This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Polish Wikipedia. (November 2010) Don't speak Polish? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Polish article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|pl|Polskie nazwiska}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

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A Polish personal name, like names in most European cultures, consists of two main elements: imię, the first name, or given name, followed by nazwisko, the last name, surname, or family name. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed (in addition to personal taste or family custom) by three major factors: civil law, Church law, and tradition.

Imię (given name)[link]

A child in Poland is usually given one or two names, Polish registry offices do not register more than two. Among Catholics, who form the vast majority of the population, it is customary to adopt the name of a saint as an informal third given name at confirmation, however, this does not have any legal effect. (This is reminiscent of the pre-Christian rite of the "first haircut" (postrzyżyny), which also involved giving the child a new name.)

Parents normally choose a name or names for their child from a long list of traditional names which may be:^[1]

• a Christian name, i.e., a Biblical name or a saint's name, or
• a Slavic name of pre-Christian origin.

The names of Slavic saints, such as Wojciech (St Adalbert), Stanisław (St Stanislaus), or Kazimierz (St Casimir), belong to both these groups. Slavic names used by historical Polish monarchs, e.g. Bolesław, Lech, Mieszko, Władysław, are common as well. Additionally, a few names of Lithuanian origin, such as Olgierd (Algirdas), Witold (Vytautas) or Danuta, are also quite popular in Poland.

Traditionally, the names are given at a child's baptism. Non-Christian but traditional Slavic names are usually accepted, but the priest may encourage the parents to pick at least one Christian name. In the past two Christian names were given to a child so that he or she had two patron saints instead of just one. At confirmation people usually adopt yet another (second or third) Christian name; however, it is never used outside Church documents.

In Eastern Poland, as in many other Catholic countries, people celebrate name days (imieniny) on the day of their patron saint. On the other hand, in Western Poland birthdays are more popular. Today, in Eastern Poland birthdays remain relatively intimate celebrations, as often only relatives and close friends know a person's date of birth. Name days, on the other hand, are often celebrated together with co-workers, etc. Information about whose name day it is today can be found in most Polish calendars, web portals, etc.

It is required by law for a given name to clearly indicate the person's sex. Almost all Polish female names end in the vowel -a, while most male names end in a consonant or a vowel other than a. There are, however, a few male names, such as Barnaba and Bonawentura, which end in -a. Maria is an exceptional name as it is a female name which, however, can be also used as a middle (second) name for males (never as a first name for males).

The choice of a given name is largely influenced by fashion. Many parents name their child after a national hero or heroine, some otherwise famous person, or a character from a book, film, or TV show. In spite of this, a great number of names used in today's Poland have been in use since the Middle Ages.

Diminutives are very popular in everyday usage, and are by no means reserved for children. The Polish language allows for a great deal of creativity in this field. Most diminutives are formed by adding a suffix. For male names it may be -ek or the more affectionate -uś; for female names it may be -ka, or -nia / -dzia / -sia / cia respectively. Maria, a name whose standard form was once reserved to refer to Virgin Mary, has a particularly great number of possible diminutives, which include: Marysia, Maryśka, Marysieńka, Marychna, Mania, Mańka, Maniusia, Maryna, Marianna, some of which (indicated by underlining) have eventually become treated as standard names of their own (probably having their own derivatives), while others (such as those in italics), are shared diminutives and are less popular (largely regarded as foreign).

Also, as in many other cultures, a person may informally use a nickname (przezwisko, ksywa) in addition to or instead of a given name.

As of 2009, the most popular female names in Poland are Anna, Maria, and Katarzyna (Katherine). The most popular male names are Piotr (Peter), Krzysztof (Christopher), and Andrzej (Andrew).^[2]

Nazwisko (surname)[link]

Polish surnames, like those in most of Europe, are hereditary and generally patrilineal, i.e., passed from the father on to his children.

A Polish marriage certificate lists three fields, the surnames for the husband, wife, and children. The partners may choose to retain their surnames, or both adopt the surname before marriage of either partner, or a combination of both; the children must receive either the joint surname or the surname of one of the partners, if they are different. However, a married woman usually adopts her husband's name and the children usually bear the surname of the father. The wife may keep her maiden name (nazwisko panieńskie) or add her husband's surname to hers, thus creating a double-barrelled name (nazwisko złożone). However, if she already has a double-barrelled name, she must leave one of the parts out—it is illegal to use a triple- or more-barrelled name. It is also possible, though rare, for the husband to adopt his wife's surname or to add his wife's surname to his family name (an example is businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, who did both, taking his wife's name on his first marriage, and later appending his second wife's name to it).

A person may also legally change his or her surname if:

• it is offensive or funny;
• it is of foreign origin;
• it is identical to a given name;
• that person has effectively used a different surname for a long time.

The most widespread Polish surnames are Nowak, Kowalski, Wiśniewski and Wójcik.^[3]

Popular belief often associates surnames ending with sky/cky/dzky with Jewish Polish families and names ending with ski/cki/dzki with Christians, but the spelling differences sometimes have more to do with whether the name originated in Poland or in Russia.^[4] '-ski' names are preceded by a name of a town or a profession. (i.e. Kobyliński and Kucharski; from Kobylin and Kucharz(Baker))

History, heraldry, and clan names[link]

Family names first appeared in Poland ca. 15th century and were only used by the nobility (szlachta). Originally the nobles belonged to chivalric clans whose names survived in the names of their coats of arms. Eventually, members of one clan would split into separate families with different surnames, usually derived from the name of the village they owned. Sometimes the family name and the clan name (associated with the arms) would be used together and form a double-barrelled name.

