Welcome to the eighth article of our weekly series “Boy Crush”! This series will appreciate the men in K-Pop and K-Dramas that we have a crush on based on anything from their style, talent, personality, overall vibe, etc. Check out the previous articles featuring the boy crushes that have already been covered here! Readers voted for ASTRO’s MJ in our weekly poll (at the end of the article) to be featured this week. Before starting this week’s series, you can vote for who you want to see featured in next week’s article. If you would like to see a different idol/actor (not mentioned in the poll) featured in the series, please leave their name in the comments and we will add them to the vote over time. Important notice: the vote only decides who will be featured in the next article. Everyone in the poll will be featured in the series eventually. Suggestions will also be gradually added each week. Back to this week’s feature! Let’s get to know our crush, MJ! MJ is famous as a member of the popular and multi-talented boy group ASTRO. The group is known for their never-ending charm in all industries, captivating performances, and lovable personalities. MJ is an asset to the group as he is multi-faceted with a huge musical range. Not only can he pull off any genre, but he is also one of the idol musical and drama actors that many look forward to seeing on stage and onscreen. In case you are new to MJ, here is some basic information about him. MJ was born on March 5 in 1994. He was a contestant in the 2012 JYP Entertainment X HUM audition where he won a one-year scholarship to Seoul National University (one of the top 3 universities in Korea). MJ is also known as the ASTRO member who had the shortest training period. He immediately became the main vocal and ASTRO debuted in 2016. Best known for his powerful vocals, you’ll notice that MJ’s vocal tone is so special that once you’ve become accustomed to it, you will be able to identify him singing with your eyes closed. It is unique and has a velvet-like silkiness to it that melts into your ears. Check out his performance on “King of Mask Singer” here. His voice has a beautiful air to it as he makes use of vibrato, matching it to his stable live vocals. He especially gets praised for his high notes and ad-libs. You should also pay special attention to his part in ‘Knock’ to get a feel for his vocal color in a group setting. Another song that you absolutely have to listen to if you are getting into MJ’s vocals is his cover of ‘So Long’. MJ is also skilled at producing music. He has taken part in writing, composing, and/or arranging many of ASTRO’s songs such as ‘You & Me (Thanks AROHA)’, ‘Bloom’, and ‘Sunset Sky’, to name just a few. In an interview, he said that he started composing because music can represent many emotions and he wanted to share his feelings with many people. Those who are new to ASTRO may not know this about MJ but he is actually very into trot music and performs it exceptionally well. He participated in the MBC show “Favorite Entertainment” in 2020, becoming part of the 5-member project group Super Five and using his full name Kim MyungJun for the duration of the show. The group was a trot and dance group that had a unique concept. Each member had a representative sauce. MJ’s sauce was oil sauce (기름장 in Korean). Check out Super Five’s song ‘All eyes on me’ here. In 2021, he made his solo debut with a trot digital single complete with a title that encompasses MJ’s aura. It is called ‘Happy Virus’ or ‘Get Set Yo’ and features the 9-year-old rising trot artist Kim TaeYeon. The song was co-produced by one of the hottest artists on the Korean trot scene YeongTak. Listen to ‘Happy Virus’ here. However, MJ was performing trot songs before he debuted with Super Five or as a solo artist. He also performed a trot stage for his song ‘Cheok Cheok’ at one of ASTRO’s concerts in 2018. The genre suits him incredibly well as it is vibrant and exciting. There are also sadder songs in the genre that hold a lot of melancholy and nostalgia, which he pulls off amazingly. Whether it is a cheerful song or a mellow song, seeing the liveliness on his face when he performs trot is quite the treat for K-Pop and trot fans alike. He always looks incredibly happy when performing these songs. Fans affectionately call him the ‘King of Trot’. Check out his goosebump-raising performance of ‘Rain of Tears’. MJ is not only musically talented, but as we’ve mentioned, he is also an actor. His most recent projects include the musical “Jack the Ripper” and the web drama “Find Me If You Can”. His acting is compelling and allows his charms to shine through. You don’t want to miss out on his acting either. MJ is the oldest member of ASTRO, but is known as the honorary maknae because of his mood maker energy. Fans who are new to ASTRO might mistake him for the maknae at first because of his bright sunshine-like energy. AROHA love his radiance which gives you a mood boost just as if the sun were shining on your face. His warm disposition makes him a true gem. As the mood maker of the group, he is known for making lame jokes and doing funny impressions. One of these legendary impressions is of a chicken. He has even sung EXO’s ‘Growl’ and ChungHa’s ‘Gotta Go’ using a chicken voice. Check it out below. Let’s take a moment to appreciate his visuals. MJ is so so handsome with his small face, charming monolids, and facial proportions. One of the most alluring points on his face is the way that the corners of his mouth go up when he smiles. It is a small detail but many fans love this about him. Overall, he has an ethereal vibe to his visuals. He has even been acknowledged as a face genius during his time on “Favorite Entertainment”. We think he is a genius in many other aspects too. We need a second to appreciate his beautiful hands that he also gets a lot of praise for. Lastly, we need to take one final moment to appreciate his adorable dimples. MJ will be enlisting in the military this May. We are wishing him a safe and healthy journey. What do you think? Do you have a crush on MJ? Don’t forget to check out our previous articles below: Boy Crush: When It Comes To Overflowing Adorable Charm And Multitalent, AB6IX’s Lee DaeHwi Has Definitely Got It Covered KPOP STORIES|Apr 25, 2022 Boy Crush: BTOB’s SungJae Is The Only Crush For Us And Here’s Why KPOP STORIES|Apr 18, 2022 Boy Crush: We Love All Sides Of ONEUS’ SeoHo And His Hexagonal Charm KPOP STORIES|Apr 11, 2022 Boy Crush: BTS’ J-Hope Is More Than Just Our ‘Hope’, He’s The Ultimate Crush Too KPOP STORIES|Apr 4, 2022 Boy Crush: We ‘Honestly’ Can’t Get Enough Of Eric Nam’s Magnetic Appeal KPOP STORIES|Mar 28, 2022 Boy Crush: PENTAGON’s WooSeok Is Like The Human Gift That Keeps On Giving KPOP STORIES|Mar 21, 2022 Boy Crush: ATEEZ’s HongJoong Always Proves That He Was Born To Be On Stage And In Our Hearts KPOP STORIES|Mar 14, 2022 Before enlisted he was model for Calvin Klein, he wrote and composed songs for Aroha and Astro, he designed by himself 6 rings for each member of Astro. At this moment he is part of the military band as vocalist. We’re so proud of him, our prince, our king.
