?

Oh wow, Jason Mraz, Brooke Fraser, and India Arie!

Your most recent original song, “How Do I Tell You,” has been well received but has also spurred up questions about the relationship between you, your mom, and your family amongst your fans. Could you give us some background to this song?

My mom raised me and my brother on her own. Any single parent has to have the biggest heart and the thickest skin. Back then, divorce was happening but it wasn’t exactly what people were talking about. My mom was a dance teacher and being a dance teacher doesn’t exactly rake in the money and my dad left to Korea and didn’t support us financially. Medicare, things like that really helped us out. It was hard, my mom always felt she wasn’t good enough, but she did the best that she could. I won’t say that my childhood was taken away from me, but I had the opportunity to see the world and realize the sacrifices made for me. I took it as a gift. My mom was different; she had to go through such a struggle to be a Korean dancer pursuing the arts, so she gave me freedom, and she was lenient, no curfew, and never restricted me, and believed everything I said. And you know what? I told her the truth every time. I wanted to live the best I could to represent our family, to show all the other adults who talked about my mom because she was a single parent, to show that she could raise a kid just as great as any two parents. I’m sure that we argued a lot, but there wasn’t a time when our relationship didn’t get stronger and we weren’t compassionate towards each other. I took care of myself a lot when it came to college or where I am now. Tuition is completely by grants and scholarships, and I take out loans for housing, I hate asking my mom for money. She paved the way for me to become the person I am today. But at times, I can really underestimate her, especially with English. She called me after listening to the song and she started to cry. I couldn’t believe she understood everything. I had to do a lot of translating growing up, turning in forms for my mom, and translating the bills or letters. Nothing was hidden from me; I saw everything since I was young. If we were in debt or there was a problem, or if my mom wasn’t well, I had to translate to the doctor too. I think the song that I wrote is reminiscing on the things that I wanted to tell her while I was growing up. A lot of people pitied my mom, and they shouldn’t, she raised two great kids. Even with my music, my mom is my number one fan for sure. She watches me on YouTube everyday, she plays it all day so I can get even more views on the video!

From being a full-time undergraduate student at UCI, being a part of MCIA dance team, participating in the SPOP mentor program, working for housing, training to be a peer academic advisor on campus to serving at churches on top of singing and writing song lyrics, how do you successfully juggle everything and keep yourself focused?

Time management, time management, time management. How do I do it? I keep going. I think it’s important that I have friends who really understand where I’m coming from. Ever since I was young I knew if I wanted to get somewhere, I needed to be somewhere and I wasn’t going to be somewhere if I wasn’t going to put myself there. I didn’t grow up with a mom or dad who pushed me like stage parents. My mom believed in what I wanted to do and she trusted that I wanted to take care of it–I think it has to do with me being the oldest. I “hella” have that mentality of a “go-getter.” Sometimes, I can’t believe I do everything and I realize I overwhelm myself. I think I need to do that to realize what’s truly important and worth my time. I mean you may do a couple of things you like but didn’t experience other things. I put a lot on my plate, but now I know exactly what I want. I think you have to have a solid reason for the things that you want to do. When I get tired, I remember the reasons why I want to do it and it makes me bounce back up.

What would you like to tell your fans?

I’d like to tell them, first and foremost, thank you for accepting me for who I am, for supporting me and I hope that as I continue to pursue this that they’re able to go on this journey with me. I hope to encourage younger people to know their worth and to not have to conform to what everyone else in the world wants them to be. There’s something we all have to offer that no one else can. I want my subscribers to know that I’m a student first and that I could relate to them. Without opportunities at school, none of this would have happened, especially without my friends here and the people I met here. I want to be a good influence on people, I don’t smoke I don’t drink. I just want people to never feel like they have to fall into those things to be cool or to fit in.