The most striking peculiarity of the Polish heraldic system is that a coat of arms does not belong to a single family. A number of families sharing male-line origin or sometimes even unrelated by blood but only by a formal adoption upon ennoblement (sometimes hundreds of them), usually with a number of different family names, may use a coat of arms, and each coat of arms has its own name, usually the name of the original blood-line the clan descends from. Thus the total number of coats of arms in this system was relatively low — ca. 200 in the late Middle Ages.

One side-effect of this unique arrangement was that it became customary to refer to noblemen by both their family name and their coat of arms/clan name. For example: Jan Zamoyski herbu Jelita means Jan Zamoyski of clan Jelita (though it is often quite incorrectly translated as ...of the clan Jelita coat-of-arms as if he were not a blood-member of the line).

From the 15th to 17th centuries, the formula seems to copy the ancient Roman naming convention with the classic tria nomina used by the Patricians: praenomen (or given name), nomen gentile (or gens/Clan name) and cognomen (surname), following the Renaissance fashion, thus: Jan Jelita Zamoyski, forming a double-barrelled name (nazwisko złożone). Later, the double-barrelled name would be joined with a hyphen: Jan Jelita-Zamoyski.

Gradually the use of family names spread to other social groups: the townsfolk by the end of the 17th century, then the peasantry, and finally the Jews. The process finally ended only in the mid-19th century.

After the First and Second World Wars some resistance fighters added their wartime noms de guerre to their original family names. This was yet another reason for creating double-barrelled names. Examples include Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, and Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Some artists, such as Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, also added their noms de plume to their surnames.

Poles in Diasporas[link]

When Poles emigrate to countries with different languages and cultures, the often-difficult spelling and pronunciation of Polish names commonly cause them to be misspelled or changed;^[5] sometimes indirectly by transliteration into, e.g., Cyrillic.

For example, in English often changes w to v and sz to sh. Similar changes sometimes occur in French, as well as the addition to aristocratic names of de (la particule fr:Particule (onomastique)) or von in German^{[citation needed]} or Van/van in Dutch. However, it is not very correct as the ski/cki/dzki surnames already contain the de/von/van meaning.

Changes in Spanish may be even more extreme. A Spiczyński may become simply Spika, for example while the proper translation will be de Spiczyn. Hyphenated double-barrelled names are often rearranged: Erasmus Bogorya-Skotnicki becomes Erasmo Bogorya de Skotnicki or Erasmo Skotnicki de Bogorya.

Classification[link]

Based on grammatical features, Polish surnames may be divided into:

• nominal, derived from and declined as a noun
• adjectival, derived from and declined as an adjective.

Adjectival names very often end in the suffixes -ski, -cki and -dzki (feminine -ska, -cka and -dzka), and are considered to be either typically Polish or typical for the Polish nobility. In case of '-ski' is true to the extent that a surname contains a name of a city or a town. In France or Germany where not all people with a de or von in their names were formally nobles however the adjectival suffix -ski, -ski or -sky is found in many other Slavic languages, and in Poland, the adjectival form of a name was not reserved to the szlachta.

Based on origin, Polish family names may be generally divided into three groups: cognominal, toponymic and patronymic.

Cognominal[link]

A cognominal surname (nazwisko przezwiskowe) derives from a person's nickname, usually based on his occupation, or a physical or character trait.

Examples:

• Kowal, Kowalski, Kowalczyk, Kowalewski — from kowal (blacksmith); or from Kowale or Kowalewo (Smithville) in case of Kowalski and Kowalewski.
• Młynarz, Młynarski, Młynarczyk — from młynarz (miller); or from Młynary (Millersville) in case of Młynarski.
• Nowak, Nowakowski, Nowicki — from nowy (the new one); or from Nowakowo or Nowice (Newmantown) in case of Nowakowski and Nowicki.
• Lis, Lisiewicz, Lisowski — from lis (fox); or from Lisowo (Foxville) in case of Lisowski.
• Kołodziej, Kołodziejska, Kołodziejski — from kołodziej (wheelwright) or koło (wheel); or from Kołowice (Wheeltown).
• Kuchar - from kucharz (cook)

Toponymic[link]

A toponymic surname (nazwisko odmiejscowe) usually derives from the name of a village or town, or the name of a topographic feature. These names are almost always of the adjectival form. Originally they referred to the village owner, in the 19th century however they were mostly formed for people who were lacking surnames by then, from the name of the town inhabited.

Examples:

• Andrychowski - lord of Andrychów;
• Brodowski — lord of Brodowo;
• Ćmielowski - lord of Ćmielów;
• Tarnowski — lord of Tarnów;
• Ujazdowski - lord of Ujazd;
• Wrzesiński - lord of Września;
• Zaleski — lord of Zalesie;

• Krakowski — dweller of Kraków;
• Warszawski — dweller of Warszawa (Warsaw).

• Mazur, Mazurski - from Masuria.

Patronymic[link]

A patronymic surname (nazwisko odimienne) derives from a given name of a person and usually ends in a suffix suggesting a family relation.

Examples:

• Jan, Jachowicz, Janicki, Jankowski, Janowski—derived from Jan (John or Ian), Jankowo or Janowo (Johnstown).
• Adamczewski, Adamczyk, Adamowski, Adamski—derived from Adam; or from Adamczewo / Adamowo (Adamsville).
• Łukasiński, Łukaszewicz—derived from Łukasz (Luke); or from Łukasin (Luketown).

