Jay Park surprises fans with new single 'Daddy'
A cover image of singer Jay Park's new single "Daddy" / Courtesy of MORE VISION
Jay Park, the Korean American artist who helped forge the modern blueprint for idol hip-hop stardom, will release a surprise single Monday evening, leaning into the sultry R&B that has served as his calling card.
The track, titled "Daddy," arrives on digital streaming platforms at 6 p.m., marking Park’s first solo release since "Keep It Sexy (Mommae 2)" roughly 15 months ago.
Since departing the K-pop boy band 2PM nearly two decades ago, the 39-year-old performer has spent his career constructing a bridge between Seoul’s idol ecosystem and Western urban contemporary music.
Produced by Ben10k — the American beatmaker whose credits include collaborations with Drake, Chris Brown and Don Toliver — "Daddy" anchors Park’s smooth vocals atop a lush, groove-heavy rhythmic foundation paired with deliberately provocative lyrics. According to his agency, the track is intended as a direct continuation of the polished aesthetic that defined his mid-career creative revival.
The surprise drop arrives in a period of intense global activity for the singer, who is currently nearly two decades into his entertainment career. Having recently wrapped a celebratory multi-night encore run in Seoul, Park is set to debut the live version of "Daddy" during the upcoming international legs of his ongoing world tour, "Serenades & Body Rolls." The tour will take him across arenas in North and South America, as well as Europe, over the coming months.
Rather than attempting to reinvent his artistic identity, Park's latest release feels like a confident victory lap. By favoring familiar sensual grooves, "Daddy" offers an artist fully comfortable in his own skin, playing to the strengths that built his international fanbase.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.