Other[link]

• There is also a class of surnames derived from the past tense participles. These names usually have the feminine (-ła) or neuter (-ło) ending of the (ancient, now obsolete) active past participle, meaning "the one who has ...[come, applied, accomplished, settled, searched, found, etc.]", e.g. Domagała, Przybyła, Napierała, Dopierała, Szukała or Podsiadło, Wcisło, Wlazło, Przybyło. A smaller number of surnames use the masculine form, e.g. Musiał. Note that in foreign countries, where the letter Ł is not available, l will be used instead, e.g. Domagala.

• The most popular Polish surname, Nowak,,,^[6][7] has the original meaning "the new one".

Feminine forms[link]

Adjectival surnames, like all Polish adjectives, have masculine and feminine forms. If a masculine surname ends in -i or -y, its feminine equivalent ends in -a. Surnames ending with consonants have no specific feminine form. Examples:

Nominal surnames may or may not change with gender. Like other Slavic languages, Polish has special feminine suffixes which were added to a woman's surname. A woman who was never married used her father's surname with the suffix -ówna or -'anka. A married woman or a widow used her husband's surname with the suffix -owa or -'ina / -'yna (the apostrophe means that the last consonant in the base form of the surname is softened). Although these suffixes are still used by some people, mostly the elderly and in rural areas, they are now becoming outdated and there is a tendency to use the same form of a nominal surname for both a man and a woman.

However, the forms in "-anka" and "-ina/-yna" tend to disappear and are being replaced by the forms in "-ówna" and "-owa" respectively.

Examples:

Plural forms[link]

Plural forms of the surnames follow the pattern of the masculine and feminine forms respectively, if such exist. For the whole family (bi-gender situations, mixture of males and females), the masculine plural is used. Plural forms of the names quite rarely follow the patterns of regular declension, even if the name is identical with a common name. Uneducated people often use plural of the common names for plural of surnames, and feminine (felt as neutral) of the adjectival surnames for bi-gender situation.

Formal and informal use[link]

Poles pay great attention to the correct way of referring to or addressing other people depending on the level of social distance, familiarity and politeness. The differences between formal and informal language include:

• using surnames vs. given names;
• using vs. not using honorific titles such as Pan / Pani / Państwo;
• using the third person singular (formal) vs. the second person singular (informal) forms.

Formal language[link]

Pan / Pani / Państwo[link]

Pan and Pani are the basic honorific styles used in Polish to refer to a man or woman, respectively. In the past, these styles were reserved to hereditary nobles and played more or less the same roles as "Lord" or "Sir" and "Lady" or "Madame" in English. Since the 19th century, they have come to be used in all strata of society and may be considered equivalent to the English "Mr." and "Ms." or the Japanese "san" suffix while the nobles would be addressed "Jego/Jej Miłość Pan/Pani" (His/Her Grace Lord/Lady). There used to be a separate style, Panna ("Miss"), applied to an unmarried woman, but this is now outdated and mostly replaced by Pani.

"Państwo" is widely used when referred to a married couple (instead of using separately Pan and Pani) or even the whole family.

Examples:

• Pan Kowalski + Pani Kowalska = Państwo Kowalscy
• Pan Nowak + Pani Nowak = Państwo Nowakowie

Titles[link]

When addressing people, scientific and other titles are always used together with "Pan" and "Pani" and the name itself is dropped. However, when a person is spoken of but not addressed directly, then both the title and the name are used and the words "Pan"/"Pani" are often omitted.

Examples:

• "Panie profesorze" ("Professor"), "Pan profesor powiedział" ("Professor (X) said" or: "you have said, professor")
• "Pani doktor" ("Doctor"), "Pani doktor powiedziała" ("Doctor (X) said" or: "you have said, doctor")

but:

• "Pan profesor Jan Nowak" or: "profesor Jan Nowak" or: "profesor Nowak",
• "Pani doktor Maria Kowalska" or "doktor Maria Kowalska" or: "doktor Kowalska"

Given name / surname order[link]

The given name(s) normally comes before the surname. However, in a list of people sorted alphabetically by surname, the surname usually comes first. Hence some people may also use this order in spoken language (e.g. introducing themselves as Kowalski Jan instead of Jan Kowalski), but this is generally considered incorrect or a throwback to the Communist era when this order was sometimes heard in official situations. In many formal situations the given name is omitted altogether.

Examples:

• Pan Włodzimierz Malinowski
• Pani Jadwiga Kwiatkowska

On the other hand, it is not common to refer to public figures, while not addressing them, with "Pan" or "Pani". It is rarely done with politicians, e.g.

• "Jan Kowalski był dziś w Gdańsku." ("Jan Kowalski was in Gdansk today") (e.g. of a Prime Minister) and not *"Pan Jan Kowalski był dziś w Gdańsku."
• "Pan Kowalski uważa, że" ("Mr Kowalski maintains that", e.g. of a government minister), better: "Jan Kowalski uważa, że" or "Minister Kowalski uważa, że"

and never with artists, athletes, sportsmen or sportswomen:

• "Film reżyserował Jan Kowalski." ("The film was directed by Jan Kowalski.") and not: *"Film reżyserował pan Jan Kowalski."
• "Złoty medal zdobyła Anna Kowalska." ("The gold medal was won by Anna Kowalska.") and never: *"Złoty medal zdobyła pani Anna Kowalska."

In such circumstances, preceding a name with "Pan" or "Pani" would usually be felt as being ironical.

Semi-formal levels of address[link]

In situations of frequent contact, e.g. at work, people who do not decide to change their status from formal into friendly, may remain for years at semi-formal level, using the formal "Pan" / "Pani" form followed by the given name. This way of calling people is used not only when addressing them but also when referring to them while talking to a third person with whom one remains at the same level of semi-formal contacts.

The common situation is that of reciprocity (in case both people have equal, or close to equal, status). However, an asymmetric situation is also quite common, when a subordinate person is addressed by his or her given name by their superior, but the subordinate never uses the given name of the superior, using his or her title instead:

• the superior to a subordinate: "Panie Włodzimierzu!", "Pani Jadwigo!";
• a subordinate to the superior: "Panie Dyrektorze!" (literally: "Mr Principal!"), "Pani Kierownik!" (literally: "Mrs Manager!").

This style is to a certain degree similar to the Vietnamese, Japanese or Icelandic usage.

NB. If the superior wants to behave more politely or show his or her friendly attitude towards the subordinate etc., the diminutive of the given name of the subordinate may be used (like in the semi-informal way of addressing among co-workers or neighbours, see below): "Panie Włodku!", "Pani Jadziu!". This, however, is usually not practiced when the subordinate is much older than the superior, as it may be felt by the subordinate as being overly patronised by his/her superior.

It is rude to call a person by his/hers surname in the presence of unknown people. In a random crowd, a person calling another person should use a form of "Proszę Pana / Pani" ("I'm asking you, Sir / Madam") or to use semi-formal form with first name, like "Panie Włodzimierzu" ("Mr. Włodzimierz"). This rule comes from a general rule that one has right to be anonymous among crowd of unknown people. This rule is observed in most countries of western culture. To disclose one's given name does not fall under this rule, as many people can be named Włodzimierz for instance.

Semi-informal and informal language[link]

Informal forms of address are normally used only by relatives, close friends and co-workers. In such situations diminutives are generally preferred to the standard forms of given names. At an intermediate level of familiarity (e.g. among co-workers) a diminutive given name may be preceded by formal Pan or Pani (semi-informal form of address).

Examples:

• Pan Włodek (but also standard semi-formal form "Pan Włodzimierz") - in direct address "Panie Włodku" (standard: "Panie Włodzimierzu")
• Pani Jadzia (but also "Pani Jadwiga") - in direct address "Pani Jadziu" (standard: "Pani Jadwigo")

Using the honorific style with a surname only, if used to refer to a given person directly, is generally perceived as rude (giving impression of patronising or irony; e.g., "Panie Idioto"). In such a case it is more polite to avoid this form and when referring to the person use just the form "Pan", without given or family name.

It is very rude to address someone whom one does not know well with the omission of "Pan" or "Pani" (and with the second person singular instead of the polite third person singular pronouns and verb forms). Traditionally, the act of moving from this form to a friendly "you" must be acknowledged by both parties and it is usually a mark of a close friendly relationship between the two people. The change can only be proposed by the older or more respected person; a similar suggestion initiated by the younger or less respected person will usually be perceived as presumptuous and arrogant.

There is a clear distinction between "friends" and "colleagues". For example, co-workers will be very rarely referred to as friends. People will be called "colleagues" most likely only after the titling was mutually agreed to be changed from "Pan/Pani" to "you". To be considered a "friend" they have to feel closer relation and there must be mutual understanding of each other (usually, indicating that they believe they can share each other secrets without fearing that they will be revealed to others, and, more generally, when one can depend on another even in the most difficult situations). Thus "przyjaciel" ("friend") in Polish has a narrower meaning than its counterpart in English.

There is yet another type of relation: "znajomy" which means "acquaintance" or "a person known to another person". There is no universal agreement, whether "znajomy" is more or less than "kolega" (a colleague). For instance, it is common to call "znajomi" (plural) people one knows on private level, therefore it is an equivalent of English "friend". However in official relationships it can mean a person one knows on lesser level than "kolega".

It is not uncommon to use a half-informal title, with the name omitted. This is, however, usually found only in the vocative case: "Panie Kolego!" (much less common: "Pani Koleżanko!") which literally means "Mr. Mate!".

See also[link]

• Name of Poland
• Polish clans
• Polish heraldry
• Slavic names
• Slavic surnames
• T-V distinction
• Family name
• Family name affixes
• A Translation Guide to 19th-Century Polish-Language Civil-Registration Documents

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

External links[link]

• Meaning of Polish Lastnames / Surnames
• Traditional Slavic names and namedays
• Slavic calendar
• The most Common Baby names in Poland - History, Trends
• Polish Last Names
• Database of Polish given names (Polish)
• Most common surnames in Poland (Polish)
• Repartition of Polish surnames in present day Poland (interactive maps) according to the 2001 census (Polish)

Jay Park
Jay Park at the 2011 Mr. Idol press conference
Background information
Birth name	Park Jaebeom
Born	(1987-04-25) April 25, 1987 (age 25) Seattle, Washington, United States
Genres	Hip hop, R&B, pop, rap, dance, K-pop
Occupations	Singer, rapper, dancer, songwriter, composer, actor
Years active	2008–present
Labels	JYP Entertainment (2008–10) Sidus HQ (2010–present)
Associated acts	AOM, dok2, The Quiett, Prepix, Project Prepix Asia, Clara Chung, Dumbfoundead, Teddy Riley, Rob Knox
Website	jaypark.com

This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul or Hanja.

Park Jaebeom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範, born April 25, 1987), also known as Jay Park, is a Korean-American recording artist, dancer, rapper, music producer, b-boy, songwriter, composer and actor. He was the former leader of the South Korean boy band 2PM, and is a member of the Seattle-based b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM).

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Born in Seattle, Washington, Park showed great interest in hip hop music and breakdancing at a young age. Park was raised in Edmonds, Washington where he attended Edmonds Woodway High School. In 2004, he auditioned in Seattle, Washington, for Korea-based JYP Entertainment (JYPE), which brought him to Korea in January 2005, to receive further training in dancing, rapping, singing, and the Korean language.

2008–2009: 2PM[link]

Park first appeared through Mnet's Hot Blood Men, a documentary-style reality program that showed the future members of idol groups 2AM and 2PM in training. Park, finishing with the most fan votes, was given the position of 2PM's leader.^[1] On September 4, 2008, 2PM debuted with the song "10점 만점에 10점" ("10 Points Out Of 10") on music program M! Countdown after the release of their first mini-album, Hottest Time of the Day, a few days prior.

Aside from 2PM's music activities, Park created the song "正" ("Jeong") with Yeeun of the Wonder Girls for the television drama "Conspiracy in the Court"'s original soundtrack, and V.O.S's "To Luv...".^[2] He also participated in special stage performances such as Navi's "마음이 다쳐서" ("Heart Damage") on May 3, 2009,^[3] and K.Will's "1초에 한방울" ("One Drop per Second") on June 20, 2009.^[4] He also became a regular cast member in several variety programs, including Star King and Introducing a Star's Friend.^[5] In August 2009, he and Kara band member, Nicole Jung, became the new hosts for a cultural variety show called Nodaji.^[6]

On September 4, 2009, unfavorable comments towards Korea were found on Park’s personal Myspace account from 2005. The comments, written in English to a friend, were translated by Korean media, quickly spreading across hundreds of news articles. In this letter, he explained the unhappiness that he experienced during his early days as a trainee in an unfamiliar country where he lacked family, the ability to easily communicate and an understanding of the culture.^[7] Although outraged protesters demanded that Park should be removed from 2PM, JYP Entertainment's CEO, Park Jin-young, stated on September 7, 2009, that he was going to continue as a part of the group.^[8]

The following day, Park announced on his official fancafe that he would be leaving the group for a while to calm the situation and return to his hometown Seattle, Washington. He also apologized to the other 2PM members, and promised "I will come back a better person."^[9] However, Park Jin-young suddenly confirmed that 2PM would continue as a 6-member group.^[10] Additionally, due to the sensitive topic of Park's departure, all 2PM members were withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows,^[11] and the final episode of their reality show, Wild Bunny, was postponed indefinitely.^[12]

The remaining 6 members of 2PM re-filmed their music video for "Heartbeat" without Park on October 31, 2009. According to management, Park's vocals would not be removed from the older songs he promoted with 2PM, but he would be absent from the newer tracks.^[13]

2PM's first official album was titled 1:59PM, to symbolize Park's absence (according to the 6 remaining members).^[14] Through their acceptance speeches at end-of-year award shows for "Again & Again", the members thanked Park and reiterated their wish for his return. At the Mnet Asian Music Awards, the group paid homage to him during their performance of "Again & Again" with a spotlight shown over his usual position in the dance formation and his lines left unsung.^[15][16]

[edit] 2010: YouTube, Solo career, and Nothin' on You

After Park returned to the United States, fans changed their perspective on the matter when they realized that his Myspace messages had been severely mistranslated and taken out of context. However, on February 25, 2010, JYP suddenly announced that Park's contract with them had been terminated, citing separate "personal mistake" that Park had made some time in 2010.^[17] JYP would make reference to this unknown mistake several times in 2010, yet never giving details even when Park's current agency insisted they reveal whatever it is they are hiding. Boycotts on 2PM-endorsed products and protests for Park's return to the group began to take place, not only in South Korea, but internationally as well.^[18] Various Jay Park-dedicated forums and fansites all over the world organized silent protests and flash dance mobs.^[19]

On several instances, Park was the number one trending topic on Twitter, even topping the Oscars on March 8, 2010.^[20] Park's fanbase revealed that they plan to release a self-produced album in his honor on March 27, 2010, to commemorate the 200th day anniversary of his departure from Korea.^[21] However, because the album had been prepared since January, during the time where public opinion on 2PM had changed, the fans decided it would be in the best interest to not release the CDs, instead mailing 10-20 copies to Park's hometown in Seattle.^[22]

On March 15, 2010, Park created his own YouTube channel, "jayparkaom". His first post was a video where he sings a rendition of "Nothin' on You" (with his own rap and lyrics) in his bathroom.^[23][24] The video went viral and reached over 2,000,000 views in less than 24 hours. In Korea, the original song by B.o.B and Bruno Mars topped the Cyworld background music chart in a matter of hours upon the video's release.^[25] "Nothin' on You" also reached #1 on other music sites such as Dosirak, Melon, Mnet, Bugs, and Soribada, profiting $300,000 in sales through the effects of Park's video.^[26] On his 'About Me' page, Park left a message thanking his fans for their support. He also encouraged fans not to hate remaining 2PM members on his behalf.^[27]

In April 2010, he appeared with fellow Art of Movement members at an annual Korean American festival event called Project Korea III: KSA Cinderella Story at Rutgers University, New Jersey, on April 3, 2010.^[28] Videos of the event were uploaded onto internet portal sites, where footage of Park acting as an MC and dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" on stage drew much positive interest.^[29]

On April 24, 2010, Dumbfoundead released a collaboration track featuring Park and Clara Chung on his website, titled "Clouds".^[30] On September 5, 2010, Park participated in the 3rd International Secret Agents Los Angeles concert held in Cerritos, California, together with well-known YouTube celebrities such as Nigahiga, KevJumba, AJ Rafael, Alyssa Bernal, Far East Movement, and America's Best Dance Crew Season 5 champions, Poreotix. Park's performance drew many positive responses.^[31][32]

On June 18, 2010, Park returned to Korea through Incheon International Airport, to the biggest crowd ever at the airport.^[33] "Park Jaebeom has returned" became the biggest headline in Korea that day. "JayIsBack" shot up immediately on the trending topics on Twitter on June 18 at 9:30 AM GMT.^[34] Pictures of Park in Hype Nation were released on July 2,^[35] and Park was able to meet with the Korean media for interviews for the first time, talking about his current activities.^[36] It was also revealed that his single "Demon" would be included in Hype Nation's original soundtrack.^[37]

On July 8, 2010, it was reported that Park will sign a contract with Sidus HQ for his domestic Korean activities in terms of acting and singing,^[38] where his management states that he plans to redebut as a rookie artist.^[39] The contract with Sidus HQ was finalized on July 16, 2010.^[40]

Park released a single album titled 믿어줄래 ("Count On Me") containing 3 tracks, including a rearranged Korean version of "Nothin' on You", on July 13, 2010.^[41][42] The English and Korean lyrics were written by Park himself.^[43] The song immediately reached #1 on Cyworld and Bugs music charts, and also on other music sites as Monkey3, Soribada, Dosirak, and Melon within the hour of its release.^[44] The single album sold 21,989 physical copies on the first day of release, coming in at #1 in sales and #7 in the overall ranking of albums released from January 2010 to July 13, 2010. With more than 41,316 copies sold at the end of 2010 making the album place at #32 on Gaon's ^[45] year end chart, Park earned approximately 700 million won from his single album, which placed him at #3 in the overall annual ranking of album released until at the end of July 2010.^[46]

Park was cast for the 2011 Korean movie Mr Idol.^[47]

On October 10, 2010, Park was one of the performers alongside SE7EN, Taeyang, Musiq Soulchild at the Seoul Soul Festival held at the War Memorial of Korea. Park and Musiq Soulchild also performed a duet song titled "Love" at the festival.^[48]

[edit] 2011: Take A Deeper Look and rise as a solo artist

On January 6, 2011, Park was announced as the winner in "Best Web Video" Category around the globe for his song "Nothin' on You" at the Mashable Awards. He also has been nominated in ‘Must Follow Personality’ category and finished 2nd.^[49]

Park was chosen to be the sole opener for Ne-Yo in his first concert in Seoul for the "2011 Hyundai Mall 40th Anniversary Concert" held on March 29, 2011. He also cooperated with Ne-Yo for a charity event for children dreaming to become musicians on March 28 at the Dream Academy in Seoul.^[50]

On March 28, 2011, Park was a finalist and received the most votes in the special category 'Connecting People Award', a joint venture between Shorty Awards and Nokia. Park also was a finalist in the 'Celebrity' category at the same event.^[51]

Park released his first Korean mini-album, Take A Deeper Look, in April 2011, with the title track "Abandoned".^[52] Take A Deeper Look debuted at #3 in the Billboard World Album Charts and ranked #26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart.^[53] Park also made his debut stage on Korean music shows such as KBS Music Bank, Mnet M! Countdown, MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo for the first time in 2 years as a solo artist. Park made history as the first artist crowned winner at a debut stage, as he won Music Bank on May 6 on his first debut stage on Korean music shows.^[54][55] He won Music Bank again on May 13, 2011.

On August 6, 2011, Park participated in his first KBS Immortal Song 2 episode. He performed "Candy" by H.O.T. with Moon Hee-joon. He had won his round and received 2nd place overall on his first episode. Park followed up with his own R&B rendition of "Aemo" by Kim Soo-hee on the next episode. His remix was well received. On his third episode of Immortal Song 2, Park performed "Tell Me the Truth" by Jinusean with Solbi, Jang Hyuk and Kim Sooro. That performance won Park the competition for that episode, allowing him to choose the order for the next episode. For his fourth episode, Park again made his own R&B version of "Feel Good Day" by Kim Wan-sun. On his fifth episode, Park performed a remixed version of "Look Back at Me" by Deux, where he received attention from his fellow castmates for his incredible and dangerous b-boy moves. On his sixth episode and final appearance on the show, he performed "Dear, Do Not Change" by Nam Jin and won the last trophy.^[56] It was revealed that Park will return to Immortal Song 2 for a special episode "King of Kings" with other singers that have claimed the #1 spot. This special episode will record November 7 at the KBS Open Hall and air November 19.

On September 5, 2011, the single "Demon" was released through various Korean digital music websites.^[57] The music video was also finally released on the same day to negative reviews, and Park apologized, saying he had no control over the release of both the music video and the song.^[58]

On October 1, 2011, Park returned to the USA to perform in the International Secret Agents Los Angeles concert..^[59][60]

On October 29, 2011, Park delivered a performance to over 25,000 fans as he headlined the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) Live in Manila Concert held at the SM Mall of Asia. The concert also featured Californian alternative rock band, Evaline, and international singer/songwriter, Jason Mraz.^[61]

On November 3, 2011, Park released his single "Girlfriend". The song was produced by American producers Da Beat Freakz.

On December 28, 2011, Park released Part 1 of his first full-length Korean album, New Breed.^[62]

[edit] 2012-present: New Breed

Park was chosen by KT Tech to be the official model of TakeHD, a new smartphone by the brand.^[63][64]

On January 11, 2012, Park received the Disk Bonsang for his mini album Take A Deeper Look on the first day of the 26th Golden Disk Awards, which was held in Osaka. He was the only solo artist to receive the Disk Bonsang among the other Bonsang winners.^[65] On January 18, 2012, he received the Popular Artist Award of the Asia Model Awards, which was held in Seoul.^[66][67][68]

Songs composed and written by Park for others artists were released in 2012. Park produced and composed a song with Cha Cha Malone for Korean-American singer Brian Joo, titled "Can't Stop", for his new EP, ReBorn Part 1.^[69][70][71] Park wrote the Korean version of the song^[70], while Joo wrote the English Version^[71]. On April 25, 2012, Park's 25th birthday, idol group U-KISS released their 6th mini-album, DoraDora, which includes the track "4U" written and composed by Park.^[72] Park also produced and composed a song for upcoming girl group Tiny-G, "Polaris". The lyrics are written by actress Lee Si Young. They worked together as a couple through MBC Music and Lyrics.^[73][74]

Park released his first full-length Korean album, New Breed, in February 2012, with the title track "Know Your Name".^[75] The album reached #1 twice on the Gaon Weekly album chart in South Korea,^[76][77] and also reached #1 on the Hanteo Weekly chart by solding more than 80000 copies offline.^[78][79] New Breed debuted at #4 in the Billboard World Album Charts and ranked #16 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart.^[80] Park made his comeback stage on Korean music shows on February 16, 2012. He won Music Bank on February 24, 2012, one week after his comeback.^[81]

On March 3, 2012, Park held his first solo concert, New Breed Live in Seoul, at the Olympic Hall of Seoul Olympic Park.^[82]

On April 23, 2012, Park has been selected as the "R-16 KOREA 2012" (B-Boy) ambassador by the Korea Tourism Organization.^[83]

On April 27, 2012, Park began Asian promotions for the Asian version release of his album New Breed, and will visit 5 countries : Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. On April 28, 2012, Park performed at the Star Awards in Singapore.^[83] On June 13, 2012, Park will release the Japan editions of his albums Take A Deeper Look and New Breed through Universal J. The regular edition of New Breed will contain the English version of "I Love You" as a bonus track.^[84]

Park headlined the APAHM tour organized by Verizon in the USA in May 2012. The tour made stops in Washington DC on May 18, New York on May 21, San Francisco on May 24 and Los Angeles on May 26.^[85][86] On May 16, 2012, Park released his first mixtape, Fresh A!r: Breathe !t^[87][88][89], containing songs he will perform for the APAHM tour.^[90][91][92] The mixtape was released for free on Park's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, official website, Datpiff and SoundCloud.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Notable appearances

• Hot Blood Men (2007)
• Idol Show (2008)
• Star King (2008)
• Wild Bunny (2009)
• Word of the Day - Bromance (2010) - A short skit alongside Ryan Higa and Philip Wang (Wong Fu Productions) .
• Dramatic (2011) - First episode aired.
• Mr. 아이돌 (Mr. Idol) (2011)
• Immortal Song 2 (2011-12) - A regular cast member for parts of 2011 and 2012.
• Music & Lyrics (2012) - with actress Lee Si-young.

Awards[link]

Music Programs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official website at Sidus HQ (Korean)
• Jay Park on Twitter
• Jay Park on Facebook
• Jay Park's channel on YouTube
• Jay Park Vevo channel
• Jay Park on Me2day
• Jay Park on Weibo
• Jay Park at the Internet Movie Database

Czesław Niemen
Czesław Niemen (Celebrity Alley, Kielce)
Background information
Birth name	Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki
Born	(1939-02-16)February 16, 1939
Origin	Stare Wasiliszki in Grodno county, Poland (now Belarus)
Died	January 17, 2004(2004-01-17) (aged 64)
Genres	Rock & roll, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, folk music, avant-garde jazz, electronic music
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet
Instruments	Multi-instrumentalist (mostly electronic instruments and keyboards)
Years active	1967–2001
Associated acts	Niebiesko-Czarni, Andrzej Kurylewicz
Website	Niemen at polishmusic.ca F

Czesław Niemen (Polish pronunciation: [ˈt͡ʂɛswaf ˈɲɛ̃mɛ̃n/]; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004) real name Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki, was one of the most important and original Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the last quarter-century,^[1] singing mainly in Polish.

Niemen was born in Stare Wasiliszki, Białystok Voivodeship, interwar Poland (now in Grodno Province, Belarus). After World War II it became a part of Byelorussian SSR and in the 1950s he was allowed to move to Poland. He made his debut in the early 1960s, singing Polish rock and soul music. He possessed an unusually wide voice range and equally rich intonation. He was also an ardent composer and a keyboard player. Soon after his first successful concerts in France, he started to use the pseudonym Niemen instead of his real name, gaining wider notoriety in Poland and making it easier to pronounce by foreigners (Niemen is a Polish pronunciation of the Neman River and this way he wanted to mark his birth country). His song of 1967, "Dziwny jest ten świat" (Strange Is This World) is commonly acknowledged to be the most important Polish protest song of that era (in 1972 an English version was also recorded). He was one of the first Polish performers to wear long hair and colourful clothes and introducing the style of psychedelia to communist Poland, which annoyed the officials. The first three LP album's Niemen recorded with his band "Akwarele" (Watercolours). Subsequently, he recorded with his other new bands: "Enigmatic", "Grupa Niemen" and "Aerolit". In 1969 he changed musical style to progressive rock while recording the monumental album Enigmatic. The most notable song from it was "Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod" (A Mournful Rhapsody in Memory of Józef Bem), based on the 19th century poem by Cyprian Kamil Norwid. The rest of Enigmatic songs were also in sung poetry form. Niemen played Hammond organ, later mellotron and Moog synthesizer on his records.

In the early 1970s, Niemen recorded three English language albums under the CBS label. In 1974 he recorded Mourner's Rhapsody with Jan Hammer and Rick Laird from Mahavishnu Orchestra. In the seventies, Niemen turned to jazz-rock fusion and electronic music (Katharsis album). In 1972 he also contributed with a song performed by him in "Wesele" (The Wedding (1972 film)) by director Andrzej Wajda, laureate of an honorary Oscar. Later, Niemen also composed film soundtracks and theater music. In the 1990s he showed interest in art painting and computer graphics. He died of cancer in Warsaw.

He won the Sopot International Song Festival in 1979.

In 1964 at Congress Hall, Warsaw, Niemen together with his group played as a support act to Marlene Dietrich in concert. She heard his song "Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz" ("Do you still remember me?") there. She enjoyed it so much and soon recorded her own version of it "Mutter, Hast du Mir Vergeben" ("Mother, have you forgiven me?") writing her own lyrics for the song.^[2]

Niemen's support bands[link]

Niemen cooperated with the following bands; some of them were support musicians, while others were independent bands: "Akwarele" ("Watercolours"), "I Niemen" ("And Niemen") (1969–1970), also under the name "Niemen Enigmatic"), "Grupa Niemen" (made of the members of Silesian Blues Band), Niebiesko-Czarni, "Aerolit", female vocal band Alibabki.

Aerolit[link]

Aerolit accompanied Czesław Niemen in 1974–1978. Initially it was formed from young musiсians of the rock band Krzak: Jacek Gazda, Jan Błędowski, Maciej Radziejewski, Piotr Dziemski.^[3] The word means "aerolite" in Polish.

Discography[link]

• 1975: Niemen Aerolit
• 1978: Idée Fixe
• 2007: 41 Potencjometrów Pana Jana – a live record of a 1974 concert from tapes found in archives of Polish Radio.The record was "cut and mixed" with scotch tape and scissors by Czeslaw Niemen himself and Janusz Kosinski.^[4]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1967 Dziwny jest ten świat ("Strange Is This World")
• 1968 Sukces ("Success")
• 1969 Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz? ("Do You Still Remember Me?")
• 1970 Enigmatic
• 1971 Niemen – aka "Człowiek jam niewdzięczny" or "Czerwony Album" ("Ungrateful Human I Am" or "Red Album")
• 1972 Strange Is This World (English lyrics, released in West Germany)
• 1973 Ode to Venus (English lyrics, released in West Germany)
• 1973 Niemen Vol. 1 and Niemen Vol. 2 – aka "Marionetki" ("Puppets")
• 1973 Russische Lieder ("Russian Songs", Russian lyrics, released in West Germany)
• 1974 Mourner's Rhapsody (English lyrics, released in West Germany, UK and US)
• 1975 Niemen Aerolit
• 1976 Katharsis
• 1978 Idée Fixe
• 1980 Postscriptum
• 1982 Przeprowadzka ("Moving")
• 1989 Terra Deflorata
• 2001 spodchmurykapelusza ("fromunderthecloudofahat")

Live albums[link]

• 2007 41 Potencjometrów Pana Jana ("41 Mr. John's Potentiometers")
• 2009 Kattorna/Pamflet na ludzkość ("Kattorna/Lampoon for Mankind")

Compilations[link]

• 1979 The Best of Niemen
• 1989 Złote przeboje Czesława Niemena ("Golden hits of Czesław Niemen
• 1991 Gwiazdy mocnego uderzenia: Czesław Niemen (first singles)
• 1995 Sen o Warszawie ("Dream of Warsaw")
• 2000 Czas jak rzeka: Złota kolekcja ("Time Like River: Golden Collection")
• 2008 Spiżowy krzyk ("Brass scream")

Box Sets[link]

• 2002 od początku I ("from beginning I")
• 2003 od początku II ("from beginning II")

Singles and EPs[link]

• 1962 – Adieu Tristesse / El Soldado De Levita
• 1963 – Na swojską nutę (1) (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1963 – Na swojską nutę (2) (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1963 – W rytmie Madisona (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1964 – Les Noir et Blue – Les Idoles de Pologne (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1964 – Locomotion (EP) (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1964 – Czas jak rzeka (EP) (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1964 – Hippy, Hippy Shake (EP) (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1964 – Jeszcze sen (EP) (with Niebiesko-Czarni)
• 1966 – A Varsovie (EP)
• 1966 – Sen o Warszawie (EP)
• 1967 – Dziwny jest ten świat (EP)
• 1968 – Obok nas / Baw się w ciuciubabkę
• 1969 – Io senza lei / Arcobaleno
• 1969 – Strange is This World (demo)
• 1969 – Una luce mai accesa / 24 ore spese bene con amore
• 1969 – Re di cuori
• 1970 – Oggi forse no / Domani
• 1971 – Strange is This World (demo 2)
• 1972 – Romanca Cherubina / Mazurek'
• 1972 – Strange is This World / We've Got The Sun
• 1975 – Mleczna droga / Dorożką na Księżyc
• 1979 – Nim przyjdzie wiosna / Pokój
• 1982 – Witaj przygodo zielona / Przeprowadzka
• 1986 – High Horse / Pod papugami
• 2002 – Jagody szaleju

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Czesław Niemen

• Czesław Niemen at ProgArchives.com – photographs, reviews, music, discography
• (Polish) Niemen, partial dyscography incl. singles
• Forum